There he goes again...

That wacky Liberal leader keeps leaving the country. Hasn't he been paying attention to the ads?

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff to visit China

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today that he has accepted an invitation from the Government of the People's Republic of China to visit in early September 2009.

"Strengthening Canada's relationship with China opens doors to greater opportunities for trade and cooperation on key global issues," said Mr. Ignatieff. "I look forward to developing a greater understanding of China and its culture through my visit."

The announcement comes following a meeting between Mr. Ignatieff and China's Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi, earlier today in Ottawa.

In more news from the democracy front...

Christina Spencer, a serious journalist with an excellent reputation, was mysteriously barred from attending a lunch in Ottawa by China's foreign minister today. All kinds of other news outlets, including the Star, were permitted to attend.

Update: It seems that the Star's reporter on the scene, bureau chief Bruce Campion-Smith,  faced some pushback when he tried to cover the speech and Canadian Press may have been turned away too.

Who are you calling boring?

Uh oh. Perhaps we better retain some U.S. spin doctors. The Freakonomics blog at the New York Times site explains that Canada (well, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney) has weathered the economic storm because "Boring = Great."

Refreshing candour

It's not often that  government ministers admit defeat. Yet surely that's what was happening yesterday, when Justice Minister Rob Nicholson held a news conference to acknowledge that Conservatives have not been able to get Liberals to hurry up and pass law-and-order measures -- measures  that are apparently urgently needed by Canadians. 

In other words, it seems, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in three meetings with  Michael Ignatieff last week, apparently couldn't get the Liberal leader to help him out.  Or he didn't raise the issue. Which is kind of curious, given how urgent this apparently is. Or maybe it just got urgent  yesterday.

The Star's Tonda MacCharles asked the Justice Minister yesterday whether the law-and-order issue was on the table during the Harper-Ignatieff meetings last week. Here's a bit of the Q and A from the press conference -- I believe Nicholson is saying that it wasn't part of the discussions, but you be the judge.

MacCharles: Have you called Mr. Ignatieff and tried to have a discussion with him about moving this bill through? You've heard from Marjory LeBreton and if you haven't, did your Prime Minister raise it in the discussions with Ignatieff last week? Have you had any discussions behind closed doors with them?

 

 Nicholson: Well, the, the process is similar to when I was the Government House Leader. We take these matters up on a regular basis with our colleagues and the other parties in both places and this is why I specifically quoted Marjory LeBreton and what is happening to our drug bill in the Senate, and believe me, I'm, I work very closely with Jay Hill who is the Government Leader in the House of Commons, with respect to

 MacCharles:   So have you talked to Mr. Ignatieff?

 Nicholson: No. Exactly. I'm saying on both counts. I mean I, as you can see, we're stalled on our legislation right across the board here, whether it's the House of Commons or the Senate and I'm specifically concerned about this drug bill and again, I work through the Government Leader in the Senate.

Broken democracy

Faithful Star readers will know that we've been running a series this week on the tattered  condition of political discourse on Parliament Hill. My piece, on the media's contribution to the problem, is running today. 

More bad reviews of Ottawa's political theatre can be found in an excellent article  by Alex Panetta of Canadian Press. Alex, who is sadly leaving the parliamentary press gallery soon to take a job in Montreal,  has talked to some rookies on the Hill who are definitely not impressed with what they've seen.  

 What readers may want to know is why criticism is so abundant, but solutions are so scarce. What, for instance, can we do  to fix some of the more farcical aspects of political culture here on Parliament Hill?   Paul Wells at Macleans took a crack at this with regard to Question Period in  a recent column.  More suggestions would be most welcome. And again, if there are stories out there about good politics -- about people overcoming the partisan differences to do something constructive, we're keen to hear about them.

Fall election

To all those who thought that the New Democrats might not go along with any move by the Liberals to provoke a fall election, Jack Layton had  this to say this morning, about his continuing, steadfast  opposition to the Conservative government.

"Anybody who's holding their breath and thinking that's going to change should think twice."

Please write

Today, on this last day of Parliament before the summer break, I'm asking readers and political junkies for some input. Fluffy input. Sort of literally.

1. We're seeking stories of when politicians overcame partisan differences in this hyper-partisan Parliament. Glen Pearson, mentioned in a blog post yesterday, seems to have a million of them. Any more out there?

2. On a more frivolous note, we're assembling a list of MPs' pets' names. (Don't ask.)  We already have the Ignatieff and Harper cats, and a smattering of others. It has to be current MPs -- Mackenzie King's dog doesn't count, nor does the GG's dog.

If anyone has any suggestions, on this point, or the earlier one, send them directly to me at sdelacourt@thestar.ca 

Two views of the federal public service

There's this view, expressed today at a ceremony to honour public service excellence in Canada.

"Renewal of the Public Service has never been more crucial than during this global recession." said Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "The accomplishments of this year's recipients clearly demonstrate that the Public Service of Canada is a professional and adaptable institution, dedicated to serving Canada during these challenging times."

 

And then there's this view, expressed by an anonymous, but apparently quite knowledgeable  commenter at  Parker Donham's website.  It appears to come from inside that public service going through such "challenging times."

"The Conservative party does not understand the nature of a professional public service. Indeed, they seem to believe we are all minions for Iggy or Jack and none of us are to be trusted. As you can imagine, the morale of senior executives government-wide is depressingly low as we find our political masters to be blindly-partisan, self-interested and ignorant to what is in the best interest of Canada."

Glen Pearson reflects

Liberal MP Glen Pearson writes a very thoughtful blog and today's entry is especially worth reading.  Voters in London North Centre, Ontario, are lucky to have him.

 Pearson  talks about what a tough week it's been for his leader: 

 "Mr. Ignatieff took something of a drubbing in the media this week and it shows."

He talks about what a tough week it's been in Parliament.

"As Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff held their first meeting this week, MPs in Question Period appeared to have lost their collective mind, spending the first 20 minutes in over-the-top catcalling that prompted me to leave the House for a few minutes to deal with my anger."

And best of all, Pearson refrains from the mindless partisanship that plagues Ottawa these days.

 

"In the end, Stephen Harper showed the kind of cooperative nature the entire country has been calling for, and he should get credit for that."

Just because

It is lovely to be invited to the Prime Minister's Office, for whatever reason. Even no reason. Here's a cryptic notice that just went out to the gallery.

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER’S

 

PUBLIC EVENT

 

 

OTTAWA – Public event for Prime Minister Stephen Harper for Friday, June 19^th is:

 

 

Ottawa

 

11:20 a.m. – Prime Minister Stephen Harper will hold a photo opportunity.

 

Office of the Prime Minister

Langevin Building

 

*Photo-opportunity only (Cameras and photographers only)

 

 

NOTES:

 

• Media are required to present proper identification for accreditation.
• Media should gather at the west gate entrance of Langevin Building off Metcalfe Street.