CFN – Conservative Member of Parliament Brad Trost created a bit of a stir this week when he publicly criticized a decision of his own government. What made his comments so newsworthy was the rarity of the occasion as it is most unusual for Conservative MPs to speak publicly againstContinue Reading
CFN – Canadians remember the discussion that Jack Layton initiated on improving decorum and civility in the House. It was a concept that all of the party leaders supported. Here are a few examples of the leader’s comments. Jack Layton “New Democrats have committed to work respectfully, to end hecklingContinue Reading
CFN – For the last couple of days Canadians have been treated to our MPs performance in Question Period. So far it hasn’t produced too many surprises. For the most part the opposition parties went where expected. There were several relevant questions on the economy, a few on Air Canada,Continue Reading
CFN – It seems that every day we are treated to another relatively unknown NDP MP declaring that they are thinking about running for the NDP leadership position. The list grows because they all want their name in lights and it is a great ego boost to see the mediaContinue Reading
CFN – Sending Conservative MP Jacques Gourde to grandstand and crash the NDP caucus retreat in Quebec City was just plain dumb. To make the point of this disruption an unproven allegation and refuse to answer questions in English was another equally dumb move. Essentially his mini press conference wasContinue Reading
CFN – Is it time for a referendum on the monarchy? I ask that question as it has been interesting watching the Conservatives push stronger ties to the monarchy over the summer, although I don’t recall that being part of their election platform. Inviting Will and Kate to visit withContinue Reading
CFN – There has been much media speculation this past week about potential merger talks between the Liberals and the NDP, but it is simply too early for them. Neither side is ready for a merger Both parties have not yet reached the point that the Canadian Alliance and ProgressiveContinue Reading
CFN – Should I jump in or stay out, that is the question potential NDP leadership successors are asking themselves. No one will publically admit anything at this time as it would be in poor taste to say anything until after this weekend, but at that point the gloves canContinue Reading
CFN – Today Canada morns the loss of a great politician and a very decent person, sadly, Jack Layton lost his fight with cancer at age 61. Layton’s passing is a huge loss for the country, not only because of his role as the leader of the NDP, but because JackContinue Reading
CFN – I must admit I am enjoying all the debate that Harper’s addition of the word “Royal” to our navy and air force has created. One would have thought that the debate would have centered on whether this was a throw back to our monarchist ties or simply aContinue Reading
CFN – It looks like we are in for another session of whining from Quebec NDP members, this time over the number of seats Quebec will have in the House of Commons after the next redistribution of seats. Right now Quebec has 24 per cent of the seats, representingContinue Reading
Ottawa ON – It was interesting to read about Quebec NDP MPs refusing to answer simple and pretty straight forward questions about their past political activities, party memberships and how they voted in referendums. It goes back to the question I raised in my previous post- if you a federalContinue Reading
CFN – For the past week the public (those who are actually interested and paying attention) has had an opportunity to watch our federal political parties bickering and occasionally slashing away at each other over Nycole Turmel’s party memberships. It makes for great political theatre, but other than inside theContinue Reading
Ottawa ON – In World War Two the time period between September 1939 and May 1940 is sometimes referred to as the phoney war as both the allies and the Germans were reluctant to engage each other and neither side went on an all out offensive. The full force ofContinue Reading
Ottawa ON – There are media reports that the government will attempt to strip some 1800 people of their Canadian citizenship as it is alleged it was obtained through fraudulent means. Good for the government. This move can serve as a signal to the rest of the world that our citizenshipContinue Reading
Ottawa ON – A few days ago in Moncton, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo spoke about the need to repeal the Indian Act and abolish the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. In the national media there didn’t appear to be much disagreement with his position which is anContinue Reading
Ottawa ON – Several media outlets ran with a story about a ship (the MV Alicia) with an estimated 90 Tamils on board that was detained while supposedly en route to Canada. Most featured comments from Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. What is interesting is the fullContinue Reading
Ottawa ON – There are two basic types of political discipline- internal party discipline and the party’s ability to restrain itself from foolish endeavours. The recent NDP filibuster over the Canada Post back to work legislation puts both types of discipline on display for the NDP. The NDP did wellContinue Reading