Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

by Aaron Wherry on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 1:55pm - 15 Comments

Asked Karl Belanger, press secretary to Jack Layton, about suggestions that the NDP was associated with yesterday’s protest. His response.

Ya, that’s right. We organized a protest to interrupt our Leader during his question. Clearly, it was a socialist plot from the NDP.

So there. Nonetheless, whether officially sanctioned or not, NDP MP Nathan Cullen seems to have appreciated the disruption.

Tags: gallery, house of commons, Jack Layton, Karl Belanger, Nathan Cullen, Parliament, protest, Question Period, visitors gallery

Foreigner

Shameful, if true. I certainly hope Conservatives will denounce this appalling conflict on interest.
http://intensedebate.com/people/M_A_N M_A_N

"Where did they get their gallery passes from? Word is they all got them from NDP MPs."

Couple of years ago, I called my MP and asked for a gallery pass. The heavy grilling I got went something like this:
"Oh, wonderful. How many passes would you like?"

Yup, the MP's office was clearly aware of my intention to sit quietly, point stuff out to my wife and laugh at Tom Wappell's hairpeice.. Amazingly, they didn't ask "are you planning a flash mob?' Pretty sloppy security, eh?

http://www.ndp.ca Jack is whack

There was, what, 120 of them? So 120 passes? That would certainly seem to be a spike in interest that would have raised a few eyebrows.

http://intensedebate.com/people/M_A_N M_A_N

You're making the assumption they all called one MP's office? Or do you have super-secret knowledge?

oppoguy

Ha! Albeit glibly, Mr. Belanger makes a good point.

A year ago, the media universally praised the New Dems as having the best organized and best looking election campaign of the lot. Now we are supposed to believe they botched a hecklefest in the Commons and made their leader's question collateral damage?

Come on, now.
http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

Jack the mad evil genius – of course he would interupt himself as it gives him an extra level of plausible denialbility as well as saves him time writing the rest of his tirade … oops .. I mean speech in the house. It's brilliant – Harper would be proud!
http://intensedebate.com/people/danby danby

Keep digging and you'll find the dark lord Al Gore behind this; he's the evil master mind pulling the strings. If only Captain Dubya had destroyed him instead of merely banishing him to Centurion……. Alas
Poor Jack is an unfortunate dupe in all of this. It's much bigger than you know

Mulletaur

Jack Layton wouldn't know the truth if it jumped up and bit him in the a$$.

Mulletaur

I stopped listening to CBC Radio years ago. Anyway, thanks for stalking me, I need the entertainment.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sourstud sourstud

I heard that they were funded by George Soros. And their leader is a Reptilian from the planet Pluto.
Forbez

All you have to do is go to Centre Block. Go to the visitors door and say I want to watch question period. The put you through two security checks, unfortunately they can’t scan for honest, good, pure hearted, all inclusive, equality for all seeking, caregivers of our planet. We just walked right in like every other Canadian can. Open you eyes.
Marion

I think suggesting that is underestimating the ingenuity of young people.

I'm not sure if they were in the public or the member's galleries (you don't need passes for the public galleries), but if I was organizing this, I would send meeting requests to all MPs to talk to them about the importance of tackling climate change, and then tell the young people who are meeting with each MP to ask for Question Period passes. I'm sure at least half the MPs would say yes.