There’s a new consensus on employment equity emerging
If 10 deputy ministers hosted a town hall meeting at the Downsview Public Library in Toronto or the Richmond Public Library in Richmond, B.C., and invited the public to attend, about half the audience would be white and half non-white from various backgrounds. Unless the deputy minister of Environment Canada was among them, the deputies […]
All federal parties stake out multiculturalism positions
On the day Belinda Stronach was announcing her big shocker, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper was in Montreal introducing his new candidate for Brossard-La Prairie, Tenzin Dargyal Khangsar. This respected member of the Buddhist community in Canada with ties to the Dalai Lama was something of a coup for the party. The Conservatives are trying […]
Time for shift in decorum, open letter to House leaders
Dear House leaders Valeri, Hill, Gauthier and Davies, Canadians are well aware that things in the House of Commons are pretty tense these days and indeed most of us have strong views about whether or not there should be an election this spring. This will undoubtedly be sorted out in the weeks ahead. But in […]
Promoting diversity takes centre stage on Hill
Air India, Ukrainian Canadians, Chinese Canadians, combating racism, diversity in broadcasting, seniors: All in all, it’s been a busy month on the Hill for promoting diversity. * The decision in the Air India courts case which acquitted the two accused British Columbia suspects was a blow to the families of the Air India victims who […]
Conservatives should be held up as great democrats who made minority Parliament work on budget strategy
It’s weird how far we are getting from politics based on cooperation and outreach. The unprecedented abstention by Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party on the final budget vote has been panned all around, rather than being seen as a new cooperative approach to politics. Canadians did elect a minority Parliament, after all, and really […]
Diversity issues get some play in Ottawa
Parliament has been back a month and diversity issues were getting a lot of play. The budget provided additional funds for various initiatives over the next five years: $398-million more for immigrant settlement services to enhance the ability of newcomers to more fully integrate into the workforce. Another $75-million will focus on making progress on […]
Tsunami showed that national media are out of touch
Never before have our media seemed so out of their depth, so un-diverse… so white. Not that they’re not good at what they do, but Canada is changing and the world is changing and our media is not. Politicians on the other hand, do get it. First, three ministers, Pierre Pettigrew, Aileen Caroll and Ujjal […]
Liberal Cabinet ministers win on RAI
The CRTC finally had something of a Christmas gift for Liberal ministers and MPs. After much hand-wringing, tip-toeing, frustration and consternation on all sides, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission reversed itself and softened its policy on allowing in foreign television signals recently. Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the Italian public broadcaster, has been trying to come […]
MPs celebrate employment equity
Despite the acrimony in the House of commons, MPs from all parties showed up for a celebration of employment equity last week. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the Abella Commission report, officially called the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment. Tabled in October of 1984 the resulting Employment Equity Act passed into law […]
Finally, there’s a real shadow cabinet
Not in a long time has a shadow Cabinet been so real a shadow Cabinet. When Conservative Leader Stephen Harper named his leading critics he called them a shadow Cabinet and had a group picture taken under the glittering chandeliers of Room 200 West Block, the closest thing he could find to the stately ballroom […]
