David Akin's On the Hill

Liberal Senate leader to Justice Minister Nicholson: You're full of it

2010-02-08T18:14:13-05:00

"Indeed, [Prime Minister] Harper himself has done far more to delay his own crime legislation, by proroguing Parliament and other stalling tactics, than Liberal senators have ever done.”

Political aide's excuse for ATI interference? Trying to save reporters $30

2010-02-08T17:50:35-05:00

Deen Beeby is the Access to Information ace at The Canadian Press' Ottawa bureau (Bronskill over there is pretty sharp, too). He's got a great knack for asking for just the right kind of documents that often contain interesting nuggets about what your federal government is doing. This morning, he reported that something was so interesting in documents about to be released to him by the Department of Public Works and Government Services that a political aide to the then-minister of the deparment, Christian Paradis, had a bureaucrat literally run to the mailroom to intercept the documents that were about to be sent to Beeby. The bureaucrat's excuse: They were frantic to save CP $27.40 in photocopying charges. Yes. My eyebrow is raised as well at that one.

Sarah Palin and "virtuous ignorance"

2010-02-06T18:53:08-05:00

"Commonsense Conservatism hinges on the not-so-tacit assumption that the average, hardworking churchgoer, like the ladies at the booth, equipped with the fundamental, God-given ability to distinguish right from wrong, is in a better position to judge, on "principle," the merits of an economic policy or the deployment of American troops abroad than "the 'experts'"—a term here unfailingly placed between derisive quotation marks. Desiccated expertise, of the kind possessed by economists, environmental scientists, and overinformed reporters from the lamestream media, clouds good judgment; Palin's life, by contrast, is presented as one of passion, sincerity, and principle. Going Rogue, in other words, is a four-hundred-page paean to virtuous ignorance."

Canada, Newfoundland create largest national park in eastern Canada

2010-02-05T11:30:59-05:00

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Attention philatelists! Behold the new Romeo Leblanc stamp!

2010-02-05T11:09:51-05:00

I used to be a stamp collector and remain fond of the hobby and its practioners. So for those philatelists who drop by here now and again, I draw your attention to the unveiling this morning of a new stamp, honouring New Brunswicker and former Canadian Governor General Romeo Leblanc.

TD Bank proclaims "the end of a rising unemployment rate"

2010-02-05T09:53:36-05:00

Statistics Canada reports that in January, the Canadian economy added 43,000 jobs, a sign of strength that surprised many professional forecasters, who were expecting a rather tepid employment report. Most those new jobs were part-time but, still economists say the results were a positive sign. And Statscan itself notes that the number of people in Canada is far off the peak employment numbers of October, 2008 (the month of our last general election, coincidentally). In fact, there are 280,000 Canadians who had a job the last time they voted for a federal government that do not have one right now.

Harper on hockey: "an important part of our character"

2010-02-04T17:13:35-05:00

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Laurie Hawn is not amused, accuses opposition of undermining troops

2010-02-03T17:30:25-05:00

"Today, Opposition members held a transparently partisan event. It is clear that they are only interested in politicizing an issue on the backs of our brave men and women in uniform. Instead of undermining our troops, this Government chose action—and improved an inherited Liberal Taliban prisoner transfer agreement that remains the Gold standard amongst our allies."

Meeting at Meech: Cabinet talks about jobs

2010-02-03T16:59:01-05:00

Clement also said: "While there have been a number of positive economic indicators such as recent GDP growth, there is one statistic that is still too high: unemployment. The number of Canadians looking for work is still unacceptable. The economy, specifically creating jobs remains the top priority of the federal government." With photos!

Arar's U.S. lawyer: "never a clearer and more egregious case of abuse"

2010-02-02T20:02:10-05:00

"In twenty-five years as a lawyer, I have never had a clearer and more egregious case of abuse. Yet thus far the US courts have shut the door entirely on Arar, not even allowing him to offer proof
of his claims...

Monster U.S. deficits; national daycare; and a light for hard rock miners; Tuesday's A1 headlines and Parliamntary daybook

2010-02-02T08:12:54-05:00

Obama's monster deficits; Liberals float a national daycare plan while Windsor shuts its plan down; and some light at the end of the labour tunnel for Sudbury's hard rock miners. Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Look under my picture on the left hand side of the page.

Listen!

[Audio hiccups at beginning of file are Audioboo.fm's fault, not mine. Apologies nonetheless.]

Tags: national post, globe and mail, toronto star, obama, daycare, oil sands

No Parliament, but a busy week for government MPs on the money trail

2010-01-31T12:24:19-05:00

For the week, the government rolled out 108 spending announcements outlining the expenditure of more than $215 million.

PR People: Thoughts on my polite but firm anti-spam letter

2010-01-29T21:34:53-05:00

So here's my dilemma: I want to encourage communications professionals to tell me what's going on but I also want to encourage them to think about who it is they are sending their stuff, too.

Harper and the press gallery hit the road: 3 nights, 3 1/2 questions

2010-01-29T14:39:30-05:00

As is the normal practice for reporters travelling with the PM, we huddled and decided we needed one question on global financial system reform (FSR) and one question on Harper's stated goal of getting the G8 to focus on maternal and child health health. We selected Heather Scoffield of The Canadian Press to pop the FSR question (she had been, until last year, the Globe and Mail's ace-in-the-hole reporter for coverage of central banks and financial system reform) and we agreed CBC television's Terry Milewski would query Harper on his perhaps admirable but rather vague ideas about focusing the G8 on maternal and child health during Canada's year of being the G8 President.

And that was it for any questions from Canadian reporters travelling with Harper. Two questions.

Bragging about the Economic Action Plan

2010-01-29T13:45:47-05:00

On Wednesday, as I was in the air en route from Ottawa to Davos, Switzerland, to cover Prime Minister Stephen Harper's appearance at the World Economic Forum, Infrastructure Minister John Baird was trying to make some news by noting that Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the government's Economic Action Plan.

The iPad's significance: The first computer built for consumers, not producers, of digital content

2010-01-29T13:45:04-05:00

I think Apple hit another inflection last week with the release of its iPad, that super-thin tablet that lets a user view, annotate and share content on a 20-cm hi-def digital display.

Bill Clinton to Canada on Haiti: "You should be very proud"

2010-01-28T08:46:43-05:00

At the World Economic Forum here in Davos, Switzerland, former U.S. President Bill Clinton led a session on Haiti. The audience here at the annual WEF is made up of world leaders, philanthropists, chief executives, NGOs and others.

After Clinton's appearance on the mainstage, Clinton met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for about 30 minutes. They talked mostly about Haiti.

As they left their meeting, I asked Clinton ho"w he felt about Canada's response to the disaster. Here's what he said:

"It has been unbelievable. First, the Canadian people are so generous. I’ll bet you on a per capita basis, they’re number one in the world now in helping Haiti. Probably because of the Prime Minister’s matching grant program but for whatever reason, the Canadians have all given money and all want to support it. You should be very proud of that. There is a big Haitian diaspora in Canada but this goes way beyond that. I’m very grateful."

Clinton paused for a handshake photo-op with Harper and then actually sought out the Canadian media contingent among the throng of reporters trying to get a word from Clinton. Here's my transcript:

CLINTON: Who -- Where is the Canadian press?

REPORTERS: Right here! Right here! Over there!

CLINTON: (Turning to Harper) You want to say anything else about this?

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER: As you know, Haiti is a big priority for us and we’re delighted with the work President Clinton is doing. And we talked about how we can partner even more as we go forward in the future. As the President has said, it’s day-to-day, week-to-week now but we’re starting to look at the long-term and that’s the focus we’re going to have going forward.

REPORTER: Are you guys concerned that, after the immediate rush to aid, that people are going to forget about Haiti and then in the years to come -- I know it’s a commitment 10 years you’re talking about Prime Minister -- but is there concern people will forget about Haiti in two years time?

HARPER: Well, for us, as you know, Haiti has been our number two foreign aid priority in the world, number one in the Americas. And that’s only going to get bigger in the future for us. I hope it’s true for everyone else.

CLINTON: I think it won’t happen -- the United States and Canada have the biggest Haitian diaspora, along with France. We won’t forget. And I think if we organize this properly so that both the people in Haiti and the donors, from those that give five dollars to those that give five million, see that progress is being made and see that it’s being done in a transparent, open, accountable way, I think that this earthquake and how people have seen how brave the Haitians have been and what they’ve learned about Haiti -- its culture, its history, its past -- have captured the imagination of the whole world. I think it’s really the question is those of us in the middle of this have to stand and deliver. We have to do this right and I think if we do it right and progress is made then that commitment will stay there.

Tags: Haiti Bill clinton, stephen harper

Buy American ends?; Obama's big speech, and unhappy doctors: Thursday's top headlines and Parliamentary daybook

2010-01-28T05:09:07-05:00

The end of 'Buy American'?; Obama's big speech, and unhappy doctors: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Thursday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Paying off the Taliban; transforming the G8 and a sex scandal: Wednesday's top headlines and parliamentary daybooy

2010-01-27T10:02:39-05:00

Paying off the Taliban; Harper tries to transform the G8; and a sex scandal rocks a B.C. murder investigation: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below . . .

Margaret Atwood, Bombardier and Barrick CEOs among Canadians joining Harper in Davos for the World Economic Forum

2010-01-26T16:12:29-05:00

The PMO just released a list of confirmed Canadian participants who will be among the 2,500 political leaders, business leaders, intellectuals and others at the invite-only event in the ski resort-town of Davos:

On the first day of proroguing, my MP gave to me ...

2010-01-26T11:38:35-05:00

Conservative MPs were unusually active Monday as well doing what government MPs do well: Hand out money.

Rebuilding Haiti; building NHL rinks; and Snowskatchewan: Tuesday's Top newspaper headlines and parliamentary daybook

2010-01-26T08:20:22-05:00

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"Your vote is an inheritance and a trust"

2010-01-25T21:02:47-05:00

"You have the same rights that your ancestor had. He was jealous over them: he fought to the death to preserve them and to strengthen them. Be as jealous, for they are far more important to you than ever they were to him. You have a hundred times as much to defend: you have dangers which he did not know or fear. Show your jealousy by exercising your right as the most sacred duty you have to fulfil. Your vote is an inheritance and a trust.."

CAPP Rallies: Test passed!

2010-01-23T18:46:24-05:00

Based on initial reports, some from independent sources, some from partisan sources, it would be difficult to call this day of rallies a failed test. In fact, thousands at events across the country have shown up.

Canada's task in Haiti "nothing less than the rescue of a shattered society", says Harper

2010-01-22T10:46:57-05:00

"Their challenge in the coming days and weeks, as part of the multinational relief effort, amounts to nothing less than the rescue of a shattered society and the even larger task in the months and years that will follow is to rebuild Haiti, to transform its unimaginable grief into a sustained hope for the future."

Bashing Wall Street; an oil sands boom; and the torch is back in B.C.: Friday's headlines and Parliamentary daybook

2010-01-22T06:42:56-05:00

Obama bashes Wall Street; billions for oil sands development; and B.C. gets the Olympic torch back : Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Friday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Razing Port-au-Prince? Day readies cuts; and many in B.C. don't like the Olympics: Headline summary and Thursday's Parliamentary daybook

2010-01-21T09:12:17-05:00

Razing Port-au-Prince?; Day gets ready to cut; and some British Columbians are down on the Olympics : Listen to my three-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Listen!

*Note: There appears to be a few audio glitches with this file -- something that looks to be at AudioBoo's end and, as a result, is beyond my ability to fix.

A failed test for those angry at prorogation?

2010-01-20T15:44:24-05:00

...he very villain of the anti-prorogation forces visited Toronto. Prime Minister Stephen Harper held two events there today, the location and timing of which was not a secret. Toronto, of course, is not just any city. It is the country's largest with more than 5.5 million living in its metropolitan ambit. It is also the last major stronghold for the Liberal Party of Canada...

Helping Haiti; hospital stress and a cabinet shuffle: Tuesday's top headlines and parliamentary daybook

2010-01-19T07:37:33-05:00

Struggling to help Haiti; stressed out at hospitals; and a cabinet shuffle: Listen to my two-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

More troops to Haiti; testing in B.C. and drugs in Nfld: Top newspaper headlines and Monday's Parliamentary daybook

2010-01-18T06:06:39-05:00

Canada will send 1,000 more troops to Haiti; issues about standardized testing in B.C.; and the need for pharmacists in St. John's: Listen to my two-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Monday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.