The revolution will eventually end up on YouTube

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 2:16 AM - 18 Comments

This footage is apparently a couple months old, but it is indeed Michael Ignatieff standing up in public and saying things about stuff—specifically arctic sovereignty, agriculture, Conservative attack ads, Afghanistan, nuclear energy, firearms and pharmacare.

Do try to contain yourselves.

Less sexier by the day

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 1:23 PM - 0 Comments

The CBC’s Leslie MacKinnon files a necessary review of the medical isotope situation.

It's complicated

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 11:33 AM - 10 Comments

Before yesterday’s eventfulness, Carolyn Bennett’s office sent over a manifesto of sorts on the medical isotope shortage.

Now, as a general rule, most problems of any consequence can be solved with a five-point plan. In rare cases is the six-point plan necessary. Almost never does anyone bother going for seven points. And so it perhaps says something of our current situation that Dr. Bennett’s plan goes all the way to ten.

Full text, for the sake of discussion, after the jump. For fun, the Prime Minister might consider printing it off, signing his name at the bottom and handing it to Mr. Ignatieff when they meet today. Continue…

It is sometimes worth paying QP some attention

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 12:13 AM - 5 Comments

There is apparently some lament—from no less than the Prime Minister even— that the Liberals didn’t use Question Period this afternoon to follow up Michael Ignatieff’s announcement this morning. Funny thing is, they did.

Indeed, between Michael Ignatieff, John McCallum and Michael Savage they managed to broach the isotope shortage, wonder about the latest deficit projections, claim confusion over government spending on infrastructure and ask if the government might be interested in fixing employment insurance. They moved on then to other concerns.

Funnier thing, they’ve been asking the same sorts of things for awhile now. Months, even. Continue…

The Commons: A stare down

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 15, 2009 at 7:07 PM - 19 Comments

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff, in dark suit and white shirt, his tie red with white stripes, strode into the National Press Theatre and placed his notes on the wooden podium in front of him. He attempted first to make himself clear.

“The Liberal party is not seeking an election,” he said. “We want parliament to work. We want to replace confrontation with cooperation.”

There was a caveat. There is always a caveat. “But,” Mr. Ignatieff continued, “we need the Prime Minister to deliver the accountability Canadians expect from their government.”

He began then to tell the woeful tale: of the fall economic update that nearly ate Canada, of political crisis and untended recession, not to mention those allegations of sedition.

“There is no coalition,” he assured.

The nation let slip a heavy sigh of relief.

He traced his party’s previous demands that the government report regularly to Parliament on its progress. He dismissed the Bloc and NDP as parties of perpetual opposition. He asserted his intent to one day win the right to govern. And then he arrived at the central concern of this warm Monday morning in June.

“We listened to the Prime Minister. We studied the report carefully and we consulted with Canadians,” he assured. “And we have serious questions about this report and the government’s performance.”

This was now assuredly not going to end well, serious questions not particularly tolerated in this Ottawa.
Continue…

Coyne v. Wells on Canada's nuclear sinkhole

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 12, 2009 at 5:07 PM - 46 Comments

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'So taken out of context'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 12, 2009 at 3:05 PM - 13 Comments

Lisa Raitt sits for her first interview since the unpleasantness. Meanwhile, Doug Bell attempts to parse her earlier apology.

Look carefully at the choice of words and syntax: “Personally communicate,” “regret for wording I used in a private discussion,” “my intent was certainly not to show any disrespect,” “it’s clear that these remarks have been interpreted in that way.” These words are to plain speaking as Kryptonite is to Superman. How about: “I apologize for my offensive remarks”?

It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 12, 2009 at 10:14 AM - 18 Comments

Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, yesterday afternoon in QP. “AECL has world class scientists who worked for 12 years to get the MAPLE reactors working. After 12 years and over $.5 billion not one single isotope was actually produced.”

Jill Chitra, vice-president and professional engineer at MDS Nordion, testifying at the standing committee on natural resources, shortly thereafter. “From 2000 to 2008, the MAPLE reactors ran numerous times at various power levels, up to 80 per cent power. Targets were inserted in the reactor for a number of those tests. When targets are inserted in the reactor and it operates at power, isotopes — Moly-99 — is created. Those targets could have been removed and processed and you’d have had medical isotopes for sale. It’s one of the reasons we think MAPLE has potential.”

The real shame in the Raitt scandal

By Paul Wells - Friday, June 12, 2009 at 9:00 AM - 34 Comments

What I love most about Ottawa is the way everyone keeps their eye on the ball.

Here’s Lisa Raitt, the natural resources minister, chatting with her press secretary about problems at the Chalk River plant, which looks like the bargain-basement plywood set of Lost In Space and manages to produce most of the world’s medical isotopes. When it’s working right. Which lately it hasn’t been.

Raitt’s conversation with her assistant was recorded, apparently by accident. The recording went astray and wound up in a reporter’s hands. (We’re everywhere.) After many months of waiting for the mislaid recorder’s owner to claim it, the reporter, Stephen Maher, wrote about its contents. Raitt’s press secretary, currently between jobs, went to court to stop the reporter writing about the recording. She lost. The story came out. A few days’ distraction.

Continue…

Well, this could get awkward: Liveblogging MDS Nordion at Natural Resources

By kadyomalley - Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 3:15 PM - 14 Comments

I mean, they’re still suing the government — well, AECL, but ultimately, it’s the taxpayer on the hook — for bailing on the Maple reactors, right? Won’t that make it difficult to engage in a free exchange of views — especially considering that one of their lawyers is on the witness list? Nevertheless, ITQ will be there, although she should warn readers that it’s likely to be a shorter-than-usual liveblog, since the committee is scheduled to go in camera after the first hour. Hopefully that will be long enough for a few rounds of questions, at least.

3:27:11 PM
Well, it may not be high profile enough to lure Mike Duffy back to the microphone, but today’s installment of the Natural Resources committee has the potential to be far more unpredictable than the PM’s stimulus roadshow: On the witness list today — and actually delivering his opening statement as I type this — is MDS Nordion president Steve West, who will give MPs his version of the unfortunate series of events that led to the cancellation of the Maple reactor projct, a decision with which it’s fair to say the company is *not entirely on board*, what with the billion dollar lawsuit currently pending against the Crown.

West is flanked by legal counsel – John Campion – as well as the company’s vice president for strategic technologies; also at the table: Universite of Laval professor Michel Duguay and John Waddington, who is billed as a “nuclear safety consultant”.

3:32:26 PM
As far as West is concerned, the decision to chop funding for Maple was wrong on many, many levels – wrong for Canada, wrong for the global isotope supply, wrong for patients and wrong for the future. So — put him down as undecided?

Anyway, he wants the government to “reactivate” the Maple project, and this is right about where we get into a terrifyingly complex game of he said/he said – the all-nuclear physicist edition, since there really doesn’t seem to be anything close to a consensus on the central question of whether the Maple reactors really were billion-dollar lemons, or have the potential to save the Canadian isotope sector, and possibly the world.

3:38:19 PM

Continue…

The Commons: Everything about this is awful

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 6:24 PM - 55 Comments

The Scene. About ten minutes past the appointed time, the cameras outside the door began to flash, announcing Lisa Raitt’s arrival. A few seconds later she appeared at the entrance to the cramped room in Centre Block’s basement reserved for announcements, explanations and apologies.

Ms. Raitt collected herself, then approached the podium, the standard array of flags behind her. She placed her notes in front of her, sipped quickly from a glass of water and then, with watery eyes, began what had been promoted simply as a short statement.

Opposition anger the day previous had been dismissed as “cheap politics.” Others argued it simply had to be accepted that ministers of the crown would naturally, if in private, find something “sexy” in a potential health care crisis. Given a night to think it over, the minister herself had apparently suffered second thoughts.

Three young men from the Prime Minister’s Office watched from the side. At the front of the room, the Natural Resources Minister apologized to those who might’ve taken offence to a statement she had not intended any of us to hear. She expressed “deep regret” and offered a “clear apology.” She paused at the end of each sentence to take a deep breath.

She spoke of her father and his 18-month ordeal with colon cancer. She spoke of watching her brother die from lung cancer. She struggled to swallow the lump in her throat. With tears welling in her eyes, she made a brief, futile search of the podium for tissue.

She steadied herself, finished her testimony, pledged to carry on, then took her leave. Continue…

The health minister got an apology

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 11:19 AM - 7 Comments

Canwest talks to Leona Aglukkaq about her conversation with Lisa Raitt last week.

Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq has accepted her colleague Lisa Raitt’s apology for disparaging remarks made about her that were caught on an audio tape, and says she’s putting the ordeal behind her so she can concentrate on her work… When asked if she was shocked by the comments her colleague made, Aglukkaq said, “I was, but I was really thankful that she called me before I heard it from anyone else.

“I accepted her apology and I need to move on, because I have huge issues to deal with and I can’t let that affect how I’m dealing with the situation and I just need, basically, to move on,” she said.

The Commons: A thoroughly unsexy day

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 9:12 PM - 58 Comments

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff wasted few words on the way to a rather devastating question.

“Mr. Speaker, in private, the Minister of Natural Resources said that the isotope crisis was sexy, a means to advance her career,” he began in French. “So how can the Prime Minister explain the words of his minister to a woman who has just discovered she has breast cancer, is waiting for a test, but who cannot due to the isotope crisis?”

Standing opposite and speaking evenly, the Prime Minister proceeded directly to the government’s pat response.

“Mr. Speaker,” he said, “the crisis of isotopes is very serious.”

He reassured the nation and enthused about his minister and then returned to his seat.

Mr. Ignatieff seemed genuinely surprised.

“Mr. Speaker,” he exclaimed, “there was no apology, nothing. It’s amazing.”

The Liberal leader proceeded then to up the rhetorical ante. Continue…

The outrage (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 6:38 PM - 11 Comments

The president of the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine testifies on the Hill.

“The announcement last month of the prolonged shutdown of the NRU reactor is a real catastrophe for the two million nuclear medicine patients in Canada but also for the credibility of the Canadian nuclear technology industry,” CNMA president Dr. Jean-Luc Urbain said. “The chronic and acute shortage of medical isotopes is neither a funny nor sexy story. It is a real drama that we have to live with our patients on a daily basis. If those statements were made, I think they are irresponsible.”

So, who's going to be the first to bring up the Raitt tape? Liveblogging the Natural Resources committee

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 3:15 PM - 29 Comments

On the agenda this afternoon: Various medical associations, including the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine and the Canadian Association of Radiologists.

3:22:13 PM
Okay, first off, I have to warn you all up front that I’m going to miss the last bit of today’s hearing, because I’ve got a Very Important Date with CityTV to talk about the TotT(LRM). Which means I’ll probably have to bail on the last witness – and I apologize in advance for that – but I’m sure we’ll learn plenty about the importance of isotopes from the first set of witnesses. Who are idling around the table as we speak — at least, I *assume* those are the witnesses — trying not to look like they’ve just wandered into the eye of a political maelstrom. Do maelstroms have eyes? Anyway, you know what I mean. The members are starting to turn up as well, including Russ Hiebert, who I’ve not seen since last time I covered the Ethics committee. For some reason, he has a properly printed nameplate, but Cheryl Gallant, who is a permanent member, still has to make do with a handwritten one. Weird.

3:30:12 PM
And – action!

Continue…

'It is not a good day for Canadian politics'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 1:00 PM - 35 Comments

Michael Ignatieff comments on the Raitt tape.

“The deal is if you play these remarks to a woman awaiting a cancer test and her doctor is telling her she can’t have a cancer test because Chalk River is shut down and the government had 18 months to do something about it, and didn’t do something about it, what does she think about a minister saying, ‘Oh, this is a sexy file. I’m going to secure promotion handling this issue,’” Mr. Ignatieff said as he left the Chateau Laurier hotel after delivering a speech to the Teamsters convention.

“[Ms. Raitt] hasn’t handled it at all. We have no alternative supply for isotopes. We don’t make cheap politics out of this. This is a health-care crisis. And the bottom line is: Is that woman waiting for treatment being treated decently by this government? And what they are getting is this kind of cynical, arrogant, ‘this is a good career move.’ It is not a good day for Canadian politics.”

Please refer to Ritz v. Good Taste

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 8, 2009 at 10:09 PM - 13 Comments

Of course, there is a precedent for ministers of the crown making uncouth remarks about the suffering of Canadian citizens in private only to have those comments later broadcast publicly.

The Commons: 'When will it stop?'

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 8, 2009 at 6:33 PM - 18 Comments

The Scene. Lisa Raitt arrived in the House sporting newly coloured hair, her blonde locks now brownish red. Perhaps the new look was meant to signal change or, better still, rebirth. Perhaps it was meant to confuse her critics opposite, disguising the Natural Resources Minister and redirecting attacks at the golden-haired government MPs around her.

To their modest credit, the opposition is a bit too quick for that. They can generally pick a troubled minister out of a line-up. And, however slow the MPs opposite sometimes are, even the most fascinating new do could not distract attention from the variously disheartening, troubling and entertaining allegations that now threaten Ms. Raitt’s previously promising political career.

“Mr. Speaker, across the country, thousands of Canadians can not get a cancer diagnosis. The government knew the last 18 months that it would happen. It left a problem at Chalk River to become a crisis for our health care system,” Michael Ignatieff began, opening the afternoon’s session of Question Period. “Instead of blaming young people of 26 years and instead of arguing among themselves, which in this government will take responsibility for this national crisis?”

In this case it would be Leona Aglukkaq, the health minister. She attempted reassurance, but Mr. Ignatieff persisted.

“Mr. Speaker, the government keeps pretending that there is an alternative supply of isotopes but the Dutch reactor will be shut down for maintenance next month and for six months in January,” he continued. “South Africa is already shut down for maintenance this week. The Australians will not come on line for at least six months. When will the minister stop trying to cover up a national health care crisis? When will she start telling Canadians the truth?”

Ms. Aglukkaq stood to answer, but Ms. Raitt was quicker to her feet, eager apparently to engage the opposition leader in a game of musical reactors. Continue…

The Chalk River Isotopocalypse Now – and Then

By kadyomalley - Friday, June 5, 2009 at 1:59 PM - 20 Comments

From the directive issued to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, following a unanimous vote in the House of Commons (December 10, 2007):

1. In regulating the production, possession and use of nuclear substances in order to prevent unreasonable risk to the health of persons, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission shall take into account the health of Canadians who, for medical purposes, depend on nuclear substances produced by nuclear reactors.

2. This Directive comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

From Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission chair Michael Binder’s testimony before the Standing Committee on Natural Resources (June 4, 2009):

It is important to understand that the CNSC is not responsible for making sure that there is a sufficient supply of isotopes. The CNSC is, however, responsible for making sure that whatever isotope is being produced, it is done in a safe way.

The Commons: The interrogation of Lisa Raitt

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 6:12 PM - 18 Comments

The Scene. The afternoon’s session began with the rare seven-part question.

“Mr. Speaker,” said Liberal David McGuinty, “I have several questions for the Prime Minister.”

Did the documents, he wondered, belong personally to the Natural Resources Minister? When did she realize they were missing? Did she inform her deputy minister? If so, when? What secret information did they contain? What commercial information may have been revealed? And, finally, would the government be taking action against the television network that was, previously and inadvertently, in possession of said documents?

Not surprisingly, the Prime Minister chose to answer none of these queries.

“Mr. Speaker,” he said, “as I said yesterday, the minister had reasonable expectations that these documents would be kept secret. The minister has acted accordingly, and I support the minister in her actions.”

Even less surprisingly, Mr. McGuinty did not then decide to cease with his examination. “Mr. Speaker, secret documents are those that ‘could reasonably be expected to cause serious injury to the national interest,’” he posited. “We are told these documents contain information on AECL’s financial status, indebtedness, contractual undertakings, obligations, lawsuits and details surrounding its bid for the supply of nuclear power in Ontario. They also deal with the critical issue of medical isotopes for medical testing. Can the Prime Minister explain how the release of this information could not be reasonably expected to cause serious injury to the national interest?”

The Prime Minister returned to his previous point. Then he revived his new favourite trick.

“Let me quote for the member opposite the editorial today in the Toronto Star which says that the minister offered her resignation,” he said. “The Prime Minister rightly refused to accept it. It is time for the opposition to move on to more substantive issues.”

The Conservatives stood to cheer the infinite wisdom of the same editorial board that endorsed Stephane Dion last fall. Continue…

A 50/50 chance she walks the plank

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 1:23 PM - 13 Comments

Robert Fife recaps the situation, complete with moving pictures of the dramatic handover.

The case of the missing binder

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 11:40 PM - 11 Comments

Lisa Raitt pulls a Bernier.

Sensitive government documents left behind at a CTV News bureau reveal Ottawa has poured far more money into the aging Chalk River nuclear reactor than the public has been told.

The binder of documents was left nearly a week ago at CTV’s Ottawa bureau by either Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt or one of her aides. Some of the papers are clearly marked “secret.”

RELATED:
The case of the missing binder (ii)
and
A 50/50 chance she walks the plank
and
Well, she tried

The indictment

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 4:10 PM - 28 Comments

From Michael Ignatieff’s scrum after QP today.

Question: Will you be moving a motion of non-confidence before the summer break and will you also be supporting the Main Estimates, voting for the Main Estimates (off microphone)?

Michael Ignatieff: I don’t want an election. Canadians don’t want an election. But here’s where I am. I’m trying to make Parliament work with a government that every day is displaying more flagrant examples of incompetence. We’ve got a major medical crisis with the isotopes. They’ve got no plan. We’ve got, Toronto Dominion Bank just announced that the deficit over five years will be, wait for this, $168 billion. That’s the biggest number anybody has ever heard of. The public finances of this country are not under control. Right? Third, we’ve got an unemployment crisis with unemployment surging across the country. We’ve got Premier Campbell, we’ve got Brad Wall, we’ve got Premier McGuinty saying let’s do something about a national standard for EI. I’m not fancy about how we do it, but let’s do it. Right? We’ve got stimulus that needs to get out the door and only 6% of the stimulus has actually reached the country in the middle of the construction season.

So look, I want to make Parliament work. Canadians don’t want an election. I don’t want an election, but we have a problem, a serious problem about this government’s confidence, and I’m getting to the answer, next week, next week they have their second report card. Right? And as I said at the beginning of this, we’re holding these guys on probation. We’ll look at the data when we get it and we will make a serene and clear decision probably in the middle of next week. Thank you.

Return to Chalk River: Liveblogging NatResources on AECL's isotope problem

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 3:19 PM - 6 Comments

I swear, it feels like we’ve done this before — only last time, didn’t we have a slightly shorter minister on the hot seat? Anyway, ITQ will be liveblogging this afternoon’s emergency hearing on that whole Chalk River don’t-call-it-a-meltdown, with special guest star Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, who will appear along with senior bureaucrats from her department – including the same deputy minister as last time, the formidable Cassie Doyle.

3:20:45 PM
Greetings, concerned citizens! Wow, it’s been quite a day on the liveblogging front — from Ottawa courthouse to a committee room, we cover the waterfront here at ITQ.
Anyway, I’m currently shamelessly copying out the witness’ names from their placards – we have Tom Wallace, Serge Dupont and Meena Ballantyne – because I forgot to bring a copy of the meeting notice. Unforgiveable, I know.

With that taken care of, ITQ has now installed myself in what she has christened Bloggers’ Corner, next to the talented Mr. Akin, who will be twittering throughout the meeting, so be sure to check out his feed too.

3:26:52 PM
And — it’s showtime! Wow, Leon Benoit is the chair? I — did not know that.

Continue…