to move up and down
Voices from the backbench: Some MP opinions that their political parties don’t want you to know
With some Conservative backbenchers expressing concern that their opinions on abortion and other issues are being muzzled by the Prime Minister, the National Postp‘s Steve Murray looks at some other opinions MPs might have that go against their party lines
Gary Clement ’s week in review
Ok, this is a little late this week, but still funny.
Related:
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Andrew Coyne: There is a method to Thomas Mulcair ’s ‘Dutch Disease’ madness
Drinking a few cups of coffee a day linked to lower risk of death
Sarah Lazarovic charts the highs and lows of the month of March!
Gary Clement’s week in review for March 18-24
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Dear Diary: ‘The world will finally take notice of the Quebec Spring’
Thomas Mulcair’s challenge is to prove he is no political opportunist
Thomas Mulcair elected new leader of NDP
Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair on Saturday won the contest to become the leader of Canada’s New Democrats, finally giving the party a permanent leader for the first time since Jack Layton died in August.
Mr. Mulcair’s victory, which makes him the Leader of the Official Opposition in Parliament, would have been routine but for several delays in online voting on Saturday caused by what the NDP first blamed on high volume and later said were the result of orchestrated cyber attacks. (Photo: Mike Cassese/Reuters)
Two passports? No problem
If we accept that dual citizenship isn’t evidence of treachery any more than single citizenship is proof of loyalty, then there is an interesting symbolic discussion to be had about banning dual citizenship. Or maybe we ought to move policy in the other direction. People like Mr. Mulcair and Michael Ignatieff often argue that dual citizenships and multiple loyalties are intrinsically Canadian. “For us, it’s just a symbol of the richness of Canada,” Mr. Mulcair said this week. And yet, we cut off voting rights for Canadians living abroad after five years. We demand no income tax from them. If transnationalism is such a core Canadian value, shouldn’t this be reflected in policy? Shouldn’t Ottawa clutch its diaspora more tightly to its bosom, as other countries do?
It would certainly be nice if this perennial debate eventually led somewhere. As for Mr. Mulcair, it seems he treats his French passport with about as much reverence as Canadians treat their Nexus cards. I would say that’s between him and Paris.
Graeme Hamilton: Lise St-Denis’ defection to the Liberals sign of Quebec’s volatile politics
When voters in the Quebec riding of St-Maurice-Champlain elected Lise St-Denis last May, the ballot listed her as a New Democrat but it might as well have read Team Layton.
A Montreal resident, she had skipped the all-candidates debate, hung no campaign posters and set foot in the riding just once — the Saturday before the May 2 vote. And still, this unknown retiree won the riding by more than 4,500 votes over the Bloc Québécois incumbent.
Ms. St-Denis’ announcement Tuesday that she had jumped to the Liberals is damaging not because her presence will be particularly missed on the NDP benches, but because of what it reveals about the fragile state of her former party in Quebec.
Asked by a reporter in Ottawa whether she was betraying voters who, eight months earlier, elected her under the NDP banner, Ms. St-Denis had a blunt assessment: “They voted for Jack Layton. Jack Layton is dead.”
‘They voted for Jack Layton. Jack Layton is dead,’ former NDP MP says on move to Liberals
Quebec NDP MP Lise St-Denis announced Tuesday she is crossing the floor to sit with Canada’s third party.
“The decision I have made is motivated by the challenges that the people of my riding will face,” St-Denis said at a news conference in Ottawa, flanked by interim Liberal leader Bob Rae and Denis Coderre, the party’s Quebec caucus president.
St-Denis also cited disagreements over NDP policy on Senate reform and Libya as a reason for her switch.
Elected for the first time May 2, St-Denis represents the riding of Saint-Maurice-Champlain, which was once held by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien.
When asked about the reaction of voters in her riding to the move, St-Denis was reported to reply: “Les électeurs ont voté pour Jack Layton. Jack Layton est mort.” or, roughly, “Voters voted for Jack Layton. Jack Layton is dead.” (Photo: Brian Gable/Reuters)
Steve Murray: Walking a mile in a constituents shoes
An NDP member of the B.C. legislature, Jagrup Brar, will be living off of $610, the province’s current welfare rate, for the month of January in order to raise awareness of poverty. Steve Murray has suggestions for other politicians who wish to “walk a mile (1.60934 km) in someone else’s shoes.”
Harper should visit Attawapiskat before pointing fingers: NDP
Fresh off a trip to the impoverished First Nation community of Attawapiskat, NDP interim leader Nycole Turmel called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to visit it himself — and stop dwelling on money
Graphic: The flow of political donations in Ontario
Unlike the federal government and some provincial governments, Ontario has not banned corporations or unions from donating to political parties. The province allows donors to give up to $9,300 to a party each year, well above the federal limit of $1,100 for individual donations. Companies can exceed the provincial contribution limits by donating through subsidiaries that are legally separate from their parent company, while unions can rack up significant spending by donating through their local bargaining units. Of the more than $14-million that Ontario’s three main parties have collected in pre-campaign donations of at least $100 this year alone, nearly $9-million came from corporations and unions. Here, the National Post’s Tamsin McMahon analyzes some of the biggest spenders:
Graphic: Voters care little about platforms, controversies in Ontario election, Twitter shows
If the war of the words online is any predictor of the upcoming Ontario election, this campaign will likely come down to which leader seems most trustworthy, with the party platforms and political missteps virtually ignored by voters.
Words like “lie” and “tax” have stuck to both Liberal Dalton McGuinty and Conservative Tim Hudak throughout the campaign thanks to the parties’ aggressive online attacks, an analysis by the National Post of nearly 200,000 tweets about the Ontario election has found.
NDP calls for ethics investigation into Clement over G8 fund
New Democrats are calling on the parliamentary ethics committee to investigate Treasury Board Tony Clement’s involvement in a G8 fund that poured about $50 million into his Muskoka riding in Ontario, some of which was used for dubious infrastructure projects.
The official Opposition said it also has forwarded information obtained through access-to-information laws from the town of Huntsville, Ont., to the police in order to assist with any possible investigation.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak takes a look at a costumer poll at Lick’s Homeburgers & Ice Cream in Toronto during the provincial election campaign, Sept. 16. (Michelle Siu for National Post)
From our election reporter Tamsin McMahon’s Twitter feed:
Lick’s says PC burger is turkey burger with lettuce, tomato and hot sauce “‘cause less is more.”
Liberals Lick’s burger is a Hulk Homeburger with the works. “Eat, Drink, Be Merry because tomorrow you diet.”
NDP is Lick’s burger, light on the toppings and eligible for a discount coupon cuz “we’ll all have to save some for the future
