How do you explain away an increase in tariffs?

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 4:45 PM - 0 Comments

NDP MP Glenn Thibeault has written to the chair of the standing committee on industry, science and technology to request a “study into the increased taxation of iPods and other goods.” (The full letter is here.) And, tomorrow morning, NDP national revenue critic Murray Rankin will visit Joe Momma, a bike store in Ottawa, to discuss the Harper government’s “bicycle tax.” Joe Momma was the backdrop for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s announcement of C-45, last year’s second budget implementation bill.

In responding to the NDP’s motion in this regard yesterday, Shelly Glover, parliamentary secretary to the Finance Minister, bravely ventured there were no tax increases contained in budget 2013.

The NDP has made up all this fearmongering dialogue about tax increases in budget 2013. There are no tax increases in budget 2013.

Somewhat similarly, Heritage Minister James Moore, responding to a question on this from Justin Trudeau this afternoon, ventured that “if we were raising the taxes the Liberals would be all for it.”  Otherwise the government’s defence seems to be three-fold: assert that theirs is a “low tax plan,” claim a desire on the part of the opposition to raise taxes and allege that to not raise tariffs would be to give special treatment to China.

Meanwhile, Mike Moffatt figures the prices of fishing gear and certain firearms are also going up.

Debating C-45

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 1:11 PM - 0 Comments

The proposed amendments are presently being read into the record and put to voice votes in the House. As I type, Joe Comartin just read Motion 386, leaving just less than 300 to go. While we wait for the reading to end and the standing votes to begin, a few random speeches (courtesy of YouTube) from the C-45 debate.

Liberal MP Judy Foote.

NDP MP Glenn Thibeault.

Conservative MP Ted Opitz.

NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault.

Conservative MP Kyle Seeback.

Third-person parody

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 9:30 AM - 0 Comments

Rising just before QP yesterday, Glenn Thibeault, the NDP MP for Sudbury, offered his best Justin Trudeau impression.

Mr. Speaker, the member for Sudbury loves this country unconditionally, and the question is not whether New Democrats will defeat the Conservatives and form a government for all Canadians, because the question is ridiculous. Of course we will. Will the member for Sudbury give up on his Canada because of that government? Of course he will not.

New Democrats from every region will never stop fighting to put Canadian families ahead of Conservative insiders. Enough of the same old tired debates, enough of the divisive politics of the past. As Jack Layton said, travaillons ensemble.

The member for Sudbury is proud to be part of a strong team that includes 58 New Democrats from Quebec, elected on a commitment to work together to build a stronger and more united country, to take on this out-of-touch government and defeat them in 2015. That is how we build the Canada of our dreams. The member for Sudbury invites all those who love this country to join with New Democrats and make it happen.

Mr. Trudeau joined New Democrats in standing to applaud this.

The endorsements

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 10:37 AM - 0 Comments

Peggy Nash wins the support of Laurin Liu and Elaine Michaud. And Brian Masse has endorsed Nathan Cullen. Glenn Thibeault endorsed Thomas Mulcair yesterday. And, last week, Carol Hughes endorsed Niki Ashton.

Update 12:23pm. Mr. Mulcair has also won the endorsements of Denis Blanchette and Ruth Ellen Brosseau.

By my count, 76 78 of the NDP’s 101 MPs are now committed. Excluding Nycole Turmel, Olivia Chow and Joe Comartin—all having pledged to stay neutral—that leaves 22 20 New Democrats undecided.

Here is an updated tally.

Continue…

For Roger

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 2:46 PM - 1 Comment

NDP MP Glenn Thibeault reflects on his brother, Roger, who died 20 years ago of AIDS.

For World AIDS Day, Thibeault is hoping to bring the experiences he learned from his brother to Parliament. “I hope I can bring the message that our job’s not done yet, that we still need to bring forward awareness, we still need to work harder on research, we still need to work harder on making sure that society understands that on World AIDS Day, it’s affecting everyone,” Thibeault says. “The sad thing that I see in some instances, coming from different parts of the country, there’s still the stigma that this is still a gay disease. It’s not.”

The long-gun registry six

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:53 AM - 8 Comments

A footnote to this footnote.

Left to their own devices, six New Democrat MPs who had previously stated their opposition to the long-gun registry subsequently voted to defeat C-391: Malcolm Allen, Charlie Angus, Claude Gravelle, Carol Hughes, Peter Stoffer and Glenn Thibeault.

Four of the six—Allen, Gravelle, Hughes and Thibeault—subsequently increased their total vote and margin of victory in this spring’s election over their 2008 election result. Messrs. Angus and Stoffer saw their vote totals decrease, but still won by 18.7 and 23.5 percentage points respectively.

Conversely, four of the seven Liberals who were compelled to change their votes and subsequently stood for reelection, were defeated this spring.

Make of this what you will.

Andrew Ference Maverick Watch

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 1:13 PM - 7 Comments

The NHL defenceman who addressed the NDP convention last year criticizes a teammate’s hit and is duly chastized like a dissenting backbencher.

“You stand by what you say. I’m not here to BS anyone or to get ratings,” said Ference. “We have an issue with the league with headshots, with those kinds of hits, and there’s a big push, not only by us but by the NFL, to look out for the safety of players, and getting rid of those hits is one of those things. Getting rid of it is getting rid of it.”

Meanwhile, NDP MP Glenn Thibeault tabled legislation today to deal with concussions at the amateur and youth levels.

How Stockwell Day got crutches and lost his shirt

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, February 4, 2011 at 2:00 PM - 3 Comments

Was it Gerard Kennedy’s cologne?
Illness and injuries seemed to be the theme of the day as the House of Commons resumed last Monday. Treasury Board President Stockwell Day was on crutches. “There was a puppy on a railroad… ” Day quipped. The truth, he confessed, was that a giant Labrador retriever came out of nowhere and knocked him down while he was on a run. Day now has a severe ankle injury. The dog didn’t just run him down: as he was running, Day was holding his shirt in his hand; after the fall, the dog grabbed the shirt and ran off with it.

Ontario NDP MP Glenn Thibeault slipped on some ice over the break, fracturing his arm and suffering severe hand injuries. Which meant, he says, that he could no longer do his hair. At one point it was looking like a comb-over, so he decided to just shave his head. He returned to Ottawa with a short buzz.

Quebec Liberal MP Alexandra Mendes showed up to question period wearing a medical mask. She was on day six of pneumonia. (It looks like the post-H1N1 trend of not coming to work on the Hill if you are sick is now officially over.) Her seatmate Gerard Kennedy asked whether she was trying to save him or was allergic to him. Later, Ted Menzies, the minister of state for finance, quipped to Mendes: “We thought Gerard just had strong cologne.” Other Conservatives joked about how the Liberals are literally muzzling their MPs.

Why’s Peter Kent so far away?
The House’s first day back for 2011 saw Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff ask the first five questions in question period, as opposed to just the first three. He has done this before, but Liberal MPs say watch for more QPs with Ignatieff piling on the first questions. Since this Prime Minister’s press conferences are few and far between, at least Stephen Harper now has to answer more questions in a public forum. Also on the first day back, Green party Leader Elizabeth May says she was not impressed with the remote seating position assigned the new environment minister. Peter Kent is now on the front bench, but is the second-last Conservative seat from the Speaker, down where the NDP sit. “We’ve never had an environment minister way down there,” says May.

Much ado over size
The first day of Parliament saw Speaker Peter Milliken throw his annual Robbie Burns dinner. This year, Ontario Conservative MP Ed Holder had the honour of addressing the haggis. When he pulled out a small knife to cut the Scottish delicacy, there were many chuckles. One MP shouted out, “Bill Blaikie‘s was bigger.” (The former NDP MP addressed the haggis with a sword.) Holder then pulled out a larger knife, to the delight of the crowd. This was Milliken’s 10th Robbie Burns dinner and likely his last as Speaker, since he does not plan to run in the next election. In honour of Milliken, a set of bagpipes was donated to the Rob Roy Pipe Band in Kingston, Ont., the city Milliken represents, for young people who want to learn to play the expensive instrument.

The tartan bazaar
The Cape Breton Highlanders were recently reinstated. (Formed in 1871, in 1954 they were combined with two other Nova Scotia battalions and renamed the Nova Scotia Highlanders.) Cape Breton Liberal MP Mark Eyking helped the brigade get reinstated, and for that he was made an honorary member. He says he now needs to get a kilt, but quips, “Can a Dutchman be a Highlander?” He says his wife, Pamela Eyking, is half-Scottish, so he is going to use her family tartan (the Gordon). Coincidentally, Defence Minister Peter MacKay, through his mother’s side of the family, already has a Gordon family tartan kilt, which he wore to Peter Milliken’s Robbie Burns dinner. MacKay said he would give Eyking his Gordon tartan kilt if Eyking would have a MacKay tartan kilt made up for the defence minister.

Back to work

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, January 31, 2011 at 1:10 PM - 32 Comments

The House of Commons resumed business this morning at 11 o’clock and the first Question Period of the year is but an hour away.

To whet our collective appetite, the NDP has, in keeping with their recent habit, sent out its QP line-up. After Jack Layton has dealt with “the budget and getting things done for job creation” and Paul Dewar has raised the issue of “Egypt,” Glenn Thibeault is set to stand and press the government on “sports concussions and Sidney Crosby missing the All-Star game.”

Let us thus forever retire the fashionable lament that this House too often fails to engage with the important issues facing this country.

An NDP Christmas

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 3:37 PM - 6 Comments

NDP MPs gathered for their annual Christmas dinner. Below, Glenn Thibeault.

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Glenn Thibeault back in the day.

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Nathan Cullen.

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MPs don purple

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, November 1, 2010 at 9:26 PM - 0 Comments

MPs from all parties donned purple recently as a way to raise awareness over the wave of gay teen suicides that have been happening in North America. Below, Liberal MPs Mario Silva (left) and Rob Oliphant.

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Liberal MP Scott Simms.

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148 to 149

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 2:23 PM - 0 Comments

The resignation of Maurizio Bevilacqua became official last week. Postmedia reports Inky Mark’s departure will follow this week. That subtracts a single vote from each side of the C-391 debate. The declarations of Charlie Angus and Glenn Thibeault though add two votes to the no side.

From our last update then, the count has flipped: 149 votes against C-391, 148 votes in favour.

Seven NDP votes (Malcolm Allen, Niki Ashton, Nathan Cullen, Claude Gravelle, Carol Hughes, Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty) remain undeclared. And one no vote (Jean-Yves Roy) might soon be vacated.

'That's why I will be standing with Jack Layton'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 10:16 AM - 0 Comments

NDP MP Glenn Thibeault, one of the dozen New Democrats who voted in favour of Bill C-391, seems to have had a change of heart. From the official release.

Sudbury MP Glenn Thibeault today announced his support for Jack Layton’s plan to find a compromise on the gun registry that brings rural and urban communities together.

“I went to Ottawa to work to make our community safer and stronger—not to drive it apart,” said Thibeault.  “That’s why I will be standing with Jack Layton, not Stephen Harper and Garry Breitkreuz, on the long gun registry.  We need to find a solution that brings rural and urban Canadians together and so far Jack Layton is the only one showing the leadership to do just that.”

… Thibeault had previously voted to send Bill C-391 to committee for a proper study and to learn more about the issue. Since then, countless conversations with experts and local constituents have convinced him that the Conservative position would be a step back for public safety, and that a new way forward was needed.

UFC champs brings out the MPs

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, May 21, 2010 at 11:59 AM - 4 Comments

MPs from all parties joined the long lineup on the Hill to pay homage to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champ and Quebec native Georges St-Pierre. He was invited to the Hill by Heritage Minister James Moore. Below, left to right, Moore, St-Pierre and NDP MP Glenn Thibeault.

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Treasury Board President Stockwell Day with St-Pierre.

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Liberal MPs Navdeep Bains (left) and Justin Trudeau duke it out.

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Mitchel Raphael on why the speaker of the house didn't recognize a 'great Canadian'

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:20 AM - 3 Comments

Ultimate Fighting champion hits the Hill
MPs from all parties joined a long lineup on the Hill to pay homage to Ultimate Fighting Championship champ and Quebec native Georges St-Pierre. Among those in line were Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, who got an autograph for his grandson, and Liberal MP Justin Trudeau, who said he used to train in the same boxing gym as St-Pierre. MP Glenn Thibeault is a big UFC fan and also the NDP’s sports critic. Ironically, he has requested a royal commission to examine violence in sports. But the MP stresses that the difference between the UFC and, say, hockey, is that the premise of the UFC is “structured” fighting as opposed to what he calls “gratuitous” violence. St-Pierre was invited to the Hill by Heritage Minister James Moore, who calls the UFC champ “a great Canadian.” (Moore owns the UFC video game and plans to get the new edition when it hits stores.) The minister hopes that Ontario will follow the lead of British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta and other provinces where the fights are allowed. Moore had hoped to have St-Pierre recognized by Speaker Peter Milliken after question period, but then found out that also sitting in the Speaker’s gallery that day was Bogdan Borusewicz, Poland’s speaker of the Senate, and Vice-Admiral Dean McFadden, head of the Canadian navy, who was there to commemorate the centennial of the Canadian navy. Moore decided not to ask the Speaker to recognize St-Pierre so as not to upstage the other dignitaries present. That message apparently didn’t get through to some Tories who were visibly disappointed when St-Pierre wasn’t recognized. Treasury Board president and UFC fan Stockwell Day, for one, looked upset and let out a loud “aw.’” Transport Minister John Baird shouted out to St-Pierre: “I would have recognized you.”

Continue…

Mitchel Raphael on the end of the blond troika and the new minister of everything

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:20 AM - 5 Comments

By Mitchel Raphael

SOME NEW FACES IN THE HOUSE WHEN HARPER IS SPEAKING

No longer in the Conservative caucus, Helena Guergis now sits as an independent in the back row of the House. Guergis was part of the blond troika behind Stephen Harper, picked up by the TV cameras whenever he rose in the Commons. The other two were Lisa Raitt and Diane Ablonczy. Now the three blonds in the shot have been replaced with dark-haired MPs: Minister for International Co-operation Bev Oda, Minister of State Denis Lebel, and Rona Ambrose, who took over Guergis’s status of women portfolio. Ambrose now has one of the longest titles in the government: minister of public works and government services Canada and the receiver general of Canada, minister for status of women, vice-president of the Treasury Board, and regional minister for northern Alberta. Or as one MP joked: “Minister of everything.” Ambrose got back recently from a trip to Afghanistan with Defence Minister Peter MacKay. In Kandahar, the two stopped by the Tim Hortons, where the cups are designed to look like camouflage and the prizes for Roll Up the Rim to Win included special edition Kandahar hats. Neither Ambrose nor MacKay won anything.

By Mitchel Raphael

IT’S THAT FRENCH TEACHER’S FAULT

NDP MP Glenn Thibeault was recently in the House foyer going over notes for a French TV interview. The Ontario MPfor Sudbury has been trying to work on his French in an effort to become bilingual. Thibeault comes from a francophone family. When he was younger, his parents sent him to a French immersion school. One of his teachers told him he must learn “French” French and not Quebec French and his parents were so insulted they pulled him out and put him into a regular English school where he lost all his French. He’s currently taking three hours a week of French lessons. He is the youngest in his family and now gets his siblings and parents to speak only French to him—“even if I don’t understand,” he jokes.

SHE’S THAT FABULOUS

Jer’s Vision fifth anniversary gala in Ottawa celebrated those who have helped battle bullying and homophobia. The event was hosted by Global National anchor Kevin Newman, who spoke publicly for the first time about his gay son, Alex Newman. Kevin Newman was the first person to interview NDP MP Libby Davies on TV when she came out. At last year’s event, Davies won a Youth Role Model of the Year award. This time one went to Liberal MP Hedy Fry. One of the youth who nominated Fry noted in a letter that he realized he was gay and went to a Pride parade where he met the MP. “When I asked her what it was like to be gay, she said she was not gay but she was proud to stand with another individual and celebrate working toward equality. I was inspired how someone could be so fabulous, and not even be gay.”

By Mitchel Raphael

THANKS FOR THE SHIRT, I THINK

During his visit to Ottawa, New Zealand PM John Key was presented with an Olympic Team Canada hockey jersey by Stephen Harper. In return, Key presented Harper with a very fitted New Zealand All Blacks rugby shirt. Harper quipped that the New Zealand PM would have an easier time getting into the baggy hockey jersey than he would getting into his gift.

THE VERY LAST ALL-PARY PARTY

NDP MP Peter Stoffer says April 28 will be the last All-Party Party. The bash has been held in 200 West Block for years, but now the building will be closed as of this summer for several years for renovations and asbestos removal. Stoffer says there is not a large enough space elsewhere on the Hill to accommodate MPs and Hill staff, and also that if it were held somewhere else, it would be too costly.

Parties unite for prostate cancer

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 10:20 AM - 9 Comments

All parties were united by wearing blue to show their support for NDP leader Jack Layton in his battle with prostate cancer. The men were given ties and the women were given scarves by Prostate Cancer Canada. Below, Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose.

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Liberal MP Justin Trudeau.

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Let us put our faith in Gary Bettman

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 12:54 PM - 7 Comments

The government side responds to the NDP’s call for a royal commission on hockey violence.

A spokesperson for Sports Minister Gary Lunn said it is up to the various leagues to police themselves. ”We feel it’s a question best left to the leagues and the role of the federal government is to support players and athletes in their development and to support their coaches to make a good training environment for youth,” press secretary Vanessa Schneider said.

The Commons: ‘This is our game and we need to protect our players’

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 6:11 PM - 34 Comments

“It is high time,” said Glenn Thibeault, the NDP MP for Sudbury, “this issue is taken seriously.”

Shortly thereafter he clarified just how seriously.

“Today,” he said, “we are calling on the government to establish a Royal Commission on violence in sports. We need to look at all aspects and all of the causes, from equipment to social trends, coaching and officiating. This is our game and we need to protect our players.”

Oh, Patrice Cormier, look what ye hath wrought. Continue…

Hill Helps Haiti fundraiser packed

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, January 29, 2010 at 11:56 AM - 8 Comments

Folks from all parties packed the Hill Helps Haiti fundraiser organized by the government relations firm Summa Strategies. The event raised over $32,000. Below, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq (left) and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea.

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Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay.

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Green leader Elizabeth May.

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Look who crashed the NDP Christmas party

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 12:11 PM - 5 Comments

MP Nathan Cullen (right) and MP Glenn Thibeault with half moustaches.

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MP Don Davies attempts to impersonate Chantal Hébert of the Toronto Star.

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It probably shouldn't be this easy to scale the Parliament Buildings

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 7, 2009 at 11:04 AM - 47 Comments

Greenpeace stages a protest. Twitter reaction from MPs Patrick Brown, Glenn Thibeault, Brent Rathgeber, Michelle Simson, Rod Bruinooge and Olivia Chow. The Ottawa Citizen’s Glen McGregor tweets the scene.