Beyond The Commons

Beyond The Commons

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

'For me that time is now'

by Aaron Wherry on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 12:00pm - 0 Comments

Government House Leader Jay Hill won’t seek re-election.

“I’ve always felt that for politicians the time to go is when things are still going well … when you’ve reached the crest of the hill, but before starting down the other side.  For me that time is now,” said Hill.

“I must ensure that those to whom I owe my greatest loyalty and immense gratitude, and who have always been there to support me through seven federal elections and all the years in between, have sufficient time to select the next Conservative candidate for our great constituency.”

“I could not have done this without the tremendous support of constituents, my dedicated staff and my family.  I would also like to thank Prime Minister Stephen Harper, my fellow Cabinet members and my caucus colleagues.  It has been a privilege to work with these distinguished individuals who are committed to serving Canada and our democracy.”

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

    Jay Hill always appeared to be forthright and not as partisan as some but he was also tough.
    I expect there will be a cabinet shuffle now because the government will want to replace him should there be an election in the fall.
    He has served in parliament for a long time and I expect he is tired of the daily grind.

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

      MP Hill will always live in our collective memory as the distributor of that famous handbook for Reformatory MPs.
      As I recall, it instructed them to disrupt Parliamentary Committees. When the handbook was made public, his party moved on to more direct anti-democratic action. The PM prorogued Parliament , avoided a no-confidence vote, scammed supporters for money by telling coalition lies and used those funds to create lying attack ads.

      Yep, the daily grinding out misinformation, at the partisan service of his own party not Canadians, finally got to him, thank heavens.

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

    Well, good luck to him, and thanks for his commitment to our country.

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

      Hear! Hear! The only gracious response to such an announcement.

  • Jan

    More Jay Hills, less Pierre Poilievres, please.

    • Anon 001

      I will second that.

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

    Happy Trails Jay

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

    Oh no – who's going to be Harper's bully boy now and mess of committee meetings, etc.?

    Anyway, not my idea of an honourable good parliamentarian, but I do wish him all the best.

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