David Akin's On the Hill

Jack Layton decries "sexist" heckling from Conservatives in the Commons

2009-10-28T16:47:00-04:00

As a parliamentarian, as a man, a father, a grandfather, I call on the government's leadership to really get a grip on its members and set a higher standard.

Nash is new NDP president

2009-08-16T15:38:00-04:00

Peggy Nash, who was briefly the MP for the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park, ousting high-profile Liberal Sam Bulte in the 2006 election before losing in 2008 to Liberal Gerard Kennedy, has been elected as the new president of the federal New Democratic Party. Nash succeeds Alberta Anne McGrath, who is currently serving as NDP Leader Jack Layton's chief of staff. Nash was elected at the NDP's convention this weekend in Halifax.

NDP got billions; Libs got a working group

2009-06-17T11:16:00-04:00

In 2005, Jack Layton won $4.6 billion in new investments in housing and transit in exchange for supporting the minority government of Paul Martin. In 2009, Michael Ignatieff got a working group and an opposition day for supporting the minority government of Stephen Harper.

The Liberal endgame on the election staredown

2009-06-12T10:44:00-04:00

Layton: "if the Liberals are counting on the NDP in some way, I think they should just look at our record over the last 71 confidence motions and they'll get an idea of where we're coming from. "

Mr. Layton goes to Washington -- to support Obama on health care

2009-05-29T16:51:00-04:00

Here's an interesting item from The Washington Times, notable not only because we have a Canadian politician trying to lend a hand to the world's most popular politician but also, I think, because the Times' correspondent here seems to be working under the impression that the U.S. Democrats are close cousins of Canada's "New Democrats." Canadian readers, of course, will know that the U.S. Democratic Party is probably somewhere between the Canadian Conservative and Liberal parties . . .

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T09:19:00-04:00

You could buy a card and let Hallmark say it for you or if you're a political junkie, you could let a politician voice your affection for mom. As I'm a political junkie, here's NDP Leader Jack Layton:

The NDP on fundraising and party finances - First quarter was an odd quarter

2009-05-01T14:28:00-04:00

"We knew this in advance and this is a short-term phenomenon," Lavigne told me. "We are on pace to pay off our debt -- a small debt fro the election and we are healthy enough to run an election campaign at any given moment."

The numbers looked soft, Lavigne said, because the federal party stayed on the sidelines for most of the quarter in some of its most important regions of the country.

NDP Critic reassignments in the wake of Black's departure

2009-04-21T22:00:00-04:00

Missed this from yesterday, but NDP Leader Jack Layton announced a slight tweak to his shadow cabinet lineup, a tweak that was forced upon him by the departure of Dawn Black. Black quit as an MP to run for the NDP in BC.

Talking to Jack about talking to the Taliban

2009-03-09T21:31:00-04:00

"...the insurgency is composed of a whole series of different components and elements. I mean this is a society that some have described as almost clan-based. It's very mountainous. There's these little communities of interest and focus. Each of them has their own political structure and dynamic and if you can begin to separate some of these organizations and groups and leaders from those that are on the most extreme end, then you can begin to weaken the insurgency through diplomacy, through negotiation. That's what we've always meant by a comprehensive approach to the pursuit of peace in Afghanistan ..."

The only leader to stand up to Harper ...

2009-01-29T12:05:00-05:00

... is Jack Layton. So says the new radio spots the New Democratic Party plans to begin airing today. One spot argues that everyday families were "counting on Michael Ignatieff" to stand up to Stephen Harper but "he failed" in his first test as Liberal Leader. Now, "Jack Layton's the only leader strong enough to stand up to Harper and get us through this economic crisis," a female announcer says.

Don Drummond: Rock Star

2009-01-19T13:41:00-05:00

...I was struck at just what kind of rock star, if you will, Drummond has become as a result of the current economic crisis. Drummond is a credible voice on economic policy issues because he seems to be politically unaligned. That's not to say he does not have opinions on policy issues but he views the policy debate in terms of economic outcomes not political outcomes...

Will the NDP vote for the budget?

2009-01-13T17:23:00-05:00

"Is it possible we will support the budget? Look, let's be realistic. Based on what the Conservatives have said and done in the past, it's very unlikely we will do that. However, miracles can always happen."

NDP only party on 308 ballots

2008-10-06T11:32:00-04:00

Even though the NDP has had more trouble than other parties with some of its candidates, it managed to get on the ballot in each of Canada's 308 ridings by the Elections Canada cutoff date of Sept. 22. In fact, it was the only party to do that.
Parties will ...

The War Room War

2008-10-02T17:01:00-04:00

In the wake of last night's French-language debates -- which our pollster says Dion did best at -- the war rooms of the major parties have been issuing releases left, right, and centre today. These are some summaries of all of the press releases filling my inbox today. It all ...

Brison kicks off Liberal campaign in Guelph

2008-07-30T15:57:00-04:00

Here's the blurb from the Liberal campaign: Mr. Valeriote and Mr. Brison took specific aim at Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who earlier this year told a business audience that Ontario is “the last place” to invest.... He's up against NDP candidate Tom King -- he of CBC's Dead Dog Café fame -- as well as city councillor and Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach and the Green Party's environment critic Mike Nagy.... Kovach has been winning municipal elections for a long time in Guelph but the Conservatives put themselves behind the eight-ball when the national party stepped in earlier this year to fire the locally-chosen candidate Brett Barr.

Politicking in Guelph

2008-06-12T16:11:00-04:00

In Guelph, the NDP brings in Jack Layton Friday for a full day of politicking while the Conservatives will soon bring in big guns like John Baird and Diane Finley to support their candidate for a yet-to-be announced by-election.

The CTV Poll: Conservatives on the edge of a majority

2007-03-22T22:29:00-04:00

The federal budget tabled Monday has struck a positive chord with many voters, giving the Conservatives a bump in the polls and heightening the possibility of late spring or early summer election.

The latest poll, provided to CTV News and The Globe and Mail by The Strategic Counsel, finds Conservative ...

NDP distances itself from Blogging Dipper leader

2007-03-06T00:22:00-05:00

Who says the blogosophere doesn’t matter?

The president of the NDP, Anne McGrath, wrote a letter today to the president of the Canadian Jewish Congress in which the NDP disavowed any connection to blogger Robert McClelland, a frequent commenter at this blog and one of the organizers of the ...

An independent Environment Commissioner: Something else the Liberals never got done

2007-02-02T16:07:00-05:00

Our good friends at the New Democratic Party of Canada write today to point out a couple of things about the idea that the Environment Commissioner ought to become independent of the Office of the Auditor General and report straight through to Parliament. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has been saying ...

The Layton Blooper

2006-12-04T17:25:00-05:00

Jack Layton’s first salvo in Question Period today contained this beauty … “Mr. Speaker — the question is: After all these years of inaction, will the Prime Minister finally get something done … to cancel the fat subsidies to big oil and big ass!” Yup. That’s what he said. Listen ...

The Iron Man

2006-11-08T10:23:00-05:00

So it wasn’t enough yesterday that NDP MP Peter Julian spent 12 hours at the Commons Committee on International Trade trying to force changes to the softwood lumber deal by staging a one-man day-long filibuster. Nope. When the string finally played out at that committee somewhere around 10 pm last night, Julian ...

Mr. Julian Goes to Ottawa

2006-11-07T09:25:00-05:00

You remember that famous filibuster Jimmy Stewart’s character tried to pull off in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Well, ...

Guns on our lakes - the political reaction

2006-10-17T06:34:00-04:00

The issue of U.S. Coast Guard cutters conducting machine gun fire exercises on the Great Lakes has percolated up to Ottawa. Here's an exchange from Question Period:

Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, recently Mayor Bradley of Sarnia added his name to the chorus of Canadians who are ...

Softwood lumber: Good says Emerson; bad says NDP

2006-10-15T21:58:00-04:00

International Trade Minister David Emerson issued a press release Friday titled:

MINISTER EMERSON MARKS IMPLEMENTATION OF SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT

The ...

Commons trade committee cancels softwood hearings

2006-09-27T11:33:00-04:00

Conservative members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade, with support from Liberal members of that committee, ...

Nik's numbers: August 25

2006-08-25T22:35:00-04:00

If an election were held today — the result might be just about the same as it was on January 24. But, as pollster Nik Nanos notes, the Conservatives might not have 10 MPs from Quebec. Maybe they’d pick up one or two more each in Atlantic Canada, in Ontario, ...