The Race for Kingsmere: It all comes down to this …

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 9:00 AM - 175 Comments

The Election of the Speaker – and of course ITQ will be liveblogging it. Wild horses with bees in their mouths couldn’t keep us away.

9:37:17 AM

Oh my goodness, y’all, Parliament is back! Okay, not *officially* — not until either later this morning, or tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, depending on when you start counting — and believe me, that question has been the source of no small amount of debate in the Hot Room. But when I rolled into Centre Block a few minutes ago, I was greeted by the peal of the bells, which brought on such a wave of nostalgia that I had to restrain myself from doing a little jig on the spot, which would have almost certainly gotten me flagged by security.

9:51:15 AM

I’m in the Chamber, by the way — which, at the moment, is offiically just a big room with drab drapery, since the Mace isn’t on the Table, and I don’t think the day has officially begun. That hasn’t stopped MPs from pouring in from the foyer – those that haven’t been trapped by reporters demanding to know who they plan to support, at least. From where I’m sitting, I can see Joe Comartin working the crowd – he’s shaking hands with someone I don’t recognize on the government side of the House – but he’s the only candidate in sight at the moment. Amongst the rest of the throng currently milling behind the curtains and in the centre aisle, there is much shaking of hands, patting of backs and what sound like entirely expressions of delight at seeing each other for the first time in months – at least, for some of them.

Oh, there’s Mauril Belanger, who just gave a Gallic but somehow humble shrug to an unseen person somewhere just outside of my viewing range. (I’m in the press gallery behind the Speaker’s Chair, to his right – so, closer to the government than the opposition.)

The room is really filling up now — and so are the galleries, but I should point out that there is a very important ritual that has to take place before the vote begins: the MPs have to flock down the hall, en masse, to the Senate to officially receive their marching orders from the Governor General, who will ask them to elect a Speaker before she can deliver the Speech from the Throne, whereupon they all walk back. It’s alternately known as the Running of the Bulls or the Herding of the Cats, depending on how exuberant and/or recalcitrant the Commonsers are on any given day.

10:01:37 AM

Oh, Gordon O’Connor. What an enigma your decision to run in the last election continues to be. Bob Rae is already in full Avuncular Uncle (But Don’t Push Him Because He’ll Destroy You In Debate) Mode. Scott Brison is being kissed – European-style, both cheeks – by a BQ MP, and Michael Ignatieff is looking shorter than I remember, which always happens when you’re away from them for a while, like preteen second cousins – except they get smaller, not bigger.

10:05:00 AM

Okay, the room is settling down, and the Clerk reads the Proclamation from the Governor General – actually, the GG’s secretary, but never mind that, and sits back down, at which point the Sgt-at-Arms – who seems to be worried that he’s forgotten how to do his ceremonial duty – opens the door for the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod – who really does look like a character out of Tenniel, I should note; a good pick for that very reason – who proceeds to invite the MPs “to attend the Governor General in the Chamber of the Senate” – like, nowish. Some burbling from the crowd, and the Table Officers get to put on their special goin’-to-Senate hats, and they’re off.

Man, I’ve missed this.

10:11:18 AM

And now, I shall tattle on the MPs who are just too *cool* to walk down the hall:

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Not with a bang but a barrage of logistical details: Liveblogging the (official) launch of Liberal Leadership 2.0

By kadyomalley - Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 12:30 PM - 22 Comments

We already know that the Liberal convention will go ahead next May in Vancouver as originally scheduled, with a $90,000 entry fee for leadership candidates and a $1.5 million cap on spending. So what else is there to decide?

According to yesterday’s release, the party still has to “establish membership rules, construct several committees and make key appointments intended to ensure the success of the Leadership contest and Convention” which is why ITQ will be spending her Sunday afternoon at the Lord Elgin, waiting for the national executive to wrap up their meeting. Check back around 1pm for full coverage.

12:30:08 PM
Greetings from the depths of an altogether too comfy couch in the lobby of the Lord Elgin, where the combination of soothing chamber music and a roaring fire is threatening to inspire an impromptu – and most untimely – afternoon nap. As usual, I’m early, which means that the press conference itself will probably be late; that’s pretty much how it usually works – if I’m early, they’re late and vice versa. Well, except for events involving the PM, which are invariably late.

We’re here, as noted above, to find out the finer details of the Liberal leadership convention that will be held next May, and by we, I mean the media, although I haven’t actually seen any other reporters yet. The evidence of their presence is all around — satellite trucks, tripods, cameras and, of course, miles and miles of cable, which are scattered through the lobby, seemingly unattended; a ghost scrum.

At least there’s a Starbucks nearby – of course there is, right? – that is still selling pumpkin scones.

12:44:17 PM
Well, apparently, I’m even earlier than I thought — the press conference has been bumped until 1:30. All the more time to enjoy the scones!

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"Can you explain that 'electoral college' thing one more time?": Liveblogging from Ottawa's election-watching party circuit

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 4:36 PM - 20 Comments

ITQ will be liveblogging her way through the Ottawa election-watching party circuit tonight, so check back around 7pm for sporadic – but hopefully entertaining – updates. (There may even be berrycam pictures if I can figure out how to post from the road. Or pub, as the case may be.)

In the meantime, you can always try your hand at the macleans.ca US election quiz. Feel free to brag about your score (or gripe about how obscure and/or wrong the questions were) in the comments.

6:26:52 PM
Good evening, electoral sports fans! Is everyone ready for a long, stressed out, progressively incoherent evening of staring intensely at the television? I know I am. Actually, part of me is regretting not hauling my laptop out on the town; we’ve only got results from two states trickling in, and I’m already getting confused. Obama is behind in Kentucky? All lost! End nigh! (Pause.) Oh, he wasn’t expected to win that? Never mind, then.

I’m heading to what will likely turn out to be the election-watching party of the night, but first, have stopped in a local pub for fried food in anticipation of a long night to come. I don’t know if I’ll be updating as often as I would during, say, an Ethics committee meeting, but I’ll do my best to check in every twenty or thirty minutes, just to give you a sense of how this town is responding to what will be, one way or another, a historic(tm) night. (Sorry, I promise not to use that word again tonight unless there is absolutely no other option.)

7:58:50 PM
Okay, it’s been a lot longer than half an hour since I updated, but I had important intense staring obligations — staring at the two sets of results coming in, and asking annoying questions of my companions about why it was that McCain seemed to be ahead in the tiny circle on the right side of the CNN screen. But when the Eastern Seaboard states came in – New Jersey, Massachussets, all those other old faithfuls, a cheer went up in the bar, and I felt I had to immortalize the moment. Also, I was finally able to tear myself away from the TV long enough to find my BlackBerry.

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Liveblogging the David Frost trial (II)

By Charlie Gillis - Monday, November 3, 2008 at 9:51 AM - 8 Comments

Final submissions today, and there are huge questions hanging over the Crown’s case. Bear in mind that the players are supposed to be the victims here: Frost was in a position of trust over them. The girls are presumed to be participants in consensual sex.

Yet the one player we watched on Thursday was testifying for the defence, not the Crown. The gist of his story? That Frost, though deeply involved in his players’ lives, had nothing to do with group sex in which these young men appeared to be regularly engaged from the time they were, oh, 16 years old, and living in Deseronto, Ont., while playing for Frost’s team, the Quinte Hawks. There was a discernible sense of incredulity in the room toward this testimony. If Frost was not engaged in group sex involving with the players, a cynic might have thought, he was the only one within five miles who can say so.

The Crown was able to convey the sense that Frost’s former players are protecting him for some reason. He was clearly a strong presence in their careers and personal lives, at times driving wedges between them and their families. He even wrote them a kind of manifesto, which our witness last Thursday claimed he filed away and forgot about.

Still, the “reasonable doubt” hurdle looks awfully high. When your victims are testifying for the defence …

P.S. I hope to be a little more expansive in my own submissions today. I’m working off my lap-top keyboard, thanks to a high-speed internet “stick” supplied by the folks at Rogers. Wireless reception is a bit spotty in the court, but it should be a vast improvement over my BlackBerry.

—–

Sorry for the delay everyone. Turns out reception in the court isn’t good enough to support computer transmission. Here’s what’s happened so far:

——

10:40 a.m. — Under way at last, with a surprise final witness for the defence: Dr. Hubert Manning. This is the long-awaited “third-testicle evidence.” It turns out Dr. Manning is Frost’s GP. Recall, this was raised by the defence as potentially exculpatory evidence, as one of the women who testified to participating in group sex with Frost and his players did not recall seeing it.

Dr. Manning has vague memory of Frost arriving in early 1994 with some sort of groin hernia, for which he received treatment from another physician. By June 1994, Frost had “significant swelling”—a hematoma—below the hernia site, right at the crease where the leg meets the abdomen. “Not the scrotum exactly. Just adjacent to the pubic area.” It’s size at the time was 5x5x3 cm, says the doctor.

Subsequent visits revealed that it had turned into a bulb of congealed blood lying under the skin. By 1998, Frost “had a large, plum-sized lump, protruding, just to the left of the scrotum, “pointing downward.” It was adjacent to the shaft of the penis, says Dr. Manning.

“It’s consistency is harder than a testicle,” and visible to the naked eye, says the good doctor. “Those kinds of swellings shouldn’t be there. It’s obvious, is probably the best way to describe it.”

10:55 a.m. — On cross-examination by Crown, Dr. Manning testifies that the lump is located at the base of the penis, to the left of the pubic area above the scrotum. Continue…

Tales of the tortured: Liveblogging the release of the Iacobucci Report

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at 1:22 PM - 11 Comments

1:49:18 PM
Another day, another trek to the National Press Theatre – but while yesterday, it was politics – Liberal party politics, to be precise – on the agenda, today it is the conduct of a past Liberal government under scrutiny; specifically, the treatment meted out to three Arab Canadian men by both their own government, and foreign governments, particularly Syria. For the better part of a year, retired justice Frank Iacobucci has been holding in camera hearings into allegations that these men were victims of the same sort of neglect in the name of national security that led to the deportation, imprisonment and torture of Maher Arar.

We’ve already had a chance to flip through the report, I should note – this isn’t one of those situations where we’re desperately trying to speed read while simultaneously listening to the opening statement – and it seems that the most significant finding is that certain Canadian officials may have played an “indirect role” in the chain of events that resulted in all three men receiving treatment consistent with standard definitions of torture.

And here we go.

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ITQ Election Watching Live-ish Blog! Sort of!

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 10:43 PM - 28 Comments

10:33 p.m.

Hello everyone! Man, it’s been a day, hasn’t it? My apologies, by the way, for taking so long to weigh in on this whole election thing — although really, it’s still going on, isn’t it? — but I spent the first part of the evening engaged in the classic Canadian tradition of bugging my East Coastian friends for early results – not for publication, of course, so all cricket according to Elections Canada law.

Anyway, I am watching the results roll in from an undisclosed location on Elgin Street, and — wow. Definitely a thriller, even if we didn’t have to wait for BC to weigh in before calling it as a Conservative minority, which happened at, like 9:32, I believe. That doesn’t seem to be about to change -  but the Tories are definitely doing better than anyone expected, at least as far as the election pools. And the polls. Oh, polls. When will we ever learn?

10:46 p.m.

I actually don’t think this parliament is going to be that much different, at least as far as the level of functionality – I mean, a minority is a minority is a minority. (Sorry, that just came up during one of the seemingly unavoidable panellings.)

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Liveblogging D-Day in Ottawa Centre: Conservative HQ

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 6:45 PM - 1 Comment

6:29:40 PM
Well, unless you count a solitary campaign staffer smoking a cigarette in front of what is, without question, the most architecturally impressive of the campaign headquarters so far counts as “action” – and you could make a case that it does, I guess, at least comparatively – it looks like my hopes of stumbling upon a scene out of an Aaron Sorkin screenplay on the Ottawa Centre campaign trail are doomed to disappointment. Even the smoker has gone back inside the building – which is, as noted, far and away the toniest digs I’ve staked out so far today; I believe the building previously housed one of our seemingly limitless local school boards, and the front steps alone probably cover more square footage than the entire Dewar office.

I do seem to have arrived at a shift change – at least a half a dozen canvassers have passed me so far; I’m sitting on the aforementioned (stone, cold) stairway, hunched over my berry, which seems to inspire a pause, a quick up-and-down, and a cautious nod – or even a smile, and a “hey”.

There are – let me count – four giant McGarry signs scattered across the lawn – and one small one – but unlike the other two offices, the windows seem to be mostly unobscured, except for the picture window dead centre above the front door.

Since it’s getting chilly out, I think it’s time to draw this tour to a close and head back to the Hill to await the first results – from Newfoundland, I think – and enjoy the calm before the storm. Well, relative calm, anyway. Insert standard PSA about going out and exercising your franchise here.

Liveblogging D-Day in Ottawa Centre – Liberal HQ

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 6:30 PM - 1 Comment

5:51:42 PM
Okay, so I’d written up a lovely little streetside sketch of the scene at Penny Collenette’s Somerset West headquarters – lots of colour, charm, that ineffable sense of being there – and was just about to hit publish when I dropped my berry on the sidewalk, thus freeing the battery from its earthly confines, and, as a result, losing the entire post at the hands of fickle gods of clumsiness.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t all *that* compelling, as far scene-setting – as it turns out, there’s not that much different between an NDP campaign office and a Liberal one, other than the colour scheme – but I still can’t muster up the necessary energy to write it all up again, so you’re going to have to make do with pictures. They’re worth a thousand or so words, right?

Really – I seem to have picked the worst possible time for my Ottawa Centre tour, because it was even slower and less picturesquely chaotic here than over at Team Dewar HQ. Here’s hoping that there’s a little more action over at the Conservative campaign office, where I’m heading now.

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Liveblogging D-Day in Ottawa Centre – NDP HQ

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 5:15 PM - 5 Comments

4:56:03 PM
It’s sort of an unfair, if entirely unplanned advantage, really. Not only is the NDP candidate almost certain to win this riding – honestly, I’m not giving away any deep secrets here; I’ve not found anyone of any partisan (or otherwise) persuasion who doesn’t think Paul Dewar will be headed back to the Hill after the ballots are counted in Ottawa Centre tonight – but the election just happens, through sheer luck, to have fallen during the capital’s prettiest season, when the streets and sidewalks are awash in autumn leaves – from deepest scarlet to palest yellow to rusty, earthy brown — and, of course, orange — nearly the same orange as the NDP signs that are nearly completely covering the windows of Team NDP’s store-front campaign headquarters. Even the *building* is colour coordinated – a rich red brick.

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Get me to the church on time – Liveblogging an all-party debate on poverty and inequality

By kadyomalley - Monday, October 6, 2008 at 6:15 PM - 34 Comments

Unlike certain political parties, ITQ will be heading to the Dominion Chalmers United Church tonight for a five-four-party forum on poverty and inequality, organized by a coalition of social justice groups, including the National Anti-Poverty Organization, KAIROS, and the Canadian Labour Congress.  Check the link above for a full list of participating organizations.

Scheduled speakers include Martha Hall Findlay (Liberal), Francoise Boivin (NDP), Real Menard (Bloc Quebecois), Jen Hunter (Green Party) and Nobody (Conservatives). Continue…

"This is not a democracy – this is a cheerocracy!" Liveblogging Day Two of the Sign War

By kadyomalley - Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 6:34 PM - 20 Comments

6:18:26 PM
Okay, so I’m going to level with y’all, since our relationship is, after all, based on trust: I am not *technically* on the battlefield at the moment. What with yesterday’s three hour stint standing on the edge of that flowerbed, and the fact that the English debate doesn’t start until 9pm, I figured that I’d be justified in waiting a little bit longer before heading into the heart of the placard-waving mob. I’m close by, mind you – at the corner of Sparks and Elgin – and keeping a watchful eye from afar.

So far, I can report that the Greens have taken over the strategically important traffic triangle – think of it as a warm water port, if that helps – and have surrounded the sole remaining Tory, obscuring his Brian McGarry sign from all but the most careful observer.

The NDP, meanwhile, have kept their turf – right beside the driveway, forming a solid orange bloc along the sidewalk – and the Liberals appear to have maintained control of the central area to the right of the media entrance – tactically, a smart move, even if it means slightly less driveby visibility.
The Tories, meanwhile, are lined up across from the British embassy — I can’t tell for sure, but the numbers seem slightly lessened from yesterday, but again, it’s early yet. I’m sure as soon as the bell rings out at Lancaster Road, the minivan convoy will be rolling this way.

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Over the river and through the woods, to the-place-formerly-known-as-Cumberland we go – Liveblogging an Ottawa Orleans all-candidates' debate

By kadyomalley - Monday, September 29, 2008 at 6:47 PM - 22 Comments

C’mon, it’ll be fun! The Orleans Chamber of Commerce plays host to Royal Galipeau – incumbent, Conservative, deputy speaker and someone with whom I always end up in the Centre Block elevator – as he defends his record against former Liberal MP Marc Godbout, who Galipeau defeated by just over 1,000 votes last time around, as well as the NDP’s Amy O’Dell and Green hopeful Paul Maillet. Riding profile here, courtesy of Pundits Guide.

But before you settle in for a long night of hitting refresh, Colleague Wells is calling on all interested participatory democracy nuts to join the liveblogging revolution, so head over to his openish thread and tell him you’re in.

7:18:41 PM
Okay, the one time I don’t show up ludicrously early, the place fills up early. There is literally not a seat left in the house — which is a particularly appropriate cliche, since this is, in fact, a theatre – the Orleans Theatre, to be exact. Somehow, I’ve ended up scrunched to the side at the back of the room, which is unfortunate, since it means I’ll be liveblogging while standing — never the most comfortable way to cover an event, I have to tell you – but even moreso because I have the misfortune of sitting beside a very chatty group, who keep distracting me.

But that’s enough bellyaching – the show is about to get underway, and the moderator/host – the publisher of the Ottawa Business Journal – is laying down the law. He promises to be as neutral as possible – and jokes that he was looking for “a red, blue, green and orange” tie, with no luck. (He’s not wearing a tie at all, in fact.)

The debate will be bilingual – which means you’ll be stuck with my somewhat less than fluent translation skills – and he keeps urging the overflow crowd to take advantage of the fact that there is audio available outside, but nobody is budging.

This is really not going to do wonders for my vaguely claustrophobic tendencies. At least I’ve found a table to lean against, which is fortunate, since – yes, you guessed it – I’m wearing somewhat less than sensible shoes. Whee!

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With all due respect, it might be best not to warm up the crowd with a joke, Minister: Liveblogging Gerry Ritz at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture debate

By kadyomalley - Monday, September 29, 2008 at 10:00 AM - 19 Comments

That is, if he shows up — although recent revelations that Gerry Ritz was bullied into running herd on the listeria outbreak by PMO apparatchiks would suggest that the minister will have very little choice in the matter. Hopefully this time, someone will have scrounged up some “information and lines”, however, so that Ritz isn’t forced to break out his improv comedy routine.  Full details on today’s debate available here, courtesy of the CFA, which is hosting today’s showdown.

10:41:11 AM
Well, so far, this is about as far as you can imagine from yesterday’s standing-room-only-and-barely-that all-candidates’ forum in Ottawa Centre — I’m at the Chateau Laurier, feeling distinctly underdressed in the tony confines of the Drawing Room.
At the front of the room, five lecterns in matching matte silver stand awaiting the stars of today’s show, but outside the front doors, a throng of cameras awaits only one: Gerry Ritz, Agriculture Minister and amateur comedian, who hasn’t been spotted in public since that awkward moment outside Confederation Building, where he read out a pre-written apology for his foray into gallows humour without betraying a glimmer of emotion. After delivering his muted mea culpa, Ritz promptly vanished into the cornfield where PMO banishes potentially troublesome minister — only to reappear yesterday evening as the likely unwilling star of a second Canadian Press exclusive.

Given what we now know of the power of PMO to compel even the most reluctant ministers to drag themselves before the media, the only question leading up to this debate – which promises to cover a wide range of issues related to agriculture, from farm aid to food safety – was whether the War Room would decide to send him to face his political rivals: Liberal Wayne Easter and the NDP’s Tony Martin. From what we understand, they did. We’ll see if that turns out to have been the right call in — oh, five minutes or so.

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Searching for democracy on a Sunday night – Liveblogging an Ottawa Centre all candidates' debate

By kadyomalley - Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 6:08 PM - 71 Comments

Check back at 7pm for full coverage of the Ottawa Centre Federal Candidates Forum, hosted by community associations representing Hampton-Iona, Hintonburg, Westboro, Westboro Beach and West Wellington, and moderated by CBC Radio’s Rita Celli. 

The candidates are:  NDP incumbent Paul Dewar, Penny Collenette (Liberal), Jennifer Hunter (Green Party), Brian McGarry (Conservative) and two independents: Pierre Soubliere and John Akpata. 

Full riding profile available here, courtesy of Pundits’ Guide. 

6:43:37 PM
Greetings from the Churchill Community Centre, y’all! Are you ready for some hot local-candidate-on-candidate debating action? I hope so, because we’ve sacrificed a night of lounging on the couch watching Alan Ball’s surreal take on Southern vampire culture to venture deep into the heart of Westboro Village to cover the latest skirmish in the Battle of Ottawa Centre. If you’re not up on the latest twists and turns, check the link above for a full riding profile, courtesy of the Pundit Guide.
First impressions – which I’ll try to squeeze in before the debate gets underway – the crowd is actually pretty damned impressive for a Sunday night — I don’t think there’s an empty seat in the room. More importantly, most of the people here seem to be actual voters, which is always refreshing to see, although along the opposite wall from where the media have set up camp, there are tables full of propaganda from each of the five campaigns on the scene tonight.

With less than ten minutes to go, the incumbent, Paul Dewar, looks surprisingly relaxed; he’s chatting with supporters who keep flocking to the front of the room. All five candidates seem to be in their seats already – the two women, Liberal Penny Collenette and the Greens’ Jen Hunter sandwiched in between Dewar and his Tory rival, Brian McGarry.

Best of all, from ITQ’s perspective, that is, though, is the fact that not just one but both independents are here. Oh, please let one of them be crazy — or at least eccentric. Is that so much to ask from democracy, really?

Okay, the string quartet over the loudspeaker was a good idea in theory, but y’all, it’s just deafening – and that was before the feedback sent us all into catatonic shock.

6:57:03 PM
The organizer is now apologizing for the lack of space — apparently they were serious when they said seating would be limited, because there are still people waiting outside. She assures the crowd that there will be more debates, so don’t despair if you can’t make it to this one.

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Liveblogging the Liberal platform launch: Are these balloons and streamers made from recycled material, Mr. Dion?

By kadyomalley - Monday, September 22, 2008 at 9:45 AM - 42 Comments

As soon as the PM has finished his morning chat with reporters, ITQ will be heading over to the Liberal lockup (I just accidentally typed “lockout” – was that a Freudian slip?) to count down the minutes until Stephane Dion presents Richard Ferrigrino to the world. I’m pretty sure I won’t be allowed to liveblog my way through the pre-launch background briefing and accompanying festivities, even on time delay (although you better believe I’m going to beg for permission to keep my BlackBerry, at least).

In the interim, I may just try my hand at videoblogthinging from behind the embargo – for broadcast after it lifts, of course – although I can’t promise the same high calibre of avant garde artistic vision that Colleague Wells has been showing off lately.

Anyway, check back here at 11am for full coverage of the announcement, and whatever else I end up doing.

10:39:19 AM
Nothing makes me crankier than to show up an event to find nothing but the crumbs of muffins from media breakfasts gone by. That’ll teach me to lollygag around the Hot Room TV, waiting for the PM to finish up his morning Q&A, although I’ll note that he continues to demonstrate an uncharacteristic lack of discipline when it comes to actually being on time for these things. This morning’s announcementette – youth crime; apparently it’s Justice Week for the Conservatives, although really, isn’t every week? — was a full half hour late, and I was *this* close to bailing and heading over to the background briefing for the Liberals when he finally showed up on the screen.

Anyway, I’m here now – at the Delta in downtown Ottawa, trying my best not to get in the way of the myriad camera crews jostling for position on the platform. An *actual* platform, I should note — like, a riser. Their position on the Liberal platform is, as yet, unknown. I’d ask, but they look sort of stressed out, and I wouldn’t want to be accidentally bonked on the head by a boom mic.

I’m writing all this from behind the embargo, by the way – those foolishly trusting Liberals put us on the honour system, and didn’t wrench our BlackBerries from our cold, unmuffined hands. The room is – not all that big, really, and mostly full already, not by members of the public, tho – it’s mostly journalists, as well as assorted candidates, local and from away.

10:50:51 AM
My colleagues – Wherry and Geddes, currently assembled at the Macleans.ca Tactical Table – will fill you in on all the nitty gritty details of the platform itself. Meanwhile, ITQ can report that the cover features, in clockwise order: A youngish guy with a tool belt installing a solar panel; a green leaf; some sort of — seeds, held in the gracefully wizened hand of an unseen farmer; a smiling Indian woman, and, taking up the entire left quarter of the page, a construction team building a house.

On the back, we have – a closeup of a polar bear nose; another leaf montage; wind turbines; black and white hands entwined; an older gentleman helping a young girl to fish; a random baby; and a grinning doctor-or-nurse wearing a dapper purple tie.

10:56:34 AM
At the front of the room, there’s a long table with — eight chairs, each with a mic. Right now, the organizers are laying down the ground rules for questions, which can be summed up as “first come, first served.” “No list?” Asks one reporter, just to be sure. “No list.”.

The maroon Liberal sign is out too, surrounded by Canadian flags. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It’s just not red.

11:00:12 AM
More aides bustling between the aisles, and the chatter between reporters is starting to die down as everyone waits for the show to begin – which will apparently happen in one minute, according to the announcement that just came through the loudspeaker. I wouldn’t exactly say we’re agog with anticipation, but it’s not bad.

And there he is – Dion, accompanied by — Martha Hall, Scott Brison, Bob Rae, John McCallum. Marlene Jennings, Dominic Leblanc and – the woman responsible for national policy, whose name I didn’t catch. After a brief round of introductions, Dion starts to speak, and – wow, he sounds as bad as I did last week; his throat is definitely feeling the effects of spending the last two weeks and change on the trail.

11:06:13 AM
And now, realtime (or close to it) liveblogging; the embargo went up (or is it down?) as soon as Dion started speaking, so I can publish at will.

Joan Bourassa! That’s the name of the policy person. (Note: I didn’t remember it, he repeated it.)

So. The platform. Well, it’s about uniting the environment and the economy; it is “the plan we need” for a prosperous and sustainable economy, and — that’s it for the prepared remarks. Onto the questions.

11:08:45 AM
A trio of Ottawa-and-environs area MPs and MP hopefuls – Mauril Belanger, Marcel Proulx and some guy I should totally recognize, but don’t (UPDATE: It was Marc Godbout) are watching the proceedings with remarkable good humour. Lots of smiling and nodding. There are also various staffers milling around the outskirts of the room, most of whom look — tired. Which is understandable, really. Not a defeated kind of tired, just — tired.

11:12:24 AM
Dion is being quizzed – in French, hence the lack of blow-by-blow transcription – on the possibility that his government will run a deficit, and he tries to remind reporters that – hey, it was a Liberal goverment that balanced the books after Mulroney, so what’s with the mistrust? CTV’s Graham Richardson still seems sceptical. “What if people don’t believe you?” After getting off what seems to have been a good line that I couldn’t quite catch — something about politicians giving their word, Dion assures Richardson that he’s not asking for a “blank cheque” from Canadians. This will be something that will happen over years.

11:15:54 AM
Dominic Leblanc keeps making John McCallum laugh with his sadly inaudible asides. Scott Brison, meanwhile, has his Very Very Serious Face on, and is staring fixedly at Dion.

Oh, there’s John McCallum, who never lets his hideously mangleprone French get in the way of making his argument — in this case, he’s mostly backing up what Dion said, only – why didn’t he do it in English? So far, the English networks have precious little video to accompany their launch stories.

11:18:56 AM
According to Dion, at the end of the day, the Kelowna Accord will be “fully funded”.

The steel pixie of Global TV, Hannah Thibidault, wonders how Canadians can get back more in income taxes than the Green Shift would impose on carbon use – $60 billion vs. $40 billion, in fact. Dion reminds her that most of the tax increases will be paid by corporations – large emiters – not individuals, whoch is why there will be more available for tax cuts than has been shifted onto the carbon trade, and you know, he probably should’ve been highlighting that fact a lot more up until now, because I don’t think that’s the general understanding of the “shift” amongst Canadians. Although I guess corporations that invest in green technologies or take advantage of other incentives would also benefit from the new revenue as well.

It really is complicated, isn’t it?

11:25:25 AM
A question on justice – and, serendipitously, the Justice critic, Marlene Jennings, is here to take it. Not surprisingly, she is somewhat sceptical of the latest anti-youth-gone-wild measures to be promised by the Conservatives, Dion concurs. “It doesn’t work,” he says baldly. In French.

11:27:46 AM
Susan Bonner points out that the entire plan rests on the economy growing by 4%, and wonders if he really believes that will happen. Dion notes that it is actually the inflation figure she’s asking about, and then McCallum goes into Irascible Economist Mode, and tells her that the numbers were taken from the last budget; even if growth slows, there are other factors, including infmation and commodity prices. The point, however, he insists, is that the Liberals would reestablish the big comfy contingency fund couch at $3 billion. Nobody can predict the future, he says, but Canadians would be protected by that reserve.

Susan Bonner isn’t finished with this yet, tho – she notes that the proposed budget also includes $12 billion in “reallocations” – which some might call “cuts”. Isn’t this a little hypocritical, given all the keening and breastbeating over the Conservative cuts to art funding and other programs? Why yes, Dion admits. I kid. Of course. No, this is totally different – these would be an open, transparent process – not a series of late-Friday-afternoon backdoor announcements.

John McCallum reminds everyone that he was on the Expenditure Review Committee, and there was barely a peep from the media or the public when it unveiled its proposals for program cuts, because it wasn’t ideological in nature. “Look at the website,” he suggests – the Finance website circa 2005, that is – it’s still there.

11:34:42 AM
“All we’re asking from government is the same discipline that Canadians show in managing household budgets,” says Brison, speaking up for the first time. This is all about better services for Canadians.

11:36:21 AM
You know, looking at the candidates – first timers and veteran MPs, all in a jumble – it reminds me a little of the first week at high school — the freshmen – and women, of course — proudly brandish their nametags, pins and assorted other signage that donates their new status as MP-in-waiting; the incumbents, on the other hand, tuck theirs discreetly under their jackets, and rarely wear their own campaign buttons. They’re too cool for that sort of thing, I guess.

11:38:48 AM
The media wrangler keeps trying to end this press conference, but Dion is stubborn, and reporters – as always – insatiable. If he catches the gist of a shouted question – even without the go-ahead from the wrangler – he’ll answer it.

11:40:25 AM
Okay, that seems to be it for the formal launch – lots more post-presser milling and buttonholing, of course, and there’s a rumour that some scamps from the NDP may be outside with pointedly sarcastic t-shirts. I’ll let you know if that’s the case, but the announcer seems to be trying to get us out of the room, so I’ll sign off for now. I’m nothing if not obedient, right?

A Lighter Side of The Broadcasting Corsortium: Liveblogging the traditional debate slot coin toss

By kadyomalley - Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12:44 PM - 10 Comments

12:51:24 PM
Greetings once again from the National Press Theatre, where a shadowy group of media executives and party officials are about to decide the electoral fate of the nation. By which, of course, I mean partake of the ancient pre-debate ritual of deciding the order in which party leaders will take part in next week’s debates.

A correction, first off — it turns out it’s not, in fact, a coin toss, since that wouldn’t work with five parties, but a basket draw. (Not, sadly, a giant lottery bubble with bouncing balls, which would be a great visual.

Right now, there is lots of good-natured mingling going on as agents of The Consortium pass out scorecards. “This isn’t your first time here,” one asks me with charming disbelief. It actually *is* — and I’ve no idea how I’ve missed it up until now. It’s like democracy reduced to a game of chance — how can that not be riveting?

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Yes, too soon: Liveblogging Ag Min Gerry Ritz's statement on those unfortunate listeria jokes

By kadyomalley - Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 10:19 PM - 59 Comments

10:11:54 PM
Well, this is unexpected. (I really ought to make that a macro.) I’m currently hurtling down Wellington Street, berry in hand, enroute to Confederation Building, where, we’re told by the Conservative Party, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz may have something to say about his ill-advised foray into gallows humour at the height of last month’s listeria crisis. Oh, who among us hasn’t made the occasional morbid crack about the death of an opposition MP, you might ask.

Well, what did Ritz in, from what ITQ can see, is that he had the lack of presence of mind to do it on a conference call which included bureaucrats are on the line – that just gave me a Princess Bride flashback, y’all – which is a particularly unwise decision when your government has prided itself on its combative relationship with the civil service.

So here we are, outside Confed enjoying in the crisp autumn air, awaiting what is billed only as a “statement” — not, I should note, that this will stop the questions from being asked, but I, for one, will be shocked if there are actual answers.

He’s due to arrive at 10:30. I’ll be back then.

10:20:55 PM
We’re taking bets as to whether he’s going to apologize, or resign, or both — the fact that it was the party that announced his appearance and not the government suggests to me that this may be the final crumble of the cracker.

This is the oddest locale for a presser, by the way — it’s not just on a set of stairs outside the main entrance, but there’s ongoing construction, so we’re wedged somewhat awkwardly around a wooden — pagoda-y thing. Sorry, my grasp of architectural jargon is sorely lacking.

10:24:46 PM
“Was that movement?” Okay, so he’s holed up inside, I guess. (And no, it wasn’t, although since we’re just off the main stretch of parliamentland, we’re starting to attract curious tourists.)

10:26:34 PM
Scaffolding! That’s what it’s called.

Okay, according to what appears to be his aide, the minister will be out momentarily, but will not be taking questions. “He’s making a statement, and that’s it — okay, guys?”

NOTE: It actually wasn’t his aide – it was Mike Storeshaw, who, in peacetime, is director of communications for Jim Flaherty, but is currently serving the party as a soldier in the War Room. 

10:27:47 PM
And here he is — the man of the hour himself, ignoring the entreaties of the camera crew to move out from the depths of the scaffolding and giving his speech about as close to the exit as he possibly can. It sounds like he’s memorized his script — he’s delivering it at a breakneck, almost jaunty pace. No, he’s not saying anything new – comments were inappropriate, he regrets unreservedly, and — wow, that’s it. He just scuttled back inside, ignoring the barrage of questions (including one from Colleague Wells).

UPDATE: Wells’ question, for the record: “What does taking responsibility entail?” was no less piercing for the fact that it was aimed in the direction of the minister’s rapidly retreating back, or what of it could be seen dimly through the gently swinging door.

10:30:08 PM
Really, that was it? That was a minute long. Wells is buttonholing the luckless aide, but it’s all off the record, so I’m not going to share a word.

Well, at least I didn’t miss a resignation, right?

10:32:27 PM
You know, I think the whole purpose of this newser was to give the networks footage other than that airport clip, where he refuses to answer, and eventually someone – possibly Ritz – tells the reporter to “Get out of my face.” This twenty seconds of public penance was awkward, short and pointless – but still slightly better than that, as far as the optics.

Rae? May? Unidentified sources say? – Liveblogging Jason Kenney at the NPT

By kadyomalley - Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 1:27 PM - 77 Comments

2:53:30 PM
Okay, this is interesting: I’m in the National Press Theatre — just a twenty minute cab ride from the heart of downtown Ottawa — and there are a grand total of — let me count — four reporters here, not including cameras, and we’re all female. Not that this is particularly noteworthy, and — well. Fine. Colleague Wells just showed up and spoiled my lede. Thanks, Colleague Wells!

Nobody seems to know exactly which top policy advisor Jason Kenney will be talking about, but the tyrannical majority seems to be betting on Rae. (I’m being contrarian and going for Elizabeth May.)

Colleague Wells, incidentally, is armed with a newer, spiffier camera — a Canon Something Or Other — and is filming the behind the scenes magic.

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Liveblogging the Liberals' Ottawa South campaign kickoff: It's almost like being on a leaders' tour (but not quite)

By kadyomalley - Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 3:51 PM - 12 Comments

Okay, so I’ll tell y’all upfront that I have no idea what to expect from this event, but since it’s local, involves a party leader, and it’s not like I have anything else on my election coverage schedule tonight, I’ll be liveblogging it starting at around — 4:30ish? Does that work for everyone?

In the meantime, check out Wells doing the liveblog thing from Quebec City. I hope I’m not giving away any ultra-super-extra-duper-secret inside information, but I’ve been told by senior party sources that Quebec is going to play an important role in the upcoming election. You heard it here first!

Check back later this afternoon for even more insight.

4:32:31 PM
We’re here! And that isn’t even a royal “we’ this time — I hitched a ride with the Ottawa Citizen’s Glen McGregor, which meant saving the $30 or so it would’ve cost to cab it here. Also, we were technically a carpool, so go us – carbon footprint a delicate size 6.

Interestingly, we passed what has to be the very first protest of the campaign – well, other than those anti-war demonstrators who were out in front of 24 Sussex this morning. Remember that guy who Warren Kinsella was obsessed with during the last election? Who was involved with that “rural rights” group, “Back Off Government”? Well, they’re here, brandishing signs and presumably opposing the Green Shift (Soylen Green Shift is also farmers, I guess.) I say “presumably” because the signs I’ve seen so far don’t actually *say* anything about the Green Shift, but why else would they be here?

UPDATE/AFTERNOTE: I was thinking of Rick Randy Hillier (NOTE: That’s what happens when you liveblog two events in one day (with the first one involving a 5am wakeup time), who won a seat in the last provincial election, and is now a proud Ontario PC MPP, and the group in question is the Ontario Landowners’ Association.

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Liveblogging the Elizabeth May press conference: Shifting the Greens' annual convention yet again?

By kadyomalley - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 9:29 AM - 0 Comments

11:10:01 AM
Okay, so I’m going to say this up front, because y’all know I would never knowingly lead my readers astray, even by omission: Thanks to the miracle of embargoed press releases, I do, in fact, know why we’re here today, but I can’t tell you until 11:30, since a) that would be wrong, journalistically; and b) I don’t think I could withstand the look of quiet disappointment on Elizabeth May’s face if I did. So you’ll just have to wait it out along with that portion of the rest of the world not on the Green Party email. distribution list.

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"Authoritarian" is such a loaded term: Liveblogging the Cadman injunction hearing

By kadyomalley - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 9:43 AM - 0 Comments

9:30:45 AM
Hi everyone! I’m back! Not only am I back, but just a few short hours after tumbling out of a Westjet plane, I’m sitting outside an otherwise entirely unextraordinary courtroom, waiting for the first open hearing in the Cadman trial to get underway. This morning, lawyers for the Prime Minister will attempt to persuade the judge to toss out that affidavit filed by the Liberal Party last month — you remember, the one with all those ugly words like “authoritarian” — arguing that the aforementioned PM is acting like a great big bully by trying to gag the party from using the Cadman tape as a defence in the upcoming libel suit, which looks like it might end up in front of a judge right in the middle of the election campaign.

Which you can’t think was exactly how Stephen Harper envisioned the whole thing playing out when he decided to get all litigious earlier this year, but you know how events have this annoying habit of transpiring. (And really, in this case, he won’t really be able to complain about the timing, since he *is* the guy threatening to drop the writ.)

I have no idea whether I’ll actually be allowed to blog from inside the courtroom, by the way – the bailiff took my berry away when I tried to do just that during an in and out hearing last month – but if worse comes to worse, I’ll take notes and post a play by play after the fact.

This is exciting, isn’t it? Much better than huddling outside 24 Sussex waiting for Gilles Duceppe to come out and shake his head sadly over his meeting with the PM, which will happen later this morning.

9:46:41 AM
Still a few minutes to go before the hearing gets underway, but I’ve ventured inside the sanctum of justice itself. Richard Dearden is here – the captain of Team Harper, in case you’ve forgotten – which means that the huddle of intensely scribbling lawyers outside the courtroom must be members of Team Liberal Party.

I do love the whole tradition of making lawyers wear robes to court, incidentally. It makes it so much easier to pick them out in a crowd. Not that there’s actually a crowd here right now — it’s pretty much me, the clerk and the opposing armies — but still. Continue…

Spontaneous Group Liveblogging the Oil and Gas Price Subcommittee – What did you do during the gas price wars, Daddy?

By kadyomalley - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 11:00 AM - 0 Comments

By popular demand – at least, if anyone is demanding it. This may be the last committee meeting ever, so enjoy the antics while you can!

Oh, sure, why not have an emergency meeting on arts cuts, too?

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 9:01 AM - 0 Comments

I won’t be leaving town during the allegedly slow season in a hurry again, that’s for sure. As suggested by one of my fellow committee junkies in the comments, here’s a placeholdery post for all you folks lucky enough to be able to tune into ParlVu when the Canadian Heritage committee convenes this afternoon from 1-3pm to discuss holding hearings into those cuts to arts and culture funding. Unfortunately, I won’t even be able to do that, so I’ll rely on y’all to fill me in when I get back – and yes, in case you wondered, it’s absolutely killing me that I can’t be there to liveblog it.

Liveblogging Stephane Dion – If I had the slightest idea why he was holding this press conference, this would be a descriptive title

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 1:30 PM - 0 Comments

2:03:18 PM
Okay, so apparently, the reason why the Liberal Leader has dragged us to the National Press Theatre today is currently crisscrossing southern Ontario (but carefully staying clear of Guelph)announcing vote-winning infrastructure investments, and making unflattering remarks about his personality, policies and political guts, not necessarily in that order.

Anyway, that’s the working assumption amongst the gathering press (which sounds rather like gathering storm, come to think of it).

So how will Dion respond? It’s not like he can call the PM’s bluff (which may or may not be a bluff) and bring down the government by press conference. At least, I’m pretty sure he can’t do that, but I continue to be amazed by the remarkable ability of the Standing Orders to anticipate the unexpectable.
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