Harper cozying up to media?

It was bone-chillingly cold on Parliament Hill Tuesday but inside Centre Block, there was a hint of a thaw in the air.

    Word came that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be holding a brief noon-hour media availability in the foyer of the House of Commons to discuss efforts to strike a compromise with the Liberals over the future of Canada's mission in Afghanistan .

   In a somewhat surprising move, officials in the Prime Minister's office said reporters could decide amongst themselves who would pose questions to Harper — he only had time for four questions.

    That's a small but significant change from previous events when PMO press aides themselves have controlled the list of media questioners, one big reason for the tense relations between Harper's office and the parliamentary press gallery. 

    So does Tuesday news conference signal that broader changes are in the works to patch up frayed relations with the media? Too soon to say, most reporters say. But they certainly saw it as an encouraging step forward.

 

Wrapped in red

Heartbeats quickened today outside the Liberal caucus room, when MP after MP exited the room sporting red scarves.

Red scarves, one might remember, were the accessory of choice for the leadership supporters of Michael Ignatieff at the 2006 Liberal leadership convention. 

So what was this? Had another leadership battle broken out in caucus?

Sadly, for journalists who miss the old days of Liberal infighting, the red scarves are a more unifying symbol  this week. They were being sold by Liberals on Parliament Hill today to raise money for poverty -- specifically, the Ladybug Foundation, which supports charitable organizations that "touch a homeless person in the next 24 hours."

It's the brainchild of an 11-year old girl named Hannah Taylor, who is billed as Canada's youngest advocate for the homeless. Her story is here: http://www.ladybugfoundation.ca/ 

Hannah was on hand today in the Commons foyer to help promote tomorrow, Jan. 31, as the first ever "National Red Scarf Day."

Vanity, thy name is ....

The government lobby of the House of Commons has some new wallpaper - in the form of photographs of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

At some point while MPs were away for the extended Christmas break, the lobby was re-plastered with pictures of Harper, much to the bemusement of visitors - and, no doubt, awed respect from his loyal caucus. Garth Turner, the former Conservative turned Liberal MP from Halton, took his camera into the lobby and has posted the decorating makeover on his site.

Talking to reporters yesterday about the new portrait gallery, Turner said: "When I was last in the caucus there were pictures of former prime ministers on the wall. There was a nice picture of Sir John and a nice picture of Diefenbaker. ... Now there's only one prime minister on all the walls, and that is Mr. Harper."

No one can remember any other prime minister or party leader using the Commons lobbies for vanity displays. The Liberals have posted photos of all their former leaders on the wall -- even those who served temporarily, such as the venerable Herb Gray from Windsor.

Turner, for his part, thinks the photo montage is unseemly. "Obviously a guy with a big ego likes to have lots of pictures of himself to look at, but I think it begs a few questions. The House of Commons of course belongs to all of us, and right now it's turned into quite the little show.

There are photos of Mr. Harper in front of airplanes, Mr. Harper wearing firefighter gear, Mr. Harper broadcasting a hockey game, Mr. Harper meeting the Dalai Lama."

According to Turner, this is just another vivid illustration of Harper's penchant for control. "All the walls there are now adorned with photos of Mr. Harper in case any of his caucus forgets who they work for."

Hide and Don't Peek -

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has been unavailable to scrum with national media for more than six weeks, contenting himself with small announcements of crime prevention projects in regional centres.

In that time, there have been many news stories involving agencies under his portfolio that he has yet to comment on: Canadian Border Services Agency's version of events in the death of Robert Dziekanski; the RCMP's change in Taser policy; a task force led by lawyer David Brown which called for a complete overhaul of RCMP management and oversight;  and the controversy over the treatment of prisoners in Afghanistan, which is directly monitored by Canadian correctional officals.

Today, at a funding announcment to promote an online safety awareness project for children and parents, reporters were all but barred from quizzing Day. After three questions, his cabinet colleague Vic Toews stepped in and shut down the question period.

Toews said the questions could be taken up with the minister "later" and only questions about the announcement would be taken.

After a photo op, however, Day stopped only to take questions for a promotional video for Telus - one of the private sponsors of the same project Day had just promoted.

He ducked into a coatroom, refusing to take questions from parliamentary press gallery reporters on the treatment of Afghan detainees, while staff shut the door.

Then he strode down a hall to an elevator, declining to speak on the future of the RCMP, saying only that his government was doing "good work" as a staffer physically blocked reporters from entering the elevator.

Credit where credit's due

TOM HANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS

'And if my esteemed colleague would just check his Blackberry...' Ok, so Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon is seen responding to a Bloc Quebecois question in the House of Commons Monday. But maybe he was already feeling slighted.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice might want to sign up to get Transport Canada's news releases. If he had been on the department’s distribution list, he might have avoided the gaffe he made Monday in the House of Commons.

Prentice was touting his government's work to help the manufacturing sector and singled out the "Minister of the Environment" for his work on a "stringent North American fuel standard and dealing with infrastructure issues."

Of course both fuel standards and infrastructure issues are the responsibility of Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, who has publicized his work on both files in news releases from his department. In particular, a Jan. 17 release noted Cannon's intent to regulate the fuel consumption of new cars and light trucks, beginning with the 2011 model year.

Prentice's comments during Question Period prompted a mock shrug of confusion from Environment Minister John Baird. And as soon as Prentice sat down in his seat after his response, Cannon was leaning over and talking, no doubt to set the record straight.

Sad news for Liberals

Liberals today are mourning the sad and untimely death of 34-year-old Brad Davis, a young lawyer and father who served as a senior adviser to Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff, during and after the leadership campaign. A scant few weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer, Davis has died, leaving a wife, two young children and a large circle of Liberal friends who are still incredulous at the news.

Only a few days ago, Davis's old boss used his blog to talk about his fondness for Davis and his hopes for his recovery. Titled "A Post for Brad," Ignatieff writes about the history of their friendship, going back to the 2006 election campaign in Etobicoke-Lakeshore.

Ignatieff also writes candidly of the surprise cancer diagnosis.

"Through the late fall of 2007, I began to notice that he was losing weight and his colour wasn't good. When I asked him whether he was OK, he told me for the first time that for 20 years he had suffered from a chronic condition and that he now needed some minor surgery. In late December the surgery took place and the discovery was made that Brad had cancer."

But in what must be one of the most poignantly coincidental parts of the post, Ignatieff writes that Davis was proudest of the work Liberals did on the issue of Afghan detainees - an issue that burst into the headlines today, with the news that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has actually stopped the transfer of prisoners, as the opposition had been demanding.

"On the Afghan detainee issue, over more than three weeks in May, 2007, working with Denis Coderre and other members of caucus, we forced the government to revise its agreement with the Afghan government and put in a monitoring system to check that the agreement was being followed through. Both of us felt that the detainee issue was one of those moments when we did what Oppositions are supposed to do," Ignatieff writes.

At the time Ignatieff wrote his post to Davis, he was still hoping for a miracle recovery. "When a friend is in trouble, you often discover how much you need him. That's the case with Brad. Everyone around him has discovered how much we need him."

Jason Cherniak, the young lawyer who heads up Liblogs, was gently letting the blogosphere know today that one of the Liberals' savvier Internet strategists was gone: "Brad will be remembered by Liberals as a smart, creative, friendly man who had much more to contribute to Canadian politics than we will ever know," Cherniak told the Star today.

UPDATE: Ignatieff on the hope Davis inspired during his final weeks.

New Democrats gather at luxury resort

NDP Leader Jack Layton has gathered his MPs to plot policy and election strategy for a possible spring vote.

The theme of their caucus? "To make life more affordable for hard-working Canadians," the party claims.

The site of their conference? Chateau Montebello, a posh, high-priced resort east of Ottawa that has played host to world leaders, most recently an August meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexico President Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

"With economic uncertainty emerging as a predominant concern amongst ordinary Canadians, the NDP is re-doubling its efforts to make life more affordable for today’s families,” Layton said in a statement.

Given that affordability is the theme of the meeting, the choice of venue has raised a few eyebrows. Montebello boasts that it is "an exceptional resort famed for its rugged luxury.

"Here, in a stunning red cedar log château, you'll experience rustic elegance and a warm welcome," the resort's website says.

When they're not tied up in meetings, NDP MPs can partake in cross-country skiing, dogsledding, snowmobiling and relax at the resort's new spa that offers "inspiring treatments such as Maple Body Scrub or a Natural Rice Body Polish."

If the party was worried by appearances, a Holiday Inn might have been a more appropriate choice.

Pallister bowing out

Conservative MP Brian Pallister is stepping down from politics. The Manitoba politician has announced on his website that he won't be running in the next election.

BRIANPALLISTER.COM

Manitoba MP and one-time Conservative leadership candidate Brian Pallister announces he won't run again on his website.

Pallister (Portage-Lisgar) currently serves as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of International Trade and to the Minister of International Cooperation. He served in the Manitoba Legislature and the provincial cabinet before being elected to the House of Commons in 2000. He ran to lead the Progressive Conservatives in 1998.

But it seems the long political career is drawing to a close.

"I will not be contesting the next federal election whenever that occurs," Pallister wrote on his web site today.

In his message, he thanks supporters for their backing and says he's fought to strengthen Canada.

"Together we have had many successes. There is now a stronger fiscal framework in our province and our country. Budgets are being balanced, infrastructure is being rebuilt, the justice system is being strengthened, and support for Agriculture is a higher priority. We deserve some credit for this," he writes.

"More needs to be done and the conservative party is the right one to do it," he says.

See his full announcement here.

Dates to Remember

This is a significant week for political anniversaries, especially those surrounding former and current prime ministers.

The Liberals made a big deal of one of them in Toronto this week, marking 50 years since former prime minister Lester Pearson received the Nobel Peace Prize. Bob Rae, the foreign affairs critic, organized the occasion, telling the crowd he had to do it, because he was pretty sure Conservatives wouldn't do anything to draw attention to past Liberal glories.

That's not the only Liberal anniversary this week, however. It was four years ago tomorrow that Paul Martin was sworn in as prime minister and Jean Chretien stepped down. Chretien, in case anyone missed it, chose to mark that occasion with yet another swipe at Martin at the Pearson conference.

Conservatives, meanwhile, can also call Dec. 13 a date with destiny. Tomorrow is also the 28th anniversary of the fall of Joe Clark's short-lived minority government in Dec. 29 -- an event that would culminate in Clark eventually stepping down and Brian Mulroney stepping up to take his job. Perhaps Mulroney might want to note that when he appears to deliver his blockbuster testimony at the Commons ethics committee tomorrow?

Coincidentally, the man who put forward the motion to defeat the Clark government was none other than a man named Bob Rae, then a New Democrat member of Parliament. Wonder what Rae would say if someone told him back then that he'd end up as a Liberal 28 years later, organizing a conference to honour Pearson?

Fossils all around

Liberal leader Stephane Dion is blogging from the U.N. climate-change talks in Bali, Indonesia. So far, Dion has chronicled his arrival at the talks, a speech he made to local-government leaders and a meeting he held with Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the Climate Change Secretariat. In his most recent entry, Dion also boasts that while Canada was praised as a hero when these talks were held in Montreal, the Conservative government is receiving so-called "Fossil of the Day" awards from the Climate Action Network.

One wee problem with that boast - Dion himself has received a fossil award or two in the past, including one at the 2004 conference.

Nuclear Debate

MPs ventured into uncharted territory this week as they debated new legislation that would allow the Chalk River nuclear reactor to re-start and resume production of medical isotopes.

The emergency legislation was introduced Tuesday evening and the MPs moved into committee of the whole, essentially transforming the House of Commons into a large committee room to hear witnesses.

It was a rare event, deputy speaker Bill Blaikie told politicians, and he asked for their patience as Commons' staff worked out the kinks of accommodating the witnesses.

"We are doing something that has not been done for a very long time," Blaikie said.

In fact, he said having witnesses on the Commons floor had not been done since World War 2.

"We have some some logistical problems with microphones so I would beg the House's indulgence as we try to do this procedure that we have no experience at," he said.

To recognize that the committee of the whole is a less formal proceeding, Blaikie stepped down from the Speaker's chair and presided over the evening debate from the clerk's desk. And the large gold mace, which represents the authority conferred by the Queen on the Commons to meet and decide laws, was removed from the clerk's table and placed in a box.

Despite Blaikie's initial concerns, the four hours of testimony went relatively smoothly and at the end of the night, Commons' proceedings resumed and the legislation was passed -- but not before the mace was returned to its place of honor. The House of Commons cannot meet without it.

Hold please....

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien, speaking in Toronto today at a conference to honour one of his predecessors, Lester Pearson, gave a vivid illustration of how the present can intrude on the past. He was just warming up with some anecdotes of his time with Pearson in the 1960s, when suddenly a phone rang.

"Hey," Chrétien cried, realizing the ring was coming from his own pocket. He pulled out the device, squinted at it and said: "Looks like Bob Rae." Rae, in the audience, just laughed.

Chrétien couldn't manage to turn the phone off, however, and had to hand it off to someone back stage.

Um, sorry about that

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has expressed his personal "sorrow" to David Oliver, the one-time Liberal candidate he dumped during the last election amidst bribery claims.

It has since been revealed that those accusations - levelled by Oliver's NDP rival Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson and encouraged by the NDP party brass - were not true.

The federal New Democrats have since issued their own public apology - and paid a "substantial" financial settlement - to settle a lawsuit filed by Oliver, who ran in Abbotsford, B.C.

However, Oliver has said he wanted to hear a similar apology from Martin and the federal Liberal party for being quick to dump him without checking themselves the truth of the NDP claims.

Martin removed Oliver as the party's flag-bearer when the allegations were first levelled in the final weeks before the Jan. 23, 2006 vote.

"I have zero tolerance for that kind of thing, I acted, and that person is no longer a candidate for the Liberal party," Martin said at the time.

But on Monday, Martin called Oliver to say he was pleased that the NDP had admitted its fault in the political dust-up. "He also express(ed) his sorrow that Mr. Oliver had suffered as a result of those allegations," a source said.

No public statement was issued.

Godspeed to Godfrey

John Godfrey's announcement that's quitting politics sparked warm words of praise from Toronto Mayor David Miller - and a slap at the federal New Democrats.

Godfrey is leaving Parliament Hill next July to join the Toronto French school.

Miller hailed Godfrey, the Liberal MP for Don Valley West, as an elected official who "acts and succeeds on principle - not for narrow partisan advantage."

"Mr. Godfrey was interested in achievements, not in taking credit for them," Miller said in a statement posted on the City of Toronto website.

Because of that, Miller argues that Godfrey never got proper credit for his "extraordinary accomplishments" as minister of for cities and communities under former Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Soon after being named to the post, Godfrey built a strong partnership that gave the coalition of big city mayors direct input into the development of federal policies, topics like childcare, housing, public safety and infrastructure funding.

"John's leadership created a template for nation-building that recognizes Canada's cities must be partners in intergovernmental decision-making if our country is to achieve its full potential," Miller said.

But Miller complains that Jack Layton's decision to side with the opposition parties to topple the minority Liberals, resulting in the election that brought the Conservatives to power, has set back Toronto's interests.

The city was just "days away" from signing a new agreement to establish a permanent framework for co-operation between City Hall, Queen's Park and Ottawa "when the New Democratic Party brought down the Liberal government.

"Such an agreement will inevitably become reality because it is the right and responsible thing to do. It will stand as yet another of Mr. Godfrey's legacies," Miller says.

Seat belts fastened

Some people may have wondered, given his tough year, how Liberal leader Stephane Dion avoided any knives in the back this weekend when he plunged in among a couple of hundred riding presidents meeting in Montreal.

Well, it could be the choice of venue: the Liberals chose to hold their weekend sessions at the International Civil Aviation Organization headquarters, which meant that all attendees had to go through an airport-style security check.

Apparently an exception was allowed on Sunday, however, when a big cake was rolled out to mark Dion's first anniversary as Liberal leader. A knife was produced to cut the cake -- and it didn't have to be withdrawn first from between the leader's shoulder blades. 

Russian premier comes bearing honours

Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov will visit Parliament Hill Thursday as part of a longer visit to Canada.

His day starts with a Senate chamber where he will be met by Senate Speaker Noël Kinsella. During his visit he will present Senator Marcel Prud'homme, of La Salle, Que., with the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation. The award is presented to Russian residents as well as foreign citizens "who have made significant contributions to strengthening peace and mutual understanding." Prud'homme is the founding Chairman of Canada Russia Interparliamentary Group. It is the highest award given by the Russian government to a non-citizen. Only one other Canadian has received this Order - former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

Zubkov will also present Leslie Forrest, a Canadian veteran, with a commemorative medal to honour his role in the dangerous convoys that delivered vital wartime supplies to Russia. Forrest was just 15 when he sailed on the S.S. Empire Selwyn. On Thursday, he will be presented with the medal "the victory in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945." The medal is awarded to "citizens of foreign states who made significant contribution to the Russian battle," according to a news release from the Senate. The medal has been awarded to Canadian veterans who sailed on the ships that delivered supplies through the Barents Sea to the Russian port of Murmansk. More than 300 Canadian veterans have already received this medal.

Godfrey to leave politics

Toronto Liberal John Godfrey is quitting federal politics to return to his academics roots.

The MP for Don Valley West was expected to formally announce his decision Monday afternoon but party sources confirmed the news.

Sources say that Godfrey will leave politics in July to join the Toronto French School, a bilingual institution with more than 1,000 students.

Godfrey, 64, was first elected in 1993 and under former prime minister Paul Martin, served as cities minister, helping bring in a deal that saw municipalities get a share of federal gas tax revenues.

He ran briefly in the leadership race to replace Martin but dropped out after worries about his health. Before entering politics, Godfrey served 10 years as president of King’s College and a stint as editor of the Financial Post.

 

Recognize this

It seemed like an innocuous remark. During Question Period on Wednesday, Environment Minister John Baird gave a little shout-out to an aboriginal delegation in the spectators’ gallery, who had been on hand earlier in the day at the announcement of a big conservation project in Canada’s North.

But that’s a big no-no in parliamentary practice. Only the Commons Speaker can recognize visitors in the gallery, and MPs who have done the same in the past have been banned from speaking in Question Period for 30 days. Baird got off with a warning, though.

Even more extraordinary, though, was how that remark provoked Stephane Dion. The Liberal leader started wildly waving to the aboriginal delegation and then pointing to his own chest with both hands, arguing that Baird was trying to take credit for something he himself had done when he was environment minister. “It was me,” he shouted upward to the aboriginal leaders, who looked a bit perplexed by all the gesturing. Then Dion started barking at Baird, saying all the work on the conservation project had been done before Conservatives came to office and “you only had to sign your name.” Observers on both sides of the House averted their eyes at the outburst.

The lesson of all this? Recognition is apparently a sensitive subject in politics. It can even make you lose your dignity.

First impressions

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an impression of sorts when he landed in Uganda on Thursday to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. Wearing a two-tone grey suit, he was pictured in the New Vision newspaper in Uganda bending over shaking a little girl’s hand. Great visuals, but unfortunately, Harper was described in the newspaper only as a Canadian official.

 

Stepping aside

Deborah Coyne, who faced off for the Liberals against NDP leader Jack Layton in the riding of Toronto-Danforth during the last election, has decided not to run again. In a letter sent out earlier this month, Coyne says: “While I am keen to serve my country in Parliament some day, I am faced with significant personal and financial constraints that make my candidacy in Toronto-Danforth impossible at this time.” Coyne is most noted for her constitutional expertise during the raucous debates of the 1980s and 1990s and yes, also for being the mother of Pierre Trudeau’s youngest child, Sarah, born in 1991. No word yet on who will replace her as the Liberal candidate.

 

A date with Harper

Loyal Conservative supporters received a little gift in the mail this month – a 2008 calendar, filled with photos of the Prime Minister and a nice letter from the Harper himself. Yes, he is now a pinup man. Every month, a different shot – reviewing the troops in April, all decked out in pink (yes, pink) with daughter Rachel at the Calgary Stampede in July, more reviewing of RCMP officers in August and shot of him with soldiers in October; soldiers’ gravestones in November. Is there a theme here, somewhere? Harper explains in the letter that the party needs money to hold back the “vested interests” of Liberals and “vocal interests” of the New Democrats. He likes those phrases so much, in fact, that he uses them twice in the two-page letter.

Unfortunately, there is nothing in the calendar that indicates when the next election will be held.

He walks alone - indoors

Harper no longer walks down the main stairs into the Commons foyer very often, preferring to use back corridors that wind past the spectators’ and media seats on the upper level. And now, just to make sure the PM has no accidental encounters with people on the route, Commons security has been ordered to keep doors closed and media and visitors out of the hallway when he’s passing through. It’s basically a partial parliamentary lockdown – strange, when considering that no one orders the streets or sidewalks cleared when Harper takes occasional walks around the neighbourhood near his residence at 24 Sussex Drive.

Well, not yet, anyway.

And the winner is...

Macleans magazine held a glitzy gala last night at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa to unveil the winners of its second annual Parliamentarian of the Year survey. Bill Blaikie, the longest-serving MP in the Commons, a United Church minister who's been representing the riding of Elmwood-Transcona for the New Democrats since 1979, was the overall winner. (Last year, it was former Liberal finance minister Ralph Goodale, another long-serving MP from Saskatchewan.)

The other big winners were Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, named as best orator; Windsor NDP MP Joe Comartin, named as most knowledgeable; Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer, most collegial, and Northern Ontario NDP MP Charlie Angus, judged the best at serving his constituency.

Notice anything? There's not a Conservative MP in the mix -- and you can't blame the media or the Ottawa establishment for that one. The winners are chosen through a survey of MPs and Conservatives, though in a minority position, should be able to muster the numbers to secure at least one winner among the lot.

Here's the explanation Macleans magazine offers in its little editor's note of the latest issue: "We are not surprised by the absence of government representatives among the winners (although two Conservative MPs were among the finalists for MP of the year.) It's in opposition, where the perks of power are few, that the selflessness of an MP's work is most obvious."

NDP member goes 'full bore'

Meetings of the House of Commons’ committees are normally staid, quiet proceedings that often have observers looking for a more interesting way to pass the time, like a root canal.

But not the Commons’ committee on access to information, privacy and ethics. It’s got enough finger-pointing, political tensions and outright cursing that it might need a restricted rating.

And when this committee meets Thursday, it will have all the makings of a grudge match.

The meeting on Tuesday disintegrated into chaos after Paul Szabo, the Liberal chair, adjourned it over the objections of other opposition MPs.

“You son of a bitch!” NDP MP Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre) shouted twice. He charged around the committee table and wagged his finger at Szabo, according to a Canadian Press account.

“You’re a disgrace!” Martin said. “That’s it. You’re done!”

Martin had proposed a motion to have former prime minister Brian Mulroney and German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber come before the committee to testify about their joint business dealings.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed a third-party advisor to write the terms of reference for a public inquiry on the same topic. But Martin wanted the committee to call Schreiber immediately, before his possible deportation back to Germany within the coming weeks.

However, Szabo ended the meeting before Martin’s proposal could be dealt with, sparking the angry reaction. Szabo later brushed off Martin’s cursing.

“I understand his, his fervour on this and I forgive him for the comment. I think it was done in the heat of the moment. It’s inappropriate but I, it’s not an issue with me,” he told reporters later.

Martin’s enthusiasm at the committee reveals a broader strategy by the federal New Democrats to keep the Mulroney-Schreiber issue in the spotlight – and hope that it costs the Tories and Liberals alike.

New Democrats are using this controversy to remind voters about the Liberal sponsorship scandal and paint their party as the only one untouched by scandal.

The NDP website even has a banner that says, “Conservative and Liberal scandals leave working families behind.”

A party official is promising to go “full bore” on the issue.

“If we want to be perceived as the effective opposition, we not only need to be in the game, we need to be better at it,” the official said.

“We’re not going to let a pitch go by without a swing,” he said.

 

Cat got your tongue?

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan has gone from political firefighter to wall flower.

Earlier this month, the York-Simcoe MP served as the government’s "answer" man for all manner of questions in the Commons.

On topics such as election financing, the economy and even Canada’s Afghanistan mission, it seemed you could hardly keep Van Loan off his feet as he turned question period into a virtual one-man show for the Conservative side day-after-day.

But not this week. Like a starring actor bumped to a bit part, Van Loan has spent most of this week sitting in silence in daily Commons question period. A check of the records reveals that Van Loan hasn’t uttered a single response to opposition questions.

Van Loan had been the point man condemning the Liberals demands for what he called “politically inspired inquiries” into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair. But then Van Loan was upstaged himself on Tuesday when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced, wait for it, a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affairs.

Perhaps it’s best Van Loan take a breather on the sidelines.

---

Russian Prime Minister Victor Zubkov is scheduled to visit Ottawa later this month, a source tells the Star.

It would be be one of the first foreign trip for Zubkov, who was handpicked by President Vladimir Putin for the post just a few month ago. A foreign affairs official in Ottawa on Thursday denied any knowledge of the visit. However, under the federal Conservatives it’s been practice for the government to confirm the visits of foreign dignitaries just a few days before they arrive. Putin himself visited Ottawa in 2000.

 

Bucking tradition

Sandra Buckler, the director of communications for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, got a little ahead of herself and her position at Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa this week. Buckler, along with her husband Navy Capt. Richard Gravel, rather boldly jumped the queue of dignitaries at the National War Memorial in Ottawa and laid a wreath even before Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and others took their turn to pay their respects to fallen Canadian soldiers. Observers were stunned to see a PMO staffer so blatantly detour around long-held traditions and protocol.

It hasn't been Buckler's week, clearly. Perhaps the communications director was distracted by the fact that she's had to reverse herself on what the PMO knew about letters from Karlheinz Schreiber regarding his ongoing dispute with former prime minister Brian Mulroney. After initially insisting to reporters the PMO had never seen any of Schreiber's letters to Harper, Buckler subsequently had to acknowledge that the PMO correspondence unit had in fact seen the letters and acknowledged their receipt to Schreiber.

Play it again

 

 

Play it again

The Airbus scandal is back in the House of Commons and former prime minister Brian Mulroney's name is being hurled back and forth across the aisle.  Over in the Senate, they're reintroducing bills to reform the red chamber -- an idea that has been rattling around for a couple of decades too. 

Yes, Ottawa politics has gone into reruns. Who knew that the Hollywood writers' strike would have such far-reaching implications?

Going Dutch

Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff wasn't in the Commons when it resumed  on Tuesday, but conspiracy theorists can stand down. Fresh back from a trip to Israel, Ignatieff is crossing the Atlantic again -- this time to get an honourary degree at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, celebrating its 80th anniversary. According to the university, Ignatieff, a former Harvard professor is being recognized  for his work "on topics that lie at the core of the research and teaching at Tilburg Law Faculty" (which nominated him for the doctorate),  such as "the tension between security and human rights, the fight against modern terrorism and the philosophy of freedom."

One man's democracy

It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to hold a news conference on democracy and accountability and then tell reporters how many questions they can ask and dictate the acceptable topics. But that's exactly what Government House leader Peter Van Loan did when he appeared at a news conference with Senate leader Marjory LeBreton, to reintroduce Senate-reform legislation that died in the last Parliament.

The news conference was a huge draw -- not because of Senate reform, but because of LeBreton. The long-time confidante of  Brian Mulroney, who is known for her regular chats with her old boss, was appearing for the first time before reporters since Prime Minister Stephen Harper banned all members of his government from any dealings with  the former PM.

Van Loan did most of the talking, allowing LeBreton to make brief remarks at the end, then warned reporters that he'd only take four questions -- on the subject of Senate reform only. Happily, we can report that the warning was ignored and democracy was celebrated with more than four free-ranging questions and even some remarks from LeBreton.

 

 

 

 

Play it again

The Airbus scandal is back in the House of Commons and former prime minister Brian Mulroney's name is being hurled back and forth across the aisle. Over in the Senate, they're reintroducing bills to reform the red chamber - an idea that has been rattling around for a couple of decades too.

Yes, Ottawa politics has gone into reruns. Who knew that the Hollywood writers' strike would have such far-reaching implications?

Going Dutch

Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff wasn't in the Commons when it resumed on Tuesday, but conspiracy theorists can stand down. Fresh back from a trip to Israel, Ignatieff is crossing the Atlantic again - this time to get an honourary degree at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, celebrating its 80th anniversary.

According to the university, Ignatieff, a former Harvard professor, is being recognized for his work "on topics that lie at the core of the research and teaching at Tilburg Law Faculty" (which nominated him for the doctorate), such as "the tension between security and human rights, the fight against modern terrorism and the philosophy of freedom."

One man's democracy

It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to hold a news conference on democracy and accountability and then tell reporters how many questions they can ask and dictate the acceptable topics. But that's exactly what Government House leader Peter Van Loan did when he appeared at a news conference with Senate leader Marjory LeBreton, to reintroduce Senate-reform legislation that died in the last Parliament.

The news conference was a huge draw - not because of Senate reform, but because of LeBreton. The long-time confidante of Brian Mulroney, who is known for her regular chats with her old boss, was appearing for the first time before reporters since Prime Minister Stephen Harper banned all members of his government from any dealings with the former PM.

Van Loan did most of the talking, allowing LeBreton to make brief remarks at the end, then warned reporters that he'd only take four questions - on the subject of Senate reform only. Happily, we can report that the warning was ignored and democracy was celebrated with more than four free-ranging questions and even some remarks from LeBreton.

Tory MPs applaud Harris

As Conservative MPs got ready to vote Wednesday on the motion approving new packge of tax cuts, they may have felt the presence of another prominent Tory tax slasher in the Commons' chamber -- former Ontario premier Mike Harris.

He was actually there, sitting in the visitor's gallery alongside former Alberta premier Ralph Klein.

Harris was introduced by Commons' speaker Peter Milliken, prompting a standing ovation from the Conservative caucus. Leading the Tory cheers was Environment Minister John Baird, who was in Harris' cabinet.

Morning reading

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl showed himself to be a man well acquainted with morality coming out of a weekly caucus meeting Wednesday.

Asked about a report in the Globe and Mail about former prime minister Brian Mulroney being tardy with the taxman on $300,000 in payments from businessman Karlheinz Schreiber, Strahl replied that he had not read the report and, therefore, had no comment.

"But haven't you read the Globe this morning?" one reporter asked.

The lontime B.C. MP said that, each morning, he makes a point of reading the Globe and the Bible. That way, he said, he gets a dose of news about both good and evil.

Rainbow of Northern Lights

Stephen Harper’s throne speech veered to the lyrical as Conservative authors tried to wax poetically about the North Star as a metaphor for Canada.

But was it perhaps something more political? A coded appeal for the homosexual vote? In Marvel Comics lore, Northstar is the name of the first gay superhero and bonus, a Canadian/Quebecer crime fighter too. Northstar, known in his civilian life as Jean-Paul Beaubier, is a former Quebec-separatist terrorist in the Marvel comics, who renounces his evil ways to fight for the betterment of mankind. (Image from Marvel Comics' Alpha Flight #106, by Mark Pacella)

No word on whether Northstar and Harry Potter’s Dumbledore ever dated in the fictional universe.

Meanwhile, Liberal MP Anita Neville (Winnipeg South Centre) weighed in with her own interpretation of the North Star analogy this week as she talked about the rights of indigenous people.

"Like an astrologer, the Prime Minister claims to be guided by the North Star. Will he admit that on this issue he is indeed like the North Star: cold, unmovable, distant and not too bright?" she said in the Commons.

Playground talk

Premier Dalton McGuinty was visiting with kids in the playground at Oakville's Oakwood Elementary School when Grade 4 pupil Bethany Pehora, 9, told the premier: "We heard bad commercials about you on the radio," evidently referring to Conservative ads.

"Change the channel," McGuinty suggested.

What were you doing Feb. 8th?

Obviously, someone from the campaign of Liberal candidate Laura Albanese in York South-Weston was asleep -- and may still be snoozing away.

Unless they've fixed it by the time you read this, her web site at votealbanese.ca comes up under the header line at the top of the screen as "Re-elect Laura" in the Oct. 10 provincial election.

Problem is, voters in the long-time Liberal riding voted for New Democrat Paul Ferreira in a byelection last Feb. 8 after veteran Liberal MPP and cabinet minister Joe Cordiano left politics.

At least Albanese's web people got it right on the main page of the site, which says "Elect Laura."

The NDP said it won the riding because of the government's reluctance to push the minimum wage to $10 hourly and a 25 per cent pay increase for MPPs that was rammed through the Legislature just before Christmas.

Albanese is a former newscaster at OMNI-TV.

Street racers, beware Uncle Michael

That's Uncle Michael, as in Michael Bryant, Ontario's attorney general crusading against deadly street racing.

So imagine his glee at being the cover boy of auto parts magazine Performance in Motion.

The trade publication asked rhetorically, "Has Michael Bryant gone too far?" with the A-G's recent comment that he will pre-emptively seize a car and crush it if government lawyers can prove in court the vehicle was tricked out for street racing.

Bryant go too far? It's never stopped him before. Just ask your friendly neighborhood pit bull.

 

Methinks he doth protest (but not too much)

Dressed in a suit and tie, environmentalist Glenn MacIntosh didn't look like a protester.

That's probably why he managed to get off a few lines attacking Dalton McGuinty on Monday as the premier announced Ontario's target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"It's one thing to say it, it's another thing to do it," the 39-year-old founder of Ecosanity.org yelled as he was frog-marched out of a convention hall by security officials.

After receiving a warning from police and being released, MacIntosh admitted the event was his debut "shout down" of a politician, prompted by concerns that leaders must take more aggressive action to fight climate change.

While such demonstrations were relatively common during the tumultuous years Mike Harris's Progressive Conservatives were in power, it was one of the few times McGuinty has been interrupted in such a fashion.

Still, the premier didn't appear fazed by the outburst.

"I'm proud of our democracy and I support that gentleman's right to make his point," McGuinty said to applause from the audience.

Political satire

ecoFRAUD.ca

A self-described Montreal student, communications consultant and "active member" of the Liberal party (a Marc Gendron, according to his email address) has created ecoFRAUD, a web site parodying the Conservative's ecoACTION site and its plan to fight global warming. In the same eco-friendly green and white layout as the official site, ecoFRAUD satirizes the Conservative' plan as a hollow PR excercise, with Onion-like precision. The ecoACTION slogan is rewritten as "Sounding better - Doing less" and the title of the government's plan (Turning the Corner) recast as Turning our Back. One dig that seems almost too close to reality to be parody: the recurring references to "Canada's New Government."

Persona non grata

Liberals wasted no time erasing MPP Tim Peterson from their consciousness yesterday.

Barely five hours after he announced he was quitting Ontario's governing party to run as a Progressive Conservative in next fall's election, Liberal apparatchiks printed up new full-colour posters with head shots of their 68 caucus members.

Absent was Tim Peterson, brother of former Liberal premier David Peterson.

So quickly were the posters rushed off the press that the ink was still tacky when they were delivered to Queen's Park reporters.

For David Peterson, the defection was particularly galling, which makes it all the more ironic to note he attended an event for the president of Liberia at the University of Toronto yesterday with dignitaries including Liberal MP Belinda Stronach, whom he helped lure from the Conservatives.

The biggest vacancy in Ottawa

Shifting policy positions, infighting and backbiting, the language difficulties of leader Stephane Dion... The problems for the federal Liberal party are apparent to all.

But pundits and political strategists trying to figure out the problems that have beset an organization most often described as the most successful political party in North America -- can put down their pens.

A not-so-exhaustive Toronto Star investigation has pinpointed the source of the Liberal woes.

From the National Executive list....

 

            Leader Stéphane Dion
            President Senator Marie-P. Poulin
            Past President Mike Eizenga
            VP, English Douglas Ferguson
            VP, French Brigitte Legault …

Chair, Standing Committee on Policy Development Joan Bourassa
Chair, Standing Committee Organization Vacant
Chair, Standing Committee Constitution & Legal Affairs Johanne Brodeur
Chair, Standing Committee Constitution & Legal Affairs Martin MacLachlan
Chair, Standing Committee Communications & Publicity Richard Diamond
Chair, Standing Committee on Multiculturalism Amarjit Grewal

Feeling each other's pain

Premier Dalton McGuinty had some words of solace for his new best-friend-forever Prime Minister Stephen Harper after Ottawa doled out $1.52 billion for transit infrastructure in the Greater Toronto Area on Tuesday.

When the Star's Richard "The Badger" Brennan dared to shout out a question to McGuinty -- in violation of Harper's heavy-handed media strategy -- the premier turned to the PM and flashed a grin.

"Let me just take the opportunity to offer you my deepest sympathy. I understand that Richard Brennan now finds himself on Parliament Hill," said McGuinty.

"But to make matters even worse, he's assumed responsibility as president of the press gallery there," quipped the premier.

"My deepest sympathies."

Harper seemed almost overcome with emotion at the kind gesture.

"Well, thank you for that," beamed the Prime Minister.

Brennan, who badgered McGuinty for years at Queen's Park, is the first person to have been press gallery president at both QP and Ottawa.

And, no, McGuinty did not answer the question because Brennan wasn't on Harper's sanctioned list of questioners.

ROAD TO DAMASCUS

The official thank you for Premier Dalton McGuinty at the provincial Liberal fundraiser Thursday night in Toronto was delivered by Geoff Smith, president of EllisDon, the big construction company, and chair of the Ontario Liberal Fund.

"My name is Geoff Smith and I'm standing up here for one reason, and that's because I think the premier is a terrific fellow," said Smith.

Smith didn't always think so highly of McGuinty, however. Back in 1999, when McGuinty was Leader of the Opposition and heading into a provincial election, Smith formed a group called Liberals for Harris to help campaign for the re-election of Mike Harris and the Conservatives.

Asked on Thursday night what prompted his conversion from opponent to supporter of McGuinty, Smith responded rather lamely that in 1999 McGuinty "was a guy that I didn't know."

McGuinty himself said: "I like to think that we're making progress and converting doubters along the way."

Two TV solitudes

On the heels of earlier Conservative English-language TV ads that attacked new Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion as "not a leader" and questioned his record on the environment, come three new French-language spots showing a bit more creativity and an aggressive push for Quebec votes.

In the first, called Domino, a teetering red Liberal domino sets sets off a line of falling white dominoes inscribed with labels such as "prosperity" and "social justice," as a narrator disparages the Liberals for all that would fall under their rule. The dominoes stop falling when they run into a solid Tory blue monolith.

Porte shows a plain wooden door, embossed with the Liberal Party of Canada sign and wrapped  in yellow police tape labelled with hot-button Quebec topics like "Pollution" and "Centralization." Suddenly, Dion campaign signs and the paper cutout heads of Dion and Jean Chrétien try to poke out, as the narrator paints Dion as a backroom politician and the Liberals' door closed to everyone else.

TV Vente is an "as seen on TV"-style ad playing on the old Liberal sponsorship scandal to show a government for sale. The ads end with the promise that under the Conservatives, Quebec will "prends des forces" or "gain strength."

Oops!

Here’s something that makes you wonder if the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.

When Premier Dalton McGuinty and his cabinet decided to change next fall’s general election date to Oct. 10 this week, they forgot to change it in copies of "a personal message from Dalton" to hundreds of delegates to their weekend policy convention in Niagara Falls.

In both official languages, it still has the old election date of Oct. 4 — the one that stood for two years before they realized it fell on a Jewish holiday.

In the letter, McGuinty encourages delegates to "engage in a dynamic exchange of thoughts and information."

Let’s hope they get this date thing figured out in time.

End of an era

Looks like it's almost lights out for the venerable National Press Club. The beleaguered institution, a victim of journalistic temperance, smoking bans and a simple erosion of hard-drinking camaraderie between politicos and the media, announced this week that it was suspending food and beverage services until February 14. By that time, its few remaining patrons will have no doubt moved on to other pastures. In its time, the club has been host to many famous and infamous experiences, notably when former prime minister Pierre Trudeau arrived to haul his wife, Margaret, home and away from the drinking scribes.

This just in...

The Prime Minister's Office loves to keep the parliamentary press gallery in the loop. Reporters were given about half an hour's notice to be at Rideau Hall on Thursday for the cabinet shuffle, about half that much to get over to Parliament Hill this morning to see Stephen Harper welcome ex-Liberal Wajid Khan to the Tory fold.

Alas, the PMO didn't notify anyone that Harper would appear on TSN this afternoon during the broadcast of the Canada-Russia junior-hockey playoff. Helpfully, however, this notice was sent out at 4:23 p.m. this afternoon. (That's 16:23 in 24-hour-clock talk.)

Date: Jan. 05

Time: 16:00 Approx.

Participant(s): Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Location: Office of the Prime Minister, 307-S, Centre Block, Ottawa.

Subject: Prime Minister Stephen Harper will make a congratulatory phone call to head coach Craig Hartsburg on the victory of the Canadian men's junior hockey team.

Bookmarked...

It took quite a while for former environment minister Rona Ambrose to emerge from Rideau Hall and face reporters after she was shuffled out of her former portfolio and into the intergovernmental affairs file Thursday. But the driver of her Toyota hybrid car was also left waiting, giving the media a window into Ambrose’s soul.

What did they see? On the floor in the back seat was a Louis Vuitton handbag (which one CBC television reporter swore was the real thing). Tucked in a pouch on the seat in front of her was a book with the intriguing title clearly visible: Crunchy Cons.

The book was written by Rod Dreher, an editor at the Dallas Morning News, and details the counterculture of lefty conservatives who live according to the values of the right, but shop at Whole Foods and embrace the environment.

According to the author, they fall somewhere in the political spectrum between the Republicans and Democrats.

Presumably, Ambrose will be passing the book on to her successor, former Mike Harris minister John Baird, when she is finished, with wishes that he will succeed where she could not.

Bing Crosby, Eat Your Heart Out

    The courthouse Christmas tree kerfuffle has prompted two Progressive Conservative MPPs to combine their satirical wit in a song.
    John Yakabuski, known for his ability to carry a tune, and Tim Hudak, not known for his ability to carry a tune, wrote up this ditty sung to the tune of the old standby, O Tannenbaum: 

---

Let Us Free the Christmas Tree!

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Where can we find your branches?
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Where can we find your branches?

You used to shine in the main hall,
Then they hid you behind a wall.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Where can we find your branches?

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Why must we hide your message?
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Why must we hide your message?

The judge has turned this into a wreck,
By insisting we’re politically incorrect.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Why must we hide your message?

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
We’ll fight to gain your freedom.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
We’ll fight to gain your freedom.

We’ll bring you out from behind the door,
And put you where you were before.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
We’ll fight to gain your freedom

Written by: John Yakabuski and Tim Hudak

Consistency....

It is generally a good thing for politicians to say the same thing in English as they do in French. But did Prime Minister Stephen Harper know that journalists would be comparing and contrasting all his year-end interviews, aired consecutively today (with popcorn!) in the National Press Theatre?

When CBC Newsworld journalist Don Newman asked Harper about the possibility of a cabinet shuffle, the Prime Minister assured him that when it did happen, "you'll be first to know."  Newman said he'd hold him to that promise.

Next interview, same thing -- Radio Canada journalist Patrice Roy asked Harper if he was shuffling his cabinet and right on cue, Harper assured him: "You'll be the first to know."

CTV's interviewers, unfortunately, didn't ask Harper about a cabinet shuffle. Their interview focused more on lifestyle at 24 Sussex, including questions about Harper's new cat and how the Prime Minister  was enjoying celebrity. But we have it on good authority that if Harper does move his ministers around, Lloyd Robertson and Bob Fife will be the first to know. As will Global TV's reporters and of course, the Toronto Star.

 

 

PSA Must Stand For Partisan Self-serving Announcement

Given that Education Minister Kathleen Wynne is bracing for the fight of her political life in Don Valley West, where she faces a challenge from Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory in the Oct. 4, 2007 provincial election, perhaps she cannot be blamed for issuing the following press release:

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne Issues PSA

	    Holiday Season A Great Time To Read With Kids

	    QUEEN'S PARK, Dec. 19 /CNW/ - Education Minister Kathleen Wynne is
encouraging parents to spend time reading with their kids during the holiday
season.
	    Radio stations across Ontario are requested to air the following public
service announcement:

	
	        This holiday season, spend some time sharing the joy of
	        reading with your kids.

	        Reading with your children is one of the best things a
	        parent can do to help them succeed.

	        Education Minister Kathleen Wynne wishes you happy holidays
	        and reminds everyone that children who learn to read for
	        fun in the early years are much better prepared for school
	        and life-long learning.


	    Ministry staff are available for interviews on the value of reading to
children.

	    Disponible en français

Sincere form of flattery?

Back in March, 2005, Paul Martin fired up a Liberal policy convention with a chant: "Promise made, promise kept." He threw it out there at least eight times (transcript available at http://www.liberal.ca/news_e.aspx?type=speech&id=938) and it was widely reported.

So it seemed strange to see this headline on a news release from Prime Minister Harper’s office today: "PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: CANADA’S NEW GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES SALES PROGRAM FOR THE 11,000 ACRES OF LAND IN MIRABEL, QUÉBEC."

Maybe the people in Harper’s PMO have been going to too many Liberal conventions.

Headline: Just wait for the punchline

John Tory found himself in an odd situation at a recent banquet for Chinese-Canadians in Markham, a riding his party would dearly love to win in an upcoming by-election.

The Progressive Conservative Leader was asked to read aloud from the podium a letter to the crowd from Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Tory thought about the irony for a moment and agreed, reasoning he was the only MPP at the event.

He read the letter verbatim, even the stuff about what a great job the Liberals are doing, without blinking an eye.

Then he ad libbed a post script after reading McGuinty's salutation.

"P.S. John Tory's a great guy."

Tory sent a note to McGuinty in the Legislature the other day relating the tale.

"It was the only line that got any applause," Tory insisted to reporters. "I told him (McGuinty) he should try it more often."

Lumps of Coal

Santa really could take list lessons from the folks at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office. They do so love dividing reporters into naughty and nice categories.

The invititations went out today for the media Christmas party at 24 Sussex Drive next week -- but not all reporters on the Hill got them. Only one person in the Sun's three-person bureau received an invite, for instance, and reportedly only half the scribes working in the press-gallery "hot room" on Parliament Hill were deemed guest-worthy. Selected reporters at Canadian Press were also excluded.

The Star, meanwhile, is happy to report that all its political-reporting staff and columnists are welcome at 24 Sussex. Well, almost all. The bureau chief will simply send a card this year to wish the PMO communications staff a very merry Christmas.

Lumps of Coal

Santa really could take list lessons from the folks at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office. They do so love dividing reporters into naughty and nice categories.

The invititations went out today for the media Christmas party at 24 Sussex Dr. next week - but not all reporters on the Hill got them. Only one person in the Sun's three-person bureau received an invite, for instance, and reportedly only half the scribes working in the press-gallery "hot room" on Parliament Hill were deemed guest-worthy. Selected reporters at Canadian Press were also excluded.

The Star, meanwhile, is happy to report that all its political-reporting staff and columnists are welcome at 24 Sussex. Well, almost all. The bureau chief will simply send a card this year to wish the PMO communications staff a very merry Christmas.

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