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Welcome to the archive: On The Hill

The content you will find here is an archive of the 4,000+ posts to the blog known for most its life as “David Akin’s On the Hill.” This blog is no longer active.

The blog contains content that supplements the journalism David Akin did that appeared in newspapers and on television from 2003 until 2015. From 2003 until 2006, Akin was a technology and business reporter and so content archived here from that period is largely about tech or business issues.

In 2006, Akin became a political reporter based on Parliament Hill in Canada’s capital and the content archived here from that period until this blog ceased publication in 2015 is mostly about federal and provincial politics.

You are going to find a lot of broken links and missing media (photos, sound, video, etc) here. Some attempt is being made to clean that up.

You can get David Akin’s contact information, mailing address, social media accounts, and disclosure statement here.

David Akin publishes a daily newsletter of news clippings. You sign up for a free subscription here.

Christmas at either end of the world

Australia Broadcasting Corp. Parliamentary reporter Latika Bourke put the above on Instagram (taken at Kundalini Hair in Canberra, apparently) and minutes later (on my Instagram feed, anyhow) Gerald Butts, a top advisor to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau put this taken in the foyer of Canada’s House of Commons on Instagram: Continue reading Christmas at either end of the world

Justin Trudeau ad: "Together we will build a better country"

It took a few days but the Liberal Party of Canada has responded to the Conservative attack ad launched within hours of Trudeau winning his party’s leadership. I have personally spotted the attack ad running on widely viewed television shows like American Idol on CTV and during baseball games on Sportsnet. I’ve heard reports from others who have seen it during NHL hockey games. That demonstrates two things: a) the Conservatives have lots of money and b) a lot of people saw the Tory ad. Continue reading Justin Trudeau ad: "Together we will build a better country"

The numbers on the federal Access to Information Act (2012)

 

Some data and numbers for the federal government’s performance under the Access to Information Act (ATI).  This data may have been around for a while but I just stumbled across it today and think a few bits to be worthwhile.

This data, published by the government, is for the fiscal year 2011-2012 which would have ended on March 31, 2012. The most recent complete fiscal year for the government is the one that just ended a few weeks ago on March 31, 2013 but I suspect it will be a while before the books are closed on that year. So the data on FY2012 is, so far as I know, the most recent complete year snapshot.

Requests under the Access to Information Act Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 43,194
Outstanding from previous reporting period 8,138
Total 51,332
Closed during reporting period 43,664
Carried over to next reporting period 7,668

Who made all these requests? Continue reading The numbers on the federal Access to Information Act (2012)

NDP Convention: 4-13-13 Resolution on Temporary Foreign Workers

4-13-13 Resolution on Temporary Foreign Workers

Submitted by Toronto—Danforth

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following clause be added to Section 4.3 of the policy book:

i. Working with foreign embassies of sending countries to ensure temporary foreign workers coming to Canada are informed of their rights; working with the provinces to institute a licensing system for foreign recruiters (as is done in Manitoba) and a registration system for employers of temporary foreign workers; and providing access to federal hearings for temporary foreign workers who face deportation.

MP Sadia Groguhé spoke to this motion.

One Delegate opposes this motion. Something about “imperialist organizations” like the World Bank and the NDP needing to work for world socialism.

Motion passed.

NDP Convention: 4-03-13 Resolution on Recognizing Jaswant Singh Khalra as a Human Rights Defender

4-03-13 Resolution on Recognizing Jaswant Singh Khalra as a Human Rights Defender

WHEREAS Jaswant Singh Khalra’s investigation of thousands of cases of missing, murdered and disappeared Sikhs in the Punjab earned him recognition from Amnesty International as a defender of human rights;

WHEREAS Jaswant Singh Khalra visited Canada and presented his findings to Canadians and Members of Parliament immediately before his forced disappearance in 1995;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT New Democrats recognize Jaswant Singh Khalra as an important defender of human rights and in his memory, recommit to the pursuit of justice and transparency characterized by our shared values of truth, justice and respect of human rights

Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh spoke in support of this motion.

Motion passed.

NDP Convention: 6-05-13 Resolution on Northern Food Security

The NDP Convention in Montreal considered the following:

6-05-13 Resolution on Northern Food Security

Submitted by the Aboriginal Peoples Commission

WHEREAS northern communities are facing increasingly higher food prices

WHEREAS Canada is the only developed country to have received a visit from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party is calling for immediate action to ensure the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur are implemented as quickly as possible, including the adoption of a Canada-wide food strategy

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party will continue consultations with northern communities to ensure this strategy responds to their specific needs so that northern communities finally have access to quality and nutritious foods at a reasonable price

NDP MP Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic) spoke in favour of this motion.

Motion passed.

NDP Convention: 6-04-13 Resolution on Official Languages

6-04-13 Resolution on Official Languages

Submitted by Acadie-Bathurst

WHEREAS French and English are Canada’s two official languages;

WHEREAS the Government of Canada is required to foster the progression towards the equal status of French and English in Canada;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party reaffirms its commitment to: a) protect and promote both official languages and the linguistic rights of Canadians; b) the development and enhancement of official language minority communities;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party calls on the Harper government to keep open the Quebec Maritime Rescue Centre, the only bilingual centre of its kind in Canada, to ensure the safety of francophones at sea; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party supports Bill C-208 from the MP for Acadie-Bathurst Yvon Godin and Bill C-419 from the MP for Louis-Saint-Laurent Alexandrine Latendresse regarding language skills for Supreme Court judges and Officers of Parliament, respectively.

MP Yvon Godin spoke to this motion.

The motion passed.