Belated random thoughts on political happenings

I've found myself too busy with work and what not lately to be blogging as much as I should be, so here's some short random thoughts on recent events until I can write something longer. Which I promise to do soon. Ish.

* Montreal's crumbling Champlain Bridge was in the news today; it was a topic in question period and apparently Conservative transport minister Denis Lebel is about to visit the city to announce another study on its replacement. This tweaked my memory, as I recall the Conservatives, during the 2008 by-election in St. Lambert (cancelled by the 2008 general election) were doling out pork and promised to replace the bridge. Three years and two election after Lawrence Cannon said "We are starting to plan for the construction of a new bridge" they're going to launch another study?

* Peter Julian won't be running for the NDP leadership. As much as I would have enjoyed a battle of the roomates (he shares an Ottawa apartment with fellow BC MP Nathan Cullen) and the fun that could have ensued (Peter doesn't wash the dishes! Nathan drinks the last of my fair trade coffee!) it's probably for the best. I spent some of the 2008 election in the Burnaby area (Peter represents a Burnaby-area riding) and he struck me as a rather abrasive fellow. Maybe it was just seeing him in contrast to fellow Burnaby NDPer Bill Siksay, a very warm and personable guy. Anyway, when his name was floated I just couldn't picture Julian as a unifying bridge-builder.

* On the other hand, I'm really happy to see Nathan Cullen running for the NDP leadership. I spent the 2004 federal election in Prince Rupert working on the Liberal campaign of Miles Richardson, who, along with Nathan, was seeking to unseat Conservative incumbent Andy Burton in Skeena-Bulkley Valley. I got to see a fair bit of Nathan on the campaign trail and he's a great guy, very friendly, kind and in touch with the communities of the riding. I disagree with him on a few issues (his support of the gun registry, for example, although that is definitely reflective of his riding) but he has proven himself a very hard-working MP. He'll make this a better race, for sure.

* Speaking of the NDP leadership race (which also includes party insider Brian Topp, another great guy in Paul Dewar, the unknown but possibly impressive Romeo Saganash and the just plain unknown Martin Singh ... Tom Mulcair may deign to run at some point) it occurs to me I'm having a hard time picturing one of this group as a Prime Minister. Because, for the first time in their history, the NDP aren't just choosing a leader. They're choosing the next Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and a leader who, in three years, will go to the polls and ask for the trust of Canadians to be their Prime Minister. They've asked for that before but this time, people won't be snickering. It's a whole new field they're playing on, and the rules of the game have changed. It will be interesting to see how, and if, they can adjust.

* Of course, things haven't changed too much yet. Love may be better but politics is politics, and rival leadership camps are already sparing. But you know it's an NDP leadership race when you get smears of opponents like this one:

Mr. Brahmi added that Mr. Topp, who has the endorsement of former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow, “is the candidate of the apparatchik.”

* Meanwhile, there's a provincial election going on in Ontario. I confess, I've been unable to muster-up too much enthusiasm and interest. But I do know it's getting nasty, and I'm pretty sure it's not going too well for Tim Hudak's (not overly) Progressive (but very) Conservative Party. The polls are all over the map, from a strong Liberal lead to too close to call. We'll see who gets their vote out Thursday. What all of them show though is an undeniable trend over the past year of Conservative decline and Liberal rise. And it's clear who is panicking. Watching TV the last few nights, I've seen a steady diet of harshly negative Conservative ads and extremely positive Liberal ads. That's telling as we go down to the wire. But hey, Tim can still draw a crowd.

* Speaking of panic, this homophobic flyer from the Ontario Cs (I've revoked their P) is disgusting. When I first saw it on Twitter this weekend I thought it had to be a plant, a sick joke. But then Hudak embraced it on Monday, and it was more saddening than upsetting. First, much of the brochure is misleading, if not outright lies. And much of the material in question was developed under the last C government, in which Hudak was a minister. They're so panicked that Hudak goons are elbowing reporters in the gut to keep them away from one Brampton-area candidate that was distributing the fliers.

* But as mentioned, I haven't been following the race that closely. I observed early on though that McGuinty's Liberals are, quite wisely, running the same campaign Stephen Harper's federal Cs (they redacted their own P) ran this spring. No extravagant promises, the steady hand on the tiller with the experience to make the tough decisions, it's no time for rookies and risky schemes. McGuinty ('s comms staff) has even been tweeting "Only a strong, stable #olp government will create jobs in tough economic times." Harper's line repeated Ad nauseam was "strong, stable, Coservative majority government."

* John Baird drew some attention with his gold-embossed business cards. We're all attracted to shiny things so this drew much mockery, though not enough Austin Powers references. Baird was able to laugh it off though because the criticisms ignored the real story: he also redacted Canada from his business cards. Yes, he ordered the Canada wordmark, including the Canadian flag, removed from his cards. And it's not like he's the minister responsible for FedNor, he's the frickin' Foreign Affairs Minister! Of Canada! Yes, on the one hand they want to protect the flag, and on the other they want it off their business cards. And you're focusing on the extra couple hundred dollars it cost to emboss the coat of arms? Forest for the trees; it's the flag, stupid!

* To end on a positive note, I was pleased to see the Liberals focus on a substantive and important policy issue today with a call for a National Suicide Prevention Strategy that was embraced in the House of Commons by the Conservatives and the NDP. It's an important and overlooked issue, and hopefully this leads to more action. You can still sign the petition here.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

John Baird, perennial F student?

You'd think a guy who has dabbled in politics since he was 15, and has been an elected parliamentarian of one sort or another since 1995, John Baird would have picked up some sort of working knowledge of how our parliamentary democracy works.

You'd think wrong though. Either he's playing dumb, or our school system is in worse shape than I thought. Here's Baird yesterday during question period:

Mr. Speaker, it is the leader of the Liberal Party who is showing contempt for Canadian voters. He does not accept the fundamental democratic principle that the person with the most votes wins elections. He wanted to establish a coalition government with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP and now the coalition is back again. That shows utter contempt for Canadians.

Actually, Baird is again showing his contempt for Canadians by trying to exploit and promote the ignorance of many in the "fundamental democratic principles" that run our system of government.

Yes John, the "person with the most votes win elections."Operative word being "person." We don't vote for a "Harper Government" or for the Prime Minister. We vote for a member of parliament, and elect 308 of them to go off to Ottawa. The Conservatives want you to think you're voting for President Stephen Harper, but this isn't the United States. The governor general generally gives the party with the most seats first crack at forming government, but to keep it they have to command the confidence of a majority of MPs. And if they can't, another party can be asked to give it a shot. Because Canadians don't elect governments. They elect members of parliament.

That's how our system works. If there's anyone showing "utter contempt" for Canadians, it's John Baird by trying to confuse them about the fundamental tenets of their democracy. Of course, this isn't new for Baird. His Conservatives have long been betting on the ignorance and the apathy of Canadians.

But then again, I'll take any chance to run this video again of Don Newman giving Baird a spanking live on national TV in 2008. Never gets old...

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

John Baird, self-hating elitist?

Perhaps a little bitter that his party's latest attempt to kill the gun registry may be dying an inglorious death, Conservative house leader John Baird continued his party's war on cities and urban Canadians today by lashing-out at everyone's favourite whipping-child: elitists. And not just elitists, but the worst kind of elitists of all:--Toronto elitists:

"I share the disappointment of many of my colleagues that people who had fought so long, so hard, so passionately against the registry are now feeling the pressure from the two Toronto leaders, Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Layton," Baird said.

"We're all accountable. If we make clear and unambiguous promises in our constituencies and then face pressure from Toronto elites, [MPs are] accountable for that."

Of course, John's loathing of elitists doesn't stop him from hanging around with them all the time, going to fancy galas and what not:

And this is just a small selection from the John Baird fancy-pants elitist collection on Macleans.ca. He's quite the trooper, John Baird, spending all his time hanging-out with elitists. And then going back to his highly rural riding of suburban Ottawa to refresh and unwind.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Overlooked in cabinet shuffle: Strahl to transport, and where are the women?

Now that I’ve vented about the national media, I should probably comment on what they were at Rideau Hall to cover yesterday: a minor cabinet shuffle by the Harper government. And while the media coverage seems to be focused on John Baird’s move to House leader, I’m more interested in having Chuck Strahl replace him in Transport.

Actually, the media focus on Baird is unsurprising, and telling. Besides being a more provocative personality, focusing on Baird’s move to House leader allows the media to engage in their favourite past-time (while the rest of the country tunes-out): ponder what this means for the likelihood of an election.

Frankly, I think Baird’s appointment could go either way. He’s apparently a very collegial guy behind the scenes. He turns on the bombast for political effect at times in public; it’s just part of the game. House leader is often more of a behind-the-scenes role (how high-profile was Jay Hill?), and Baird’s bombast is just for the cameras. So, what tone will Baird take? It remains to be seen, but quite simply he’ll take whatever tone Stephen Harper wants him to take.

Then there’s John Duncan to Indian and Northern Affairs. Duncan is the MP for my riding in BC, so I’ve been familiar with John since he was first elected as a Reformer back in 1993. I’ll have more on him in a future post, as there are some interesting things that haven’t made it into the coverage yet.

What I found to be the real news out of this shuffle though was moving Strahl to Transport. This is the portfolio, of course, that has responsibility for the stimulus program. Obviously, the Conservatives are winding-down the program and are (supposedly) shifting to austerity mode. But the shoe has yet to drop on this file because soon, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General will be crawling all over the stimulus program with magnifying glasses and calculators. And given the sheer amount of dollars involved, it’s inevitable there is going to be some shenanigans of some sort discovered.

Certainly, this will be a portfolio that will soon be generating a lot of heat, and will be requiring its minister to be running a lot of aggressive defence, both within the House and in the media. Frankly, were I in central casting, I’d have picked Strahl, by all reports a good guy and competent minister, to run the program and then brought in pit-bull Baird to run defence. Harper is doing the opposite, and I’m not sure Strahl is the right guy for that role at all. If nothing else, it will be unfortunate to see him having to answer for the mistakes of Baird’s tenure, but that’s how the system works.

With a fall election highly unlikely (no matter what our media friends like to say), the stimulus fall-out and how Strahl handles the file is what I’ll be watching for going forward.

Finally, there's one other major angle to this minor shuffle that the press pack missed. Before the shuffle, they were all speculating on Shelly Glover's likely elevation to the cabinet. Why? Because in dumping Helena Guergis, Harper was low on female representation and it seemed clear Glover was being groomed for bigger things. Of course, Glover didn't get into cabinet yesterday, and neither did any other women. That's worth noting.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

John Baird, buffoonery, and journalism

John Baird made a fool of himself and threw a temper-tantrum in a House of Commons committee today. CBC has the audio, you should give it a listen.

This evening, Maclean's honoured Baird as Parliamentarian of the Year. I hope their journalists at least wept a little.

Speaking of journalism, here's how Don Newman -- he was a journalist -- dealt with buffoons like John Baird:

Balanced journalism isn't letting one side spout its bullshit, and then letting the other side spout its bullshit, and patting yourself on the back for being so balanced. Journalism means when someone spouts bullshit, you say no, that's bullshit, so please don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.

We seem to have forgotten that.

Instead of our media calling bullshit, they're now giving awards to the worst offenders.

But hey, Maclean's dead-tree redesign does look pretty though.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Stephen Harper's Top Ten Cabinet Duds

So, apparently Stephen Harper is going to shuffle his cabinet tomorrow. And hopefully apologize to New Zealand on Greg Thompson's behalf, before they cut off our sheep supply.

And by the by, I'm willing to fly business/first class to New Zealand and can be at Rideau Hall for the morning, if anyone at the PMO is reading this. If you fly me Air Canada, you can even book it in economy and I'll use a certificate to upgrade. See, I'm saving the taxpayers money already!

And if the PMO is reading, hopefully the reports that tomorrow’s minor cabinet shuffle will reward incompetence by retaining ministers who have failed miserably in their portfolios are untrue. But alas, Stephen Harper seems content to keep a tight rein on the Conservative agenda and stick to a course that lacks any vision for Canada’s future.

If Harper was willing to start clearing out the deadwood however, here are ten ministers he'd be well advised to shuffle off into the sunset:

1. Lisa Raitt

Her greatest hits: Botching Canada’s medical isotope supply; her insensitive “cancer is sexy” comment caught on tape; leaving a top secret briefing binder at a TV station and then forcing her young ministerial aide to take the fall for it; signing off on thousands of dollars of questionable expenses as President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) and then, once in federal cabinet, organizing a partisan fundraiser out of the TPA offices. She now faces no less than three investigations – by the Ethics, Privacy and Lobbying Commissioners.

2. Peter Mackay

Ever since becoming a reality TV star, Mr. Mackay’s ratings have plummeted – first for attacking sympathetic civil servants who speak the truth, and then for using the Canadian Forces as a shield for all political criticism.

3-5. Jim Flaherty
Tony Clement
and John Baird

In a move that should terrify investors, Mr. Harper is leaving his Harris-era cohort of front-bench ministers intact.

John Baird has little more to show for his infrastructure spending spree than delayed projects and underwhelming job creation.

Jim Flaherty is responsible for a record $56 billion deficit.

And Tony Clement shrunk his side of the balance sheet after giving away Nortel’s made-in-Canada technology.

Mike Harris would no doubt be proud of what his children hath wrought.

6. Jim Prentice

The onetime cabinet superstar has lost all independent willpower. Charged with the impossible task of trying to communicate the government’s excuses for inaction on the environment, he became the laughing stock of the world in Copenhagen.

7. Gerry Ritz

Combining his cavalier attitude with a dangerous mismanagement style, Minister Ritz felt it was funny to make jokes while Canadians were dying of listeriosis.

8. Jay Hill

Conservative MPs use Mr. Hill’s Parliamentary "disruption" manual as a guide on how to dismantle important committee work. Mr. Hill’s Afghanistan committee no-show technique wasn’t even good enough for Mr. Harper, who took it a step further and canceled Parliament altogether.

9. Helena Guergis

After nearly two years of promising an ‘Action Plan’ to advance women’s equality, we wish that Minister Guergis had achieved nothing. Instead, she has stood silently in the background while her cabinet colleagues chipped away at women’s equality rights – whether through cuts at Status of Women, the cancellation of the Court Challenges Program or attacks on pay equity – leading to a growing gender gap under her government.

10. Stephen Harper

Our Prime Minister has shuttered our dearest democratic institution for the second time in a year so he can stage daily Potemkin village photo ops. He followed up his tirades against delayed government legislation by killing 36 of his own bills, and blew up his Senate reform agenda by appointing more cronies in one year than any Prime Minister in history.

But if Stephen is shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic, perhaps it would be best if the captain went down with the ship...

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

One year ago: Don Newman depants John Baird

As long as we're looking back to coalition anniversary moments, one year ago today was the day the Harper government went hat in hand to the Governor-General to beg her to prorogue parliament and save him from a confidence vote he was certain to lose.

And one year ago this morning, while we waited for the GG's meeting with the PM to play out, John Baird went live on CBC Newsworld with the great Don Newman, who proceeded to kick the crap out of him on national television, while Baird desperately looked around for an exit.

Vintage Newman, and certainly one of my favourite moments of last year's drama:

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

News of John Baird's cat's death goes international

News of the death of John Baird's cat, Thatcher, and how the Conservative government actually called 10 Downing Street to confirm the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (the Iron Lady is very much alive) has gone international with coverage in German news magazine, Der Spiegel.

Via Google Translate:

Why you should not name his cat "Thatcher"

Ottawa - Canada's Transport Minister John Baird on Tuesday among colleagues spread the simple message, "Thatcher is dead." The message reached members of the Canadian Parliament who attended a gala event in honor of Army families. Also, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was present.

As the Canadian news agency CanWestNews reported was to the consternation of whether the big news - especially feels the Canadian Conservative government party of the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, who governed Britain from 1979 for eleven years combined, very.

Prime Minister Harper told immediately, the message can be verified by the death of the politician in Britain. But in 10 Downing Street one was surprised - Lady Thatcher, 84, was alive and kicking.

As it turned out a little later, Baird had said Transport Minister Thatcher, a very different - namely, his cat, which he had given in honor of the politician whose name.

This story sounds too good to be true. It is, however, assured as a "CanWestNews" spokesman SPIEGEL ONLINE: "Our chief political reporter was at the gala reception there and has seen the story live."

Stephen Harper said Canada would be back on the world stage under his leadership. Not sure this was what he had in mind though...

UPDATE: We're more back than I thought, baby. I quick Google search also reveals hits from the Irish Times and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the United States, where the St. Petersburg Times has my favourite headline: Canada takes a brief paws to mourn thatcher.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Closing the stimulus door after the narrative got out

Many, many weeks (months, really) after the Liberal opposition began hammering on the partisan distribution by the Conservatives of stimulus funding, and many weeks after several media organizations did their own studies which largely supported the Liberal contention, we've finally started to see some organized response from the government.

The response comes in a CP story today, which reports Transport minister John Baird's office has done its own study that shows, surprise surprise, nothing to see here. In fact, apparently the big-heated Conservatives are over-favouring opposition ridings. Because they're just that generous.

CanWest's David Akin also crunched some of the numbers for a fund that is intended for educational institutions and found that it favoured opposition ridings. David is a straight-shooting journalist but I have a methodology quibble here: major universities tend to be in major cities where tend to be represented by opposition ridings, so the result would only make sense and doesn't render mute the point made by the other studies at all. Indeed, what would be more valid would be to look at the total number of ridings with major universities, and then see if Conservative university ridings were over-favoured on a percentage basis.

Certainly, there's lots of playing to be done with these numbers. As Baird's spokesperson said they have different funds for different purposes. His office's study was of a fund aimed at major cities, and since urban ridings skew opposition of course those numbers skew toward opposition ridings. Just as Akin's study of the education fund did.

But unless the Liberal and other media studies were of funds designed primarily for rural ridings (and they weren't) then their analysis stands, and Baird's cherry-picked study is just designed to distract from the already cemented narrative. And as Steve pointed out, their counter-argument falls apart there as well, as within rural ridings, the data shows Conservative ridings being favoured.

One of the major problems noted even in Akin's reporting is the difficulty, or imposibility, or getting full and complete numbers on government stimulus spending. The government can complain that these studies are incomplete, but their unwillingness to provide complete information makes a full accounting impossible and supports the thesis there is untoward activity because it makes it seem like they have something to hide.

Really, though, my point is this: the government is many days late and many dollars short on their response here. The narrative here has been set, and the logo cheque scandal cemented it: the Conservatives are playing partisan games with stimulus and are favouring their own ridings. And all Baird's studies and all Baird's spokespeople won't change that narrative at this point.

Who knows what the final numbers will show. When the auditor general gets involved in a few years it could turn out to be not that big a gap. As I recall, the "billion-dollar HRDC boondoggle" turned out to be a few thousand dollars in actuality. Didn't matter, the canard is still trotted-out to this day.

Whether the stimulus scandal will impact voting intention is another matter entirely, but Baird's spin notwithstanding, the public view here is set.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Why do Conservatives hate Ontario?

Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty famously called Ontario the worst place in Canada to invest. Helpful to remember on a day when we get more bad news for the province's beleaguered manufacturing sector. And now its transport minister John Baird talking down Toronto:

In an unguarded moment, Baird told aides Toronto stood alone in not meeting the technical criteria for federal cash, yet was complaining about Ottawa dragging its feet.

"Twenty-seven hundred people got it right. They didn't. That is not a partnership and they're bitching at us," he said.

"They should f - off."

Stay classy, John Baird. And once again, we see the Conservatives showing an impressive aversion to accountability for their own words and actions. Much like the Raitt tapes, the Conservatives are saying Baird's words were private and not meant for public consumption. Never mind the fact he was at a major conference with hundreads of representatives of Canada's municipalities, and made the comments as he (accidentally, he says) walked into the media room, where he was overheard by a reporter.

Whether Baird meant the comment to me heard or not, it doesn't change the fact that he was. It doesn't change the face that he said it. And it doesn't change the face that the feeling is mutual, John. So instead of whining that it was a private comment, man-up John and either own it or apologize.

Oh, and by the way my Conservative friends who will dismiss this little story, I ask you to consider what your reaction would be if take this story but change it to a Liberal minister speaking about Alberta. Would it be a non-story then?

John should just apologize, and move on. Work with Toronto to address whatever issues there were with their application so Canada's largest city can get the stimulus and transit assistance it needs. His comments do, however, speak to a pattern of disdain for Toronto and Ontario within the CPC party that won't be easily forgotten.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Meanwhile, in an Ottawa court room

Very convenient that much of the public and media attention this week is focused on Brian Mulroney at the Oliphant Inquiry and the nanny business at the fortuitously-timed parliamentary hearings, because otherwise more attention might be being paid to these revelations from an Ottawa courtroom, where Mayor Larry O’Brien is on trial and the ears of many prominent Conservatives are burning:

O'Brien claimed "some very prominent Conservatives" wanted the two to come to a business arrangement about who would run, Kilrea testified during the first day of testimony at O'Brien's influence-peddling trial.

"There are some Conservatives that like you and they would like not to see you hurt," Kilrea said O'Brien told him during a face-to-face meeting in July 2006.

"They'd like to do something to make a business arrangement for you and to make sure there's only one of us in the race."

(snip)

Kilrea had worked on the campaigns of now-Transport Minister John Baird and Pierre Poilievre, currently the prime minister's parliamentary secretary.

He testified that O'Brien indicated he could get him a federal appointment if he quit the race.
"He said, what if my team found you other employment?" Kilrea testified.

Kilrea quoted O'Brien as telling him: "John Baird is the key. John Baird is the one that makes this happen."

The job offer was a five-year appointment to the National Parole Board at a salary of $110,000 a year, he said. Kilrea said O'Brien called back within a few hours of his face-to-face meeting and told him he was "in the queue."

O'Brien indicated that had been arranged by John Reynolds, Harper's campaign co-chair in the 2006 election, Kilrea testified.

More from the Globe:

There are also federal reputations at stake, as Mr. Kilrea testified Monday that Mr. O'Brien told him that senior Conservative officials would help him obtain the federal job.

The trial is scheduled for nine weeks and is expected to hear from a number of Conservative officials, including Mr. Baird, the current Transport Minister, and Dave Penner, director of appointments in the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

(Video) Don Newman schools John Baird

On Thursday morning, Conservative transport minister John Baird joined CBC's Don Newman in the foyer of the House of Commons to deliver the Conservative talking points while everyone waited for Stephen Harper to come out of his meeting with the Governor-General.

Funny thing happened though. It seemed like Don had a little time to kill, so he decided to school this young whipper-snapper Baird and call him out on some of the ridiculous inconsistencies and factual inaccuracies he was spouting. Usually hosts tend to just let the lies slide, but Don seemed to decide not today, young fella.

The interview went on for over 10 minutes, and it was Live, otherwise I'm sure Baird would have ran for the exits. The video is a little long, but it's well worth the view to see a journalist standing-up for the truth for a change.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Meanwhile, in non-the Cons are calling a Chuck Cadman's widow, daughter and son-in-law liars news

While there has been a lot of focus on the Chuck Cadman story lately, and rightly so, it's also worth noting a number of other stories swirling around Parliament Hill and environs that also don't bode well for the Harper Conservatives

*After initially refusing to confirm his attendance or return committee phone calls, Harper's deputy press secretary Dimitri Soudas did appear before the ethics committee last week to answer questions about his potential involvement with a Conservative fundraiser, a developer in a legal dispute with the government, and other lobbying-related issues.

You'll recall it was questioning on the Soudas affair that bizarely caused Stephen Harper to falsely accuse opposition MPs of making ethnicity-based attacks, accusing them of only persuing the issue because some of those involved happened to be Greek.

In the committee we heard that Soudas came to a dinner meeting with his friend, CPC fundraiser Leo Housakos, and representatives of a company called Alenia North America, which wanted to sell search-and-rescue helicopters to the government:

Alenia said in a statement yesterday that it was looking for a communications firm when it met with Mr. Housakos and Mr. Soudas.

"At a dinner meeting with Mr. Housakos, where he was hoping to secure our business, he surprised us by introducing us to Mr. Soudas. We had absolutely no prior notice that Mr. Soudas would be joining us at the dinner," Alenia said in a statement.

I guess Alenia wasn't suitably impressed that Housakos was able to have a senior staffer from the Prime Minister's Office just happen to pop by their dinner meeting, as they didn't hire Soudas' buddy and went with another communications firm instead.

We also heard more about his intervention in the legal dispute between the government and a politically-connected developer whose potential support would be beneficial to Conservative prospects in Quebec:

On another front, the committee heard that Mr. Soudas intervened more than once in a legal dispute between Ottawa and real estate firm Rosdev Group in 2006. The committee heard that Mr. Soudas and another PMO official organized three meetings with Conservative officials and bureaucrats on the issue, and that Mr. Soudas once called Public Works Minister Michael Fortier directly.

Opposition MPs said the evidence leads them to believe that Mr. Soudas was attempting to win the political support of the Rosdev Group and its influential president, Michael Rosenberg. Mr. Rosenberg, a prominent member of Montreal's Hassidic community, told MPs he is part of a community group that often endorses political candidates in elections.

Liberal MP Mark Holland said that MPs are "left wondering if this is not, 'Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.' "

*Then there's John Baird, CPC environment minister, whose intervention in the Ottawa light rail project in the middle of the Ottawa mayoralty campaign was looked into by the HoC committee on government operations last week. The LRT project was a major issue in the municipal election and as treasury board president at the time Baird, who represents an Ottawa-area riding, in the middle of the election put the government's $200 million contribution to the project on hold unless the next council signed-off, even though the deal was done and had been approved by the previous council.

The intervention was an unexpected bombshell and was damaging for pro-LRT candidates, including Liberal connected Mayor Bob Chiarelli, and a surprise victory followed for anti-LRT mayoral candidate, well-connected conservative Larry O'Brien.

And if O'Brien's name sounds familiar, it should. The Ottawa mayor will be facing criminal charges related to the alleged bribery of one his opponents in that election. He has a court date in April for a scheduled nine-week trial:

While running for mayor, O'Brien is alleged to have offered to help his opponent, Terry Kilrea, get a job on the National Parole Board if Kilrea pulled out of the election race.

After an eight month Ontario Provincial Police investigation, O'Brien was charged with pretending to have influence with the Government of Canada or with a minister of the government, contrary to Sec. 121 of the Criminal Code.

O'Brien was also charged with negotiating an appointment, influencing or negotiating appointments or dealing in offices, contrary to Sec. 125 of the Criminal Code.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

The trial should prove interesting indeed, and John Baird's name has come up here too:

In his affidavit sworn out on Dec. 20, 2006, Kilrea alleges he was offered the parole board job during a meeting last summer with O'Brien at a coffee shop.

"At approximately 2 p.m. later that day (July 5, 2006), O'Brien called to advise that my name had been put forward for an appointment to the National Parole Board,'' says the affidavit.

"When I asked how this was possible, he responded that he had spoken to John Reynolds. He then instructed me to call John Baird, President of the Treasury Board, and to tell him that my name 'was in the queue' for an appointment to the board.'"

Kilrea says when he e-mailed Baird, the minsiter said he knew nothing about an appointment, and while Reynolds, the co-chair of the last CPC election campaign, admitted he's a close friend of O'Brien, he said he knows nothing about this and wasn't involved.

But back to the LRT intervention in the mayoralty race, and the committee hearings. We heard from a that Baird took an unusual interest in the file and indeed, the senior bureaucrat at Treasury Board said he never even saw the Ottawa LRT contract because Baird handled it personally.

It also appears Baird may have gone beyond the scope of Treasury Board's role:

Mr. Baird said at the time that he was intervening to make sure taxpayers were getting proper value for money: the project's price had risen to $900 million, from $600 million when it was first proposed.

Wayne Wouters, who is the most senior bureaucrat at Treasury Board, declined to provide information about how his department made its decisions, saying that such information is a cabinet confidence. But he said that it isn't Treasury Board's job to assess the cost-benefit of such a project.

*It seems Charles McVety has kissed and made up with the Stephen Harper government, Ok, well maybe not kissed. But you'll recall that not that ling ago McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, was very upset with the Harper government for not overturning same sex marriage:

Mr. McVety said the defection of people who have opposed same-sex marriage in the past will not send a good message about the Conservative Party or democracy.

“People feel they have no option, they have five anti-marriage parties and no reason to vote. They get disenchanted and they stay home,” he said.

But from being on the edge of washing his hands of the Conservative Party, McVety is now taking credit for convincing the government to deny tax credits to film productions his followers find objectiobnable:

Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, said his lobbying efforts included discussions with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, and "numerous" meetings with officials in the Prime Minister's Office.

"We're thankful that someone's finally listening," he said yesterday. "It's fitting with conservative values, and I think that's why Canadians voted for a Conservative government."

Mr. McVety said films promoting homosexuality, graphic sex or violence should not receive tax dollars, and backbench Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers support his campaign.

Sure. it's not a ban on same-sex marriage, but still its some red meat for the social-conservative, so-called values wing of the CPC feeling soemwhat abandoned by the Harper government, and important to the CPC as they try to shore-up their far-right flank just in case the Liberals ever decide the time is right for an election.

For more on the guy that claims to now be setting government culture policy visit Red Tory.

*In its never-ending game of substituting democracy and governing for a game of political chicken, after being shot-down in court over its attempt gut the Canadian Wheat Board the Harper government is planning to bring in enabling legislation and is mulling making it a confidence vote:

Proposed legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on western barley sales could be a confidence motion, Canada's agriculture minister suggested Friday after a heated rally in Regina.

Gerry Ritz said the bill will be introduced in Parliament on Monday and the federal government is looking at all options to get it passed.

"If it takes a confidence motion we'll go there," he said.

All three opposition parties have pledged to fight the Conservatives on this. Will the Liberals back down if its made a confidence matter? Bob Rae could not be reached for comment.

*Finally, last week Brian Mulroney also thumbed his nose at the parliamentary ethics committee:

Brian Mulroney says he won’t come back to face further questioning at the House of Commons ethics committee on his business dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber.

A terse posting Tuesday on Mulroney’s website said his lawyer, Guy Pratte, has informed the committee that the former Conservative prime minister is “declining” a request for him to appear later this week.

Yes, this is a former Prime Minsiter of Canada, a member of the Privy Council, esentially saying bite-me to a committee of parliament. He has also changed his mind on the need for a public inquiry, complaining of a “jihad” against him. Classy.

Still, the committee decided to call it a day and recommend the Harper government immediately make good on its promise to call a public inquiry into the affair. However, it appears Harper is dragging his feet:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is looking for excuses to renege on his promise to call a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, opposition MPs charged Friday.

Liberals and New Democrats levelled the accusation after the government refused to launch the promised inquiry until the House of Commons ethics committee tables its own report on the affair.

The committee has tabled an interim report, but the Conservatives are insisting on waiting for the final report. And, perhaps, until they can find an excuse to back-out of their promise to call an inquiry. CP makes note of the timing and historical paralells:

The government's refusal to expedite the launch of a public inquiry came one day after Brian Mulroney's lawyer said there is no need for a public probe into the former Conservative prime minister's private financial dealings with arms lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber.

Mulroney originally called for an inquiry late last year, prompting Harper, who had initially rejected calls for an inquiry, to reverse himself.

Is Harper again preparing to do an about-face and once again march to Brian Mulroney's drummer on this matter? It's hard not to wonder.

Szabo said the government's refusal to quickly get on with an inquiry suggests Harper may be having second thoughts.

"It would appear that there is some back-pedalling on this matter," Szabo said.

Pat Martin, an NDP member of the ethics committee, said the government is using the committee as "an excuse to delay and stall."

"I think probably the Conservatives are looking for any excuse to avoid a public inquiry at all," said Martin.

"Every day that we deal with the malfeasance associated with the Mulroney administration, it hurts the Harper administration. That's an unavoidable fact.

-----
And yet still we allow this government to continue to govern. It boggles the mind.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Environmental leadership

I like this picture. We have the guy that should have been president, and the guy that should soon be Prime Minister. I'm hoping things will work out much better for Stephane Dion then they did for Al Gore on that front, as Stephen Harper doesn't have a brother that's Premier of Quebec.

But seriously, as unfortunate as the performance that John Baird has been turning-in on Canada's behalf in Bali, and as bad as the black mark he has been giving our international reputation has been, it has been good to do that Dion, Elizabeth May and others have been there to let the world know the Conservative opinion isn't the majority in Canada. Don't give up hope, voices of sanity remain.

Dion's Bali Blog has certainly been interesting reading, and for those who were concerned he might be going over to do embarrassing partisan mudslinging, I think most would agree Dion's performance has been positively Prime Ministerial, and a telling contrast to Baird, and the guy that's currently Prime Minister, for now anyway.

I'm expecting to have more details on the Dion/Gore meeting tomorrow. I'll say this though. Seeing them together should encourage all Liberals to work hard to make sure we return a Liberal government in the next election. Let's not be like the Democrats, watching Bush run amok in the White House and dreaming of what could have/should have been. We have a chance to get it right.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Conservative six degrees of separation

The NDP's Paul Dewar wants an audit of all government appointments since the accountability act was passed, as noted by Woman at Mile 0. It's part of the fallout from these allegations the other day, now under investigation by the OPP.

A fine idea Paul, says I, but I couldn't help but be amused (should be slightly nauseated, but I'm too jaded to fake that) by this little snippet from the intrepid Bruce Cheadle's CP piece on the incestuous little world of Conservative Ottawa:

O'Brien's first campaign manager, Joe Varner, was also Kilrea's manager in the 2003 mayoral campaign. Varner is married to MPP Lisa MacLeod, Baird's former constituency assistant.

MacLeod's father, Daniel MacLeod of New Glasgow, N.S., was recently appointed to the National Capital Commission in Ottawa.

And it was Baird's intervention - at the request of candidate O'Brien - into a local transit plan funded in part with a federal grant that proved to be the turning point in the municipal election race.

And John Baird was in Hollow Man with…Kevin Bacon.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers