CFN – Justin Trudeau probably shocked his Senate caucus colleagues more than the voting public today when he announced he was removing Liberal senators from the Liberal caucus, thereby limiting the caucus to elected members of parliament. For the most part I don’t think the public cares one way orContinue Reading
CFN – To stay or go, that is the question many Conservative MPs will be asking themselves this year. This was highlighted by Brian Jean’s announcement that he is leaving the federal political scene this month. You have to wonder if Jean’s (along with Ted Menzies and Merv Tweed) decisionContinue Reading
CFN – Life is about improving and making things better, and after a year of research and consultations with a lot of people we are pleased to be announcing our new comments policy on CFN. As many know there are different formats used by various news sites. CFN manuallyContinue Reading
CFN – Our MPs finally stopped squabbling long enough to agree to depart from Ottawa for their home constituencies. I doubt too many Canadians will miss Question Period or for that matter the attacks and counter-attacks that have become the daily pattern when the House of Commons is sitting. OtherContinue Reading
CFN – There has been much discussion this week about Michael Chong’s Private Members Bill to reform some of the aspects of how our parties act and control MPs. Whether one agrees with all the details found in his bill, one thing is certain; it can’t make things any worseContinue Reading
CFN – If you listen to the chatter amongst Conservative Hill staff, the government has enacted its revenge and punished the three senators who embarrassed the party and the Prime Minister. To them revenge is sweet, now it is forward to the 2015 election. Roll out the good news announcements,Continue Reading
CFN – The explosion you heard in Ottawa yesterday was the latest bomb Mike Duffy lobbed into Ottawa’s political circus. Duffy certainly got everyone’s attention, not only in the Senate chamber, but across the country. Whether you like him or not, it was a powerful presentation from a skilled speaker.Continue Reading
CFN – Those aren’t the bells in the Peace Tower we are hearing; instead it’s the gong show that the Senate scandal has become. What a mess and we wonder why the public is so turned off with politics. No one escapes the blame on this one. Conservatives can’t evenContinue Reading
CFN – Throne Speeches come and Throne Speeches go, and the 2013 version has done both. When all is said and done, outside of the bubble that is Ottawa, who really cares about them? Worse yet, who even remembers what is in them? Throne Speeches do signal the government’s intentionsContinue Reading
CFN – What do you do with two years left in your mandate and a new political leader emerging who continues to do well in public opinion polls? What do you do when this opponent has the potential to challenge you in some hard won ridings, possibly putting your majorityContinue Reading
Yawn, I see the NDP held a virtual Question Period on Twitter in an attempt to hold the Harper government to account. That effort was even less interesting than watching them try to do that live in the House of Commons. Fortunately for the NDP, I doubt that other thanContinue Reading
CFN – With MPs and Senators scattering across the country, Canadians are looking forward to our long Canada Day weekend. Political types would like to think that the topic of conversation will be politics and a cabinet shuffle, but outside of the Ottawa bubble I suspect it will hardly beContinue Reading
CFN – Finally our MPs are taking a break and they have departed from the Hill for the summer break. That must be a great relief for the taxpayers and voters of this country who through the media had front row seats every day to the acrimony in the House. This session wrappedContinue Reading
CFN – I admire politicians who are respectful, honest and principled. It doesn’t matter which party they represent or whether they are a simple backbencher or hold the highest position in the country. Nor does it matter if their position on an issue is the direct opposite of mine. IfContinue Reading
CFN – Another week of the Duffy scandal has come to a close on the Hill. It is an issue that both politicians and the public love to talk about and there is no doubt that in the short term; there will be a cost to the Conservative brand andContinue Reading
CFN – The Senate scandal continues to dog the Harper Conservatives with new revelations occurring on almost a daily basis. Watching from the sidelines, it’s also interesting to watch the spin wars unfold as each party tries to get its message out to the public. So far I would haveContinue Reading
CFN – It seems as though most days are dominated by more bad news stories for the governing Conservatives. Spin it anyway they want, and some of their spin is hilarious, the reality is the Conservatives have been digging themselves deeper into the mud with each passing day. As weContinue Reading
CFN – Fiscal responsibility has been the hallmark of the Harper government from day one. It’s therefore quite interesting to see in year seven of his reign that the opposition is focused on trying to destroy the credibility the Tories have on that front. It’s a good strategy on theirContinue Reading