The thin line that separates public policy and politics
Paul Martin’s government is keenly aware that vacating a decades-old place in the non-proliferation vanguard will be good for Liberal prospects in an election that is months, if not weeks, away. Would the federal Liberals abandon Canada’s historic opposition to the spread of nuclear weapons just to win votes? No, that would be too cynical […]
Dion optimistic about Kyoto, but opposition says Canada lacks credibility and Tories say ‘it’s a dead dog, stop petting it’
Environment Minister Stephane Dion who will chair the UN Climate Change Conference next month says he’s optimistic Kyoto will finally be implemented, but without the U.S. on side, he’s not sure how the fight to slow down global warming will succeed. Calling it “one of the greatest events our country has ever held,”Environment Minister Stephane […]
Canada too globally interdependent
Re: Michael Orr’s letter published in the Aug. 29 issue of The Hill Times ,”Canada not so innocent.”I relate Mr. Orr’s comments to a letter I recently wrote to Lloyd Axworthy, president of the University of Winnipeg and a former Canadian foreign affairs minister. I was addressing Mr. Axworthy’s dissertation, which appeared in TheToronto Star, […]
Whistleblower protection passed in House of Commons
There are five fatal flaws with Bill C- 11, the Whistleblower Protection Bill, that was passed in the House last Tuesday, says Democracy Watch coordinator Duff Conacher. “It won’t set up a system strong enough to protect whistleblowers,”Mr. Conacher told The Hill Times. Mr. Conacher said the new bill’s flaws include: the fact that the […]
La Presse Canadienne Hill reporter pens book on politics behind same-sex marriage bill
Sylvain Larocque, a Parliament Hill reporter for La Presse Canadienne, recently wrote a book on same-sex marriage entitled Marriage gai: Les coulisses d’une revolution sociale,which is loosely translated in English to Gay Marriage: Behind the Scenes of a Social Revolution. In his book, Mr. Larocque explores the behind-the-scenes politics at play involved in a public […]
Access Copyright and more
Re: “Licensing will solve the schools’ copyright challenge,”(The Hill Times, Oct. 3). Christopher Moore accuses educators of “lobbying hard for a free ride on the backs of those who create and make learning material available.” Indeed it is not educators, but Canadian copyright collectives and Access Copyright itself who is guilty of this.To require schools, […]
Public Accounts Committee to compare Sponsorship Scandal witness testimonies
The integrity of evidence heard at the Public Accounts Committee’s probe into the Sponsorship Scandal prior to Justice John Gomery’s Commission is “exceptionally important,”says Liberal MP Mark Holland,which is why the committee will do a formal analysis of witnesses’ testimonies to see if there are any discrepancies between the one the witness gave to the […]
The Spin Doctors: “Realistically, fall election or spring election: what’s it going to be, in your learned opinion?”
Leslie Swartman Liberal Strategist “I’ll be curious as to what my fellow Spin Doctors say! “Clearly, the desire of the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party is to have an election within 30 days of the final Gomery Report, which likely means an early April election. We think Canadians deserve to hear the full story […]
Licensing internet is unworkable
Re: the opinion piece (The Hill Times, Oct. 3) by Christopher Moore says that the Council of Ministers of Education are “talking scary nonsense”when they say that internet use by students and teachers is illegal. He is right.The vast majority of internet use is covered by implied consent (how can somebody sue you for pressing […]
The week ahead in Parliament
Both the House and the Senate are on a break, but when the House returns, the following bills will be debated: * Second reading of Bill C-63, the Registration of Political Parties Bill * Report stage and third reading of Bill C-49, the Human Trafficking Bill *Second reading of Bill C-65, the Street Racing Bill […]
