Softwood lumber agreement a do-or-die deal this week
The Conservatives’ softwood lumber deal is “amateurish” and “irresponsible” and the industry will not likely support it by Monday’s deadline, says the NDP. “The industry is clearly not supportive and understandably so,” said NDP MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminister, B.C.), his party’s international trade critic. “It’s just not a commercially viable deal which is why […]
Top undecided Liberals to declare support for leadership candidates
Some of the 50-undecided Liberal caucus members will declare their support for various Liberal Party leadership candidates at this week’s national Liberal caucus retreat in Vancouver, say Liberal sources. “There will be some announcements at [or leading up to] the caucus meeting. It’s good for the momentum of the campaigns. Rae last week got a […]
Conservative Del Mastro ‘got the call from the PMO’ says Liberal
Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro (Peterborough, Ont.) got a call directly from the PMO to say that he would not be going on a Parliamentary fact-finding mission to the Middle East with two other MPs, Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre, Ont.) told The Hill Times. “The call came from the PMO,” Mr. Wrzesnewskyj said […]
Canadian government centralizes procurement as the trend is more decentralization, says procurement expert Hansen
The federal government’s procurement strategy, called The Way Forward, introduced in 2001, has gone from bad to worse, says an e-procurement expert who is working on a “blueprint” to find the best way to do business with the public service. “There’s a major shift in the market place, but there’s too much of an investment […]
NDP to court ‘progressive’ Quebecers at fall convention
The federal NDP says it chose Quebec City to hold its policy convention next month to approach Quebecers and ask them to consider voting for the New Democrats in the next federal election. “Quebec is a very important component to the shape of the next Parliament and the future governance of Canada. Seventy five seats […]
Privacy Commissioner Stoddart investigates SWIFT
Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has launched an investigation against the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) for potentially improperly disclosing information about Canadians’ financial transactions to foreign authorities. “The risks resulting from personal information flowing across borders is something that we have been expressing concerns about for some time,” Ms. Stoddart said in a […]
Former Bevilacqua campaign staffers free to decide who they want to support next: Zalusky
Former full-time paid campaign staffers of former Liberal leadership hopeful Maurizio Bevilacqua are free to decide which of the 10 remaining leadership candidates they want to support, says the former campaign manager of the Bevilacqua campaign. “It’s up to individuals to decide what they’re going to be doing,” said Taras Zalusky, former campaign manager to […]
UNDERGROUND TUNNEL WOULD UP SECURITY, SAYS PROULX
The Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct would increase security on the Hill if it went ahead with underground links between buildings and fewer security checkpoints, says Liberal MP Marcel Proulx (Hull-Aylmer, Que.). The Hill Times reported on a document last week showing minutes from a meeting of the advisory committee of […]
Bloc Québécois leader says he doesn’t support Hezbollah
After facing criticism from the public and the media for participating in a Montreal rally on the Middle East conflict earlier this month, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe clarified his participation in the rally on the Bloc’s website last week. “My participation in this peace rally was widely commented on by the media and various […]
Liberal caucus retreat in Vancouver this week
MONDAY, AUG. 21 Juliet O’Neill and the Ottawa Citizen Group Inc. v the Crown-The final round of arguments begin, expected to take a week. The Ottawa Citizen seeks RCMP search warrants of Jan. 21, 2004 struck down and the return of materials seized from reporter Juliet O’Neill. Superior Court Justice Lynn Ratushny will preside over […]
