Bev Oda, the Minister for International Co-operation announced yesterday that, two weeks ago, she informed the prime minister of her intention to retire as an MP for the Ontario riding of Durham, effective July 31. A collection of related info…
The Media React
My column in our papers today: Serial public purse abuser quits
Best sub-headline: Kudos to an editor at the Toronto Star who came up with “What the Oda Doctored” over the top of an account of how Oda got caught out fudging some funding documents.
Neat trivia: CP’s Jennifer Ditchburn tweeted that every single Minister of International Co-operation has been a woman. There has never been a male minister of this portfolio. Similarly, Canada has never had a female minister of finance.
Famous Last Words
In the post on her Web site, Oda said she told the PM “two weeks ago” about her decision. That would have been June 19-20. The PM on those two days was in Los Cabos, Mexico, attending a G20 summit. Oda, meanwhile, was in the House of Commons on June 20 and her final words in that chamber were not a farewell or a thank you but an answer to a question put to her by Liberal Mark Eyking:
Hon. Mark Eyking (Sydney—Victoria, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, yesterday the OECD released a report on Canada’s international aid program. The report raised concerns that Canada lacks a clear and consistent vision for development aid. This shows a total lack of leadership and direction from the very top. The Prime Minister likes to lecture the world on how to handle its finances. When will the Prime Minister admit that he has no strategy for Canada’s overseas development assistance and when will he fire the minister, who should have no confidence in the House?
Hon. Bev Oda (Minister of International Cooperation, CPC): Mr. Speaker, in fact, the report also said that Canada was a more concentrated donor than it was previously and thus a more effective one. It also praises Canada for its international aid programs. It untied its aid, which means there is 30% more food getting to the people who need it. It also recognized that we met our commitments. We doubled our international assistance and we doubled our commitment to Africa.
This means we are getting results. It means that 8,000 farmers are now receiving 3% more income for their families in Africa.
Contrast that to, say, Lee Richardson’s final words in the House of Commons. You can read the whole speech here but he, unlike Oda, chose to finish his Parliamentary career by avoiding statistics in his final sentence: “It has been an honour to be in your company.”
The Cost
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation never misses an opportunity to remind Canadians how rich the pension system is for retiring MPs. And they didn’t fail to disappoint yesterday, quickly issuing a release that noted that, because Oda is 67 and had served for 8 years as an MP, she will immediately begin receiving a pension of $52,183.
The Riding
The race is on the riding of Durham. Some Conservatives are grumbling that Oda did not do the honourable thing but in fact acted selfishly and took the easy way out. The honourable thing, these grumblers say, would have been to accept the demotion that was surely coming her way and sit in the backbenches until the next general election. As it is now, the party is upset Oda has left a seat vacant that is no sure thing in a byelection and leaves the party scrambling to find a candidate.
I’ll take that grumbling with a grain of salt for, after winning the riding in 2004 by fewer than 1,500 votes, Oda successfully increased her absolute vote total through every election including the 2011 one and increased the percentage share of the overall vote in every election. Last year, Oda got 54.6 cent of all ballots cast and got more votes than the 2nd place New Democrat and 3rd place Liberal combined. Hard to see how a 10,000 Tory votes simply go poof! in a byelection.
Oda was part Harper’s original cabinet way back in 2006. She was first appointed Heritage Minister. You can review all of Harper’s cabinets right here.