Categories: Inside the Queensway

Bring on the dancing Elections Canada officials!

Those among you who have been quietly (and not so quietly) concerned that ITQ…

by kadyomalley on Thursday, June 26, 2008 4:34pm - 0 Comments

Those among you who have been quietly (and not so quietly) concerned that ITQ might suffer serious withdrawal pangs during the summer recess can stop worrying — it turns out that I won’t have to go cold turkey after all.

As promised by Ethics committee chair Paul Szabo, the much anticipated investigation into the Conservative in and out election financing scandal will finally – finally – get underway next month. For those keeping track, that’s nearly a full year after the opposition first introduced a motion to bring the matter before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, may it rest in peace (and eventually, come back from the grave to wreak brutal parliamentary vengeance). On July 15th and 16th, the committee will hear from Elections Canada officials, including Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand.

That’s the plan, at least — it all depends on whether the Conservative members are ready to surrender to the tyrannical majority, or already hard at work, plotting new and even more fiendishly clever ways to stonewall the opposition. Whatever happens, ITQ will be there.

Tags: committee antics, elections canada, ethics committee, in-and-out, paul szabo, waiting is the hardest part

More by kadyomalley

Anon

Conservatives can’t do much now except prorogue.
http://www.macleans.ca Kady O’Malley

Oh, I have a feeling that if Russ Hiebert, David Tilson, Pierre Poilievre and – yes, even Mike Wallace – put their heads together, they can come up with a few ideas on how to run down the clock with endless point(less)s of order and privilege, challenges of the chair and other time-wasting procedural antics. Of course, that will depend on how tough the chair is prepared to be, and having watched him lock horns with every one of the aforementioned — sometimes all at the same time — I’d say that the techs better be ready to cut the mikes using actual cable clippers, if necessary.
MJ Patchouli

They’re dancing?

Must be the jig — as in the jig is up.
Wayne

Yeah Team : persoanlly I am looking fiorward to more fiendishly clever ways to drive the left wing nuts crazy. I love it ‘ fiendishly clever ‘ perfect.
sw

Because good governing is all about screwing with the other team, right Wayne?
http://mikeanddean.blogspot.com Dean P

Actually according to Wayne/van Loan/Tories, good governing is all about screwing the entire system.

Cue the talking points. Wayne, I’m in trial right now and could use the entertainment.
Wayne

Hey Dean since when are all committee meetings governing ROFL – they are, have been and always will be 1 part governance when it’s something like Industry or Defense or something important then you have partisan witch hunts like this particular commitee then I say go for it let the games begin and keep up the good work!
http://farnwide.blogspot.com/ Steve V

“Oh, I have a feeling that if Russ Hiebert, David Tilson, Pierre Poilievre and – yes, even Mike Wallace – put their heads together, they can come up with a few ideas on how to run down the clock with endless point(less)s of order and privilege, challenges of the chair and other time-wasting procedural antics.”

Well, I suppose the only good news, this Committee will be the only game in town, so the less than appealing tactics will receive much attention. Most of this stuff has flown under the radar, we political geeks aside, it might provide the opportunity to see how this transparent, accountable government operates.
Ken

Good news that Mr. Mayrand may get to appear before the committee!
Ken

And I think M.J. above meant by ‘the jig is up’ that the jig is not up for Elections Canada!
Steph C

Yay! *cartwheels* (CPAC addict)
Just Visiting

Hey, back off on criticizing Wayne. Sure he’s a hard-core conservative partisan, but unlike most such partisans, he isn’t nasty, he is civil in discussions, and he doesn’t attack people personally.

I wish I could say the same about most of his political allies, but Wayne seems to be the kind of conservative this country used to have — and hopefully will have again — once the current crowd of Harperian Republicans gets tossed out.

- JV
TobyornotToby

Lots to keep us busy. Where’s the speculation on a replacement for Sandra Buckler for instance?
http://www.macleans.ca Kady O’Malley

All I’ve heard – which isn’t much, surprisingly, considering that we’ve been kinda sorta expecting this announcement for a while – is that the decision will probably wait until after Guy Giorno takes over – which is sometime in the next couple of weeks, I think – and that it will likely be someone from outside the current PMO family. Which isn’t much, I know.
http://www.canadiancynic.blogspot.com Pretty Shaved Ape

kady, how very sad that you have a wayne infestation. he likes to drop by our place (canadiancynic) and paraphrase the latest talking points, make unfounded assertions and act startled when people who actually read things and apply critical thinking skills wallop him. after being stung he disappears for a while. time passes, he forgets that he’s received correction and wanders back in spewing nonsense. the cycle repeats.