Tag: denis lebel

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

The Ministerial handout: The scorecard on who in Harper's cabinet handed out how much

Denis Lebel hands out the cash
Minister Denis Lebel (left) is one of the pros in Stephen Harper’s cabinet when it comes to handing out federal cash. Here, the mayor of Saint-Edmond-les-Plaines, QC, Rodrigue Cantin gives Lebel a hug earlier this year after taxpayers across Canada chipped in $272,000 to help fix up the community centre in Cantin’s community. See bottom of this post for more info. (PHOTO COURTOISIE/LE POINT)

One of the most important jobs for any minister is handing out tax dollars. The federal government collects more than $245 billion dollars a year in taxes and fees paid by individuals and businesses and, more often than not, spends more than it collects. Some of that spending is unavoidable — think Old Age Security benefits or transfer payments to the province for health care and social services — but a good chunk every year is quite discretionary. And when there’s a political spending choice to be made, you can bet a government minister wants his or her name associated with this decision.

As I’ve written here before, I try to track as many press releases as I can detailing spending announcements through my “OttawaSpends” project and, so far, up until Monday’s cabinet shuffle, Continue reading The Ministerial handout: The scorecard on who in Harper's cabinet handed out how much