Tag Archives: House of Commons
Is America Broken?
You probably have noticed that there are crises everywhere you turn these days. Wars and rumors of wars, fires, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Apparently the US House of Representatives missed the memos. At a time when the world needs leadership, America’s Congressmen are staring at their navels and playing political games. Such things aren’t […]
Is She Serious?
Canada’s House of Commons chooses a new speaker today, and Green Party leader Elizabeth May has thrown her name into the hat. She won’t win. She may be the best qualified of the candidates, but qualifications don’t always mean much in an election. My question is more, why is she running? Party leaders aren’t normally […]
Nothing To See Here…
…or is there? After months of hiding, Katie Telford will appear before a House of Commons committee today. Don’t expect to learn anything. Telford, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, will do her best to not answer questions about foreign interference in Canada’s electoral system. She has a problem though. If she was briefed by […]
Debating Democracy
Canadian Members of Parliament were supposed to be home today, meeting with their constituents. Instead, the House of Commons is sitting (though some MPs will be attending on Zoom). We are in a national “crisis” after all. MPs spent the weekend debating whether the Liberal government was right to invoke the Emergencies Act last Monday […]
Missing A Slam Dunk
It is not often that Canada’s Official Opposition hands the government and easy victory. They did that this week – and the government missed it. I can only presume that they are so locked into their ways that they can’t see a gift when it is given to them. The Conservative Party sponsored a motion […]
At the last minute…
…I received a lunch invitation today. Not being a social media butterfly, I forgot to take a picture of my meal. However, as I ate my fish and chips in the cafeteria of the Wellington Building, I was reminded of this post from five years ago. They don’t make them like they used to. Probably […]
The Naked MP
I hope they catch the perpetrator. At the every least it should be a firing offence, if criminal charges aren’t laid. It has been in the news around the world: A member of the Canadian parliament appeared naked during a sitting of the House of Commons. Needless to say, that is a breach of the […]
Breaking With Tradition
I was rather curious as to how Canada’s Parliament was going to handle its opening Thursday, as for the first time in more than 150 years the Senate and the House of Commons are meeting in different buildings. Traditionally the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod has walked to the Commons Chamber from the Senate […]
Decision Chamber
Made a quick visit to downtown Ottawa last week, as I realized I had yet to see the new chamber for Canada’s House of Commons, which relocated to West Block earlier this year. Centre Block is undergoing a ten-year renovation/restoration, and a new place had to be found for the House to meet. So they […]
Electoral Reform I
I wrote this a couple of weeks back, then decided not to post it. Today I’m reconsidering. For Canadians I’m just retelling something they already know. But it occurs to me that not everyone has had a chance to join the conversation – and it is not limited to Canadians. So today a lesson in […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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