In Parliament yesterday, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair asked PM Stephen Harper whether or nor Canadian special forces would stay in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal deadline. Harper’s answer: “The leader of the NDP, in 1939, did not even want to … Continue reading →
Continue readingTag: Federal Politics
Canadian Progressive World: Jack Layton’s vision for Canada is in good hands (VIDEO)
That’s the key message in a new TV ad introducing the newly minted leader of the New Democrats, Thomas Mulcair, to Canadians. Layton’s widow, Olivia Cho, and ordinary folks, assure us that Mulcair and the NDP will continue from where … Continue reading →
Continue readingthe reeves report: SOPA delayed, but Canada’s Copyright Modernization Act carries on
Sums It Up Quite Nicely. | Image from The Guardian.co.uk 18 U.S. Senators have withdrawn their support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) due to an overwhelmingly negative online reaction, including a Google petition that garnered over 4.5M signatures and the Wikipedia-led blackout of over 7,000 popular websites. Here
Continue readingthe reeves report: Photo Gallery: Liberal Biennial Convention 2012
Now that the Liberal Biennial Convention has wrapped up and people have headed home to regroup and figure out how best to build on the ideas and momentum that so energized them in frigid Ottawa, a look back on the weekend that was — in photo’s! Enjoy! Media Stage at
Continue readingthe reeves report: Liberals opt to tread cautiously into the future
Stage in Canada Hall at the Liberal Biennial Convention. Canada’s die-hard Liberals are wrapping up their Biennial Convention in Ottawa this afternoon. It has been an enthusiastic affair, despite the fact that it is not a leadership convention. (Although the Liberals have had enough of those in the past decade
Continue readingChris Tindal: Becoming an MP
During the ill-fated campaign to introduce MMP voting in Ontario, critics often argued that one of the biggest problems with MMP was that it would allow parties to choose candidates, and that that process would be heavily influenced by the party establishment. I found this argument perplexing, since it’s an
Continue readingCleaning up the mess…
It’s not enough that this edition of Collingwood Town Council had to resolve the downtown patio issue, the Admiral Collingwood Place debacle, and the general financial mess left by the previous council. Now word comes down of one more mess: a commitment to cover any deficit for the Ontario Winter
Continue readingthe reeves report: The cautious politics of choosing a leader
NDP leadership candidates at the first debate held in December, 2011. As the race to replace Jack Layton heats up, it was only a matter of time before the candidates began taking significant steps to differentiate themselves from their fellow candidates. Eight candidates remain in the race to lead the
Continue readingthe reeves report: Mulcair reaches out to NDP’s environmental wing
NDP leadership candidate Thomas Mulcair NDP MP and leadership candidate Thomas Mulcair has staked his leadership bid on the support of the NDP’s remaining environmentalists by pegging ‘sustainable development’ as the cornerstone of his campaign. It’s a policy decision he hopes will clinch him the leadership of the federal New
Continue readingthe reeves report: Laureen Harper’s Big Opportunity
Laureen and Stephen Harper. Even though it has been Ottawa’s worst kept secret for years, the rumour (which in all likelihood has some truth to it) that Laureen Harper has moved out of 24 Sussex Drive and into the Chateau Laurier has been making the rounds yet again. The rumour
Continue readingthe reeves report: Quebec to sue Ottawa over access to gun registry data
Quebec's Public Security Minister Robert Dutil After tabling legislation in late October that would abolish the long gun registry, Prime Minister Stephen Harper let the other shoe drop: that in addition to the registry ceasing to exist as a tool to pry into your private life or help police officials
Continue readingthe reeves report: UPDATED: Federal Court rules Agriculture Minister violated the Wheat Board charter
Agriculture Minister Gary Ritz on 'Marketing Freedom' Judge Douglas R. Campbell has ruled that Agriculture Minister Gary Ritz violated the Canada Wheat Board charter and the law with regards to making fundamental changes to the structure of the organization and “must be held accountable.” “Had a meaningful consultative process been
Continue readingthe reeves report: Harper stands by McKay amid calls for his resignation
Canada's Defence Minister Peter McKay Some things have become clear in the past week with regards to the helicopter flight Defence Minister Peter McKay took in July 2010. McKay was on a fishing vacation in Newfoundland outside of Gander and one morning he found out he was needed in Ontario
Continue readingthe reeves report: Globe columnist John Ibbitson talks politics and how the West has won
Globe columnist and author John Ibbitson. A standing room only crowd assembled last night at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto to hear Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson speak on the current state of Canadian political affairs. Ibbitson’s talk, it would seem, was convened to inform the assembled crowd of
Continue readingthe reeves report: Environment Minister Peter Kent tells Durban that Canada will not renew Kyoto
An environmental protester at the Durban Conference mocks Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. According to CJOB in Manitoba, Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent has informed delegates at the Durban climate talks in South Africa that Canada will not renew its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol that would run from 2013
Continue readingthe reeves report: NDP leadership debate showcases the (many) party hopefuls
NDP leadership candidates in the first leaders debate The first NDP leadership debate was this afternoon, and it would appear from the coverage that the only victor was expediency and those who speak in sound bites. Nine candidate took the stage (Brian Topp, Thomas Mulcair, Paul Dewar, Nathan Cullen, Toronto
Continue readingthe reeves report: ON Premier Dalton McGuinty rumoured for federal Liberal leadership
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty may be publicly dismissing any interest he may have in running for the federal Liberal top job, but sources close to the Premier told Globe and Mail columnist Lawrence Martin last week that McGuinty has not ruled out the possibility of moving
Continue readingthe reeves report: Is Bob Rae the Liberals next Keith Davey?
Senator Keith Davey chats with Prime Minister and Pierre Trudeau in this 1976 photo. Peter C. Newman’s latest book When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada was supposed to be the book that chronicled Michael Ignatieff’s rise to political power in Canada. Plucked from the wilderness – question
Continue readingthe reeves report: Mowat Centre report finds current EI system riddled with “systemic inequities”
Employment Insurance available through Service Canada Making It Work, the latest report from the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto, has taken aim at Canada’s system of Employment Insurance (EI), one of the cornerstone’s of Canada’s welfare state system. Riddled with “systemic inequities” and “regional political considerations,” the EI
Continue readingthe reeves report: Canada rejigs how 254,000 immigrants are selected annually
A new type of immigrant is quickly taking advantage of the Canadian immigration system, and Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney wants to make it even easier for them to settle permanently in Canada. The Canadian Experience Class program is granting fast track access to immigrants who have already spent time in Canada, are familiar with … Continue reading »