Federal Politics
Heiltsuk statement: Protest in Bella Bella was 'very respectful'
By April 2, 2012 04:40 pm 12 commentsThe Tyee received this afternoon an emailed press release from the Heiltsuk Tribal Council in Bella Bella responding to the Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel's cancellation of the day's hearings in the community. According to press reports, the JRP cancelled the hearings because of security and logistical concerns, after protesters greeted their arrival at the airport. Read more…
Northern Gateway panel scrubs first of four hearings in Bella Bella
By April 2, 2012 11:34 am 6 commentsBELLA BELLA, B.C. - The first day of a planned four-day hearing by the joint review panel examining the Enbridge (TSX:ENB) Northern Gateway Pipeline project was cancelled in Bella Bella, British Columbia. Read more…
All but unscathed by federal cuts: MPs and their pensions
By March 30, 2012 11:55 am 8 commentsOTTAWA -- So much for sharing the pain. Retirement just got harder for ordinary Canadians and for public servants, but the gold-plated pension plan enjoyed by members of Parliament has emerged virtually unscathed -- at least for now -- from Thursday's federal budget. Read more…
Filed inHarper budget has $8M to restrict 'political activities' of charities
By March 29, 2012 03:33 pm 40 commentsStephen Harper's conservative government intends to spend $8 million over the next two years to restrict the political activities of Canadian charities. The move is being perceived as an attack on Canada's environmental movement, which receives a portion of its funding from American charitable organizations. Read more…
Budget highlights: Old age security, packing in the penny
By March 29, 2012 02:50 pm 8 commentsOTTAWA - Highlights from the Conservative government's 2012 budget, released Thursday. Read more…
Filed inMulcair's muted debut as NDP leader comes with no prime minister to spar with
By March 27, 2012 10:15 am 13 commentsOTTAWA - Know your enemy, know yourself. The time-worn Sun Tzu axiom may as well have been tattooed on Thomas Mulcair's right hand as he arrived Monday for his first day on Parliament Hill as the leader of the official Opposition. With his sworn political enemy, Stephen Harper, on the other side of the globe in South Korea, the new NDP leader had no one to truly fight with. Read more…
Filed inMulcair preaches unity, gets hero's welcome from caucus
By March 25, 2012 04:10 pm 2 commentsThomas Mulcair spent his first day as federal NDP leader sending reassuring signals about restoring party unity and safeguarding the legacy of his late predecessor, Jack Layton. Read more…
Filed inNDP chooses mercurial Mulcair as spear carrier of official Opposition
By March 25, 2012 08:50 am 10 commentsNew Democrats opted Saturday for a rhetorical spear carrier over an ideological puritan by selecting mercurial Thomas Mulcair to carry the official Opposition into electoral battle against Stephen Harper's Conservatives. Read more…
Filed inMulcair on how he'll lead NDP to victory over Harper's Conservatives
By March 24, 2012 09:00 pm 16 commentsNewly elected NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, when still campaigning for the job, stopped by The Tyee’s offices for an interview and laid out his vision for how to he would lead the New Democrats to defeat the Conservatives and form government. Some excerpts from that December, 2011, conversation with Tyee editor David Beers: Read more…
Filed inWill social media determine next NDP leader?
By March 23, 2012 03:50 pm 12 commentsAs New Democrats vote in the first round of their leadership election on Friday, a website has already ranked the candidates by their use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Read more…
NDP holds Toronto-Danforth by close to 60%
By March 19, 2012 07:20 pm 5 commentsThe federal New Democrats won resoundingly in today's Toronto-Danforth by-election, with NDP candidate Craig Scott taking the seat by 59 per cent -- close to the 60 per cent that Jack Layton had gained in last May's federal election. Read more…
Filed inFederal Conservatives trail NDP in BC; provincial Conservatives threaten BC Liberals: Poll
By March 19, 2012 03:50 pm 12 commentsNew polls show the federal NDP at 40 per cent among B.C. voters, ten points ahead of the Conservatives, while the B.C. Conservatives are seriously weakening Premier Christy Clark's provincial Liberals. Read more…
Tory minister says 'all options are on the table' for F-35 fighter jets
By March 16, 2012 09:55 am 8 commentsThe Conservative cabinet minister in charge of buying military equipment says he is looking at all options when it comes to the F-35 stealth fighter jets. Read more…
Filed inBill passes to send Air Canada labour disputes to binding arbitration
By March 14, 2012 09:36 am 2 commentsFederal politicians worked late into the night to debate a back-to-work bill to send a pair of Air Canada labour disputes to binding arbitration in order to keep the airline flying. Read more…
Filed inTory plan to streamline environmental oversight draws fire
By March 13, 2012 12:00 pm 2 commentsQuicker environmental assessments are step closer to reality now that a House of Commons committee has given the federal government a blueprint for how to streamline lengthy hearings. Read more…
SFU prof: Robocalls did suppress voter turnout
By March 12, 2012 01:20 pm 3 commentsA Simon Fraser University economics professor says voters were "demobilized" by robocalls in the 2011 federal election. In a preliminary draft of her report, published on March 8, Dr. Anke S. Kessler argues that voters in non-Conservative polls turned out in fewer numbers in 2011 than they had in 2008. Read more…
Filed inHarper says decision to intervene in Air Canada dispute a special case
By March 9, 2012 11:55 am 15 commentsTORONTO - It was necessary for the federal government to intervene in Air Canada's labour disputes because a shutdown at the country's largest airline at a peak travel time could take a toll on the economy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday. Read more…
Drug company should have addressed shortage sooner: de Jong
By March 7, 2012 12:45 pm 3 commentsBritish Columbia Health Minister Michael de Jong criticized a Quebec pharmaceutical company for failing to take steps to deal with a shortage of widely used drugs sooner. Read more…
Elections Canada launches complaint form for fraudulent calls
By March 6, 2012 01:50 pm 2 commentsElections Canada today announced a new complaint form for voters who believe they may have received misleading or harassing phone calls during last year's federal election campaign. Read more…
Filed inConservative backbencher lays blame for robocalls with Elections Canada
By March 5, 2012 02:10 pm 4 commentsOTTAWA -- A Conservative backbencher is suggesting Elections Canada may be to blame for the robocalls affair. Read more…
Filed in
The next page contains:
'Free Canadian scientists,' journal urges Harper
British Columbians hold sway in federal NDP race
Bill C-10 would increase cost per offender by 16 times: PBO
Could political change in Venezuela hurt Alberta's oil sands?
Robocalls issue keeps bloggers, tweeters active over weekend
MPs should defeat Internet snooping bill, says poll
Truth and Reconciliation Commission to release interim report
Ontario bogus call investigation more successful than earlier BC case
EU makes no decision on 'oil sands' dirty fuel vote
Protest against Vic Toews in Richmond today
Toews must go says National Post editor, and the tweets roll on
Conservative budget cuts could tip Canada into recession: CAPE
For sport fishers, what’s the global limit
Feds don't give veterans enough info about benefit rulings: ombudsman
Clement says Internet bill would protect public better than gun registry
Minister Toews attacked by twittersphere over Bill C-30
Councillors in Terrace, BC, vote to oppose Northern Gateway project
Sales tax transition rules coming Friday for housing sector
Minister says Canada needs online surveillance law to chase cyber-criminals
Prime Minister Harper mixes oil with human rights on visit to China
The page after that contains:
New jail unlikely to reduce Aboriginal incarceration: criminologist
Bail out of F-35s while we can, argues UBC prof in Canadian Foreign Policy Journal
BC justice system review is more talk when action needed, say critics
Westward ho: Census shows 33.5 million in Canada, with more in Prairies, BC
Investment Canada Act update delay makes country a difficult investment: NDP
MLA vows to fight BC plan to use farm land for foreign trade zone
Prime Minister Harper heads to China today to talk trade, energy
PM calls Toronto-Danforth by-election for March 12
Attawapiskat third party manager will stay: Federal Court judge
No independent agency, but increased monitoring in oilsands
Youth reps: Canada needs national strategy for Aboriginal children
Report says science, not minister should rule Canada's fisheries
Tory senator's idea: Give each murderer a rope inside their prison cell
Attawapiskat seeks injunction against third-party manager
New funding partnership for First Nations schools 'significant': FNESC
'Radical' federal remarks boost fundraising, support for enviro groups
UK urges quick completion of Canada-EU free trade agreement
Martin to Harper: Stop imposing your will on First Nations
PMO threatened environmental charity, affidavit alleges
Chief to Harper: Address native concerns or face 'aboriginal uprising'
Democratic Trust
As British Columbia and other jurisdictions consider allowing online voting, can it be made secure enough that people will trust it? Will it encourage more people to vote? But if something goes wrong, will it further erode people's confidence in their democracies? And what role is the media likely to play in shaping the debate?
These are among the issues to be considered at a May 26 discussion that Fair Voting BC and PartyX are hosting at The Hive in Vancouver. I'll be on the panel, along with UBC Law's Fathima Cader and SFU computer scientist Steve Wolfman. The results and recommendations are to inform the two organizations' public positions on online voting.
Meanwhile join me and other contributors on The Hook as we bring you the latest from B.C. and across Canada.
-- Andrew MacLeod
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The Hook Most Recent
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The Tyee Most Recent
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