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

Burn the witch

by Aaron Wherry on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 10:56am - 44 Comments

A Conservative spokesman deftly reduces Peter Tinsley’s biography to 13 words.

“There’s no shock in seeing a Liberal appointee running for the Liberal Party,” said Fred DeLorey, spokesperson for the federal Conservative Party.

Mr. Tinsley was indeed appointed chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission by Paul Martin’s Liberal government in December 2005. Seven years earlier, after taking part in the prosecutions that followed the Somalia affair, Mr. Tinsley was appointed director of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit by the socialist government of Mike Harris—a radically left-wing administration that included known communists Jim Flaherty, John Baird and Tony Clement.

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  • MostlyCivil

    If we used the name "Julian Fantino" , would the quote vhange to…

    “There’s no shock in seeing a LIBERAL appointee running for the Conservative Party,” said Fred DeLorey, spokesperson for the federal Conservative Party.

  • gottabesaid

    I think your math is off… that'd put him smack dab in the middle of David Peterson's premiership.

    • AaronWherry

      I think I meant seven. I think I hate math.

      • danby

        Stick to booze – that crystal math will mess you up worse than QP! :)

      • gottabesaid

        I don't think I hate math, I know.

  • John W.

    McGuinty appointed him OPP Commissioner.

  • Passing by

    I think AW meant 17 years from today.

    Anyway, this kind of factual thing may matter for liberal ideologues trapped in the reality-based world, but I'm sure Mr. DeLorey wasn't talking to them.

  • Blue

    When Civil Service employees start to flock to the Conservative Party to become candidates in upcoming elections then we will have a story.
    In the meantime, it will not be a shock to see the continuing cozy relationship between the Liberal Party and their appointees and enablers in the Civil Service.

    • Greg

      Of course this has nothing to do with Mr. Tinsley's shabby treatment at the hands of the Harperites. Four legs good, two legs bad. I understand.

      • Blue

        You may understand, but I don`t

    • CAPS

      What about Allan Cutler?

      From his Wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Cutler:

      "Cutler ran as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in the Ottawa South riding in the 2006 Federal election."

    • tobyornotoby

      http://chrisalexander.ca/about/

      "Chris now looks forward to bringing his leadership and experience to serving the constituents of Ajax-Pickering. He believes the Conservative Party’s economic policies and programs are the best to serve Canadians and to connect them to the world around them."

    • danby

      It may not be a shock, but if properly handled, it may prove very effective

  • Dave

    2005 – 17 != Mike Harris

    • burlivespipe

      2005-17= 1988… Peterson it is (if the numbers are correct)… Harris ruined Ontario from 1995-99.

      • burlivespipe

        sorry, Harris also ruined 2000, 2001 and 2002… It was that forgettable (but mostly regrettable).

        • Blue

          Since you`re having fun rewriting history let me correct you:
          Peterson and Rae– ruined Ontario– 1985- 1995.
          Harris– corrected Ontario– 1995-2002/
          McGuinty–still ruining.

          • burlivespipe

            Tell that to the people of Walkerton…

          • Blue

            Walkerton water tragedy= 2 lazy incompetent municipal workers.

          • Be_rad

            Working in a deregulated industry, de-populated of oversight and inspectors.

          • Gary

            Yes, because it takes oversight and inspectors to decifer a simple water test and alert the proper channels when said test is not on spec as per operating licences!

          • Erkel

            No, oversight and inspectors provides an atmosphere of accountability and rigor. It captures workplaces where indolence and sloth are rife. It encourages better hiring, trainning and work processes.

          • Mike T.

            yawn.

    • john g

      I'm pretty sure Aaron means 17 years ago from today; Somalia was 1993, and Harris took over in 1995 so the timing seems right.

    • CAPS

      According to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Investigatio… Peter Tinsley was Director of the S.I.U. fromm 1999 to 2002.

      This therefore puts him squarely in the timeframe of the "radically left-wing administration that included known communists Jim Flaherty, John Baird and Tony Clement."

      • Norma

        @CAPS – I think you got it backwards!

  • Poker Face

    This could be an Onion story:

    "Lifelong Liberal remains Liberal, Nation Fails to Notice"… I mean really this isn't quite floor crossing material.

    • CAPS

      Except that Peter Tinsley is not a lifelong Liberal. He has been a lifelong, lawyer, investigator, human rights prosecutor and public servant. He has decided to run for the Liberal nomination because he is fed up with the way this Harper Conservative government operates.

    • Richard_S_Argent

      Not so good with the reading comprehension I see.

  • Loraine Lamontagne

    Gee, after reading these comments I am starting to think that political appointees should be marked like cattle so that there is no 'confusion' : you don't work for the crown or Canada, you work for the political party????

    • Jenn_

      Just to clarify, it isn't so much the commenters on this thread, as it is the spokesperson for the Conservative Party of Canada.

  • Colin

    In any situation where a previously non-partisan public servant takes on a partisan role there are two logical possibilities:
    a) He/she was genuinely non-partisan, but with new information and experiences decided that the current situation was so dire that he/she could do exponentially more good for his/her country by taking a partisan stand
    b) He/she was always a partisan, and now that he/she is out of a non-partisan job, a partisan one is simply what is available

    Situation (a) plays to the trope that the other team is ruining the country in an objectively understandable way (i.e. you don't need to be a partisan to see it and convert) and (b) plays to the trope that the civil service is out to get you. In any given situation people will divide themselves into camps and hurl the argument that supports their team back and forth. Why do we even bother pretending to be debating and not talking past each other?

  • MostlyCivil

    Interesting. he spoke for the troopsbut now the conservatives don't like him…

    Wait,,,why do conservatives hate guys who speak for the troops?

    • danby

      You may be right. I'm pretty sure that Peter MacKay is none too popular in the PMO right now……

  • PeteTong

    Wait a minute. Special Investigations Unit? Does that mean he's anti-police and therefore soft on crime? SIUs do nothing but hinder cops from doing the important job of abusing their power and diminishing citizens' rights in order to meet the higher objective of safe streets. Fiberals would sooner have cops behind bars and criminals in the streets.

  • s_c_f

    Wherry seems a little touchy today.

    There's nothing false about the statement “There’s no shock in seeing a Liberal appointee running for the Liberal Party,”

    Nor is it misleading, it does not suggest he was not previously appointed by other parties. I'm not sure how Wherry made the (non-)logical leap into witches and communism.

  • http://twitter.com/_drewski @_drewski

    a little research goes a LONG way. Tinsley was appointed Director of the SIU in 1999, smack dab int he middle of Harris' tenure.
    http://www.ijsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/Ti… http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=… http://www.cacole.ca/resource%20library/Conferenc…

  • http://secondthots.blogspot.com Dennis_F

    Give me a break. This guy is a thorn in the side of the Conservative government, and then he magically decides to become a Liberal? Whatever.

  • SamDavies

    Here you go… Enjoy your break!

  • burlivespipe

    Give me a break? Dennis-F purports to be reasonable, than spews all the CON talking points without oversight? Whatever…

  • http://secondthots.blogspot.com Dennis_F

    Say what?

  • tobyornotoby

    If this guy gets a break, I think I deserve a Kit Kat!

  • http://secondthots.blogspot.com Dennis_F

    If it's just a "talking point" as you say, then why can't you rebut it? My God some people on here. They're really good at accusing, not so good at actually addressing anyone who dares disagree with them.

  • http://secondthots.blogspot.com Dennis_F

    Very lame, people.

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