Jean was a GG like no other
OTTAWA—She did her five years as Governor General and the occasion begs a few questions: How did Michaëlle Jean perform in this lofty position? What did she accomplish? What was her style? And what is her legacy? It will be said that Michaëlle Jean was a GG like no other. While she performed her constitutional […]
CRTC digs into heated fee-for- carriage issue
OTTAWA—Back in the 1997, CRTC commissioners had a visit from the top brass of one of the big cable companies. It was in a series of informal closed-door meetings where companies would lay out their long-term visions and plans. One commissioner quipped that the boardroom table needed to be wiped down after the meeting for […]
Tories battle for hearts and souls of the ethnic vote
OTTAWA—There appears to be a major shift taking place in the ethnic vote, a shift towards the Conservatives. At least that’s what the last batch of public opinion polls are telling us. If that’s temporary, the Liberals can heave a sigh of relief. If it’s permanent, the Conservatives can not only celebrate, but congratulate themselves […]
Time for a Charter for minority Parliaments
We need a Charter for minority Parliaments. Surely to goodness we have to develop a way to make minority government work, whether it’s for this week, this year, or after the next election. Minority governments may well be here to stay, so we need to find a way to have Parliaments that are stable. Comes […]
Two more defining moments in diversity
Oh, how complicated this diversity web has become. Here are two very different cases that challenge the mind. Whither the Tamils? Just when you thought you had heard it all, along come the Tamils. A complicated web indeed, and now the civil law is over… or is it really over. The demonstrations in Ottawa and […]
Ottawa finds ways to work through provinces on training
OTTAWA—Latest estimates suggest that some 387,000 full-time jobs have been lost in Canada since the financial crisis struck in October of last year, in percentage terms the largest drop in a five-month period since the recession of 1982. This is a shock to Canadians not only because these are huge numbers but because we have […]
Media face ‘tsunami’ challenge of internet and financial crisis
Could this be the revolution that the internet has been waiting for? Television and newspaper companies across the board are in trouble like never before. Trouble that has been brewing for some time and the global financial crisis is turning their woes into a perfect storm. Parliament is feeling the heat and MPs want to […]
Seven things that make Obama so intriguing and popular
OTTAWA—Instead of the usual throngs of protesters to greet an American president, a love affair broke out in Ottawa last Thursday. So let’s count some of the things that make U.S. President Barack Obama so intriguing and popular. First and probably the easiest for him: he’s not George Bush and has no ties to him. […]
Government-provided stimulus packages are the new saviour
OTTAWA—The new world which began with the global financial collapse last fall has given rise to a new debate about the role of government. Suddenly we are less concerned about making government operate more like business, and are looking to government to solve the crisis facing business. The content of the debates when the House […]
How one Commons committee can actually make it work on the Hill
OTTAWA—Things have to change. But how and who has to change? It’s safe to say that Canadians are saying all parties have to change, although people are pointing their fingers a bit more at one side or another based on their voting preferences and how they regard the events of the last three weeks. One […]
