So, is the recession over or not? If you're asking the Conservative government that question then don't expect a straight answer. A few days after Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney declared the recession over, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said that wasn't the case. "I think the direction's important. There ...

Although the economy is still in crisis and the threat of a fall election is on every politician's mind, summer is traditionally when parliament slows down and this year won't be any different. But there's one important item on the government's agenda that we will hopefully see progress on over ...

It's only Tuesday, but it's already been a busy week on the political front. In case you missed it, here's a quick rundown on what's happened so far.

Calling for Jim Flaherty's head seems to be becoming something of a regional pastime up Ottawa way, and I guess you can't fault the Opposition for seizing what they see as an opportunity.

Siddhartha Lokanandi is a New Yorker who regularly uses credit cards to help him make big-ticket purchases. Last fall, for example, he put several thousand dollars on one card in order to send his mother to India.

"The provision of details yesterday by President (Barack) Obama and Secretary Geithner is very important moving forward. More needs to be done in Europe on cleansing the banks. That's what had to happen for stimulus to be effective, for economies globally to start to recover."

It looks like Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is doing some infrastructure spending of his own. During his week off from Parliament Hill, Flaherty's getting his office renovated. When he returns he'll have repainted walls, new curtains and a repaired carper, which has apparently been damaged.

While it's still too early to tell if Stephen Harper's prediction that the Canadian economy will improve faster than America's, the PM's optimistic outlook may have been a bit premature. Today, Canadians found out that our country's unemployment rate hit 7.7% — it's a far cry from December 2007's 5.9% ...

“Do not dally. This is not an academic discussion ... It's important for the sake of Canadian families and Canadian business that we get on with this. Don't go on holidays without passing it."