Attawapiskat: Hardly A Day of Reckoning

Michael Hammond

December 6, 2011 | No Comments

Shawn Atleo, Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said the Attawapiskat crisis marks a “moment of reckoning” in Canada’s policies regarding First Nations. I would like to believe him. But, recent history suggests otherwise. After all, the E. coli crisis in the northern Kashechewan reserve in 2005 was large enough to warrant a [...]

Enough already!

Michael Hammond

October 14, 2011 | 1 Comment

Stop the presses. Apple has released a newer, slicker, faster operating system for its latest iPhone. Is this news? Apparently, it’s front-page news. Type iPhone in Google News and look at how prominent this release is on news pages. When did a product release merit such attention? I’m not sure when the media began openly [...]

McGuinty and his Houdini act

Michael Hammond

October 6, 2011 | 2 Comments

So, another election for the premier Ontarians call Dad. Like the last election in this province, I think he should consider himself fairly lucky. I’m not sure how he managed to escape from this election with only scant debate of his government’s record in office. Sure, the PCs and the NDP went to great lengths [...]

Jack Layton: The True Measure of a Man

Michael Hammond

August 23, 2011 | No Comments

For a brief moment, he had me. Jack Layton was an extraordinary talent. I say this based on my one experience I had with him. I was working for a lobby group during a brief sojourn from the media. Our group, which lobbies on behalf of Canada’s municipalities, was holding its annual conference in St. [...]

Apologies in advance to Toronto

Michael Hammond

August 4, 2011 | No Comments

While reading Christie Blatchford’s column about Nycole Turmel’s so-called separatist past, I reread the following line a few times. “It means that us têtes-carrées in the ROC just don’t get it. Such nuance is beyond us.” Blatchford was suggesting that English Canada (ROC equals rest of Canada) doesn’t understand what Quebeckers do: political allegiances don’t [...]

Will and Kate’s excellent adventure

Michael Hammond

July 7, 2011 | 6 Comments

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, yet the naïve journalism student in me still reels at the site of such frivolity (I use that word deliberately, see below). I was perusing the Globe and Mail this week when I saw this headline about Kate Middleton: “Kate’s finally in pants: hit or miss?” My first reaction was [...]

Hoserdom, hockey and Dudley Do-right

Michael Hammond

June 20, 2011 | 4 Comments

There is no doubt Canada’s reputation as the feel-good, peace-loving Dudley Do-right of the world has taken countless beatings in recent years, but none was more jarring than seeing the site of Vancouver Canucks fans destroying their downtown after losing the Stanley Cup. There are a number of theories about how it was caused and [...]

Kinder, gentler Question Period

Michael Hammond

June 8, 2011 | 1 Comment

I found rather laughable that a National post column would point out what is obvious to anyone who has watched Question Period this week. The new era of decorum has begun, which was described as insincere. You think? A few of my friends in the public service emailed me the other day, on the first [...]

Are you there Mr. Layton? It’s me, Joe Canada

Michael Hammond

May 30, 2011 | 2 Comments

It never fails to amaze me how pervasive the bubble over Parliament Hill can be for those trapped inside it. The latest example can be found over the per-vote subsidy for political parties. The Conservatives plan to kill the public subsidy, which allows each political party to collect $2 for every vote they receive in [...]

Life outside the bubble

Michael Hammond

May 24, 2011 | 1 Comment

The continued hand-wringing and soul-searching over the new Conservative majority among the parliamentary press gallery and parliamentary gadflies makes me think of my one defining moment as a journalist on Parliament Hill in 2006. I was a freelancer and I was fortunate enough to be hired on for the summer as a parliamentary reporter. One [...]

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The Commons has brought together a diverse cross-section of unique and intelligent voices to generate meaningful debate and discussion. All contributors have made the solemn commitment to cultivate respectful, honest, vigorous, and open dialogue—and to promote that very kind of dialogue within the larger Canadian political discourse.