by

Review: The Man-Made Government

When picking his first cabinet in 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper arranged an odd series of background checks with an aide. Harper sat at one end of a table, the aide sat at the other end and asked all the embarrassing questions you’d expect of appointees being vetted for cabinet. The arrangement meant candidates had to answer the aide while turning their back to the Prime Minister. With one exception all candidates faced the aide while saying, “Yes, Prime Minister,” “No, Prime Minister,” recounts Off And Running. The personal thoughts of cabinet appointees are lost to history. By anecdote and candid interviews, author David Zussman recounts one of the most profound and least-chronicled democratic rituals, the peaceful transition of governments. The experience is “limited to a small, relatively secret team of people who work in isolation and away from the public eye,” notes Zussman, a former Privy Council READ MORE

I’ll Get Results, PM Promises

Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday promised results for Canada in renegotiating a new trade deal with the United States but said details must be kept confidential for the time being. His comments followed confirmation of 25 percent auto tariffs: "Look, our responsibility is to Canada and to get the result for Canada." READ MORE

Landmark Charter Case OK’d

Federal judges have given the go-ahead for a landmark test of whether individual members of First Nations are protected by Charter rights. The ruling came in the case of a Saskatchewan Cree First Nation that enacted a “citizenship law” so restrictive it was challenged as unconstitutional: "We have the sovereignty." READ MORE

Takes A Year To Answer Mail

Workers filing complaints of Canada Labour Code violations should expect to wait up to a year to receive a confirmation letter, says a labour department briefing binder. The department acknowledged it introduced dozens of new regulations without hiring enough inspectors to ensure adequate investigation: 'It will take approximately 11 months." READ MORE

Say Leases Are Gang Target

Auto leasing companies are targets of money launderers, says the Department of Finance. Regulators effective April 1 ordered leasing companies to track all customers in transactions over $100,000: "This closes a regulatory loophole that can be exploited by criminals." READ MORE

Would Tax All Capital Gains

The Communist Party today launches its election campaign with a proposal to tax 100 percent of capital gains. Election of even a single Communist could stem the tide of capitalism, the Party said: "Communists have been elected to Parliament in past years." READ MORE

NSF Fees Now Capped At $10

Cabinet yesterday capped non-sufficient funds charges at $10 effective immediately. NSF fees are so lucrative the Department of Finance cautioned depositors to expect their bank to hike other service fees to make up for lost millions: "Due to a loss in NSF fee revenue, banks may raise fees in other areas." READ MORE

← Previous Articles

Guest Commentary

Don Blenkarn

They Hanged Me In Effigy

I served 16 years in Parliament and in the end they hanged me in effigy. I’d had a good majority at one point. In the 1988 campaign I won by more than 8,000 votes. But that last election in ’93 was a tough one. I never changed. The people knew me. Politicians like to promise things. They all want to pass bills to deliver gifts to their supporters and it all costs money. Yet everyone says they want to cut the deficit. It’s hard to cut the deficit and spend more at the same time. There was not an election I saw where somebody did not come out offering something. I burned some bridges trying to get Kim Campbell elected leader in ’93. I felt, you see, we had to have a different face on the party, and Campbell was a different face,