Chris Mazza of ORNGE got $4.6 million in two years

Dr. Chris Mazza received a hefty $4.6 million in public dollars in his last two years at ORNGE — a lot more than previously known.

That amount includes salary and bonus of $1.9 million in his last year as president; $1.5 million in salary and bonus the year before; a $250,000 cash advance against a future bonus; and two housing loans totalling $950,000.

Cutting off EI to convicts bound to backfire, social agency warns

Clawing back employment insurance benefits to convicts is a tough-on-crime measure destined to backfire, a Calgary agency told a Senate committee this week.

The United Way of Calgary appeared on Parliament Hill to voice its opposition to Bill C-316, a private member’s bill that would severely limit the ability of offenders to collect EI when they get out of jail.

The bill, introduced by B.C. Conservative MP Bill Harris in 2011, has passed the House of Commons and is now being considered by the Senate.

Critical mass building to abolish senate

History will eventually tell whether this was the week when public fatigue with the Canadian Senate passed the point of no return.

What is certain is that the abolition of the upper house is well on the way to being upgraded from a Plan B dearest to the heart of the NDP to the Plan A of a critical mass in the country’s political class — possibly including Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself.

XL Keystone Pipeline’s Construction in Serious Doubt

The Trans-Canada-Keystone XL oil pipeline’s eventual construction may never see the light of day, according to reliable U.S. officials who revealed this opinion under the guise of anonymity. This route to a massive increase of Canadian crude oil converted from tar sands in the Athabasca region of Canada’s Alberta Province direct to U.S. refineries in Southern Louisiana and the Houston area could currently provide available refinery capacity with approximately 830,000 daily barrels.

As economic summit kicks off in Calgary, key budget details emerge

Saturday’s Alberta Economic Summit at Mount Royal University promises to be a day of fascinating chatter — with no impact on the provincial budget.

The budget documents will apparently go to the printer soon, after several aspects were thrashed out Thursday at a Treasury Board meeting.

Alberta Budget: Canadian Tax Group Says Alberta Needs A Spending Diet

EDMONTON - The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it is going to Alberta's economic summit this weekend to spread the word that Alberta needs to go on a diet.

Federation spokesman Derek Fildebrandt says Alberta spends more per capita than almost any other province, but lags behind on health care and other services.

The PCs and Alberta's government: one entity, indivisible, under God?

As befits an almost exclusively political event, criticism of today's Alberta economic summit by the Opposition Wildrose Party prompted a harsh and highly partisan riposte by the Redford Government.

A news release issued yesterday on government letterhead over the name of Stefan Baranski, Premier Alison Redford's communications director, accuses Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith of a "deliberate misinformation campaign" against the premier, the summit and the March 7 budget.

Stripping Canadian wrongdoers of citizenship is knee-jerk folly

The law takes a very dim view of treason and terrorism. A Canadian who makes war on our country faces mandatory life in prison, the toughest sentence the law imposes. And someone who commits a terrorist act can also be jailed for life. Those are harsh deterrents.

Nor does it matter whether the offender is a native-born Canadian, a new Canadian who gave up some previous citizenship, or a dual Canadian/whatever passport holder. In the eyes of the law, a Canadian citizen is a citizen, without hyphenation. That’s as should be.

Municipal election spending strangely exempt from oversight

For most criminal or regulatory offences, the process for investigating and prosecuting the alleged offender is, generally speaking, fairly similar. A police officer or other government agent investigates the alleged offence. If there’s enough evidence, the individual is charged. After that, the accused receives disclosure of the evidence against him. A trial ultimately follows, after which there are typically two opportunities to appeal.

In broad terms, this same general process unfolds for everything from parking infractions to shoplifting to murder. But not for the enforcement of Ontario’s municipal elections law.

What did rock-star banker Mark Carney do for Canada?

Mark Carney remains the man of the hour. In Britain, the Canadian who will soon head the Bank of England is lauded as a rock star of international finance.

In Ottawa, where he served for five years as Bank of Canada governor, he is routinely praised as the man who prevented the country from falling into the abyss.