Floor-crossers and flip-floppers
Not many MPs like to be called floorcrossers or flip-floppers. NDP MP Peter Stoffer, who has been trying, unsuccessfully, since 1999 to legislate against MPs who cross the floor, wants to force a floor-crosser to sit as an Independent until the next general election, or force the MP to resign his or her seat, run […]
Opposition parties press government to release audit on TPC contingency fees
NDP MP Ed Broadbent says the apparent disconnect between the LRA and the Treasury Board guidelines on contingency fees is ‘totally illogically absurd and morally offensive.’ Former Mint president David Dingwall may have left public life, but the controversy over contingency payments for lobbyists is far from over and could stretch far beyond the current […]
Critics say there’s a disconnect on government’s international aid
Plenty of critics and talk radio shows lined up to criticize the government’s initial reaction to the Pakistan earthquake last week, but more defended Canada’s response. The federal government fumbled the ball once again in its initial financial response to the Oct. 8 devastating earthquake in Pakistan that killed more than 30,000 and reacted similarly […]
Ross responds to Yaffe
Barbara Yaffe’s letter “Disagree with ‘puff piece’ on new Grit Sen. Campbell,” (The Hill Times, Oct. 10) contends that my column on Liberal Senator Larry Campbell was a “puff piece”because she claims that former Vancouver mayor Campbell “couldn’t even find time to meet with my community group.”What Ms.Yaffe fails to mention is that her community […]
PARLIAMENTARY CALENDAR: Maria Barrados to talk about human resources restructuring on Oct. 20
MONDAY, OCT. 17 The House-The House returns from its break. Newsmaker Luncheon-Auditor General of the Asian Development Bank Peter E. Pederson will speak about the impact of corruption in Asia and the Pacific and initiatives being used to curtail it. 12 p.m. at the National Press Club Dining Room. Members $20, nonmembers $25. For more […]
Industry Canada corporate funding branch to attract lobbyists has not been fixed, despite the spin cycle
The bad habits of the decade-old multi-billion dollar TPC began in 1996 are now claimed to be all in the past. But as a watchdog on all things TPC, I doubt it. The bad habits of the decade-old multibillion dollar Technical Partnerships Canada (TPC) began in 1996 are now claimed to be all in the […]
This town is getting really weird
The waiting game… Everyone has his theory about how and when the next federal election will come about, but if it comes earlier than later – as in the next month – it seems pretty clear to me that Prime Minister Paul Martin will have to call it himself. My Conservative friends tell me they […]
Federal government ‘dragging its feet’ on electoral reform: NDP MP Ed Broadbent
The government says it can’t meet the House’s deadline to bring in major reforms to Canada’s electoral system. And the government snuck its response in through the Commons Clerk’s Office, not through the House of Commons. The government says it can’t meet the House’s deadline to bring in reforms to Canada’s federal election system, which […]
Dingwall affair highlights needs for changes to lobby law
The lobbying industry, accustomed to operating in secret, has always successfully resisted reforms. But without them, the next lobbying scandal is just a forensic audit away. David Dingwall might be wishing he had read up on the rules governing his former profession when he acted as a pharmaceutical lobbyist four years ago. For his work […]
University of Quebec professor wants to bring in more creativity into the federal public service
Fostering creativity in the public service is important, says University of Quebec en Outaouais professor Larisa Shavinina. “Nothing is being done to develop the creative and innovative abilities of public servants,” said Prof. Shavinina, a professor in the Department of Administrative Sciences and founder of Innocrex, an organization specializing in developing creativity.”Employing creative people is […]
