The nuts and bolts of a modest, lacklustre budget

By Claire Ward - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 9:13 PM - 23 Comments

Shot and edited by Tom Henheffer
Produced by Claire Ward

NDP rejects federal budget

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 6:22 PM - 25 Comments

NDP leader Jack Layton announced Tuesday that his party will not support the federal budget. They join the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois in rejecting the government’s proposed spending, thereby paving the way for a non-confidence motion that could bring down the Conservatives. Speaking to reporters after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presented the budget in the House of Commons, Layton said that the Conservatives had an opportunity to meet the needs of families, but that “Mr. Harper’s budget did not do that.”

CBC News

Coyne v. Wells on the budget

By Claire Ward - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 4:00 PM - 10 Comments

Shot and edited by Tom Henheffer
Produced by Claire Ward

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Parse this, Gadhafi

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 3:53 PM - 22 Comments

From a White House transcript of a briefing by Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security advisor for strategic communications:

Q    Ben, do you agree that the need to protect civilians lasts as long as Qaddafi is in power?

 

MR. RHODES:  The need to protect civilians lasts as long as civilians are under risk of attack in the way in which we’ve seen them attacked over the course of the last several weeks.

***

On Twitter at luizachsavage

Poll: Canadians' view of science influenced by education

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 3:38 PM - 66 Comments

A new Ekos Research poll shows that even though the Conservatives have a hold on traditionalist voters who value morality and decency over science, they need to reach out to voters who value scientific knowledge and expert civil service advice if they want to get the 15 percentage points needed to form a majority government. The poll shows that anti-expertise and skepticism of science rise with socioeconomic vulnerability and age. For example, new Canadians are less committed to knowledge and expertise in government decision-making than the native born. Also, those who responded with less marketable experience and skills were more opposed to scientific knowledge and other forms of expertise, with the biggest tension being between the college-educated and wealthier university-educated elites. The poll suggested that showing a bit of respect for science and expertise may help win university-educated voters, since most Canadians lean toward the view that knowledge, expertise and evidence are crucial to societal decision making, and that science and expertise are undervalued in the country.

The Globe and Mail

Scenes from the AIPAD photography show in NYC

By Zoran Milich - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 2:53 PM - 0 Comments

Every year, the world’s best galleries and photographers come together to pitch their wares under the same roof at the AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) Photography Show New York, held in the Park Avenue Armory. For photographers, dealers, and art-lovers, this is the Big One.

Google, Apple, and Netflix: tomorrow's entertainment studios?

By Jesse Brown - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 1:55 PM - 4 Comments

David Carr has posted some interesting thoughts on Google’s mission drift: though they’ll deny it ’til sundown, the search giant is slowly but surely getting into the content business.  They’re cutting deals with major league sports and with Hollywood studios. They’re investing millions in celebrity content for Youtube. And last month, they rolled out One Pass, an attempt to wrap a universal payment layer around “pro” publishing content.

Meanwhile, Netflix made headlines last week by trumping the cable TV networks and buying a new David Fincher series (sight unseen) for $100 million.  The news gobsmacked the entertainment industry, who considered Netflix merely a conduit for content, not a producer of it.  But the strategy is nothing new. Continue…

Bruce Carson and the loophole

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 1:53 PM - 21 Comments

The Prime Minister’s former advisor apparently figured he was within the law.

Carson, however, seemed to sense he was on shaky ground in terms of his lobbying. At one point, Carson said he was worried the Lobbying Commissioner could start looking into his activities. When asked if the thought he could slip through under the rule that allows someone to lobby without registering if it makes up less than 20 per cent of their work, Carson said he thought he would. “I really don’t want the Lobbying Commissioner sort of going crazy over my involvement in this,” he said. “This would be like one-tenth of one per cent of my time so we’re all right.”

More from Democracy Watch and The Star’s Allan Woods.

'This is what it must feel like to witness medical history in the making'

By Anne Kingston - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 1:38 PM - 88 Comments

Sitting through two days of research presentations at the first annual meeting of the International Society of Neurovascular Disease (ISNVD), three things became manifest: One, that this is what it must feel like to witness medical history in the making. Two, that science is just beginning to twig onto the complexity of the venous system—and the vascular system’s role in neurodegenerative diseases. And three, that Canadian multiple sclerosis patients bear a double burden—living with a devastating, degenerative condition and residing in a country that’s increasingly exhibiting a singular lack of political or medical will to treat them for something as basic as insufficient blood flow.

The three-day conference held last week in Bologna, Italy, focused on venous abnormalities and the association of these abnormalities in people with MS—a condition identified as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni. Impaired blood flow in the jugular and or azygos veins, Zamboni posited, caused blood to reflux to the brain, where it creates iron deposits that could trigger MS symptoms. Administering an angioplasty—sending a tiny balloon up the vein to restore blood flow—caused MS symptoms to abate, sometimes dramatically, and even halt the disease’s progression, he found.

Since Zamboni’s research made headlines in November 2009, CCSVI has been hotly debated, embraced, rejected as scientifically unproven, and even ridiculed. Continue…

Women’s Day chocolate politics and tartan fever

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 1:26 PM - 14 Comments

Photograph by Mitchel Raphael

Why Laureen Harper’s big on Capt. Kirk

At the 31st annual Genie Awards, held in Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, cabinet ministers Rona Ambrose, Lisa Raitt and Tony Clement arrived just as workers were vacuuming up popcorn from the pre-awards reception. They were late because of votes in the House. The event was hosted by William Shatner, who, joked Tony Clement, “finally came out of his shell.” Laureen Harper told Capital Diary she is a Shatner and Star Trek fan and has seen all the episodes of the original TV series. And her husband, Stephen Harper, and their daughter Rachel Harper, watched all the episodes together two summers ago. “You can learn about leadership from Capt. Kirk,” noted Mrs. Harper. “He had to make some tough decisions.”

Photograph by Mitchel Raphael

After the Genies were over, politicians mixed with filmmakers such as Denis Villeneuve and The Trotsky star Jay Baruchel, who after the show popped by a 24-hour McDonald’s in the rain for a late night snack. Also in the eclectic mix were two past Playboy playmates, Shannon Tweed, a former Miss Ottawa who lives with rock and reality show star Gene Simmons, and Shera Bechard, Miss November 2010, who was promoting her new film Sweet Karma, a drama about human trafficking.

Photograph by Mitchel Raphael

I don’t want your chocolate

For the past three years, Shelly Glover, parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, has handed out chocolates on International Women’s Day. The first year she put them on the desks of all the female MPs in the House. When she did it the second time in 2010, many opposition MPs returned them with rude notes, she said. So this year she placed small boxes of chocolates on the House desks of only her fellow Conservative female MPs and discreetly handed some to the women in other parties she considers friends.

Photograph by Mitchel Raphael

Our very own tartan

Heritage Minister James Moore has now declared the maple leaf tartan an official symbol of Canada. When reporters jokingly asked whether this was part of the Conservatives’ outreach to “ethnic communities,” Moore turned to National Post columnist John Ivison, who was in the scrum, and teased that the reporter, who is from Scotland, would know if such a strategy would work. Ivison joked that it would take “free booze” to win the Scottish-Canadian votes. Nevertheless, Ivison was spotted the next day on the Hill sporting a tie in the tartan. Moore says that the adoption of the tartan as a national symbol, along with the beaver and maple tree, will allow Canadians who do not already have a family tartan to now have one for events such as Robbie Burns Day. One minister probably won’t be sporting the maple leaf tartan: Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley recently created her own tartan. When Moore was asked if he was getting anything made for himself in the plaid, the large MP joked it was “in development” and that it would require “a lot” of fabric. The maple leaf tartan was created by David Weiser in 1964 as part of a lead-up to Canada’s 100th anniversary of Confederation in 1967. Moore wanted it to become a national symbol before Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017. Last December, it was Liberal Sen. Elizabeth Hubley who put forward a bill to have the tartan become an official symbol.

Dear Helena . . .

As part of his preparations for the upcoming budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty sent a letter to MPs asking for suggestions and things they might want to see in it. Former Conservative and now Independent MP Helena Guergis says her letter had “Dear Colleague” crossed out at the top and replaced with “Helena.” Guergis says her main suggestion was that the government should provide volunteer firefighters with a bigger tax credit for their services in order to increase the appeal for people to take up such positions.

The Writers Hear Your Concerns

By Jaime Weinman - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 1:09 PM - 1 Comment

I was rightly dinged in comments to a previous post for putting in snarky asides about Community and its fandom into other posts. (Criticizing a show is fine. Randomly snarking on people who like and analyze it is just a cheap shot, on the same low level as hacky jokes about people who watch reality shows.) I’ll stop that.

You can see why that kind of snark is wrong when you read reports of the Community PaleyFest panel, and the genuine pleasure the show brings to its fans as well as its great relationship with the people who love it. Some shows either ignore their fans or openly bait them, like Joss Whedon does. The producers of Community don’t give the fans everything they want, but they do signal, not only through online media but more importantly on the show itself, that they’re aware of concerns the fans have. Essentially, anything that fans worry about — is there too much relationship stuff, is Pierce becoming too much of a creep — will soon be addressed on the show; it might not be resolved in the way that each individual fan wants, but each individual fan will get the impression that the writers are not ignoring these issues:

“We talk about it a lot… we get some feedback from the fans, and a theme out there after some of the recent episodes is that Pierce is getting too mean”, he [writer Garrett Donovan] admitted. “But we definitely, down the road this season, we address that.”

That, I think, helps explain why Community connects with fans in a way that few shows do. Most television shows are insular. The episodes have to be made so fast that there was rarely time to address fan concerns even if they wanted to. Producers would read letters from fans, maybe get a sense of what people were saying on the internet, Continue…

Bruce Carson exploited lobbying loophole

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 12:57 PM - 9 Comments

After serving a jail sentence for two counts of theft in 1983, Bruce Carson returned to his position as a Library of Parliament researcher, where he published numerous studies including one in September 1986 that advocated public accountability for paid lobbyists. “Public disclosure of the activities of lobbyists should in some way respond to the public concern that certain paid lobbyists might receive preferential treatment,” Carson wrote in “Registration of Lobbyists.” Twenty-five years later, Carson’s understanding of lobbying legislation was deep enough to allow him to exploit a loophole in the Harper government’s 2006 Federal Accountability Act. The act contains a provision whereby former government officials could lobby Parliament Hill if such lobbying accounted for only 20 percent of their total workload. “I don’t want the lobbying commissioner sort of going crazy over my involvement in this,” Carson told APTN reporters. “This would be like one-tenth of 1 per cent of my time, so we’re all right.” Carson is the subject of an RCMP investigation looking into allegations that the former advisor to Stephen Harper lobbied Indian Affairs for a contract that would sell poor quality water filtration systems to native reserves, and arranged for his fiancée, 22-year-old former escort Michele McPherson, to benefit financially from the contract.

Toronto Star

Three and a half hours to go

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 12:35 PM - 12 Comments

While Pat Martin seems to think there’s going to be an election, the Canadian Press reports the government side has reached out to the NDP.

An NDP source says party finance critic Thomas Mulcair and deputy critic Chris Charlton have been invited to meet early this afternoon with junior finance minister Ted Menzies. The meeting was described as important by the Tories and was to take place at the beginning of the traditional briefing the political parties get on the budget details starting at 1pm. Neither the Liberals nor the Bloc Quebecois had been called to similar meetings and sources says that for the first time the parties have been allotted separate rooms to receive their usual budget briefings.

The return of economic risk

By Colin Campbell - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 12:06 PM - 18 Comments

Not long ago it seemed  the global economy had settled into a healthy recovery mode—albeit a fragile one.  But lately,  economic headwinds are blowing strong again. The attacks on Libya suggest oil fears will not ease anytime soon and the extent of the fallout from Japan (nuclear and economic) is still largely unknown. What’s more, a number of not unsubstantial problems that have dogged the economy in recent times threaten to flare up again. David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff, outlines a few of those risks today, including:

-The chance that the foreclosure crisis in the U.S. could intensify.

-The unresolved European debt crisis (banks are still carrying billions in toxic loans and there remains the possibility that “some combination of Greece, Portugal, and Ireland will be defaulting at some point in the future”)

-The sorry state of U.S. finances (and the possibility that “its interest expense to revenue ratio will trigger a downgrade within the next seven years”).

-And onging geopolitical troubles in the Middle East.

2010 had its shares of ups and downs. 2011 could be even worse.

Power lines connected to Fukushima reactors

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:58 AM - 0 Comments

Officials from Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Tuesday that power lines have been connected to all six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, restoring electricity and marking significant progress in the effort by nuclear technicians and workers to prevent a full scale meltdown. But there is still much more work that remains in order to stabilize the situation, including the venting of nuclear gas and replacing reactor equipment that was damaged by the earthquake or by the dumping of water meant to keep fuel rods cool. Also, temperatures rose to a boiling point in one of the storage pools, causing radioactive steam to waft from the plant. The Japanese government has begun testing seafood after seawater from the plant was showing elevated radiation levels, and the World Health Organization has raised concerns over worsening contamination levels in food and water. The U.S. is considering the withdrawal of its large military presence out of Japan in a mass evacuation.

CBC News

In other news

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:49 AM - 15 Comments

Last evening, after four hours of debate, the House unanimously approved the following motion.

That, in standing in solidarity with those seeking freedom in Libya, the House welcomes United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973; that the House deplores the ongoing use of violence by the Libyan regime against the Libyan people; acknowledges the demonstrable need, regional support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the people of Libya; consequently, the government shall work with our allies, partners and the United Nations to promote and support all aspects of UNSC Resolution 1973, which includes the taking of all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya and to enforce the no-fly zone, including the use of the Canadian Forces and military assets in accordance with UNSC Resolution 1973; that the House requests that the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and the Standing Committee on National Defence remain seized of Canada’s activities under UNSC Resolution 1973; that should the government require an extension to the involvement of the Canadian Forces for more than three months from the passage of this motion, the government shall return to the House at its earliest opportunity to debate and seek the consent of the House for such an extension; and that the House offers its wholehearted support to the men and women of the Canadian Forces.

Thursday, Thursday

By Jaime Weinman - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:40 AM - 1 Comment

When I talked in an earlier post about basic cable shows that are “cheaper, nich-ier versions of broadcast shows,” I left out the ultimate examples (USA and TNT) but also Conan, which may be one of the clearest recent illustrations of this principle. The question before O’Brien’s TBS show began was whether it would revolutionize talk shows, taking all the risks he couldn’t take on The Tonight Show, or whether it would just basically be his Tonight Show with less money. It’s been far closer to the latter than the former. It’s more entertaining than the current Leno Tonight Show and provides a nice alternative for viewers who don’t like Leno and find Letterman too nasty — but it’s not a re-thinking of the entire talk show format, the way The Daily Show became under Stewart and The Colbert Report always has been.

Not that every show needs to be a complete re-thinking of its format, and that’s not O’Brien’s way anyway; he’s sort of a closet traditionalist. A more or less traditional talk show is what he’s always going to be doing, particularly earlier in the evening (his show airs at 11 in the U.S., unlike here, where it’s at midnight). As Jimmy Fallon and Craig Ferguson demonstrate, and as O’Brien and Letterman demonstrated when they were at 12:30, the best place to try unusual things is really late at night on a broadcast network. Conan is a bit more about doing what some of those other cable hits do: give us what we can get on the broadcast networks, just a little (but not too) different.

Here’s O’Brien last night doing a typical late-night bit, a parody of a popular video — the one that is going to make its artist $1 million on her parents’ $2,000 investment.

[vodpod id=Video.5814635&w=442&h=375&fv=]

This week: Newsmakers

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:27 AM - 2 Comments

Aijaz Rahi/AP

The best politics is no politics

Given his status as a revered spiritual leader, retirement was never really an option for the Dalai Lama. But the 76-year-old’s decision to formally relinquish his political duties to an elected member of Tibet’s government-in-exile could prove to have a meaningful impact on his followers. He revealed his intentions on the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, with elections to take place on March 20. By making good on a long-held promise, the Dalai Lama seeks to modernize the Tibetan movement while simultaneously making it more difficult for the Chinese government to capitalize on any power vacuum in the wake of his death.

How to spend a billion

She was dubbed “the wealthiest divorcee in history,” and Patricia Kluge‘s divorce spoils were rivalled only by those of Anna Murdoch, ex-wife of Rupert, and Slavica Ecclestone, ex-wife of Formula One boss Bernie. Kluge was believed to have received over US$1 billion in her 1990 divorce from media mogul John Kluge, which was reportedly amicable. Easy come, easy go. A series of bad business ventures followed, including a critically admired winery that supplied the wine for Chelsea Clinton‘s wedding last year. This week the 62-year-old’s mansion was foreclosed, her vineyard seized, and her jewels, artwork and artifacts sold. The US$3.8 million she got for a Qing dynasty clock (among other assets) wasn’t enough; Kluge is in debt to the tune of US$69 million. Continue…

American warplane crashes in eastern Libya

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:26 AM - 11 Comments

A U.S. warplane crashed near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Tuesday following a third consecutive night of air strikes against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. Both crew members ejected from the F-15E Eagle plane and are safe, and there is no indication that the aircraft was shot down by hostile fire. Upon landing safely on the ground with only minor injuries, one pilot was reportedly thanked and hugged by locals for participating in the allied air strikes. Moussa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman, claimed that missile strikes on Monday had caused “numerous” civilian casualties, particularly near Sirte. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said allies were “going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties,” and that air assaults would decrease in the coming days. The Arab League has expressed dismay over the severity of the attacks, which are expected to result in more civilian deaths. A doctor in the city of Misrata has reported 22 deaths following overnight shelling by government forces.

BBC News

U.S. sees rise in cosmetic breast surgery over past decade

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:24 AM - 5 Comments

Breast implant operations have gone up 40 per cent in the last 10 years, reports the New York Times, with almost 300,000 women boosting their breast size last year alone. According to new data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast lift and implants are booming while other procedures—like nose jobs, liposuction and lip augmentation—are on the decline. Last year, about 296,203 breast implants were performed in the U.S., nearly 40 of them on women in the Mountain and Pacific states. Meanwhile, about 21,700 operations were performed to remove the implants. Doctors performed 13.1 million cosmetic procedures overall in 2010.

New York Times

The Layton intrigue

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:50 AM - 33 Comments

A month ago, Stephen Harper invited Jack Layton over for a chat. Afterward, the NDP leader listed five “proposals” for the federal budget:

1. Remove the federal sales tax on home heating bills.
2. Restore the EcoEnergy program.
3. Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement to aid vulnerable seniors.
4. Strengthen the Canada Pension Plan
5. Improve access to family doctors.

According to various leaks and hints, it seems the EcoEnergy program will be renewed, some kind of assist for vulnerable seniors will be provided and student loan forgiveness will be offered to new doctors who choose to practice in rural areas. Depending on what else is included, that’s three (two and a half?) out of five and so whether or not the budget passes would seem now to depend on whether that’s enough for the NDP.

There is some question now as to whether Mr. Layton will announce a position today or tomorrow. I’m told no decision on timing has yet been made.

In the meantime, Rob Silver considers the long, meaningful history of the EcoEnergy retrofit program.

Budget day

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:01 AM - 23 Comments

Nick Taylor-Vaisey considers the madness that is budget day, thus allowing me here to cite Nick citing me.

“You could do weeks of stories about what’s in the budget. It’s insane to think that all that can be covered in a day,” says Wherry, who recently wrote about the declining relevance of the House of Commons. “It should be the start of the coverage, but we all shrug our shoulders and walk away.”

That’s because more incisive reporting is relatively rare in the world of minority government, which is very much a zero-sum game where every story has a winner and loser. “Most stories are ‘X’ versus ‘Y’. It’s entertaining, but I don’t know what people are supposed to take away from that,” Wherry says. “We don’t spend a lot of time explaining what’s going on.”

The Maclean’s budget team (including your friends Geddes, Wells and Coyne) is, or soon will be, in the budget lock-up. They will emerge shortly after 4pm—when the Finance Minister tables the budget in the House—with stories, videos and revelations of what hasn’t already been leaked. I’ll be on the Hill for most of the afternoon, taking in the ambience and wandering around in the background of various live TV footage. A sketch of some sort will follow.

Choose carefully now, you hear?

By Scott Feschuk - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 9:10 AM - 32 Comments

Reuters; Getty; Rex Features; CP; Photo Illustration by Taylor Shute

As I write these wurds an electon seems iminent, which is why I’m crrying and cant seee to spel corecktlee. Five weeks of empty promises, apocalyptic rhetoric and Stephen Harper using every photo op to sing the chorus to All You Need is Love: where’s a nice absolute monarchy when you need one?

At this critical juncture, let’s take a closer look at where the parties stand.

Conservatives. They’re ahead. And they’re increasingly emboldened by the fact that none of their mistakes, gaffes, fibs, lies, ethical lapses or John Bairds seem to be cutting into their popularity. There’s speculation the Conservatives feel so bulletproof they may actually let Bev Oda talk.

Meanwhile, election preparations continue. New attack ads are being shot. The war room is being staffed. And Cheryl Gallant’s mouth is being escorted to an undisclosed location.

New Democrats. Jack Layton recently underwent surgery, but unless it was to implant some bionic charisma—or a cool robot arm so he can flash a politically unprecedented Tri-Thumbs Up—he and his party seem destined to remain stalled.

Despite token efforts to get with the times, the NDP hasn’t moved beyond believing that government should be doing something to help everyone do anything. And so most people continue to figure that if New Democrats ever got their hands on power, the federal treasury would overnight come to resemble the Vegas hotel room in The Hangover.

In perpetual opposition, the only hard choice that New Democrat MPs ever need to make is whether to wear the suit that’s 12 years out of date or the one that’s 12 years out of date and brown.

Greens. I’ll be the one to ask it: what is the point of the Greens? I mean, they’re adorable and everything, but so are pandas—and pandas don’t give us a hard time about the light bulbs we choose.

Do the Greens exert influence on government? No. Do they take votes away from more popular parties on the left? Yes. Can anyone name a single Green candidate other than Elizabeth May? Other than Preachy McCompost, no.

Don’t get me wrong: the Greens are a lovely group of well-meaning people who forgot to brush their hair this morning. But their existence serves to undermine the political viability of the principles they believe in. They’d be better off as a movement, not a party. They could throw their financial support and volunteer efforts behind environment-minded candidates with a real shot at toppling Conservatives. As it stands, the Greens are planning a 2011 campaign that has zero impact—on both the environment and the election.

Liberals. This magazine put Michael Ignatieff on the cover last week and essentially depicted him as brain dead, testing as never before the theory that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. In defence of Maclean’s, the editors did NOT draw a pointy devil’s beard on his face or write “has cooties” alongside a big arrow pointing to his head. You’re welcome, Iggy.

Ignatieff could hardly have been surprised by the cover. Pretty much nothing’s gone right for him. He seems unable to shake the impression that he’s the Dean Wormer of Canadian politics, a stuffy tight-arse who is doomed to be served his comeuppance.

Using attack ads, the Conservatives have thoroughly diminished Ignatieff. But they still have money coming in, so it’s only a matter of time until they further erode the Liberal brand by badmouthing former party leaders: “Wilfrid Laurier claimed the 20th century would belong to Canada. But we finished third at best. LAURIER: A BIG FAT LIAR.”

Liberals have been held hostage by their unpopularity for so long now that they’ve come to accept it, even embrace it. They have upbeat answers for every dispiriting truth—strange, upbeat answers—Hey, look, we appear doomed to lose big in an election. So let’s have an election!

It’s odd: the less support the Liberals have, the more potential they believe they possess. It follows that only when they sink into the teens will they believe the conditions are right for a return to Liberal majority.

Still, you can’t blame them for wanting to take their shot now. Better the ass-kicking you fear than the daily wedgies you’ve come to know.

The backbencher

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 17 Comments

Around 3pm yesterday, Paul Calandra, the duly elected Member of Parliament for Oak Ridges-Markham, receiver of the votes of some 32,208 citizens in the last election, stood in the House of Commons during the 45 minutes allotted each day so that MPs may present oral questions for the government. He asked the following.

Can the Minister of State for Finance tell this House what time tomorrow the government will be letting this House and all Canadians know about the latest steps in our plan to create jobs, continue the recovery and improve financial security for Canadian families?

The Minister of Finance stood to respond to this and committed 82 words to the official record, none of which actually answered this question. Perhaps because Mr. Flaherty already answered this question three weeks ago.