David Akin's On the Hill

Tory MP gets what I'm pretty sure is the wrong answer from constitutents

2009-11-05T13:07:58-05:00

James Bezan, the Conservative MP for the Manitoba riding of Selkirk Interlake, put up an online poll at his Web site.

He wanted his Web site visitors to sound off on the record of his government, asking them: "Do you think Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government should be commended for doing a great job at managing our economy through the current fiscal crisis?"

Feds insist on a separate sign - that cities must pay for - promoting its stimulus plan

2009-11-05T08:16:03-05:00

Municipalities are being told if they want federal infrastructure cash, they have to pay for and install additional signs at each project promoting the federal government's economic action plan.

Integrity of lobbying watchdog threatened by PMO: Opposition

2009-10-28T07:32:35-04:00

Opposition politicians accused officials in the Prime Minister's Office of threatening the integrity of the independent Commissioner of Lobbying, in the wake of revelations that the watchdog was investigating a lobbyist firm with close connections to senior Ottawa Conservatives.

Coming soon? Five bucks just ain't what it used to be...

2009-10-17T08:48:10-04:00

Yer editorial cartoon in this morning's Regina Leader-Post

Conservatives and their cheques: "the potential to do tremendous damage" to their standing

2009-10-15T06:57:14-04:00

Ivison: "This has the potential to do tremendous damage to the Conservatives. All the polling shows that their Achilles' Heel is the perception that they have a tendency to put their party's interests ahead of the country's."

Stephen Harper vows to teach opponents a lesson, "make sure their little coalition never happens"

2009-09-10T00:48:22-04:00

"I guarantee you if we do not win a majority, this country will have a Liberal government propped up by the socialists and the separatists. That government may not last very long but every day it’s in office it will do long-term real-damage to this country. This country cannot afford a government like that. If they force us to the polls, we have to teach them a lesson and get back there with a majority and make sure their little coalition never happens."

Conservatives claims $70 billion in spending commitments pumping up economy

2009-09-01T07:11:30-04:00

The federal Conservatives have been rolling out spending announcements at a furious clip, a new analysis by Canwest News Service shows, putting their names on more than 1,590 news releases since their re-election last October detailing spending commitments worth nearly $70 billion.

Just since Parliament's summer recess began on June 22 — a span of 70 days — there have been, by midday Monday, 550 spending announcements for projects totalling more than $10 billion.

The pace of federal spending has been a hot topic in political circles. The Conservatives' political opponents argue that the government has been too slow to get stimulus money into the economy — spending announcement or not.

Since they won in October, Tories have issued 1,582 funding announcements, totalling $69 billion

2009-08-30T20:07:59-04:00

Whether it's Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announcing the rollout of the $8.3 billion Canada Skills and Transition Strategy or Treasury Board President Vic Toews trying to score a couple of political points with a $1,000 grant for a veterans project in Winnipeg, the federal Conservative government has been more active than ever spending money in its first year in office, rolling out more than 1,580 spending announcements since it was elected in October, 2008.

Missouri Republican Williams wants Ignatieff "guarding our northern flank"

2009-08-30T17:37:40-04:00

Meet your first Republican for Ignatieff: Yancy Williams of Jefferson City, Mo. Williams wants the Liberal leader, not the Conservative one, to lead Canada. He loves Iggy's anti-terrorism credentials - " I want that guy guarding American’s northern flank"- and says Iggy gets it on energy security - "Drill, Iggy, Drill!"

Finley, Plett & Stewart-Olsen to be named senators

2009-08-26T19:21:13-04:00

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is preparing to reward some of his longest-serving and most loyal political operatives with Senate appointments that could come as early as this week, Canwest News Service has learned ...

On Khadr: Harper government fights to keep accused in Gitmo

2009-08-25T10:27:34-04:00

In the wake of the news yesterday that the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to overturn a Federal Court of Appeal decision ordering it to see Omar Khadr's repatriation, here's a statement from the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannnon...

Harper to Canada's seals: I will eat you

2009-08-19T23:27:21-04:00

"The government support for our sealing industry is well known. This industry ... has tight standards, the tightest in the world. The standards of this industry, quite frankly, are better than many other industries that deal with animal products. There is no reason the seal industry should be singled out for discriminatory treatment by Europeans or any other nation, and I've been very outspoken on that. I've been outspoken on that in this country. I've been outspoken on that when I've been in Europe and elsewhere. The government of Canada is already taking and will take every measure necessary to assert our rights, because it is important, obviously."

The latest Conservative attack that taxpayers get to pay for

2009-08-01T10:55:37-04:00

A new version is now being sent out to thousands of Canadian households -- at public expense -- which takes on the same format but adds a new twist, a kind of soft-sell on the "Just Visiting" idea. The copy in the ad attacks Ignatieff for his time spent outside Canada but, perhaps sensitive to backlash from first-generation Canadians that someone ought not be criticized for spending part of their life outside Canada, the Tories try to soft-pedal the criticism by suggesting there's nothing wrong or illegal with working outside Canada - unless you want to be prime minister. Here's the Conservative wording:

If there's any doubt Ablonczy's in the dog house ...

2009-07-22T18:38:56-04:00

Here's the government of Canada giving $270,000 to the Calgary Folk Festival, funding that came out of the Marquee Tourism Events Program and the Calgary MP who happens to be Minister of State for Tourism, Diane Ablonczy, is nowhere to be found. Instead, it's Ontario MP and Industry Minister (and heavy metal fan, I might add) who is handing out the cash.

Some clarifications on my views of Harper overseas

2009-07-16T13:58:19-04:00

While these quotations attributed to me are correct, they represent an incomplete response give to the questions Collins put to me. Indeed, since the headline is "G8 Attack Reflects Poorly on Canada: Experts" you might get the impression that I am one of the "experts" who holds that view. For the record, I am neither an expert nor do I hold that view. In fact, when asked specifically by Collins if that's what I believed, I replied that the attack did not reflect in any way on Canada simply because most other delegations don't pay much attention to Canada. Canadians think it makes a difference to our world standing but I have seen no evidence when I'm at these summits that it makes a difference one way or the other.

Immigration Minister takes to Twitter on Visa issue

2009-07-14T21:03:12-04:00

Jason Kenney takes to Twitter to explain his government's issue on imposing visa requirements for Czech and Mexican visitors.

The Colonel Behind Republicans for Ignatieff

2009-07-13T11:50:15-04:00

Republicans for Ignatieff's "The Colonel": "I should tell you right off the top that I am not a media savvy individual nor do I crave media attention for myself. This is not about me it's about Michael Ignatieff. Our group is small (but growing) and members live in both the United States and Canada."

Ablonczy had no money, little power to do anything to boost tourism, briefing notes show

2009-07-12T15:45:17-04:00

Ablonczy told: "Your ability to help maintain and boost growth and competitiveness is constrained by current market forces, lack of funds for new or enhanced program spending and the broad dispersion of policies and programs of support across the federal government," an anonymous bureaucrat writes in the ministerial briefing books given to Ablonczy, a Calgary MP, after she was sworn in as minister of state for small business and tourism last November.

Would Canadians elect a PM who is a social conservative and fiscal 'progressive"?

2009-07-11T00:05:22-04:00

Paul Wells, channelling Andrew Coyne and Chantel Hebert at the same time (Bravo! remarkable achievement!), notes that "while many Canadian politicians claim to be socially progressive and fiscally conservative, [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper is turning out to be the opposite on both scales."In other words, as events this week have underlined, his government is socially conservative and fiscally ultra-liberal.

For the record: Harper's misguided attack on Ignatieff

2009-07-10T11:30:25-04:00

At his closing press conference in Italy at the G8, the question of the future relevance of the G8 came up. Here is an unofficial transcript of the question Harper was asked and his English-language response. (He responded somewhat similarly in French). The attack on Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff came, unprompted by reporters I should point out, at the end of his comments to a question about the future of the G8...

Speaker Kinsella says the PM ate it

2009-07-08T17:01:26-04:00

Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella jumps into the surprisingly heated debate about whether or not the prime minister downed the wafer -- otherwise known to many Christians as the body of christ, given for thee, to be washed down with a little wine, known in my church, as "the Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins"-- at Romeo Leblanc's funeral:

The Harper Government's long history of funding gay and lesbian activities

2009-07-08T16:43:53-04:00

The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix was among several papers which ran this story today but SP reporter Jeremy Warren made it better with this little twist:

But in his criticism of his colleague, [Trost] did not mention his government funds Saskatoon's Pride parade. The Saskatoon Diversity Network received $9,000 from Canadian Heritage this year for last June's Pride Festival.

Now, a little birdie helpfully provides the following list of gay and lesbian (and bisexual, etc.) events funded by the Harper government:

Jane's just plain wrong: Lots of influential women in Harper's PMO

2009-06-26T23:15:21-04:00

But other staffers, even those who have come in for a dressing-down by Byrne on those conference calls, says she has to be that tough because the meeting after her daily 7:15 a.m. call with staffers is with the prime minister and it's her job to make sure he is not surprised by anything a reporter or opposition politician might say that day. When Sandra Buckler (another woman) was Harper''s director of communications, I'm told that she and Byrne often tussled over what the message of the day ought to be and then Buckler would decide how that message would be delivered.

Ottawa gives group handout so group can promote life without handouts

2009-06-22T21:51:31-04:00

I always thought that being an entrepreneur meant you didn't need government handouts? Am I missing something here?

Tories trying to change the channel? Naaah ...

2009-06-01T09:44:00-04:00

With a nominally conservative government about to nationalize a car company the week after announcing the largest deficit in Canadian history, I can't say I'm surprised to see members of that government fanning out across the country to have their pictures taken with uniformed police officers and remind their base that while the conservative economic agenda may have temporarily been abandoned, the Conservative law-and-order agenda is back on track! If you're collecting the set, here's what you'll need ...

The daily snowball fight between Liberals and Conservatives

2009-05-28T16:58:57-04:00

Members Statements has become a daily partisan battleground as Conservatives and Liberals throw verbal snowballs back and forth at each other across the aisle. Here's today's snowball fight

Breitkreuz reloads on new bill to get rid of long-gun registry

2009-05-25T21:15:09-04:00

Saskatchewan MP Garry Breitkreuz says he is happy to let his legislation to kill the controversial long-gun registry die a quiet death as he gets behind the bill of another Conservative MP who he believes has a better shot at abolishing the rule that would force rifle owners to be certified. Breitkreuz had introduced a private member's bill in February that would have forced only owners of restricted and prohibited weapons to obtain a gun registry certificate. But his bill went further than that, with, for example, changes to restrictions on the transportation of weapons and a call that the auditor general periodically review the operation of the gun registry.

Chalk River: Time for return of the MAPLEs?

2009-05-21T21:40:58-04:00

Canwest News Service has learned that some current and former nuclear engineers are quietly pushing a plan to reactivate a backup project for the NRU, a project shelved last year by AECL with the backing of Raitt's predecessor Gary Lunn.

Iggy, Gandhi -- both were "Just Visiting"!

2009-05-21T13:21:01-04:00

It seems clear that Liberals (I assume they are Liberals) are having a certain amount of fun riffing off of the Conservative "Just Visiting" attack ads. Here's one from the Libs that accuses Mahatma Gandhi of being a mere arriviste for Indian independence.

Harper in Montreal attacks "centralizing" Ignatieff in Quebec, ignores Duceppe

2009-05-20T22:31:02-04:00

After aiming frequently and often over the last year at the impuissance of Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois when speaking to Quebec voters, Prime MInister Stephen Harper this evening warns Quebeckers against Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals, La Presse reports. In fact, La Presse says Harper hardly talked about the BQ and accused Ignatieff of being the most -- and forgive my French here -- centralizing leader the Liberals have ever had, a contrast to Harper and his (often vague and undefined but sometimes popular) open federalism: