Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen and Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 8:58 PM - 0 Comments

New Brunswick Conservative Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen hosted the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada at the National Arts Centre. The event was the world premier of the company’s Ghosts of Violence, a work that tackles the subject of women who have died at the hands of an intimate partner. Below is Stewart Olsen with Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc.

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Liberal MPs Michelle Simson (left) and Anita Neville.

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(L to R) New Brunswick Premier David Alward, Carolyn Stewart Olsen and Public Works and Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose.

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From the backbench

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 6:29 PM - 7 Comments

Liberal MP Michelle Simson, who represents Scarborough Southwest, takes to Twitter.

Hope city raise hell w/Harper abt $ 4 all damage. If we can spend millions in Huntsville 4 window dressing, we best make good to T.O. 4 this

Time 2review how G20 meet. By time it’s r turn again, cost will fund a small nation 4 a year. We need 1 location & share expense.

VanLoan described what’s happening on streets as “mayhem”. Mr. VanLoan, r we in Toronto “collateral damage” 2 govt agenda?

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 3:55 PM - 10 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 Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 4:00 PM - 40 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 Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 4:02 PM - 15 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…

What kind of transparency?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 12:52 PM - 5 Comments

As Parliament moves slowly, but probably surely, towards some kind of public audit of Parliamentary expenses, the London Free Press asks area MPs if they might turn over their books to the paper. (At least one offers an unequivocal yes.)

Meanwhile, Liberal Rob Oliphant posts a breakdown of his expenses. His is even more detailed than that published by his fellow backbencher Michelle Simson, but it is also perhaps well short of what some are clamouring for.

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 6:45 PM - 1 Comment

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 Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 4:38 PM - 9 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…

'People just don't believe politicians anymore'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, May 14, 2010 at 10:10 AM - 8 Comments

Liberal backbencher Michelle Simson confirms her cult hero status with the seemingly desired reaction to yesterday’s decision to keep MP expenses beyond the purview of the auditor general.

“Personally, I’m disappointed,” said Liberal MP Michelle Simson, a rookie Scarborough MP who unilaterally decided to post her detailed parliamentary expenses online. “There seems to be a public appetite just to be assured by someone like Sheila Fraser … because people just don’t believe politicians anymore.”

'Seriously, it's not my money'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 11:18 AM - 13 Comments

For those keeping score at home, Jack Layton says he’s not in favour of turning over the House of Commons books to the auditor general. Michelle Simson makes the case for doing so.

She said that if MPs are afraid to let Fraser look at their books, they can’t blame people for being suspicious. ”Without that kind of scrutiny, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to successfully convince Canadians that what happened in Britain can’t happen here,” Simson said…

Simson said the benefits of performance reviews and value-for-money audits go far beyond catching embarrassing spending from MPs, as the budget for the House of Commons and Senate is $533 million and every other branch of the public service is subject to Fraser’s audits. ”When it’s combined, it’s a huge amount of money,” Simson said. “And it’s one thing to make sure the columns add up. It’s a performance issue in terms of making sure that she could see a trend. She could see an economy of scale. She could see ways we could save money.”

'I can assure you nobody is getting their moat paid for'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 10:18 AM - 15 Comments

Stephen Maher asks and both Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe say they’re open to allowing Sheila Fraser to audit MP expenses. Peter Stoffer says he’ll release details of his expenses, but then says he can’t.

Last week, Stoffer, the NDP MP for Sackville-Eastern Shore, said he believes Fraser should be allowed to examine Parliament’s books and promised to check to see if he could reveal at least the details of his own expenses. On Monday, he said he checked with Davies and was forbidden from doing so, since the board of internal economy handles all such questions.

Whatever the authority of the Board, it hasn’t prevented Liberal backbencher Michelle Simson from publishing a breakdown of her expenses.

More human

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 12:39 PM - 3 Comments

In light of Parliament’s proroguing and subsequent rescheduling, with a plea from Liberal MP Michelle Simon in mind, Glen Pearson suggests a delegation of MPs to show support for the Paralympics.

So, in light of Michelle’s leadership, here’s my request to the Prime Minister. At the opening ceremony today you stated just how important these upcoming games are and how vital it is that the athletes know we are with them.  Vanoc president John Furlong stated that these upcoming games will be different because they will be more “human,” and who would deny it?  So Mr. Harper, let’s select two MPs from each party to travel as a delegation to show that we mean what you said.

Unlike the torch festivities from the historic Olympic Games, the paralympic flame is lit initially in Ottawa, right in front of Parliament, and then carried to the venues in British Columbia.  We started something special in Ottawa today, sir, right under the shadow of the Peace Tower.  Let’s make peace today, Prime Minister, and for the next ten days let’s permit our House leaders to work out a pairing arrangement so that we too in Parliament can show our own humanity.

It probably shouldn't be this easy to scale the Parliament Buildings

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 7, 2009 at 11:04 AM - 47 Comments

Greenpeace stages a protest. Twitter reaction from MPs Patrick Brown, Glenn Thibeault, Brent Rathgeber, Michelle Simson, Rod Bruinooge and Olivia Chow. The Ottawa Citizen’s Glen McGregor tweets the scene.

This is perhaps getting personal (III)

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 7:23 PM - 25 Comments

Oh good, now there’s video.

Heartening for sure to see Mr. Del Mastro championing the cause of common human decency after last year’s use of the word “traitor” and subsequent refusal to apologize for same.

This is perhaps getting personal (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 4:17 PM - 8 Comments

Michelle Simson twitters a clarification.

Nowhere did I make fun of someones weight.

Mr. Del Mastro is apparently displeased. Simson has apologized.

This is perhaps getting personal

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 12:00 PM - 10 Comments

Liberal MP Michelle Simson twitters from committee.

In committee this morning. M.P. Del Mastro should grow up (not out)

Gosh, I hate to see a grown M.P. pout. Smile, Dean!

The inevitable appeal to humour

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 4:37 PM - 0 Comments

From Liberal MP Michelle Simson’s Twitter feed.

Gr8 20th BD party 4 Hill Times tonite. Jaffer dui & drug bust was all the talk. Tough on crime bills came just in the nick of time.

Agree with getting tough on white collar crime bill. Just hope the new bill gets tough on white “powder” crime too!

Liberal MPs have since been told to decline comment on Rahim Jaffer’s situation.

Proactive disclosure (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 10:01 PM - 1 Comment

Liberal MP Michelle Simson posts an overview of her office expenses. And explains herself to the Toronto Star.

“I have been a taxpayer a lot longer than I ever have been an MP, and as a taxpayer this was a real bone of contention,” she told the Star. “It in fact goes back to my father and my grandfather. It was all about accountability.”

Proactive disclosure

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, July 6, 2009 at 11:54 AM - 0 Comments

From the twitter feed of Michelle Simson, the Liberal MP for Scaborough Southwest.

MichelleSimsonis voluntarily posting her office expenses online. Its currently being worked on & will be up shortly. See how YOUR money is being spent!

The Commons: And then, suddenly, an answer

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 6:27 PM - 23 Comments

The Scene. It was not otherwise a particularly remarkable day.

The Liberals persisted in asking the government to account for the current shortage of medical isotopes. The government insisted on doing no such thing. Jack Layton pouted about not receiving an invitation to the Prime Minister’s afternoon tea with Michael Ignatieff the other day. The Prime Minister jabbed his finger and waved his arms and declared the NDP an annoyance. John Baird scorned Mr. Layton with one answer and congratulated him on the birth of his granddaughter—Beatrice Dora Campbell, eight pounds and one ounce, born 12:03am Wednesday morning to Jack’s daughter Sarah—with the next.

Not even the early appearance of Irwin Cotler, the former justice minister rising immediately after Michael Ignatieff had dispensed with his three questions, seemed a cause for much concern. With the House breaking tomorrow for the summer, it appeared the Liberals were merely giving the venerable old lawyer a ceremonial opportunity to register a couple long-held grievances.

He asked first about Omar Khadr. Deepak Obhrai, the foreign affairs minister’s parliamentary secretary, rose with the perfunctory answer.

Mr. Cotler moved to the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik, the Canadian still bunking at our embassy in Sudan, awaiting an answer to the cruel riddle of his situation. “Mr. Speaker, Abousfian Abdelrazik is another abandoned Canadian citizen. In spite of the Federal Court’s severe rebuke, this government continues to violate Mr. Abdelrazik’s rights by refusing to bring him home,” Mr. Cotler posited. “The government has had two weeks to read a judgment that is unequivocal in its findings of fact and conclusions of law. Every day it waits is a continued violation of Mr. Abdelrazik’s rights. Does the government plan on appealing the court’s decision while delaying justice at Mr. Abdelrazik’s expense, or will it heed the court’s order and immediately return Mr. Abdelrazik home to Canada?”

It was here that something truly astonishing happened. Continue…