Prime MInister Stephen Harper's trip to Israel: Accompanying Party Continue reading Harper's Israel List — and his itinerary
Category: Politics
Harper's monster-sized delegation: 21 rabbis and a priest
COLOGNE, Germany – Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to arrive for his first-ever visit to Israel Sunday afternoon leading a monster-sized delegation that includes 21 rabbis.
Harper left Ottawa Saturday night with his red, white, and blue Royal Canadian Air Force jet crammed with what is easily the largest delegation he has ever had for an overseas trip.
The plane landed here to refuel before continuing on to Tel Aviv. Continue reading Harper's monster-sized delegation: 21 rabbis and a priest
Trudeau repays $840 in inappropriate travel expenses
Statement just out from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau:
Statement by Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau
THORNHILL, ON – The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement:
“On December 5th, the Clerk of the House of Commons, Ms. Audrey O’Brien, contacted the Liberal Whip’s office regarding a review – in response to the unanimous consent motion in the House of Commons – dealing with the disclosure of paid speaking engagements by Members of Parliament.
“At this time, my office was advised that a Parliamentary expense of $672.00 was claimed for an event two years ago on April 25, 2012, in Kingston, ON, that was unrelated to my Parliamentary duties.
“Once informed of the situation, my office conducted a review of the records related to this claim. Continue reading Trudeau repays $840 in inappropriate travel expenses
Liberals set for big finish to 2013 in fundraising
Can they beat the Conservatives?
Shortly after 1 p.m. ET this afternoon, the Liberal Party of Canada’s senior director for fundraising Christina Topp sent out an e-mail to party members saying that, in the month of December alone, the party had raised $2,174,634 from 32,107 donors. Those are very good numbers. Indeed, that one month alone would beat the haul the party has had in many three-month periods over the last several years. (Federal political parties have been required to disclose financial data on a quarterly basis since 2007).
But while Liberals should, quite rightly, celebrate a helluva month from its fundraising division, that party still has much work to do to match the Conservatives when it comes to fundraising prowess. Continue reading Liberals set for big finish to 2013 in fundraising
in 2014, David Alward will seek re-election while New Brunswickers pay more tax
We are likely to see provincial elections in 2014 in Ontario and Quebec but we will certainly see one in New Brunswick. Votes will happen in Ontario and Quebec, of course, only if the minority governments that lead those two provinces cannot get their budgets through the legislature. But New Brunswick Premier David Alward faces a “hard count”, a fixed election date on September 22.
Alward’s prospects for re-election, nine months ahead of the formal campaign, are bleak. Continue reading in 2014, David Alward will seek re-election while New Brunswickers pay more tax
What really bugs Conservatives about the Supreme Court prostitution ruling
The Supreme Court today delivered a landmark ruling on prostitution. My colleague Daniel Proussalidis has the news here and Justice Minister Peter MacKay has released a statement in response.
Another colleague this morning remarked that reaction among those who vote for candidates of MacKay’s party, i.e. The Conservative Party of Canada, is likely to be mixed: The libertarian set will see nothing wrong at all with what the Court is saying. The social conservatives, on the other hand, will be terribly distressed.
But both libertarians and social conservatives are likely to be upset at the fact that these decisions — landmark decisions — are not being made by any legislature or by any government that must regularly defend its decisions to voters, but instead are being made by judges.
Employment Minister Jason Kenney was asked about this decision at a press conference he gave in Calgary on another matter hours after the release of the court ruling. Kenney sums up this ‘conservative’ objection: “I think that in our system of government there is an understandable primacy of Parliament as the democratic deliberative process and that my own view is that the judiciary should be restrained at the exercise of judicial power in overturning a democratic consensus. Having said that, we of course respect the independence of the judiciary and its role. We will review the decision and determine what is the necessary next step to ensure the protection of vulnerable women from sexual exploitation.”
Maclean’s political editor Paul Wells talks about what Kenney is getting at in his book The Longer I’m Prime Minister and while I’m going to quote a big chunk from that book here on this topic, there is more in the book … Continue reading What really bugs Conservatives about the Supreme Court prostitution ruling
The new "hot button" issue for Conservative fund-raising: Justin Trudeau
The federal Conservatives raised millions of dollars from their supporters over the years by finding and pressing key “hot button” issues like the gun registry. A good “hot button” issue gets a donor riled up and ready to write a cheque so his or her side will deal with that that “hot button” issue.
Well, with the gun registry retired, the Conservatives have settled on a new hot button issue — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. Trudeau is the key “issue” in a series of fundraising e-mails flying out of Conservative Party HQ in the last couple of weeks during the party’s “Seize the Moment” fundraising campaign. Consider this latest one that comes from Heritage Minister Shelly Glover: Continue reading The new "hot button" issue for Conservative fund-raising: Justin Trudeau
Tories feel the heat from Liberals on fundraising
For years, the federal Conservatives have dominated federal fundraising, often raising more money in any quarter than all other parties combined — sometimes twice as much as all other parties combined. Ask a Conservative and they will tell you that without that fundraising advantage, we would be celebrating Paul Martin’s 10th years as PM next summer.
But that fundraising advantage is in jeopardy. Continue reading Tories feel the heat from Liberals on fundraising
Justin Trudeau's co-campaign chair: The 2015 general election campaign has started
Katie Telford and Daniel Gagnier are the co-campaign chairs for the Liberal Party of Canada. The 2015 general election will be their first test and it will be a big one. Their Liberal predecessors in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2011 under-performed. Their NDP and Conservative opponents — Brad Lavigne and Jenni Byrne respectively in 2011 — delivered big results for their parties. Continue reading Justin Trudeau's co-campaign chair: The 2015 general election campaign has started
David Soknacki thinks he can be Toronto's Mayor. Here's why.
Questions for Toronto mayoral candidate David Soknacki: How will you get those who voted for Rob Ford in 2010 to vote for you in 2014? And what’s wrong with Olivia Chow for Mayor?