Category: Politics

Pushing back: Denis Lebel vs Pauline Marois

Denis Lebel is Canada’s Minister for Infrastructure and Communities. He is also the “political minister” for Prime Minister Stephen Harper who — I feel silly for pointing it out — leads the Conservative Party of Canada which is dedicated to preserving and enhancing a Canada which includes Quebec.

And yet, once upon a time, Lebel was member of the separatist Bloc Quebecois. For eight years, from 1993 to 2001.  But then his politics changed.  His job did, too. In 2000, he was elected mayor of Roberval, up near Lac St. Jean. And in 2004, 2005, and in 2006 he kicked in cash to the Quebec Liberal Party. Then in 2007, he won a federal byelection, picking up  a seat — Roberval-Lac St. Jean — that had been held by the BQ.  His political contributions to Quebec provincial parties stopped — until last year when he kicked in $100 to the Quebec Liberal Party.

Continue reading Pushing back: Denis Lebel vs Pauline Marois

Full text of Innes statement, reaction to Trudeau spiking her campaign

Christine Innes planned to seek the Liberal nomination in Trinity-Spadina. She was the Liberal candidate in the last two general elections, losing both times to Olivia Chow. With Chow’s resignation yesterday, Innes fired up her campaign to win the Liberal nomination for a third time. But she was told  by e-mail today that she would not be allowed to run, that leader Justin Trudeau would not sign her nomination papers. Why? The Ontario campaign chair told CP that was because Innes’ husband, Tony Ianno, himself a former Trinity-Spadina MP, had engaged in “intimidation and bullying” of other Toronto Liberals.

Innes released a statement of reaction to that decision: Continue reading Full text of Innes statement, reaction to Trudeau spiking her campaign

The attendance scorecard at Transport

Following up on this post, here’s attendance scorecard for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

For the the second session of the current Parliament — this session having begun with last October’s Speech from the Throne in October — there have been 16 meetings of the committee, during which it has considered the spending plans for both the departments of Transport and Infrastructure; reviewed Bill C-3, studies the cessation of home mail delivery by Canada Post, and reviewed the safety of Canada’s transport system, particularly with a view to the transport of oil by rail. Continue reading The attendance scorecard at Transport

Chow skipped plenty of work in her final Parliamentary assignment

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In the 2011 federal election, the haymaker that put Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff on the mat was thrown by NDP Leader Jack Layton in the English-language debate.

Turning to Ignatieff, Layton reminded Ignatieff that he’d failed to show up for 70 per cent of the votes in the House of Commons while he was leader. “Canadians who don’t show up for work don’t expect to get promoted,” Layton said.

At that point, it was all over for Iggy.

Now, Layton’s widow, Olivia Chow may also have to explain why she expects to be promoted from opposition MP to mayor of Canada’s biggest city when she, too, failed to show up for much of her key parliamentary assignment as vice-chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities.
 Continue reading Chow skipped plenty of work in her final Parliamentary assignment

PMO slams opposition on Ukraine. Slams. Really Slams.

Foreign Minister John Baird will lead an official delegation to Ukraine later this week. As the government said, the delegation will include community leaders and Parliamentarians but, as we learned today, none of those Parliamentarians will be New Democrats or Liberals. How come, we asked Jason MacDonald, the communication director for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. His answer: Continue reading PMO slams opposition on Ukraine. Slams. Really Slams.

Independent Liberal Senators take their new freedom out for a spin

Well, at first blush, I’d say bravo to the Independent Senate Liberal Caucus — the group of Senators, many of them lifelong torchbearers for the Liberal Party of Canada, who were told a month ago they could not longer be part of the same Parliamentary caucus as party leader Justin Trudeau and the elected Liberal parliamentarians.

This group, known as the Independent Senate Liberal Caucus, today put forward their first initiatives to try out their new freedom from the elected caucus. Now, I disagreed with Trudeau’s decision and one of the reasons I did is because senators who are members of a Parliamentary caucus are at least nominally answerable to an elected member of Parliament, i.e. the party leader, and so, if Canadians wish to hold a senator or a group of senators to account for their actions, they can, in theory, do so through that elected leader.  Continue reading Independent Liberal Senators take their new freedom out for a spin

Conservative MP Brad Butt: Makin' it up in the House of Commons

Brad Butt Brad Butt, (left) the Conservative MP for Mississauga-Streetsville, has admitted he’s been making stuff up during debates in the House of Commons.

We start on February 6, where Butt rises in the House of Commons during Question Period to say he has personally witnessed what amounts to serious election fraud (my emphasis):

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a bit about this vouching system again. I know the minister represents an urban city. I am from a semi-urban area of Mississauga, where there are many high-rise apartment buildings. On mail delivery day when the voter cards are delivered to community mailboxes in apartment buildings, many of them are discarded in the garbage can or the blue box. I have actually witnessed other people picking up the voter cards, going to the campaign office of whatever candidate they support and handing out these voter cards to other individuals, who then walk into voting stations with friends who vouch for them with no ID.

Then, a couple of hours later, also in the House of Commons, Butt rises again to say (my emphasis again): Continue reading Conservative MP Brad Butt: Makin' it up in the House of Commons

Trudeau on the economy. Economists on Trudeau

The video here was released today by the Liberal Party of Canada. It’s just over 7 minutes an in it, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau uses charts and figures to present his diagnosis of what’s wrong with Canada’s economy.

Laval University economist Stephen Gordon watched it and had these thoughts: Continue reading Trudeau on the economy. Economists on Trudeau

Flaherty and his post-budget QP performance:The record

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Finance Minister Jim Flaherty receives a standing ovation during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa February 12, 2014. Mind you, this did not happen until 15:02 pm, or more than 45 minutes after the first post-budget QP was underway. By then, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (seen applauding above at right) had answered an unprecedented 21 questions. (CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters)

Was Jim Flaherty benched during Question Period after suggesting his party might back away from a 2011 platform promise on income splitting? Flaherty said next to nothing in Wednesday’s Question Period, the first one following the tabling of his budget on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the PM took an unprecedented number of questions. And the first minister to follow Harper was Employment MInister Jason Kenney, who, after Flaherty had backed away from the income splitting commitment had loudly affirmed that commitment to reporters.

Today, Flaherty was in the House answering questions — on income splitting, of course — and stuck to a very particular phrase, the same phrase Harper would stick to at an event near Toronto. (Harper was not in the House today.) Conservative sources are telling reporters, including me, that Harper and Flaherty both believe that their campaign commitment of 2011 now needs a re-think. Fine. Still don’t understand why Question Period unfolded in such an odd way yesterday.

So I looked back at all of the 10 Question Periods which immediately followed the tabling of a budget. Turns out Flaherty played a central role in them only a handful of times and in fact, missed 5 post-budget QPs. Here’s the tale of the tape:  Continue reading Flaherty and his post-budget QP performance:The record