Pat's Posts

BYLINE: Mia Rabson

SOURCE: Winnipeg Free Press

   OTTAWA -- Manitoba NDP MP Pat Martin says he is prepared to throw his hat into the NDP leadership ring if no other candidates step forward on a platform to unite the party with the Liberals. Martin, one of the four longest-serving MPs in the NDP caucus, said the only candidate who will get his support is one who will bring the two parties together.

BYLINE: Mia Rabson / Hill Talk
SOURCE: WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

OTTAWA -- It was a whirlwind spring in Ottawa what with the federal election, two budgets, and the flurry of post-election activity. But as the new Parliament begins to settle in to its new reality of a Conservative majority, NDP opposition, and the smallest Liberal caucus in Canadian history, one other important factor has taken hold.

At least it's important in this province.

Manitoba is not a doormat anymore when it comes to leadership roles on the federal stage.

BYLINE: Amy Minsky
SOURCE: WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
OTTAWA -- Hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayers' money that flows through Parliament is being spent without true and effective oversight, partly because of Canada's archaic system, critics say. "At some point in time, we'll have to review the process -- the way parliamentarians carry out their primary responsibility," says Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page. "We're falling down on this process."

NDP MP Pat Martin, who has been fighting to ban asbestos mining in Canada ever since he was elected to the House in 1997, and who has been waging a vocal battle in the House against the federal government’s controversial support for it, has his own personal asbestos story.

SOURCE: THE HILL TIMES
BYLINE: Bea Vongdouangchanh