NDP ready for fall session
The NDP have finished their caucus retreat, and they’re going to spend the fall session talking tough about the economy, jobs, the Canadian Wheat Board, and Montreal bridges. Those last…
Dale Smith
Ground rule turnabout
What a difference a couple of days makes. On Monday, Nycole Turmel was all “long leashes” and she wasn’t going to make leadership hopefuls resign their critic portfolios. That all…
Famous last words before a leadership
The NDP are in Quebec City for their pre-session caucus retreat, and with a leadership now gearing up, they’re all swearing up and down that they’ll be civil to one…
Topp and the inner circle
As you may have heard by now, Brian Topp has declared that he will run for NDP leader. Now that this fact has been established, I have a few questions…
Establishing the ground rules
The NDP will hold their leadership convention on March 24th in Toronto. The entry fee for the contest is $15,000, with a maximum spending cap of $500,000. I have to…
Ed and Red on federal politics
At the Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature in Ottawa this weekend, the media guests of honour were Ed the Sock and Liana K, known of course…
Laying down the leadership rules
The NDP’s federal council meets here in Ottawa tomorrow to determine the rules of their leadership contest, in advance of their caucus retreat in Quebec City. At a press conference…
Politicising the Crown
Yesterday’s bizarre news release was word that the government has mandated that all embassies must have a portrait of the Queen hanging in them by the middle of the month…
Official interpretations of final instructions
Brian Topp insists that Layton wanted a seven-month long race like the previous one, and Olivia Chow backs him up on that. One has to wonder if this means we…
Putting the labour into Labour Day
It being Labour Day yesterday, the various parties put out statements. The Liberals’ statement was, shall we say, “secular,” not mentioning unions or the labour movement, but does speak about…
Sponsorship questions
The Conservatives, using Labour Day as their backdrop, wrote a letter asking Elections Canada to look into sponsorship by unions for events during the last NDP convention, saying it contravenes…
Libby Davies mulling the leadership
Libby Davies says she’s open to a leadership bid. If she was successful – and there are the hurdles of French and some of her previous positions on Israel’s borders…
The latest wife of Henry VIII
The Prime Minister’s Office has named columnist Angelo Persichilli as its new Director of Communications, or as I like to call them, wives of Henry VIII, since they don’t to…
Official public musings
The official musings have begun. We can now count Thomas Mulcair, Robert Chisholm, Françoise Boivin, Peter Julian and Paul Dewar as “considering” running for the NDP leadership. Pat Martin also…
Rae fires up the troops
The Liberals are back for their summer caucus retreat, and Bob Rae gave a fairly barn-burning speech for the assembled (and invited the media, while they also broadcast it here).…
Laying to rest, moving forward
Jack Layton, who has been described as “our Diana,” has now been laid to rest. His party also feels no shame at using his death for their political ends, saying…
The final departure
Jack Layton has departed the Hill for the last time, to a 15-gun salute. He now lies in state at Toronto City Hall, with the funeral at Roy Thompson Hall…
The laying in state
The Hill yesterday was dominated by the laying in state of Jack Layton’s body, returned to the House of Commons one last time. Aaron Wherry sets the scene here, here’s…
More of Tim Uppal’s dangerous rhetoric
You would think that a bit of basic civic literacy might be a requirement for the Minister of State for Democratic Reform. Okay, maybe all that qualifies one in this…
In the aftermath of Jack’s passing
The death of Jack Layton has pretty much consumed the political sphere. While the volume of material out there is overwhelming, a few things I took particular note of included…