The Commons: Our government's weight issues

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 5:40 PM - 9 Comments

The Scene. Stephane Dion rose first, up with a downer of an announcement.

“Mr. Speaker,” he lamented, “tomorrow will be a sad day for Canadians.”

How so exactly? Because, Mr. Dion explained, tomorrow the government will reveal its intentions for our increasingly dizzy and frequently dizzying economy. And with that, Mr. Dion warned, the government will make clear its plans to set the country back no less than twenty years. “Au temps Mulroney,” he cried.

Happy news no doubt for the mysterious German arms dealers among us.

Perhaps missing the Liberal leader’s point, Ted Menzies jumped up quick in celebration. “Thank goodness,” he said, “it was the Conservatives that won the election!”

Here, at least, was a sentiment no doubt shared by some on the Liberal side. Indeed, if there is a good time to be in opposition it is surely in these moments of profound economic chaos. All the more so when the government side is only managing to forcefully remind the citizenry how unable they are to impose order on the global financial system. Continue…

BTC: It is now almost everyone's fault

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 9:42 PM - 3 Comments

Another listeria-related recall.

Meanwhile… the CFIA is now requiring daily checks.  CFIA inspectors blame a policy change. The CFIA blames the Liberals. The Liberals want a public inquiry. An expert cites a lack of education. And microwaves aren’t helping matters.

From the "I Know You Are, But What Am I?" files

By kadyomalley - Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 9:35 AM - 59 Comments

Attention NDP, Bloc, Greens: Y’all are totally missing out on the hottest new fad in political finger-pointing, as spotted by National NewsWatch:

Megapundit: Gerard Kennedy ruins it for everyone

By selley - Friday, September 19, 2008 at 2:19 PM - 13 Comments

Must-reads: Colby Cosh on the economic meltdown; Chantal Hébert on Gerard Kennedy’s big mistake; John Robson on Elections Canada’s censors; Rosie DiManno on Jeremy Hinzman.

Wayne Easter’s revenge
Why can’t the Harperites shut up and play nice?

The Calgary Herald‘s Don Martin believes the Liberals got off lucky yesterday with Gerry Ritz’s gallows humour dominating the news instead of whatever Stephen Harper, who recently described a $9-billion promise as “mind-boggling,” might have said about Stéphane Dion’s $70-billion infrastructure plan. In these trying financial times, Martin suggests we’re less in the mood for twelve-figure “vote-buying tactics” than we are for modest measures like, er, cracking down on banana-flavoured cigarillos. Lehman Brothers and AIG be damned, we’d respond—we want good roads and kids not to smoke, and we won’t be convinced it’s not possible!

Sun Media’s Greg Weston summarizes Harper’s response to the Ritz crackup as follows: “While [he] may have insulted and otherwise upset the families of 17 Canadians killed by tainted meat under his watch, that ‘should not detract from the good work that he has done,’”. (We’re not sure you can really “insult” someone in a private conversation to which he or she isn’t party, and suspect whichever bureaucrat leaked the conversation probably took far longer away from his or her job to do so than Ritz did to make his off-colour jokes. But never mind.) In any case, says Weston, each of these ongoing Tory gaffes and the ensuing apologies “likely negates a dozen of Harper’s homey sweater ads,” and not only do they throw the campaign off-message, they force Harper to actually “praise the public service” in hopes of plugging any future leaks. Gross! Like kissing your sister!

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BTC: 'This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts.'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 8:14 PM - 22 Comments

(Updated through 11:11pm.)

You stay classy, Gerry Ritz.

Update. From Canwest. “Prime Minister Stephen Harper said jokes Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz made in the midst of the listeriosis crisis were ‘inappropriate,’ according to his spokesman, who added there has no been discussions about asking Ritz to resign.”

Update II. Ritz’s apology. “It was a highly stressful time. Many people were working countless hours and attending countless meetings to keep on top of the situation. In that context, I made a couple of spur of moment, offhand comments. In particular, one about my official opposition critic, whom I have already called to apologize. My comments were tasteless and completely inappropriate. I apologize unreservedly.”

Update III. And let’s not forget Tony Clement in Denver. “I’m Health Minister Tony Clement, and I have to say I approved this food.”

Update IV. Liberals are calling for Ritz to resign immediately. Wayne Easter comments. “I’ve already called for Mr. Ritz’s resignation over his handling of the listeriosis outbreak and his failure to tell the truth to Canadians about the government’s role in it. I could never imagine he would show this kind of insensitivity. This is just one more reason he needs to be dismissed … I don’t care what he said about me, but 17 people have died. That is no joking matter.”

Update V. Jack Layton, scrumming with reporters in Toronto, has called for the minister to be fired and removed as a Conservative candidate. Continue…

Liveblogging the Agriculture Committee – We join this three way stare-down between the union, the government and the opposition already in progress

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 6:19 AM - 0 Comments

UPDATE: Hey, look, it’s yesterday’s government talking points in convenient press release format!

Instead of placeholder text, an explanation: I should warn y’all upfront that the ITQ coverage of today’s hearing – which starts at 8am, and here’s a link to yesterday’s liveblog, which has the full back story – will be a little bit unorthodox.

Due to a standing prior commitment on Tuesday mornings, I won’t be there for the start of the meeting, but will endeavour. mightily to make it to Wellington Building as. soon as possible after that –I hope by 8:20 or so, but that all depends on how fast I can move once I’m out the door. (Yes, Wellington Building – despite those sugar-sweet beseechings from Wayne Easter, who wanted today’s festivities to be televised, it’s the Committee Room At The End of the Universe for us.)

Anyway, my apologies, in advance, to readers, witnesses, committee members and hangers-on. Better late than no liveblogging at all, right?

(Rather than zap this text, I’m going to leave it up for the duration so that latecomers don’t wonder why there’s nothing from the first part of the meeting. When the liveblog begins, updates will appear below.)

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