PM Stephen Harper’s chief of staff Nigel Wright resigned early Sunday following last week’s revelation that he cut a $90,000 personal cheque to cover Sen. Mike Duffy’s fraudulent Senate expense claims. The announcement has set the Twitterverse on fire. “Mr Wright’s resignation doesn’t end the matter – how and why was this deal
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The Canadian Progressive: Statements: Resignation of Harper’s Chief of Staff Nigel Wright
From the day it emerged that Stephen Harper’s chief of staff Nigel Wright cut a $90,000 personal cheque to cover Sen. Mike Duffy’s fraudulent Senate expense claims, the Conservatives tried desperately to kill the scandal. On Thursday, they tossed Duffy overboard, and on Friday, Sen. Pamela Wallin. Also on Friday,
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Conservative Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: New York news blog Gawker yesterday revealed the existence of a video showing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. The video was taken within the last six months, allegedly by the city’s Somali drug dealers. Gawker editor John Cook reported that he received a tip from
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Beleaguered Harper-appointed Sen. Mike Duffy Quits Conservative Caucus
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Scandal-plagued Sen. Mike Duffy quit the Conservative caucus Thursday after his fraudulent Senate expense claims threatened to engulf the Harper government. Duffy, appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009, now sits as an independent. “It is clear the public controversy surrounding me and the repayment of my
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper’s chief of staff paid off Mike Duffy’s Senate expenses
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff Nigel Wright wrote a personal cheque worth more than $90,000 to pay back Senator Mike Duffy‘s living expenses, Harper’s office confirmed Wednesday. “Mr. Duffy agreed to repay the expenses because it was the right thing to do,” Harper’s spokesman Andrew MacDougall said
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Sen. Patrick Brazeau defies Senate order to return housing allowance
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Our Senatorial soap opera entered a new chapter on Tuesday. Independent Sen. Patrick Brazeau informed the media that he’ll defy the Senate’s order to repay the $48,744 in living and travel expenses he fraudulently claimed from Canadian taxpayers. “Senator Brazeau has fulfilled his obligations in forwarding all relevant
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Toronto Police and black educator resolve racial profiling case
By: Human Rights Legal Support Centre | Press Release: TORONTO, May 14, 2013 – The Toronto Police Service (TPS), the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB), and educator Dr. Clem Marshall have reached an agreement to settle his Human Rights Application. The terms of the settlement are confidential and neither the TPS nor the TPSB has admitted any liability. Dr.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Enbridge asks NEB to keep pipeline safety issues secret
By: Council of Canadians | Press Release: Eighteen months after being ordered to correct important safety issues with its oil and gas pipelines, Enbridge has finally filed a plan with the National Energy Board (NEB) as to how and when it will come into compliance with the NEB’s regulations. The company
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: The Humanitarian Coalition Launches Joint Appeal for Syrian Refugees
By: Humanitarian Coalition | Press Release: OTTAWA, May 14, 2013 – Today, the Humanitarian Coalition and its member agencies are launching a national joint appeal to raise funds to assist the 6.8 million Syrian civilians affected by the ongoing conflict in their country. Almost five million civilians have been forced to leave their
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: ‘This Is Our Last Chance’: Deep-Pocketed Dems Urge Obama to Reject Keystone XL
To avoid ‘catastrophic climate disruption,’ warn donors, president must take a historic stand By: Jacob Chamberlain | Published by Common Dreams on Friday, May 10, 2013 In a letter sent to President Obama on Friday, 150 high profile Democratic donors urged the president “to proclaim with clarity and purpose that our
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: $170 billion: Canadian money in foreign tax havens, an all-time high
By: Canadians for Tax Fairness May 10, 2013: Canadian money stashed in the top 12 global tax havens has topped $170 Billion, according to data on foreign direct investment released yesterday by Statistics Canada. This amounts to a quarter of all Canadian money going abroad. This figure is also equivalent
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Peter Penashue: Harper’s “strong voice” rarely heard in the House
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: A new analysis by democracy advocacy group, Samara, suggests that the Conservatives’ characterization of Peter Penashue as a “strong voice” for Labrador in the House of Commons is a grotesque political exaggeration. In fact, the Conservatives insulted our collective intelligence when they warned that “if Newfoundland and Labrador want
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Indigenous resistance grows strong in Keystone XL pipeline battle
By: Crysbel Tejada and Betsy Catlin | First published by Waging Nonviolence on May 8, 2013: On cloudy days, heavy smoke fills the air of Ponca City, Okla., with grey smog that camouflages itself into the sky. The ConocoPhillips oil refinery that makes its home there uses overcast days as a disguise to release more
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Saskatchewan: A beachhead of labour law reform?
By: Andrew Stevens | First published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on May 3, 2013: Sweeping changes to Saskatchewan’s labour relations and employment standards legislation are on the verge of being passed. Bill 85, the Saskatchewan Employment Act, will dramatically transform the laws governing trade unions and industrial relations in the province. The
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Saskatchewan: A beachhead of labour law reform?
By: Andrew Stevens | First published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on May 3, 2013: Sweeping changes to Saskatchewan’s labour relations and employment standards legislation are on the verge of being passed. Bill 85, the Saskatchewan Employment Act, will dramatically transform the laws governing trade unions and industrial relations in the province. The
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: FREE CBC from Harper Conservatives political interference
By: Friends of Canadian Broadcasting | Press Release: OTTAWA, May 8, 2013 – No public broadcaster in any free and democratic country anywhere in the world faces political interference with its editorial independence as proposed for the CBC in Bill C-60. A down payment of more than 120,000 signatures on petitions
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: NDP demands action on missing $3.1 billion in anti-terrorism funding
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Last week, the Auditor General reported that the Harper Conservatives can’t account for $3.1 billion of the $12.9 billion allocated to the Public Security and Anti-Terrorism Initiative [PSAT] for the period 2001 to 2010. The New Democrats are demanding action and accountability. Via a motion that was scheduled for
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Keystone XL Pipeline could cost $100 billion per year in health and environmental damages
EPA Asks State Department for Total Cost to Society of KXL, Oil Change International Spells it Out By: Oil Change International | Press Release: WASHINGTON – May 7 – Oil Change International today uncovered that the full cost of the Keystone XL Pipeline to society could be upwards of $100 Billion per
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Labrador Byelection: May says Harper violated Conflict Of Interest Act
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May suggests that PM Stephen Harper’s handling of the Panashue affair violated the Conflict of Interest Act. The Saanich-Gulf Islands MP wrote to federal Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson on May 3 and asked her to “undertake an examination, and issue a public ruling, with regard
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Ontario must defy unreasonable WTO ruling against Green Energy Act
By: Council of Canadians | Press Release: TORONTO, May 6, 2013 – The Council of Canadians is extremely disappointed by reports that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has upheld a previous ruling that local content quotas in Ontario’s Green Energy Act violate global trade rules. The grassroots social justice organization is encouraging the
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