Beyond The Commons

 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

H1N1 in the House

by Aaron Wherry on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 6:42pm - 31 Comments

One MP appeared to be wearing a medical mask during tonight’s vote and it is being reported now that Bloc MP Claude Guimond has, or may have, H1N1.

Gilles Duceppe says the Bloc offered to “pair” Guimond’s vote with a Conservative so Guimond could have stayed away from the House tonight, but the Conservatives declined. The government responds as follows: “The Whip’s office did not get a request to pair and secondly all our MPs were attending the vote so you cannot pair if all MPs want to go vote.”

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  • Jesse

    Its a free vote, so you can't pair…

    • Richard Osborne

      Why didn't Harper agree to personally abstain so that Guimond could stay home where he belonged? All it would have taken is a bit of courage and a sense of decency. You know, the kind of thing a real leader would do.

      • Eva

        Agreed!!

      • Jesse

        Maybe because Harper wanted to be on record as being against the gun registry ?

        Maybe because his constituents expect him in the house voting ?

        Maybe because people demand and expect representation!

        • http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

          bs. even if Harpie wanted to ensure the symbolic ritual of actually casting his vote, we all know there were other COC MPs that had made know prior their intent to vote against the registry, pairing would have been simple.

      • wilson

        Why didn't Wayne Easter or Charlie Angus pair?

        • wilson

          Does Wayne Easter still think farmers should be thrown in jail for selling their own wheat outside the CWB?
          Maybe he's changed his mind on that too……..

        • http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

          Probably they weren't aware or informed……..you never give up do you. You must be running out of post-it notes by now.

          • wilson

            ……..you never give up do you,

            yah know, I had to think about that for a moment.
            After the NEP wiped out our family business and 2/3 of our farm,
            and we had to start over, literally with a few hundreds bucks in our pocket, and 4 kids to feed,
            yah think 'never again'.

            And the only way to ensure the West is not treated like a piece of crap,
            is to get and keep Liberals out of government.
            No, I never give up.

    • hosertohoosier

      AND if Guimond shows up for work he could take down enough fellow Bloc MP's to hand Harper a majority. Brilliant.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/lgarvin lgarvin

    OMG!!!

    Here's the proof that the Conservatives are really trying to kill people! It's the secret agenda folks! It's been revealed at last!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/TwoYen TwoYen

    Sounds like both sides are playing politics.

    Why didn't the Bloc MP just not turn up? He knew what the results werre going to be.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/lgarvin lgarvin

      Where's the narrative in that?

      • wilson

        LOL,
        funny how a guy who THINKS he MIGHT be sick,
        paraded in front of every camera on the hill…..eeeeooou, did he touch things? Was he wearing gloves?

        Did he shake Hedy Fry's hand?

        • teej

          "Did he shake Hedy Fry's hand?" — we can only hope :)

    • Jesse

      As I said TwoYen,

      there aren't "sides" in this. The Bloc assumed the Conservatives were all Yeas and could trade but its a free vote so you can't approach a party – why not an NDP, or a Lib who supports the motion for instance? What if the Conservative you pair with happened to be a Nay?

      Trying to pair on a non-whipped vote is ridiculous. Sounds like they just wanted a cheap shot at the gov't and Wherry was happy to help!

      • wilson

        It's another hair net moment!

      • http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

        Hey, let's give Wherry credit on this one…at least he stopped short of blaming Harper for the presence of the sick MP.

        Baby steps Aaron, baby steps…

        • wilson

          Kinsella is a volunteer…. maybe Donolo can't/won't go there.
          Iffy's job to get rid of him.

        • MJ Patchouli

          john g, I typically respect your posts, but how on earth does this article have anything to do with Donolo, Kinsella or the Liberals?

  • MJ Patchouli

    Yet employers across Canada are being asked to be reasonable and not ask employees who miss because they have the flu symptoms for a doctor's note.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/VinceClortho VinceClortho

    Clearly the Bloc MP is attmpting to do harm to the PM, an athsmatic. Call the Seargent At Arms.

    Why was the Bloc whipping a Free Vote?

    • Justin

      It wasn't a "free vote" unless each party wanted it to be. It was a private member's bill. There is a difference. Each party could choose whether to whip or not.

      • Jesse

        Its tradition not to whip a private members bill.

  • Stephanie

    If anybody should have paired with Guimond, it should have been the Minister of Health.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/lgarvin lgarvin

      Your first four words tell the whole story… nobody should have. Based on this single episode, Mr. Guimond appears to be a grandstanding, manipulative, jerk. And grandstanding, manipulative, jerks should be defied at every single opportunity just on general principles.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

    If Guimond was truly contagious, he had no business being there. That won't stop some (obviously, see above) to charge the government with some sort of evil intent, of course, but then, the usual suspects, etc., etc.

  • wilson

    Wherry's QP, today

    the Honorable Leader of the opposition:

    'I would like to ask the Prime Minister why, why did the federal government ship , to the Provinces ,
    more than twice the vaccine than they could administer?
    Did this incompetent government not know the vaccines would go into storage,
    or do they just not care?
    Canadians are getting sick, and may die because this government over supplied the Provinces!''

    More than half of vaccine doses sitting in storage

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/h1n1-s…

    • wilson

      follow up question

      the Honorable Leader of the Opposition

      "This Conservative Government is blaming everyone else, and will take no responsibility,
      will not be accountable to Canadians.
      I ask this question,
      Why did this Conservative government ship millions of doses of the H1N1 vaccine 2 weeks early,
      surely they knew in doing so they would be putting Canadian lives at risk."

  • Gerald McIvor

    someone should ask the Harper government why thye voted against a motion in the HOC last nite which would have released more resources to fight the H1N1 which is killing people across Canada. The entire Stephen Harper government voted against this motion. They are more interested in getting the vote rather than saving luves…

  • http://garyfales.com trusts

    it was bound to happen, MPs kissing pigs should be outlawed, IMO.

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