Categories: Capital Diary

Parliamentarian of the Year awards: Baird is the best, Bob is the best orator

Text and photos by Mitchel Raphael

by Mitchel Raphael on Thursday, June 3, 2010 5:15pm - 24 Comments

The fourth annual Parliamentarians of the Year awards saw Transport Minister John Baird take the top prize at a special reception in 200 West Block. The other winners were NDP MP Peter Stoffer for Most Collegial, Tory MP Ted Menzies for Hardest Working, Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe for Most Knowledgeable, Bloc MP Robert Bouchard for Best Represents His Constituents, Tory MP Kelly Block for Rising Star and Liberal MP Bob Rae for Best Orator.

: Bloc MP Nicole Demers (left) and Tory Senator Nancy Ruth

: Bloc MPs Roger Gaudet, Jean Dorion, Yves Lessard and Louis Plamondon

: Liberal Senator Dennis Dawson

: NDP MPs Linda Duncan and Dennis Bevington

: Maclean’s publisher/editor-in-chief Ken Whyte and Senator Marjory LeBreton

: Chris Schafer, Jaime Watt and Transport Minister John Baird

: Liberal MP Mark Eyking (right) with his son Josh

: Tory MP Maxime Bernier

: (Left to right) Transport Minister John Baird, Baird’s mother, Marianne Anderson, and his sister, Virginia Bertrim

: Laureen Harper and Maclean’s publisher/editor-in-chief Ken Whyte

: Bloc MP Christiane Gagnon and Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe

: Bloc MPs Christiane Gagnon and Raymond Bouchard

: (Left to right) Tories Tom Lukiwski, Marjory LeBreton, Kelly Block and Lynne Yelich

: Tories Kelly Block, Maxime Bernier, Marjory LeBreton

: Liberal MP Marlene Jennings

: Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons (left) and CTV’s Craig Oliver

: Liberal MP Rob Oliphant

: Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner

: (Left to right) Jamie Ellerton, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, Tory MP Candice Hoeppner and David Belous

: Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe (right)

: Tory MP Candice Hoeppner

: Speaker Peter Milliken

: NDP MP Yvon Godin (right) accepts the award for “Most Collegial MP” on behalf of Peter Stoffer

: Tory MP Ted Menzies (left) accepts the award “Hardest Working MP”

: Tory MP Ted Menzies

: Tory MP Ted Menzies with Liberal MP Paul Szabo

: Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe accepts the award for “Most Knowledgeable MP”

: Bloc MP Robert Bouchard (centre) accepts the award for “Best Represents His Constituents”

: Kelly Block accepts the award for “Rising Star”

: Bloc MP Robert Bouchard

: Transport Minister John Baird accepts the Parliamentarian of the Year Award

: Transport Minister John Baird (centre) accepts the Parliamentarian of the Year Award

: Sandy Menzies and her grandson Graham Cunningham

: Liberal MP Scott Sims

: Tories Peter Kent and Marjory LeBreton

: NDP MP Peter Stoffer, winner for “Most Collegial MP”

: Senator Linda Frum

: Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay

: NDP MP Bruce Hyer

: Tony Eljallad, Christian Dicks and Jeff Beyer

: Scott French

Tags: Capital Diary, Parliamentarian of the Year

More by Mitchel Raphael

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

Did Baird even show up? I see no pictures of him. Mind you, after the shameful juvenile behaviour at the Ethics Committee hearing yesterday, I'm not surprised.

sbt

Sorry to ruin your cheapshot (speaking of shameful juvenile behaviour) but there are two photos of him accepting his trophy four rows up from the bottom.

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

What cheap shot? He was a disgrace to our government and his office yesterday at the Ethics Committee.

sbt

You probably have a point about his behaviour in committee but it's still cheap and petty (sad and pathetic may be more accurate) to take a swipe at him over the apparent lack of a photo of him showing up to accept an award when he could have very well had a valid reason not to be there (like government business). Maybe you disagree, but that's my opinion.

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

Cheap shots often backfire.
Dot

Given that Baird showed up at the awards with his mother and sister – it is fair to assume he knew in advance that he won. In which case it makes his contrived appearance at committee earlier that day even more petty – knowing full well the coverage he would subsequently get and his feting that evening.

Cheap shots beget cheap shots. I'm surprised no one in the media, Macleans especially, haven't called him out on this.

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

He's there with his mummy

Incredible

If Kelly Block is a rising star, I'm a damned asteroid.
jo_roots

What a waste of paper and time.
Incredible

I'm from Saskatchewan, who is Kelly Block and where is she from?

A Guy

Hello Incredible. Have you met google? I thought you two should meet.

DeanP

Surely Baird getting best parliamentarian is a joke. Unless "Best parliamentarian" means "best-at-defending-the-indefensible-by-saying-it's-all-the-Liberals'-fault-because-they-hate-Canada-and-love-the-terrorists-and-prefer-to-keep-Canadians-barricaded-in-their-homes-in-fear-because-Liberals-love-criminals-and-hate-safety."
Anon

Baird is Parliamentarian of the year? This magazine is a joke.
Tony

Old Bobby gets "Windbag of the Year" Award- stiff, stiff competition – congrats
http://intensedebate.com/people/WernerPatels WernerPatels

Is any of our MPs deserving of an award? No, they're members of the HoC … House of Clowns…
bonneau

John Baird, parliamentarian of the year…
What a delicious piece of satire, congratulations Macleans.
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

Ah, look at Maclean's boss – hanging out with Tories…hm……
Liz Jefferson

If Macleans were a real magazine, I would find Baird's award a sign of the apocalypse and the collapse of all reason. But luckily, it's not and I don't. But I WOULD give back my award, if I were Bob Rae.
Nopo

John Baird comes across as an over bearing bully, constantly shouting people down. He should have got an award for the least attractive member of Parliament
auntie_em_m

One sick magazine to feature barely human Baird this way …who had votes?
boyGeorge

Macleans needs some risk-management in place and some journalistic refresher courses!

Give the schoolyard missie a baby soother and get him off the taxpayer-funded MP Welfare–$276,000 for this disgusting show of an arrogant ape's histrionic hormonal imbalance!
http://intensedebate.com/people/Open_Democracy Open_Democracy

John Baird – award for LOUDEST Parliamentarian of the Year.

http://viableopposition.blogspot.com/
http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

what's with 3 Tories getting awards but only Boob Rae stands up or I should say opens his mouth for the LPT? – what's with that ?
Risingsun

What`s with calling him Boob, what`s with that?