No room for Leitch in Scheer's shadow cabinet, but a big seat for Poilievre
774 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Patrick Martin
The Conservative Party was done, for me, when they mentioned Pierre Poilievre.
David Raymond Amos
@Patrick Martin "The Conservative Party was done, for me, when they mentioned Pierre Poilievre"
I wonder how many folks agree with you
Joe Smithson
Poilievre, Rempel, Clement,
Blaney, Van Loan all blow hard Harper carry overs that epitomize why the
Harper Government (TM) was toppled.
Didn't Conservatives learn anything from 2015? Fear, division and contempt for science and facts will not win in Canada.
Content disabled David Raymond Amos
@Joe Smithson Small wonder why some folks call Andy Harper 2.0 N'esy Pas?
Content disabled David Raymond Amos
@David Raymond Amos "Content disabled."???
Why on earth would CBC block the comment above?
David Raymond Amos
@Joe Smithson "Didn't
Conservatives learn anything from 2015? Fear, division and contempt for
science and facts will not win in Canada."
Nope but it appears that CBC has not learned anything either
David Raymond Amos
@Joe Smithson CBC must use
different moderators for different articles because not only did I not
say anytihng wrong to you they have not blocked any of my comments over
here today
yawn and a big one, nothing to see here, just leftovers from a party that was beat a couple years ago. yawwwwwwwn.
Joe Smithson
@Ray Leland
Oct 19th. 2015. The Greatest day of the millenium!
ABC
David Raymond Amos
@Joe Smithson Methinks you jest
david kirby
Poiliviere? Surely today is not April 1st
David Raymond Amos
@david kirby "Poiliviere? Surely today is not April 1st"
Nope but its a close 2nd and just in time for Labour Day for Dr Kellie
Leitch to deliver a pitbull for the circus in the House of Commons to
enjoy
Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
This is really, really hard
to admit, but........the relegation to back-bencher status for Leitch
makes sense on many levels, from a Party standpoint. The article is
correct, the Party is desperate for re-imaging. Although, the substance
remains the same.
The old maxim is not always true, "The enemy of my enemy" is not always
an ally. Don't trust a Scheer led Party to be noticeably different from
the Harper regime. Just a shuffling of lime-light receivers. At least,
by all indications of where he plans to lead the Party stated so far.
Dave Morrow
@Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
Why don't you explain to the CBC how many accounts you have as to remove anything you don't like on a regular basis?
Why don't we inform to the CBC that the erroneous manipulation of ticks
is all done by you and your multiples, lots of time on your hands when
asking everyone else to provide.
Dave Morrow
@Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
You see that, as I mentioned nobody engaged with you as they know they will be removed.
As evidenced by the removal of all mine, and the same thing happens with all discussion with you.
Dave Morrow
@Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
But, you fill pages 365-24-7 as many with nothing more than unverified
sanctimonious opinions, spoken as the gospel of all knowing and
unwilling to realize that you really have no true understanding other
than rhetoric.
Demanding the unattainable Utopian dream that only exists in your head,
and you can't even factually state how it's achieved, or answer when you
are questioned on it.
Then demand all others provide for you, due to you not achieving those things yourself.
Maybe go out and enjoy this great country, apply yourself to these
ambitions, and avoid these pages, all day every day as several.
David Raymond Amos
@Dave Morrow Need I say HMMMM???
Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
@David Raymond Amos
You would actually entertain anything written by "Tripper", "Flagger",
"Ferguson", "McCloud",...and all the rest they run here, as being
anything more than a debased smear campaign?
Then know who you keep for company,.....five letters beginning with a capital 'T' is the sort you wish to align with?
Hmmmm....? Indeed.
Dave Morrow
@Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
Here we go, can't comment to Dave anymore.
Steven Read
@Dave Morrow
No there is no conspiracy. Your comments were removed for a reason.
Happens to aĺl of us. You are going to have to deal with it. Start
with the posting guidelines.
Jack Hill
Scheers shadowy cabinet...
George Biggs
@Jack Hill
It is okay Jack. It is clear you're no longer a conservative voter.
David Raymond Amos
@Jack Hill Methinks its rather comical how one little "y" can upset conservative folks
Peter Parker
So in other words Harper 2.0 and the same cast of Conservatives that were trounced in 2015.
David Raymond Amos
@Peter Parker YUP but methinks the Conservatives were not exactly trounced except in the Maritimes.
The NDP were the big losers because Trudeau promised to make dope legal
and no more first past the post elections. If the NDP get a lot of
support and split the left vote in the next kick at the can the
Conservatives could win just like they did in the election of the 41st
Parliament
Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
Well, 'shadowy' about covers it.
David Raymond Amos
@Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....) LOL
Theres the little "y" again
Dave Jannes (also known as...Mrs. Grundy's....)
@David Raymond Amos
Re: "Theres the little "y" again"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Care to explain the cryptic innuendo? Or, is it cryptic because the
comment is only an attempt to cast aspersions with no evidence?
Funny you would show up using the exact same tactics as "Tripper", "Flagger", "Hutton", "Ferguson",.....etc?
Bernier vows to embrace Conservative critic role, be silent about supply management
860 Comments
Neil Gregory
The first seven comments I
read here this morning were all from a little group of well-known,
righ-wing, Conservative posters who have posted the same old wishful
thoughts on many previous occasions. Wouldn't it be nice it they could
find something new to say?
Kristoffer Luukski Gildenlöw
@Neil Gregory
Mr. Bernier's relationship with Ms. Couillard was not a good career
move. He lost the Foreign Affairs, a disgraced MP who could never be
trusted again.
David Raymond Amos
@Kristoffer Luukski Gildenlöw
Methinks if the lawyer Maxy Bernier expected to be leader of his party
or its finance critic then he would have answered hard copy of my
concerns that sent him in 2006 and all the emails I sent him and his
cohorts since and long after he became a former a cabinet minister
seated in opposition
Michael Murphy
@Max Merl "Every single day
you post here complaining about right wingers or Harper. If you don't
like the opinion of others why do you even bother?"
Because the right prefer half-truths, mis-truths, and outright lies and someone needs to combat those.
@Neil Gregory Keep up the great work Neil!
David Raymond Amos
@Michael Murphy Methinks @Max Merl Maxy Bernier and I all undterstand why you support liberals
Mike Martin
@David Raymond Amos wrote:
"Methinks if the lawyer Maxy Bernier expected to be leader of his party
or its finance critic then he would have answered hard copy of my
concerns that sent him in 2006...."
Methinks you might have a skewed impression of your own importance in the grand scheme of things.
David Raymond Amos
@Mike Martin Have you read my
lawsuit yet? The documents I sent the lawyer Bernier in 2006 have been
filed in the docket of Federal Court since 2015 and now the Federal
Court of A
Michael Murphy
@David Raymond Amos
"Methinks @Max Merl Maxy Bernier and I all undterstand why you support liberals"
Yeah, except I don't
Liberal are no different than Conservatives
I vote NDP, not because I agree with them, rather I have no other realistic alternative
David Raymond Amos
@Michael Murphy Have you ever heard of another Michael Murphy?
Cyrus Manz
Why does the CBC feel that
the only conservative shadow cabinet member who is worth covering, is
the only one who is from Quebec??
Bernier has been given a relatively junior portfolio as a minister of
innovation in the UPCOMING CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT. Why doesn't the CBC
focus on other, more important Conservative appointees instead?
David Raymond Amos
@Cyrus Manz It appears to me you fail to understand that it is CBC's mandate to promote the circus in the House of Commons
Lawrence Aaluuluuq (RedWhite)
@Cyrus Manz
Perhaps if you actually LIVED in this beautiful nation, you'd realize
what a complete job Harper And Co. did at systematically demolishing the
trust people had in Conservatives here.
But you wouldn't understand that living all the way down in Peachtree Land...
Cyrus Manz
@Alex Aggy
!!!...Also Bernier was one of the top contenders for the leadership, so
it's just a continuation of the leadership campaign coverage, maybe.
...!!!
I followed the CBC coverage of Conservative leadership race very closely.
Both O'Leary and Bernier were the CBC's top favorite candidate until
O'Leary dropped out due to the lack of voter interest in him and then
the CBC doubled down on the coverage of Bernier.
IN FACT NO OTHER CANDIDATE got a FRACTION of the coverage that the CBC
gave Berniere during the leadership race, which is a clear RED FLAG as
far as I am concerned, one that is also seemingy shared by the
leadership, hence his relatively junior portfolio in the shadow cabinet.
REMEMBER that the CONSERVATIVE MEMBERSHIP drives the p[arty, not the MEDIA:-)
Alan MacLean
@Cyrus Manz
There are more important positions in the shadow cabinet, but whether there are more important appointees is debatable.
David Raymond Amos
@Cyrus Manz "REMEMBER that the CONSERVATIVE MEMBERSHIP drives the p[arty, not the MEDIA:-)"
Whereas you are south of the 49th why not explain your point of view to Trump and his party membership and the media?
Cyrus Manz
@David Raymond Amos
You have no clue where I am, as I have no clue about your whereabouts.
You could be posting from Lebanon or the AGHA KHAN resort for all we
know.
David Raymond Amos
@Cyrus Manz "You could be posting from Lebanon or the AGHA KHAN resort for all we know"
Do you enjoy insulting people?
FYI I am sitting not far from the Federal Court in Fredericton New Brunswick perhaps you should query the docket?
David Allan
@Phil Major
"I live in this beautiful country and the conservatives have millions of supporters in my region."
Your region barely has a million people.
Phil Major
@David Allan "Your region barely has a million people."
No, my region has many millions of people. What do you gain from posting such a wrongheaded and trite comment?
David Raymond Amos
@Phil Major How do the rights of many people Trump a lesser number?
Phil Major
@David Raymond Amos "How do the rights of many people Trump a lesser number?"
I'm not sure what you're asking here. I mean, I can take your questions
at face, but it has nothing to do with my comments in this thread.
@Laurence told another poster that if he actually lived in Canada he
would see how the Conservatives have dismantled the trust Canadians had
in them. I countered with the fact that there are millions of
Conservative supporters in my region of Canada.
@David said their is only barely 1 million people in my region. And I
countered that there are many millions of people in my region.
Then you chime in with this question out of left field. At no point were
we discussing rights, nor the tension between the rights of the many
over the rights of an individual.
Mike Hamilton
@Lawrence Aaluuluuq
(RedWhite) Careful. Most people living south of the Mason/Dixon, such
as those in Sarasota, Florida, consider the term "Yankee" to be an
insult. I have friends in Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, and South
Carolina that refer to me as a Yankee, even though I was born, raised,
and still live in the Maritimes. Anyone north of the Mason/Dixon is
considered a Yankee.
David Raymond Amos
@Mike Hamilton I was born and
raised in the Maritimes and ran for public office here 5 times. However
I am also married to Yankee lady and and lived there many years. We
have two full grown Yankee children living south of the 49th to this
very day.
Countless times over the years I have teased my friends living south of
the Mason/Dixon by calling them Yankees. As soon as they reacted I
would say you forget where I am from. Anyone south of our border is
Yankee to me
Furthermore I tease them some more by asking when they go overseas and
notice a sign saying "Yankee Go Home" do they really think the sign is
referring to a baseball team from New York? After that they usually just
laugh and give up because they know I will tease them some more.
David Raymond Amos
@Phil Major As an individual
who ran for public office five times in an Independent in the sparsely
populated Maritimes I take my rights rather seriously. A Google check of
me will prove that I am for real.
Furthermore I have only one account with CBC I certainly did not
appreciate it blocking me while a left wingnut began accusing me of
being a Troll with many accounts just as another comment section in CBC
closed down this evening.
Am I the only one with that déjà-vu-all-over-again feeling? The worst of the Harperites are back in charge.
One has to pity the somewhat-progressives in the party; do they regret
the day they agreed to form the Conservative-Reform-Alliance-Party (as
it was known for about a day)?
David Raymond Amos
@Juan Podrido Althugh I did not coin the phrase I enjoy calling their leader Harper 2.0
Mike Hamilton
@Alex Matheson I don't think
MacKay is gone for good. He knew if he stayed on the CPC beating would
be even worse. He is waiting patiently for Sheer to go through his "Kim
Campbell" election, then ride in to "save" the party in 2023.
David Raymond Amos
@Mike Hamilton I agree However I believe James Moore and John Baird have the same plan
David Allan
@Juan Podrido
"The worst of the Harperites are back in charge. "
In charge of what?
David Raymond Amos
@David Allan My best guess is that he means they are in charge of the demise of the Conservative party
Wil Brown
I wonder if he'll leave these files lying around too?
David Raymond Amos
@Wil Brown Perhaps he will finally find mine
Fenian Conn
If integrity is the issue, the Tories are finished Lawrence Martin, May 12, 2015
========
Can reformacons play a role in good government? No. I don't think so.
Not after 10 years of neglect and dis-empowerment of Canada's
professional public service. The demonstrated disrespect of Canadians
who believe in truth, reason and science is too foreboding.
Dwight Williams
@Fenian Conn
Disregarding for the moment the useless labels people attach great
meaning to, and the attempts by the usual suspects to paint everything
not hard-core conservative as 'the left', in reality the most
conservative politicians we should have involved in running the place
are the centre-right members of the LPC. And yes, there are plenty of
'liberals' who embrace globalism, free trade, economic growth over
environmental protection, and all the other hallmarks of what USED to be
the federal PC party.
The conservative movement on this continent in this century has given
itself over to corporatist neo-fascism and the quest for power at the
expense of abandoning the basic premises of democracy.
Conservatives in Canada may be kinder and gentler than those in the USA
but they have the same tendencies and are being steadily ever more
infected by the rhetoric of the Freedom Caucus in the USA. The main
difference between countries being that the fascist-lite people in the
US have tried and succeeded in passing measures for things like voter
suppression where in Canada they have tried and failed.
The reformacons as currently comprised have nothing useful to offer the
country, and the selection of Scheer as their leader made certain that
they continue to be useless.
David Raymond Amos
@Dwight Williams "the selection of Scheer as their leader made certain that they continue to be useless"
I disagree
If folks wish to enjoy the circus in the House of Commons how could we
do without Harper 2.0 and his lawyer buddy Max as the two main clowns
taking on Trudeau The Younger and his cohorts?
Charles Cory
@David Raymond Amos , that's
the problem. Those not of the reformacons believe that all is good with
them as a party. The truth is, everyone should be annoyed and concerned
that the refirmacons could be a sitting government.
Enough with the partisan rhetoric. Work together to help Canada run
smoothly instead of constantly being in electioneering mode, ala the US
president.
Fenian Conn
harper: Party of One
scheer: Party of Another One
David Raymond Amos
@Fenian Conn You forgot to count Max in your tally
mo bennett
this is what happens to tired old reformacon hacks. get over it!
Al Smith
@mo bennett So boring
Neil Gregory
@Al Smith
So boring,but so accurate.
David Raymond Amos
@Neil Gregory True
rayma allaby
sorry bernier but when you
can't be trusted with confidential papers that you leave at your
girlfriends you can't be trusted with the reins of this country...
David Raymond Amos
@rayma allaby Who can trusted with the reins of this country?
Alex Matheson
Bernier appears to be a good
sport, so far. Come election time it will quickly become apparent to the
CPC that they have no chance in winning the election under Scheers
leadership.
Keeping Leitch out was good. Leaving Raitt and Poilivere in was a
mistake. If the Cons cannot attract qualified candidates to run for
them, they should at least try to attract some personable/likable ones.
As it stands now and unless the Libs screw up big time in the next
couple of years, the Cons will be in the shadows shadowing the
politicians who actually have power. Kinda like ghosts.
David Raymond Amos
@Alex Matheson "Bernier appears to be a good sport"
Methinks you jest
Meldrum Begin
If it were not for nonsensical comments, the alt-left wouldn't have anything to say!
David Raymond Amos
@Meldrum Begin If you don't understand the humour how are you going to enjoy the circus the taxpayers are funding?
Jackson Farley
Andrew Scheer will be the
next Prime Minister of Canada in the next election. The Liberals and 23
have boondoggled themselves so bad that they will probably go back to
third party status. Canada can no longer afford 23 anymore and his Sunny
Ways.
Chris O'Regan
@Jackson Farley No he won't.
It will be Justin again, or maybe Charlie. There is no room for Andy and
the conservative dream while Trump is in power down south exposing its
rotting political core.
David Raymond Amos
@Chris O'Regan If the NDP
split the left vote in the next the Conservatives could win just like
they did in the election of the 41st Parliament after being found in
contempt.
Chris O'Regan
@David Raymond Amos I
disagree. Donald Trump is doing a great job of destroying the Right. The
only option for the CPC is for them to align with progressives, and
they shed that skin when the dropped the word from their party name. The
do not have a leader who can silence their far-right proponents and
moving to the left is bound to upset many of their supporters. They have
absolutely no room to maneuver. The next election will be between LPC
and NDP.
David Raymond Amos
@Chris O'Regan Yea Right
Have you talked to Mikey Cohen Trump's lawyer lately? I did twice. Do you want his cell number?
Marc Henry
It's nice to hear from Bernier, but the CBC is really over playing this "didn't get the job he wanted" angle.
David Raymond Amos
@Marc Henry Its kinda obvious what CBC is up to
Dean Melanson
Once again we'll see the "tolerance" of the alt-left on full display ..... quite an angry mob aren't they ????
Jim S Powers
@Dean Melanson no anger at all we can't stop laughing
David Raymond Amos
@Jim S Powers Tell us another one so I can laugh some more
Phil Major
@David Allan I'm not using
the term alt-left. I think you've misread the initial comment. Another
poster used it. I'm perfectly fine operating without the alt-left label.
But to bicker over the name is to miss the point.
There are extremists on the left. Notable leftist Nancy Pelosi recently
called them out in a stunning about face. Even left leaning media are
beginning to call out the misdeads of the extremists on the left.
So call them alt- or otherwise, they exist and they are a problem. I
think people should be able to discuss the issues around the extreme
left without having to make reference to the alt-right. They aren't the
same and they are each wrong on their own merit.
You seem to want to keep comparing the extreme left and the alt-right as
a means of minimizing the criticism of the left. (you invoke several
questions about "who did this" and "who did that")
David Raymond Amos
@Phil Major Well put
John Morrison
The CPC is a religion first, bury your head and ignore Canadians, party...I'll have nothing to do with them!
John Morrison
@Roland Reimer - FYI,
Progressive Conservative until Harper, Independent now. Never Liberal. I
just wanted to clear up your confused erroneous fabrication of my
politics.
David Raymond Amos
@John Morrison I have always
been Independent because old Groucho I would not belong to any club that
would have me for a member.
Alan MacLean
Good for him. I am looking forward to witnessing a strong stance against corporate welfare.
David Raymond Amos
@Alan MacLean "I am looking forward to witnessing a strong stance against corporate welfare."
Me too
Lance Butterworth
I wouldn't trust Pierre
Poilievre to run a children's lemonade stand let alone have any place in
cabinet. The incompetence is strong on this one.
David Raymond Amos
@Lance Butterworth CBC slams
Maxy Bernier and calls Pierre Poilievre the younger provocateur par
excellence and expects him to be silent?
Yea Right
Joe Massino
Max, it's the insurance policy. You've left it on someone's coffee table, again.
David Raymond Amos
@Joe Massino Nope his insurance policy is still stuffed under the mattress
Danny Tanker
"Twice in the last three months, Maxime Bernier has watched someone else walk away with the job he wanted"
By now, you would think he would get it.
David Raymond Amos
@Danny Tanker I ain't a fan of Maxy but I know that lawyer ain't dumb
Jack Richards
Canada is screwed with what we have as PM.
David Raymond Amos
@Jack Richards And we would do better with Harper 2.0 and his buddies Maxy and Pierre? Yea Right
Steven Scott
The cons are conning
themselves again by installing reformers into top positions, I guess
they will never learn, Bad for conservatives, Good for Canadians. Keep
it up guys you're doing a fine job .. snicker snicker .........
David Raymond Amos
@Steven Scott Methinks you liberals are not wise to underestimate their opposition
donna gregoire
....pretty easy for Poilievre
to be a fiancé critic...with $30billion deficits, stock market down to
2015 levels, GDP dropped to 2014 levels, the trade deficit setting a low
ball record recently, a dumb idea about a taxpayer funded
infrastructure bank, no plans to balance the budget in the next 30
years, business taxes ballooning, Phoenix payroll out of control, and
wasteful spending at all levels with no one accountable in this shameful
Liberal government...
David Raymond Amos
@donna gregoire "pretty easy for Poilievre to be a fiancé critic"
Its comes naturally for Pierre to attack anything He was one Harper
favourite pitbulls in the House Hence it follows that Harper 2.0 would
give him the limelight too
Steven Scott
@David Raymond Amos
Oh don't you worry, were watching the NDP and Greens closely .........
David Raymond Amos
@Steven Scott Have you read my lawsuit yet?
Lesley Durham-McPhee
I disagree with almost
everything that Bernier promotes, but I have a lot of respect for him. I
wish for more politicians like him in every party - he stands up for
his beliefs without a lot of partisan, negative talk It's possible to
actually hear what he has to say and consider the merits of his
arguments.
David Raymond Amos
@Lesley Durham-McPhee On the
otherhand I agree with almost everything that Bernier promotes, but I
have a lot of disrespect for him
Kristoffer Luukski Gildenlöw
Bernier, Sheer who cares, they are all out to line their own pockets in some way or form. Disgusting actually.
David Raymond Amos
@Kristoffer Luukski Gildenlöw True
David MacKinnon
Someday soon somebody will report on policy, not today, perhaps not tomorrow but soon, I feel it in my bones.
David Raymond Amos
@David MacKinnon Policy? The
policy is to win no matter what you have to promise in order to do so.
However the politicians also know many folks prefer juicy gossip to help
them to decide who to vote for in elections
John Morrison
Mini Me and PP... mix in Bernier, et voila...the CPC falls to 3rd party status in 2019...rotflol.
David Raymond Amos
@John Morrison Wanna bet?
John Morrison
@David Raymond - 2nd is a given, 3rd is in their sights...wanna bet?
David Raymond Amos
@John Morrison YUP How many loonies?
Hank Hanrattay
The last seven comments I
read here this morning were all from a little group of well-known,
left-wing, Liberal posters who have posted the same old wishful thoughts
on many previous occasions. Wouldn't it be nice it they could find
something new to say?
David Raymond Amos
@Hank Hanrattay However you
and I are here as well correct? CBC and everybody else knows by now that
II am not a liberal or conservative or NDP or Green supporter or Bloc
N'esy Pas?
Spencer McDougall
Everyone's favourite Canadian, Omar Khadr, is back and court and the story isn't open for comments.
A flawed opinion piece about removing Sir John A. Macdonald's name from schools has been posted andd isn't open for comments.
Meanwhile, a nothing story about a Conservative politician is fair game
and the lefties are jumping at the opportunity to criticize.
Sad, CBC, very sad.
David Raymond Amos
@Spencer McDougall Also CBCl
must use different moderators for different articles I can post here
with abandon but not only did I not say anything wrong they have blocked
some my comments over here today which largely the same topic
Quebec MP Maxime Bernier has been given the role of critic for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development file.
First, he loses the leadership gig to a nobody and now this. Appointed
to a phony baloney file by a bigger phony. If it wasn't for the $200K
per year, unlimited personal expense account and bullet proof
pension............boy oh boy.
David Raymond Amos
@Bob Peterson "If it wasn't
for the $200K per year, unlimited personal expense account and bullet
proof pension............boy oh boy."
What about man oh man stuff? How about long vacations, free world wide
travel and fancy dinner parties with fine looking women etc?
Dimitri Stantos
ABL 2018/19
First Wynne, then Trudeau. - bye bye.
Raymond Chandler
@John Gerrits
I guarantee you these phony down votes
are being perpetrated by alt-right guy
pretending to be ( and therefore discrediting )
progressives / center left folk. It is an
obvious tactic and should be stopped by
CBC.
Dimitri Stantos
@Neil Gregory
Hmm, please point out where these 'right-wing' Conservative posters are
that are getting the auto-up votes. I haven't seen any, only auto-down
votes targetting the good guys (e.g non-lefties).
Mike Hamilton
@Dimitri Stantos I gave you an old-fashioned single down-vote just to make you feel better.
David Raymond Amos
@Mike Hamilton LOL
Ben Hague
The main question is : What
flaw prevents him from obtaining promotion with in his Conservative
party & why is he always seemed to be left behind ?
Neil Gregory
@Ben Hague
It sounds as if some top people in the CPC know stuff about that they are keeping from the rest of the party.
David Raymond Amos
@Neil Gregory Methinks Harper
2.0 would not dare to practice the spirit of full disclosure with the
membership that barely elected him to be their leader N'esy Pas?
Jeremy Kemp
It would be best for Canada if Bernier was NEVER given a position of greater importance than THE closet doorman.
David Raymond Amos
@Jeremy Kemp I disagree
Methinks it would be a wonderful thing if the lawyer finally learned the
meaning of the word integrity decided to act ethically and stood in the
house and told the awful truth of it all, let the political cards fall
where they may and swept the floor of the crooks.
If anyone did that Canadians would cheer and no doubt the honest
politician could become the next Prime Minister if they wanted the job
Charles Cory
@David Raymond Amos; too many would not see it as being the truth. Too many can only see us and them.
David Raymond Amos
@Charles Cory Much to my chagrin I must admit that what you say is true.
However I have not lost my faith in my fellow Common Man just yet.
(: To keep on the sunny side of Trudreau the Younger and his cohorts
perhaps I should say Common Lady too because its 2 years past 2015 N'esy
Pas? :)
Bob Lashram
All I see are the same old
left and right supporters hurling insults and trying to garner their
perceived popularity through "likes". Would be nice to see discussions
focus more on issues and policies...
Bernier is a good resource no matter if you personally like him or not
and regardless if you agree with his positions or not. A party needs
contrary, opposing views to be truly effective and ensure healthy
debate. Current and past governments remain too PMO controlled like
Harper's control, and yes, like Trudeau and Butts control...
Alex Norris
@Bob Lashram
Very good comment. Totally agree.
William Frederick
@Bob Lashram If you want that why not run for office-just to get serious
David Raymond Amos
@William Frederick I been
there done that five times thus far while CBC denied that I was on the
ballot all five times because no doubt their politically appointed
bosses ordered it. Check their work and my comments during the most
recent federal election. I also ran in Fundy Royal in 2004
Fundy Royal voters have elected Conservatives all but 1 time in 28 elections over 101 years
Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre stands during question period in the House of Commons Friday, February 1, 2019 in Ottawa. (Fred Chartrand/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
If Pierre Poilievre was a basketball coach, he might be accused right now of "working the ref" — a tactic that has come to be an accepted part of professional sports.
But
because he's an elected member of Parliament, and because he's casting
aspersions on one of the foundational institutions of Canadian
democracy, his public remonstrations seem more serious than that.
"Hard to trust the Liberal lapdogs at Elections Canada," the Conservative MP tweeted on Monday, "who let Liberals-SNC off for $100k donation scam & has paid influencers to intervene in the campaign.
The reference to "SNC" relates to a compliance agreement
signed between SNC-Lavalin and the federal commissioner of elections in
2016. As part of that agreement, the company acknowledged illegally
reimbursing some of its employees
for political donations — $110,000 to the Liberal Party and $8,000 to
the Conservative Party — and agreed to implement measures to ensure its
employees behave properly in the future. (According to the agreement,
the executives involved in the reimbursement no longer work for
SNC-Lavalin.)
One former executive from SNC-Lavalin also pleaded guilty
to two charges related to the donations.
But when news of that
compliance agreement was revived this spring, a lawyer for Dean Del
Mastro — the former Conservative MP convicted of three elections
offences in 2015 and sentenced to a month of house arrest — suggested SNC-Lavalin had gotten off comparatively easy.
Former Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)
The
commissioner regularly uses compliance agreements to resolve
violations. In fact, one of the 29 agreements issued in the last four
years involved Poilievre, after the Conservative MP wore a golf shirt with the Conservative party logo to a Government of Canada announcement.
Poilievre seemed disturbed by SNC-Lavalin's deal, telling reporters
that "Elections Canada has a lot of explaining to do." (In fact, at the
time of the compliance agreement, the commissioner of elections was
housed within the office of the director of public prosecutions — the
result of a change that Poilievre himself made with the so-called "Fair
Elections Act.")
The reference to "paid influencers," meanwhile, relates to Elections Canada's plan to enlist popular social media users
as part of a campaign to encourage younger Canadians to vote. Young
people tend to vote at lower rates than other age cohorts, so there's an
argument for making an effort to encourage them to participate.
When
they do vote, young people tend to favour parties of the political
left. And so, Conservatives may be concerned that this attempt at
boosting civic engagement might have an impact that isn't
entirely apolitical.
Vote-rigging talk ramps up
Whether
either of these measures qualifies Elections Canada — a legally
independent institution that reports to Parliament — to be described as a
den of "Liberal lapdogs" is at least debatable.
But while
Poilievre is questioning the integrity of the official authority on
federal elections, his fellow Conservatives have suggested that the
Trudeau government is angling to "rig" the next vote.
To suggest that an election is being rigged
is about as serious an allegation as one can level at a sitting
government. It is the sort of thing that conjures thoughts of stuffed
ballot boxes and gerrymandered electoral districts.
To be fair, this isn't the first time such an accusation has been floated by opposition MPs —
it came up a few times when the Conservatives re-wrote elections laws
in 2014. But the accusation is being levelled with some frequency now.
And the most recent accusations might ring louder in the current global
context.
A fraught moment for democracy around the world
Since 2016, multiple reports have warned that global democracy is eroding, as public trust declines and institutions are attacked. Authoritarianism and "illiberal democracy"
are now seen as real threats to the Western democratic order. "Fake
news," misinformation and foreign interference have further added to a
general sense of instability and mistrust surrounding the democratic
process.
This fall's campaign could be a closely contested race
riven by online suspicion and conspiracy theories. To drop an accusation
of official bias or 'election-rigging' into such a potentially volatile
situation risks significant consequences for public faith in the
result.
None of which means Elections Canada or the federal
government should be beyond reproach. But the tenor of the times might
at least demand that such accusations be levelled with a certain amount
of care and seriousness.
It also raises questions for the
accusers. Does Poilievre have any proposals for increasing the
independence of Elections Canada? Are Conservatives prepared to question
the legitimacy of the election result? If they truly do believe that
the election will be somehow tainted, shouldn't they be even louder in
raising that alarm?
The Unifor factor
By the same token,
the Liberals might ask themselves whether Unifor's involvement in the
panel that will preside over the government's new media fund (the source
of one of the Conservatives' complaints) is wise.
This isn't the
first time Poilievre has suggested he has problems with Elections
Canada. In 2014, after the chief electoral officer raised concerns about
the Conservative government's proposed election reforms, Poilievre told
a Senate committee that Marc Mayrand just wanted "more power, a bigger
budget and less accountability."
"He is fighting to retain this
power, making some incredible claims and inventing some novel legal
principles to do it," Poilievre alleged.
Appearing later before the same committee, former auditor general Sheila Fraser expressed dismay over Poilievre's words.
"It
troubles me greatly ... I would say disturbs me greatly, to see
comments that are made, and I will be quite blunt, by the minister ...
attacking personally the chief electoral officer," she said.
"This
serves none of us well. It undermines the credibility of these
institutions. And at the end of the day, if this is to continue, we will
all pay, because no one will have faith in government, or in chief
electoral officers, or our democratic system."
Politics is often conducted as if it's a sport. Ultimately, though, it's no game.
No room for Leitch in Scheer's shadow cabinet, but a big seat for Poilievre
The Conservative leader introduces his government-in-waiting
By Aaron Wherry, CBC NewsPosted: Aug 30, 2017 6:38 PM ET ET
Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer has assembled his
shadow cabinet to challenge the Liberals in the House of Commons. There
were a couple surprises on the list. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
So it seems Kellie Leitch didn't pass the values screening required to enter Andrew Scheer's shadow cabinet.
What to do with Leitch, the polarizing leadership candidate who proposed questioning immigrants
about their commitment to "Canadian values" and celebrated Donald
Trump's election victory in the U.S., had loomed as one of the more
interesting early decisions Scheer would have to make as Conservative
leader.
Though she finished sixth in that race, she still seemed to find an
audience. What's more, she was a minister in Stephen Harper's cabinet
and had been health critic when the Conservatives moved to Opposition in
2015 (she relinquished that role when she entered the leadership race).
She's a doctor and, at least previous to her screening proposal, she
could be described as a well-connected party insider.
Conservative MP Kellie Leitch squared off
against Scheer in the party's leadership race. Scheer won and has now
relegated her to the backbench. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
But her inclusion in the shadow cabinet would have been noted.
Indeed, the Liberals would've no doubt been thrilled to turn her
presence into a club with which they could beat Scheer over the head.
Now, as Scheer continues to recast the post-Harper Conservative Party, Leitch is relegated to the backbench.
Bernier doesn't get finance
So too is Brad Trost, another leadership candidate and the most
outspoken social conservative in the Conservative caucus. While running
for leader, he said he would never march in a Pride parade.
Scheer's own social views have been a point of curiosity and
Trost's inclusion would have fed those questions. Whether Scheer himself
walks in a Pride parade remains to be seen.
All other top leadership candidates are present and accounted for on
Scheer's team, including Maxime Bernier, who had taken the novel
approach of openly declaring his interest in the finance portfolio.
Instead, Bernier will be responsible for shadowing Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains.
Putting Bernier at finance would have been awkward unless Scheer was ready to adopt Bernier's dramatic tax cuts.
And insofar as Bains will likely spend the next two years announcing
grants, financing and partnerships with tech companies and
manufacturers, Bernier will presumably have plenty of "corporate
welfare" to complain about.
Poilievre gets big role
The prominent role of finance goes to Pierre Poilievre, who is
perhaps most famous for frustrating his partisan rivals in question
period.
That reputation aside, Poilievre has revelled in expounding on "economic freedom." He has said that reading Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom
at the age of 17 was a "seminal" moment in his political development.
His website has been decorated with quotes like, "Small government makes
for big citizens" and "Government cannot give anything, without first
taking it away."
Those are the sorts of things that might bring a tear of joy to Maxime Bernier's eye.
Which is not to say Poilievre is inflexible. As a minister in Stephen
Harper's cabinet, he travelled the country at public expense to promote
his government's child benefit, touting it as "Christmas in July."
He is credited with suggesting the children's fitness tax credit, which
diverted general tax revenues to those with certain expenses and enough
taxable income as a de facto social program (it also disproportionately benefited wealthier families).
As much as Poilievre has frustrated other parties in the House of
Commons, he should be expected to challenge Finance Minister Bill
Morneau, who, while affable, can be a bit rigid in public forums. And
Poilievre will presumably be joined by Lisa Raitt, who will be Scheer's
deputy leader.
What's in a name?
Making Morneau's life difficult will be a significant part of the job. Looking the part of a future finance minister is another.
"Our shadow ministers are united, energized, and diverse,"
Scheer declared in a statement Wednesday. "We are going to arrive in
Ottawa in the fall with one clear message to Canadians: That we are
ready to form the next Government of Canada."
Diversity is not this group's strong suit: opposite the gender-balanced cabinet, Scheer's team is predominantly male.
Scheer found a spot in the shadow cabinet for
former leadership rival Maxime Bernier, although not the finance role
Bernier wanted. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
But the use of the term "shadow minister" is interesting.
In Canada, a cabinet minister's Opposition counterpart is typically
referred to as a critic. But in Britain, and other Westminster
parliaments, shadow minister is the preferred term.
Shadow minister certainly suggests a greater degree of seriousness
and if we are to adopt the same language here, it might be on the
expectation that these shadow ministers will act as something more than
critics.
That is, that they might present alternative proposals and solutions more readily, instead of merely criticizing.
The Conservative Party's policy convention isn't until next August,
but it's never too early to demonstrate that the government-in-waiting
has some new ideas about what it might do if it gets into office.
Bernier vows to embrace Conservative critic role, be silent about supply management
Leadership runnerup says innovation file will allow him to focus on other issues he raised in campaign
By Catherine Cullen, CBC NewsPosted: Aug 31, 2017 5:00 AM ET
Quebec MP Maxime Bernier has been given the role of critic
for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development file. (Mark
Blinch/Reuters)
Twice in the last three months, Maxime Bernier has watched someone else walk away with the job he wanted.
In May, the Quebec MP and former cabinet minister walked into the
Conservative leadership convention nearly certain he was going to win.
Instead, he watched from across the aisle as Andrew Scheer won by a
0.95-percentage point margin.
Then, as Bernier was dusting himself off from the loss, he began to muse publicly about what would come next.
"It will all depend on what my leader Andrew offers me. I want to
play an important role in the Conservative Party of Canada as a
critic. I won't hide that the role I have my eye on is the finance
critic," he said in an interview with Quebec radio station CHOI-FM. He
made similar comments to the Globe and Mail.
No such luck. Bernier has now watched another job he wanted given to
someone else — the younger provocateur par excellence, Pierre Poilievre.
Bernier was left with the Innovation, Science and Economic
Development portfolio. Most would call it by a previous moniker,
"Industry." It's still an economic file, but not as high profile as
finance.
But Bernier is not complaining.
"Most important for me was to have an economic portfolio, and, as you
know, the industry portfolio is an economic one and I'm very pleased
with that," he told CBC News.
While Bernier admits it's his second choice, he said he'll be happy
to hammer away on issues like subsidies and grants to big businesses.
Speaking out against "corporate welfare" was a big part of his
libertarian-oriented leadership campaign.
Abolishing supply management
It's also a place where he shares some ideological common ground with
Scheer — unlike supply management, an issue upon which he and Scheer
were diametrically opposed.
Bernier still believes abolishing supply management for dairy and
poultry is the right thing to do, but he said he knows the majority of
the party is siding with Scheer on this one.
"I still believe the best policy for Canada will be abolish that, but
I'm the only one and I won't speak about that," said Bernier.
"It is not my portfolio. I did my fight. I was not successful. And
now let's work on things that we have in common, Andrew and I. And
that's the economy."
Would disagreeing on such a major economic issue make it virtually impossible for Scheer to name Bernier as finance critic?
"You must ask him the question," said Bernier.
Lessons learned
Bernier said in the months since his loss he's spent time with family
and trained for a marathon. He thought about leaving politics. He said
he's entertained a few offers from financial companies in the private
sector.
Ultimately, he decided that he likes politics and wanted to stay and fight for what he calls "freedom ideas."
He still considers his leadership campaign a success, noting that few
journalists would have pegged him to be a front-runner when the
leadership campaign began.
He said he also learned a few lessons.
"I learned that you must not be afraid to speak about what you
believe. And to have principles. If you have your principles and
policies in line with the principles, you'll gain a lot of respect."
Respect, perhaps, though not always the job you want.
