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Info/Contact for David Akin

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Who pays for this blog?
I receive no fees, considerations, etc. etc. for the posts on this blog nor do I have any plans to accept any. My salary is paid by Quebecor. I work for that company as the Ottawa-based National Bureau Chief for Sun Media.
The blog publishing platform used here is called Blogware and it's developed by Tucows Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My use of Blogware should not be taken as an endorsement of that company. Unlike all Blogware users, I do not pay any fees for the use of this service.
I participate in program. Google pays me some money and, for that, I give Google some space on this site to display ads. Google sells those ads and Google, not me, decides what advertising content you are seeing. I do not filter these ads and take no responsibility for them. Readers should not assume I endorse any of the products or services advertised here.
If you think other disclosures are appropriate in this space, I'd like to hear from you. All of my contact details are always at
www.davidakin.com You can read more about this section



View Article  Conservatives and the Nordiques; EI premium hikes; ovarian cancer breakthrough: Thursday's A1 headlines and political daybook
beatdown.jpgConservatives and the Nordiques; EI premium hikes; ovarian cancer breakthrough: Get a five-minute audio summary - straight to your iPod if you'd like -- of what's on Thursday's front pages of papers across the country by clicking on the link below.
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View Article  Euthanasia debate; mayoral races; and a Canadian makes Booker Prize shortlist: Wednesday's A1 Headlines and Political Daybook
beatdown.jpgEuthanasia debate; mayoral races; and a Canadian makes Booker Prize shortlist:: Get a four-minute audio summary of what's on Wednesday's front pages of papers across the country by clicking on the link below.


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View Article  Libs vs Tories: New critics face off against new ministers

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced a big shuffle today to the critics lineup on the official opposition benches. There are some very interesting new matchups, the biggest of which is the House Leaders for the two parties: The ultra-combative, lifelong political foes of John Baird and David McGuinty. It will also be interesting to watch Denis Coderre go at Christian Paradis.

Here's the new Liberal critic list which I've matched up with their opposing minister where applicable. I have put bold face on what I consider matchups that will be interesting:

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View Article  Back-to-school; counting stimulus signs; and jail guards threatened: Tuesday's A1 headlines and political daybook
beatdown.jpgBack-to-school; counting stimulus signs; and jail guards threatened: Get a four-minute audio summary of what's on Tuesday's front pages of papers across the country by clicking on the link below.
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View Article  SunTV: We're looking for six bucks a year -- a year! -- but only if you want to pay

How will SunTV make money? Partly through the sale of advertising. But we're also betting that a lot of Canadians will pay 50 cents a month for us. That's right. $6 a year. A year. Of that 50 cents, half will go to us and half to the TV distributor. So we're going through these hoops so we can ask you -- not force you -- to give us $3 a year . . .

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View Article  Annals of Re-branding: From "Canada's New Government" to "Harper Government"

Have you noticed this over the summer? The federal government, in its press releases, is 're-branding' itself. With increasing frequency, it's no longer the "Government of Canada", it's now the "Harper government".

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View Article  Celebrating Mario

Sept. 28, 2010 in 200-WB from 1800-2000.

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View Article  Coloured tents and the case for liberalism in Canada
ClosingIggy.jpg

Now, the Liberals have lost nearly 100 seats since 2000 and have had declining returns at the polls for a decade now. I asked Ignatieff if this was perhaps evidence that Canadians are increasingly comfortable away from the political centre, that, to borrow the metaphor the Liberals have used all week, they are happy in their orange tent, or the blue tent or, in Quebec, their light-blue tent. Is liberalism on the decline in Canada?

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View Article  Breitkreuz and Angus trade e-mails: Tories vs NDP on the gun registry

Before Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner and her private member's bill to kill the long-gun registry, there was Saskatchewan Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz and his private member's bill to kill the registry. Breitkreuz eventually allowed his bill to die so Hoeppner could pick it up. But Breitkreuz is still working to kill the registry. Here's a note he's sending to those NDP MPs that appear ready to vote with the Tories to kill the registry. NDP MP Charlie Angus, who is one of those NDPers who opposes the registry, writes back just below:

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View Article  The Twitter fistfight: Liberals vs NDP over the gun registry

For the last two days here in Baddeck, N.S. where the Liberals are holding their 2010 summer caucus retreat, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has hammered Jack Layton and the NDP over their position on the long-gun registry, going so far as to say that NDP stands for "No Darn Principles". NDP hill staffers and some MPs immediately launched an all-out attack on Twitter at the Liberals. Here's the play-by-play on Twitter (with explanations of Twitter terms below):

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