Governments have a responsibility to get the big things right

 By David McGuinty. Governments have a responsibility to get the big things right. Transportation safety is certainly one of them. Commercial vehicle driver fatigue is a serious issue that deserves our attention. However, there is often confusion about jurisdictional responsibilities for transportation regulations. According to Transport Canada, “Provincial and territorial

Pipeline Update

 Proponents for the Northern Gateway Pipeline are likely breathing a small sigh of relief now that Christy Clark has kept her job as Premier of British Columbia. Had the NDP won, chances are the Pipeline would have been dead in the water. That said, smooth sailing is by no means guaranteed. However, the fact that the focus of the

Deception, Virulence and a Bomb: Iran Obstinately Moves Closer to the Nuclear Tipping Point

 The Canadian government’s sudden decision to sever all diplomatic ties with Iran earlier this month can be seen as a clear indication that, in the eyes of the Government of Canada, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s saber-rattling is fast-approaching the point of no return. Yet, in an attempt to avoid

Deported Man from Guinea Sues Canadian Ex-Wife Lainie Towell

 Love hurts. Few people know this better than Lainie Towell, an independent artist and dancer from the National Capital Region. Eight years ago, in the spring of 2004, Lainie Towell traveled to the West African country of Guinea to study African choreography with a Guinean dance troupe. During her three

Canada Needs to be a Leader in Arctic Research

 Groundbreaking research by Matthew Asplin, a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Earth Observation Science, explores the relationship between weather patterns and loss of sea ice. Called the Beaufort High, a high-pressure system known as an anticyclone hovers over the Beaufort Sea and Canadian Archipelago during the

Opposition Leader Tim Hudak says with Ontario facing unprecedented job losses and a massive deficit, six million in bonuses to LCBO management is wrong

 Premier Dalton McGuinty recently announced that the Ontario government is considering selling off crown assets such as the LCBO to reduce the deficit. Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak is convinced that such a move is not the right way to go. "Selling off crown assets is the wrong approach to

Canadian Innovation and 21st Century Challenges

 Like other countries, Canada faces profound challenges in the decades ahead. An aging population, the need to mitigate and adjust to climate change, the transition to a low greenhouse gas emissions economy and pressures from rising economic superpowers are issues we all confront. Science, technology and innovation will be crucial

Andrea Horwath says LCBO bonuses show a culture of entitlement

 By: Dina Zeldin OLM: Ex-LCBO employee Larry Paterson discovered through Freedom of Information requests that the LCBO dished out over 6 million dollars in bonuses to employees in 2008 (which had increased from just over 400 thousand in 1997). Can you comment on why these bonuses were awarded? What was

The Future of Northern Resource Development in Canada — Optimism or Pessimism

 Natural resource development in the Canadian North is emerging as one of our country’s most interesting economic policy issues. Climate change, mineral prices, Aboriginal relations, northern sovereignty, and environmental review efficiency are environmental review efficiency are among those issues that are closely integrated with northern resource development and will influence

Mr. Immigration Minister, It’s Getting Heavy: An Open Letter to Jason Kenney From Lainie Towell

 Dear Honourable Jason Kenney,   I wanted to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to appear on CTV's Canada AM, to discuss immigration/marriage fraud. After I spoke on Canada AM about my fraudulent ex-husband who misrepresented himself to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA )and

Heart Break & Entry into Canada

 The evil scheme: Court an unsuspecting victim and develop a false relationship to gain access to a foreign country. Sound like something from a fictional novel? Unfortunately, it happens all too frequently and all too often the victims are Canadian men and women, like Lainie Towell. Lainie is an artist

Canada’s Presence in Afghanistan: Why We Are There And Why We Would Do A Disservice To The United Nations And Ourselves If We Didn’t See The Mission Through

 The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is that august organization's single largest special political mission. Nineteen UN agencies are in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people and its democratically elected government establish a solid and secure democratic society. Twenty thousand troops from 37 countries (including over 2,500 Canadians

Innovation in Canada’s Science and Technology Sector: Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s New Strategy

 Governments do not create prosperity. It's created by business and the best thing government can do is mitigate any unnecessary interference with companies as they do their business. Canada has the world's fifth-largest aerospace industry with world-beating companies, such as Bombardier and CAE, and with the workhorse of NASA —

Canada’s Muscular Military: The Throne Speech Façade

 Pity the Canadian Forces. They must surely be suffering from an identity crisis. It was only a month ago that the government strutted the Forces before the public eye so we could see their biceps bulging, their pecs rippling. Just listen to the overflow of machismo in the Throne Speech

Giving Up On Government As An Agent For The Public Good…Is Not A Good Idea

 When I first got into the commercial polling business, about 70% of Canadians held a somewhat favourable impression of politicians. Today, more believe in the devil or that Elvis is alive than hold this particular point of view. Now, I know all of us smirk knowingly, from time to time,

An Interview with Gen Ray Henault: There’s No Life Like It

 In this three-part series on the state of Canada's military preparedness, Ottawa Life's top writers examine Canada's peacekeeping deployments around the world, capacity and equipment challenges, and pressing infrastructure replacement needs. We begin our series on national defense with the first of three interviews with Gen. Ray Henault, Chief of

Have you no shame — The shocking expenses of our unelected city managers

 By Claire Tremblay & Dan Donovan Shocking. That’s how Auditor General Sheila Fraser described the waste of $100 million of taxpayers’ money in her February 10 report to Parliament on the Liberal government’s sponsorship fiasco in Quebec. But for jaded Canadian taxpayers, the waste of their hard-earned money is nothing

In opposition against “a Phantom Prime Minister”: An interview with Stephen Harper

 By: Peter Gill Ottawa Life Magazine: If you were Prime Minister, how would you deal with Canada's declining military? How much money do you think needs to be invested in it? Stephen Harper: A lot. Numbers have been thrown around by various groups. The consensus seems to be you need