Last week saw me host a pair of town-hall meetings on veterans’ affairs in Thunder Bay and Fort Frances at the same time the NDP began our push for public consultations on the so-called “Fair Elections Act.” I was happy to have been joined by Peter Stoffer for our town-hall […]
John Rafferty – From The House
This past week was a very busy one in Ottawa, during which the Harper government presented another 400-plus page monster budget bill that does nothing to create jobs or make life affordable in Northwestern Ontario and that saw me take the issue of propane price gouging to the floor of […]
Last week, my time away from the riding was spent working on two very different issues: the proposed new undemocratic elections law that was hastily introduced by the Conservative government and the future development of the “Ring of Fire.” At the start of the week, the Conservative government of Stephen […]
This week past was a tough one. On Friday, the Veterans Affairs office in Thunder Bay closed its doors for the final time. It was an undignified slap-in-the-face to local veterans and those across the country. Over the past year, NDP MPs joined with the Public Service Alliance of Canada […]
This past week, NDP leader Tom Mulcair wrapped up his tour across Canada that focused on consulting with individuals, families, small businesses, and local governments to find ways to make life more affordable for Canadians. Let me explain the kind of things we heard during his stop in Thunder Bay—and […]
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy, safe, and healthy 2014. As we enter the new year, there is no shortage of political and economic developments to keep tabs on. It may be fitting, then, to look at the year ahead. The main political battle […]
The holidays and the end of another year finally are upon us, so this will be my final column of 2013 and the second part of the “year in review.” As summer came upon us in 2013, so did an incredible human tragedy. Early on the morning of July 6, […]
Since this is one of my two final columns for 2013, I would like offer a bit of a recap of the last year. I say this despite the fact that several important issues developed this past week. So before getting into the year in review, I want you to […]
It’s hard to be shocked any more by the Harper government’s Senate scandal, but last week I was. This shock was the result of the sudden “discovery” of hundreds of e-mails by the prime minister’s personal legal counsel, Benjamin Perrin, which were thought to have been destroyed before he left […]
The Senate scandal dominated much of what happened in Ottawa again last week, but other events also are worth looking at and taking note of. One significant event came with the release of the Auditor General’s fall 2013 report, which found that the Harper government is failing Canadians on many […]
Last week, new documents related to the Senate scandal were released to the public—and they paint a picture of a well-organized scheme involving many individuals working for or appointed by Stephen Harper. They also appear to contradict much of what the prime minister has said he knew and when he […]
When the new Veterans’ Charter was launched nearly eight years ago, we were hopeful it would be a step in the right direction for our nation’s veterans. Upon its launch, Stephen Harper guaranteed that “in the future, when our servicemen and women are to leave our military family, they can […]
