Right now, nobody does nasty better than the federal Liberals
WASHINGTON, D.C.-To be sure, “Alberta” in the form of Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper came to Washington on July 5-6, inter alia, for U.S. President George Bush’s birthday. The event was much covered in Canadian papers, and even got a certain amount of notice in U.S. media (nice photo on A-10 of The Washington Post)-if […]
PSAC leery of significant, sweeping Public Service Modernization Act
Federal public service union managers say they’re worried that hiring based on the merit principle will be thrown out the window under the new Public Service Modernization Act. “We’re fearful that it opens the door to those managers who don’t apply the test of fairness in hiring,” said John Gordon, national president of the Public […]
Air India Flight 182 Commission hearings Tuesday and Wednesday
MONDAY, JULY 17 French Ambassador Hosts a Reception-Ambassador of France and Mme. Daniel Jouanneau host guests at their residence on Sussex Drive. TUESDAY, JULY 18 Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182-The Commission will hold two days of public hearings under Commissioner John C. Major. July 18 to […]
FALL VOTE COULD BE TRIGGERED
The governing Conservatives could take a gamble and pull the trigger on their minority government this fall over the softwood lumber deal, but political insiders are buzzing about all the scenarios involved on how to pull it off successfully or not. The Liberals “will do everything humanly possible” not to have an early fall election, […]
A look into PMO Press Office
The battle between the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the Prime Minister of Canada hasn’t really died down in these dog days of summer. Some seasoned Parliament Hill reporters say they’re still struggling to cover the politically popular Stephen Harper Conservative government and are criticizing the press officers in the Prime Minister’s Press Office. So who […]
HEARD ON THE HILL
The dog days of summer have hit The Toronto Star’s Hill office a few weeks earlier than usual this year, thanks to the arrival of Rosie, an eleven-week old miniature dachshund puppy who tips the scale at just over a pound. The pint-sized pup spent the last week hanging out at The Star office with […]
‘General chill’ between lobbyists and Harper’s ministerial staffers: lobbyists
There’s a “general chill” between lobbyists and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ministerial political offices that has to thaw once the Conservative minority government moves on public policy in the coming months, lobbyists say. In the political world of the Federal Accountability Act, public disclosures on hospitality expenses, and eventually public disclosures of meetings between lobbyists […]
Five TPC lobbyists under investigation: Lobbyist Registrar
The federal government is investigating five lobbyists who earned more than $3-million in controversial contingency fee payments while lobbying the government for funding agreements under the Technology Partnerships Canada program, The Hill Times has learned. The Industry Department released an audit last week of the Technology Partnerships Canada program, which found another 16 companies involved […]
The Spin Doctors
Mike Storeshaw Conservative strategist “If the opposition wants to force an election over this deal, they have the power to do so. They have a majority of seats in the House. But they shouldn’t. “The Canadian softwood industry needs an end to this dispute. It’s dragged on for far too long, devastating the livelihoods of […]
Correction from the July 10 issue of The Hill Times
In last week’s Hill Climbers column, it was incorrectly reported that Jennifer Brown, who was recently hired by Heritage Minister Bev Oda as a top policy adviser, most recently worked for Ontario Liberal Culture Minister Caroline Di Cocco. At the provincial level, Ms. Brown worked in the bureaucracy at the Minister’s Advisory Council on Arts […]
