The Commons: Good help is hard to find

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 5:26 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. Seated almost directly across the aisle from his opposition critic, Jason Kenney shook his head as the NDP’s Don Davies read the indictment.

“Mr. Speaker, just last month the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism told Canadians how solemn he thought our citizenship ceremonies are, and they are indeed serious occasions,” Mr. Davies recalled. “Now, however, we learn that his office is fine just faking it. It was his office that arranged to have employees pose as fake new citizens in a made-up ceremony for a misleading news conference. Can the minister explain why he forced government employees to pose as fake new citizens and mislead Canadians?”

However fake the display, Mr. Kenney was quite sure his responsibility had been overstated here.

“Mr. Speaker, that is completely untrue. The only misleading going on is coming from that member,” the Immigration Minister scolded. “Every year CIC officials do a good job organizing special citizenship and reaffirmation ceremonies across the country including sometimes in studio televised ceremonies to raise the profile of citizenship. Today, I became aware that one small reaffirmation ceremony last year had logistical problems that were poorly dealt with—”

The opposition side descended into laughter and even a little desk thumping (it being hard, one supposes, to slap one’s knee when seated at a desk). Continue…

Welcome to the infomercial

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 12:19 PM - 0 Comments

Canadian Press reports that a few weeks before citizenship week celebrations last fall, Jason Kenney’s office asked his department to organize a ceremony at the Sun News studio in Toronto.

The goal was to find people who had recently taken the real oath. ”I have also just confirmed … that all the clients that are calling back are declining the request as they have to attend work and are not able to take the time off to participate in this reaffirmation ceremony,” wrote one civil servant.

Four days before the ceremony, a bureaucrat in downtown Toronto again pleaded whether Sun News could instead go to an already planned event. ”Please advise if the alternative would be acceptable since we do not have the resources to call over 3,000 clients to hopefully get 10 clients for this proposed event.”

In the end, only three of the 10 people the department had lined up to appear at the Sun’s studios actually showed up. But the show went on — featuring at least six federal bureaucrats. Three of those who took the oath wore identical T-shirts with a citizenship logo on it.

CP has video here. Justin Trudeau deems this “incredibly stupid.” An official in Mr. Kenney’s office was busy this morning assuring one and all that this was a “well intentioned mistake” made by a civil servant. And Mr. Kenney’s spokeswoman has now apologized to Sun News.

Harper and pensions: the choices you make

By Paul Wells - Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 1:36 PM - 0 Comments

“There are tough, important choices that must be made,” Stephen Harper wrote to his caucus 16 days ago. All righty then. Let’s talk about choices and Old Age Security. One thing I’m going to resist doing is handing out white hats and black hats. There are fewer heroes and villains in this story than, well, choices.

Here (.pdf) is the Ninth Actuarial Report on the Old Age Security Program As At 31 December 2009, tabled before Parliament three months ago. The government says it took a look at that report and had a fright. “Demographic changes will have a major impact on the ratio of workers to retirees,” it says, with the result that “Total annual expenditures are projected to increase… from $36.5 billion in 2010 to… $108 billion by 2030.”

Out went the talking points. The cost of the program will triple! Something must be done! They were more reticent about the next paragraph, which says cost of the program as a fraction of GDP is projected to rise from 2.3% in 2010 to 3.1% in 2030, before declining after that. So 2030 will indeed be a high-water mark in the entire history of the OAS program’s cost, but it’s not really a tripling because everything, including our ability to pay, will have increased in the meantime.

Still, big bump up. Point taken. But then there’s this. Here’s (.pdf) the Second Actuarial Report on the Old Age Security Program As At 31 December 1991, tabled in Parliament on Feb. 7, 1994 — about the time a 34-year-old rookie Reform MP named Stephen Harper would have been getting used to his new job. That report said the total annual cost of OAS would grow from $34 billion in 2010 (it’s in the chart on page 4) to $119 billion in 2030. An even bigger increase than the one projected by the most recent report, but pretty much the same scale. And indeed, on Page 3, that actuary 19 years ago picked 2030 as the peak date for the cost of the OAS program.

Demographics doesn’t change radically from year to year. So anyone reading the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th Actuarial Reports on the Old Age Security Program would have seen the same trend lines that the government says spurred it to action now. Never mind last May’s election — this could have been an issue in any of the last six federal elections. (As we’ll see, and as many of you already know, it sort of was, once early on.) There quite literally could not possibly have been more warning.

So that’s one thing.

Then there’s this. Continue…

Show yourself

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 12:43 PM - 0 Comments

The Toronto Star reports that officials were already permitted to confirm an individual’s identity at citizenship ceremonies.

Before Monday’s ban of the niqab at citizenship ceremonies, Ottawa already had a protocol to verify the identity of a new citizen behind the veil. Officials at the ceremony, usually citizenship clerks, could pull aside someone wearing a niqab — a veil that only shows the eyes — and lift it for identification, the immigration department confirmed Tuesday.

Yesterday during QP, Conservative backbencher Wladyslaw Lizon seemed to be given some credit for alerting the Immigration Minister to the fact that one could be veiled while actually reciting the oath.

See previously Can you hear me now? and Values and religion

Values and religion

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 1:10 PM - 0 Comments

Chris Selley sees Jason Kenney’s argument as a matter of values, not practicalities.

He mentioned it in the same breath as other initiatives he has championed, such as beefing up language requirements, the citizenship test and the Citizenship Guide. “This is part of a broader action plan to invest greater value in Canadian citizenship,” he told CBC. But he also stressed, correctly, that this is no “technical or practical” tweak. “It is, rather, a matter of pure principle, which lies at the heart of our identity and our values with respect to openness and equality,” he said at a speech in Montreal.

It’s controversial, and he didn’t shy away. He expressed his personal distaste for the burka: “It’s a cultural tradition, which I think reflects a certain view about women that we don’t accept in Canada,” he told CBC.

Can you hear me now?

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 12, 2011 at 12:52 PM - 0 Comments

So that one’s swearing of the oath can be confirmed, Jason Kenney has ordered that head coverings must be removed during the swearing of citizenship ceremonies.

Kenney said the move follows complaints from citizenship judges, MPs and others who’ve participated in citizenship ceremonies who have argued it’s hard to tell whether veiled individuals are actually reciting the oath. “Requiring that all candidates show their faces while reciting the oath allows judges, and everyone present to share in the ceremony, to ensure that all citizenship candidates are, in fact, taking the oath as required by law,” he said in Montreal.

The full directive is here.

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 6:41 PM - 0 Comments

We tried to save the House of Commons.

Brian Topp pitched higher taxes (and considered equality). Nathan Cullen pitched democratic reform. Martin Singh pitched a national pharmacare plan. Paul Dewar prioritized. Robert Chisholm talked leadership.

Elections Canada tried to figure out kids these days. The Department of National Defence tried to keep the cost of its new headquarters quiet. The NDP bought billboard space. The omnibus crime bill went unaccounted for. The House voted to keep curtailing debate. The Harperization of Canada was confirmed. The Conservatives peddled rumours and defended their right to do so. Tony Clement explained his verbal typo. And the Speaker ruled John Williamson and Geoff Regan out of order. Continue…

Two or more

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 12:01 PM - 0 Comments

Of appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board, Jason Kenney told the House on Tuesday that, in fact, he was aware, he thought, of two appointees, out of a total of 140, who had “any association with the Conservative party.”

The NDP says they’ve found one former ministerial advisor, four former Conservative candidates and nine party donors. The Citizen puts the total at 16.

That’s what the Senate is for

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 12:06 PM - 0 Comments

Responding yesterday during QP to complaints about the Immigration and Refugee Board, Jason Kenney sought the high road.

No, Mr. Speaker, they are not. In fact, I am aware of I think 2 out of 140 who have any association with the Conservative Party, unlike the Liberals who appointed the spouses of members of Parliament, the spouses of Liberal senators and failed campaign managers. The Liberals used the IRB as a partisan dumping ground. We have respected its role as an independent, quasi-judicial organization.

Conservative Senator Doug Finley is both the spouse of an MP and a former campaign manager. And he is joined in that independent, quasi-democratic institution by a former president of the Conservative party, a former spokeswoman for the Prime Minister, a former chair of Conservative party fundraising, failed Conservative MPs Josee Verner and Fabian Manning, and failed Conservative candidates Larry Smith and Yonah Martin.

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 12:11 PM - 0 Comments

The long-gun registry split the NDP leadership contenders. Paul Dewar talked medical infrastructure. Nathan Cullen pitched energy policy. And Romeo Saganash explained how the NDP can grow.

Charlie Angus brought attention to Attawapiskat. Justin Trudeau quizzed Peter Kent, who spoke of treachery and dismissed himself. Rob Anders napped. Bob Rae was named parliamentarian of the year. Rob Merrifield and John Weston were dutiful partisans. Two New Democrats tried to sing along. Patrick Brown allowed that all MPs love Canada. Rick Dykstra segued. The NDP turned up new emails in the G8 Legacy Fund affair and Tony Clement pleaded his innocence. Jason Kenney brought props. And MPs debated disturbances in the House.

Continue…

Parliamentarians of the Year Awards party

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, November 25, 2011 at 3:11 PM - 0 Comments

Maclean’s 5^th annual Parliamentarians of the Year Awards ceremony at the Fairmont Château Laurier.  See winners here.

Immigration MInister Jason Kenney (left) and Ken Whyte, President of Rogers Publishing Limited

Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner (left) and NDP MP Pat Martin.

NDP MP Peter Stoffer accepts his award.

Stephen Harper’s communications director Angelo Persichilli and CBC’s Julie Van Dusen.

Continue…

Welcome to the infomercial

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, November 25, 2011 at 2:35 PM - 0 Comments

Jason Kenney displays the latest advancement in communications.

Cabinet ministers often arrive at Commons hearings with their own entourage in tow. But Immigration Minister Jason Kenney surprised the immigration committee Thursday by bringing his own backdrops.

Bright Conservative blue with small maple leaf flags and the name of Mr. Kenney’s new program for families spelled out in white lettering, they were erected behind the minister and in front of the visitors gallery, effectively blocking the committee proceedings from some members of the media and obscuring the view of other onlookers.

You’ve changed

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 10:00 AM - 0 Comments

The New Democrats sent up backbencher Dan Harris just before Question Period yesterday with the following.

Mr. Speaker, when in opposition the Conservatives were outraged by an arrogant government that hid from the opposition by invoking closure. Now they have done it nine times since the election. The Minister of Public Safety once said: “For the government to bring in closure and time allocation is wrong. It sends out the wrong message to the people of Canada. It tells the people of Canada that the government is afraid.” The Minister of Canadian Heritage decried: “…the arrogance of the government in invoking closure again.” The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration once called it “…yet more unfortunate evidence of the government’s growing arrogance.” One more quote. “The government is simply increasingly embarrassed by the state of the debate and it needs to move on.” That one was from the Prime Minister himself. These out of touch Conservatives came here to change Ottawa. Instead, Ottawa changed them. In six short years they have become everything they used to oppose.

See previously: Like a young Pat Martin, No time for debate and If he were here to see this, Stephen Harper would be so disappointed

Your parliamentarians of the year

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments

Last night at the Chateau Laurier, Maclean’s and our gracious sponsors handed out the annual awards for the best in Parliament. This year’s parliamentarian of the year is Bob Rae and you can read my appraisal of him here. Previous winners include Bill Blaikie, Ralph Goodale, Jason Kenney and John Baird.

We introduced a new prize this year for a former parliamentarian who contributed significantly to the House of Commons. The inaugural winner is Jack Layton.

Parliamentarians of the Year (hardest working): Jason Kenney

By Richard Warnica - Monday, November 21, 2011 at 7:29 PM - 0 Comments

Peter Bregg/Maclean's

Jason Kenney works frenetically and snatches rest when he can. For the Calgary MP, sleep is less something that happens in blocks than in patches. On planes, between events, any free moment can become a catnap for the Conservative heavyweight. “I can sleep anywhere,” he says—which is good, because anywhere, other than his bed, is where he spends a good 20 hours most days.

“He seems to be everywhere at once,” Paul Wells wrote of Kenney last year. He’s at the cabinet table, in committee meetings or just as often jetting off to any one of the dozens of community dinners and other meetings he attends every year as part of his outreach to ethnic and religious groups. Continue…

The Commons: James Moore’s audition

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 21, 2011 at 6:39 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. Today, it was James Moore’s turn to pretend to be prime minister.

Unlike most of his recent predecessors, Mr. Harper has never seen fit to name a deputy. He stands alone. And so when he cannot stand or when he chooses not to (at some point he stopped showing up on Mondays), it had typically been the duty of John Baird or Peter Van Loan to stand and mouth the official bromides. Of late though Mr. Harper has chosen to disperse the burden of parliamentary accountability upon no less than five pairs of shoulders: Messrs Baird and Van Loan, Peter MacKay, Jason Kenney and James Moore. Each day the Prime Minister is away, no matter what has been asked or what actually relevant minister might be around to handle the question, it is one of these sturdy men who rises to handle the first questions of the NDP and Liberals.

So today, for instance, it was Mr. Moore’s job to stand and explain the government’s policy on the treatment of water sewage. Continue…

Like a young Pat Martin

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 21, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments

On the afternoon of May 25, 1998, a young parliamentarian—a member of the opposition, not yet 30 years old and elected for the first time less than a year before—stood to speak on the Liberal government’s latest budget implementation bill.

I begin by expressing my regret that debate on this bill has been limited by the government’s time allocation motion. I understand this is the fourth time in this parliament alone that closure or time allocation has been implemented. It was done on Bill C-2 regarding the Canada pension plan, on Bill C-4 with respect to the Canadian Wheat Board, on Bill C-19, the Canadian Labour Code amendments which we dealt with before parliament broke, and now twice on Bill C-36 … This is parliament. The purpose of this place is to deliberate on legislation brought forward by the government. It is not to rubber stamp legislation brought forward by the bureaucracy or the executive branch. It is to deliberate, to debate, to amend, to consider, to ensure that those who pay the bills for the legislation we pass have their concerns fully and exhaustively expressed with respect to every single piece of legislation.

Two days later, he challenged government MPs to remember their principles. Continue…

The Commons: A salute to cognitive dissonance

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 5:52 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. Shortly before the start of Question Period this afternoon, Conservative backbencher Patrick Brown rose to repeat his side’s line that the NDP is too “disunited” to govern. A moment later, Conservative backbencher Greg Rickford rose to lament that the NDP, in punishing two MPs who defied the party’s decision to whip a vote on the gun registry, was also too committed to enforcing unity.

Presumably this was Mr. Rickford’s way of protesting his own government’s decision to whip this week’s vote on asbestos exports. Hopefully his caucus leadership won’t too severely punish him for so bravely asserting the independence of individual MPs.

Immediately thereafter, the Speaker then called for oral questions and the official opposition sent up Joe Comartin, Mr. Comartin having apparently discovered an example of irony that he was eager to share with everyone. Continue…

How the Tory MP surprised the Rabbi

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, October 31, 2011 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments

Mitchel Raphael/Maclean's

Following #redchamber

Who says the Senate is out of touch? It recently announced a Twitter account, so “Canadians can learn about what is happening at the Senate—when it happens,” according to a release. The Senate can be followed at @SenateCA. The hashtag is #SenCA. “Twitter is a step in the right direction,” says Alberta Liberal Sen. Grant Mitchell. Admittedly, the Senate has skipped a few technological trends. Mitchell has been trying to get TV cameras in the Senate, just like in the House of Commons. A few years ago Conservative senators Hugh Segal and Tommy Banks had a motion to set up cameras in the upper house, but that fizzled. Mitchell said the price tag would be around $2 million. However, he has proposed the Senate do webcasting, which would cost $120,000 to set up and another $33,000 a year to maintain. “We owe it to Canadians, in the spirit of transparency,” says Mitchell. “Plus, they would see the quality of the speeches, the dignity with which we debate. We are not as partisan as the House and there is not as much tension.” For now, however, it looks like dignified tweets will have to do.

Suits Jason Kenney just fine

There is no turning back for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. He continues to lose weight through diet and exercise. He has gone down so many suit sizes that even some of his smaller suits are too big. He recently got rid of his larger ones, to ensure that he never goes back to his larger size, otherwise he will have to fork out a huge amount to re-supersize his wardrobe.

Continue…

The Commons: Bonfire of the registry

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 6:06 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. At its essence, this debate over the long-gun registry was always a debate about paperwork. And so it is only right and fitting that it should end now with a fight over what should be done with that paper.

For the record, Article 29 of Bill C-19, an Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act, states that “the Commissioner of Firearms shall ensure the destruction as soon as feasible of all records in the Canadian Firearms Registry related to the registration of firearms that are neither prohibited firearms nor restricted firearms and all copies of those records under the Commissioner’s control.” And variously this much is viewed as a waste of both information and money.

“Why,” Nycole Turmel asked this afternoon, “destroy two billion dollars of accumulated information, while the provinces and the police want to keep it?” Continue…

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 facial hair and new gig writing books

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, October 17, 2011 at 8:05 AM - 4 Comments

Photography by Mitchel Raphael

Harper’s final chapter

For several years Stephen Harper has been working on a book about hockey. The PM can finally use one of the Conservatives’ favourite catchphrases: “Getting the job done.” Word is the book is written. A publication date has yet to be announced.

A cake for Clement

During question period, NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus has been counting the days that Treasury Board President Tony Clement has refused to answer questions about what Angus calls the G8 “slush fund.” The MP says that on the 150th day, in the first week of November, he will present the cabinet minister with a cake and, he jokes, “maybe it will have a file in it.” Senior Tory cabinet ministers have expressed embarrassment to Capital Diary that Clement has not risen to explain himself (or apologize, if necessary). Foreign Minister John Baird gets up to answer questions on his behalf, although Clement is sitting right next to him. Perhaps there’s a double standard regarding which ministers can answer questions in the House: Defence Minister Peter MacKay recently rose to answer queries about his use of aircrafts. Liberal MP Judy Sgro says that under Jean Chrétien, ministers had to answer their own questions. There was only one exception: if the opposition called for a minister to resign, Chrétien took the question.

Continue…

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 6:31 PM - 2 Comments

Brian Topp won another endorsement. Romeo Saganash called for change. Thomas Mulcair launched his campaign. Rob Silver and Greg Fingas considered Mr. Mulcair’s chances.

The United Nations found evidence of torture in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister demurred in regards to the Ontario election. Lisa Raitt mused vaguely of amending the Labour Code and blocked a strike at Air Canada. Tony Clement promised open government. Newfoundland and the Yukon stuck with their incumbents. Bruce Carson left behind some bills. And Canadian conservatives fell just short of a symbolic majority. Continue…

Iranian-Canadians fear Canada is becoming refuge for Iranian regime-linked officials

By Michael Petrou - Friday, October 14, 2011 at 11:51 AM - 5 Comments

An impressive list of Iranian-Canadians, including top scholars, has penned a letter to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney expressing their concerns about the number of Islamic Republic regime-linked individuals who are setting up camp in Canada. Most notable of late has been Mahmoud Reza Khavari, who until recently helped run an Iranian state-owned bank that has been blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council for allegedly funding Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He’s now believed to be living in his three-million-dollar Bridle Path home.

“For years members of the Iranian-Canadian community have been concerned that high ranking members of the Islamic Republic of Iran and their relatives are securing residency status in Canada and funnelling their investments to this country. Our expressions of concern to various Members of Parliament are seldom given proper due, and are generally dismissed with mere suggestions that we proceed to inform Canadian authorities of any individuals with ties to the Government of Islamic Republic.”

[...]

“Turning a blind eye or failure to act by the Canadian Government with respect to Mr. Khavari would send a signal to other high ranking members and Government functionaries of the Islamic Republic of IRan that Canada represents a safe haven to which they may escape with impunity. Moreover, a display of moral clarity and vigilance by the Canadian Government will deter international figures with sullied associations from arriving on our shores.” Continue…