National Newswatch

Tory senator says it’s time for some colleagues to go

After watching the Senate expense scandal deepen over the last week, Senator Vern White spoke out Sunday, saying his colleagues in the red chamber need to understand with greater clarity that, “Loyalty can’t be more important than integrity.”

Harper under pressure as Duffy scandal claims his chief of staff

Prime Minister Stephen Harper faces growing pressure to order an independent probe into the spending scandal that has cost him a high-profile senator and now his right-hand man.

Can the Senate fire a senator?

An expert on parliamentary rules says the Senate has the power to turf a senator from the chamber, as long as a majority approves the expulsion.

Behind the job-rigging at ACOA

Two of Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s political aides had their civil service appointments revoked last fall when the hiring process was found to be rigged.

Attack ads here to stay, say political pundits skeptical of Trudeau’s ‘sunny ways ’ Wilfrid Laurier strategy

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau may be taking on Wilfrid Laurier’s “sunny ways” strategy to fight against the Conservatives by staying above the fray, but negative political ads are here to stay, say political pundits.

Senate enters ‘darkest days’ in 146-year history, it’s ‘mired in deep mud’

Observers say the Senate’s reputation has bottomed out with latest developments in expense claims scandal.

No shortage of hopefuls to replace MP Denis Coderre

Candidates vying to replace departing Liberal MP Denis Coderre have been jostling for position ever since it was only a rumour he was going to run for the Montreal mayor’s job.

New NDP ads look to bring Mulcair back into spotlight

The New Democrats are trying to take back the spotlight this week with a new set of television ads that highlight the leadership skills of Thomas Mulcair.

Libs out-fundraise NDP in first quarter, political players say numbers don’t reflect parties’ broad support

The federal Liberal Party, which was nearly wiped off the political map in the last federal election when it was reduced from 77 to 34 seats in the Commons, has out-fundraised the NDP in the first quarter of 2013, but political pundits say it’s not a reflection of broad support for either party.

Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx

A jobless Canadian IT professional who is collecting employment insurance is upset because he now suspects several recent jobs he applied for went to temporary foreign workers.

Which couple should provide a new name for Victoria Day?

The new movement to change the name of the statutory holiday in May to Victoria & First Peoples Day is well-intentioned — but it wouldn’t totally change what annoys some Canadians about the current branding.

Climate drifts into uncharted global warming territory, feds still pushing fossil fuels

One week after the NOAA records 400 parts per million CO2 for the first time in recorded history, the federal government pushes fossil fuels and Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes the case for Keystone to New York City.

A look at the life and career of Ray Novak, prime minister’s new chief of staff

A look at the life and career of Ray Novak, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s new chief of staff:

Conservative MP says Nigel Wright wanted to ensure no taxpayer money ‘on the hook’

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel said she’s “disappointed” over the ongoing Senate expenses scandal but stands firmly by her party, and the government is motivated by a “desire to make sure that we have accountability and transparency in the Senate.”

The Mike Duffy bomb sends more political shrapnel through Conservatives

Tim Harper — Mike Duffy is radioactive. The one-time Conservative cheerleader is now the poster boy for the filth which envelops the party brand. The man holed up on Friendly Lane in Cavendish, P.E.I., has brought down one of the most powerful men in Canada…

How Mike Duffy lost his way

Dan Leger — I’m almost ashamed to admit this now, but I once considered Mike Duffy a friend. Not the kind of friend you’d share your innermost hopes and dreams with. But a work friend and fellow Maritimer, someone I saw almost every day when we were both reporters on Parliament Hill.

The loss of Nigel Wright is also Canada’s loss

Michael Taube — It has been a tumultuous political week for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Tories. Yet it’s fair to say the resignation of his chief of staff, Nigel Wright, is probably the biggest blow for the PM, his government — and the country.

Wright’s fall raises questions Harper has to answer

Lawrence Martin — The correct decision has been made. Whether Stephen Harper demanded chief of staff Nigel Wright’s resignation, or whether Wright himself made the call, it had to happen. Wright was tainted goods. When you take the kind of credibility hit he did over…

In Tories’ hour of need, PM must go his own way

John Ibbitson — At one of the most difficult moments since he became Prime Minister, Stephen Harper is alone. He must rejuvenate a listless governing agenda while dousing a major political fire. He must rebuild his cabinet and craft what may be the most…

With Nigel Wright gone, Stephen Harper faces even more questions

Michael Den Tandt — Did Prime Minister Stephen Harper have foreknowledge of a backroom deal between his now former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and Sen. Mike Duffy, in which the latter’s $90,172 tab for improper housing expenses would be made to go away?

(Prime) ministerial responsibility and all that … surely the wrong man has quit!

David Climenhaga — Surely the wrong man has quit! Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, resigned yesterday in the imbroglio that followed the revelation he gave disgraced Senator Mike Duffy $90,172 to pay back the Parliamentary…

Wright resigns. Stephen Harper, and questions, remain

Paul Wells — The doctoring of a Senate internal economy committee report to erase some references to Mike Duffy’s conduct was perfectly consistent with Stephen Harper’s long-standing preference for making questions go away rather than answering them.

What is it about journalists and expenses?

Jan Wong — t was a dark and stormy night. I was in the VIP cloakroom of the Canadian Opera Company after a biblical and bloody performance of Salome, the Richard Strauss opera directed by Atom Egoyan. I’m no VIP, but my friend in Toronto is a longtime donor.

The real problem with the Senate

Andrew Potter — Milton Friedman liked to say that the problem with socialism is socialism, while the problem with capitalism is capitalists. What he meant, more or less, was that while the free market was a fundamentally sound system that got a bad name from the crooked…

Duffy scandal tarnishes Senate

Lorne Gunter — What bothers me most about the Mike Duffy scandal is not the apparent payment of the embattled senator’s debts by the prime minister’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright. That’s dumb and smelly and may be in violation of the Senate’s ethics code…

Clark, Dix, and chicken entrails

Monte Solberg — As B.C. NDP Leader Adrian Dix might have said last Tuesday night, “I want to thank Canada’s pollsters for the honour of naming me as British Columbia newest premier. Good night and may the gods of the lakes and trees, especially the Ogopogo, bless you.”