Conservatives come full circle on multiculturalism, but its not new
Much is being made of the Conservative inroads with the ethnic vote in their attempt to get seats in the big cities and thus get a majority government. Part of the reason they are getting so much media play is that these efforts are seen to be out of character. It’s new. It’s different. But […]
New Communications PM’s right to appoint judge to CRTC
The Prime Minister’s pick of Conrad von Finckenstein to chair the CRTC is a good one as far as I can tell–a judge from the Federal Court of Canada. I have long held the view that the chair of the commission should be a judge and said so in my column in The Hill Times […]
Tommy Shoyama, legendary DM at Finance, could teach a few lessons on public service
He was “top of the line” said former Liberal prime minister John Turner, one of many friends of the legendary Tommy Shoyama who heaped praise on this former deputy minister of Finance. Shoyama, who had been ailing for some years, quietly and doggedly died shortly before Christmas at the age of 90. When I saw […]
Christmas is a must in any multicultural society
Most MPs have sent out cards wishing friends and acquaintances all the best for the season. But few say which season they are talking about. Increasingly, the “C” word is not mentioned. But Wal-Mart has decided to bring back Christmas! And it’s about time. Whoever decided that Christmas had to be down-played or given a […]
Federal Liberal leadership candidates on what they think of where the future of a multiculturalism policy should be
Diversity and multiculturalism are cornerstones of the Liberal Party of Canada and their policies in these areas are well developed, thorough and highly relevant. Right? Well, if you look to the leading contenders for the party’s leadership they seem to have decided not to turn over a new leaf. Responses to a questionnaire have not […]
Conservatives advertise for a CRTC head: a judge may be a good idea
Last week, the government issued a call for applications for the next chairperson of the CRTC–a vital federal agency about which everyone has strong opinions. Charles Dalfen‘s exit completes his term at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission at the end of December. The word around town is that the jockeying and lobbying has begun […]
Rise of skills agenda in Harper’s Conservative government
“The agriculture industry faces an incredibly wide variety of human resources changes. While the workforce is getting older and is shrinking, there is more and more competition for highly skilled or specialized workers.” So said Newfoundland farmer Mervin Wiseman. He co-chairs the new Canadian Agriculture Human Resources Council, and on the Saturday before Parliament resumed, […]
Bring the names of the provinces to the capital’s streets
Is Ottawa an exciting capital? Does it say enough about the country? On the first point, I think the answer is largely yes. On the second one, I think it is not really. These ought to be two key questions for the mandate review panel for the National Capital Commission, appointed by Transport Minister Lawrence […]
Harper maintains heavy schedule on cultural diversity
Parliamentary decorum, cultural diversity and broadcasting policy are three rapidly evolving issues I have focused on during this past session of Parliament. So an end-of-term report card is in order. Parliamentary decorum On Parliamentary decorum, this has been a dismal year. Each party blames the others for the descent into poor decorum which has now […]
Liberal and Green party leaders not thinking about our future
Liberal and Green party leadership candidates have been off and running for a while now but their policy development has been weak. Indeed that may be why their media coverage has dropped off. True, media tend to cover the horse-race aspects of a contest more than provide deep insight into policy platforms, but so far […]
