I've got a little list

"Stop the guy from the Star, he's going to try to ask (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) another question," Dimitri Soudas, the PM's diminuitive deputy press secretary, said to the RCMP following a press conference Tuesday in Cambridge, Ont. to announce a $1 billion compensation package for tainted blood victims.

The largely aging gaggle of RCMP bodyguards steeled themselves and glowered in the direction of the reporter. "I've got him," said one particularly menacing and towering Horseman who engaged in a staring contest.

The Star reporter had alreay raised the ire of the PM's assorted aides and hangers on by having the temerity to ask a question without first putting his name on a sanctioned list.

Harper was cautioned by Soudas that it was an interloper and not worthy of response.

Anyway, this was deemed an immediate security risk and the ranks were quickly closed around Harper to make sure no one, especially that Star reporter got near to ask another question.

And starring Paul Martin as himself

Remember Paul Martin? Affable guy, was briefly prime minister? Yeah, you know who we mean, the one who deigned to talk to reporters without getting all huffy about it.

Anyway, Martin made a cameo appearance in the most improbable of places the other night -- U.S. cable network Showtime's critically acclaimed new political and crime drama, "Brotherhood," set in Providence, Rhode Island.

"Brotherhood," which airs in Canada on TMN, featured the former PM in a scene, where wheelchair-bound power broker Judson Fitzgerald is watching late-night television in his living room.

"Turn off that silly show," Fitzgerald's wife scolds him as she announces he has a visitor.

"I like that silly show," he says, referring to C-SPAN's broadcast of Question Period in the House of Commons.

As Thomas Caffey, the young Rhode Island politician, enters the living room the elder man flicks on the TV again.

"I love watching the parliamentary debates. All the hostility is out in the open. We couldn't get away with that here. We have to keep it all in the backroom, don't we?" muses Fitzgerald.

"When was the last time you watched a budget debate in the House of Reps? They practically throw ice cream sandwiches," replies Caffey.

And with that they ignore the Canadian Parliament and get down to business.

A Long-Awaited Moment

Laureen Harper wept in the sunshine as she crouched by a headstone in a World War I cemetery in northen France.

She and her husband, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, had taken their motorcade across the French countryside to visit the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and stop in at a few other cemeteries from the 1914-18 war.

But the small one on a winding road by the town of Barlin was special. Buried there is Laureen's great uncle, Pte. James Edward Teskey, who died of wounds suffered in the battle of Arras in 1917. He was 19.

Laureen wiped away tears as she studied the pale headstone along with her husband. She placed flowers on the grave and made a rubbing of the inscription on the headstone.

Later, the prime minister toured Vimy, where Ottawa is spending $20 million to repair the towering memorial.

Harper walked through the preserved battle trenches nearby. But, with news photograhers following his every step, he seemed a bit preoccupied with his sometimes strained relations with Canada's media.

As they recorded his exit from one trench, Harper looked at the photogs and mused about the war fought here 90 years ago. Back then, he said, "the enemies had guns, not cameras."

Loss of Ross

The exodus from Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government continues despite a provincial election looming in a little more than a year.

On Thursday, Ross Parry became the latest senior official to announce he was leaving.

Parry, chief of staff to Public Infrastructure Renewal Minister David Caplan, is widely considered to be one of the dozen or so brightest lights in the government.

He is departing at the end of July to start his own government relations/communications business.

To underscore the well-liked Parry’s importance to the administration since 2003, here’s Caplan’s lengthy memo to staff distributed Thursday:

Dear PIR Staff:

It is with a heavy heart and deep regret that I wish to inform you of Ross Parry's departure as Chief of Staff.

After more than two years as my principal advisor, strategist and above all friend and colleague, Ross has offered his resignation to resume his career in the private sector and I have reluctantly accepted.

As all of you know, Ross has been a critical part of the PIR team and has helped shape and lead this ministry since its inception into a highly effective and accomplished part of the government.

Our successes under his strategic vision and leadership are many, but it would be remiss of me to not note a number of spectacular achievements that are attributable largely to a combination of Ross' unmatchable political acumen, Herculean work ethic, and an unwavering commitment to the government's legislative agenda to improve the quality of life for all Ontarians.

Let me start with Places to Grow, our ministry's most recent accomplishment. The release of the final Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe marked a personal highlight and achievement for me and I believe for the future of the province.

While many close to this initiative are well aware of Ross' singular contribution to the successful development and rollout of this initiative, many others are unaware of the enormity of Ross' efforts over the past two years that ultimately ensured the near universal acclamation the growth plan has received.

Perhaps it's self evident, but building consensus across such a varying group of stakeholders and over such a diverse and contentious range of issues is no easy feat. But through a deft combination of brokering and consensus building, Ross and the PIR team managed to do what others said would be impossible.

I would also like to acknowledge Ross' contribution to the development and rollout last year of ReNew Ontario, the government's five-year strategic infrastructure investment plan. ReNew Ontario has redefined capital planning for the government, both in terms of financing, procurement and planning. Again, Ross' ability to strategize politically and develop astute policy was invaluable to me in the successful development and now implementation of this initiative.

There are many, many more files that have benefited from Ross' leadership, including, but not limited to:

-the ongoing successes on the Toronto Waterfront

-the successful negotiation of the historic Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Agreement

-ongoing management of some of the government's biggest and most important partners such as the OLGC, the LCBO, the ORC, and the Strategic Asset Management Unit

-the launch of Infrastructure Ontario and the repositioning of OSIFA

-the development of the Building a Better Tomorrow Framework and the Alternative Financing and Procurement policy

The amount of gratitude I would like to express to Ross is immeasurable and my indebtedness to him for his contribution to me and the government is infinite, so I will simply compensate with brevity: Ross, thank you.

Ross' departure will no doubt leave a huge gap in the ministry and in my own office, but I am pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Stein, currently Senior Policy Advisor in my office with responsibility for the ORC, the LCBO,SAMU and the Toronto Waterfront and a host of other sensitive files, as Acting Chief of Staff.

Like Ross, Andy brings exceptional experience, strategic thinking, work ethic and commitment to the task and I am confident that his leadership will allow for a smooth transition. Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Andy to the position.

A new meaning for "eat and run"

Tonight, Michael Ignatieff's Liberal leadership campaign is trying something a little ambitious by way of fundraising. Supporters are holding 100 fundraisers around the country, all organized around exotic/creative dinner themes. Ignatieff himself will be attending two in Toronto -- an Indian-themed dinner on the Danforth and a beer garden in the Annex. Here are some of the other events planned, according to the Ignatieff team's news release:

• John and Brenda Lewson from Etobicoke-Lakeshore will be sipping exotic Ceres fruit juices at their South African style barbeque, featuring authentic cuisine, beverages and activities;
• Nancy Coldham will be hosting a Da Vinci Code theme night in Markham, Ontario with women community leaders “de-coding” the qualities they want in a leader;
• Bob and Darlene Daudlin from Tilbury, Ontario, will take their guests sailing and treat them to a beachside barbeque;
• Calgarian Joan Bourassa is getting into the Stampede spirit by hosting a “Triple B”-beans, barbeque, and beer-in her backyard with charades, trivial pursuit, water sports and even a silent auction;
• Pablo Rodriguez, Quebec campaign chair, is having an Argentinian barbecue inspired by the true asados from the Pampas region.
• In Maria on the Baie des Chaleurs, former Liberal candidate Mario Lévesque’s guests will be enjoying lobster and scallops from the Baie and smoked salmon from Percé;
• The Hon. Stephen Owen, BC campaign co-chair, is hosting a dinner in Vancouver with friends and family;
• Keith White is hosting an outdoor barbecue at the Northbank Lodge in Pippy Park, Newfoundland;
• The Honourable Geoff Regan is holding a political gamesmanship night with such crowd-pleasers as `Famous Michaels in History’ and “The Stephen Harper Flip-Flop” in Bedford NS.

Rock 'n Roll Heaven

PAUL CHIASSON/CANADIAN PRESS

Liberal Leader Paul Martin plays guitar during a Franco-Manitoban party in Winnipeg Jan. 21.

What happened to the folks around Paul Martin? The famous "board?" Well, a couple of them have become rock stars. Well, maybe not "stars," but performers, anyway.

This Friday, July 7, and the following Friday on Ottawa's Sparks Street Mall, "The Twentieth Century Boys" will be treating audiences to their musical stylings as part of the Shine Music Academy show, going on while Bluesfest is also on in Ottawa.

Among the band members are Tim Murphy, former chief of staff to Martin, and Richard Mahoney, long-time Martin loyalist and well-liked lawyer, who ran and lost in Ottawa Centre during the last two election campaigns. Yes, they play the guitar and sing -- mainly old rock 'n roll classics. The fellows like to say that they'll be playing "near Bluesfest," which is kind of like "off Broadway," in the minds of would-be professional musicians.

Though Martin himself has picked up a guitar from time to time for campaign appearances, there is no truth at all to the rumour that he will be among the performers.