Month: October 2007

Congratulations are in order to some political notables for a new baby and a new commitment.

The baby is the grandson of a former Prime Minister — who shares his granddad’s birthday:

eTalk has learned that Quebec Reporter Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and her husband Justin Trudeau have welcomed a son, Xavier James Trudeau, into their family today. Sharing the same birthday as his late grandfather and former Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, the healthy boy was born in Montreal this afternoon and weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces. eTalk will have all the baby news and more in tonight's show at 7 p.m. ET on CTV

From the other side of the political spectrum comes news of pending nuptials between Helena Guergis, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Secretary of State for Sport, and Rahim Jaffer, the Edmonton MP who is also the chairman of the National Conservative Caucus. If a date has been set for the wedding, we’ve had no news of it yet but many female observers in the press gallery today were pretty impressed with the jewellry on Guergis’ finger.

Congratulations one and all!

As of the Throne Speech, the phrase “Canada’s New Government” has — mercifully — been tossed away by — oh, let’s use it one last time — Canada’s New Government. The Conservative government will now just be known in government press releases etc. as The Government of Canada.

Meanwhile, in the wake of yesterday’s decision by the Liberals to abstain on a Throne Speech vote that could bring down The Government of Canada, the New Democratic Party has decided to give itself a little nickname which debuted on some e-mail just sent around from their office. Drum roll please for … From the Offices of Canada’s Effective Opposition. They will be doing their darndest — all 30 of ‘em — to bring down The Government of Canada over the Throne Speech.

NDP watchers will want to tune in to CPAC or, over the Web,  to House of Commons TV to catch the inaugural speech of newly minted MP and party deputy leader Thomas Mulcair. He will be speaking in the House of Commons at 1:30 pm Ottawa time.

 

“… Canada's generals and admirals tend to be more concerned about their relationships with their American counterparts than they are with their own political masters in Ottawa, a preoccupation that would play out over the next few years on a variety of issues”

“One example illustrates the point. Defence Minister John McCallum tried urgently to reach a senior admiral at NDHQ and was put on hold and told to call back later, as the admiral in question was on the line with the Pentagon.”

-Janice Gross Stein and Eugene Lang, The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar, Toronto: Viking Canada, 2007. P. 14

“I remember standing outside Centre Block one steamy afternoon when Prime Minister Diefenbaker emerged, on crutches. Along with senators Bill Brunt and Davey Walker, he stepped carefully into a Blue Line cab and headed off to 24 Sussex for lunch. No security, no limo.”

-Brian Mulroney, Memoirs: 1939-1993, Toronto: McLelland and Stewart Ltd., p. 85

As the federal government prepares to overhaul a key tool to protect intellectual property (IP) — Canada's copyright legislation — new research prepared the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) suggests that decision makers in Canada's business community have a poor understanding of what intellectual property is or what agencies in Canada are responsible for protecting IP. But they don't care that they don't know that: It seems none of the 2,016 respondents to the survey, done by The Strategic Counsel, ranked 'Intellectual Property' issues as one of the top issues for their company.

The data is in a study called Canadian Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs): Baseline Awareness of Intellectual Property, and was given to CIPO in March.

Here's some other highlights from the study:

• When asked to name any formal methods or types of intellectual property protection, more than three-in-five senior decision makers (62%) were unable to do so
• Four-out-of-five senior decision makers (81%) could not name an organization in Canada that is responsible for granting and/or registering IP protection.
• And yet … One-third (32%) of senior business decision makers surveyed considered their company to have IP assets. One-quarter (26%) of companies with IP assets choose not to protect them.

Canada’s second Boeing C-17 Globemaster will arrive for the first time at its home base of CFB Trenton on Thursday this week, the air force says. Exact arrival time is not yet clear but it will be on the tarmac there eventually where it will become CC-177.

 

Giving a Throne Speech in prime time was a first for any government. The Conservatives, I am told, got the idea from the Australian conservative party which, as it turns out, is called The Liberal Party of Australia. The Canadian Conservatives have long adopted some of the tactics that has helped Australian PM John Howard win four elections.

The Aussies also held a Throne Speech in prime time — and found it an effective way to bypass media commentators and reach a wider audiece of voters. Howard also did his last budget speech in prime time and Flaherty's office has already been asked what it thinks of doing that event in prime time.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Howard is campaigning for re-election. Polls there show him far behind his Labor rival.

Because of other established connections between the Aussie Liberals and the Canadian Conservatives, many here in Ottawa are watching Australian politics with unusual interest.

So here’s something that some in Ottawa took notice of: On the first day on the campaign trail Howard announced a whopper of a tax cut. My bet is the boys in Harper's PMO are watching this very closely. (Australia, like Canada, by the way, has a surplus of about $14-billion.) Here’s an article in the Australian press on that tax cut announcement.

Team Howard in $34bn income tax cut splurge

October 16, 2007

THE Coalition has seized the initiative on the first full day of election campaigning, unveiling a $34 billion tax package and putting Labor on the spot.

Under the plan announced jointly by Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello, all taxpayers would get a tax cut — about $20 a week for those currently on average weekly earnings from July, rising to about $35 in 2010.

The announcement caught Labor off guard. Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said tax cuts were needed but they had to be made in a financially responsible fashion, while shadow treasurer Wayne Swan said Labor would not be rushed in its response.

Last night ALP economic spokesmen were discussing the party's next step.
Business immediately backed the Coalition tax plan, but the union movement was scathing.
The five-year plan is in two parts. The $34 billion cuts are a solid promise, to be delivered over three years. Further “goals” for the following two years include reducing the top marginal tax rate to 40 per cent.

Revised economic figures also released by Mr Costello show Australia's economic growth rate this financial year is now expected to be 4.25 per cent, up from the budget's forecast of 3.75 per cent. The forecast for employment has also been revised upwards.

After allowing for the new tax plan…[read the rest of the story]