Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

Ish Theilheimer is founder and publisher of SG News and lives in Golden Lake, ON. Samantha Bayard is an Ottawa reporter and an editorial and administrative assistant at SGNews.

Framing Senate-gate

May 242013

Hill report

Liberals focus on Harper while NDP attacks inherent corruption of non-elected Senate.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA May 23, 2013 (Straight Goods News) — Stephen Harper is in damage control mode. Last week, he escaped Ottawa for South America on a trade mission, leaving his ministers to nervously answer opposition questions about the Senate expense scandal — and the opposition vying to frame that scandal in a way that captures public favour.

The Liberals, under soaringly popular new leader Justin Trudeau, have focused on an increasingly isolated Stephen Harper. Today they called for answers to a set of questions intended to establish the true involvement of the Prime Minister and his staff in the Duffy affair.

The NDP, meanwhile, demands the RCMP conduct a criminal investigation and renewing its calls to abolish the Senate. Leader Tom Mulcair says the $90,000 payoff from Harper's chief of staff Nigel Wright to Senator Mike Duffy was probably illegal on more than one serious charge. At the same time, Mulcair blames the existence of the Senate for the problems, saying the Senate is unncessary and prone to ethical problems because it is an appointed body largely chosen by patronage. With Liberal Senator Mac Harb under investigation, as well as Conservative Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau, the NDP hopes voters connect the Liberals with the Senate scandal.

"Throwing the bodies under the bus is not accountability, and crocodile tears from Peru will not do," deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale said at a news conference today. "All the thread here leads to the Prime Minister. He appointed these people. They were accountable to him."

The Liberals want answers from Harper, his former chief of staff Nigel Wright, any legal advisors to the prime minister’s office (PMO) alleged to be involved in an agreement, and from Conservative Senators implicated in whitewashing a Senate report on Duffy's expense claims.

Liberal caucus members list questions for Conservatives on Senate scandal.

"If there are concerns about the process, and we simply send it back and the same people deal with it again behind the same closed doors I think Canadians will doubt whether that’s a fair and open process," said Liberal Senator James Cowan.

Meanwhile, NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus says the scope of the review is too narrow and there needs to be a full RCMP investigation.

"Whether secret payments were made to a politician which breaches many -- all — the ethical codes but also potentially the Criminal Code of Canada — that’s the issue that we really need to find out. Was it an attempt to influence the Senate? Was it an attempt to change an investigation, an internal audit investigation about taxpayer misspending of taxpayer money? That’s a serious, serious set of allegations. That’s where the RCMP need to be involved because the Prime Minister’s Office has clearly called in nobody," said Angus.

Angus has been wary from the outset of internal Senate audits that "can be monkey- wrenched and it was monkey-wrenched. So that’s a problem… Very, very key people around the Prime Minister pay a politician and then have an audit changed. That’s what the RCMP needs to look at."

The NDP's Charlie Angus calls for full investigation by the RCMP.

On Wednesday, NDP leader Tom Mulcair unveiled a Senate abolition campaign called "Roll up the Red Carpet," with a website and online petition. Within hours of going live, it had received thousand of petitioners.

Mulcair condemned the Senate as an unelected body that can "reverse legislation that was duly adopted by people who have been elected," such as in 2010, when Jack Layton’s climate change bill was defeated by a Senate made up mostly of "party bag men and defeated candidates."

Tom Mulcair launches a campaign to abolish the Senate.

Mulcair acknowledges the difficulty of abolishing the Senate because it would require opening up the Constitution and, possibly, unanimous consent of all provinces and territories. "We know how complex it is going to be. If you don't start, if you are not serious about it you will never get it done."

The House has been raucous since the Victoria Day break, and especially since Wright's resignation on Sunday of the the long weekend.

On Tuesday morning, Harper gave a rare public speech to his caucus, unsuccessfully attempting to blunt the issue. "I’m not happy, I’m very upset about some conduct we have witnessed — the conduct of some parliamentarians and the conduct of my own office," he told his caucus. From that point, he went on to trumpet his party's achievements in office and evade the Senate expense issue completely.

Tom Mulcair was no more impressed than any other observers of federal politics. "This is a scandal that’s not going to go away," he told reporters. "We have the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office with a taxpayer-paid lawyer concocting a document so that a Conservative-named Senator can avoid testifying properly before a Senate proceeding, and we’re not supposed to be able to see the document. It’s a supposed gift of $90,000. Nothing more is known about it so far. We want to get to the bottom of it. Canadians have a right to know… We know that this is a proper scandal. This Senate-gate is not going away."

In the House, Liberal Ralph Goodale charged, "This is about unethical, possibly illegal behaviour in the Prime Minister's inner circle. All of last week and again today the Prime Minister showed nothing but contempt for ordinary Canadians: no answers, no accountability, no apology. Ordinary Canadians do not have a sugar daddy in the Prime Minister's office. Ordinary Canadians pay their debts. Ordinary Canadians do not get to blockade an audit, whitewash a Senate report and pocket $90,000. Who gave the orders for this Conservative corruption and tabled the emails?"

Foreign affairs minister John Baird looked nervous, responding for the Prime Minister, who left after his caucus speech for a three-day trip to South America. Baird repeatedly said that he and his leader were unaware of what happened until it was reported in the news and that no documented agreement existed between Wright and Duffy.

NDP house leader Nathan Cullen said, "Canadians deserve answers. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is repeatedly saying, 'Two independent authorities are looking into the matter.' Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us who these authorities are, and is one of them the RCMP? If not, why not?"

Under repeated questioning, Baird ultimately admitted one is the Ethics Commissioner and the other, the same Senate committee accused of whitewashing Duffy's report.

Justin Trudeau said the Conservatives are morally corrupt. "The problem remains– a member (the second highest or the highest) non-elected member of the executive paid off a parliamentarian $90,000 to obstruct an audit, to make a problem, a political problem go away. This is as serious as a heart attack."

Justin Trudeay says Conservative corruption is "as serious as a heart attack."

When asked by Straight Goods News if the scandal is symptomatic of the patronage that goes with the Senate, Trudeau shifted quickly to criticizing Stephen Harper.

"I think it’s a mistake to focus too much on the Senate in this situation. I understand why the Conservatives want to turn it to the Senate. The problem is with the Prime Minister. The problem is with the Prime Minister’s Office, the most controlling, unaccountable office that we’ve ever had that is paying off parliamentarians to obstruct an investigation into improper expenses."

Paul Moist talks about austerity pushback

Feb 182013

Workplaces

CUPE members strategize to preserve Canadians' public services.

by Ish Theilheimer, video by Samantha Bayard, transcribed by Ruth Cooper

Paul Moist:
This is our first ever National Bargaining Conference. It resulted from a recommendation to our 2011 Convention in Vancouver: In the Aftermath of the 2008 Global Recession. With some of what we see going on around the world, we anticipated a much tougher climate for bargaining across the board and that we should get together.

Taxpayers on hook in case of massive spill — environment commissioner

Feb 062013

Hill report

Lack of sound planning will result in huge liabilities and legacy costs.

by Samantha Bayard and Ish Theilheimer

OTTAWA, February 5, 2013 (Straight Goods News) — Canada's Environment Commissioner says Canada is falling behind other countries and its own commitments on environment liabilities. Scott Vaughn issued his 2012 report, saying Canada does not clearly define who is responsible for cleanup bills in the case of pollution from oil spills and other work connected with resource development.

EI claimants are “bad guys”: Diane Finley

Feb 052013

Hill report

Resources minister slags unemployed as inequality rises, poverty increases.

by Samantha Bayard and Ish Theilheimer

OTTAWA, February 4, 2013 (Straight Goods News) — Although Canada's social report card ranking has been dragged down down by poverty and inequality among children and working aged adults, Canada's human resource minister has called EI claimants "bad guys."

Harperites reeling from KMPG report on F-35s

Dec 132012

Hill report

Government still manages to pass anti-union Bill C-377 as Parliament draws to nasty close.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, December 12, 2012: Conservatives lost big and won big on the last day of of the 2012 Parliament. They lost big when a reputable accounting firm challenged their claims about the true costs of the proposed F-35 stealth fighter jets. Even with egg on their faces, the government succeeded in passing stealth attack legislation against unions.

Conservatives drubbed over F-35 “fiasco”

Dec 112012

Hill report

Harper and Ambrose offer contradictory stories while Peter MacKay takes cover.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA,, December 10, 2012 (Straight Goods News) — The Conservatives were on the defensive today in Parliament, offering shifting stories over the proposed F-35 fighter jet purchase, which has gone from prominent election promise to financial "fiasco."

Media leaks last weekend revealed the true cost of the purchase at up to $46 billion, over 40 years, in contrast with previous Conservative promises and readjusted projections of $9 billion, then $15 billion, $25 billion, and more. As recently as last May, defence minister Peter MacKay told the House that critics of the purchase "have a thinly veiled agenda, which is not to support military procurement." Yesterday, the Conservatives, again, would not put MacKay forward to take questions on the project, opting, as they have been doing for weeks, for public works minister Rona Ambrose, who insisted nothing has been spent on the program despite earlier assertions from MacKay to the contrary.

Ambrose told the House, "Of course, no money has been spent on the acquisition of any new aircraft and we will not purchase any replacement until the seven-point plan is complete. That of course includes a full options analysis, not simply a refresh of work that was already done."

"The Prime Minister keeps repeating that no money has been spent on acquisition," the NDP's Tom Mulcair shot back, "But of course, several hundred million dollars has been spent on the F-35 fiasco. It is as if it was not real money because the product does not exist yet. The reason that it is such a fiasco is because they never defined Canada's needs, they never went to public tender, so there is a basic question of public management involved. Are they going to go to public tender and give it to the lowest conforming bidder, yes or no?"

Stephen Harper, who had looked at ease fielding a previous question from Mulcair on the Nexen purchase, went on the defensive, accusing Mulcair of wanting to undermine aerospace jobs in Montreal. "If he does, he can go explain that to the workers in Montreal."

Later, Mulcair told reporters, "Since the beginning, Peter MacKay has shown that he’s an abysmal public administrator, but it’s endemic within the Conservative government. They lied straight up about the numbers, they said it was $9 billion, it turns out that it’s five times that. There’s no way to justify that and that was in the middle of an election campaign. This is about public management. This is about public money. They didn’t go to public tender, they didn’t for the lowest confirming bidder, they didn’t set out the needs of Canada. As this was rolled out, we learned that the F-35 could never have functioned properly in the Canadian Arctic. We had never taken the trouble to define what our needs were. So we weren’t able to buy the best product at the lowest price. That’s what everyone who knows anything about public administration has been saying. You know, the Conservatives love being in power but they don’t like governing. They just find that they can be dismissive and arrogant any time anyone asks them a question."

Tom Mulcair says any fighter purchase must be preceded by a clear definition of needs and open bidding.

Bob Rae told reporters the purchase represented "grotesque and total incompetence on their part," and that the public has been left in the dark. "One day there is a contract, on another day there is no contract. We’re still not clear. Again, we have no, we have no way of knowing is there going to be an open competition? Is there going to be a degree of transparency and openness to the public? What does it mean to start the refresh button? What does it mean to say we’re going to be looking at all options? What are the terms and conditions of those options? What are the new conditions being established for the purchase of the plane? None of that is clear."

NDP Military procurement critic Matthew Kellway told SGNews, "As a partner in the joint strike fighter partnership program, they have committed to $710 million to continue to be part of this partnership and to let the Canadian aerospace industry kind of play in the global supply chain for the F-35." He said the partnership would commit the government to another quarter of a billion in liabilities…

"We are close to this government having committed one billion dollars to this program, and, interestingly, Canadian industry has only received less than half of that in terms of contracts. So the Prime Minister's comments today about the hundreds of millions worth of contracts that have come to Canadian companies – well, indeed, there have been $435 million worth of contracts that have come out to Canadian companies, but our government is committed to spending close to a billion dollars to be part of the program."

Kellway said a simple, open process would be of greater benefit in terms of contracts and be less costly to Canadian taxpayers. "The regular procurement process would trigger the Industrial Benefits Policy. There would have to be the equivalent amount spent by the successful manufacturer in Canada. So if we bought planes for $25 Billion, then that policy would require that $25 Billion worth of industrial benefits would accrue to Canada," said Kellway.

NDP military procurement critic Matthew Kellway explains the numbers on fighter jet procurement

Peter van Loan charges at Nathan Cullen

Dec 072012

Hill report

Tepid apology attempts to implicate Mulcair.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, December 6, 2012 (Straight Goods News) — A lowlight of the week in Parliament was Conservative House Leader Peter van Loan charging across the aisle Wednesday, cursing at, and trying to provoke a fight with NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen over a point of order over voting on the omnibus budget legislation.

Today, Van Loan offered the House a tepid apology.

"I acknowledge that I used an inappropriate word when I was discussing this matter with the opposition House leader," Van Loan told the House. "I should not have done that and I apologize for that."

In the next breath, however, Van Loan attempted to start another fight, implicating NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his brawl. "I would expect the Leader of the Opposition to do the same," he said.

NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa-Centre), who went in to split up the conflict, told reporters today, "It was very simple. Mr. Van Loan was saying some things at his desk and then he started across the aisle and he was looking very aggressive and he was wagging his finger and continued to say some very aggressive things and threats. That [behaviour] was unprompted and unbecoming any member of the House — let alone a House Leader — he continued to do that. I saw him coming across. I could see in his face that he was very upset and in a very aggressive kind of mode and so I’ve seen that before in men and I know it’s the best thing to do is to get people away from each other and that’s what I did."

Paul Dewar describes Peter Van Loan's charging incident and apology.

"In terms of his apology, frankly, I think it’s unbecoming a minister or a House Leader," Dewar said. "And I’m not — I’m not sure if I was the Prime Minister I’d still have him as a House Leader. I don’t know how you can have your House Leader, you know, after a point of order is made, behave like that. And that was entirely something he did. No one else did anything. No one said a word to him. It was totally unprompted. He did it all by himself. So the only person who should be apologizing and maybe taking a timeout for a while is Minister Van Loan, no one else."

Door open to looser gun control on anniversary of Montreal Massacre

Dec 072012

Hill report

Harper stuns House by agreeing with Rae.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, December 6, 2012 (Straight Goods News) — On the 23rd anniversary of Montreal Massacre, where 14 women were killed, the Opposition grilled Stephen Harper about government recommendations to loosen access to certain prohibited weapons, including hand guns and assault rifles.

Harper repeatedly insisted the government will not change the classification of "prohibited weapons," saying, "Our government has no intention of changing that category."

NDP leader Tom Mulcair worried, however, that changes may, in fact, be in store. "Mr. Speaker, that is very clear for 'that category,' but he does not mention the others," Mulcair said, in Question Period. "On one hand, the Conservatives have, we might say, loaded the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee with lobbyists and arms dealers, leaving out the victims and women's groups. On the other hand, they have systematically ignored recommendations from the police and closed the door on the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, for example.

Then the entire House was stunned when, on the next exchange, the Liberals' Bob Rae appeared to actually get Harper to agree with him when he asked, "I wonder if the Prime Minister could perhaps tell us if he would now consider, in light of the recommendations which have come out of this particular committee, adding the chiefs of police to the group of people who will be on the committee as well as those who are engaged in combating domestic violence and those who are dealing with suicide prevention."

Harper, replied, "Once again, I want to emphasize that the positions in this report do not reflect the positions of the government. I will take the advice of the leader of the Liberal Party under consideration. Obviously, there is concern with some of the recommendations made in that report and I think that the committee does need some re-examination in that light."

Later Rae told reporters: "I think the Prime Minister was probably taken aback by the lack of — frankly, the lack of political sensitivity and common sense of a committee that would come up with those kinds of recommendations at a time when Canadians are looking in a very different direction. And sometimes you — you know, when you do things, you learn. Let’s hope the Prime Minister’s learned something."

Bob Rae says police and domestic violence, suicide groups should be included in Firearms Advisory Committee.

"I mean this is an area where, frankly, the public does not share the ideological enthusiasm of the Conservative backbench, that people are just not interested in increasing, you know, access to weapons. They’re interested very much in reducing public access to dangerous firearms."

NDP justice critic Françoise Boivin, agreed, highlighting the impact pro gun lobby groups have on the government: "With guns we should always be on the prudent side on the public security side instead of just trying to make it so easy. It's complicated with a car, which is some aspects can be way less dangerous than a gun. I think we should be a bit more prudent but always it is the lobby of gun owners that are a bit more powerful with that government."

Françoise Boivin wants more prudent gun control.

First Nations vent frustration over budget bill

Dec 052012

Hill report

Omnibus bill's changes to Navigable Water Act affect lives and lands without consultation.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, December 4, 2012 (SGNews) — Over 400 First Nations peoples marched on Parliament Hill today to demonstrate their frustration over omnibus budget legislation that affects their lands and rights. When NDP MP Charlie Angus arranged for several First Nations leaders to come to the House to meet directly with natural resources minister Joe Oliver, a dramatic confrontation occurred.

Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Wallace Fox went nose-to-nose with Oliver and told him about the frustrations First Nations feel about changes to laws like the Navigable Waters Act, which affect their territories. "There's no consultation. There's never been any consultation."

Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Wallace Fox confronts natural resources minister Joe Oliver in this YouTube clip captured, with poor sound, on a smartphone.

After that, some of the chiefs attempted to enter the House during Question Period but were dissuaded by cooler heads.

NDP MP Charlie Angus explained to SGNews why the chiefs were so angry. "There’s a lot of subtext in this omnibus legislation. If you’re changing land use rights and the rights of First Nations, then do it in legislation that can be dealt with and you can have consultation. There’s not been consultation on these changes. This is supposed to be a budget bill and yet they’re ramming everything but the kitchen sink and so people are frustrated."

Charlie Angus talks with reporters about First Nations' frustration.

Angus said, "This omnibus legislation is going to strip environmental protection of lakes. It’s basically declaring open seasons on all parts of Canada, but especially on first nation territory. No consultation, there’s a real frustration. So the desire was for some of the leaders to be able to come in and actually say, wait a minute, 'how come you’re pushing this through, this omnibus legislation, you haven’t spoken to us,' so I went to Minister Oliver and I just asked him, I said, 'Minister Oliver, there’s a number of chiefs out there that would like to speak with you. Would you come out and meet with them,' and he agreed and that’s what happened.

Oliver told the chiefs, "I think we can work together as partners to achieve what you want to achieve which is full respect for your rights."

Angus was not impressed. "I think the messages from the hundreds of chiefs who marched representing communities across this country is that this government is ignoring democracy," he said. "They’re ignoring people, they’re ignoring the first nations communities at their peril. I think there’s going to be push-backs if the government continues to act in this arrogant and abusive manner and you see it in the frustration that was on the hill today.

Feds abdicating health care leadership — coalition

Dec 052012

Public Values

Without public opposition, Harper will give control to provinces, opening gates to health care priviatization.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, December 4, 2012 (SGNews) — It may be National Medicare Week and the 50th anniversary of the introduction of medicare in Canada, but advocates say the Harper government will proceed with a radical privatization plan in the 2014 health care accord unless there is a public outcry. Dozens of activists are on Parliament Hill this week lobbying government and opposition Mps to make this point.

In the House, NDP health critic Libby Davies said "Since coming to power the Conservatives have done nothing to strengthen the health accords. We have witnessed growing privatization, no national drug plan, no help for home care and longer wait times."

Health care advocates were backed in their advocacy by the results of a Nanos Research survey conducted on behalf of the Canadian Health Coalition showing that an overwhelming majority of Canadians think that the federal government should be taking a leadership role in securing our health care system and ensuring all Canadians have access to it.

Instead, the Coalition's coordinator Michael McBane says Canadians are seeing "Total abdication of leadership. They are dropping the ball in terms of their responsibilities, they have Federal legislation to uphold and they are pretending everything is provincial."

McBane says the government is paving the way for health care privatization. "For one thing they are not enforcing the Canada Health Act, in terms of extra billing, cue jumping, that's an example of letting privatization emerge. It creates barriers to access."

Michael McBane says the government is paving the way for health care privatization in this interview on YouTube.

McBane see Stephen Harper's centralized control as behind the drive. "When you meet Conservatives individually, when you get down to the practicalities: do you think seniors should be cared for when they get older, yes; do you think we should have drug insurance, yes. So on the day-to-day practicalities, they are not far apart but there is this central control in this government where the Prime Minister writes everybody's lines and they claim it's provincial.

"So what we really need is for the public to pushback really strongly – they respond to public pressure."

Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions was on the Hill lobbying too. "We need federal leadership on health care," she told SGNews. "The Accord expires in 2014 and we need the federal government to join with the provinces and territories to work out how and by when Canadians will see substantive and meaningful improvements in quality and access to health care. Without the federal government working with provinces and territories to improve quality of care and access across the continuum, we will see gaps continue to grow in access to primary health care, pharmacare, long-term care, home care, and in quality and access to acute care.

Silas said that lobbying individual MPs "Allows us to better refine and target research, education, outreach and alliance-building to protect, strengthen and expand medicare."

Older Entries