Happy Canada Day

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, July 1, 2012 at 11:26 AM - 0 Comments

Canada Day video greetings from Jason Kenney, Ted Opitz, Cheryl Gallant, Peggy Nash, Jinny Sims, Colin Carrie, Joyce Murray, Wayne Marston, Craig Scott, John Weston, Ralph Goodale, Elizabeth May, Robert Chisholm, Claude Gravelle, Christine Moore, Laurin Liu, Ray Boughen, James Lunney, Russ Hiebert, Jack Harris, Peter Braid, Steven Blaney, Randy Kamp and, expressing their best wishes in rather similar words, Daryl Kramp, James Bezan, Randy Hoback, Diane Finley, Ed Holder, Ryan Leef, Bob Zimmer, Dave MacKenzie,John Carmichael, Bal Gosal, Costas Menegakis and Parm Gill.

After the jump, a video from the Prime Minister and statements from Thomas Mulcair and Bob Rae. Continue…

C-38: The opposition

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, May 14, 2012 at 8:00 AM - 0 Comments

Courtesy of YouTube, a selection of opposition speeches in response to the budget bill.

Robert Chisholm

Don Davies

Francoise Boivin

More from New Democrats Laurin Liu, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Francois Choquette, Mylene Freeman, Ryan Cleary and Alexandrine Latendresse and, for the Liberals, Judy Foote.

A scouting report on Team Mulcair

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments

Here again is the roster for Thomas Mulcair’s shadow cabinet. What to make of it? Here are several observations.

-First, the obviously big promotions go to Megan Leslie (who stays with environment, but becomes a deputy leader) and Nathan Cullen (who becomes House leader). Both are confident, impressive, fresh-faced MPs who are quick on their feet and under the age of 40 (Mr. Cullen’s 40th birthday is in July). Very interesting to see them put not just in prominent positions, but positions of leadership. Your premature, baseless, futile, wild-eyed “next leader of the NDP” speculation probably starts somewhere here.

-That’s a rather large number of people with titles: 78 out of a caucus of 102. Granted, the Conservative cabinet numbers 39 and the Prime Minister named another 28 parliamentary secretaries, so the sides are somewhat close to even. Put the two teams together and they represent just less than half of the House.

-The shadow ministers of finance, justice, human resources, transport, aboriginal affairs, public works, industry, immigration and the environment—nine of the top files—are women.

-All of the elected leadership candidates—Niki Ashton, Paul Dewar, Mr. Cullen, Robert Chisholm, Romeo Saganash and Peggy Nash—were placed in prominent spots. Of the 13 NDP MPs who endorsed Brian Topp, 10 of them—Charmaine Borg, Jean Crowder, Libby Davies, Chris Charlton, Yvon Godin, Francoise Boivin, Jinny Simms, Jasbir Sandhu, Kennedy Stewart and Alexandre Boulerice—were put in critic roles. Continue…

Free ride

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 10:43 AM - 0 Comments

The Globe finds six NDP MPs who were elected on the cheap.

Another one of the NDP no-spenders is Philip Toone, a lawyer and a first-time MP for Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine. “I had me and my orange tie,” Mr. Toone remembered, saying he relied on word-of-mouth to spread news of his campaign. “Miracles are rare.”

Mr. Toone didn’t put up lawn signs or billboards and recorded no campaign expenses – though he did make note of $12.50 in auditing work that was marked as received in August, four months after the election.

Three of those MPs are from the McGill Four, who I profiled last fall. Another is Ruth Ellen Brosseau, who I wrote about here and here.

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…

Leading the world

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 10:14 AM - 0 Comments

France is unimpressed.

“Canada’s announcement that it is withdrawing from the Kyoto protocol is bad news for the fight against climate change,” ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told journalists. ”It is out of the question to relax our efforts or to break the dynamic of the Durban agreement,” he said.

China too. The Guardian, New York Times and CNN take note. John Ibbitson says we should all be ashamed. NDP MP Laurin Liu says the Environment Minister was sidelined at Durban.

This is the week that was

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

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

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

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

Continue…

‘It’s important that we have our say’

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:24 AM - 1 Comment

Laurin Liu goes back to school.

She shared an anecdote to show them “how people really aren’t used to seeing young people in politics.” On one of their first days of work in the House of Commons, an MP from another party tried to give one of her young NDP colleagues an envelope, thinking she was a messenger or a page.

A changing of the guard at the NDP

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 8:00 AM - 4 Comments

Photo by Blair Gable

At ten to eight on a Wednesday morning, he is aboard one of Parliament Hill’s small green buses, on his way to the first meeting of the day, the weekly gathering of the NDP’s Quebec MPs. He is wearing a suit and he’s carrying a coffee and a Danish. Around him there are other men. Men in suits on the way to meetings of their own. Only they are all twice his age.

After this meeting there’s another meeting—the weekly gathering of the official Opposition caucus. Then a walk back to his office, down the Hill to the Justice Building beside the Supreme Court. Then back up the Hill for lunch with a reporter in Centre Block’s ornate restaurant. Then a meeting of the all-party arts caucus. Then question period. Then a meeting of the standing committee on public accounts to hear testimony from the interim auditor general. Then dinner at the NDP’s weekly pub night. Then a meeting of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association. Then back to the pub, where he won’t look particularly out of place among the hordes of young staff who quietly keep Ottawa running.

Continue…

The fresh face of democracy

By Erica Alini - Friday, May 13, 2011 at 3:05 PM - 3 Comments

The Mark talks to NDP MP Laurin Liu.