Copps hires three new staffers in ministerial office: And Steve Grunau joins Alberta Independent Sen. Roche’s office
Federal Heritage Minister Sheila Copps beefed up her ministerial political office recently when she hired three new assistants. The ministerial political staff is headed by executive assistant Charles Boyer who was a former PMO flack before he joined Ms. Copps’ office in 2001. Minister Copps recently hired Ian Capstick, who is responsible for aboriginal and […]
C-24 won’t be complete without C-34
Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley returned to Parliament last week to remind Senators that Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s Political Finance Bill leaves open a major loophole allowing donors to make secret donations to political trust funds. The Senators on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee heard that Bill C-24, officially known as an Act to […]
Canadian help key to build International University of Baghdad, says an academic
Canada has an opportunity to play a leading role in the reconstruction of Iraq by helping to build an international university in the Iraqi capital city, says an Iraqi-born Canadian academic. Tareq Ismael, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, is currently in the process of promoting the idea of building an […]
MPs’ and Senators’ Birthdays
*Treasury Board President Lucienne Robillard, 58, June 16, 1945 *Ind. Sen. P. Michael Pitfield, 66, June 18, 1937 *Liberal Sen. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, 66, June 18, 1937 *PC Sen. John Lynch-Staunton, 73, June 19, 1930 *NDP MP Bill Blaikie, 52, June 19, 1951 *Liberal MP Beth Phinney, 65, June 19, 1938 *Ind. MP Pierre Brien, 33, […]
Radwanski’s ugly showdown with Parliament
I find it patently absurd that George Radwanski, the Privacy Commissioner and therefore an Officer of Parliament, is publicly fighting those Members of Parliament for whom he is supposed to be working for in keeping the government of the day honest. Radwanski asserts that he should be free from any confidence votes that Parliament might […]
Some winners and some stinkers at Press Gallery Dinner: Clarkson: the Alliance would get their Triple-E Senate: ‘Elected, Efficient, and E-merican’
OTTAWA–It was billed as Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s last Parliamentary Press Gallery dinner, the biggest and the best… and the meanest ever. Well-read and influential National Post columnist Don Martin predicted in The Hill Times the Monday before that since it would be Prime Minister Chretien’s last dinner he may as well “settle scores” with […]
‘Political nightmare’ awaits Libs on National Archives bill
The bill to amalgamate the National Archives and the Library of Canada moved one step closer to law last weekcomplete with controversial proposed changes to the Copyright Act that would extend copyright protection for unpublished works for as long as 42 years after death. But what was supposed to be a simple housekeeping bill could […]
PCO Clerk Himbelfarb, Judd draw audience of two Liberal MPs
The country’s two most senior bureaucrats got the cold shoulder from the Commons Government Operations and Estimates Committee last week, when only two MPs bothered to stick around for the bulk of a hearing on making the federal public service more accountable to Parliament. Alex Himelfarb, clerk of the Privy Council, and Jim Judd, secretary […]
Combating international corruption pandemic
PARLIAMENT HILL–After being convicted of electoral corruption, the late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi attempted to justify herself by arguing that corruption is a global phenomenon. She was right. Over 3,000 international partner firms and thousands of employees across the globe were implicated in the Enron scandal. Within memory, some developed nations’ tax laws considered […]
Globe’s McCarthy off to NYC
See, we knew something was up… A few weeks back I mentioned that the gossips had got it wrong with a story about The Globe and Mail Ottawa bureau chief Shawn McCarthy heading off to Washington, D.C., but suggested that McCarthy’s somewhat cryptic “I’m still bureau chief — for now” suggested there was fire behind […]
