Big Bird! Bev Oda! Binders of women! Some of the hottest political Halloween outfits!

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 8:05 AM - 0 Comments

NDP MPs, staffers and friends gathered for Halloween at the NDP watering hole Brixton’s. Outfits included Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women,” Bev Oda sipping $16 OJ (albeit from a plastic container) and NDP MP Niki Ashton as Big Bird.

A scouting report on Team Mulcair

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments

Here again is the roster for Thomas Mulcair’s shadow cabinet. What to make of it? Here are several observations.

-First, the obviously big promotions go to Megan Leslie (who stays with environment, but becomes a deputy leader) and Nathan Cullen (who becomes House leader). Both are confident, impressive, fresh-faced MPs who are quick on their feet and under the age of 40 (Mr. Cullen’s 40th birthday is in July). Very interesting to see them put not just in prominent positions, but positions of leadership. Your premature, baseless, futile, wild-eyed “next leader of the NDP” speculation probably starts somewhere here.

-That’s a rather large number of people with titles: 78 out of a caucus of 102. Granted, the Conservative cabinet numbers 39 and the Prime Minister named another 28 parliamentary secretaries, so the sides are somewhat close to even. Put the two teams together and they represent just less than half of the House.

-The shadow ministers of finance, justice, human resources, transport, aboriginal affairs, public works, industry, immigration and the environment—nine of the top files—are women.

-All of the elected leadership candidates—Niki Ashton, Paul Dewar, Mr. Cullen, Robert Chisholm, Romeo Saganash and Peggy Nash—were placed in prominent spots. Of the 13 NDP MPs who endorsed Brian Topp, 10 of them—Charmaine Borg, Jean Crowder, Libby Davies, Chris Charlton, Yvon Godin, Francoise Boivin, Jinny Simms, Jasbir Sandhu, Kennedy Stewart and Alexandre Boulerice—were put in critic roles. Continue…

The YouTube campaign

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, March 16, 2012 at 5:24 PM - 0 Comments

Thomas Mulcair talks about Quebec.

Paul Dewar talks about people.

Francoise Boivin, Dawn Black, Charmaine Borg and Jean Crowder talk about Brian Topp.

Parliament, heal thyself

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 12:13 PM - 0 Comments

On Friday, MPs spent a couple hours—starting here, resuming here—discussing the rules and procedure of the House.

The ideas, amendments and complaints raised are likely all worth consideration, especially for fans of such stuff, but various matters of general interest came up: including time allocation, Question Period, petitions and statements by members.

Below, some chosen highlights. Continue…

From the magazine

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 10:59 AM - 3 Comments

In the current print edition there are a couple thousands words on four of the youngest NDP MPs: Matthew Dube, Charmaine Borg, Mylene Freeman and Lauren Liu. (The video above seems to have been recorded by a CBC interviewer the day after Ms. Borg was elected.)

At one point in the process I had a bracketed note that I ended up deleting which ventured that it was nice to hear more laughter (easy and at no one else’s expense) on the Hill because this place could use more joy. That’s maybe a bit too earnest for print, but I’d probably stand by the general idea if asked now.

Here, for the sake of comparison, is how a reporter from the McGill Daily saw it when he came to visit.

A changing of the guard at the NDP

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 8:00 AM - 4 Comments

Photo by Blair Gable

At ten to eight on a Wednesday morning, he is aboard one of Parliament Hill’s small green buses, on his way to the first meeting of the day, the weekly gathering of the NDP’s Quebec MPs. He is wearing a suit and he’s carrying a coffee and a Danish. Around him there are other men. Men in suits on the way to meetings of their own. Only they are all twice his age.

After this meeting there’s another meeting—the weekly gathering of the official Opposition caucus. Then a walk back to his office, down the Hill to the Justice Building beside the Supreme Court. Then back up the Hill for lunch with a reporter in Centre Block’s ornate restaurant. Then a meeting of the all-party arts caucus. Then question period. Then a meeting of the standing committee on public accounts to hear testimony from the interim auditor general. Then dinner at the NDP’s weekly pub night. Then a meeting of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association. Then back to the pub, where he won’t look particularly out of place among the hordes of young staff who quietly keep Ottawa running.

Continue…

‘Where every young person can make the most of themselves’

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 11:27 AM - 0 Comments

Brian Topp wins the endorsement of Charmaine Borg.

“Brian’s vision of a more inclusive and equal Canada is one that I share,” said Borg, the MP for Terrebonne-Blainville. “And, like me, he wants to ensure that every young person has an opportunity to make a contribution to our society. I am very proud to stand with Brian in this campaign.”

Fight promotion

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 5:12 PM - 4 Comments

The NDP is touting its readiness to fight the government’s “lawful access” legislation.

“What we have been hearing from experts and citizen is that this new law gives the government and police way too much power to snoop into our lives,” said New Democrat Privacy and Digital Affairs Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay). “Canadians are right to feel that the Conservatives are not protecting their privacy and that we need to curb this bill.”

Over the summer Angus has been putting in place a team of MPs to work with civil society groups, stakeholders and citizens to fight against lawful access legislation both in and out of parliament.

“Spearheading” the fight at the justice committee will be Charmaine Borg, one of the NDP’s undergrads.

Avez-vous vu Charmaine?

By Paul Wells - Friday, April 29, 2011 at 5:57 PM - 10 Comments

The local paper in Terrebonne/Blainville cannot find the riding’s New Democratic Party candidate, and they have been trying very hard.

(Google translation of the above-linked article)