Ask a simple question

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 3, 2012 at 8:38 AM - 0 Comments

Here are four of the first five questions asked by the NDP yesterday afternoon.

Will he rise in his seat and say to the country that the age of eligibility for OAS will not be raised to age 67, yes or no?

Will he raise OAS eligibility to 67 years, yes or no?

There is enough money for tax gifts for large corporations, but now seniors will have to wait until the age of 67 to get their $540 a month? Yes or no?

Is the eligibility age going to increase to 67, yes or no?

None of those questions received straight answers. The House did though spend the day discussing the pension system and Old Age Security—starting here, resuming here. For whatever it might foretell or explain, Diane Finley’s speech on behalf of the government is here.

The Finance Minister seems intent on doing something. A poll conducted by Ipsos Reid found 74% disapproved of raising the eligibility age to 67.

The Commons: The Russians are coming for our pensions

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 5:52 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. “Oui ou non?” Nycole Turmel demanded. “Oui ou non?”

Will the Prime Minister be cutting Old Age Security benefits, she asked, yes or no? Will the age of eligibility be raised to 67, she wondered, yes or no?

“We want an answer,” she concluded.

In response, the Prime Minister had two answers. “Mr. Speaker, I was very clear. This government will not cut benefits for our seniors. I am very clear,” he declared. “At the same time, we will protect the system for generations to come.”

After jetting off to Switzerland and standing proudly before the global elite and bragging of his stewardship and boasting of “major transformations” to come, the Prime Minister seems suddenly shy. It is as if,  having scaled the rhetorical heights, he was suddenly reminded why he generally avoids high places. And so now he is attempting to stall, perhaps even soothe, with a sleight of hand. Continue…

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 3:30 PM - 0 Comments

One part of the In-and-Out scandal came to an end with the Conservatives pleading guilty and claiming victory.

Romeo Saganash clarified himself and touted his skill. Niki Ashton asserted herself. Nathan Cullen continued to pitch cooperation. Paul Dewar set out his arts agenda. Peggy Nash won the endorsement of Alexa McDonough.

The Prime Minister, the Governor General, Nycole Turmel and Bob Rae remembered.

Continue…

Not in service (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 5:17 PM - 0 Comments

In response to this post, the office of Human Resources Minister Diane Finley sends along the following.

As announced in August, Service Canada will improve the way in which EI claims are processed by introducing further automation to an increasingly outdated and paper-based system. This will happen over the next three years. With continuous improvements to the way that we do business – such as increased automation, improved online services, and a nationally-managed approach to the distribution of workloads – Service Canada is positioned to manage service demands in a more cost-effective way. Modernizing our services will mean changes to the way we currently do business but ultimately will allow for better services for Canadians.

Canadians expect their hard-earned tax dollars to be used as effectively and efficiently as possible. The government of Canada is working hard, on behalf of Canadians, towards eliminating the deficit, returning to balanced budgets and improving the services we deliver. Over the course of the year, and dependent on labour market conditions and other factors, there may be fluctuations in the volume of Employment Insurance (EI) applications which could affect the speed of pay from one week to the next. We continue to carefully monitor the number of claims to make sure that we provide the best possible service to Canadians who are in need of benefits.

Not in service

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 12:54 PM - 0 Comments

Two weeks ago, the NDP spent a considerable amount of QP haranguing the government side about problems at Service Canada. The Globe has now spent a few days detailing further troubles—government cuts, computer troubles and a complaints office that you can’t complain to. One assumes this will land back on Human Resources Minister Diane Finley’s desk at QP on Monday.

“The unemployment rate hasn’t dropped and the number of claims that has come in over the past couple of months has actually gone up,” Ms. Crowder said. And “they’ve started to reduce the [temporary] staff even as the claim load hasn’t reduced to the extent that they thought it would.” … The department has assured politicians that benefits to the unemployed will not be affected by the funding review, Ms. Crowder said. But the resources that are used to process those payments could be vulnerable. “So HRSDC needs to come clean on exactly how they are going to meet their obligations with regard to cuts,” she said, “and they haven’t done that yet.”

Taiwan’s 100th National Day

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, October 17, 2011 at 11:32 PM - 3 Comments

Reception at the Fairmont Château Laurier for Taiwan’s 100^th National Day: Double Ten Day – put on by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ottawa.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Conservative MP Bob Dechert (left).

Harper’s single white males

By Paul Wells - Monday, September 12, 2011 at 10:05 AM - 126 Comments

Sean Kilpatrick/CP

For a loner, Stephen Harper works surprisingly well with others. The Prime Minister won his job by earning the loyalty of the old Reform party even though he used to be Preston Manning’s most persistent internal critic. He ended a decade’s rivalry with the Progressive Conservatives after doing more than almost anyone to fuel the rivalry.

He has wooed former Liberals into his caucus, sent New Democrat Gary Doer to Washington as Canada’s ambassador, and even put the occasional former Bloc Québécois member on the government payroll. No premier except Newfoundland’s now-retired Danny Williams has seen any political profit in antagonizing him. Harper drives his political opponents so crazy that it’s less frequently noticed how often he makes allies.

But the flip side of that coin is that his alliances rarely last. He hardly talks to former advisers like Tom Flanagan. He is on his fourth chief of staff, sixth communications director, and fifth foreign minister since he became Prime Minister. Jean Chrétien kept Eddie Goldenberg at his side for nearly 40 years. Paul Martin kept his 1990 Liberal leadership team around him until the day he retired. Harper’s team is like George Washington’s axe in the old joke, its blade replaced three times and its handle 26. All that remains is the ability to chop down opponents.

Continue…

Celebrating the $100-a-month child benefit. Again.

By John Geddes - Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 4:47 PM - 33 Comments

When I received a government news release today reminding me to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Universal Child Care Benefit, I thought, as I donned my colourful paper hat, “Has it really been a year? Time flies. Why, it feels like only last month we marked five years of those $100-a-month federal payments to parents for every kid under age six.”

Wait a minute. Now that I check, it was only last month. I have removed the hat.

Continue…

Team Layton

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 11:41 AM - 13 Comments

The NDP leader has announced his shadow cabinet.

I count 19 new MPs (Peggy Nash and Francoise Boivin are newly elected, but not new to Parliament).

Possibly of note: the NDP have split Human Resources and Skills Development between six shadow ministers. Jean Crowder will be Diane Finley’s main counterpart, but Minister Finley will also have the attention of Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet (Skills), Marie-Claude Morin (Housing), Claude Patry (Employment Insurance), Manon Perreault (Disabilities) and Rathik Sitsabaiesan (Post-Secondary Education).

The Harper government will not be distracted

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, March 11, 2011 at 1:34 PM - 71 Comments

Conservative Senator Don Meredith wants Michael Ignatieff to apologize for a phrase that is not inherently racist.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley wants a federal employee in Brampton disciplined for sending an insulting email from his government account to a Sun columnist (who, it is probably necessary to note, volunteered for the Conservative campaign in 2008).

The sinister plot that is daycare

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 4, 2011 at 12:49 PM - 238 Comments

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley, rebutting a Liberal attack yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberals who wanted to ensure that parents were forced to have other people raise their children. We do not believe in that.

The Liberals once pursued—and still seek—a national daycare and early learning program

Philosophical question of the week

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:42 PM - 75 Comments

Does it matter that the minister responsible for the disabled does not have an accessible constituency office?

Access to Finley’s office in Simcoe, Ont., located 150 km southwest of Toronto, is gained by going up a few sets of concrete steps and stepping through a door … ”As the minister with lead responsibilities on accessibility issues, we encourage her to seek accessible space,” said Laurie Beachell, national co-ordinator for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. ”She carries the disability file for much of the country.”

Beachell said he meets with federal officials frequently, including Finley, to explain the concerns of the country’s disabled. ”We know she knows (our concerns about accessibility),” he said. ”I think we need our elected leaders to set an example on accessibility. It’s important everyone have equal access to elected officials.”

Special Olympics Canada on the Hill

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 8:00 AM - 0 Comments

Special Olympics Canada held a reception on the Hill. (Left to right) Olympian Mark Tewksbury, Government House Leader John Baird and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.

.

Steven Fletcher, Minister of State for Democratic Reform.

Continue…

The Commons: A keen eye for the lowest common denominator

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 6:58 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. The Liberals appeared in a fine mood this afternoon. Up and down they went in unison. They applauded when their leader stood, in keeping with tradition, but they applauded too when he’d finished. They were on their feet again when he finished his second question, and then once more when he’d finished his third.

And it was not merely for the exercise. Indeed, today the Liberal side had this morning managed to announce something that sounded like a plan, a promise even of what they might do were they to one day again win the right to govern. They had successfully stated a position, clearly articulated an intention. Here they were, taking a stand. And so here they stood—to demonstrate their pride, or at least to reassure each other that theirs was a good idea and in no way could this, unlike most everything else they’ve tried this decade, possibly turn badly.

Across the way though sat the Prime Minister. And in his sharp mind the Liberals surely knew a withering retort—of the sort that would eviscerate all of their carefully made plans—resided. Continue…

The Commons: Anatomy of an outrage

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 6:10 PM - 130 Comments

The Scene. The afternoon culminated in a protracted and passionate debate, the crux of the discussion being perhaps the most profound question facing Western democracy and human discourse as we enter the second decade of this new century: To what extent should one be allowed to stand and publicly accuse another of evil?

In this particular context—within the walls of the House of Commons, members on all sides rising in the moments after Question Period on points of order to vent and plead and attempt reason—it might easily be dismissed as a matter of Parliamentary procedure. But then what happens here is, quite literally, a representation of us—of who we are, and what we become, when taken together. And so here we find ourselves.

Consider the case of Mark Holland, the Liberal member for Ajax—Pickering. Continue…

Hebrew University on the Hill

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, May 31, 2010 at 8:44 PM - 13 Comments

The Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem held a special reception on the Hill to celebrate Canadian-Israeli partnerships. Below, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley with her husband, Senator Doug Finley.

.

(Left to right) Sammy Katz, Transport Minister John Baird and Tyler Golden.

.

Carmi Gillon, vice-president of external relations for The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Continue…

A teachable moment

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, March 29, 2010 at 5:54 PM - 16 Comments

Asked about the matter in Question Period this afternoon, Diane Finley explains her office’s commitment to transparency and clarity in all things.

Mr. Speaker, the reporter was provided with the information that he requested once the campaign was complete and all the costs were in and accurate. We do strive always to be open and transparent, and we certainly are doing our processes to ensure that Canadians do receive the information they ask for in a timely way and that that information is both accurate and complete. We will be taking a look at this example and taking it into consideration to see how we can improve our processes in the future.

Girl Guides hit the Hill

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, March 19, 2010 at 11:06 AM - 5 Comments

The Girl Guides of Canada were on the Hill celebrating their 100^th anniversary by handing out cookies to MPs and then holding a reception in 200 West Block. Below, Liberal MPs Mark Eyking (right) and Denis Coderre sample the goods.

.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe.

. Continue…

The Commons: Fall comes early to Ottawa

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, September 14, 2009 at 6:53 PM - 67 Comments

The Scene. A week short of its official start, fall has arrived in Ottawa. The leaves on Parliament Hill are turning yellow. The faces inside the House of Commons are red. The voices are shouty. The Prime Minister’s pointy finger is once more unfurled, steady and strong and accusatory. Summer is gone. The air will soon grow cold and punishing.

The easy comparison, sure, is to the return each September of young children to school. Indeed, there is something to that—the anxiousness, the chaos, the new haircuts. Lawrence Cannon sported a particularly close shave. Lisa Raitt is back to blonde. Jack Layton, not blessed of much hair to begin with, trimmed his down nearly to the scalp. When you’re trying to Make Parliament Work it perhaps helps to be as aerodynamic as possible.

Here, too, those returning rise to report on their summers. Only here the stories have less to do with amusement parks, video games and family trips to major American landmarks. Continue…

Little ditty 'bout Jack and Diane

By kadyomalley - Monday, September 14, 2009 at 10:45 AM - 25 Comments

First off, ITQ would like to offer sincere apologies to any readers incurably earwormed by that headline, but once it popped into her mind, she just couldn’t not inflict it on the world.

Anyway, as we were informed by media advisory earlier this morning, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley will deliver a “brief statement regarding an Employment Insurance measure for long-tenured workers,” followed — and here’s the bit that made ITQ check the headers to make sure this wasn’t a hoax — by “a question and answer session with the media.” She’ll be accompanied by Revenue Minister and Minister of State for Agriculture and Fielding Questions From The French Media  Jean-Pierre Blackburn.

The whole thing kicks off at 11:15 EST sharp in the Hall of Honour, so check back for full coverage.
11:06:45 AM
Greetings, followers of the bouncing ball that is parliamentary democracy! We’re here outside the Conservative caucus room awaiting the arrival of the Ministeress of Making Parliament Work (Maybe), who will almost certainly serve as sufficient distraction to allow the rest of the MPs to escape unmolested by the reporters currently massing outside the door. Oh, and maybe even save the country from the horror of a fall election. It could still happen, people! Clap louder!

Meanwhile, someone — it’s not clear who, exactly, which is why ITQ is temporarily abandoning her post to get a closer look — aha! It’s newly minted Senator Jacques Demers, and he’s been scrumming for an awfully long time. I wonder what he’s saying? Or if PMO knows that he’s saying it? Don’t you love not knowing what’s going on?

11:15:19 AM
And here ew go! The minister is in turquoise, but her microphone does not appear to be on, which means that her dulcet tones are being virtually swallowed by the marble hall. This is now being explained to Diane Finley, who seems a little taken aback by being asked to speak louder — “you have to yell,” someone clarifies. Is this a trick to make Marlene Jennings look right? No, no it’s not. We really can’t hear you from behind this cordon.

Continue…

'This is not a game'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, September 4, 2009 at 12:35 AM - 22 Comments

Stephen Harper, Thursday. “This is not a card game … This is not a game.”

Globe and Mail, tonight. This week, on the heels of their new resolve to defeat the government, the Liberals announced they would no longer attend the EI working group … On Thursday, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley decided to capitalize on this and cast the Tories as the party that had been stood up in the affair.

She summoned TV cameras and photographers to take pictures of her meeting on EI without the Liberals and lamenting the rival party’s absence from the talks. Ms. Finley held this event in the same room the two parties had used in past weeks to discuss the now-aborted venture, making chit chat with fellow Tory MP Pierre Poilievre as the cameras rolled.

At one point, journalists there to capture the scene asked Ms. Finley to speak up – but she replied that she had only intended to be seen rather than heard. “I was just trying to mouth it for you,” she said. An artificial dialogue then ensued for the cameras.

No talk

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 3:06 PM - 12 Comments

CTV says Diane Finley says the Liberals say that the Liberal side of the Employment Insurance working group won’t be meeting with the Conservative side, as scheduled, tomorrow. CTV says Liberals say Conservative side wasn’t responding to Liberal proposals.

Marlene Jennings twittered earlier today that she was going to skip a joint interview with Pierre Poilievre. So obviously things were going well.

marlenejenningsdeclining invitation to appear on The House with Pierre Poilievre; given the Conservs record of no proposal and disrespectin EIWG decisions!

And this is why ITQ should have been allowed to liveblog the meetings …

By kadyomalley - Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 8:09 AM - 35 Comments

The question of who was “screaming at the top of her lungs” and who is “ridiculous” could have been cleared up with a quick check of her post from the day in question.

From the Toronto Star’s Susan Delacourt:

Marlene Jennings, one of the Liberal MPs working on employment insurance reform this summer with Conservatives, says she reached her political breaking point several weeks ago, in a sweltering Ottawa conference room, with no air conditioning.

Jennings had just heard that thousands of cancer tests were being postponed in Quebec because of a lack of medical isotopes due to the protracted shutdown of the Chalk River nuclear reactor. Across the table from her, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley was yelling – “screaming at the top of her lungs,” said Jennings. [...]

Finley spokesman Ryan Sparrow said Jennings’s version of events is “ridiculous” and “considering the source does not even warrant a formal response.”

This is going well (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, August 7, 2009 at 12:46 AM - 4 Comments

More from the Globe.

The senior Tory member of the panel, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley, said she was not about to get into a “he said, she said” argument with the Liberals. “I’m not going to discuss what went on in the room,” she said…

Although he described the meeting as “tense” and “frustrating,” Mr. Savage believes these meetings could be a “model for getting things done in the future, if it works out.”

“But in order for that to happen, there has to be good faith on both sides,” he said, adding that the document the Tories released had a note on it that said “Employment Insurance Working Group not for distribution.” “Then, they ran out and distributed it. I think that speaks for itself,” he said. “I thought there were points in the meeting today where I thought we could make some progress, but when they came running out of the meeting and released their distorted information, I’ll tell you very honestly, it’s frustrating and it causes doubt”…

Ms. Finley, meanwhile, would not confirm that a document was distributed nor would she say if her side put anything on the table.