Mayes Update...urges Tory change to child care policy

A little update has ocurred to the earlier post on Tory MP Colin Mayes. Readers can draw their own opinion as to why the sudden change of heart.
Mr. Mayes' blog now has some content too (though note that all are dated with today's date as the posting date).
In addition to his "without reservation" apology to the media, you might find his view on child care interesting. After all, he recognises that "Early child development and child care is vitally important to the National interest." He also contends that "...there are children at risk due to social and economic influences beyond the child’s control..." and he notes that it is "...important for our government to recognize this deficit and support public and private day care with public funds on their behalf." He concludes his piece, "I only argue the case for supporting public and private Day Care Funding on behalf of the children that need the care, and this is worth the effort."
I wonder if he will be pushing PM Bizarro to take another look at the Tory apporach to the whole issue? After all, as Mr. Mayes claims, the government is "...not trying to turn the clock back."

Kudos to Team Dryden

The Ken Dryden for Liberal Leadership Group in Toronto is on preceisely the correct path! All campaigns should get moving on similar digital outreach. The sky's the limit!

Tory Backbench Stirs...

There is a funny little ditty in the Mop&Pail today about newly-elected Tory Colin Mayes. The MP from the Okanagan suggests jailing bad journalists. Perhaps a tad excessive!
I thought it would be fun to check out the Mayes web site for other deep-thought nuggets. He has a blog too. It's as empty as his brain.
(ED Note: Oh oh! That comment will attract a lot of anonymous comments!!)

Grit Leadership Buzz

At least two potential candidates are in Ottawa today. Martha Hall Findlay and Michael Ignatieff were hob-nobbing about. And there were also rumours of John Godfrey sightings.
Ignatieff had a meet-and-greet in the offices of the esteemed Senator David Smith. He attracted an overflow crowd of 50+ to the Senator's rather cramped confines. Ignatieff's brief remarks were analytically received and almost clinical in presentation. His delivery of "remarks" involves very little eye contact...one can almost feel and hear the wheels turning. Inauspicious. And then he started taking questions. Suddenly he was engaged and engaging. His gaze penetrating not just those who posed the question, but also others. This is an ability that any potential adversary would be wise not to underestimate.
It is not possible to predict how many of the room were swayed to support. Informal discussions prior to Ignatieff's arrival indicated that the vast majority were there to "kick the tires". The prevailing attitude at Grit gatherings for any candidate these days.
In other leadership news, look for Maurizio Bevilacqua to jump into the race in mid-April. Reportedly, his campaign will be guided by Taras Zalusky. Zalusky is a former Chief of Staff to Jane Stewart, Geoff Regan and Aileen Caroll.

Canadian Media and the PM

Since the start of the Harper regime, the Parliamentary Press Gallery has been complaining of "restrictions" on the interplay between government and media, which the PMO wants to put in place. The whole matter reached a crescendo this week with the leaked Press Gallery memo that many bloggers (including this one) carried earlier in the week. Then yesterday, we all watched the Gallery park their righteous indignation at the door and troop on in to the "staged" phot-op of the PM "addressing" his Caucus. Kudo to Harper for proving the Gallery a bunch of harlots and a giant raspberry to the Gallery for being so easily "had". It also got me thinking more about the whole issue...This is really nothing new. Past PMs have also tried to impact the relationship with the Gallery, as was pointed out by Chantal Hebert in her piece today in the TO Star.
Actually, the definition of "restriction" is what should be at the crux of the debate. I am certain, for instance, that listening to Julie VanDusen out-shout everyone in a post-Cabinet scrum is not going to make for better journalism. Equally, listening to a reporter repeat the same muck-raking question day after day adds nothing to the public understanding of any given issue. A restriction is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
A very strong case can be made that "today's journalists" are very much a part of the culture of cynicism that pervades our political panorama. Politicians and political institutions are beset by the 24 hour news cycle and, frankly, I can understand the new PM wanting to try to bring a little more decorum to the interaction between the media and politicians. So why don't he and his accolytes make that case?
I can think of no one who would seriously argue that politics is not in need of a more decorous makeover. At the same time, there are equally few who can support the methods that the PMO is using to implement their desire. Rather than bombast, Harper and his retinue should be making the the argument for greater civility. They might just be surprised how many people would agree.

Harper's US outreach

Today the TO Star reports that a Canadian military ad blitz has hit D.C. subway stations touting our contribution to the anti-terror effort. Is this part of Bizarro's "new relationship" with the US? The article says it was a decision of the "embassy" in Washington, so is it Mike Wilson's first step in the "new relationship"? In any case, somebody should be called on the carpet for this stupidity. We can be rightfully proud of our contribution in Afghanistan but we don't need this grovelling, knee-bending waste of money.

Harper and US relations

PM Harper has vowed to improve relations with the US. This may be tougher than he expected if the following clip from today's White House press briefing with Scott McClellan is any indication (Ed Note: In the Chrétien days this would have extracted howls from the media, other Liberals and the Opposition)...
Q: Can you talk a little bit more about Cancun and the other side of the talks, with Canada -- border, immigration? Are those high priorities?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this will be -- you're talking about Canada? I mean, the President had a -- first of all, had a good discussion with Prime Minister Martin {sic} yesterday. That was a call that Prime Minister Martin [sic] initiated, really to thank the President on behalf of the people of Canada for the efforts of our coalition forces, our American forces, part of the coalition, to rescue the hostages last week, including one Canadian.
But I think that when you're looking at this trip, first of all, it was last year in Waco when the three leaders -- Prime Minister Martin, at the time, President Fox and President Bush -- announced a new initiative, the Security and Prosperity Partnership, among the three nations. And this is a way to build upon our efforts to really make sure that North America is more integrated and remains competitive in this global changing economy that we live in. So they're going to talk about concrete ways that we can move forward on the security and prosperity partnership. And the President looks forward to those discussions with the other two leaders.
In terms of Canada, this will be the President's first meeting with Prime Minister Harper since he took office -- he had met with him briefly previously when he was the opposition leader. And each of these relationships -- the relationship with Mexico, the relationship with Canada -- is a unique relationship. We've had good relations with both countries. And the President looks forward to visiting with Prime Minister Martin [sic] and strengthening our relations. So he very much looks forward to this trip.
What the heck...he got Harper's name right once anyway!

Tories at Work...

Last week our erstwhile PM was down to see his old buddy Bernie Lord. Would you buy a car from either of those salesmen?
Anyway, Harper gave Bernie a nice little kettle of cash to go along with the van. Something in the vicinity of $200 million over 10 years...or $20 million a year.
Just in case you missed it, today Lord's razor-thin minority government brought down its budget. And, surprise surprise, it projects a surplus of $22 million! In New Brunswick! No kidding!
Clever lot those Tories. See how slyly they ensured that the numbers did not completely coincide.
And, oh yes, almost forgot to mention that Lordy-lordy didn't that clever NB Premier also find a job for his most recent pain-in-the-butt...Tanker Malley. Mr. Malley-able is now the esteemed Speaker of the Legislature. In New Brunswick! No kidding!
All very clever indeed...but I just bet the good folks of that province will see right through all this whenever they do get to mark their ballots next.

Bush changes horses

CNN is reporting that Andrew Card has resigned as Chief of Staff to the US President. This is a very odd timing for such an announcement. It is rare that any leader would upstage an important international summit (this week's CanMexUs meet) with domestic issues.
One immediately wonders if this is connected to the on-going Spygate matter. In any case, it is NOT a good omen for any early settlement of the softwood lumber tiff.

Leadership tidbits...Coderre

I continue to see references to Chrétien "forces" attempting to sidetrack Denis Coderre's leadership bid. There are a couple of things wrong with this scenario. First, there is no monolithic Chrétien "machine" and if there was he would still be PM. Second, as is expected from former Prime Ministers and Leaders, M. Chrétien will NOT be getting involved in the race...in any way. Finally, Coderre wants to run and, hence, he will. Old allies like Maurice Rioux are hard at work. Coderre will show well (as long as he is properly prepared for the initial spate of sponsorship smears) and could very well be the leader-maker of this race. Which probably won't bother him at all. He is in it for the long haul.

Open Government...and the Parliamentary Press Gallery

Stephen Harper spent literally years babbling on about open government. Last Friday the Parliamentary Press Gallery folks had a meeting with staff from Bizarro's PMO in an attempt to open already-strained lines of communication. I could give you the rundown...but the memo below is making the rounds in Ottawa today and it really says it all...(Ed Note: Since Bizarro was full of bullroar on open government, maybe he does have a secret agenda after all!)

March 27, 2006

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS

FROM: The Press Gallery Executive
SUBJECT: Press Gallery Executive Meeting with PMO

As you are aware members of the Executive met with representatives from the PMO on Friday, March 24, 2006.

Accompanying me on behalf of the Gallery were Stephanie Rubec (our candidate for the Presidency next year), Treasurer Isabelle Rodrigue, Terry Guillon Chief of the Press Gallery and John Waterfield Manager of the Press Gallery.

The PM's Director of Communications Sandra Buckler was accompanied by Stéphane Rondeau, Geneviève Desjardins, as well as Christine Csversko.

The Gallery insisted for the meeting to be on the record in order to dispel any misunderstanding about the issues addressed.

As you all know the list of concerns on the part of our members is long and wide ranging: from the way Prime Minister's availabilities are handled by his staff, to substantive issues of access for our members on Parliament Hill, and most importantly a general tendency for this government to restrict access to its Cabinet Ministers.

The Executive was hoping to set up a dialogue with the PMO, which over time would help us resolve the issues that divide us.

In the course of our short meeting, the PMO indicated that:
* They are considering no longer announcing Cabinet meetings to Canadians ahead of time in order to circumvent the Gallery's right to post cameras and reporters on the third floor of the Parliament's Centre Block (as per our understanding with the House);
* They reserve the right not to inform Canadians of the visit of foreign heads of state;
* They will no longer systematically grant access to a pool reporter at photo opportunities between the Prime Ministers and his guests.

The Executive came out of this meeting greatly concerned by the tone on the part of the PM's staff which left no room for negotiations on these issues. Therefore we put an end to the meeting after approximately 20 minutes as we felt no progress was being achieved. Many issues were left unresolved, many more were not even addressed.

For the sake of transparency, and to dispel any misinterpretation, the Executive has decided to release a full transcript of this meeting. An audio tape is also available at the Gallery Offices on the 6th floor of the National Press Building and in the Hot Room, located in the Centre Block in Room 350-North.

We invite you to submit your comments and concern in preparation to our Annual General Meeting on April 7th, 2006.

Thank You
Emmanuelle Latraverse

President

Lib Leadership Loans...and cheap shots

Abbas Rana of The Hill Times has written a piece about the potential for Liberals to circumvent Election Financing laws by using a "loan" vehicle. This piece brings a few issues to the fore.
First, any candidate who actually would be stupid enough to do this would immediately be relegated to the bottom of the list. More important, however, is the very article itself. Note that it refers to Grits "who do not want to be indentified". In fact, the whole article is nothing more than conjecture.
My guess is that some enterprising soul has been following the loan travails of Tony Blair recently and decided to try to rustle up some similar stink here at home. The firing of a pre-emptive strike across the bow of well-to-do leadership hopefuls may have come from the folks around John Godfrey, since he was the only candidate unwise enough to comment on for the HT. I hope I am wrong about, but if not, then this thinly disguised ploy may backfire in itself.
Whether it was Godfrey's Gang or some other campaign , taking cheap shots doesn't advance the cause in the least. ALL candidates need to show an ability to raise funds and function under C-24.

Canadian play for AB Ports

A while back the Bush administration was forced to back down on a plan to allow the sale a group of US ports to middle eastern investors. At the time, the proposed takeover was taken off the table with a promise to "Americanize" the bid. The potential Arab investors agreed to divest to US interests. You may also recall that the Port of Vancouver was part of the play.
Today the potential for a large Canadian play in this issue has come to light. It is being reported that US investment house Goldman Sachs is partnering with Borealis Infrastructure to back a consortium takeover of AB Ports.The deal ostensibly worth some 2.3 billion GBP.
Borealis Infrastucture is an operating arm of OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System). No doubt that Micahel Nobrega and Tenio Evangelista will be busy. Evangelista is the Government Relations VP at Borealis.

Layton, Afghanistan and opportunism

Today on CTV the leader of the NDP, Jack Layton, said that he wants an emergency debate in the House with respect to Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Some of his comments were bewildering and characteristically opportunistic.
For instance, he referred to the former Liberal government making a decision "in the middle of the election campaign". Actually, the former government had announced both the expansion and increase in miltary focus of the mission all the way back in September of 2005. It was only in early December the NATO Allies formalised and finalised the planning for the mission. The discussions in Brussels had been going on for some time. Even before Jack and the NDP brought down the government on November 28th. But, of course, Layton was too busy playing politics at that time to notice the September announcement and subsequent speeches by then-Defence Minister Bill Graham. It was not until December 8th that Layton said anything and issued a "statement" in the midst of the campaign. Tsk...tsk!
Of course, at the same time he also stuck a moist finger into the air and determined that an election campaign was not a good time to push the questioning of our miltary activities. Hence, the NDP Platform has not a mention of the word Afghanistan. Where was your righteous indignation at that time Jack? No doubt lost in the shuffle of your unflinching effort to get your wife elected...who can forget this exchange in a CTV interview...
But the NDP leader can't hide the fact he would like to sit beside at least one " Parliament.
When asked how his resolutions were faring at the dawn of the new year, Layton said, "Not too bad, my new year's resolution was to spend more time with (wife and NDP candidate) Olivia (Chow)."
Digging a little deeper, Beverly Thomson wondered, "How do you do that on the campaign trail?"
"Actually, the way this can be accomplished is when she's elected a Member of Parliament and then she will come to Ottawa with me and so it's kind of a double objective there: another seat in the caucus and my sweetie with me on a more regular basis."
Layton's political gamesmanship will catch up to him some day soon. That day is April 4th when the Tories begin their rule and begin to dismantle child care and other programs that Layton holds dear. But, what the heck...he got his wish.

Ignatieff set to announce

The Globe reports today that Michael Ignatieff is set to announce his run for Liberal leadership.
The interesting thing to note about the article is the lack of any mention of support amongst the masses. This is not intended to single out Mr. Ignatieff for this shortcoming. Rather, I want to highlight that all of the news reports on the various contenders (should probably say contemplators) invariably mention "heavyweight" backers. In the case of this article this means David Smith and David Peterson.
There is a twofold jeopardy in this for the candidate(s). It plays to the elitism of past leadership races and it is simply probably not as reflective of the true makeup of his campaign. Ignatieff and other candidates will need "feet in the street" much more than "tacticians in positions" if they are to master this first race of the new reality.
Army generals are often accused of "fighting the next war like the last" (see The Fog of War). I fear that the same is happening in the leadership race to date. And it is happening to both campaigns and the media reporting on them. Perhaps even more with the media, who to date have written next to nothing substantive about the process that will be at play in this race. They focus incessantly on the expenditure cap that has been put in place and incorrectly assume that everyone has to raise and spend $3.4 million. Hogwash!
Candidates need to use new media techniques to build organisational strength and this can be done in a more cost-effective manner than in the past. Candidates need to prove their ability to raise funds in a borad-based popular manner and, once again, modern technologies can cost-effectively assist in this. On-line chat and meet-up techniques can both broaden reach and reduce travel expenditure. And candidates can get their butts into "cheap seats" on one of several airlines and into even cheaper seats of rental cars and do some hard slogging to prove their worth to vast numbers of potential delegates.
Each of the campaigns and especially their spinners would be well advised to ensure a real effort to connect to the hearts of partisans in a very visible way right from the start. Most Grits I know don't want to see focus on "heavyweight" supporters. They want to know who are the real people in the campaign.
In short, there is no reason to run this campaign like the last one. Indeed, to continue the military analogy this leadership can and should be built more like the "three block war".

Hostages released!

The Canadian and British hostages in Iraq have been released. Great news, even if hard to believe and along with the happiness we should remember the dead American, Tom Fox. In this non-partisan issue it would appear that everyone did their job and did their best...including the Christian Peace Makers, the families and two different governments here at home.

Cauchon passes on leadership bid

Joan Bryden reports that "heavyweight candidate" Martin Cauchon is passing on a leadership bid. She says he will announce this later this week.
As I have said before, why the hell do people feel the need to announce they are NOT doing something. Ego can be the only explanation.
It also reminds everyone that perceptions of "heft" are in the mind of the writers. Want proof? All of the so-called "heavyweights" are good folks who have approached the altar before and backed down. So why any surprise this time? Martin Cauchon is similarly a nice guy...who 95% of Canadians would not recognise.

Blair Seat-Sale

The British media is caught up the the Blair Seats-For-Sale Probe which police in the UK opened today. This follows a week and a half furore. Whether the allegations are proven true or not may not matter much to Blair's political lifespan. His ordained successor, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, is already moving in for the kill after running a rearguard putsch for some time now. But Brown may not be able to escape this mess unscathed either, since he has been # 2 for a good long while. Perhaps he would strike a Royal Commission when he takes over? Hmmm...sounds eerily familiar.
On the other hand, the Tories over there don't seem to know what to make of it or, for that matter, even what sensible might be said. Their dimwit Party Treasurer commented: “We are not in this mess because we are not in power.” Now that remark will do a lot to instill public confidence! Sheesh!

Another credit due!

PM Harper has made it known that he will NOT be meeting with Brigitte Bardot with regard to the seal hunt. He commented yesterday that he has respect for "...Mme. Bardot and many other famous people that have celebrity causes, but it's not my nature to take photos with famous people."
This is a most welcome approach to dealing with celebrity and celebrities. Harper know doubt recalls the quagmire that Paul Martin dug for himself with his Bono bond. He is to be credited for tacking a different course in this area of his Prime Ministership.

Bizarro in control...presumably

Bizarro in Control aired another episode last night on TVA. The new sherriff talked about a number of issues, including his decision to exercise absolute control over his government's communications.
In case you missed it he defended his decision to screen his ministers' statements and indicated that he does not want his ministers to contradict each other. Presumably they all wear earplugs at Cabinet meetings.
He also said that it is necessary for the government to speak with one voice. Presumably his.
He also noted that it is important for ministers to know the announcements of other ministers before reading them in the papers. Presumably they need adult supervision.
Bizarro also conceded that the public knows that if a government is always contradicting itself in public, that it won't last.
Presumably Bizarro also thinks the same public will forget about all his previous demands for less government "from the centre".

Nattering Gnats...

Jim Travers today writes that the Liberals running hard to nowhere. Travers' entire piece is built around his own personal "thoughts". There is not one scintilla of fact-based interpretation or news involved. While he criticizes the Liberal Party for going too fast in choosing a new leader, he ignores the fact that the Grits are actually taking more than twice as long as the Conservatives used back in 2004. What evidence does he have that another 10-30-60 or 90 days would produce a better Liberal Party at the end of the day? None. Zero. Nada. Indeed, maybe the Liberal Party should just not have a leadership race at all. Maybe all they need to do is to recruit Jim Travers to actually put his name on a ballot. Yeah...sure! Journalists putting a ballot where their mouth is rarely occurs...and when it does success is even more rare. We are beset by a gaggle of nattering gnats of negativism (yes! a partial quote from Spiro T.).
I should also point out that Travers' tripe is in direct contrast to the editorial opinion of his very own Toronto Star, which says Liberals set stage for exciting race. This apparent contradiction also speaks directly to two further difficulties that ALL political parties face in today's 24/7 news world. It exposes, to coin another old Spiroism , the exceptional effete snobbery that seems to exist within the hearts and minds of individual "columnists" across all media empires. It also begs the question as to how the public is to make any sense of it all? Not to mention the cynicism that it spawns towards all things political.

Early learning and child care

The debate on child care will start to heat up with the prospect of the House convening on April 3rd.
Today the venerable YWCA has issued a report concluding that the Tory approach might not be the most effective. The report pretty succinctly makes the case for a national program, as opposed to the baby bonus approach the Tories prefer. The YWCA also has a nifty little advocacy program up and running: Code Blue for child care.
It will be interesting to see if the Bizarros will put a little water in their wine on this issue. As I have noted in the past, Bizarro's platform heralded "choice" in childcare. Taking away the one program that actually exists would diminish "choice" by any reasonable reckoning.

L'affaire Emerson

The Emerson affair just rolls right along. Today the Ethics Commissioner announced that nothing was wrong with his "inducement" to join Cabinet. Of course, this is exactly what one should have expected to hear from Sheepiro. It also highlights rather effectively that Bizarro was way over-the-top in his response to the fact that Sheepiro would look into this at all.
Here is the CP wire story:
OTTAWA - The ethics commissioner says Prime Minister Stephen Harper broke no rules when he persuaded David Emerson to switch parties and join the cabinet.
Bernard Shapiro says he's satisfied that Harper didn't offer Emerson any special inducements to leave the Liberals and join the Tory cabinet.
Shapiro says he accepts Emerson's explanation that he thought he could best serve his constituents from the cabinet table, rather than the opposition benches.
Three opposition MPs asked Shapiro to investigate whether Harper violated the rules when he invited Emerson, a former Liberal minister, to join his cabinet.
Shapiro says that while no rules were broken, the incident has left many people angry and feeling that votes were devalued.
He says the whole question of switching parties should be debated.

Liberals to pick new leader at Dec. 2-3 convention

CTV and everyone else reports that the Liberals will pick their new leader at Dec. 2-3 convention in Montreal. There is much of interest in the decisions taken by the Grit Executive this past weekend. The advent on on line memberships is foremost. This is the item, if properly implemented, that will do the most in the so-called effort to level the playing field. It will also help if the provincial associations now follow this lead and expand the "float" of membership forms provided to each candidate. Rumour has it that Ontario will up the float from 5 per riding/per candidate to 150. It is also good that the Party lowered the entry fee for the process by more than 30%. This too helps to level the playing field. I guess we could also say that the lowering of the spending limits is also a good move. However, I hasten to point out that this will only be as useful as the enforcement methodologies that are put in place. They need to have a regular filing component to the rules so that everyone can see how much is being raised and spent by each candidate, as the process unfolds...not after the fact! This may be covered by current Elections Canada rules, but they look to be a little lax in the middle of campaigns.
Finally, the date chosen is a good compromise that balances the need for a substantial amount of time for debate and recruitment with the desire to have a new leader in place for the start of next year's political season following Christmas.

Liberal leadership hopefuls await word on cash

The Globe and Mail says that Liberal leadership hopefuls are awaiting word on the spending limits for the campaign.
Hmmm...maybe the Grits should forget about "limits" and just do something gutsy. Like put in place a requirement that any candidate must post a monthly statement of revenue and expenditures. The statement must include absolutely everything. Failure to post would mean automatic disqualification. That way the public and the Party members could decide if candidates are running responsible efforts...or trying to "buy" the job. The revenue side of the statement would also allow Grits to see if the candidates are capable of broad-based popular fundraising, which is an element that should be key to the race.
Transparency on revenues and expenditures is a better deterrent to excess than "limits" on paper.
Just a thought.

Calling Michael Wilson...

Another NAFTA panel has ruled that the U.S. erred in assessing Cdn softwood subsidies. Now we will have a chance to see our new Ambassador's skills at work. Although I must say that I doubt that having Emerson along, as the G&M reports, will help. Remember he is a self-confessed dull political knife and these chats will be political, if nothing else.

Harper in control...more

The national media is beginning to clue in to the fact that Bizarro heavily into controlling. In fact, as we have noted in the past, Harper is the biggest control freak to ever occupy the Langevin Block.
It will be interesting to see how Tories rationalise this vis-a-vis all the past blathering rhetoric about the evils of a "centralised" Prime Ministership. I expect we will hear about the "left-leaning media bias, the Liberal-dominated bureaucracy, the steep learning curve, blah, blah, etc., etc.
Fact is, he just outright misled the good people of his Party and this country.

The Buzz continues

Buzz Hargrove was at Queen's to talk up his new vision for labour involvement in politics. The thought comes to mind that, if Bob Rae is thinking of running for the Grit leadership, why not Hargrove? He has two immediate advantages over Rae. He was not an unsuccessful Premier of Ontario and he actually wore the "red shirt" in the recent election campaign. Of course, he does not have Rae's facility in both official languages.
Just a thought.

Paul Martin steps down

The compendium of clips regarding Paul Martin's resignation letter is worth a peek. Martin has taken his leave in a totally appropriate manner.
Now the speculation about potential successors must turn to concrete action in rapid order. It is possible that the Party will issue the "official call" for the national leadership convention this weekend. But, given the apparent variance of opinion on timing (November versus February) that might not happen. It is also possible that the National Executive will want to be seen maintaining an "open race" context by holding off on the issuance of the official call. Remember that the leadership "countdown" starts with the call and its issuance locks in cut-off dates, etc.

Child porn ring busted

There is substantial coverage today about the child porn bust that ocurred yesterday. Police forces in Toronto, Edmonton and around the world are to be congratulated. It would also appear that Anne McLellan's efforts as Justice Minister deserve some credit.

Miracles never cease

It is rare that Sun Media says something editorially that I can even partially agree with. Today is an exception. The editorial in the Toronto edition suggests that the appropriate time for a full debate on Canada's Afghan presence is a year from now. At that time we should be deciding what to do following the end of the comittments that now stand.
It is a thought worth considering and, if this Toronto Star compendium of editorial comment is accurate, I suspect it would be an approach acceptable to most Canadians. Why maybe even Jack Layton could crawl down off the soapbox he mounted for one politically expedient day last December. Certainly he has been more moderate in his desires lately and I notice the NDP web site has not had even a peep about Afghanistan in recent times.

Sun Media says Afghan war isn't ours...or is it?

Eric Margolis wrote in SunMedia on Sunday that the Afghan war isn't ours. Of course, this article got lost in the shuffle of Harper's Afghan visit. The gist of it is that we are now into a situation in which Canada has "...absolutely no strategic, commercial, cultural or emotional interests." Which is accurate...unless recent word of huge oil and gas discoveries is true.
Then all of a sudden we have a whole different possible explanation for U.S. and allied involvement in the long-term in Afghanistan!

As I was saying...

PM Harper has returned to the True North following his successful trip to Afghanistan. As I said before, he deserves credit for the trip.
Having said that, there are always lessons to be learned when a PM makes an international sojurn. This one is no different. And so I offer some advice to his staff.
The whirlwind and secret nature of the trip in itself created challenges that are not usually present in prime ministerial travel. For instance, the jet lag factor would have been multiplied several fold. This is no small consideration for a political leader. On the international stage one small gaffe can become a major incident.
If I was on Bizarro's staff, I would do a little "note-to-self" on this very matter. Any PM can slip up when tired. I believe that is what happened when Harper brought Canadian domestic politics into the trip and I believe that is what happened when he botched the issue of future parliamentary debate and his Press Person had to "clarify" his meaning. Both of these could have been avoided by not putting the boss into uncontrolled media events when he is tired.
Also, I always think it unwise to "add" unplanned (as reported by media) events like the meeting with Pakistani officials. The same fatigue issues arise for the PM and you end up raising questions like: When Harper was in Pakistan why didn't President Musharref meet with him? Not to mention that he got dragged into a discussion of Canada/India nuclear relations while in Pakistan.
Just some thoughts.

Klein locks in retirement plan

Klein locks in retirement plan...and everybody said Jean Chrétien had a "long goodbye"!!
Do the math! Why is nobody complaining?
:-)

Harper...82 wrong words

Today...some advice for Bizarro and his crew. I cringed when I first heard Harper's "cut and run" reference. Today's paper's are running headlines are screaming in variations or directly: "We won't cut and run".
Harper has made an error by over-reaching with this rhetoric. This "cut and run" nonsense is the same tripe that has been rolling off of the lips of many American and British officials ever since the "end of hostilities" in Iraq in May of 2003.
Bizarro, his spin doctors and his speechwriters also should not have used a direct connection to their recent "Stand Up..." campaign theme. It is a thinly veiled effort to domestically politicise this matter and it will boomerang on him.
They should have left out, or at least re-worded, that 82 word "cut and run" portion of the remarks. Read it and see for yourself. It is the part under "Standing Up for Canadian Values". It ruined an otherwise good speech. (SPECIAL NOTE: Look particularly at the syntax and structure of the first line. It says: "Of course, standing up for these core Canadian values may not always be easy at times." It is so redundantly clumsy that it leads one to thing that Bizarro may have ad-libbed this section.)
It would have been much better if Harper had actually tried to link long-standing Canadian values to this mission, rather than using the bully-pulpit language he chose.
He could and should have said (in 87 words):
Canadian Values
Of course, standing up for these core Canadian values may not always be easy. It’s never easy for the men and women on the front lines.
But Canadians have always withstood the test of time in the furtherance of peace.
That is the Canadian way.
We don’t take our commitment to peace around the world lightly…even if sometimes it means we have to be willing to use force.
We want to help bring true peace to the world and we will see this mission through.
Linking traditional "peacemaking with a purpose" to the mission would have assisted him in controlling expectations and fears surrounding the Afghan deployment.

Axworthy on Grit Leadership Race

I read Tom Axworthy's weekend piece titled: Liberals must repent first before they can be saved. It was not bad...as far as it went. Some other salient points I think deserve mention are:
1. This leadership will be the first ANY party has fought under the new electoral financing act. This will place a premium on "bodies" not "dollars". The "paper people" legions of past races will not amount to a hill of beans in this one. You need real people...everywhere! And focus on the $25 donation first.
2. The Party should not only set low spending limits, but it must also have a much lower entry fee. For example, the most important thing the Party should want from each campaign is data. Name, address, email addresses, etc. We need to build our database of the willing...quickly! I can think of no better way than to stipulate that all data is the property of the Liberal Party of Canada, not the individual preserve of each campaign fiefdom.
3. This will be the first real leadership (the last one doesn't count as it was a lock) that we run under the new rules for delegate selection and voting. That means that job #1 for every candidate is to focus on running full slates for every delegate spot in every riding. As the Ontario Liberal Party has proven in using this system...anybody CAN win. This is nothing but good news for all who truly understand that we can only rebuild from the bottom up, not top down.
4. The campaign that wants to take the early lead will be the campaign that gets out of the "electronic" gate the fastest and most effectively. Go study Howard Dean's model of online organising, in other words. (Note: Just don't make some of the strategic errors that Dean's crew made on the way to blowing Iowa.)
5. Talk about why we're Liberals and liberally-minded...and don't be afraid of the media.
I have more thoughts, but this is it in a nutshell...and I don't want to bore anyone!

Tonic for Grits!...Tories want Liberal appointees to go

For many reasons, I chuckle as this story spreads.
First, the Ambassador to Portugal has yet to see his name spelled correctly (with an "s" not a "z").
Second, Mario Lague is a former bureaucrat, not a partisan who worked for Paul Martin. I guess Harper should not have appointed bureaucrat ALex Himelfarb to Italy?
Third, Pam Wallin is certainly no partisan.
Fourth, the Tories themselves (hello Stock Day) wanted Bhupinder Liddar to get his appointment after he proved that security questions about him were bogus.
Five, if they want to replace OICs go ahead and do it. It is the PM's prerogative. Harper just has to pick up the phone and talk to those involved. It worked for McKenna (according to reports at that time). Why not now? You can't function on "trial ballons" and "leaks". And the story is spreading.
Sixth, and most of all...this is exactly the kind of knee-jerk bullroar that WILL UNITE LIBERALS! Thanks Bizarro...

Grit Leadership...Think About It!

Bob Rae gave a speech in Winnipeg today. It was a good...not great...effort according to reports. He also said, contrary to rumours ahead of time, that he has not decided whether to seek the Grit leadership.
Today Bob Rae put on a red shirt. That is a first step.
Perhaps more important for Liberals is another question that Rae's very contemplation of leadership should provoke.
Precisely...is it time to unite the left in Canada?
Think about it. The left of the political spectrum has been divided for one helluva lot longer that the right ever was!
Think about it. Maybe we need more Bob Raes and Buzz Hargroves and less of the Jack Laytons and Liberals who remain silent on this issue.
Think about it. Even if Rae does not enter the race then maybe his should be a central point for debate over the next few months. Not just for Grits but for all Canadians.
Think about it. In the last election the right got 36% of the votes cast. That leaves a lot of room for a unite the left effort. Not just for Grits but for all Canadians.
Think about it...the more I do, the more I want to see this become a key issue in the leadership...with or without Bob Rae. Because we all know that there is no saviour...just hard work ahead!

The judiciary and the political right

Former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a Ronald Reagan appointee, says that right wing attacks on the judiciary risk edging the US near to dictatorship. In recent times there has been debate in Canada over the relationship between the elected and judicial branches of our government. The zealots of the hard-right have increasingly attacked our judges for a perceived liberal bias. Any attempt to refute this has been met with even more virulent attacks. Much of the rhetoric involved has been directly reminiscent of attacks by the hard-right in the United States. Since they have listened to their American counterparts in the past, perhaps Canada's hard-right and our Justice Minister Vic Toews should listen to Ms. O'Connor when she points out that, "We must be ever-vigilant against those who would strong-arm the judiciary."

Credit: Harper makes surprise visit to Kandahar

Harper makes surprise visit to Kandahar and he should be credited for doing so. Canada has been in Afghanistan since day one post-911 and it is good to see him go over to offer support to the troops. I also assume that he has told his staff that in the future there should not be any leaks ahead of time on this sort of trip. It happened a while back on the Afghan trip and maybe that was the major reason for his change of Communications advisors?!?
One final note: I really hope this is not a wagging of the ethics dog's tail.

Tories politicize bureaucracy!

In another stunning reversal of the piety of past positions CTV is reporting that the Harper government is pressuring five diplomats to quit. The five in question were appointees of the previous Liberal governments. Most revealingly, the piece says: "...a senior bureaucrat in Foreign Affairs recently phoned the diplomats...". If this is accurate, it is truly atrocious for Bizarro to be using bureaucrats to do his political work. It might even be against the law and certainly flies in the face of his past bleatings about wanting to remove any hint of politics from the bureaucracy.
Be a man Stephen! Pick up the phone and call them.

Harper looks shaky: Time to rate the Liberals

Doug Fisher, the Dean of the Parliamentary press corp has decided that Harper looks shaky. So he rates the rumoured Grit leaderhip candidates. His synopsis of each is pretty accurate from what I see...though I don't necessarily agree with his rating. At least he is honest enough to tell us the criteria that he personally deems important, as well as his own penchant for the well-educated and well-spoken. Grits should keep this handy for use sort of like a "racing form", even if he has also left off some names.

What a mess!

What a mess! Liberals and Conservatives should take note of this Greg Weston column from today. What he writes is accurate and annoying all at the same time. Our bureaucracy is broken and it needs to be fixed. Let's hope the Harper government can make some headway. Unfortunately, Harper rhetoric has already shown a pre-disposition to dealing one-off with provinces on an issue-by-issue basis. For the Grit leadership hopefuls it would be good advice to build some sort of plan into their individual approaches that encompasses building a public service suited for the 21st century.

Swedish Chef on Chefgate

Yesterday saw the breaking of the Lundsgaard affair within the household of PM Bizarro. Today Chefgate is expanding like a well-baked cake.
HarperBizarro is intent upon providing readers with the very best background and comment on all political stories and Chefgate is no exception. To this end I was able to track down the Swedish Chef of Muppet fame. His hands prevent him from typing out his own story, however, I am pleased to provide a transcript of the interview:
HB: Chef thank you for joining us today. We are honoured to have such a well know individual provide comment on this most serious matter.
S Chef: I em pleesed tu be-a eble-a tu prufeede-a my edfeece-a tu yuoor Preeme-a Meenister.
HB: What do you think Mr. Harper should do about this chef controversy?
S Chef: Hurty flurty schnipp schnipp! Mr. Hurty flurty schnipp schnipp?
HB: Mr. Harper is his name.
S Chef: Oooo...vell Herper shuoold leern thet roonneeng a huoose-a is a lut leeke-a roonneeng zee gufernment. Um de hur de hur de hur. It is prubebly best lefft up tu hees veeffe-a!
HB: But he cannot let his wife run the government! And the house is really part of the government. What else might he do?
S Chef: Vell, iff thet is nut pusseeble-a, zeen he-a shuoold perheps luuk tu hees oold freeend Breeun Moolruney fur edfeece-a.
HB: Do you think Mulroney would help?
S Chef: I understund thet is sumetheeng thet he-a hes beee veelling tu du qooeete-a regoolerly. Bork bork bork!
HB: But why do you think Mulroney could help on this chef crisis?
S Chef: Breeun shuoold be-a eble-a tu help Herper oooot ooff thees jem...he-a ves elveys guud a huoosehuld metters, leeke-a re-a-foorneeshing 24 Soossex.
HB: Now Chef…we are not going to get into that old controversy. Do you have any more to add to this current debate?
S Chef: Nut reeght noo. Boot I veell keep un iye-a oon thees seetooeshun es it ifulfes.
HB: We look forward to talking again.
S Chef: I vuoold be-a veelling tu esseest iff needed in zee footoore-a.
HB: Thank you very much, Swedish Chef!
S Chef: Yuoo ere-a must velcume-a. Bye-a fur noo.

Emerson...this parrot is no more!

In today's Calgary Sun Licia Corbella writes about l'affaire Emerson. She understates the "error" that she thinks Harper has made and doesn't even bother to mention that Emerson is effectively unable to do his job at this stage. As one would expect from someone who has steadfastly pushed the Tories over the years she also attempts to point the finger of blame at the Opposition.
Corbella parrots the Tory line that representation was needed from the major cities of Vancouver and Montreal. She notes that Toronto can be covered off by "representation with MPs who live in its suburbs". Are there no suburbs in Vancouver? Ask John Cummins who represents Delta-Richmond East. What about the entire province of PEI that has no representation even though there is a Senate vacancy? To paraphrase Monty Python: "this parrot is no more!" Actually, the whole skit is strikingly like the Emerson tragi-comedy.
The question that will eventually surface in the Emerson quagmire is why did they not simply organise a byelection for Emerson? The Cabinet dance ocurred on February 6th...the House is not back until April 3rd. The writ period for elections is 36 days. Maybe it is all just too obvious or just maybe HarperBizarro made a miscalculation and the result is that he is worse off than if he had done nothing!

What can one say?

Tom Fox has become the fifth hostage murdered in Iraq. What can one say about such barbaric activity? What do we say to the families involved? What do we say to the many thousands worldwide, often in terrible situations, who give of themselves to assist the lives of others? Tears well up even thinking of these questions.
We have no answers...just hope...that others currently being held are released unharmed and that Tom Fox has not died in vain. That some day, some way...the world will be at peace. And we thank their families, relatives and friends for the wonderful treasure they have provided this crazy world.

Burlington needs a new Mayor!

The current Mayor of Burlington, Ontario is not seeking re-election in this fall's municipal race. Rob MacIsaac gets a nice send-off from the TO Star today.
No, if anyone is keen to get a great replacement, I suggest they contact this person right away. She would make a great Mayor!

Alaska Oil Spill...

Well, I certainly have missed the Alaska oil spill story in the last week. I am not alone. A quick search of major media and Environment Canada shows no mention of the mammoth Alaska oil spill that was first discovered more than a week ago. Though CP Wire has been giving updates. It is being reported all over the world this morning. And it is not going to help on this pipeline file!
Let's see how Rona Ambrose reacts.

Happy (Rae) Days are Here Again...

Over in Gritland it appears that former Ontario Premier Bob Rae is serious about contesting the Grit Leadership. That's what the CP wire says and its been picked up virtually everywhere. He is giving a speech on Monday in Winnipeg that is supposedly going to lay out the vision-thing for everyone. No doubt the speech has been penned by Eddie Goldenberg.
This one leaves me scratching my head. I hope he has done his looking before leaping. A quick search, for instance, of places like rabble.ca might lead one to believe that Rae faces some considerable challenges in his quest to unite the left.
But, on the brighter side, he'll sure contribute to the rebuilding. And can Buzz Hargrove be far behind?

Too many cooks in the kitchen...

This is a cautionary reminder of the old adage that "too many cooks spoil the broth". Whenever there is a change in Prime Minister there is also a change to the staff at 24 Sussex Drive. Of paramount importance to each new denizen of that august residence is the inhabitant of the Prime Ministerial kitchen. Such has been the case throughout our history and such is the case with the latest folks to move in...the Harpers Bizarro.
As with so much else in Bizarro's first few weeks in office, however, the matter of who preps the food for the clan is not a simple matter. Today's Ottawa Sun-down reveals that the Harper's former chef at Stornoway (the most recent Harper residence ) was dumped by the Bizarros. Henrik Lundsgaard is now suing.
This Sun story is a hoot. But it misses yet another angle to this tale. You see, the Harpers not only shafted Lundsgaard. They also dumped the incumbent chef when they followed Paul Martin into the residence at 24. The new "official" chef is Oliver Bartsch, who Bizarro poached from Rideau Hall. Former chef Joshua Drache was handled much more quietly and one would assume handsomely through the Order-in-Council process.
So let's re-cap. Harper wanted a new and different chef. He used the taxpayer to provide termination benefits to the former chef at 24; he poached a new chef from Rideau Hall; and he dumped his own old cook who is now suing the taxpayer (because PMs never get sued personally).
All of which goes to show Bizarro, yet again, that governing is harder than opposing!

Flaherty...Day Two

Yesterday the new Finance Minister indicated that contrary to the Tory campaign hype...the fiscal imbalance was essentially a figment of the provinces imagination. Ergo...no need to "fix" it right away.
So, today he embarked upon an effort to correct that figment of the imagination. Now "equalization" is his "target". If he decides to muck around on that constitutionally-mandated program you can be sure the fiscal imbalance will no longer be a figment of many weaker provinces.
That's not a 180 degree turn in one day...that's wheelies! Hopefully we'll see Harper "correct" the facts shortly.

Front pages today

The Canadian Forces efforts in Afghanistan are front and centre in many papers across the land today. Although the NatPost does have a heart-warming picture of Bob Rae and Mike Ignatieff above the fold as a lead into a John Ivison piece today. It would be nice to be able to link to the article, but that is just not the GnatPost style.

Harper in control...more

The new sherriff in town seems to be generating a fair amount of, shall we say, "assessment" by various media sources. The Mop & Pail has not just one (by Simpson)...but count 'em...two pieces today (another by Ibbitson). This is particularly worth noting given the editorial position that the M&P took during the election campaign. They are not the first, of course, even the SUNdown Empire has weighed in recently.
Naturally, some are more charitable in their view of the first few weeks of the Harper era. Paul Wells has a different take. And Susan Riley at CanWest is surprisingly generous in her assessment. I say "surprisingly" because she was so hard on the Tories during the campaign.
Two things about all the early reviews that we should note are: (1) They are EARLY reviews. (2) They generally indicate a high degree of tension between Harper/PMO and the media. Point one is to Harper's advantage...point two can become a real problem for him and his government. Not to mention an asset to the Opposition.

That was then...Remembering the Tory Platform

The Tory Platform said: "In the last eight years, the federal government has amassed enormous surpluses. Meanwhile, many provinces have seen reduced revenues and have had to run deficits in order to pay for education, health, and other social programs." (Note the word "many")
Law of the Jungle Jim Flaherty today said: "You may be surprised to learn that running a deficit is the exception, not the rule here in Canada.
Today there are only two provinces in a deficit situation: Ontario and Prince Edward Island. The majority of provinces have balanced their books, or are now running surpluses." Kind of makes you wonder what other liberties with the truth were taken when the Tories drafted their Platform.
For instance, I am pretty certain that Harper would not be PM if he had spent the last week of the campaign telling everyone that he intended to appoint his Campaign Chair to the Senate and then to Cabinet, while at the same time getting a Liberal minister to cross the floor and join his cabinet.

You have to wonder...

There has been a pitched battle raging in the US over the Dubai Ports World proposed takeover of operations at several US martime ports. It appears to have been resolved today witht he news that DP World will sell off its US assets to American investors.
You have to wonder where that leaves the Canadian connection in all of this...the Port of Vancouver's Centerm container terminal. It also raises the question of what exactly did Stock Day think of all of this or for that matter any other matter related to port security? We'll just have to wait since the right-leaning media failed to ask.

Earlier Posts...

I received the following comment earlier today:
Anonymous said...
I don't get you at all. In your "Brison...day three" post you call the newspaper the "Mop and Pail" because it has the audacity to say something negative about a Liberal. Then in your next post "Bizarro Ethics...day three" you call it the Globe and Mail because it blasts Harper. Matter of fact, you even give the web site address. This is the "entitlement" attitude that is so deeply ingrained into Liberals. If it's not Liberal lets call it names.
Thursday, March 09, 2006 9:50:33 AM

So that everyone understands..."Mop&Pail" is a gag name for the Globe...sorry no left-wing conspiracy here. I will use it regularly. Also, probably will refer to the the Toronto Star as the TooLeft Star, which can also be ToolStar; the Ottawa Citizen as the Shitizen; Sun Media as Sundown (as in Winnipeg Sundown, etc.); National Post is GnatPost....you get the idea.
I also almost always include direct links, which I did NOT do on the Bizarro post because I was doing it remotely...sorry...once again no left-wing conspiracy.
I should also like to note that I have stated that Brison made an error by not coming clean with the G&M in the first instance. Just as I have said that Bizarro's Communications Director should be charged with contempt of Parliament for the language she used last week. That, of course, is a huge left-wing conspiracy.

Speaking of Tony Clement

It is nice to know that the new Health Minister gave up some private sector positions when he became a minister. Particularly one that has such direct connections to his pet health issues. Interesting to see that K-Bro revenues are 81% from the health care field.
It is also good to see that one of Clement's former employees continues to make his way in the world. I am sure Ed Arundell (of Queen's Park fame circa Feb. 05, 1997) will be a valuable addition to the Global Public Affairs entourage in Toronto. The presser says he has "an impressive background in government relations...". Although it is a bit odd that he does not have any current direct registrations on the Government of Ontario lobbyist registry. In fact, his name appears on only one active document and a couple of old registrations returned during a search.
I am sure that Global won't have any need for his assistance with any of his old friends in federal GR efforts.

Harper in control...

Stephen HarperBizarro is instituting the most controlling and controlled government in the history of Canada. He makes all his predecessors look like amateurs when it comes to "governing from the centre".
Good luck.

Bizarro Ethics...day three

While Brison deals with his ethical travails, the ethically challenged PM Bizarro also contends with his own demons. The Globe is being even-handed in its coverage of both! Read it all at www.globeandmail.com.
The latest hiccup for Bizarro lies in the fact that the very person he approached to displace the incumbent ethics Sheepiro has bludgeoned Harper mercilessly in the last 16 hours. And here poor Bizarro thought St. Edward was above the political fray! Another "bumble" by Bizarro. They really must learn to look before they leap!

Brison...day three

Scott Brison remains on the front page of the Mop and Pail this morning. He is paying dearly for not being straight up with the Globe when first questioned on his income trust emails. And lest you think the Globe would allow front page to suffice, there is also this from the business section and this from the ed pages.
At the same time, some Liberals are launching a rearguard action to provide Brison some assistance. This was to be expected as it is likely the only other potential "angle" to the story that media outside the Bell globemedia empire might be induced to pursue. Sadly for Brison it did not catch on today. Of course, the Grits used a somewhat obscure outlet to put it out, which means either the mainstream would not bite or they are just inept. Could be the latter, as the dateline on the story says it hit at 6:10 PM...which would miss most deadlines. Back to Communications 101 for them!
All of which leaves only one distraction story for Brison today in the mainstream...which the gossipy Sun Media crew lapped right up. Really! That's the best "news" Sun Media could come up with given all that's swirling around Brison? I smell dog wagging here...and Sun Media fell for it. (Note: yes they also had their predictable sanctimonious editorial page in Ottawa...but that ain't "news")

Pride goeth before the fall...

Mr. Wells should remember that old adage that pride goeth before the fall.

Harper and his first budget

The fog is clearing on the child care swamp as Harper revealed the focus for his upcoming budget today. The PM has indicated that his child care and GST promises will be paramount. The key paragraph is the second to last where Harper "...also said he will come up with separate proposals "later this spring'' to give provinces more fiscal leeway to provide their own services." It appears that Bizarro may be leaning towards an understanding that he must find a way to provide funding for the childcare agreements already in place and not lose any face at the same time. A little water in the wine never hurts!
Something that we talked about in earlier posts.

Brison...day 2

Yesterday Scott Brison reacted fairly quickly in attempting to rebut allegations linking him to the income trust investigation. He deserves kudos for responding in a timely fashion and for releasing the emails in question. He also deserves credit for essentially admitting he did something stupid. He does not deserve any credit for his less than transparent response to the initial enquiries by the Globe reporter. Indeed, if he had been as "open" at that time this whole thing might have been considerably less damaging. Only time will tell precisely how much damage has been inflicted.
At the same time, it should be expected that some journalists will pursue another angle to this story in the coming days. Where did this leak come from...the RCMP?...a rival Grit leadership camp?...or perhaps an old Tory friend trying to settle accounts with former Tory Brison?
Intriguing!

Another day...another MacKay...

Lip-shooter Peter MacKay has had a shaky start as our new Foreign Affairs Minister. He started off yakking about new intelligence and the Canadians being held hostage in Iraq in one of his first interviews. This was risky for many reasons. Blabbing about "intelligence" only confirms a lack thereof. But "spinning" intelligence is even worse! It will only lead a minister into trouble and in this case within a couple of days MacKay was apologising to the hostages families for his gum-flapping.
Then earlier this month MacKay decided to wade into the growing debate over Canada's role in Afghanistan. As part of his comments he left some journalists to believe that the military would decide how long we stay in A-stan. No doubt young Peter does not realise just how egregious was his error on this one. It is pretty well understood in western democracies that the "government", not the generals, determine military deployments. In fact, that is one of the major reasons we consider ourselves democracies. Peter did not correct this faux-pas, but his boss sure did within 24 hours! And PM Harper deserves credit for that too.
It seems that two screw ups were not enough to keep Peter happy. So, he also decided to wade into mid-east issues. In this case, the Globe and Mail reported a softening of Canada's position towards Hamas. Naturally, the possibility of this change of direction stirred a bit of controversy and young Peter received some comment. Needless to say, flip has led to another flop and today the G&M reports on Peter's latest retreat.
It can only be hoped that MacKay's new communications guru, Dan Dugas, can help to cure the "open mike" syndrome which seems to be afflicting the Minister. But one has to wonder what Dugas was smoking last week! He has taken on a Herculean task by the looks of the first month.

Storm clouds for Brison?

The Globe and Mail has an ominous story implicating Scott Brison in the on-going income-trust probe. So far this is a story only in the Globe. Brison wants to find a way to disprove and kill the story...this morning!

This is a big surprise

The opposition parties in the House of Commons have indicated that they are not pleased with PM Harper's reaction to the ethics probe of David Emerson. At the same time, the Tories found a hound to send out. I guess we can expect business as usual on April 3rd.
And, more importantly, it is interesting to note the availability of Ms. Buckler for one of the media outlets following the story. This too will likely be business as usual.

St. Edward demurs...

CTV is reporting that Bizarro is preparing to dump ethics commissioner Bernard Sheepiro.
In the same piece, CTV also reports that the Tories approached St. Edward of Broadbent to see if he would take on the role of Ethics Poobah. Apparently, he has said no. But the whole concept got me thinking.
It would seem and odd choice to select a person so recently-retired from the push and pull of a minority House of Commons for a position that is supposed to be above the fray of daily political hurly-burly. But on second thought it is entirely logical that, as St. Edward heads into another retirement, a Tory government would want to use him as their ethical beard. It would simply appear that this is yet another example of Bizarro emulating his mentor...Brian M. Mulroney. Readers will recall that upon a previous retirement way back in 1990 St. Edward was appointed President of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. This nice little Order in Council gig lasted until 1996. It should also be noted, as I recall, that Brian M. made the appointment at a time when his government had endured many months of unsavoury tales of Tory "tail-gating" fundraising activity and some Cabinet resignations (ED Note: Did all this happen when Bernard Roy was Chief of Staff!?!). So, you see, St. Edward served as a wonderful little change of pace even way back in 1989. And clearly Harper remembered this...or was reminded by someone.

We are honoured...

I just thought I would note how honoured I am to be able to report that it appears we have been visited by a Tory MP, Dean Allison. They were kind enough to leave a little "referral" trail on our site metre for us to follow back to their home page.
I trust that they are finding interesting reading...here and at all Liblogs!

Two views...

Funding of political parties has been a question and questionable matter for many years. We noticed a piece in yesterday's TO Star that hypothesised about the diabolical new federal rules and how they are affecting the Grit leadership race. With due respect, Mr. Griffiths has left out several key considerations.
First: Bill C-24 remains one of the few concrete government reactions to the problems brought to the fore in the sponsorship program. Liberals have been "dumb as a bag of hammers" to not recognise and trumpet this too!
Second: Other jurisdictions (Quebec, par example) have even more restrictive regimes in place and are still able to have effective leadership races.
Third: Critics of C-24 have come almost solely from the "bag of hammer" wing of the Liberal Party on Bay Street, while the other parties are managing the new realities quite nicely, thank you very much. One senses that the other parties would also have no problem during a leadership.
Fourth: The so-called front line candidates who have chosen not to run probably took a pass because they realised that being Leader of the Opposition did not have the same allure as Prime Minister of Canada.
Not to be too harsh, I would also point out that McKenna came to the alter many times in recent years and never made the jump into the federal arena; Manley ran the last time, but chose not to finish the race; Tobin threathened to run last time, and chose not to run the race; Rock threatened to run last time, and similarly chose not to run the race. Frankly, the whole notion of first tier, second tier, etc. is nothing more or less than media and intellectual snobism.
Fifth: A happy side benefit to C-24, which I can base on all the faulty logic of Mr. Griffiths, will be to force the Liberal contenders to build truly volunteer organisations. And that will see a real rebuilding of the party...more so than all the policy debate you care to hold!!!
And, finally, if all of this does not make my point...I ask if you prefer a party that has to respond to the innuendo facing Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in today's TO Star?
I think not. While the issues are not identical to 1964, the message applies that the times they are a-changing...will the Grits?

On winning and losing...

Ken Dryden has been working the crowds at the NS Grit AGM. In fact, reports are that he has opined that the recent election loss may indeed be a good thing for the party. He is quoted as saying,"It's really only when you lose that you start to learn...".
He may have a point. His own very successful past with the Canadiens and in other personal endeavours, however, makes one wonder how he would know what a big loss might be. Ooops...I forgot about his tenure as head honcho of the Maple Leafs!
Seriously, I suspect that Dryden's problem is going to turn out to be that to him everything starts with a sports analogy. And then it evolves into a seemingly interminable mental duel as the words creep across his lips. Simply stated he is frightfully long-winded and painfully short on any apparent political decision-making ability. He does not know the path to the political jugular.
Look at his comments earlier this week with respect to the Alberta health care proposals. All you have to do is contrast the Liberal Party's press release with the reports of the words delivered by teleconference by their Health Critic. Dryden was apparently not able to "lift" the words and sentiment from the pages of the presser for the reporter. This is a key lacking in a leadership contender. And it is something that can be learned. Grits should watch Dryden carefully to see if he improves.

Globe says New names surface in Liberal leadership derby

The Globe is saying that new names have surfaced in Liberal leadership derby. Well, McGuinty's name has been around for some time. Pritchard IS a new concept. But what about the Domenic D'Alessandros of the world?
Also...where are the women? Surely there are more possibilities than Belinda Stronach and Martha Findlay. And I am talking quantity here, not quality.

John Godfrey Leadership...

UPDATE:
Kinsella corrected his earlier post to indicate that Bobby will be working on the Stronach campaign.
______________________________________________

Warren Kinsella is reporting that Bobby R. (of olympic bid fame?) will be running John Godfrey's leadership campaign. Assuming that this might be Bobby Richardson, he has a long track record within Ontario Liberal Party circles...like everyone he has some successes (winning Lyn McLeod leadership) and some failures (Lyn McLeod losing 1995 general election). At last report he was a partner at Wave Communications in Toronto...in addition to his recent appointment by the Government of Ontario. Not sure if Wave is still active though, as their web site is not responding.

A New Traditon...FAVES

HarperBizarroâ„¢ has only been around since mid-January. We are starting to get some "traction", as the pundits might say and our viewership is on the rise. Nowhere near the Calgary Grit or Kinsella numbers mind you...but climbing nonetheless.
Readers will note that in the links on this site I have created an "...our Faves" section. I intend to do a posting when I elevate another site to such an exalted position. (tongue firmly in cheek) These elevations will not indicate any specific endorsement of anything written on these sites...just that I like them in general.
Today my extensive editorial board has advised that we will be adding Bowie's Call. Keep up the good work!

Tories and Throne Speeches (1 & 2)

Isn't it about time that we start conjecture on what will be in the Tory Speech from the Throne (SFT)? 5Ps.
OK...that was easy.
But I can't stop right there. Let's have a little conjecture. They will have an SFT on April 3rd. They will sit the House until early June (current SOs say June 9th) in order accomplish whatever they deem necessary. I would guess that list includes:

• A budget or maybe even a mini-budget with only key things included given the short prep time (they can lower the GST upon introduction of the budget);
• An Accountability Act effort of some sort;
• Something on the law and order front;
• Some move on child care; and
• Something on the "waste in government" file.

Then they will prorogue the House. Look for a second SFT this fall! And you read it here first. Conjecture is fun, eh?!?

No surprise...Harper to ignore ethics

I see that the Harper ethical halo has slipped another notch. Actually that halo has pretty much become a noose given the PMO reaction to the news that the Ethics Commissioner will be conducting a preliminary inquiry into the "inducement" of David Emerson to cross the floor. (ED Note: It would be nice if Mr. Shapiro and his staff could manage to post "open letters" on their web site for citizens to see.)
The language used by Sandra Buckler during her reaction to Shapiro's announcement is likely to cause another complaint from Members of Parliament. Frankly, she should be hauled in front of both the Ethics guy and the House Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Remembering that the Ethics Commissioner is an Officer of Parliament who was approved by Parliament, her specific reference to "this Liberal appointee" could certainly be considered to be in contempt of Parliament.
None of this reaction should come as a big surprise however. Readers will recall that this is not the first time that Bizarro has thumbed his nose at an ethics probe...the Grewal inquiry fits in case you forget.
What is really at question is precisely why Harper would react in this way. Several possibilities exist. It could be that they just simply want to create a crisis around Shapiro in order to get rid of him. That might work because the Bloc could possibly support him as they have indicated they are wont to do. It could also be that the intent is to create a crisis of such magnitude as to bring down the government. This would be risky business but it would catch the Grits leaderless (and yes a return of Paul Martin would be the same as being leaderless). It is hard to imagine that the other parties would let this go that far. The Bloc is waning, not waxing and the other two have fiscal and/or leadership fixes required.
It could also just be that the stridently vitriolic reaction could be just another blunder by a PMO still trying to find its sea legs. This is most likely I believe.
First of all, look at the actual reasons that the Tories are giving as to why the probe should not occur. They make sense...Shapiro is incompetent and his abilities have been questioned by all parties previously; Shapiro inconsistently refused to even have a preliminary look into the alleged Valeri problem during the campaign; and, finally, this is a political not an ethical issue. It is hard to argue against any of these "substantive" points. But they are clouded by the fact that Ms. Buckler was most intemperate in her delivery.
We must now await comment from Bizarro himself before we learn their true disposition on this matter. One thing we know for sure is that this whole notion of getting Emerson to cross the floor and replacing the ethics czar was not raised during the campaign and is not one of the 5 Ps. It is just another indication to Bizarro and his staff that governing is a little bit different and substanially more complex than he might have thought.

Williams to tackle McCartney on Larry King Live

The Globe is reporting that Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will tackle Paul McCartney on seal hunt issues tonight on Larry King Live. This should be a show of shows!
Having said that, and recognising that it may just be me, but...why the hell is a provincial premier out defending on an issue that is federal jurisdiction? This asymmetric/open/cooperative federalism just isn't going to work in the long run.

Ooops...Shapiro Reverse Career Move!

I see that Bernard Shapiro has taken a giant step towards the unemployment line by announcing that he will investigate l'Affaire Emerson.

Remembering Sam...

Sam Bulte was a good Member of Parliament who was savagely attacked in the last election campaign by the anti-copyright amalgam led by Michael Geist from his Ivory Tower at Ottawa U. Their venomous and unrelenting attacks no doubt cost her the election to Jack Layton's NDP buddy in the riding of Parkdale High Park.
Well...this interesting tidbit should fire up the beasts again. I draw your attention to this line in the article: "Newly appointed Heritage Minister Beverley Oda has said in recent interviews that she's in favour of copyright reform."
Have a good wry laugh Sam! And enjoy your weekend!

Remembering Reg Alcock...part II

The other day we noted that Reg Alcock and Grit leadership hopeful Belinda Stronach were joining their ample forces in common cause to chase that brass ring. I also noted the fact that Belinda's web site lacked any Liberal logo.
A reader has commented that Belinda is not allowed to have a Liberal logo on her web site as it is her MP site. I beg to differ. If it was a Government of Canada site it would appropriately have a gc.ca domain name. And apparently the Parliamentary Web Site would seem to agree, since it has disclaimers noting that individual Parliamentarians web sites are NOT part of the Parliament of Canada web site. I guess I was too subtle in trying to make my point that if you are gunning for the top job you should be "political". Like some of her possible opposition.
But more importantly, this question revolves around the use of the web in politics today. Belinda has used the belinda.ca domain for her own purposes in the past. Why would she not continue to do so and have some sort of mirror site for her "official" duties? That is the type of smart tactical thinking that the Grits must employ as the embark upon a rebuilding.
Liberals need to wake up and smell the roses...get partisan! Certainly their opposition are if you follow links from the parliamentary web site like this one, or this one, or from a Minister or two (use eagle eye on the links for this one), etc. I won't waste your time following more links. Although I do note there are some unabashed Grits... and even some who like the old Chrétien logo.
While the reader is correct to suggest that MPs should be non-partisan in the services they provide to constituents, the fact is that they also can't forget their partisan needs.

Grit Leadership...NS Shindig

This week is the Nova Scotia Liberal AGM. We hear that federal leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff will be pulling out all the stops. Look for a bunch of MPs/Senators to provide "encouragement" to his candidacy. Don't be surprise if you see his main shills, Senator David Smith, Alf Apps, etc. roaming the corridors. It will also be intersting to see what MPs Robert Thibault and Rodger Cuzner have to say.
Have fun gang!

The Problem with Polling

Pollsters are becoming far too integrated into our political culture. Of particular concern is the "media poll". Quick questions are added to broader omnibus surveys and then the results of the political questions are blared across the banners on 24 hour TV and our major print media. They are meaningless! They are less than meaningless...they are in fact, nothing more or less than marketing tools for both the pollsters and the media entities involved.
Need proof...look at this Decima effort...one from today and one from two weeks ago. The Decima folks are trying to read all kinds of implication from their numbers. They should know better. In the poll from today they also asked about Canada's men's Olympic hockey loss and heaven knows what else.
The media across the country will put varying headlines on the story, most of which are only marginally connected to the actual data. They will mention the dates and size of the poll and the margin of error. However, neither the media nor the pollsters will never publish all of the questions and the sequence in which they are asked. They also will not reveal the "refusal" rates that they experience in trying to accumulate the deomographically sound sample for the poll. Another difficulty in the modern polling era is the advent of "panel" surveys. Ask any good pollster and they will tell you that these are key criteria that many ignore when evaluating and interpreting results. They will also tell you to be very wary of media polls.

Gimme, gimme...never gets!

Long ago, my parents taught me that "gime, gimme...never gets". They also taught me that it was Ontario's role in Canada to be the inspiration for the entire confederation. That means, of course, that Ontarians can't measure our involvement in Confederation in terms of dollars and cents. Instead we must always define our role in terms of generosity and the broader good.
For most of my life, through successive Premiers of every political stripe, Ontario has been the model of generosity and common federalist sense. In the last two years, however, this has changed. The current Premier Dalton McGuinty appears to be more worried about his own political hide than he is about his province and country. His fiscal imbalance crusade is more fitting of a Premier of a have-not province and now he is whining about Ontario's relative representation in the Senate of Canada. In totally ignoring the original purpose of the Senate (i.e. non-elected chamber of second thought that was to reflect regional concern in a balanced manner) he now claims it is time to get rid of Senate.
The whiny brother tone of his diatribe is impossible to miss and not fitting for a Liberal Premier of Canada's strongest province.

Harper and his promises

The Toronto Star's Jim Travers intones today with a weighty piece on why Harper should break some promises. His thesis is reasonable...as far as it goes.
What he fails to note is that Bizarro is already well into the breaking of promises. Accountability? Poof...gone with the inexplicable appointment of his campaign chair to the Senate and Cabinet. Elected Senate? Poof...gone (see first poof)! Riding a high ethical horse? Poof...gone with the appointment of a former defence industry lobbyist as Defence Minister! Eliminate patronage? Poof...gone within minutes of becoming PM by making campaign chair John Reynolds a Privy Councillor (which in turn was only days before Reynolds revived his lobbying career with a major law firm). Tackling cynicism towards politics? Poof...gone with the contrived recruitment of David Emerson! Floor crossers should face by-elections? Poof...gone (see preceding issue)!
Travers also confines himself to two rather narrow areas for his own "prescriptive" promise-breaking. Yes the defence commitment to strategic airlift is inane and yes the promise to arm border guards is equally questionable. But, why not look at one issue that is of even more import to "real" people. Namely, child care.
Bizarro got 36% of the vote on January 23rd. The combined opposition therefore received somewhere around 64%. The opposition parties are relatively united in their support of the early learning and child care program implemented by the last government. At the same time, the Tory plan to provide "choice in child care" (their exact words) with a $1200 per child payment directly to Canadian parents.
The keys here are that the Tories were promising "choice" and they received a minority government endorsement only. Well...there are a significant number of Canadians who like to current option for "choice". So why don't the Tories put a little water in their wine and simply add their proposal onto the existing embryonic program. In fact, they could cut out the business subsidy component in order to be more fiscally responsible if they like...or drop that strategic lift concept from their defence plans as Travers suggests...in order to finance the altered approach to providing children and families better child care.
It can be done. Politicians must put partisanship aside when it comes to our children's future!

Attenshun!...On another matter

On another matter...now that President Shrub has beat him to Afghanistan, Bizarro demures with respect to the hike to the mid-east. Harper is also trying to find out who "leaked" the concept in the first place...look out below in PMO Comms shop!

Trouble Brewing in Tory Cabinet?

I note that earlier today our Foreign Affairs Minister Peter McKay indicated that he would be meeting with the Mexican Foreign Affairs minister tomorrow when he is Ottawa tomorrow (the Mexican minister, that is...not Peter...who has already made a smashing debut in international travel, complete with that silly picture of he and Jack Straw playing some weird had game).
Anyway, I digress...in spite of that earlier release from FAC, look what just popped up on the wires! Tally-ho...it seems that Bizarro doesn't think that Peter Gordon is up to the job of dealing with the Mexicans on this whole Cancun murder file!
Smells like trouble brewing in Toryland to me. Come to think of it, maybe CBC cancelled This is Wonderland after determining that the activities of the real-life Tory government would make better comedic viewing anyway!

Whatever Happened to the Days When...

As I look at the fledgling Liberal Leadership campaign I am moved to wonder...whatever happened to the days when politicians announced their intention "to run", as opposed to their intention "not to run"?
Indeed, it is a bit melodramatic that a number of potential Grit leaders chose to announce their intnetions not to run (McKenna, Manley, et al). Who the hell cares if they are NOT getting involved? Oooops...obviously the media! But what a jaded prism through which to report on national politics. Not to mention that those who chose to play the non-running game can look pretty silly if they change their minds at a later date.
Take, for instance, Ontario's erstwhile Education Minister Gerard Kennedy. Just a short while ago, on February 6th to be precise, the CTV newshounds reported: "Meanwhile, Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy, touted by Liberal bloggers as a possible contender, ruled himself out of the game.
"I'm busy with what I'm doing. I don't have an interest in changing what I'm doing,'' he said in an interview."
Sounds pretty definitive doesn't it? Yup! Well...not really. At least not really if we can believe today's TO Star which proclaims: Top Liberal MPP Ponders...blah, blah, blah. Naturally, Gerard Kennedy is the top Liberal in question. Though one has to think that perhaps Premier McGuinty would prefer a little less distraction for his senior learning guy in a government that McGuinty continually says has education as a top priority. Meanwhile, whatever happened to McGuinty's ban on federal activity for senior Ontario Liberal types? Warren Kinsella announced this some time back in a CTV appearance which you can find on this CTV page (click on Mike Duffy Live interview link in right column).

Some Grit Stuff...Remember Reg Alcock?

I understand that Reg Alcock, the former Liberal President of the Treasury Board and former MP from Manitoba, will be a heavy hitter (no pun intended) in the Belinda Stronach Grit leadership extravaganza (see if you can find a Grit logo on her web site). To wit: he will be running the show. There is no truth to the further rumour that Stronach has gone missing somewhere in rural Québec while on a hunt for the French language.

Alberta, Medicare and Clement

It is interesting that Ralphie Klein did not share his health care report with his buddy Bizarro last Friday when he was “entertained” at 24 Sussex. At least, we must assume that he didn’t share it given the studied response that federal Health Minister Tony Clement provided last evening. I guess that we should just be happy that Clement out to meet the press, unlike after the recent Quebec health care announcement.

Over to you Bizarro...

Yesterday US President Bush made his first visit to Afghanistan. The pressure will now mount on Bizarro to carry through on recent musings about a trip of his own. Since his officials and DND officials have raised the expectations bar on this, it will be interesting to see whether Harper choses to go.