Is there a doctor in the House?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 5:24 PM - 42 Comments

Chris Selley questions the medical wisdom of politicians.

It took some flaming cheek for Mr. Dosanjh and Ms. Duncan to claim that “disregarding experts is a dangerous precedent” in an op-ed that involved disregarding — not to mention disrespecting — literally dozens of medical practitioners and researchers. But precious few politicians are capable of resisting the lure of emotionally charged issues, and the opportunities they afford to care out loud. From this appalling cynicism, there seems very little hope of liberation.

For the record, there are four physicians in the House of Commons: Liberals Carolyn Bennett, Hedy Fry, Keith Martin and Bernard Patry.

Toward 2014

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 11:35 AM - 82 Comments

In a series of speeches today from Caroyln Bennett, Hedy Fry and Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberals are laying out the parameters of their health care agenda.

All of this will require federal leadership and partnership between governments, which is what Canadians expect. We want our governments to fight for Medicare, not over Medicare. We expect the social contract that Medicare represents to be honoured, not abandoned.

The federal government has the jurisdiction, the role, and the responsibility to defend the national interest and our shared objectives: to ensure that Medicare survives and thrives, to ensure the principles of Medicare are respected by enforcing the Canada Health Act, and to share in the cost of the system by providing funding to the provinces and territories.

Our democracy runneth over

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, December 3, 2010 at 12:35 PM - 16 Comments

A Globe story—about democratic reform legislation, mind you—citing unnamed government officials is contradicted by an unsigned government email. Kady O’Malley spots one irony. Susan Delacourt finds another.

… it’s interesting that on the matter of a bill on democratic reform, there are “higher” people in government, who know more than the elected people about what’s going on. If that’s not an argument for reform, I don’t know what is.

Meanwhile, the Liberal critic seems eager to see a vote.

Hey there, CBC, glad you could finally make it.

By Michael Petrou - Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 9:23 PM - 15 Comments

The CBC catches up with a story Maclean’s broke more than a year and a half ago.

CBC: Nov 11, 2010

Maclean’s: March 23, 2009.

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 8:05 PM - 2 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 5:43 PM - 0 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 1:31 PM - 0 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

The open era

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 12:51 PM - 0 Comments

The Liberals have now set out their open government agenda, which would, in addition to restoring the long-form census, include as follows.

Make as many government datasets as possible available to the public online free of charge at opendata.gc.ca in an open and searchable format, starting with Statistics Canada data, including data from the long-form census; Post all Access to Information requests, responses, and response times online at accesstoinformation.gc.ca; and Make information on government grants, contributions and contracts available through a searchable, online database at accountablespending.gc.ca.

David Eaves has some thoughts. The NDP’s Charlie Angus has also tabled a motion generally calling on the government to pursue open source ideals.

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 3:35 PM - 0 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

Remaking the rules

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 2:31 PM - 0 Comments

Liberal critic Carolyn Bennett has apparently set off on a series of “democratic renewal” consultations.

The workbook that is provided to participants is dominated by question marks, but everything from the senate to electoral reform to open data appears to be on the proverbial table.

CPAC reception holds court

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 1:00 PM - 0 Comments

CPAC held a reception in the East Block Courtyard. Below, CPAC’s Martin Stringer.

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Ken Stein, Chair of CPAC’s Board of Directors.

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Liberal MP Siobhan Coady.

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The language war

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 4:41 PM - 0 Comments

Not in Ottawa today, and thus couldn’t witness the poetry of Question Period firsthand, but perhaps the transcript speaks for itself.

Conservative members, for instance, combined to use the word “coalition” 15 times, while the Prime Minister seems to have referred to the Liberals as “those characters.”

And Liberal Carolyn Bennett, in wondering whether the Prime Minister would acquiesce to last night’s House vote on the census, apparently observed that “leaders who think they make the rules are called dictators.” In fairness, with the next breath Ms. Bennett said that “this is a test,” so she seems at least willing to offer Mr. Harper the opportunity to prove he is not a dictator. Which is, well, something.

Make your own Commons

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 6:43 PM - 0 Comments

No sketch today on account of commitments elsewhere.

In lieu, here is today’s exchanges between Marlene Jennings and Carolyn Bennett with Tony Clement on the subject of the census. Add your own world-weary bemusement. Continue…

History is made

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, September 24, 2010 at 9:54 AM - 0 Comments

Liberal Carolyn Bennett becomes the first member of parliament in the history of our democracy to apologize for something she retweeted.

In the future I promise to be more careful and to make clearer my support or lack of support for the opinions being put forth in the ‘link’. Mea culpa. It has also been pointed out to me that I should be wary of certain publications, authors as an initial screen. I will do better in the future. I learn a great deal using social media tools… The information, the frank feedback are all part of a learning culture and a ‘democracy between elections’ in which citizens and their elected representatives can interact in real time. I take this responsibility seriously. I apologize for today’s error.

Iggy’s bus stops

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, August 20, 2010 at 10:07 AM - 0 Comments

Michael Ignatieff is on his Liberal Express tour across Canada. In Toronto, he stopped at a BBQ in Thornhill just north of the city and then a restaurant downtown in Chinatown.

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Toronto Gay Pride—politics, drag and dancing

By Mitchel Raphael - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 11:28 AM - 0 Comments

Politicos and celebrities marched with drag queens in this year’s Pride parade in Toronto. Some were armed with water guns. Below, Rick Mercer and Belinda Stronach.

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Proud Liberals carry the Liberal banner, while Bob Rae carries the Canadian flag.

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From the backbench

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 1:27 PM - 3 Comments

More Twitter commentary from last night and this morning.

Siobhan Coady. Oh Mr. Harper, what have you done to our country?

Carolyn Bennett. still thinking that for a billion dollars we could have had a University Campus with a medical school in Huntsville or the Near North

Daryl Kramp. attended a immigrant laguage graduation-grateful and appreciative of Canada-what a contrast to attitude of violent criminal protesters-sick … black clad criminals do a diservice to the cause of legitimate protest.-behind the mask is thuggery rather than honest principles of dissent

Bryon Wilfert. Master Cpl. Kristal Giesebrecht and Pt. Andrew Miller killed by an IED in Afghanistan. People allowed to demonstrate because of these heroes … The Black Bloc – anarchists – attack symbolism of capitalism. Legitimate demonstrations overshadowed by these thugs. They hide their faces.

'That the approach of the Government of Canada must be based on scientific evidence'

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 12:40 PM - 168 Comments

As posted by Carolyn Bennett, here is the text of the motion the Liberals plan to present on Tuesday.

That, in the opinion of the House, the government’s G8 maternal and child health initiative for the world’s poorest regions, must include the full range of family planning, sexual and reproductive health options, including contraception, consistent with the policy of previous Liberal and Conservative governments and all other G8 governments last year in L’Aquila, Italy;

that the approach of the Government of Canada must be based on scientific evidence which proves that education and family planning can prevent as many as one in every three maternal deaths; and

that the Canadian government should refrain from advancing the failed right-wing ideologies previously imposed by the George W. Bush administration in the United States which made humanitarian assistance conditional upon a ‘global gag rule’ that required all non-governmental organizations receiving federal funding to refrain from promoting medically-sound family planning.

Here, for the sake of argument, is the latest post on this subject from Glen Pearson.

And the Black Rod is made of chocolate!

By Colby Cosh - Monday, December 7, 2009 at 4:21 AM - 97 Comments

After some hours trying to decipher Angelo Persichilli’s column about the Château Laurier Conspiracy, I think I’ve found the key. One must disconnect Persichilli’s speculation about What It All Means from his actual reporting. It seems likely he overheard or was given access to audio of some genuine conversation, though the whole account is slathered in enough passive-voice sauce to turn anybody’s stomach. Ignore the carefully placed buttresses to the story’s authority and importance, like “This was not an isolated meeting between a few MPs”, and what you’re left with is… an isolated meeting between a few MPs, who bellyache tipsily while Bob Rae listens politely and encourages frank discussion but strongly insists he is not interested in a coup.

This is exactly what you would expect Bob Rae to do if he were a completely loyal lieutenant with no ambitions of his own whatsoever, intent solely on serving as his leader’s eyes and ears. It is also exactly what you would expect Bob Rae to do if he were planning a lightning coup for the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Most likely, Bob Rae is just what you think he is: an ambitious fellow forced to play a difficult hand, one who may be happy to profit from a regicide but is fully aware that he who draws the dagger rarely survives to wallow in the glory.

Beyond the facts, the column is full of fairly innocuous propositions disguised as dramatic disclosures. Succession to the leadership is a “dominant theme of discussion” in the Liberal Party? Well, sure, that’s what political parties are: machines for ensuring that aligned political interests stick together if something happens to the leader. I promise you that succession to the Conservative leadership is a pretty frequent subject of table-talk when Conservatives get together. (And, in fact, it’s a strength of the Liberal Party, not a weakness, that it has a lot of semi-credible successors around.)

And Persichilli “wouldn’t be surprised” if Ignatieff retreated to his “beloved academic world” at any moment? So who would be? The Liberals imported that danger/hope as part of the package deal when they dragged Ignatieff back from Harvard. Persichilli, I feel, is merely reminding us of the facts of life in a way that makes his eavesdropping seem fraught with urgency and electricity.

The more I concentrated on what is truly knowable and relevant in Persichilli’s story, the more I felt sorry for Bob Rae. Imagine having to stand there, nodding and smiling and nursing a schnapps, while you pretend to take the strategic judgment of Ruby Dhalla and Carolyn “Body Bags” Bennett oh so seriously. To what Christmas fantasy did his mind drift off while Dhalla, an ISO-certifiable ninny, was waxing obnoxious about the party “not doing enough to nurture the next generation of leaders”? Did he dream of being elected Santa Claus, passing in his crimson finery through the gingerbread doors of the Elf Parliament as the Candy-Cane Peace Tower glimmered in the night sky?

Fighting for more women in politics and the "mystery MP"

By Mitchel Raphael - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 12:15 PM - 9 Comments

Equal Voice, an organization dedicated to getting more women elected, held a reception at The Métropolitain Brasserie & Restaurant. Below, Helena Guergis, Minister of State for the Status of Women.

Donna Dasko (left) of Equal Voice chats with Liberal MP Marlene Jennings.

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In the future, we will know what every MP eats for breakfast

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 8:49 AM - 13 Comments

Responding to criticism from various commentators, Charlie Angus takes to the Facebook to defend his dismissal of the Twitter.

Kady O’Malley calls me draconian. The National Post says I’m a luddite. It’s all over my comments that MP twitter posts lie between the banal and the inane. Have no fear national media — your ability to read what Carolyn Bennett eats for breakfast will not be shut down. I only wish I could have gotten this national uproar over the crisis being faced by children in Attawapiskat who are sleeping in tents tonight.

Michelle Simson attempts, via Twitter, to negotiate.

The Commons: Picking up the crisis where we left it

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 16, 2009 at 5:42 PM - 27 Comments

The Scene. So where were we? Ah yes, that global pandemic.

“Mr. Speaker, the last time the House sat, the Minister of Health claimed that every Canadian who wanted the H1N1 vaccine would receive it before Christmas,” Carolyn Bennett recapped. “Now, she is saying that the rollout will take up to 12 more weeks and run well into next February.”

So it is for the Health Minister. If not for her having to periodically stand and state things as fact, her critics would likely have little to complain about.

“Why,” asked Ms. Bennett, “did the minister mislead the House and why did she not tell Canadians the truth?”

The Prime Minister, the Transport Minister and the Industry Minister were all away this day, so Leona Aglukkaq was offered the chance here to answer the question herself.

“Mr. Speaker, again, we have said all along that we would try and complete the vaccination program by December,” she said.

Her use of the term “try” was perhaps notable, at least in so much as it was not employed two weeks ago when the Minister told the House that, “every Canadian who wants the vaccine will be able to receive the vaccine by Christmas.”

But close enough. Continue…

The audacity of youth (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 11:23 AM - 14 Comments

The video report that resulted from those student journalists asking all those pesky questions last week.

The Commons: Swallow this impressive-sounding number and call your doctor in the morning

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 6:46 PM - 90 Comments

The Scene. The Prime Minister’s chair, as an inanimate object, was unlikely to answer. But Michael Ignatieff insisted on asking anyway.

“Mr. Speaker, today we learn from the Auditor General that, for its entire time in office, the government has failed to develop any national emergency preparedness plan. That includes planning for epidemics and pandemics like H1N1. Does that not begin to explain why the government’s response to this crisis has been so slow and confused?” he wondered aloud. ”We have heard from the Minister of Health. When will we begin to hear from the Prime Minister? When will he stand up, take responsibility for the government’s mistakes and correct the situation?”

The Prime Minister was otherwise engaged with escorting the Prince and Camilla around rural Newfoundland. John Baird, Mr. Harper’s de facto deputy, was away as well, while the Health Minister was in Vancouver. No worries though, because this seemed to be a question about emergency preparedness and that is distinctly the purview of the Public Safety Minister and that minister, the typically unshy Peter Van Loan, was most certainly in his seat.

And yet, here came Tony Clement, the Minister of Industry and master flailler of arms.

“Mr. Speaker, let me dwell in the realm of facts,” Mr. Clement boldly offered. “The fact of the matter is that there have been six million doses of H1N1 vaccine that have already been delivered to the provinces and territories.

“That’s what you said yesterday!” lamented a Liberal.

“We currently have more H1N1 vaccine per capita than any other country in the world,” Mr. Clement reviewed. “The vaccine is being distributed as quickly as it is being produced and there will be sufficient H1N1 vaccine available in Canada for everyone who in fact needs or wants to be immunized.”

“Merry Christmas!” chirped a Liberal, yesterday’s points and counterpoints now sufficiently covered. Continue…