Leaders beat a path to the north

Nunavut residents are seeing something new in this federal election – the party leaders.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and NDP Leader Jack Layton have all made the journey north this campaign to woo northern voters.

This sprawling riding is seen as a key battle to replace the Liberal incumbent who has retired from politics.

Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik was on hand Sunday morning when Dion made his pitch during a news conference on the Iqaluit waterfront.

“We appreciate the attention,” Okalik later told reporters.

“The fact that they’re here is a real improvement. The last few campaigns we never had any party leaders come our way so this is quite something new,” he said.

Okalik is staying neutral in this campaign, saying only that he wishes “them all the best.

“My main concern is how these parties will deliver to the territory and what they promise,” he said.

 

 

Confidence vote

As we reported in the Star last week, Liberal Caucus, Liberal leader Stephane Dion got a pretty rough ride at last Monday's meeting of the priorities and planning committee of caucus.

Almost every former leadership candidate, including heavyweights Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, are now in favour of bringing the government down before summer. Yes, that would mean a mid-July election. Some of my colleagues and I discussed this last night on CBC Newsworld's Politics panel. Politics Panel

There is a confidence vote scheduled for Monday night. That means that Dion would have had to go through another barrage at Monday's P&P. So he's moved the meeting to Tuesday, we hear.

That probably won't end the calls for an election, however. Some caucus members were agitating for a meeting tomorrow as well, but Dion is resisting those calls too, staying instead at his cottage this weekend.

We will keep you posted if anything changes.

Sex and the Cities Minister

Infrastructure funding for city roads and the gas tax transfer to municipalities may not be the sexiest of topics, but Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, the Conservative government's Quebec point man, does indeed have a wild side.

The high profile cabinet minister, who is among those rumoured to be up for a promotion in a coming shuffle, was spotted Friday night in a Gatineau-area movie theatre to see the newly released chick flick, Sex and the City.

He may be Mr. Big in la belle province, but we couldn't help but wonder: Does he most identify with Carrie Bradshaw, the neurotic writer, Samantha Jones, the oversexed publicist, Miranda Hobbes, the cynical lawyer, or the idealistic Charlotte York-Goldenblatt?

We also couldn't help but wonder, given the government's troubles attracting female voters, whether any of the S 'n C gals would cast a ballot for the Tories.

We can't tell the government's story

All this week, the Star has been running a series called Capital Secrets. The purpose of this series was to give Star readers a multi-faceted, close-up view of the way in which an unprecedented degree of control is being exerted over communication in Ottawa these days.  My contribution to this series ran yesterday. Capital Secrets

The final two instalments, by my colleagues Tonda MacCharles and Allan Woods, appear in today's paper. Tonda tells how the control fixation comes right from the top, from the Prime Minister himself. Final two instalments

Allan has given us a closer glimpse into the communications shop of the Harper PMO when it's on the road. Communications Shop

The Woods' piece raises a question that all of us who have travelled with the PM have asked -- why bring along so many media handlers when you have a practice of not dealing with the media? Why is the Canadian taxpayer footing bills running to the tens of thousands to ferry these folks around the world, when, from Woods' reports, they seem to be little more than political tourists, rushing into elevators, for instance, to have their photos taken with President Bush?

I was on the first two foreign trips with Harper in early 2006, and like the rest of the pack, I simply was at a loss to understand what the communications folks were doing all the time we were in Afghanistan and Cancun. We rarely saw them and when we did, they had nothing to say. They seemed to function more as junior security officers. (In Afghanistan, I'm not sure additional security was needed, since Harper appeared to be well protected by the formidable, and scary, JTF2 guys. JTF2

Subsequent foreign trips have just sealed and reinforced the pattern of virtual absence by the PMO communications team. Now reporters know to go to foreign governments for information about what Harper has been saying and doing on the road.

At any rate, it's worth reading the whole series if you have the time.  It may help answer the question, often asked by supporters of the Harper government, about why we don't tell the government's side of the story often enough in our reportage. Here's the simple answer -- we can't tell the story if we don't know it. 
Harper, it's said, is a long-term planner; his genius lies in his ability to identify the goal at the end of the road, and let the skirmishes and tactics sort themselves out along the way.   So we've seen the skirmishes and tactics. The bigger question is: to what end?

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.