Tag Archives: Liberal Leadership

Roundup: Fictional carbon taxes

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The first day back in the Commons, and all anyone can talk about is whether or not the NDP was proposing a carbon tax. Which they weren’t. But hey, why not use this hysteria as a distraction from actual debate? Van Loan laid out what the plans were for the fall – new budget implementation bill, which will likely include changes to MP pensions, RCMP bill, more tough on crime measures – but the Lawful Access bill was notably absent. Amidst the whole Conservative/NDP carbon tax vs. cap-and-trade punch and counter-punch, economist Stephen Gordon lays out the economic differences between the two.

Oh noes! Government backbenchers are showing a bit of backbone and having independent thought. We The Media must immediately crush this by writing “IS STEPHEN HAPRER LOSING CONTROL OF HIS CAUCUS?” stories.

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Roundup post: Parliament’s back!

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Hey everyone – Parliament is back today! Yes, I’m quite giddy with excitement. The Conservatives are gearing up to attack the NDP quite aggressively. Thomas Mulcair, incidentally, wants Harper to get the Conservatives to stop lying about his supposed “carbon tax” plan.

The CNOOC-Nexen deal is exposing some fault-lines in the Conservative party, going right up to the cabinet level, between those who recognise the need for better trade deals, and those anti-communists suspicious of the Chinese regime.

Some Conservative MPs are dealing with the fallout out budget cuts in their ridings, and hoping to change a few minds in cabinet.

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Roundup: Farewell, Peter Lougheed

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Former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed passed away last night at age 84, in the hospital that bears his name. Lougheed started the reign of the Progressive Conservatives in the province, which has kept on for more than 40 years. He was one of the premiers at the centre of the patriation of the constitution, and fought for provincial rights. Here are some statements from Stephen Harper, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and his ultimate political successor, premier Alison Redford.

Looking ahead to the return of Parliament next week, there will be another budget bill this autumn that promises to be pretty contentious as well.

Here is a good summary of the whole issue between the House of Commons and the Auditor General on that Access to Information issue.

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Roundup: Calls for “swift justice” in Libya

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In the wake of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, John Baird is calling for “swift justice.” (How does that fit in with the rule of law and a fair trial? Just wondering.) We’ll also be reviewing the security of our embassy in Tripoli. This Reuters report seems to indicate that the attack was planned, and not the work of an angry mob.

Julian Fantino wants you to donate to the West African hunger crisis relief funds as a way of thwarting terrorism.

On the case of the Commons blocking that Access to Information request, the Speaker’s office says they are duty-bound to protect the privileges of the House until such time as the House decides otherwise.

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Roundup: The road to 2015

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From the NDP caucus meeting in St. John’s, Thomas Mulcair made a speech about their “positive, optimistic” future, and how the road to 2015 starts now. As part of that road, the party plans to target youth voters in the next election. Meanwhile, MPs have reaffirmed their belief that 50 percent-plus-one is enough for Quebec to separate, which has the Liberals sounding like they plan to put a motion on the Order Paper about support for the Clarity Act this fall.

The Liberals have formally announced the rules for their leadership contest, which kicks off in November. While We The Media wait to hear whether or not Justin Trudeau will run (who says the party needs teamwork and not a saviour), we’re now getting musings from Jim Karygiannis (aka “Jimmy K”) and Joyce Murray.

Pauline Marois referred to herself as “Head of State.” Um, no. That’s the Queen. You might be the province’s head of government (provided that you can maintain the confidence of the Chamber in a minority context), but you’re not the Head of State. Not even close.

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Roundup: The new Quebec landscape

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Now that she will be attempting to form a government in Quebec, Pauline Marois is vowing to toughen language laws and scrap the tuition hikes – but whether or not she’ll get enough support remains to be seen. And if she wants provincial control over EI, well, Diane Finley’s not keen to give up that power either. In the wake of the shooting at the PQ rally Tuesday night, the federal political leaders have all offered their condolences and condemnation. Paul Wells offers some perspective of previous incidents of violence ostensibly tied to the political debate in Montreal. Jean Charest has stepped down as the provincial Liberal party leader after a 28-year political career. Susan Delacourt remembers her encounters with him.

The shooting incident has several Liberal MPs recalling their own issues with security in the past.

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Roundup: A minority plus some insanity

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So, it’s looks like Pauline Marois is going to attempt to form a minority government in Quebec – assuming that she can get the confidence of the National Assembly. But hey, it was far from the wipe out of the Quebec Liberals that some were predicting, and it was fairly close in seat count – within four seats at writing time. (If you want to use the flawed metric of the popular vote, it was even closer, but again, it’s a flawed metric that isn’t actually measuring what you think it is). Jean Charest did lose his own seat, and we’ll see who runs to replace him as party leader once he steps down (which is likey to be announced soon). I’ve already heard rumours that MP Denis Coderre could be interested, for what it’s worth. Also, it’s worth noting that there is really no mandate for a new referendum – sovereignty is polling at an all-time low, and the mandate between the PQ and Quebec Solidaire is far less than the 40 percent that the previous PQ government felt would be necessary to even broach the topic. So, small favours. Stephen Harper, incidentally, is looking forward to working on their shared goals – like jobs and the economy.

And then things went crazy. Marois was pulled off-stage during her victory speech as apparently a man in a blue bathrobe entered the back of the theatre, shot two people and set a fire on his way out. He was quickly arrested and apparently shouted “Les anglais se réveillent” or “The English are rising” as he was loaded into the car. One person was shot and killed, another treated for shock, and the fire was quickly doused, and things were under control in short order. It was turned the tenor of the coverage around in a flash.

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Roundup: The Quebec decision

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There’s an election in Quebec today, and the pundit class are calling for a PQ victory, despite all of those usual caveats that we don’t trust polls, especially after what happened in the Alberta election. Curiously, the Quebec Liberals are calling for police investigations into what they call illegal robo-calls being made yesterday. Thomas Mulcair is downplaying the potential strife between his “federalist” Quebec caucus and a PQ government.

A plane hired by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) that was carrying a banner that read “Steven Harper Hates Us” in French, was grounded after the RCMP may have been a bit overzealous about it entering restricted airspace. PSAC and the pilot say that the RCMP were concerned the banner was “hate speech,” which the RCMP deny. Note that there weren’t any charges laid, and this “Stephen Harper hates me/us” campaign has been going on from PSAC for weeks now without any particular issue (other than it’s kind of infantile). Incidentally, PSAC has gone on to endorse the PQ in the Quebec election, which is kind of odd, considering that they represent federal public servants, but “they don’t take a position on sovereignty.” Note that back in 2006, then PSAC president and now “federalist” NDP MP Nycole Turmel also endorsed the Bloc.

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Roundup: Additional reporting powers requested

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Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson says that politicians are honest, but when the Act comes up for review she wants additional powers, especially when it comes to MPs reporting gifts.

What’s that? The government may be rigging sole-source contracts? You don’t say!

In light of Senator Fairbairn’s dementia and Rob Ford’s hospitalisation, we ask ourselves once again if we give Canadian politicians too much privacy, and where do we draw that line?

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Roundup: An F-35 friendly new defence chief?

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The new Chief of Defence Staff has been named – Lieutenant General Tom Lawson, an RCAF officer with 37 years experience who is currently serving as the deputy commander of NORAD and has been a vocal proponent of the F-35 fighter acquisition. So immediately we have to wonder just what Harper is telegraphing in his choice of Lawson as CDS. Paul Wells notes that Lawson, like the outgoing Natynczyk, has a great deal of American experience, which is interesting.

The Corrections Investigator, Howard Sapers, is ringing the alarm over record prison populations and double bunking levels leading to increased violence. But wait – didn’t Vic Toews say that the prisoner population explosion didn’t happen and they’re going to close prisons because of it?

Apparently Stephen Harper “owns” the Arctic as a policy file. Um, okay, so he goes up for photo ops and to announce new National Parks every summer. But the fact that he hasn’t fulfilled any of his sovereignty-related promises, that food prices in the North continue to climb, and climate change remains pretty much a zero on his regular policy agenda, it doesn’t speak to highly for his commitment to the file that he “owns,” does it?

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