Here, then, a loophole

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, September 13, 2010 at 3:45 PM - 0 Comments

Keeping in mind that the Transport Minister’s spokesman has said the government is “very interested” in the possibility of a hockey arena being built in Quebec City and another cabinet minister has said the government “cannot ignore the wishes of the population” and a half-dozen Conservative MPs have donned Nordiques jerseys for the cameras and the Prime Minister’s spokesman has talked of the larger benefits of sports venues and the Prime Minister himself has both spoken hopefully of a professional hockey team for Quebec City and mused openly of funding sports venues across the country, here today the Prime Minister raises the small matter of a certain adjective in discussing the proposed hockey arena for Quebec City.

“If there is to be any role for the federal government, first of all, that role would have to be equitable across the country, treat everybody the same, and it also has to be affordable, recognizing that this country is going to be moving into a period of fiscal restraint,” Harper said.

Also, sound economic reasoning

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 11:55 AM - 0 Comments

Veteran Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn explains why the federal government is interested in the return of an NHL franchise to Quebec City.

“As MPs, we cannot ignore the wishes of the population that wants the Nordiques to return,” he said in an interview. “In addition, our political formation, the Conservative Party, has received important support in Quebec City.”

The inexperienced lifer

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 11:05 AM - 0 Comments

Over the weekend, Jeffrey Simpson lamented for the lifers he sees as presently dominating federal politics. He defined a lifer as one who has been involved for a long period of time at any level of politics, not just as a candidate or elected representative. In this way, for instance, Mr. Harper is a lifer because he has been involved in politics since the mid-80s.

The academic research in this regard—though Simpson’s definition complicates a direct comparison and his focus on party leaders is relevant—has generally raised the alarm about the exact opposite concern: that our MPs have too little experience and are too prone to turnover. To wit. Continue…

MPs say cheese please

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, May 3, 2010 at 8:00 AM - 3 Comments

The Dairy Farmers of Canada held a reception at the Fairmont Château Laurier. Below, Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan.

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NDP MP Peter Stoffer.

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Tory MP Ted Menzies, parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, shows off a real “butter” tart.

Continue…

I apologize if my graciousness offends

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 1:23 PM - 49 Comments

The Liberals sent Wayne Easter up yesterday to berate Jean-Pierre Blackburn for whatever it is that happened awhile back with the Veteran Affairs Minister and his tequila. The Conservatives permitted Mr. Blackburn to respond for himself. His two responses were as follows.

Mr. Speaker, I was at the airport a month ago. We had forgotten that there was a bottle of alcohol in our carry-on luggage. Of course, the bottle was confiscated by the security officials. I never asked for any preferential treatment whatsoever. I remained polite at the airport at all times. The security officials did their job and I respected their decision.

Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat that I did not ask for any preferential treatment whatsoever. I just would not do that. I repeat that I apologize to anyone I may have offended.

'I complied unequivocally'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, March 19, 2010 at 12:23 PM - 62 Comments

For those needing closure, the Veterans Affairs Minister issues the following statement.

On February 23 I was at the Ottawa airport and a bottle of alcohol was confiscated from me because it exceeded the 100 ml limit.

Since I had to leave the bottle behind, I asked that it be destroyed.

At no point did I request preferential treatment; it’s not in my nature.

Granted, I was definitely upset at what happened, and I apologize to those I could have offended.

That being said, the rule is clear.

The officers applied the rule.

And I complied unequivocally.

'He didn't pull a Helena apparently'

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 10:46 PM - 53 Comments

Late breaking news this evening that the Veteran Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn recently demonstrated an interest in airport security protocol.

Blackburn wanted to bypass a rule that all Canadians must follow: You cannot pack containers filled with more than 100 millilitres of liquid. When security at the Ottawa airport told Blackburn he would have to give up his bottle of tequila, sources say he asked that the bottle be kept for him. When security refused, he demanded that they empty the bottle in his presence. Sources told CTV News the argument became so heated, security almost called the police…

“The minister wasn’t pleased by the fact he had to leave the bottle of alcohol behind. He was upset that they wouldn’t destroy it in front of him,” the official said, on condition of anonymity. “He remained polite. He didn’t pull a Helena apparently.”

Your musical chairs sneak preview

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, January 18, 2010 at 11:46 PM - 14 Comments

If CP has it right, Lisa Raitt is now tracing Rona Ambrose’s career arc all the way to cabinet obscurity.

The biggest surprise may be that controversy-prone Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, once a rising star in the party who rocketed to cabinet within weeks of her first election win in October 2008, is getting demoted.

The high-profile Raitt ran into trouble last year when she was caught on tape criticizing some of her fellow ministers. Raitt will stay in the cabinet, but in the relatively obscure Labour post.

Canadian Press has Christian Paradis going to Natural Resources in Raitt’s place, Rona Ambrose going to Public Works to replace Paradis, Peter Van Loan replacing Stockwell Day at International Trade, Day replacing Vic Toews at Treasury, Toews replacing Van Loan at Public Safety and Jean-Pierre Blackburn going to Veterans Affairs to replace the retiring Greg Thompson.

Firefighters, liver cancer, and Trudeau hits the dance floor

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, November 23, 2009 at 12:32 PM - 7 Comments

What A Girl Wants was a fundraiser for the Canadian Liver Foundation, which included a fashion show and Ottawa firefighters. Below, Justin Trudeau has a dance off with Kenzie Potter from Conservative House leader Jay Hill’s office.

One of the organizers Annette Martin (centre), wife of National Post columnist Don Martin, with Labour Minister Rona Ambrose and a firefighter.

Continue…

Banking on his reputation

By Martin Patriquin - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 9:40 AM - 1 Comment

For years, disgraced financier Earl Jones kept his alleged scam operating on little but the force of his reputation. He knew nearly all of his clients personally, rarely missing a birthday or a funeral, and was pleasant and reassuring even as he allegedly bilked them out of their life savings. Many of his former clients are still discovering the extent of the damage. “It’s absolutely incredible that he didn’t get caught,” says Susan Brown, a six-year Jones investor who lost $300,000. His clients included his brother and godson, among many others, as well as his son-in-law, from whom Jones coaxed $150,000 earlier this year—and, as Maclean’s recently learned, legendary hockey writer Red Fisher, who often wove tales of Jones’s prowess into his columns. Jones, he wrote, was a “matchless money manager” and a “superstar investment guru” who “always has been blessed with a talent of knowing a sure-thing investment when he sees one.” (Fisher won’t discuss the matter, but records show he lost a sizable amount of money.)

Jones’s personal and business assets, seized by bankruptcy trustees in August, won’t come close to covering the losses of his alleged victims, thought to be upward of $86 million. So his former clients are parsing the mountains of what they allege are forged cheques, falsified documents and fudged powers-of-attorney, and have found another target: the banks with whom Jones did business over the years. By not paying heed to numerous irregularities in Jones’s financial activities, say lawyers for the former clients, the banks essentially allowed the fraud to continue. “His bankers seemed to trust him as his clients trusted him,” says Ginny Nelles, one of the more outspoken former clients. Continue…

Feeding Jean-Pierre Blackburn

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, September 25, 2009 at 10:20 AM - 16 Comments

The Toronto Star helpfully explains how to stage a government photo op meant to ease concerns about a potential health emergency.

After a herd of Alberta pigs was infected with the H1N1 flu virus last April, countries began closing their borders to Canadian hogs, threatening $3 billion in exports and 40,000 jobs. Ottawa’s response was to hold a barbecue on Parliament Hill with pulled pork on the menu, and hog farmers, foreign diplomats and lots of television cameras in the crowd.

But it was carefully crafted to ensure two Conservative ministers, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Minister of State for Agriculture Jean-Pierre Blackburn, were the stars of the show, according to 841 pages of internal emails obtained by the Toronto Star…

“I believe it’s important to have a visual where the ministers `eat’ pork. Not only flipping it on a barbeque,” suggested Sylvain Frenette, Blackburn’s political director. “So we have to ensure that what they will eat is visually appealing … . It has to be easy to eat. Small pieces already cut up and ready to eat. So that he’s not fighting with a piece of meat. So that he doesn’t get dirty, etc.”

Ritz’s staff had their own ideas about the best light in which to present him. ”Please ensure that the minister has a spot in the serving line (complete with apron would be best) – this is the money shot,” Murdoch wrote.

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…

Stephen Harper's Top 5

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 1:52 AM - 28 Comments

La Presse discovers that the current order of succession should the Prime Minister be unable to fulfill his duties is as follows: Lawrence Cannon, Jim Prentice, Chuck Strahl, Peter MacKay, Stockwell Day.

Two years ago, when Kady looked at the list as it was then, the order of succession went Cannon, Prentice, Rob Nicholson, David Emerson, Jean-Pierre Blackburn.

Hey, remember the early 80s?

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 1:12 PM - 14 Comments

Back to yesterday’s QP. Specifically this answer of the Prime Minister’s.

Mr. Speaker, the record of the Liberal Party is this: Liberals got this country into deficits when borrowing was at record levels, and then when recession came, they were cutting the unemployed and raising taxes right in the middle of a recession, something this party will never do.

For as long as the current Conservative government has been in power, it has found convenient excuse in the various failings of the “previous Liberal government.” But here is an entirely new standard for historical reference. Continue…

The Commons: The roasting of Jim Flaherty

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 6:18 PM - 15 Comments

The Scene. For awhile before Question Period, the front row seat between Tony Clement and Lawrence Cannon, normally occupied by the Finance Minister, remained unfilled. No doubt, Jim Flaherty might’ve been forgiven for staying home. The weather outside was frightful, rainy and cold. And the mood inside was foul, accusatory and scornful.

But with minutes to spare before the Speaker called for oral questions, Mr. Flaherty arrived. And for the next 45 minutes he was treated to a fine show. A dramatically staged tale about a $16-billion rounding error. A harrowing story in which he was both the central character and principal villain.

First to take the stage was Michael Ignatieff.

“Mr. Speaker, in September the government said there would be no recession. In October, no deficits,” he said, rising up a bit on his toes with each point, nearly singing his disappointment. “In November it promised a surplus, but in January it brought down a $34 billion deficit. Yesterday it ballooned to $50 billion, all this in a breathtaking six months, and still the money has not gotten out the door. This is incompetence on a historic scale.”

Then, finally, a question.

“How can the Prime Minister or any other Canadian,” he said, “still have confidence in the Minister of Finance?”

So challenged, Stephen Harper did the honourable thing. He bragged about the great deal he was getting from his bank. Continue…

The Commons: Shovel-ready answers

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, May 25, 2009 at 6:41 PM - 39 Comments

The Scene. At each MP’s desk, a red box had been placed with a gift package of sporting equipment intended to celebrated the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. While he waited for Question Period to begin, Peter MacKay removed the swimming goggles, put them on his head, then put one of the socks on his nose. 

Class resuming after a week off, the mood was relatively light. The 15 minutes before Question Period included just one shouted denunciation of the Liberal leader. The Speaker advised that he would be looking into a report of unparliamentary language made before the break. Then Michael Ignatieff stood in an attempt to be serious.

“Mr. Speaker, the country is facing record unemployment, record bankruptcies, record hardship for small businesses, especially auto dealers,” he began, congratulating the government on its acheivements. “And still the stimulus is not flowing. It is nearly June. Cities and municipalities are still waiting for the infrastructure funding that was promised in the budget. The government has already missed the June construction season. Why has only six per cent of the stimulus gotten out of the door?”

The Human Resources Minister was in Oshawa, reannouncing something from January’s budget. The Finance Minister was in Quebec, warning that the wild guesses on which that budget was based now seem “substantially” off the mark. The Prime Minister was unaccounted for. So the day would belong to John Baird.

“Mr. Speaker, we are working co-operatively with provinces and municipalities,” the Transport Minister said. “We are getting the job done. That non-partisan work is really paying dividends.”

Having not said a single thing of any consequence, he proceeded to read into the record something Mr. Ignatieff had said that seemed to be only vaguely related. Continue…

Mitchel Raphael on a hill feeding frenzy

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 12:20 PM - 1 Comment

Those people on the Hill sure like free food

The Canadian Pork Council held a BBQ on the Hill (free pulled pork sandwiches!) to publicize the safety of their product in the midst of swine flu panic. It was the longest lineup Capital Diary had ever seen for a Hill reception. The final 30 people did not even get meat—some of them grabbed buns to soak up the leftover liquid in the serving pan. New Democrat Peter Stoffer was one of the few MPs who waited his turn in the endless line, even when organizers tried to pull him to the front for preferential treatment. The line went slower when cabinet ministers like Gerry Ritz (Agriculture) and Jean-Pierre Blackburn (National Revenue) took over from staff to do the serving. Everyone from Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq to Grit Leader Michael Ignatieff was chomping down. Conservative MP Shelly Glover noted she loves ham. “My kids live off of it,” says the mother of five, who was elected in the last election. (She is on leave from the Winnipeg Police Service, where she used to investigate crack houses and went undercover as a sex-trade worker.) Quipped deputy Speaker Andrew Scheer at the BBQ: “This is the good kind of pork on Parliament Hill.”

Who knew Justin had a tattoo?

Last year, Nova Scotia Grit Mike Savage was the lone MP to take up the Canadian Paraplegic Association’s challenge to spend a day in a wheelchair. This year, several politicians participated, including Conservative MP Dona Cadman and senators such as Olympic skiing gold medallist Nancy Greene Raine. They experienced first-hand the challenges of being in a wheelchair—travelling over carpets or hitting inaccessible committee rooms on the Hill. The day ended with wheelchair races. When Justin Trudeau took on his Toronto Liberal colleague Martha Hall Findlay, he suggested she remove her jacket. When she did and it was revealed she was sleeveless underneath, Trudeau, who was already without a jacket and tie, stripped down to his sleeveless undershirt. (A few people were surprised to see a small tattoo of the earth on his upper left arm.) He won for fastest male MP, but beat Hall Findlay only by a slim margin. It should be noted, however, that Hall Findlay had a “wardrobe malfunction.” Her bra straps slipped off her shoulders and she had to pause to push them back up.

Continue…

MPs dole out the pork, literally

By Mitchel Raphael - Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 12:50 PM - 4 Comments

The Canadian Pork Council held a Hill BBQ to show the safety of Canada’s white meat in the midst of the panic over the H1N1 swine flu.

Labour Minister Rona Ambrose serves up the pork.

Iggy chows down.

Continue…

The Commons: The Apology

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 12:08 AM - 0 Comments

A day of many words. And perhaps some promise.

The Scene. The moment came later than expected. Indeed, according to the official itinerary, the Prime Minister was due to start speaking at precisely 3:02 pm. But it was not until fully 3:15 pm that everyone was seated and Stephen Harper was called by the Speaker to begin.

He strode into the House of Commons with 11 representatives of the native community—last among them 104-year-old Marguerite Wabano, the eldest remaining survivor of Canada’s residential schools, tiny and dressed all in blue, a cane in one hand and her granddaughter by her side. Behind the Prime Minister walked Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs, and Strahl’s parliamentary secretary Rod Bruinooge, himself an aboriginal Canadian.

The delegates took their seats in the centre aisle, positioned in a circle before the Prime Minister. Government House leader Peter Van Loan, as demure and dainty as he may ever be, stood and moved that time be allotted for response from these visitors to this place. Each party duly consented and the motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Harper then stood, laid out his script on the green velvet lectern placed on his desk and, finally, began.

“Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools,” he started, simply enough. “Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and has no place in our country.”

Not for the last time, a packed Commons stood and applauded, hoots, hollers and the beat of drums coming down from the galleries above. Continue…

The Commons: On your feet

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 6:32 PM - 0 Comments

Canada is screwed. Canada is great. Let us stand and applaud either way.

The Scene. The Prime Minister had just finished declaring, on the stength of Liberal Derek Lee’s projections, the Canadian economy impressively robust and the opposition equally ridiculous. Leaping to their feet the government members cheered and gloated.

And so the rules of engagement for this day were established.

Stéphane Dion rose and commended the “good work” done when Ralph Goodale was minding the nation’s books. The Liberals stood and roared their agreement.

Still standing, Dion denounced the haplessness of not one, but two of Harper’s lieutenants—Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Economic Development Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn. Barely back in their seats, his caucus rose in ovation.

Once more Mr. Harper returned to quoting from the rosy projections of a Liberal backbencher. Once more his disciples stood and testified to his leadership. Continue…