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Coalition bid top news story of '08: survey

THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — The three-headed political monster that nearly swallowed Stephen Harper’s minority government has been chosen as the top Canadian news story of 2008 by the country’s newspapers editors and broadcasters.
The stunning opposition bid to cobble together an unwieldy coalition government to replace the Conservatives was the No. 1 choice in the annual year-end survey of newspaper and broadcast newsrooms conducted by The Canadian Press.
Not even the stock market meltdown, which ran a close second, could beat the coalition gambit for sheer drama or for provoking a stronger — and mostly irate — response from average Canadians, survey respondents concluded.
“Who would have thought this bunch of terminally boring politicians could have worked Canadians into such a lather?” said Mel Rothenburger, editor of the Kamloops Daily News.
“Canadians haven’t been this scandalized since Sir John A. (Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister) vomited on the podium.”
The coalition story, which played out over a tumultuous two weeks in early December, garnered 48 of 133 votes in the survey, compared to 44 for the market turmoil, which presaged a global economic crisis.

Should Wallin fill both roles?

Nicole O’Reilly
noreilly@guelphmercury.com

GUELPH — Mirroring Pamela Wallin’s own uncertainty, members of Guelph’s political and university communities seem to agree that time constraints would be a concern if the newly appointed senator were to also continue as chancellor of the University of Guelph.
Wallin, 55, a former journalist and Consul General of Canada in New York, was one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s 18 Senate appointments a week ago.
She was named the university’s seventh chancellor in March 2007.
While noting his displeasure that Harper appointed senators, something the Prime Minister promised he would never do, Guelph MP Frank Valeriote said Wallin is very well-qualified and highly informed.
“I’m frankly delighted at her appointment,” Valeriote said, calling Wallin’s appointment the least partisan of Harper’s choices. “But my concern for her is the same concern that I, and anyone that enters politics has to consider — it’s the time commitment,” he said.
A supporter of some Senate reform, Valeriote said he would like senators to be mandated to attend most meetings.
If being a senator is the priority commitment, anything else that would take away from that may have to be let go, he said.
Noting that the decision is one that Wallin must make on her own, Valeriote said remaining as chancellor may also lead to conflict of interest on decisions that may affect the university — even if it is only a perceived conflict of interest.
Former long-serving Guelph MP and onetime president of the U of G Bill Winegard also said he was quite pleased to see Wallin appointed.
However, because of the nature of Senate, he does not see it conflicting with her role as chancellor, should she choose to continue holding the position.
“I don’t think it’s a conflict of interest,” Winegard said. “It’s the House of Commons committee that looks after grants.”
There is no right or wrong answer, Guelph political scientist William Christian said in an email.
He did note, though, that “universities normally don’t like active politicians in ceremonial positions because of the possibility of being associated with partisan controversy.”
For Julia Chapman, a former University of Guelph student and current editor-in-chief of its newspaper, The Ontarion, Wallin has been a strong force for the university and would be a great loss.
“I personally would like to see her stay on as chancellor,” she said, noting Wallin’s broad range of experience and attention she has brought to the university.
Chapman said she takes pride in having a strong, intelligent woman represent the university.
With the added media attention of the Senate appointment, she said she believes it will benefit the university.
The only drawback Chapman says she can see is the time commitment.
Wallin said Friday she was worried about the time commitment and said she was in discussions with U of G President Alastair Summerlee about her role as chancellor.

How to revitalize the Centre

Seedgirl told us about this new site via Twitter:

This blog will self destruct on January 27th, 2009.

It is not an act of rebellion or discontent or meant to be subversive in any way.

It is a short term experiment.  A call to arms for all geeks, wonks and anyone who feels like they have a great idea to revitalize the centre (particularly through the use of social technologies) in Canadian politics.

We would like to generate an open source manifesto, in the spirit of ChangeThis or a similar call to action that is focused on how social networking and social media can be used to empower ordinary Liberals from coast to coast.

Harper makes history by naming 18 senators in one day

Alexander Panetta, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — Two television journalists, an Olympic hero and a covey of Conservative partisans were named to the Senate in a historic volley of patronage by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Broadcaster Mike Duffy, his former colleague Pamela Wallin and Olympic skier Nancy Greene Raine were among 18 Conservatives hoisted into the velvet chamber on Monday.
While the list of nominees included a few household names, most were well-connected Tories such as defeated candidates, campaign organizers and party fundraisers.
Not since John A. Macdonald filled the brand-new Senate of Canada on Oct. 23, 1867 has a prime minister appointed so many people to the upper chamber in a single day.
The vacancies had been piling up for almost three years, while Harper refrained from filling them as he tried in vain to pass legislation that would have made the Senate more democratic.
The government says it’s still committed to democratizing the Senate. The new nominees are expected to resign and run for their seats if their province ever introduces elections to the upper chamber.
Only Alberta and Saskatchewan have plans for such elections. Being a Saskatchewan appointment, Wallin might wind up being among the first to give up her seat.
“My guess is she would be happy to run,” a government official said.
Wallin was a prominent figure at CTV and CBC, hosting programs ranging from Canada AM to newscasts and game shows before she was named consul-general to New York by the former Liberal government.
Duffy has been a fixture on Parliament Hill for almost 35 years, and he hosted what proved to be the last instalment of his daily political talk show last week on CTV.
Greene Raine helped break the European stranglehold on downhill skiing in the 1960s, most famously by winning gold and silver medals at the 1968 Winter Olympics. She was named Canada’s female athlete of the 20th century in a vote by members of The Canadian Press.
The B.C. sports icon, who helped develop the Whistler ski site, will take a seat in Parliament one year before the area hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics.
There is no more sought-after patronage pork than a Senate seat and Harper and his ministers were inundated by hundreds of Conservatives clamouring for a favour.
Appointees will receive a $130,400 annual salary until they retire or reach age 75, followed by a very comfortable pension — and both are indexed to inflation.
Many of the other appointments made Monday went to influential Conservative partisans.
Party stalwart Irving Gerstein, Mulroney-era MP Suzanne Duplessis and defeated Newfoundland MP Fabian Manning are among the other prominent Conservatives going into the upper House.
The list includes a former Quebec sovereigntist.
Government officials defended the selection of Michel Rivard, saying he might have fought for independence in the past but now believes in a united Canada.
Harper tried to limit senators’ terms to eight years but legislation to that effect was stymied in committee.
The governments of Ontario and Quebec also threatened court action against the prime minister’s attempt to unilaterally reform the Senate.
Opposition parties questioned whether Harper has the political legitimacy for a patronage spree, having averted the defeat of his minority government only by suspending Parliament until the new year.
“Mr. Harper has said repeatedly that he would never appoint senators, including during the last election,” said Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. “Canadians cannot understand why he keeps breaking his word. . ."

Legal fees mount in Tory case against Elections Canada

THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — Legal fees approaching $500,000 have become a sensitive issue in the 18-month-old lawsuit the Conservative party mounted against Elections Canada over a controversial advertising scheme during the 2006 election.
It has reached the point where the court chastised a party lawyer because his objections led to a hearing described as unnecessary.
“Why are we even spending your client’s money on this — the public’s money?” the acting judge, Mireille Tabib, told Michel Decary as she agreed with arguments from a lawyer for Elections Canada in a procedural dispute.
Litigation costs from the lawsuit totalled $210,350 for Elections Canada alone by the end of October, a spokesman for the agency told The Canadian Press.
The Conservative party has declined to disclose legal fees and other costs it has paid. But high-priced legal help from the prestigious Stikeman Elliot firm of Montreal would at least match the fees being paid to Barbara McIsaac, a prominent lawyer from the equally prestigious McCarthy Tetrault firm.
The costs included services such as court reporting and transcripts as well as lawyer fees.
A separate Elections Canada investigation into the disputed election advertising cost $832,291 to November, says Elections Canada.
That means total costs for the dispute have likely risen to at least $1.4 million, including the undisclosed litigation costs for the Conservatives.
The Conservatives took Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand to court over his decision that the costs for radio and television ads that 67 candidates claimed as local expenses were in fact incurred by the party and should have reported as national campaign expenses.
That would have brought the Conservatives more than $1 million over their spending limit for the election.
Because the party receives a large part of its funding from taxpayers through election reimbursements, political allowances and tax deductions for financial contributions, the public in the end is picking up much of the legal tab.
Despite that, party spokesman Ryan Sparrow has declined to divulge litigation costs for the Conservatives.

Ontario to get more seats

Premier Dalton McGuinty says Ontario will be getting 21 additional seats in the House of Commons, 11 more than were promised last year.

McGuinty says he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper resolved their disagreement over the Conservative government's plans to redistribute seats in Parliament when they met last Friday.

Read the full story

Ignatieff and Harper do budget dance

OTTAWA - The prime minister and the new Liberal leader are about to begin their budget waltz, and each one is inviting the other to take the lead. Read the story

Liberals waffle on coalition?

The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Liberal MPs are meeting behind closed doors to crown Michael Ignatieff leader of the party.
The Toronto-area Liberal is cool to the idea of a coalition with the New Democrats.
Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale wouldn’t say going into caucus whether Ignatieff would withdraw from the alliance.
He says Ignatieff should be cut some slack in order to decide what is “the most responsible course to follow.”
But party finance critic Scott Brison says there are a lot of reasons why the Conservatives can’t be trusted.
New Democrats argue that all opposition MPs signed a letter of non-confidence in Stephen Harper’s minority government and the best way to hold the Conservatives to account is to maintain the coalition.