The Economist has a piece out this week that looks at taxes on gasoline across all 25 or so OECD countries and, after adjusting for inflation, exchange rates, etc., compares gas taxes in 1998 versus gas taxes this year. Guess what? Canada and Australia are the only two OECD ...

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.

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!"

Press release writers have it tough, I imagine: Clent/boss wants to you to 'sell' the project, attract the interest of journalists so we'll write stories about the project, and, oh yes, get the bigwigs names up as high as you can. It's that last one that drives me nuts personally. I give you this release, issued earlier this month by Canada Economic Development for Quebec Region:

..on Thursday, August 23, here's the breakdown: There were 23 press releases issued in one minister's name or another announcing funding of projects with a combined total of $419 million.

I've been rather taken aback at the number of personnel changes this summer at some institutions here in Ottawa that, for better or for worse (or precisely, whether you want them to or not) play a relatively influential role in the nation's affairs or among journalists in Ottawa or both!

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 ...

It seems that, so far on their respective summer tours, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been pretty much staying in friendly Conservative-held territory while Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has been largely touring around ridings that the Liberals do not hold.

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...

"While a North American recovery is indeed beginning to build, it will be a while before we have a clear picture of its strength and durability. The first leg of growth could prove a bit hotter than suspected, at least stateside."