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

Yes, Prime Minister?

by Aaron Wherry on Friday, April 9, 2010 12:10pm - 54 Comments

The Prime Minister is apparently due to speak to reporters in the House of Commons foyer at 12:40pm. I’ll be in the middle of a dentist appointment, but I’ll be watching on the ceiling TV as I’m poked and prodded and generally advised on my brushing technique.

Feel free to use the comment thread below to react to Helena Guergis’ departure from cabinet or wonder why Helena Guergis remains in cabinet.

Tags: Helena Guergis, Stephen Harper

More by Aaron Wherry

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

Look, the provincial Liberal government clearly has cracked down enough on busty hookers. If they had this never happened.
Dave

This says alot about the PM, PMO and how the government of Canada truly conducts our nation's business.
http://intensedebate.com/people/danby danby

If she stays in cabinet, all I have to say is:

and they smeared Colvin

http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Wherry will give you bonus points for mentioning Colvin. A+ to you.

Anon ABC

Let us be clear, fellow Canadians. I have had serious doubts about her suitability as a Cabinet Minister for two years now. But real Canadians, the patriotic ones, know that it is only the Libs who cut and run … this is why I have not fired her …. you can fill out the rest. lol
Guest

Helena Guergis is stepping down as minister of state for the status of women amid a growing scandal.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will speak to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons at 12:40 ET.

More to come
http://intensedebate.com/people/LaxAtlDfwYow LaxAtlDfwYow

CBC reporting that Ms Guergis is toast. I'm thinking the PMO had planned to let her hang on until summer, but that yesterday's Star report was stirring up far too much heat.
May Tagerfeld
Mike T.

Powerful people must learn to curb their uppity spouses lest their conduct become a blemish on their reputation.

Loraine Lamontagne

How about learning the appropriateness of expensing the cost of your socks during as election expense?

Mike T.

That too, of course!
http://intensedebate.com/people/Geiseric Geiseric

Harper left us guessing why the RCMP has been notified.

quessing's going to cost him.

Must be a whopper.

Kevin

Guessing, yes. He said last night his office heard new allegations about her conduct. Since the strange mortgage arrangements were already public knowledge, what are the chances the new allegations are unrelated?
http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

I'm guessing that an anonymous Conservative source will probably leak the details before the end of the day.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Geiseric Geiseric

Only if they're not counting on an anti-climax to smooth things over otherwise they'll let it simmer for a while.

I wonder if Ken wasn't taking some of that snow home to Barbie.

Guest

I'm guessing it has to do with the influence-peddling. Jaffer bragged he had influence at the highest levels, and he did….her.

Assuming she never worked on his behalf, and that's a big assumption at this point, the next step is divorce.

Mulletaur

The question that remains is how long the Prime Minister's Office knew that there were allegations against Guergis which would have justified a reference to both the Ethics Commissioner and the RCMP. I'm betting that it wasn't revealed to them just yesterday following the Toronto Star story.

Holly Stick

Well, it took them three years to get all indignant over the pardon to James. How long did they leave positions unfilled on the Refugee Board so that Jason Kenney could get all indignant now about those poor refugees having to wait so long?
Ted

I think that that is the big issue that gets left on the table for observation.

http://intensedebate.com/people/YYZ YYZ

Please, please, please Liberal MPs: Do not use this as some kind of all-Conservative attack. Do not waste a question in the House on this topic. Do not even mention it. Say you have no comment on it if a reporter asks. PLEASE!

Anything else and you will look stupid.

http://intensedebate.com/people/CTM Claudia Lemire

YYZ, did you hear about Ignatieff's response? he is an IDIOT, yes, there I said it, he shouldn't even made a comment, ahh, doesn't he get it? It's like if we blame him for Ruby Dhalla's issues, please, it doesn't take a normal brain (since his is supposed to be one of a kind!) to know that her mess had nothing to do with him. This is the problem with the Liberal party, they hate Harper so much and want to destroy him so bad that and so focus on it, that they don't use their energy instead to make the Liberal party the great institution that it was once, Ignatieff you sound like a mooron, and you know what they say about the duck, if you sound like a duck, and walk like a duck then you must be a ….

http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

Right.

Because it is such bizarre outrageous idiotic behaviour to question the judgment of a Prime Minister who, just 24 hours ago, gave his full and unqualified support for this disgraced cabinet minister and is now a day later launching not just an ethics investigation but a criminal investigation into her conduct.

Yes, most certainly, it is Ignatieff who has the problem here.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

Agreed. It will be interesting to find out what triggered the flip flop.
With that said, it would be wise for the Libs to let this one work itself out.
Let the media handle it. Attack, and sympathies might go elsewhere….

http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

And, once again, Canadians are left wondering: who knew what and when in the PMO?

Mulletaur

I would like to see Dimitri Soudas repeat his performance of yesterday, saying that the door to influence peddlers is padlocked, with that supercilious smile on his face …

Dave

You can only be an influence peddler if you have some of that there influence to peddle. Rahim's sack was empty.

So we're clear, his peddler's sack, I mean.

Mulletaur

Uh, wrong !

"The Criminal Code prohibits influence peddling not only by government officials but also by anyone who has or pretends to have influence with the government or with a Minister. The application of this provision is limited to those who have, or pretend to have, a significant enough connection to government so that they can affect a government decision, such as the awarding of a contract. The key factor is that the individual offering his or her influence does so in exchange for a benefit, either for himself or for some other person, as consideration for the exercise of influence. Anyone convicted of influence peddling is liable to imprisonment for up to five years."

He doesn't have to have influence, all he has to do is pretend to.

Dave

Then he would be guilty of impersonating an influence peddler! :)
Mulletaur

Good try. Don't you have a bridge to guard ?

Dan

This is genius. Now every question can be deflected with a simple "It would be innapropriate to comment on this while the RCMP is investigating."

Then six months from now the investigation comes up empty because, I mean really, what is the RCMP going to turn up while investigating Geurgis's conduct rather than Jaffer? To make it more convincing, vaguely suggest that the Prime Misniter's Office just discovered something about Geurgis' conduct late last night.

Then, after everybody has clamed down, on a nice September afternoon, the PM can hold the cleared report up as a shinning example of how the opposition and media's mudsligning can ruin a career and then refer to it any time another of his Caucus members gets into hot water.

Either I am getting really cynical or I really do beleive the PM is the Shaekspear of politics.

http://intensedebate.com/people/G0D God

This is always the last line of defense for the Conbot trolls. Harper could have driven his car into a crowd full of nuns, and the koolaid drinkers would maintain that this is part of his master strategy to crush the Liberals.

http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

And how it was the Liberals fault that the crowd was there in the first place, the Liberals fault that Harper was driving the car in the first place and the Liberals fault that he didn't hit the brake fast enough (if he even tried) and the Liberals fault that, because they hate Christians so much, the nuns had no other place to gather but right in front of where he was driving. Oh, and, Michael Bryant hit and killed a cyclist so the Liberals as a whole are just as bad and hypocritical for criticizing Harper for running his car into a crowd full of nuns.

Conbot trolls are nothing if not thorough in their kool-aid drinking, excuse making, pass the buck-ing, and deflecting.

http://intensedebate.com/people/CTM Claudia Lemire

This was no one fault but Guerguis and the looser husband, it is how they deal with this mess that makes a difference and I am telling you, Ignatieff with the right answers, colud have the whole crowd in his pocket, and it doesn't mean he doesn't have to question what happened in this case, it is his approach and I should know this I am in PR and I am very good at what I do.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Party_of_One Party_of_One

You're in PR and "very good at what (you) do", and don't understand how to use the possessive form (one's, or ones fault), don't know the difference between "looser" and "loser", or how to spell "could"(okay, that could have been a typo), or how to correctly structure a sentence? Please! You may be in PR, but I'm betting your responsibilities don't include copy writing. If you're in PR, you should understand that HOW you say what you say is as important as WHAT you say, and that if you state something poorly, the effectiveness of what you say is diminished.
http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

It could also be possible that the majority of her work is not done in English. Do try to remember that this country has two official languages. I could be off base, but this is the feeling I got from her name.
http://intensedebate.com/people/CTM Claudia Lemire

I do apologize for my spelling, Sam Davies you are right, English is not my first lenguage and even though I try to check my spelling, I am at work and have to type fast.
http://intensedebate.com/people/CTM Claudia Lemire

Oops, I did it again, L A N G U A G E , hahaha, I am going to get in the trouble with the grammar police….
And you haven't heard my accent, thank God most people find it really charming !
http://intensedebate.com/people/Party_of_One Party_of_One

Fair enough, but then she shouldn't be making claims that she is "very good at what (she)(does)" in English, should she? I have absolutely no problem with francophones, they're the most important thing I miss about living in Ottawa since I left for Edmonton 32 years ago. And while I'm not the "grammar police", I'm still sensitive to the fact that HOW someone expresses themselves, in any language, has bearing on how seriously their point is taken. Claudia should know that. Also, I don't believe that, even if one considers that she may have been thinking in French and writing in English, such a poorly constucted statement would even be acceptable in French.

And I'm sure her accent is really charming, mais moi, quand je parle francais, je parle comme une cochon!
http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

All in all, I thought "looser" and "loser" were interchangeable, considering the busty hookers and all. In any case – correct spelling certainly gives more authority, but we all know that – no real need to jump on it. The classy thing would be to discuss her points, and not grill on the delivery.
http://intensedebate.com/people/CTM Claudia Lemire

My knight and shinny armour…
http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

valiant while wearing hockey equipment? ;)
http://intensedebate.com/people/CTM Claudia Lemire

How Canadian, It can't get any better than that :)

Dave

That's what you get for driving a (Liberal) Toyota.

http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

If anything, less Shakespeare and more "found poetry".

Guest

You two DO realize it's the Opposition's job to hold the govt's feet to the fire?

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

And that's kinda difficult to do when you have someone in the Liberal caucus who attempted to enslave a bunch of immigrants, isn't it?

Anon001

This is really unfair to everybody, including Guergis and her family.

lola

oh now, let me guess ….you are a member of her staff????
http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

I fully expect a 5 act tragedy to be written about all of this. (sniff)

lola

Time for her to go…..she has made it easy for herself. As an East coaster I think that what she has said and done is irreversible!!! Her acts strongly suggest that Canadians can not take her seriously- a real farce she has become.
http://intensedebate.com/people/sourstud sourstud

Now watch Iggy and the Libs fall all over themselves for the next week trying to tie this to Harper. They'll end up looking like fools, but that does seem to be this Liberal parties specialty.
http://www.firstfoundation.ca Gord McCallum

Umm…I can't speak to the other allegations but as far as registering a mortgage on title to 100% of the value, Scotia does this all the time…as does National Bank. They do it so they can refinance the client without incurring extra legal charges in the future. It's a feature of the Scotia STEP and the Nat Bank All in One products and quite common in our industry. I'm a mortgage broker and it's really a non-issue.
frobisher

This timeless tragedy calls for an epic poem! A riff on 'Troilus and Cressida' maybe? Or a stinging rewrite of 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' (featuring Messr's Baird and Lunn, perhaps?) .

Sadly, when such poetic flights are most required, Mr. Mitchell has fled this place.
Wilma Flinstone

This Donovan guy seems to have made a career out of creating villians, maybe this time he took it too far.