Gould puts feds’ political financing bill on Notice Paper
PARLIAMENT HILL—Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould has put the House of Commons on notice that the government’s promised political financing bill could come down the legislative pipeline as early as tomorrow, Wednesday, May 31. The bill will amend the Canada Elections Act to set new parameters on political parties’ financing practices. Bills are normally placed on […]
Gould expected to introduce political financing bill, but critics say it won’t stop cash-for-access
Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould is expected to introduce the government’s political financing bill in the next few weeks, but critics are casting doubt on whether the legislation will adequately address the Liberals’ cash-for-access fundraising problem. “What has been suggested so far is putting lipstick on a pig, essentially. It’s still a pig, and it’s still cash-for-access,” […]
Liberals look to edge out Conservatives in fundraising after failing to overtake Tories for most of 2016
The Liberals and NDP start 2017 looking to gain ground on the Conservatives in the race for donations, as the Tories’ well-oiled fundraising machine continues to outpace its rivals despite being relegated to the opposition ranks and lacking a permanent leader. In a year dominated by stories of high-priced, exclusive Liberal fundraisers, and allegations of […]
Tighter political fundraising rules could push activities ‘underground,’ says Canada’s outgoing chief electoral officer
Canada’s outgoing chief electoral officer says tightening up rules around so-called “cash-for-access” events or other kinds of fundraising might prompt political operatives to conduct their business less transparently. In an interview with The Hill Times last week, Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand, who steps down next month, said with recent examples of Liberal “cash-for-access” events, he […]
Liberals raised $21.3-million last year, but Conservatives broke record high, raked in $29-million
The Liberals raised $21.3-million last year, but the Conservatives raked in a record-breaking $29-million, roughly $7.8-million more than the Grits did, marking an overall federal party high, according to the recently published parties’ annual financial reports filed with Elections Canada. The Liberals raised $21,276,897 in 2015, up from the roughly $15-million in 2014, while the Conservatives raised a […]
Donald Trump can be beaten and that’s very, very relevant
TORONTO—Donald Trump is irrelevant. Yes, yes, of course: the racist, sexist, extremist reality-TV billionaire is the biggest news story on the planet, presently bigger than ISIS and Justin Bieber combined. Yes. He is newsworthy because he says outrageous, offensive things, and because the media cannot bring themselves to ignore him. Also true. He isn’t merely […]
The year’s somewhat-less-obvious political winners and losers in Canadian politics
TORONTO—Typing up lists of the year’s political winners and losers is usually a pretty straightforward proposition: simply declare the winners of elections are godlike geniuses, and dismiss the losers as complete dummies; per that hoary old political axiom, victory has a thousand fathers, and defeat is an orphan. And, true to form, plenty of pundits and […]
Canadians don’t like Donald Trump, at all
TORONTO—Canadians don’t like Donald Trump. From the Prime Minister right on down to your average Canadian citizen, we don’t like the things that the Republican presidential candidate says. At all. We don’t like his use of vulgarities to describe women (he calls them “fat pigs,” “dogs,” and “disgusting animals”). We don’t like what he has […]
Ottawa’s not in disarray, Trudeau Liberals are kind of busy these days
TORONTO—One newspaper columnist in Canada—The Writer Who Shall Not Be Named—is not impressed. Justin Trudeau’s government, which has been governing for 26 days—not even a month!—is doing really badly, sniffs this nameless scribe. How come? “Understaffed Ottawa struggles,” declares the disapproving headline on the resulting opinion column. “As Trudeau travels.” The horror, the horror. Justin Trudeau—who is representing the […]
Why the world is going to shit
TORONTO—Everyone has a theory about why the world is going to shit. Mine is poverty and technology. So, flying El Al into Israel for the first time, two miles up, I could literally see where Israel started and where it ended. Israel, from the air, is green and lush. It is an oasis. All the […]
