“Do exactly as I say or I’ll have you in court” – that sounds like an impetuous boss, but it might illustrate the way Ottawa municipal employees relate to elected members of Council.
It is easy to assume that all governments in Canada operate in much the same way. Most of us imagine that, in a country deemed a representative democracy, public servants (once considered “civil”) remain in awe of the office of those elected (if not necessarily in awe of every office-holder).
This is written the day after the Governor General granted Mr. Harper permission to prorogue Parliament, thereby blessedly ending one of the most tawdry parliaments in memory. ? The unthinking political partisanship of all our political parties has been truly shocking. Canada is the loser and certainly more divided by the overly heated rhetoric of the last few days. Where are our political leaders when we need them ?
Now that the NCC-led study on possible locations for a new bridge across the Ottawa River has decided on the Kettle Island option, all hell has broken loose.
The Mayor of Ottawa has stoutly declared that no new bridge is needed. The good folk of Manor Park are firmly opposed to a bridge in the location preferred by the consultants.
Let's step back a bit. First, is building a bridge across the Ottawa River a big deal? It's hard to imagine that it is an engineering challenge.
1. Immigration has been one of the central building blocks of this country and should be encouraged.
2. Immigration policy is so important that it should be freely and publicly discussed, including during election campaigns. (We have never had such a debate.)
From some digging in the Internet, it appears that there are about four standard arguments - as set out below - for both the pro and the con of legislating against hand-held cell phones while driving. Where I was unsuccessful in my digging, was finding some generally accepted statistics on accidents that could be attributed to use of cell phones while driving. If anyone turns up some, please let us know.
We need to reflect on the implications of Canada’s legendary easy-access citizenship policies and the suggestion that our passport is becoming the world’s “passport of convenience”, comparable to the Liberian shipping flag-of-convenience – i.e., the flag flown by expatriate and tramp tankers and freighters with dubious credentials to exercise their operations in international waters.
The issue of Senate reform has once again raised its hydra head.The government in the Throne Speech of October 16, 2007 said that Canada was not well served by the Senate in its present form, and that it would pursue certain aspects of reform.In the Senate itself, Senator Hugh Segal has put forward a motion calling for a referendum to abolish the Senate.
