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

Do you believe?

by Aaron Wherry on Thursday, November 5, 2009 10:34am - 46 Comments

CTV investigates the Olympic torch’s route across this country.

As the Olympic Torch makes its way to Vancouver for the start of next year’s games, there will be more torch relay ceremonies held in Conservative ridings than in the ridings of opposition members.

CTV News has obtained a list that shows that torch relay ceremonies will be held in 91 Conservative ridings, compared to 20 Liberal ridings and 17 ridings for both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois.

Don Martin has slightly different numbers.

Tags: Olympic torch, Olympics, torch, torch relay, vancouver

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Riley Hennessey

Cue the outrage!
TedTylerEzro

Umm… isn't that because Liberal and NDP ridings are concentrated in urban areas, and the Bloc ridings are confined to Quebec?

It is a big, sparsely populated country, we're running across most of it, and most of the big sparsely populated areas are Tory blue. If you aren't running straight through the Golden Horseshoe, you're not going to get many Liberal ridings.

Dave

I might have bought that theory, except that even in urban centres with multiple ridings, the torch is going out of its way to avoid NDP and Liberal ridings.

In Halifax, it's going to Gerald Keddy's riding (which isn't even in Halifax!). Downtown Halifax is NDP, and the rest of the city is NDP or LIberal.

In Ottawa, it's going out to John Baird's west end riding, not Parliament Hill or the Olympic countdown clock (which ares in an NDP fiefdom).

In Winnipeg, it's going out to the Tory west end again (Fletcher) instead of any suitable downtown location like the Forks, which is in NDP country.

In Edmonton, it's not going to either of the downtown ridings (one of which is NDP) but to a cabinet minister's riding.

In London, it is going to (surprise) the local Tory riding, not to the Liberal one or the NDP one.

TedTylerEzro

Cool, I'm in Keddy's riding.
Katherine

That's interesting, as I was about to make the same point as above about riding size. But even if it's partisan, how much does it seriously affect the public? People in a city can still go to the torch ceremony even if it's not in their riding.

It does sound fairly ridiculously partisan based on what you're saying, but doesn't strike me as something that would impact most people much. It's just a political squabble.

Dakota

Um…don't the Conservatives hold nearly every rural riding? How many ceremonies does Toronto want?
http://intensedebate.com/people/robert_mccl6309 Robert McClelland

Can we now label the Harper government the most partisan government ever?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

What, based on imaginary fluff like this?

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

No, no, based on Bob's authoritative and obviously non-partisan say-so.
http://intensedebate.com/people/robert_mccl6309 Robert McClelland

Based on;
-Creating phantom MPs in ridings they don't hold.
-Threats of withholding funding in ridings they don't hold.
-Withholding funding in ridings they don't hold.
-Using ten percenters to target ridings they don't hold.
-Ad campaigns outside of an election targeting MPs in ridings they don't hold.

These are just a few off the top of my head.

http://coyne kc

Don’t go giving them reasons. Weren’t you listening! They just so tired of all this baseless whining. Get on board Robert. It’s aparty don’t you know. I plan on staying insensible until the Tory nightmare is over – bout ten years from now.

Dakota

Um…don't the Conservatives hold nearly every rural riding? How many ceremonies does Toronto need?

Foreigner

With at least 20% of the country's population, I'd guess 20% of them.

Don't you people believe in fair and balanced?

Dakota

HAHA! What a joke!
http://intensedebate.com/people/YYZ YYZ

Note: this story was not fabricated by the people of Toronto. I agree, this is a non-story, I expect most Torontonians will too.
http://intensedebate.com/people/JulesAime JulesAime

If the Liberals had come up with this, I'd be thinking how desperate and petty it made them look.

But since a news organization, CTV, came up with it I'm thinking … wow this really makes them look desperate and petty.

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

You are assuming it wasnt fed to them, "Flag her down will ya I need a refill. As I was saying look at these number, oh hey pass those wings over here, anyway as I said, look at these numbers. I am not done the analysis, dont have the time, but i thought it was interesting you may want to take a look at it. Oh geez those wings ae HOT"

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

An open letter to Peter Donolo:

You've been on the job for a couple of weeks now. For the love of God, please stop this.

Stop this frigging partisan nonsense. Stop following Warren Kinsella's lead in making yourselves look stupid and whiny and desperate and pathetic by trying to make a scandal out of everything you possibly can and watching it blow up in your face when it turns out not to be scandalous at all.

Start acting like a god damn opposition party that is able to provide alternative government. Share some ideas. Develop some policy. Elevate the debate. Hell, even stage more daycare photo ops if that's all you have; but learn something from the Conservatives' time in the wilderness and please stop this partisan BS before you drive the only other party capable of preventing de-facto dictatorship into the ground.

http://intensedebate.com/people/WDM WDM

Thank you. I'm no fan at all of the current government, but watching the Grits do their best continual imitation of Randy White in a Mexican hat-esque stunt, is even worse.
http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

Amen, john.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Thanks. The nonstop "scandal"-peddling is getting rather tedious. Their strategy seems to be to fling as much mud as possible in the hope that something–anything, really–will stick.
http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

While i agree with the jist of your post – that the Libs are a dreadful opposition party – it is not clear to me the Libs are to blame for what CTV reports.

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

Well, what is CTV reporting?

<bblockquote> "It is absolutely shameful to politicize and to make partisan something such as (the) Olympics," Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh told CTV.
…
"It's absolutely planned," said Liberal MP Anita Neville, who represents the riding of Winnipeg South Centre — a city where torch ceremonies skipped four ridings held by non-Conservative MPs.
…
NDP MP Pat Martin, who represents the riding of Winnipeg Centre, agreed with her assessment.

"They've gone to great extents to gerrymander their way around to avoid any opposition riding in my city," said Martin
…
If it weren't so perverse, it would be laughable," said Liberal MP Ralph Goodale, who represents the Saskatchewan riding of Wascana.
…
It's a similar situation in Toronto, where Liberal MPs hold the majority of seats, though none of their ridings are scheduled to host torch events.

"I mean it's insane, it's just insane," said Liberal MP Joe Volpe.

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

When did Pat Martin and the NDP become part of the LPC?

Are you truly surprised that when the media come up to opposition members and say 'more of the torch relay events are in CPC ridings just like the stimulus projects' that opposition members decry this?

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

Even when they get quotes from 3 or 4 different Liberal MPs for their report? Come on…

But I agree in as much as the media has been as complicit as the Liberals in providing the platform for this orgy of scandal mongering.

As soon as the CPC hit 40 in the polls, everything became a scandal.

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

again John,

1) i don't disagree with you the Libs have been dreadful as an official opposition

2) attempting to turn everything into a scandal is not unique you to the CPC 40% mark, nor the Libs…. the CPC did this until they finally hit on the real thing with Sponsorship

3) of all the examples you list not a single one started and ended with the Libs…. while they may have commented negatively and added fuel to some of these fires the media and all other opposition parties have all piled on regardless of who started the crap

and again it is not a defense of the Libs – they suck – but i see it more of an ongoing diminished capacity in both the opposition parties and the media that is obscuring real issues.

Foreigner

"An open letter to Peter Donolo:"

How grandiose.

http://intensedebate.com/people/NotStephen Not Stephen Colbert

Oh, come on. I mean, I hate the Conservative Party as much as the next reasonable person who knows anything about the Conservative Party, but this is just getting ridiculous.
Riley Hennessey

Did you notice the Olympic mittens were RED?! Outrageous! That is the colour of the Liberal Party! Talk about partisanship! Won't someone please think of the children!
http://www.calgarygrit.ca Calgary Grit

I'm sure Conservatives will be equally outraged to find out that most of the Olympic events are being held in Liberal and NDP ridings…
http://intensedebate.com/people/NoNameCS NoNameCS

Not that we should dismiss suspicions of pork barreling, which this government is probably embracing fully. But wow, get the media started on a narrative and they'll just keep milking it until you give them a new one.

So I think we can expect stories on the number of breaths taken by conservative MPs in conservative ridings (they favour blue oxygen, the rascals!!) before we get a break from this kind of silliness.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Nich Nich

I'm alright with it.

The torch was obviously designed to promote a pro-joint agenda, and Canadians really needs to relax, regardless of the colour of the riding.

Run, run, pass.
http://coyne kc

Did anyone actually read ‘all’ of Martin’s piece? He pretty much demolishes his own paranoia verdict by proceeding to list city events where the cons still receive more exposure – exceptions being Cagary,,,duh! And Cullen’s riding which stetches across a fair chunk of NW BC, on the only road in and out.
Still, the opposition would do well to merely smile tolerantly at what is by now pretty well par for the course stuff from these Tories. Better to quip: “Surprised! Hell no! What else is new from these guys!
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Next Olympic scandal: it turns out that a disproportionate number of Canadian Winter Olympic athletes hail from Conservative ridings! In fact, more athletes come from Conservative ridings than Liberal and NDP ridings combined! It's an outrage!

Those disgraceful ReformaTories have corrupted the spirit of the Olympics by favouring athletes from blue ridings! Will the pork-barreling never end?

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

Apparently, even TicketMaster cross references your IP address to your postal code so that only people living in Conservative ridings can purchase tickets online.

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

And what's with all this wheat in Tory ridings? How is that fair?

Tckd

Are you all a bunch of propaganda believing drones?
The liberals have done nothing for the country but suck us dry, and the NDP's have only promoted deviance with the pro gay crap…….
And yet you rag on the conservatives, who, if you actually do the research, (not read some pro liberal magazine), you would know that they have been cleaning up the mess the Liberals and NDP's have continued to make over the last decade.
I live in BC and the liberals have done nothing here but screw us over. – Do I believe? – the only thing I believe is that Im going to be paying for this for a long time.

Teeves

Maybe it is because all of the Liberal ridings are in one city. The torch can only go through so much of Toronto. There is a whole country to visit.

Dave

That's not even wrong!

http://intensedebate.com/people/Nich Nich

Rural Canada needs the extra exercise anyways.
http://intensedebate.com/people/lgarvin lgarvin

I think Wherry is doing his Maxwell Smart impression:

Would you believe free cars in Tory ridings?
Would you believe free sandwichs in Tory ridings?
Would you believe free condiments with purchase at MacDonald's restaurants in Tory ridings?
Foreigner

Why is Don Martin writing articles? Shouldn't he be updating his cv? Or is the Senate appointment in the bag?
http://intensedebate.com/people/Gaunilon Gaunilon

Good grief.
I think we can conclude that the CTV News Staff are not the sharpest razors in the tool kit.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Tceh Tceh

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.natio…

Gary Lunn forgets to bring his stool.
http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

If you did not vote conservative before or are just turning old enough to vote = READ ME = your eyelidss are getting heavy … you are feeling tired … your eyelids are getting heavy … you are going to sleep but you can hear everything I am saying … your eyelids are getting heavy – go to your fridge open it quietly and get out theat batch of liberal kool aid that was sent to you along with your local mp's 10% ' er .. then go to your bedroom and put that liberal tin foil hat on .. you are feeling sleepy … when I count to 10 you will wake up remembering nothing except this overwhelming urge to have an election and hate the evil meanie stevie harper .. whatever happens in canada will now be harpers fault … 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 -9 – 10!
http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

Now you HAVE to wonder if CTV is in the tank for the Tories. To bring forth your investigative skills, to come up with *this*, and to bait the opposition into braying about again over nothing, well…