Speaker Andrew Scheer’s Robbie Burns dinner
By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 0 Comments
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The Commons: The government’s tortured answers on torture
By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 6:30 PM - 0 Comments
The Scene. In an obvious attempt to find common ground with his Conservative counterparts, Jack Harris appealed to the ideals of the free market.“As long as there is a market for information derived from torture,” he posited, “torture will exist.”
Mr. Harris’ concern this day was the government’s quiet decision to allow for the use of information potentially obtained through torture. This after publicly renouncing the suggestion that it was operating under any such policy.
“Why,” the NDP critic wondered, “is the government getting Canada into the torture business?” Continue…
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‘Knife control’ and Canada’s highland dancing MP
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:20 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
Scots on the Hill
Andrew Scheer continued the Speaker’s tradition of hosting a Robbie Burns dinner. Scheer does not own a kilt but did wear a plaid tie. Green Leader Elizabeth May said grace before MPs dug in. May, who had to put her theology studies on hold after moving to B.C., sported a plaid dress she bought at Suttles & Seawinds in Nova Scotia, and plaid shoes she’s had since 1991. Since she rarely wears them, they’re in pretty good shape, she says. Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino sported a small pin of an F-35 and Canadian flag. “We’ve procured this one,” quipped the minister, whose department’s multi-billion-dollar fighter jet procurement process has been hitting some snags.
Kirsty Duncan also attended Scheer’s dinner. The Liberal MP has deep Scottish roots. Her father is Scottish, and her mother played the bagpipes (although she was of Polish-Ukrainian descent); Duncan, who speaks Gaelic, did her Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh. She also danced for more than two decades with the 48th Highlanders of Canada, and still teaches Highland dance classes. Her record for most Robbie Burns events as a dancer was 53 over a two-week period in Toronto and southern Ontario. Her love for Burns came from her dad, Errol Duncan. As a child, she memorized a Burns poem every night. Her father gave her a book of Burns’s work that had been owned by her great-great-grandfather; its pages have grown thin, she says, and the cover is long gone.
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The power of Tolkien and a good cup of coffee
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:35 AM - 0 Comments
Photography by Mitchel Raphael
Conservatives watching every word
During a 2006 Liberal leadership debate, Michael Ignatieff told Stéphane Dion he “didn’t get the job done.” The phrase was picked up as a Conservative attack repeated so often in the House that even Tory cabinet ministers grew sick of saying it, which prompted Stephen Harper to remind them that it was only when they were sick of saying it was it actually penetrating into the general public. These days, Nathan Cullen is thinking a lot about the single wrong phrase that could hang over the heads of NDP leadership hopefuls. “You want to be careful, but at the same time, if you are not ready for sound-bite politics you are not ready for the big time,” he says.
One of the lessons he’s learned from his campaign so far has been the importance of how “you have to focus and not allow drama to enter your inner team.” It was something he read in a book Jack Layton gave him, The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory by David Plouffe. These days, Cullen is tackling The Lord of the Rings in French. He has read the books several times in English and says one of the best ways to improve language skills is to read familiar books. Some of the characters’ names have been changed a bit in French. Cullen adds that if during one of the NDP debates there is a Lord of the Rings question in French then he has the leadership “in the bag.” (Or is that Baggins?)
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NDP leadership debate in Toronto
By Mitchel Raphael - Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:00 AM - 0 Comments
All the NDP leadership candidates gathered in Toronto to a packed house.
The candidates.
The crowd.
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Thomas Mulcair in Toronto
By Mitchel Raphael - Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 4:49 PM - 0 Comments
NDP leadership candidate Thomas Mulcair held a town hall in Toronto at the 519 Church Street Community Centre.
David Harris (left), father of NDP MP Dan Harris, and Thomas Mulcair.
Mulcair and his wife Catherine Pinhas.
(l-r) NDP MP Dan Harris, Mulcair, opera star John Mac Master.
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Hammers and hospitality at the Liberal convention
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, January 23, 2012 at 8:05 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
Sheila Copps boogies
As Liberals descended on the capital for their biennial convention, tables were filled with Grit souvenirs including red foam hammers for “rebuilding.” When interim leader Bob Rae and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty spoke to delegates in the main hall, the jumbo screens happened to feature Justin Trudeau when each mentioned the future of the federal Liberal party. And while there was much talk at the convention about the prospect of Rae staying on as permanent leader, the buzz about Premier McGuinty going for the job increased dramatically after people checked out the party he had that night at Daly’s in the Westin Ottawa. The feast included a huge leg of meat, poutine, as well as mac and cheese with bacon. “With that kind of spread, he must be running for leader,” quipped one delegate. There was a constant lineup to get into the premier’s bash, which went late into the night. But the best party moment at the convention happened the night before when Sheila Copps held a shindig at the hip Mercury Lounge where she joined well-known Ottawa drag queen Dixie Landers on stage and boogied to Bette Midler’s version of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Copps was running for party president and lost to Mike Crawley.
Merger fashion statement? Continue…
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Slimming down and eating pie on the campaign trail
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, January 16, 2012 at 9:30 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
Mom, can an MP crash here?
To keep expenses down, NDP leadership candidate and Ottawa MP Paul Dewar has been billeting at people’s homes as he tours the country. In the town of New Hamburg, Ont., Dewar was told he was being put up by Noam Gold-Utting. When the MP was introduced to Gold-Utting, he realized the NDP supporter was only 16. Gold-Utting first got involved with the NDP when he was 13 and now sits on the executive of his federal riding association. After the event, the teenager took Dewar back to his house but had failed to inform his parents he was hosting the MP. Luckily, they were pleased to help out their son’s guest. When asked if the parents were NDP supporters, Dewar quipped, “If they weren’t before, they are now.”
When visiting small towns, Dewar follows some sound advice he was given: try to meet the mayors and city councillors and find out their concerns. As he travels, people have been trying to get Dewar to eat more. He has slimmed down by a full suit size during the campaign. He says one of his big treat highlights so far has been the apple pie and cookies at the Anson Diner in Iroquois Falls, Ont. Aside from putting food in front of him, people have also been passing along articles of interest; one person gave him a button from a campaign in the late ’80s that said: “Canada’s our country. Let’s take it back.”
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Liberal Biennial Convention 2012 Ottawa
By Mitchel Raphael - Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 8:12 PM - 0 Comments
Martha Hall Findlay (left), Michael Igntieff.
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Stornaway’s new chef and the MP who delivered babies
By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 1:00 PM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
What’s cooking at Stornoway?
Stornoway has a new chef. Kimberlee Rivet, 27, is one of the youngest head chefs at an official residence, not to mention one of the few female chefs. The last time Stornoway had a woman as chef was when former Liberal PM John Turner was leader of the Opposition, according to house staff. Before Stornoway, Rivet was working at Rideau Hall under the current Governor General David Johnston and his predecessor Michaëlle Jean. While interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel does not live in Stornoway because her Quebec riding is in the National Capital Region, the NDP does use the residence to entertain and have meetings, and Turmel has slept over on occasion.
Doctor in the House
Before the last election, only the Liberals had physicians in the Commons. The Conservatives now have Ontario MP Kellie Leitch, an orthopaedic surgeon, and the NDP has Quebec MP Djaouida Sellah. The NDP MP is originally from Algeria and worked as a volunteer doctor during the first Gulf War in Iraq, where “I delivered babies just with the light of candles during the war.” Nowadays she’s dealing with colleagues asking about a range of sniffle issues, fatigue, insomnia and even what to do about a fingernail infection: “Make some hot water with salt and put Polysporin on,” she told the MP. Last year, when a very pregnant NDP MP Sana Hassainia fainted in caucus, “I gave her my diagnosis and when she went to the hospital they gave her the same diagnosis,” says Sellah. She can’t write prescriptions, though. After spending years working to get her medical credentials recognized in Canada, she was almost finished the last part of her residency, which would have completed the process, when the election was called and she became part of the Orange Crush that hit Quebec.
10-year plan by 20-year-old Liberal
Zach Paikin is running for national policy chairman of the Liberal party at its biennial convention this month in Ottawa. He is the son of Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s political show The Agenda and moderator of several past federal election leadership debates. Zach Paiken is 20. When asked when his braces are coming off he says: “I’m not in a position to predict.” Paikin only owns one black suit but has numerous shirts and ties to mix it up. He only needs to shave once a week. Still, he has been endorsed by some top Liberal names, including Irwin Cotler, David Peterson, Scott Simms and Rodger Cuzner. Paikin, one of five candidates vying for the position, wants to change the delegate system to one where all party members have the right to vote, regardless of whether they can come to a convention. His political inspirations: Wilfrid Laurier, because he fought to keep the country together, Irwin Cotler, because of the MP’s sense of social justice, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for “being a good leader in tough times.” Asked how long it will take for the Liberal party to rebuild itself, Paikin says he will be 30 when it happens.
The perks of sitting beside the heritage minister
Bev Oda’s mother keeps getting strange phone calls with questions like, “Did Bev change her hair?” or “She’s wearing bright colours now?” Oda, the minister of international co-operation, used to sit in the camera shot behind Stephen Harper in the House of Commons. She was moved months ago and replaced with Alice Wong, who also happens to be Asian-Canadian, which Oda says has confused some of her mother’s friends. Oda has been enjoying her new front bench seat next to Heritage Minister James Moore. One of the perks of sitting next to the heritage minister? She says Moore knows how to sync an iPod, iPhone and iPad so they work together.
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Laureen’s letter to China and the tree-planting MP
By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 10:10 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
‘As Canadian as the maple leaf’
Sen. Mike Duffy is championing Anne of Green Gables in China. He has been working with Duncan McIntosh, president of the firm Anne in China Inc. as well as artistic director of the Montgomery Theatre in P.E.I., which promotes the works of Lucy Maud Montgomery. McIntosh says the 30,000 copies already translated into Mandarin have almost all been sold, so he is pushing to get more printed. Aside from bringing the popular story to China, the hope is to get Chinese tourists to come to P.E.I. in the same way Japanese visitors flock to the island because of Anne mania. The introduction to the book includes a message from Laureen Harper, which was arranged by Duffy. Mrs. Harper writes: “The story you are about to read is as Canadian as the maple leaf on our national flag, yet it has been enjoyed by tens of millions of readers all over the world. I think the reason Anne of Green Gables has won the hearts of readers from so many countries is because the story and the characters transcend linguistic and cultural differences . . . I hope you find yourself wanting to explore more of Anne’s world, and I invite you to come to Canada and visit beautiful Prince Edward Island.”
Political fashion leader
NDP leadership hopeful Niki Ashton was in an Ottawa Harry Rosen store recently getting her husband a Christmas gift. “Why aren’t you out campaigning?” said the salesman. He confessed that his party is No. 3 in the House. The Liberal supporter wished Ashton luck and congratulated her on making a smart fashion choice for her husband. On the fashion front, Ashton says she intends to avoid pantsuits for her leadership campaign, and if she does wear one, she will work hard to balance it with a fabulous shirt. After the first debate, a friend told her that the patent leather collar she had on was sure to “get you the gay vote.” At 29, Ashton is the youngest person running to lead the NDP. She will be 33 when the next election comes around in four years. Ashton notes that Manitoba’s Ed Schreyer was in his 30s when he became premier and 43 when he was selected to be governor general by Pierre Trudeau in 1978. Schreyer recently threw his support behind NDP leadership candidate and Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair.
Tree planting with Scott Brison
Nova Scotia Liberal MP Scott Brison still has his Christmas tree from four years ago. Since 2008, the MP has bought live trees he saves and plants in the spring. The past trees consist of an Austrian pine, a Sitka spruce and a blue spruce. This year Brison has a Serbian spruce. The trees have a special place in his front yard in Cheverie, N.S. Tree planting is not just a Christmastime pursuit for Brison; in recent years he has planted 85 apple trees and 600 white spruce at his rural property.
Brotherly love and jokes
Newfoundland Liberal MP Scott Andrews recently got this Christmas joke texted to him from his brother: “Why are politicians like Christmas lights? They all hang around together. Some don’t work. Others aren’t so bright.”
Tory picks CBC over CPAC
Ontario Tory MP Chris Alexander was recently double booked in the House foyer to appear on both French CPAC and on Evan Solomon’s Power & Politics on CBC. In the end he chose CBC to talk about border security.
Moustaches till Manuary?
Movember moustaches have come and gone, but several Liberal MPs are still sporting facial hair. Justin Trudeau has convinced others like Scott Simms to keep them for an event at the Liberal convention in mid-January that Trudeau has dubbed “Manuary.”
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The conservatives’ Martha Stewart
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, December 12, 2011 at 9:20 AM - 0 Comments
Photography by Mitchel Raphael
MP reads carefully in House
The annual All-Party Party was held at the Government Conference Centre this year since the usual venue, the West Block, is closed for renovations and asbestos removal. The event—which thanks all who work on the Hill, from staffers to cleaners to Hill security guards—was started years ago by NDP MP Peter Stoffer. This year it was taken over by Liberal Sen. Jim Munson and Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger. The entertainment lineup had guitar-strumming NDP MP Andrew Cash who, in the early ’80s, founded the Toronto punk band L’Étranger with fellow NDP MP Charlie Angus. Also performing was the band Marabou, made up of local university students including Claude Munson, the senator’s son. The senator confessed that the music genes did not come from his side of the family because “I failed the triangle in Grade 3.” The handful of MPs who showed up to support the men and women who serve them on the Hill were late because of extended voting time around Bill C-10, the controversial Conservative omnibus crime bill that Green Leader Elizabeth May and other NDPs challenged with a series of amendments. Liberal MP Mark Eyking tried to pass the time during all the votes by reading The Help, a book he bought his mother for Christmas and happened to have on him that night. He was careful not to break the spine so it would be new when he gave it to her.
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Bev Oda’s goat, and Dion’s new role in Scotland
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, December 5, 2011 at 9:40 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
The goat Bev Oda left behind
Attendees at World Vision Canada’s reception at the Fairmont Château Laurier included Liberal MP Mark Eyking and his wife, Pam Eyking, who have sponsored an 11-year-old boy named Claude, in Rwanda, through the organization for 10 years. They’ve sent him many things over that time, including a shirt six years ago that he still wears. Another long-wearing item of clothing was the brown Ultrasuede jacket from the ’80s that Mark Eyking wore to the reception. The MP is one of seven brothers and jokes they had one suit they kept passing around. Bev Oda, minister of international co-operation, spoke passionately about World Vision’s work. She recalled a visit to Tanzania where she was given a goat as a thank-you present. She told her staffer to get going on the paperwork needed to get the goat home to Canada—letting the staffer sweat it out for 30 minutes before saying she was kidding. The goat stayed in Tanzania.
Abercrombie and Iran
When Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was in Ottawa, he had meetings with Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. The ministers discussed the hot topic of Iran, while Israeli security personnel asked Hill interns if there was an Abercrombie & Fitch in Ottawa. There is not.
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World Vision Canada, MPs and Rick Campanelli
By Mitchel Raphael - Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 2:56 PM - 0 Comments
World Vision Canada’s held a reception at the Fairmont Château Laurier .
Entertainment Tonight Canada's Rick Campanelli (left), a World Vision Canada ambassador, with LIberal MP Mark Eyking (right) and wife Pam Eyking (centre).
Campanelli with Dave Toycen, World Vision Canada President and CEO.
Bev Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, (left), and Campanelli.
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No mo moustaches
By Mitchel Raphael - Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 8:55 PM - 0 Comments
NDP male Movember participants before they shaved off their moustaches and the woman MPs who helped them raise funds.
Pierre-Luc Dusseault, 20, the youngest MP ever elected, shows off one month of moustache growth.
Conservavative MP Ed Holder (right) went from a beard to a goatee for Movember. Technically goatees don't count.
Holder goes smooth.
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Navy Appreciation Day on the Hill
By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 7:50 AM - 0 Comments
NDP MP Randall Garrison (left).
Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence.
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MPs, clams and Aquaculture
By Mitchel Raphael - Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 10:01 AM - 0 Comments
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) held a reception at the Weston Hotel in Ottawa.
Gail Shea (left), Minister of National Revenue, with the executive director of CAIA, Ruth Salmon
Liberal MP Mark Eyking (right) with his son Josh.
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Movember madness
By Mitchel Raphael - Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 11:37 PM - 0 Comments
Liberal MP Justin Trudeau said last year he went for a three musketeers stache but this year it was more pirate. “It’s more roguish,” he quipped.
Three quarters of the way through the month Conservative MP Ed Holder has a beard and is still deciding what moustache to go for. Please leave any suggestions.
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Fur on the Hill
By Mitchel Raphael - Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 10:07 AM - 0 Comments
Manitoba Conservative MP Robert Sopuck shows off his fur in the House of Commons foyer.
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Parliamentarians of the Year Awards party
By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, November 25, 2011 at 3:11 PM - 0 Comments
Maclean’s 5th annual Parliamentarians of the Year Awards ceremony at the Fairmont Château Laurier. See winners here.
Immigration MInister Jason Kenney (left) and Ken Whyte, President of Rogers Publishing Limited
Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner (left) and NDP MP Pat Martin.
NDP MP Peter Stoffer accepts his award.
Stephen Harper’s communications director Angelo Persichilli and CBC’s Julie Van Dusen.
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Spilling secrets, parties and poutine
By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, November 25, 2011 at 10:10 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
MP has cover envy
Maclean’s fifth annual Parliamentarians of the Year Awards ceremony this week at the Fairmont Château Laurier had Stephen Harper’s communications director Angelo Persichilli spilling secrets to the CBC’s Julie Van Dusen. Persichilli told the reporter the secret to good pasta sauce was “light on the mushrooms and lots of garlic.” That night, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney took the award for Hardest Working MP but is still bitter about the year he won the big prize of Parliamentarian of the Year: “I still can’t believe that every other winner before me got a cover story but I was bumped by [former Liberal MP] Ruby Dhalla.” At the time, Dhalla was making headlines over allegations of mistreated nannies. Former NDP leader Jack Layton received the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award, which was accepted by his widow, Toronto MP Olivia Chow. With Chow was screenwriter Shelley Eriksen, who is working on a script for a TV biopic on Layton. Eriksen was in Ottawa for a tour of the NDP war room from the last election and other significant places, such as Layton’s old offices.
Chez what?
Conservative MP Michael Chong took the award for Best Represents Constituents. Second runner-up in that category was NDP MP Niki Ashton, who’s been fighting for the miners in her Manitoba riding and, more recently, trying to save the Canadian Wheat Board, something vital to the future of the port of Churchill. Ashton, 29, is currently seeking the NDP leadership. She joked that she may adopt the slogan of a snack bar in Quebec City called Chez Ashton (no relation), which is: “Only fresh. Only real.” Chez Ashton is known for its poutine. The MP has eaten there recently, as well as when she was eight, when she “took one of the placemats and put it on my wall.”
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The minister making the UN move faster
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, November 21, 2011 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
Canada fights for girls
The purpose of Plan International’s “Because I am a Girl” campaign is to champion girls in the developing world, ensuring they have access to education and food as well as advocating for their physical safety and basic human rights. Plan Canada and Plan U.K. have been pushing to get an International Day of the Girl recognized at the UN; they’ve found a strong ally in Rona Ambrose, minister for status of women. She was moved by the stories of youth representatives from developing countries after asking them tough questions such as why the day was needed when there is already International Women’s Day. The answers included female feticide, preferential feeding of boys, and higher HIV transmission rates. Ambrose is helping to navigate the resolution through the UN, building support among nations including Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ambrose “is a force,” says Plan Canada CEO Rosemary McCarney. “She’s absolutely the champion on this. It’s quite impressive how fast this is happening from last year.”
Last month, Canada’s mission at the UN held a reception hosted by Ambrose. Fifty UN ambassadors attended and Ambrose worked the room, says McCarney. Now the resolution is an official initiative of the Canadian government, with opposition support. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has given Ambrose his support to work the resolution through. McCarney says another key supporter of the initiative is Tory Sen. Nancy Ruth, who brought other senators on board. McCarney says the UN vote should happen sometime in December.
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Why Paul Dewar needs to stay out of Ottawa
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, November 14, 2011 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
Hockey team riding on MP’s schedule
More and more people are throwing their names into the NDP leadership race. Candidates who are also MPs, such as Peggy Nash and Paul Dewar, have to give up their critic areas. Unlike when the Liberals had a big leadership race in 2006, NDP leadership candidates who are MPs will still be able to ask questions in question period if it is related to their riding. They will also keep the House seats they were assigned. The Liberals made their leadership candidates sit next to the Bloc to minimize the amount of face time they would get on TV. Dewar, whose riding is Ottawa Centre, has been travelling a lot more, and one of the Hill security guards has joked that when the MP is out of town, the Ottawa Senators hockey team wins its games.
Is that jacket sealskin?
MPs are sporting their poppies for Remembrance Day. NDP MP John Rafferty put his poppy right through what looked liked a suede suit jacket. He later confessed to Capital Diary that it was in fact microfibre. Rafferty joked, “But when seal protesters are out, I tell them it’s sealskin.” Tory Sen. Nancy Ruth sported a white poppy for peace, a symbol worn by former New Democrat leader Alexa McDonough in the past.
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In short, look
By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 7, 2011 at 10:30 AM - 0 Comments
An abridged version of the Prime Minister’s interview with Tom Clark.
“But you know, look … Well look, Tom … Look … Well look, Tom … Well look … Well look … Look … Well look, Tom … And look … And look … Well, first of all, look … Look, Tom … And look … Look.”
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Pandemic priorities—firefighters or MPs?
By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, November 7, 2011 at 9:10 AM - 0 Comments
Photograph by Mitchel Raphael
Putting the brakes on Justin Trudeau
Four years ago, former Liberal MP Mike Savage spent a day in a wheelchair on the Hill to create awareness on behalf of the Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA) about the challenges faced by disabled people. Since then, the CPA has seen a number of MPs and senators from all parties take on the challenge of being in a wheelchair for a day. This year the politicians also raced in an obstacle course. Montreal Liberal MP Justin Trudeau battled it out with Yukon Conservative MP Ryan Leef. Before the race started, the two tried to lock the brakes on each other’s wheelchair. Vancouver Liberal MP Hedy Fry, known for her glitz and glam wardrobe as well as killer stilettos, pointed out she was forced to wear flat shoes in order to participate. Most MPs wore gloves to protect their hands. Ontario NDP MP Glenn Thibeault sported his Icon Sub Redeemer motorcycle gloves complete with skulls and bones. Thibeault regularly rides a Victory Hammer motorcycle. Since this was not the MP’s first time in a wheelchair for a day on the Hill, he noted he ran into the same problems as before. Washrooms that say they are wheelchair accessible still have a lip on the front door entrance, which means Thibeault had to pop his chair up or gather some speed to ride over it. Toronto Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan said she did not need gloves because she is a former gymnast and her hands are quite callused. “I have hands like a construction worker,” she quips. Duncan has long fought for people with disabilities but this was her first time spending a day in a wheelchair. It opened her eyes to new challenges, from needing to allot extra time for travel to, in one instance, nearly being run over on the Hill as a car was backing up and failed to see her.
How it’s decided who gets vaccinated first
Canada’s firefighters hit the Hill last week to try to convince MPs to bump them up to Tier 1—priority vaccination—in case of a pandemic. One member of the International Association of Fire Fighters noted that, in urban areas, close to half of all calls are health, not fire, related. During a pandemic, he argued, firefighters should be considered on par with front line health workers. Since each pandemic, whether H1N1 or SARS, has played out differently, said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, the government has to monitor every new outbreak, then make a decision about the order of vaccination. “It has to be based on the science,” she said. When asked where politicians—some of the biggest handshakers in the country—fall on the pandemic priority scale, the health minister stated that they are part of the general population. “Just because you are an elected official does not bump you up the list.”
