MPs get bookish – Politics & the Pen

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 2:36 PM - 3 Comments

At this year’s Politics & the Pen gala, Anna Porter took home the $25 000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for political writing for her book The Ghosts of Europe: Journeys Through Central Europe’s Troubled Past and Uncertain Future. Below, Porter with House Leader John Baird.

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Belinda Stronach and Peter Mansbridge.

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Jim Prentice’s goodbye bash

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 3:11 PM - 1 Comment

Former cabinet minister Jim Prentice held a goodbye party before the House rose. Prentice (left) with Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.

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Tory MP Lynne Yelich (left) with Karen Prentice.

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Behind that Prentice Wikileak

By Colby Cosh - Friday, December 24, 2010 at 8:06 AM - 90 Comments

Much like “Jurist”, I had to laugh at the headlines conjured up in the wake of the most interesting Wikileaks revelation so far concerning Canada. The Globe, summarizing the leaked minute of a private meeting between former Environment Minister Jim Prentice and U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson, says “[Prentice] threatened to impose new rules on oil sands”. Okayyy, but it’s not really a threat if you make it only in the presence of a third party, is it? We’ve all met fake tough guys who are full of stories about how they really told so-and-so off, but who are really just imagining what they would have said if their spine weren’t made of marmalade. Similarly, the CBC has it “Prentice was ready to curb oilsands”, mysteriously failing to add “…but he didn’t really get around to it, and then one day he just cleaned out his desk and left.”

The actual text of the cable suggests that Prentice’s underlying cynicism did not go unnoticed by its presumptive author—the Ambassador himself. Be honest, now: don’t you cringe a little at this part?

Minister Prentice was clearly making every effort to establish a connection with Ambassador Jacobson, outlining his respect for the Administration and his interest in President Obama’s “back story”, persona, and goals. …Prentice appeared keen to forge a personal relationship with Ambassador Jacobson—to the mutual benefit of both countries.

Obviously the whole point of such face-to-face meetings is to “establish personal connections”, but if your sister came back from a blind date with a report like this you’d say “Gawd, what a schmuck.” Minister Try-Too-Hard got careful about his language, however, when he and the ambassador came to grips with the actual tar-sands issue. At every turn in Jacobson’s account of the conversation, Prentice’s concern is with image, not environmental reality. Just imagine this paragraph without the bits in bold type:

During a discussion of the Ambassador’s travels, Prentice asked for his views on the oil sands. Prentice shared that he was concerned about the media focus on the sands and the possible impact on Canada‘s international reputation. He recalled that he was first concerned about oil sands coverage during a trip to Norway where the public was debating whether or not Norway should be investing public funds (Statoil) in ‘dirty oil’. As Prentice relayed it, the public sentiment in Norway shocked him and has heightened his awareness of the negative consequences to Canada‘s historically ‘green’ standing on the world stage. Calling himself “conservationist-minded”, Prentice said he would step in and regulate the sands if Canada’s image in the world gets further tarnished by negative coverage. …Prentice did say that he felt that Government of Canada’s reaction to the dirty oil label was “too slow” and failed to grasp the magnitude of the situation.

As an honest Albertan, I’ll call your attention to two other things about this paragraph:

(1) In an exchange of views on the oil sands, Prentice apparently doesn’t actually say a word about the oil sands—only the international reaction to them.

(2) “Conservationist” is a conscious alternative to “environmentalist”, not a synonym for it. Conservationists are what we had before we had environmentalists. After years of interviewing Alberta politicians and businessmen and hearing them take this line, I understand “conservationism” to denote an emphasis on the value to human beings of wilderness and biodiversity, as opposed to a worldview that says the grizzly’s needs and priorities (and the lichen’s) are indistinguishable from our own. Since this distinction is rarely discussed, it’s an easy means of equivocation: saying you’re “conservationist-minded” can easily mean you wouldn’t personally want a derrick to spoil the view at your A-frame in Kananaskis.

The punch line of the Wikileak arrives when Prentice disavows any actual intention to act on planned tar sands expansion: “In response to the Ambassador’s inquiry about a possible moratorium on further expansion in the oil sands, Prentice didn’t think it was necessary at this time and felt growth to [3-4 million barrels a day] was sustainable.” And there’s a little dénouement when Prentice again summarizes his goals—as the Environment Minister of the Dominion, mind you—solely in terms of image: “At the end of the day, Prentice wants Canada to be billed as the most environmentally-conscious energy superpower.” One wonders at the need for “billed as” to be present in that sentence.

I’m being unkind to Prentice; I don’t know that I would behave any differently in his place, and I’m certainly, as a matter of core philosophy, on the “conservationist” side of the conservationist/environmentalist divide. Moreover, he’s right that government was somewhat slow to react to the publicity crisis, though I don’t see why that should be blamed on the federal government rather than Alberta, since Alberta’s so belligerent about its responsibility for and ownership of its oil.

But Prentice has long been regarded, in the downtown-Toronto conventional wisdom, as a lone Nice Moderate who struggled to fit in with a pack of faith-crazed ideologues. Maybe people should consider the possibility that he really was, after all, a foam-jowled Calgary wolf—one who just happened to be particularly expert at wearing sheep’s clothing. The rap on this federal government, the common theme of the attacks on it, is that it doesn’t respect evidence in decision-making. Those who still see Prentice as a potential alternative leader will, I think, be precisely those who overlook his obsessive concern with “labels” and “standing” and “reputation”. Does he sound, in the cable, like a data-driven Environment Minister? Does it sound like he was much concerned with what the oil sands are doing—or not doing—to the watershed, the wildlife, the people downstream, and the climate?

I ask because if Canadian oil sands policy is going to be determined exclusively by the squealings of people who have seen ugly photographs of them but don’t otherwise know anything about them…well, the sands and the people who make a living from them are going to lose that fight. If your position is “Shut ‘em down”, then an emotional, esthetics-based debate is easy for you to win. There is a policy case, weak or strong, to be made on behalf of the tar sands; it would be a lot harder to argue that they make the world prettier or the landscape pleasanter or the animals happier.

A never-ending journey of a thousand miles begins with a thousand first steps

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 13, 2010 at 9:10 AM - 66 Comments

Environment Minister John Baird, this weekend, on the Cancun accord. “This represents the first step to a single, new legally binding agreement … A first step.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, last week, on the Copenhagen accord. “Mr. Speaker, the Copenhagen accord was only a first step.”

Environment Minister Jim Prentice, last February, on the submission of Canada’s emission targets to the Copenhagen accord. “We took our first step down that road on Sunday, January 31, 2010.”

Environment Minister John Baird, three years ago, on the Bali climate talks. “With the United States now signed on to this framework the results of this conference show progress and we see that as an important first step.”

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, four years ago, on the Clean Air Act. “After more than a decade of inaction on the environment by the previous government, Canada’s Clean Air Act is the first step in turning things around to protect the health of Canadians.”

Headline of news release from the office of Environment Minister Stephane Dion, five years ago, on the coming into force of Kyoto targets. “Achieving Our Kyoto Targets – A First Step Toward a Greener Canada”

Environment Minister David Anderson, nine years ago, on the Kyoto Protocol. “The Kyoto Protocol is only the first step on a long road towards implementing an effective solution to climate change.”

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 4:29 PM - 4 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

The myth of the returning hero

By Aaron Wherry and John Geddes - Friday, November 12, 2010 at 12:00 PM - 11 Comments

Prentice with Harper after the announcement | Chris Wattie/Reuters

It was not long after Jim Prentice announced his impending departure from federal politics that speculation about his leadership aspirations began anew. But it’s entirely possible, perhaps even probable, that Ottawa has seen the last of him.

Explaining the decision to accept a senior executive position with CIBC, Prentice said it was merely a matter of time. “When I entered federal politics in 2001 I made a commitment that my time in politics would last eight to 10 years,” he said. “It has now been nine years and it is time for me to pursue new opportunities outside of public life.” A well-regarded cabinet minister who ran for the Progressive Conservative party leadership in 2003 (finishing second to Peter MacKay), he was sometimes thought to be a potential successor to Stephen Harper. That speculation will not end with Prentice’s exit, but if he stays away he would do so in good company.

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The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 8:05 PM - 2 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

The prime-ministers-in-waiting club

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, November 5, 2010 at 11:38 AM - 0 Comments

Despite theorizing to the contrary, Jim Prentice does not presently sound like someone much interested in making a triumphant return to politics.

“I am closing the door on political life,” he said, stressing his support for Mr. Harper and the party. “I have completed that tour of duty.”

Despite theorizing to the contrary, mind you, we’ve so far not seen the triumphant returns of Frank McKenna, Brian Tobin, John Manley or Bernard Lord.

The Commons: The minister walks away

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 9:48 PM - 0 Comments

A few minutes after three he appeared from behind the gold curtains and strode down to his seat in the front row of the government side, a blue folder in one hand. Unfortunately, Peter MacKay was already in that seat, the Defence Minister having taken advantage of Jim Prentice’s absence from Question Period to sidle over for a chat with the Prime Minister.

Mr. MacKay moved over one spot to the right and Mr. Prentice claimed the seat that would be his for at least a few more minutes. He exchanged a few pleasant words with the Prime Minister. Mr. MacKay extended his right hand and Mr. Prentice shook it. As the final moments of QP played out, Mr. Prentice opened his blue folder and reviewed the text, typed out neatly on a few pages of white paper, that was contained therein.

The Speaker drew the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of Mr. Phillip Bradbourn, chairman of the Delegation for Relations with Canada of the European Parliament. Members applauded. This being a Thursday, the Speaker called on the opposition House leader to stand and ask the government House leader to inform the House as to how the government intends to proceed with its legislative agenda when business resumes after next week’s break.

Then finally, after John Baird had finished wishing everyone a productive constituency week, Mr. Prentice, took a sip of water, nodded at the Speaker and rose on a point of order. Continue…

During CIBC talks, Prentice says he didn't talk banking inside government

By John Geddes - Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 4:31 PM - 0 Comments

[UPDATED BELOW]

An obvious question arises from Environment Minister Jim Prentice’s surprise announcement this afternoon that he’s leaving to join CIBC as vice-chairman: During the period when Prentice was in talks with bank about the job, did he recuse himself from federal cabinet talks on financial institutions issues?

I put the question to Prentice through a media spokesman, who provided this answer: ”Jim Prentice has not participated in or had any discussions in cabinet or elsewhere in government pertaining to CIBC in particular or financial institutions in general since initially being contacted by the bank.”

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Au revoir, Mr. Prentice

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 3:43 PM - 0 Comments

Earlier this hour, Jim Prentice rose on a point of order and announced his departure from federal politics. His resignation as Environment Minister is immediate and he will resign from the House by year’s end. He will then join CIBC.

His interim replacement as Environment Minister will be John Baird, the current government House leader and a former minister of the environment.

Official statement from Mr. Prentice after the jump. Continue…

Who wears the big boy pants? (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 11:01 AM - 0 Comments

On the matter of Fish Lake—an issue that came to involve questions concerning the environment, the economy, provincial jurisdiction, federal oversight and aboriginal land rights, not to mention warnings of potential violence and racial strife—Environment Minister Jim Prentice decided to side with the grizzly bears.

“Fish Lake would be drained, and there would be the loss of all the associated wetlands and a number of streams,” Environment Minister Jim Prentice said. “Really, it was the loss of the whole ecosystem, which was pretty pronounced in terms of its environmental effects.”

“The loss of the job opportunities is difficult, but at the end of the day we have a responsibility to strike an environmental process and to follow the recommendations,” he said on CTV’s Power Play.

Ask yourself this: do you have more pandas now than you did four years ago?

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 1, 2010 at 12:03 PM - 0 Comments

Sure, we were not successful in winning a seat on the security council, but hey, look over there: pandas!

The federal Conservatives have been dabbling in panda politics for several months now, hoping that improved relations over the past year or so would convince Chinese officials to lend two pandas to Canada. In May, Treasury Board president Stockwell Day presented a panda proposal to high-ranking Chinese politicians. In July, then-governor general Michaelle Jean also made a pitch to bring the bamboo-eating animals to Canada during a tour of the Chengdu Panda Base with Prentice and other officials, pressing the governor of Sichuan province, home to the vast majority of China’s pandas.

“It is an indication of just how far we’ve come in terms of the relationship. The Chinese are very careful about the pandas and where they allow long-term transfers,” Prentice added.

The Commons: Who is to blame for supporting the troops?

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 6:29 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. “Canadian families are in debt,” Michael Ignatieff informed the House. “They are trying to save and they expect the government to do the same.” And in that regard, he explained, Canadian families are confused—befuddled by the billions their elected government has committed to fighter jets, international summitry and corporate tax cuts. How, Mr. Ignatieff wondered, could said government explain said expenses?

With the Prime Minister away, it was John Baird’s turn then to stand with the smile that now seems to be permanently affixed to his face and say the word “jobs” not once, not twice, but thrice. And with that quota filled, Mr. Baird turned then to the question of the warplanes.

“We do believe we also have an important responsibility to our men and women in uniform,” he asserted. “These planes that are being purchased will replace planes that will be more than 30 years old. These planes will last to 2040. That is why we are taking a different approach. We actually strongly support our men and women in uniform and want to equip them with the very best.”

So there. Support the troops, salute the flag, keep calm and carry on with nothing to fear but the surety that the opposition parties are, as we speak, conspiring to overthrow the government and burn this country to the ground. Continue…

Hot on Sir John Franklin’s tail

By Philippe Gohier - Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:43 PM - 0 Comments

Parks Canada researchers came upon one of the most fabled shipwrecks in marine archaeology this week in Canada’s Arctic. The HMS Investigator sank in the frigid waters of Mercy Bay 157 years ago after it was abandoned by its crew when it became locked in ice during a search for a legendary expedition headed up by Sir John Franklin.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice was among the first people to get a close-up view of the wreck of the HMS Investigator just a few days after it was found by the Parks Canada team.

“We were able to position our Zodiac immediately above the Investigator to peer down in the icy Arctic water, which is crystal-clear,” Prentice said in an interview from Mercy Bay. “It sits perfectly upright in 11 metres of water. When you look down on it, you’re able to see in exquisite detail all the decking and the ship’s timbers and so on. It’s an incredible thing to see.”

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If we’re cutting useless things in Ottawa

By Paul Wells - Friday, July 23, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Finally, the serious business of tearing down the Canadian federal state has begun.

The opening shots in these great battles are always so nondescript. Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow. And in much the same way, the business of cramming the mighty oak of overgrown government back into an acorn starts with a little hedge trimming. And so it is the long-form census questionnaire that forms the first beachhead of the Harper government’s assault on big government.

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The Commons: In search of loose change

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 6:17 PM - 49 Comments

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff began with an attempt to weave together various disparate strands to form a basket. A basket within which he could carry his message from one middle-class suburban door to the next.

Or something like that.

The Bank of Canada, he reported, had today hiked—the only word one can use when describing this action—interest rates. Canadian families are already more indebted than households anywhere else in the G20. The government is spending a billion to secure three days of meetings of G20 world leaders later this month. How, he wondered, could the government explain putting so much into the latter in light of the former?

Here, though, the Prime Minister stood with his own basket to weave. The interest rate hike, he said, was due to Canada’s sound economy. The G20 meetings, meanwhile, would bring as many delegates as the Olympics had athletes with even greater security risks. Ipso facto, the money simply has to be spent. Continue…

'This is not the hill you want to die on, for God’s sake'

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 9:21 AM - 46 Comments

Jim Prentice says there’s no need to have the auditor general review MP expenses. Jack Layton’s spokesman says it doesn’t make sense to have the auditor general review expenses. Pat Martin says it is time to open the books. Rob Anders says it’s inevitable. Shawn Murphy says it’s time for MPs to talk it over with the AG and decide the parameters of an audit.

The Commons: Yelling with purpose

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 5:17 PM - 32 Comments

The Scene. It was a full 25 questions today before anyone referred to Helena Guergis, before any of Pat Martin or John Baird or, sometime later, Marlene Jennings got involved. And then, yes, there was a reference, from the aforementioned Mr. Martin, to crucifixion. But that there had been a full 25 questions before we came to this point, surely counts for something.

This was indeed, in various small ways, a remarkable day. Daniel Paille and Jim Flaherty entertainingly sparred over securities regulation. Mr. Flaherty and John McCallum very nearly yelled each other hoarse over taxation policy. There were two questions about the potential for train traffic through downtown Toronto.

That it all began with David McGuinty, the booming Liberal backbencher, might not have particularly bode well. But then he seemed to have a question of some relevance. Continue…

Monday in Guergis

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 12:16 AM - 7 Comments

Canadian Press tells the tale of the BioDryer. Liberal MP Judy Sgro empathizes with Ms. Guergis. The Hill Times explores the complicated world of lobbying. Lobbyists are unimpressed with Mr. Jaffer. The Prime Minister’s Office has asked that all Conservative MPs come forward about any interactions with Mr. Jaffer. The Environment Minister reveals that the meeting between a member of his staff and Mr. Jaffer took place in Ms. Guergis’ Parliament Hill office. The Chronicle-Herald delves into Ms. Guergis and Mr. Jaffer’s trip to Belize, including insight into how Ms. Guergis’ skin was handling the sun. And sportswriters are now officially employing Mr. Jaffer’s name as a witty pop-cuture reference.

This weekend in Guergis

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 4:58 PM - 10 Comments

The Star and Globe explain how Mr. Jaffer met Mr. Gillani. The Citizen looks into Mr. Gillani’s business career. Environment Minister Jim Prentice rose in the House yesterday afternoon and revealed that a member of his staff met with Mr. Jaffer. Meanwhile, the Enterprise-Bulletin, Canadian Press, and Canwest stake out the riding association meeting in Ms. Guergis’ riding and find support for the currently party-less MP.

As to the reality of climate change (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 2:12 PM - 22 Comments

Asked, via e-mail, whether Environment Minister Jim Prentice believes in “anthropogenic (or man-made) global warming,” Mr. Prentice’s press secretary sends along the following response.

“Yes.”

Aim at the oil sands, and you hit Quebec

By Andrew Coyne - Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 3:00 PM - 24 Comments

One guess what lesson Pauline Marois drew from Jim Prentice’s recent criticism of Quebec’s environmental policies. Why, yes: it just clinches the case for sovereignty. “Quebec is a leader [on the environment]…and Canada is dragging us down,” the Parti Québécois leader declaimed. “If we were independent tomorrow, we could speak with our own voice…We could have signed the Kyoto agreement ourselves.” Etc., etc. “Federalism does not suit the Quebec reality…The real solution for Quebec is sovereignty…” zzzzzzzzz.

But if Marois’s response was predictable—in a sovereign Quebec, the very air would be purer—so was that of the rest of the province’s political class. In La Presse, Alain Dubuc found it “surreal” that a federal environment minister would “harshly attack” the province for “doing too much” for the environment. My sometime colleague Chantal Hébert agreed in her Toronto Star column that the minister’s “attack” was “unprecedented,” even suggesting on our CBC panel that it verged on “Quebec-bashing.” Le Soleil’s Raymond Giroux diagnosed the minister as suffering from “Quebecophobia.”

All this, over one paragraph in a half-hour speech! Prentice’s harsh and unprecedented attack on Quebec was to suggest it is “folly” for provinces to pursue their own individual strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions rather than the continental approach the feds prefer, citing as an example “the new and unique vehicle regulations in the province of Quebec.” That’s it. That’s the Quebec-bashing that set off this firestorm: a brief critique of a particular policy of the government of Quebec, delivered half a continent away in a speech at the University of Calgary.

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Hey look, low-budget, out-of-focus pundits

By Andrew Coyne - Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 1:45 PM - 2 Comments

Coyne v Wells returns with a discussion of Danny Williams (no, really). Plus: who’s more ticked with Jim Prentice, Alberta or Quebec?