Better than Wikipedia

Found this odd little anecdote in the newest issue of Macleans, in which Laureen Harper, seeking advice on  family recreational activities,  consults Mary Simon, head of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. It's a report of an event last week at the National Gallery, a glitzy affair to kick off 2010 as the Year of the Inuit. 

Over the Christmas break, the Harpers, including the PM, made a snow fort at Harrington Lake; at the event, Mrs. Harper asked the Inuit leader if she could help her make an authentic igloo. "We have lots of snow there," Mrs. Harper said. "I'm not sure it's the right kind." 

Mary Simon has been a Canadian ambassador, a constitutional negotiator, a journalist, a university chancellor, and she holds  three  honourary doctorates, as well as  the Order of Canada. I don't see any mention of igloo-building expertise on her biography (available here), but perhaps it's a hobby.

 

EKOS: Liberals edging up

A new poll shows the Liberals starting, very slowly, to reap some benefits of public unease with the shutdown of Parliament. EKOS, in a poll for the CBC,  has the Conservatives and Liberals in an effective tie this week again -- 31.5 for the Tories, 30.9 for the Liberals.  But while last week's tie was a product of a Conservative slide, this week, it seems a result of upward movement for the Liberals.  

"The Liberals continued to edge upward this week despite Stephen Harper's adroit response to the disaster in Haiti, which dominated the news, obliterating the vexatious issues of prorogation and the treatment of Afghan detainees," said EKOS president Frank Graves.

"However, public opinion sometimes lags the news by a few days," Graves said, adding that it will be important to watch whether the trends are sustained.

Support for the Liberals has increased in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces and is also trending up among younger voters, new Canadians, as well as those who are university educated.

Those areas of increased support are interesting -- Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has just finished a university tour, as we know, and much of the media coverage of that tour was concentrated in Ontario and the Atlantic, where it began.

A portent of rallies to come?

Only 35 people, apparently, turned up to protest against prorogation today when Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Toronto.  If that's a sign of what turnout will be like on Saturday, the scheduled day for rallies across Canada, then we are learning a bit about the gap between opposition on Facebook and opposition on the streets.

***Update*** I'm hearing, from "reliable sources," as they say, that it was more like 60 people in Toronto. And I'm also being told that it's unfair to compare today's rally, organized with little notice, to the big Saturday events. Point taken. For what it's worth, I don't know what kind of numbers you'd need to call a rally a success in this day and age.

As well, Michael Ignatieff has written an open letter to the Facebook anti-prorogation group today and tomorrow he's doing an online Facebook chat. If you're on Facebook, you can find it here. And here's an excerpt. 

I want to know how heartened I am by the mere existence of this group – the largest spontaneous online political movement we’ve seen yet in this new digital age of politics in Canada. I am heartened because the vitality of our democracy depends on the participation of its citizens, regardless of their political stripes. And your efforts and your numbers – over 200,000 of you so far – proves that Canadians truly are standing guard over our democratic traditions and institutions.

Some dismiss your efforts as nothing more than a click of a button. They are wrong. I know that your organizers have been volunteering their own time for several weeks to prepare Saturday’s rallies. And I know that thousands of you will be taking time off school and work, or away from your families to attend them. Anyone who pretends that those sacrifices don’t count is highly mistaken.

When this group first formed, your rallying cry was “Get back to work.” Well, on January 25, the day Parliament was set to resume, my entire caucus will be back on Parliament Hill for several weeks of roundtables and working sessions on job creation, veterans affairs, the environment, health – issues you care about. Issues that can’t wait.

And this Thursday, January 21, from 3 - 4pm EST, I will be holding an online town hall on my Facebook page. It’s part of a national conversation about this country’s future that includes all Canadians and recognizes the importance of open and honest debate. I encourage all members of CAPP to join us on http://www.facebook.com/michaelignatieff. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Inside Liberal caucus

Inside Liberal caucus

We've been invited inside to see Ignatieff speak and to watch Liberals at work. Here's the scene.
 

Somewhere over a rainbow

The Liberals unveiled plans today for the lead-up to their big "thinkers' conference" in Montreal at the end of March. First, the logo -- a bit of a change from the all-red themes of past Liberal designs.

I'm told that it's meant to symbolize "forward-looking" thinking and that the multicoloured palette is supposed to put people in mind of some stained glass in Montreal; as well as diversity behind the red Liberal brand. 

As for the plans for the conference, not much is known yet by way of special guests  or agenda. There is a website now. Here's how the Liberals describe it.

The website, www.can150.ca, encourages Canadians to share their views on five major challenges: 

  •  The jobs of today and tomorrow;
  •  The creative and competitive economy;
  •  Real-life issues for Canadian families;
  •  Energy, environment and the economy; and
  •  A strong presence in the world of 2017.

Each week leading up to the Canada at 150 conference, new discussion papers and blog posts will be added to encourage debate and idea sharing. The Canada at 150 website also encourages Canadians to submit their bold idea for Canada in 2017 for a chance to present it at the conference in Montreal.

Lights out

Lights out

Parliament Hill is totally dark -- a power failure at the same time that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was due to speak to caucus. A lot of jokes up here in Centre Block about this being the logical next step in prorogation. Or all the power being concentrated in the PMO (the lights are on at Langevin.)
 

Ignatieff's campus tour: last stop

The University of Ottawa was the final stop on  Ignatieff's 11-campus tour of Canada, which ended today. Readers of this blog will perhaps recall that I was there at the beginning of the tour, in Halifax, which was only a week ago, but feels like a lifetime because of the Haiti earthquake that happened the next day.

The questions at today's event were far more student-centred than they were in Halifax, interestingly. (Any theories out there about why that would be the case?) There were far more questions about tuition, education and the environment in Ottawa; more questions in Halifax about news of the day, including the Afghan-detainee issue and prorogation of Parliament.  Also, this reporter, who was around in the 1990s, found it a bit nostalgic to see Allan Rock, now the president of the University of Ottawa, introducing Ignatieff, while Peter Donolo sat discreetly in the back reaches of the room, taking it all in. (Donolo was literally lurking behind a  large plant when I first saw him.)

Ignatieff, who has clearly enjoyed this tour and received lots of positive media coverage for it, was asked at today's scrum what he had learned on the campus tour. He had a quite expansive answer and I thought I'd just print it all out here, for the curious. The question was about what he'd learned about students and their priorities.

Getting a job when they get out. Having affordable post-secondary education. Not being burdened with student debt. And they're very concerned about  climate change. They are stunned in the wake of Copenhagen that we've got a government that's done nothing about climate change. That was a universal, red theme throughout. What was very heartening is that they want to get involved. But they want to see that we've got something credible. They want to see a politician who's prepared to look them square in the eye and answer their questions directly. They want engagement. I think the challenge is for politicians like myself to respond. So I've done 11 of these and I hope I  do 11 more whenever we can arrange it because it seems to me a good thing. But what was very heartening, very optimistic, very uplifting, were the crowds, the size, the enthusiasm, and if I can use a funny word, the sobriety, the seriousness of the questions that were asked. This is a generation that cares about its country and that was fantastically uplifting for me, as an experience.

As a coda, Ignatieff the politician felt he had to add:

Mr. Harper doesn't do anything like this. He doesn't sit in a room with unscripted questions, ever. One of the advantages of my position and my view of politics is that I'm willing to go anywhere and I've been rewarded by civility, seriousness and engagement by this generation. It's been fantastic.

Hill helps Haiti

People from all parties on Parliament Hill are getting together to raise funds for Haiti relief eight days from now.

If you're a Facebook user, you can sign up for the event here.  Or just show up. As the invitation states, "The people on and around Parliament Hill have a proud history of overcoming partisan differences when the moment compels them. This is such a moment."

50,000 clicks for Haiti

The Liberals sent a letter yesterday to about 100,000 people on their mailing list, asking them to donate to Haiti relief. Here's some of the text:

 

Our ties with Haiti are strong. We have a Haitian community in Canada that has contributed so much to our national life, and Canadians across our country are connected to Haiti through friends and loved ones living and working there.

I know that you were just asked to donate on Monday. But this is not about politics.

In these exceptional circumstances, now is a time to come together as people. Now is a time to act.

They aren't able to track actual donations, but they can measure how many people clicked through to the pages to make contributions -- and a whopping 50,000 did so, so far.  That's a useful and heartening reminder of generosity in the face of the Haiti disaster.

To see the Liberal letter, click  here and please do consider making a contribution to one of the charities listed on that page.   

And if you are a Twitter follower, our Joanna Smith (@smithjoanna) is on the scene right now in Port-au-Prince and she is sending vivid dispatches of what she's seeing.  For those not on Twitter, here's some of what she's been writing this morning:

• National Palace is caved in. Unbelievable. Finally spotting other reporters. Going to stop by hospital first.
• Rescue teams saved about 30 people from collapsed market (a 4-storey shopping mall) after communicating by banging on concrete
• Caribbean Supermarket, 95 Delmas, biggest market in #Haiti, collapsed completely. Cars beneath. See metal structure. Box for electric fan.
• Passed a school. Little desks mangled by concrete slabs. Just piles and piles everywhere. Dust thickens as we descend closer to centre. ...
• Daniel Charles (June 10, 1960) wants mother, sister in Port st-Lucy, Fla, to know he's OK in PauP #Haiti + running for mayor Nov. 2010
• "Take my baby. Take her," cried woman wrapped in blankets lying in park with thousands in PauP #Haiti. "Alors, laisse-moi," when reply no.

Someone give this man a B

Spotted outside a Montreal stop on Michael Ignatieff's campus tour this week.  Poor fellow must have skipped his spelling class to stand outside in the cold.