Thursday, November 17, 2011 3:55 PM EST
NDP profanity marks Parliament’s hastened decline under Tories
John Ibbitson
Pat Martin’s foul-fingered tweets over the Harper government’s repeated invocation of closure were certainly in poor taste. But he makes an important point.
The NDP MP has the Twitterverse aflutter over rants he sent out Wednesday complaining about the Conservative government’s move to end debate on a budget bill.
Mr. Martin’s use of numerous four-letter words to express his displeasure raised eyebrows – though if you think about it, referring to Conservative “jackboot” tactics, as he did, is probably a more serious slur – but the NDP rightly points out that no government has ever imposed closure so often on so many bills over such a short period of time.
Since winning their majority, the Conservatives have limited debate on the bills to end the gun registry and to scrap the wheat board’s monopoly; on omnibus crime legislation; on the bill to add more seats to the House of Commons; and on two budget bills.
Mr. Martin’s profane tweets “are a clear reflection of the frustration we’re all feeling,” Opposition House Leader Joe Comartin said. “Pat just expressed it more vigorously than the rest of us have.”
Thursday morning, the Conservatives moved to shut off debate on Bill C-10, the crime legislation, in committee. Debate must end by midnight on a bill that has 290 different sections.
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Thursday, November 17, 2011 3:17 PM EST
Ottawa gives struggling Manitoba first nations a $5.5-million boost
GLORIA GALLOWAY
The Conservative government is taking steps to get running water into the homes in first-nations communities in northern Manitoba where thousands of people are living in what has been described as third-world conditions.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan told the House of Commons during the Question Period Thursday that the government has spent $2.5-billion on improving water services in aboriginal communities.
“I am proud to announce today that, in addition to those ongoing commitments, we are also providing an additional $5.5-million to support infrastructure improvements in the Manitoba Island Lake communities.”
More than 40 per cent of the 1,880 first-nations homes in Canada that still do not have water service are located in four communities in Island Lake region, about 500 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the Ontario border.
Officials from the Aboriginal Affairs department plan to travel to northern Manitoba on Friday to talk with local first-nations leaders about how to fix the problem.
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger said Thursday his province would be a willing partner in the federal effort to get running water to the communities that do no have it.
Thursday, November 17, 2011 1:30 PM EST
NDP membership soars – but Quebec’s share remains a mere fraction
Daniel Leblanc
The NDP has attracted 11,200 new members since the launch of its leadership race in August, with the addition of 3,900 new card holders in Quebec providing the biggest boost.
Overall, the party has now 95,000 official supporters, up from 83,800 when Jack Layton died three months ago.
Still, Quebec continues to be under-represented in the race to find a new party leader with just 5.9 per cent of the party cards in the one-member, one-vote leadership race. The winner will be decided in a preferential ballot held March 24.
Quebec elected 59 of the party’s 103 MPs on May 2, meaning its voice in the Commons is much louder than its influence in the selection of the next NDP leader. It seems impossible for the Quebec vote at the convention to be proportional to its percentage of the population (around 23 per cent), given the NDP nearly started from scratch in the province and its membership is also growing throughout the country.
British Columbia remains in first place with 31,500 members (up by 1,500), followed by Ontario with 25,700 members (up by 3,500). Manitoba (10,500 members), Saskatchewan (9,400) and Alberta (8,400) all have more members than Quebec at 5,600. The party does not yet have numbers for New Brunswick, with the three other Atlantic provinces providing a total of 4,000 members (up by 2,300).
Thursday, November 17, 2011 12:14 PM EST
Liberals, Tories join forces to bolster native drinking-water systems
GLORIA GALLOWAY
The Conservative government has thrown its support behind a Liberal bid to improve access to drinking water in first nations communities.
Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae introduced a motion in the House of Commons Thursday asking the government to address the fact there are still first-nations homes that have no running water.
The motion also asks the House to recognize “that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.”
Those who live on first-nations reserves are living in deep poverty and hardship, Mr. Rae said, “and the one most telling symbols and reflections of this hardship is the fact that there are hundreds of communities which do not have access to clean running water at the present time.”
More than 40 per cent of the 1,880 first-nations homes in Canada that still do not have water service are located in four communities in Island Lake region, about 500 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the Ontario border.
Thursday, November 17, 2011 9:46 AM EST
MacKay to meet U.S. counterpart amid fighter-jet confusion
JANE TABER
Defence Minister Peter MacKay will be dealing with the future of the F-35 stealth fighter program when he meets Friday in Halifax with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta.
The U.S. Defence Secretary has expressed concern about the program as Washington deals with deep budget cuts, needing to find $1.2-trillion over the next 10 years. Failure by Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise could put the fighter-jet program in jeopardy, he warned.
That message was heard loud and clear in Canada. MPs seized on Mr. Panetta’s comments, demanding answers from the government as to whether its F-35 program would be scrapped. (Canada is to purchase 65 of the new jets – a controversial decision with the opposition accusing the government of not sending out the multi-million-dollar contract to tender.)
Mr. MacKay will meet Mr. Panetta Friday at the third annual Halifax International Security Forum. The two men will be joined by Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino, who is responsible for procurement.
“They will be discussing bilateral defence issues as well as global developments,” Jay Paxton, the Defence Minister’s communications director, told The Globe Thursday. “As part of these discussions Minister MacKay, Associate Minister Fantino and Secretary of Defence Panetta will discuss the F35.”
There appears, however, to be some confusion within the Harper government on the file. As Ottawa Citizen defence writer notes, Mr. Fantino and Mr. MacKay are sending out contradictory messages.
Thursday, November 17, 2011 7:00 AM EST
Ottawa hopes pooled pension spurs retirement saving
BILL CURRY
The Harper government's push to encourage Canadians to save more for retirement officially launches Thursday with new legislation to create pooled registered pension plans.
The savings vehicles are primarily aimed at employees and employers in small businesses, as well as the self-employed.
Ted Menzies, the Minister of State for Finance, is scheduled to make an announcement Thursday morning in Toronto.
The PRPP concept was endorsed by federal and provincial finance ministers last December and officials have since been working on the details and preparing legislation.
Some provinces – as well as the federal NDP and Liberal parties, plus the Canadian Labour Congress – have advocated that it would be better to focus on increasing premiums and benefits to the existing Canada Pension Plan because its contributions are mandatory.
Critics note that Canadians already have access to voluntary pension plans, such as registered retirement savings plans, yet many don't contribute.
Ottawa is expected to counter concerns about participation by including measures in the legislation that would allow employers to automatically enroll new employees into the program. Employees would then have the choice to opt out, but auto-enrolment is expected to boost participation.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 4:00 PM EST
Did rookie MP Eve Adams spoil Harper’s winning streak?
JANE TABER
A rookie Conservative MP is believed to be responsible for the only vote the government has lost since it formed its majority government last May.
Liberals were high-fiving in the Commons lobby recently when PEI MP Sean Casey managed to win a motion in the veterans affairs committee demanding a study of possible cuts of up to $226-million to veterans’ services and programs.
He was only able to win the vote because the parliamentary secretary to the Veterans Affairs Minister, Eve Adams, whose job it is to be at the committee and monitor it for her minister, was late. Two other Tory MPs were also late, meaning the opposition was in control.
And Mr. Casey’s motion prevailed. He said Wednesday he believes it’s the only vote the Tories have lost so far as a majority government.
“It was short-lived but it was fun while it lasted,” he added.
This is all coming to light now because Ms. Adams, 37, who was elected in May to represent the Toronto-area riding of Mississauga–Brampton South, is in the spotlight.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 1:43 PM EST
MacKay dismisses ‘apocryphal’ talk of U.S. fighter-jet woes
Bill Curry
Peter MacKay says it’s premature to speculate about the future of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program given Canada isn’t planning to receive its first new jet for another five years.
The Defence Minister’s comments to reporters Wednesday were his first since U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned Congress the fighter program could be scrapped if Democrats and Republicans fail to reach a compromise on how to cut $1.2-trillion in government spending over 10 years.
A so-called super committee – made up of senators and members of the House of Representatives – has until Nov. 23 to reach a deal. Failure would mean across the board cuts to federal departments and Mr. Panetta’s warnings were an effort to pressure the committee by outlining what some of the more drastic cuts might look like.
Mr. Panetta’s comments were seized on by the NDP and the Liberals in the House of Commons as a sign that Canada should start preparing a Plan B for replacing its existing CF-18 fighter jets, but Mr. MacKay rejected those concerns.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 10:08 AM EST
Mounties get new chief, begin probe of sexual-harassment allegations
JANE TABER
Canada’s top cop, Bob Paulson, says he’s no “yeller and screamer” and is promising to focus immediately on restoring the RCMP’s tarnished image.
“These allegations do not represent the force that I joined and this condition cannot stand,” the new RCMP Commissioner told reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons Wednesday morning.
He vowed that efforts to address sexual harassment in the workplace will be first on his plate.
Several veteran officers and former members have complained recently about harassment and bullying. Among them is Corporal Catherine Galliford of British Columbia, who has gone on leave suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after years of alleged sexual harassment.
“I like the rest of my colleagues in the RCMP, indeed like all Canadians, am very concerned about these recent allegations,” he said. “I will sort this out in a way that Canadians can have faith and trust in the RCMP.”
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 9:07 AM EST
Citing cost, Liberals come out against expanding Commons
JANE TABER
Bob Rae and his Liberals think expanding the Commons by 30 seats to better represent growing regions is a waste of money – but keeping the Senate is not.
The Interim Liberal Leader told The Globe Wednesday morning “the question has be asked” as to whether the government increases the “overall size of the House with every census, or should we not do like every other democracy in the world and redistribute within an agreed number?”
He also said the Liberals “recognize Quebec’s special situation, and the constitutional limitations.”
Under proposed Conservative legislation, Quebec would get three new seats, Ontario would get 15 and British Columbia and Alberta would each get six. This would increase the seat-count in the Commons to 338 from its present 308.
In a parliamentary committee Tuesday, Quebec Liberal Marc Garneau argued against the Harper government’s new bill, noting the costs of adding new MPs.
Ottawa Notebook Contributors
Jane Taber
Jane Taber has been on and around Parliament Hill since the Mulroney days, beginning her Hill reporting in 1986 with the Ottawa Citizen. She also reported for WTN and the National Post before joining The Globe’s parliamentary bureau in 2002.
She is senior political writer and is also co-host of CTV's Question Period, which airs Sunday. Ms. Taber lives in Ottawa with her husband; they have two children.
Follow Jane on Facebook or on Twitter @janetaber1
John Ibbitson
John Ibbitson started at The Globe in 1999 and has been Queen's Park columnist and Ottawa political affairs correspondent.
Most recently, he was a correspondent and columnist in Washington, where he wrote Open and Shut: Why America has Barack Obama and Canada has Stephen Harper. He returned to Ottawa as bureau chief in 2009. Before joining The Globe, he worked as a reporter, columnist and Queen’s Park correspondent for Southam papers.
Steven Chase
Steven Chase has covered federal politics in Ottawa for The Globe since mid-2001, arriving there a few months before 9/11. He previously worked in the paper's Vancouver and Calgary bureaus. Prior to that, he reported on Alberta politics for the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and on national issues for Alberta Report. He's had ink-stained hands for far longer though, having worked as a paperboy for the (now defunct) Montreal Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Vancouver Sun and the North Shore News.
Campbell Clark
Campbell Clark has been a political writer in The Globe and Mail’s Ottawa bureau since 2000. Before that he worked for The Montreal Gazette and the National Post. He writes about Canadian politics and foreign policy.
Bill Curry
A member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery since 1999, Bill Curry worked for The Hill Times and the National Post prior to joining The Globe in Feb. 2005. Originally from North Bay, Ont., Bill reports on a wide range of topics on Parliament Hill, with a focus on finance.
Gloria Galloway
Gloria Galloway has been a journalist for almost 30 years. She worked at the Windsor Star, the Hamilton Spectator, the National Post, the Canadian Press and a number of small newspapers before being hired by The Globe and Mail as deputy national editor in 2001. Gloria returned to reporting two years later and joined the Ottawa bureau in 2004. She has covered every federal election since 1997 and has done several stints in Afghanistan.
Daniel Leblanc
Daniel Leblanc studied political science at the University of Ottawa and journalism at Carleton University. He became a full-time reporter in 1998, first at the Ottawa Citizen and then in the Ottawa bureau of The Globe and Mail. While he likes the occasional brown envelope, he is also open to anonymous emails.
Stephen Wicary
Stephen Wicary has been with The Globe since 2001, working on the news desk as a copy editor, page designer, production editor and front-page editor – as well as a three-month stint as overnight editor of the website during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He joined the parliamentary bureau as online political editor in the fall of 2008, just in time for the coalition crisis and Stephen Harper's first contentious prorogation.
