Focused on the economy? Finance Minister Flaherty and "Minister of Jobs" Kenney nearly "come to blows" over Toronto politics

CBC reporting, and Conservative MP's and Kenney himself confirming.

"In a voice loud enough for several of their cabinet colleagues to hear, Flaherty told Kenney to "shut the f--k up" about Ford.

Kenney responded angrily in kind, and although the two men were separated by four other ministers, alarmed caucus colleagues, who requested anonymity, were concerned the bilious debate might escalate beyond their control.

"I thought they might come to blows," said one MP who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident.

Another MP said there was shock at the sight of two senior ministers battling in such a public way....

Kenney did not deny the confrontation took place. 

"Not everyone agrees with each other on everything all the time," Kenney said. "There is always going to be some disagreements from time to time."

Kenney and Flaherty are Harper's most trusted ministers and control the key economic and job creation portfolios, so it seems lots of tension in the Conservative caucus these days. 

Common Ground voting is closing soon, support my policy on Encouraging Youth Voter Participation and Improving Civic Education!

http://commonground.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Encouraging-Youth-Voter-Participation-Improving-Civic-Education/13731-25935

It's on a Liberal website, but I think it's a good non partisan idea that could have a positive impact on youth participation in the electoral process.

Many American states allow for youth voter pre-registration, so this isn't a radical idea - it works in other places, why not Ontario? The Chief Electoral Office of BC recommended British Columbia take a look at youth pre-registration, why not Ontario?

It takes just a couple minutes to register and vote, and I encourage you to read more about the policy here.

Orange continues to be crushed in federal by-elections

I was happy to help the Freeland campaign in Toronto Centre over the last couple of months, and I'm glad to have her as my MP. I was a poll captain, and Freeland pulled 62% of the vote in my home poll, woot.

With the results spinning game already going on, here is my contribution, taking a look at some of the data from by-election results since the last election:

• The NDP did get its best ever result in Toronto Centre with 36%, but despite Mulcair running a star candidate with a hard negative campaign, the actual margin between the Liberals and NDP increased from 2011 from 11% to 13%, with Liberal support increasing by 8%
• Of the nine by-elections held since the last election, Toronto Centre marked only the second time that the NDP actually increased its percentage of the vote. The NDP saw a 5% increase in Durham, when the Liberals were shorthanded because of the provincial Liberal leadership race
• The NDP also ran a star candidate and ran a hard negative campaign in Bourassa...and were rewarded with a lower share of the vote than 2011 and a Liberal margin of victory almost double over 2011
• In by-elections since Mulcair has become NDP leader, NDP support has declined by 9% on average, with three seats (Brandon-Souris, Calgary Centre, Provencher and Victoria) seeing double digit declines in support
• While the NDP vote has only gone up in two by-elections, the Liberal vote has only gone down in two races, (Victoria and Durham) which were held when the Liberals were without a permanent leader (and as mentioned when Liberal energies in Ontario were elsewhere) and the decline in both seats was less than 1%
• While the NDP was running from Mulcair's record on resource development in Toronto Centre, in Western Canada the NDP vote declined by 11% in Calgary Centre, 14% in Victoria, 10% in Provencher and 18% in Brandon-Souris. In all but Victoria, which was a held NDP seat and was retained, the NDP candidate finished with under 10% of the vote
• The Manitoba NDP holds a seat in Brandon, making the 18% drop they experienced more troubling, as they hardly lack a ground game. 
• While the Liberals took Labrador from the Conservatives and came within 4% and 1% of winning Calgary Centre and Labrador respectively, the 13% gap in Toronto Centre represents the closest the the NDP has come to actually winning (and again, this is actually a widening of the gap for the NDP from 2011) and the NDP only retained Victoria by less than 3% after a 14% drop

"Stephen Harper’s climate-change record can’t be ignored anymore" - because it's putting Canadian jobs and our economy at risk

Worthwhile article from Chantal Hebert here.

She's not the first to link Harper's gutting of environmental regulations, skeptical attitude towards climate change and attacks on the environmental movement to other countries (particularly our major trading partner south of the border) reluctance to embrace Canada's natural resources, but in just two sentences, Hebert does a good job of exposing the box that the Conservative government has painted Canada's economy into:

"Harper has made it impossible to have a national conversation on the economy without talking about pipelines, but just as impossible to debate those without addressing his climate change record. When it comes to Canada’s energy agenda, it is the elephant in the room that will no longer be ignored."

When other countries and trading partners read reports that state Canada ranks worst on climate policy among industrialized countries, that doesn't encourage confidence. 

As someone who was part of the Young Liberals of Canada delegation to the United Nations Conference of the Parties climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009, it is disappointing that Canada's leadership sees the environment and the economy as competing interests, but I am happy that the the Liberal Party and Justin Trudeau have a sustainable and balanced energy policy.

This understanding that responsible approaches to environmental and energy policy can benefit all Canadians also contrasts nicely with Thomas Mulcair and his NDP, who are when speaking in front of a Calgary corporate oil sands audience say "Pipelines...should be a priority...[we] will be a partner with the development of energy resources...We will be there with you." while attacking the oil sands in Toronto Centre.

Why not a McQuaig vs. Mulcair debate on natural resource development?

As I predicted back in September, the Mulcair NDP has wasted no time in demonstrating that the "Love is better than anger" NDP is long gone, as Mulcair candidates in the by-elections (particularly Toronto Centre) have spared no opportunity in launching angry attacks on the third-party Liberals.

Mulcair's candidate in Toronto Centre, Linda McQuaig has been negative from day one, attacking the Liberal candidate for not being "from" Toronto (an interesting strategy in a riding with one of the largest population of New Canadians in the country and not one I really thought worked well for the NDP against Glen Murray in his by-election, but the Mulcair NDP is not going to miss a chance to be angry) and attacking Justin Trudeau on the environment and energy development. You can see a sample of Ms. McQuaig's consistency on environmental policy above, but something McQuaig has also been demanding is more debates. I'd love to see her debate a political leader who has positions like this:

Mulcair promises partnership with oil sands..."Pipelines to carry oil from the West to the East should be a priority...[we] will be a partner with the development of energy resources...We will be there with you."

And this in a speech "organized by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by oil sands producer Suncor Energy Inc. and pipeline company Enbridge Inc." Or how about a leader, who speaking to the elite and well connected Canadian Club of Toronto:

"Mulcair throws support behind West-to-East oil pipeline...Mulcair gave his clearest sign of support yet for the notion of a west-to-east pipeline...Mulcair said shipping western oil to Eastern Canada is “pro-business"...Mr. Mulcair later told reporters he has long said he would not speak against the oil sands expansion.

A debate between Ms. McQuaig and her fellow Mulcair candidate Cory Szczepanski in Brandon-Souris would also be interesting, considering he proudly tweeted out the first article on October 27th:

Family feuds in Ontario NDP as Horwath rushes to clamp down on dissent

Ontario NDP infighting is all over the news this week, as we saw sharp divides between Andrea Horwath's office and others in the party. Long-time Ontario NDP'er and front-bench critic MPP Paul Miller was booted to the backbench this weekend, after a dispute between himself and Horwath boiled over

The MPP from Hamilton East—Stoney Creek [said to Horwath] “Don’t you tell me to shut up.” It didn’t stop there. Horwath said something else that couldn’t be made out and Miller said, “Are you threatening me? Don’t you threaten me.” Even veteran MPPs from the other parties were taken aback by the family squabble that included Miller telling Horwath he “had enough from her and her office.” “What are going to do — throw me out of caucus?” Miller is quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the controversy over the shady selection of Adam Giambrone as Ontario NDP candidate Scarborough-Guildwood continues to simmer, as the issue dominated media coverage of the NDP provincial council over the weekend.

“You are all cowards,” said 90-year-old Joy Taylor, who along with other riding executive members has maintained that several ineligible members were allowed to vote, giving the two-person race to Giambrone, a last- minute entry ...After party secretary Darlene Lawson’s report assured delegates everything about the nomination was above board, a call for an independent probe into the results was ruled out of order. “I am very disappointed,” Viresh Raghubeer, president of the NDP’s Scarborough-Guildwood Riding Association, told the Star. “We are confident that things need to be investigated further and we needed further proof as to what happened at the nomination meeting,” he said, later adding, “whenever you try to speak about democracy (in the party) you are demonized.” ...Looking tiny sitting on an overstuffed couch at the Sheraton Centre, Taylor appeared near tears. She remains convinced that the vote was rigged given she could not confirm the names or addresses of most of the last-minute voters. “What I did in good faith as an honest member of the NDP has fallen by the wayside. It is swept under the carpet,” she said, adding she didn’t take on this fight for notoriety. “I did it for the love of the party. . . . I can’t tell you how highly, highly disappointed I am. I weep today." ...“This is a massive betrayal,” Wendy Whittham, a member of the Scarborough-Guildwood riding executive."

While Andrea Horwath is telling long term NDP members and MPPs to shut up and silence any real debate in her party, I'm proud Premier Kathleen Wynne has opened up the Liberal Party policy process to every Ontarian. PS: Why don't you take a look at my Common Ground policy while you're there?

Haven't done one of these in awhile, a peek at early declared Liberal nomination candidates

Hey, before you take a look at who has come out of the wood work early to run for nominations, why don't you take a look at my policy on Common Ground, Encouraging Youth Voter Participation and Improving Civic Education? 


Lots of political space being paid attention to right now on the federal scene (and rightfully so) to the upcoming by-elections, the Throne Speech, CETA and the Senate, but I thought I'd do a blast from the past, and take a look at who has declared themselves running for a Liberal nomination for the 2015 election. 

The nomination process this time will be particularly interesting. Justin Trudeau has promised open nominations and if the by-elections are any indication (three of the four ridings saw contested nominations) we could see some wide open contests to be a Liberal candidate in the next election across Canada. Riding re-distribution is another factor, as more ridings means more nominations to be held, and intrigue (for all parties, really) where incumbents will run and which seats will be "open".

This post won't cover rumour or intrigue, just candidates who have openly declared they are running for a nomination either in the media or online. If you're supporting a candidate who has declared, feel free to leave your deets in the comments section. Let's get started with some ridings that even early on are seeing some competition.

Willowdale

Sonny Cho
http://sonnycho.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/GetToKnowSonny
https://www.facebook.com/GetToKnowSonny

Vincent Gasparro
http://www.vincegasparro.ca/
https://twitter.com/vgasparro

David Mousavi
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vote-David-for-Willowdale/516821751725319
https://twitter.com/DavidMousavi

Lily Pourzand
http://www.lilypourzand.ca/about/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lily-for-Willowdale/499118806843623

Willowdale seems to be a hot commodity, as it has drawn four declared candidates already!

Beaches-East York

Tom McGee
http://tommcgee.ca/meet-tom/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-McGee-for-Beaches-East-York/489701967792202
https://twitter.com/tommcgeeBEY

Jeff Rybak
http://www.jeffrybak.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/votejeffrybak

Ville-Marie

Marc Miller
http://marcmiller.ca/why-am-i-running/

Désirée McGraw
https://www.facebook.com/pages/D%C3%A9sir%C3%A9e-McGraw/228280297324201
https://twitter.com/Desiree_McGraw

And here are some non contested ones (as far as I could tell)

Etobicoke-Lakeshore

George Takach
http://www.vote4george.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/georgetakach
https://twitter.com/georgetakach

Markham-Stouffville

Jane Philpott  
http://janephilpott.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/janepaulinephilpott
https://twitter.com/janephilpott

Mississauga South/Mississauga-Lakeshore
(right now it's Mississauga South, but the final redistribution report alters the boundaries somewhat and changes the name of the riding)

Julie Desjardins
http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/4079645-desjardins-seeks-liberal-nomination-in-mississauga-south

Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill

Jason Cherniak
http://www.jasoncherniak.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/liberaljason
https://twitter.com/Cherniak

Dorval-Lachine

Alain Berinstain
http://alain.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/AlainDorvalLachine
https://twitter.com/alainbb

Scarborough North

Logan Kanapathi
http://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/4146802-markham-councillor-to-seek-liberal-nomination/

Scarborough South West

Amy Robichaud
http://www.amyrobichaud.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/Amy4SSW
https://twitter.com/Amy_Robichaud

Richmond Hill

Brian Chamberlain
https://www.facebook.com/ChamberlainRichmondHill

Scarborough-Rouge Park

Gary Anandasangaree
http://voteforgary.ca/


And last, but certainly not least...

Ottawa West-Nepean

Anita Vandenbeld
https://www.facebook.com/ElectAnita
https://twitter.com/anitavandenbeld

I'll drop any pretence of neutrality I have here and say that it is great to see Anita running again. I served as youth co-chair of her campaign in 2011, designed her lawn signs and generated most of the content at http://youthforanita.blogspot.ca/.  

Haven't had a chance to vote for my idea on Common Ground? Take just a minute to support youth engagement and better civic education!

My idea is ranked 40th out of over 1000 ideas suggested, and is in the top 10 for the education section. To vote, simply sign up and agree with the idea!

Vote for my policy on Encouraging Youth Democratic Participation and Improving Civic Education on Common Ground!

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Very excited to see the new online platform tool Common Ground be rolled out at provincial council today. Please register, take a look at the policy, and vote for it if it's something you want to see the party move forward on!

Brush up on my youth democratic participation and civic education policy in time for provincial council!

With provincial council coming up this weekend, here's a brush up on my policy that got prioritized by the Ontario Young Liberals at Summer Fling back in August. Here is a blog post I wrote outlining some of the stats and evidence behind this policy, and why I think it would work for Ontario.

ENCOURAGING YOUTH DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AND IMPROVING CIVIC EDUCATION

BY: WILLIAM NORMAN, MISSISSAUGA SOUTH

WHEREAS the lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age

WHEREAS there is a positive correlation between voting and being registered as a voter before General Voting Day

WHEREAS Australia and several American states allow for voter registration below the age of 18

WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia recommended in 2011 in his Report to the Legislative Assembly to amend the BC Elections Act to allow the provisional registration of individuals when they are 16 years of age

WHEREAS Ontario Young Liberals have previously passed policies encouraging youth democratic participation and improving the Civics class as part of Ontario’s curriculum

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Ontario government amend the Ontario Elections Act to permit the registration of individuals onto the voter list when they are 15 years of age

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Ontario government amend the Ontario High School curriculum to include the voter registration process, as the majority of students in grade 10 would be 15

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Ontario government continues to work with post-secondary educational institutions to help students living away from home vote.

Hudak celebrates Franco-Ontarien Day by appointing a Francophone Affairs critic...who doesn't speak French

I'm not going to pretend that my French is great, but I'm also not a Francophone affairs critic for the Official Opposition. 

"Willing to bring it … hard", "stoke[ing]...frustration and anger" - What the expect from NDP campaigns in the upcoming by-elections

That's what Pundits' Guide and David Akin wrote about new Mulcair candidate Linda McQuaig's approach to politics in their (both very good) summaries of the Toronto Centre nominations. I was happy to spend the day pulling vote for Chrystia Freeland, who McQuaig wasted no time in attacking. Those who read my blog frequently will know that I would be a wild hypocrite to pretend to be offended by going on the attack, but as Liberals, we have to realize both that Mulcair's NDP will pull as few punches as the Harper Conservatives in both Toronto Centre and Bourassa going after Liberals and making personal attacks both nationally and on local candidates. The "Love is better than anger" etc stuff was always more how New Democrats saw themselves then how they actually behaved, but Mulcair's NDP's determination to attack the third-party Liberals years before a general election is something Liberals are going to have to deal with when campaigning directly against the NDP. In the past, Liberal campaigns against the NDP failed too often when they simply boiled down to strategic voting arguements - an arguement that collapsed in the 2011 federal election. We have to be unafraid to defend our Leader and candidate from personal and policy attacks, and argue that Justin Trudeau and candidates like Chrystia Freeland are better suited to address the needs of all Canadians. And yes, we can make arguements like how McQuaid's support of "Israeli Apartheid Week" and Mulcair's main focus as leader being tearing open the Constitution with Senate abolishment demonstrate that the NDP isn't focused on the issues of everyday Canadians. As a soon to be constituent of Toronto Centre, I'll be looking forward to helping out Justin Trudeau and the Freeland campaign.

Hudak Finance critic bills you for second home

If Hudak wants to lower the deficit, his own Finance critic not billing you 20 grand for a rental home while he spends his time in Niagara-on-the-Lake, 150 km from his riding of Thornhill might be a better idea than firing thousands of teachers and nurses.

Last year, Tory finance critic Peter Shurman claimed $20,719, the maximum permitted, from a housing allowance that was set up to help representatives of far-flung constituencies pay for accommodation in Toronto. Mr. Shurman received the funds because he claims a home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. – about 150 kilometres away from his riding – as his primary residence. He uses the money to help pay rent on his Toronto apartment.

As a point of reference for how close Shurman could be to Queen's Park if he actually lived in his constituency, if Shurman spent more time in the riding he's supposed to represent, he might know his constit office is only a half hour drive to Queen's Park (my morning commute is twice that).

Final version of my policy to be presented at Summer Fling: Encouraging Youth Democratic Participation and Improving Civic Education

My original policy had some friendly amendments for clarity and language, so here is what I'll be presenting at Summer Fling this weekend:

Encouraging Youth Democratic Participation and Improving Civic Education (Provincial)

By: William Norman, Mississauga South  

WHEREAS – The lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age

WHEREAS – There is a positive correlation between voting and being registered as a voter before General Voting Day

WHEREAS – Australia and several American states allow for voter registration below the age of 18

WHEREAS – The Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia recommended in 2011 in his Report to the Legislative Assembly to amend the BC Elections Act to allow the provisional registration of individuals when they are 16 years of age

WHEREAS – Ontario Young Liberals have previously passed policies encouraging youth democratic participation and improving the Civics class as part of Ontario’s curriculum

BE IT RESOLVED THAT – The Ontario government amend the Ontario Elections Act to permit the registration of individuals onto the voter list when they are 16 years of age

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT – The Ontario government amend the Ontario High School curriculum to include the voter registration process, as the majority of students in grade 10 would be 16. 

Here are some backgrounders promoting youth pre-registration:

Here is the 2011 report from the Chief Electoral Officer of BC where he recommends allowing youth to pre-register to vote at 16

"Encouraging youth participation

The lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age. There is a 

positive correlation between voting and being registered as a voter before General Voting 

Day. The most effective means of registering youth may be to approach them before they 

graduate from high school. Currently, voter registration is restricted to those at least 18 

years of age, an age when many youth have left high school. 

Australia has addressed this issue by allowing provisional voter registration of 17 year 

olds. Several American states have provisional registration for 16 or 17 year olds, or 

have introduced Bills or declared their intention to do so in this regard.

Legislators may wish to consider allowing the provisional registration of individuals 

when they are 16 years of age. The voting age could remain at 18, with provisional 

registration becoming an active registration on an individual’s 18th birthday. Permitting 

early registration at the age of 16 would permit Elections BC to work with schools and 

the driver licensing program to ensure maximum exposure to the registration process for 

young voters. Many high school teachers have expressed support for this concept as it 

would allow meaningful action by their students in the context of civics education. 

Improving the accessibility of registration opportunities for youth may have a longer-term 

effect on voter engagement and turnout."

This has background on how several US states allow youth pre-registration

"Several other states have changed registration rules to encourage civic participation by youth. 

In Hawaii, eligible 16-year-olds are allowed to pre-register so that their voter status is 

automatically activated at age 18. In the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Florida, Maine, 

Wisconsin, Missouri, and Texas, pre-registration is open to 17 year olds. Federal legislation 

was introduced in 2004, the Gateway to Democracy Act, to allow teenagers to preregister, 

with an emphasis on those applying for their driver’s licenses (in most states, at 16 years of 

age). Wisconsin reaches out to young voters with a state law establishing a “registration 

deputy” at every high school, filled by a volunteering teacher or staff person."

Here is a really in-depth study of the impact of youth pre-registration in Hawaii and Florida, demonstrating the link between pre-registering and actual voter turnout as well as the importance of civic education from George Mason University

"Thousands of young people in these states take advantage of preregistration, and preregistration appears to have positive and persisting long-term effects on their voting propensities...Success of preregistration is maximized when election officials and educators act as partners.... As policy makers consider how to implement preregistration programs elsewhere, providing for means of ensuring participation by educators, such as requiring preregistration as a component of a mandatory high school civics curriculum, will likely result in the most robust implementation of preregistration."

That last quote I think really brings it home. 

More shots fired in Ontario PC civil war as Education Critic Lisa MacLeod savages Transportation Critic Frank Klees on Twitter

As the Ontario PC civil war over Tim Hudak's continued leadership rages on, here is what PC Education Critic (and many say potential future leadership candidate Lisa MacLeod) had to say to her fellow PC frontbencher and Transportation Critic Frank Klees.

Next time the Hudak PC's ask to be taken seriously on the transit file, remember that this is the opinion his Transportation critic is held in by one of his highest profile MPPs.

My policy for the OYL South Central Regional Policy Parliament - Encouraging Youth Democratic Participation and Improving Civic Education

I wrote about the merits of lowering the age of voter registration to 16 back in April, and I've turned it into a policy for the OYL South Central Regional Policy Parliament tomorrow. Take a look!

Encouraging Youth Democratic Participation and Improving Civic Education

 WHEREAS – The lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age

WHEREAS – There is a positive correlation between voting and being registered as a voter before General Voting Day

WHEREAS – Australia and several American states allow for voter registration below the age of 18

WHEREAS – The Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia recommended in 2011 in his Report to the Legislative Assembly to amend the BC Elections Act to allow the provisional registration of individuals when they are 16 years of age

WHEREAS – Ontario Young Liberals have previously passed policies encouraging youth democratic participation and improving the Civics class as part of Ontario’s curriculum

BE IT RESOLVED THAT – The Ontario government amend the Ontario Elections Act to permit the registration of individuals onto the voter list when they are 16 years of age

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT – The Ontario government amend the Civics portion of the Ontario High School curriculum to include the voter registration process, as the majority of students in grade 10 would be 16

Hudak PC candidate: Female voters are "less informed"...including about control over their own bodies?

That's Wayne Wettlaufer, former PC MPP who served with Hudak and Mike Harris running to win his seat of Kitchener Centre back for the Conservatives.

Wettlaufer also must think women aren't informed enough to have control over their own bodies (also noteworthy a little guy named Tim Hudak as well several currently serving Hudak Conservative MPPs are also mentioned here)

"Several notable MPPs (all Tories) have demonstrated a commitment to respect the sanctity of life and the institution of the traditional family. Among them are Jim Brown (Scarborough Agincourt), Tim Hudak (Erie-Lincoln), Frank Klees (Oak Ridges), John O’Toole (Durham), Frank Sheehan (Niagara Centre), Wayne Wettlaufer (Kitchener Centre), and Bob Wood (London West). These pro-life MPPs have submitted numerous petitions to the legislature, thus bringing attention to important issues such as the need for conscience legislation, calls to eliminate taxpayer funding of abortion, the need to protect the rights of parents in areas such as health care and education, and opposition to the expansion of gambling. Without the commitment of these pro-life MPPs, these issues might not have been brought up on the floor of the legislature.

In response to the 1995 Campaign Life Coalition candidate’s questionnaire, these seven MPPs generally supported measures that would protect the unborn and regulate abortion, including ending taxpayer funding of abortuaries, consent to treatment changes and measures to provide for informed consent. Hudak...wrote, “I believe that it is the government’s role to... encourage women to carry the babies to term."  They have put their votes where their rhetoric is. Each of the MPPs voted for Bill 91, an act to provide for parental consultation under the Health Care Consent Act of 1996." 

Former Conservative candidate and "shadow MP" on your tax dollars arrested in Quebec corruption probe

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Saulie+Zajdel+arrest+UPAC+surprise+Conservatives/8536640/story.html


"He was known as the “shadow MP” of the federal Mont-Royal riding, hovering and thinking about making another run at the job after losing in 2011….Saulie Zajdel’s stunning arrest Monday on five charges including breach of trust, corruption and fraud sent a shock wave through the ranks of the Conservative Party from the top down…


Zajdel, who bagged a controversial adviser’s job in the office of Heritage Minister James Moore after his defeat in Mont-Royal…was hired by Moore, a close associate, to work as a “liaison” between the government and Montreal’s cultural communities from October 2011 until March 2012.

His role with the Conservatives was vague, and for months he refused to explain his duties or his salary…. Cotler expressed his annoyance, suggesting Zajdel was being paid by Ottawa to prepare his political rematch, calling him Mont-Royal’s “shadow MP.”…the Conservatives indulged in a dirty tricks campaign, with workers phoning people in Mont-Royal strongly suggesting Cotler was going to retire. The speaker of the Commons later ruled the stunt as “trickery.”…

Zajdel was part of Harper’s entourage on a visit to Montreal that included a stop in a pub. It was there he revealed to a Canadian Press reporter [Zajdel] was dissatisfied with his salary in Moore’s office.

“Oh, (it’s) not as much as I want it to be,” Zajdel quipped. Asked how much he’d like to earn, he said, “Something in the six digits and it’s not that.”

There was a report later in Le Devoir that Zajdel’s salary was $60,000 a year."

  So, get rejected by the voters, have the party run a "trickery" campaign against your opponent, get paid with your tax dollars to raise your political profile in the riding, complain about making a more than middle-class salary, get arrested?   Harper is a Beatles fan, so I'm sure he'll appreciate that stories like this are just another day in the life of his government.  

  Here's Harper talking about how great a guy the now arrested Zajdel is.

"Political parties aren't perfect, but that's why I belong to one"

Giving some dap to an article written by Hillary Buchan-Terrell for Samara about her experiences in politics, and why political parties matter.

Two-time NDP candidate and environmentalist quits Ontario NDP over Horwath adopting Rob Ford's transit policy

This is Trevor Hache earlier today, quitting the Ontario NDP over their rejection of revenue models to expand transit options for families in the Greater Toronto and Greater Hamilton Area.

Hache twice ran for the NDP in Ottawa-Vanier, and as Policy Director for Ecology Ottawa, a major Ottawa-area environmental organization which he was also a founding member of. (In the interest of full disclosure, I also worked for Ecology Ottawa for several months as a fundraising canvasser.)

Horwath moved the ONDP away from promoting public transit and sound environmental policy in the last election when the ONDP platform included a plank to use your tax dollars to subsidize gas prices for big gas guzzling cars. The ONDP's latest move to shows they continue to reject real models for public transit funding, and it'll be interesting to see how the rump environmental wing of the ONDP handles Horwath embracing the Rob Ford position on public transit.

Does Fordwath work as a nickname or is that too much of a stretch?

Hudak Conservatives fined $85,000 for "rule breaking robocalls"

I hear he knows a guy who knows a guy though

What's another 20 mil of your tax dollars, anyway?

After years of using your tax dollars for partisan self promotion, the Conservatives want $20 million more of your tax dollars to keep the ball rolling. Every time you see a taxpayer funded ad while watching the playoffs, that's $95,000 of your tax dollars. That same amount could create 32 summer jobs for youth, which would really help the economy.

PS: Here's what it looks like when a government actually cares more about ensuring youth are an active part of the economy.

This hits the nail on the head

Been meaning to toss up a post about the Conservatives preparing to launch a tax payer funded attack ad blitz again Trudeau, but this social media image put out by Trudeau hits the nail on the head way better than I could. Go show Team Liberal.

Winners and losers in the LPC leadership race - besides the obvious winner

Was in Ottawa for the leadership reveal, and I've been meaning to write a blog reflecting on the race. First off, let me thank all the volunteers and party staff who worked during the weekend and throughout the race.

While the obvious winner was Justin Trudeau, and congratulations to his team are due, I thought I'd write about who I think are the more subtle winners and losers from both the weekend and the race as a whole. Presented in no particular order.

WINNERS

-George Takach

Takach wasn't taken the most seriously at the start of the race, but his official entry into the race was professional, he garnered a surprising amount of Young Liberal support which gave him decent online buzz, and he positioned himself well to own the "digitial economy" file - not a bad niche to have for a party looking for ways to be economically innovative. That he dropped out to support Trudeau helps him in this category of course. For an outsider candidate like Takach, the best realistic outcome was to raise his profile and make friends with the new establishment, and it seems like he executed it well. If he wants to run for a nomination in the next election, he'll have a good pick of seats, particularly his home riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore

-Supporters of supporters

The supporter class wasn't without its share of controversy, and you can argue about the value of it, how to calculate the turnout, etc, but the fact is with the supporter category over 100k Canadians voted in this leadership race. It would have been interesting to see how the supporter class would have worked in a more competitive race with more candidates able to run truly national campaigns, but those who supported the creation of the class and allowing them to vote can be satisfied - for now. The next test is keeping those supporters engaged and getting them involved on the local level.

-Deborah Coyne

If a candidate who got under 1% of the vote can be considered a winner, Deb Coyne can. She never caught fire, but she had a deep policy binder, performed decently in the debates, and was able to defend her ideas
well. She never thought she could win, but for someone who entered the race to advance certain ideas to keep them part of the discussion, she did well. I hope she goes after a federal nomination in the next election.

-Jean Chretien

Hardly needs to be said, but his barn burner of a speech at the leadership reveal demonstrated why he's the most beloved living Liberal leader.

LOSERS

-Supporters of co-operation

I don't support co-operation, and seemingly neither did many Liberals, with Joyce Murray and her co-operation platform finishing a distant second (which was expected) but underperformed some expectations for vote %. I talked to a couple of friends who were supporting Joyce, and who complained that the third-party groups like LeadNow and the various strategic voting schemes who threw lots in with Joyce failed to deliver. I don't think Joyce was the best salesperson for the co-operation pitch compared the Nathan Cullen in the NDP race, who genuinely surprised a lot of people with his likability and charisma. His unexpectedly strong performance gave a shot in the arm to the co-operation idea after post-2011 federal election analysis brought doubt onto the idea of strategic voting schemes, but with NDP leader Mulcair ruling it out and the co-operation candidate in the Liberal race failing to make as big as an impact, hard to say the idea has momentum.

-Martha Hall Findlay

I didn't think her awkward attack on Trudeu during the GTA debate deserved all the fire and brimstone that the media rained down on her, but it did demonstrate her inability to position herself well as an alternative candidate. She tried position herself as the centre-right candidate and rally Western support, but finished behind the left-wing Murray in every Prarie province, and I don't think she got more than 20% in any riding except for Willowdale, where she still finished a distant second to Trudeau. That she started making noises about running again while she still had 2006 debt also hurt her image. She wants to run again and I think she's a good voice to have in the party, but I don't think she gained anything in particular from getting 5.5% in this race.

-David Bertschi 

Bertschi may have been looking to raise his profile, but unlike the other outsider candidates, failed to do so in any positive way. His campaign was dogged by staff turnover, negative news stories about loaning himself money and other issues. Unlike some of the other outsider candidates, he was never able to even establish a niche for himself on policy issues (like Takach on digital issues, McCrimmon on veterans affairs, Coyne having a generally deep policy background, etc) to develop any sort of constituency. He dropped out without endorsing anyone, which won't earn him any other new friends if he takes another crack at Ottawa-Orleans.

-Michael Ignatieff

Considering the whole point of the exercise was in theory to replace Ignatieff as permanent leader, it left a bad taste in a few people's mouths that Ignatieff didn't make an appearance at the leadership reveal, if only to say a few words.

Follow me on Twitter for coverage of the Liberal leadership showcase tomorrow

I'll be livetweeting the showcase (I nearly typed convention out of a force of habit left over from OLP leadership) so follow me on Twitter at @WilliamNorman.

Lowering the age of voter registration to 16: An idea worth looking at

I've been reading up lately on the potential benefits to lowering the age of voter registration. The BC NDP has tabled some legislation to lower the age of voter registration to 16, based on a recommendation from the Chief Electoral Officer of BC in 2011:


The lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age. There is a 
positive correlation between voting and being registered as a voter before General Voting 
Day. The most effective means of registering youth may be to approach them before they 
graduate from high school. Currently, voter registration is restricted to those at least 18 
years of age, an age when many youth have left high school. 

Australia has addressed this issue by allowing provisional voter registration of 17 year 
olds. Several American states have provisional registration for 16 or 17 year olds, or 
have introduced Bills or declared their intention to do so in this regard.

Legislators may wish to consider allowing the provisional registration of individuals 
when they are 16 years of age. The voting age could remain at 18, with provisional 
registration becoming an active registration on an individual’s 18th birthday. Permitting 
early registration at the age of 16 would permit Elections BC to work with schools and 
the driver licensing program to ensure maximum exposure to the registration process for 
young voters. Many high school teachers have expressed support for this concept as it 
would allow meaningful action by their students in the context of civics education. 
Improving the accessibility of registration opportunities for youth may have a longer-term 
effect on voter engagement and turnout.


Here is another good piece on the possible benefits of lowering the age of voter registration and the experiences of several US states.

Lowering the actual age of voting is oft debated, but I'm not convinced that it would have an overall positive impact on youth voter turnout percentage. Allowing (or perhaps even making it a part of high school civics class) is a solid, workable way to address issues of youth voter turnout and youth engagement, and I think it's worth examining by governments.

Hey you, register to vote for the LPC leadership!

The deadline to register for the LPC leadership vote is this Thursday! Register now, it takes less than 2 minutes to make sure your voice is heard as part of the most open leadership race in Canadian history!

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Labrador insta-analysis

I present to you some thoughts on the upcoming Labrador by-election. By the way, here is a link to donate to the Labrador FLA: https://action.liberal.ca/en/donate/Riding/10004

With the resignation of Conservative Minister Peter Penashue after he admitted his campaign took illegal donations, Labrador faces a fascinating by-election. Penashue is taking the rare step of running in the by-election to attempt to re-gain a mandate, something that by my count has only happened a few times in Canadian history. (Sheila Copps in 1996 and  Roch La Salle in 1981 are the only examples that I can name off the top of my head.)

Penashue won an extremely narrow victory in 2011, defeating incumbant Liberal MP Todd Russell by only 79 votes, or less than 1 vote per poll. Penashue's victory in 2011 can be attributed to a few factors. As former Grand Chief of the Innu Nation, he was able to increase Innu turnout in the election, a demographic that for a variety of reasons has historically not had higher turnout. The return of the Newfoundland and Labrador PC's to the federal Tory fold has to be taken into consideration, as many PC voters and organizers followed Danny Williams' ABC campaign in 2008, resulting in Labrador having less than 40% turnout and Russell romping to victory with 70% of the vote with the Conservative candidate, a Parliament Hill staffer originally from St. John's finishing in 3rd with less than 10% of the vote. The NDP vote rising in 2011 also cost Russell. Discounting the 2008 result, comparing the 2006 and 2011 results shows a stable Tory vote - Penashue's victory in 2011 with 4,256 votes was actually less than the 2006 2nd place Tory finish of 4,528 votes. Russell's vote from 2006/2011 went from 5,768 to 4,177 (it should be noted that his rise in popular vote % from 2006 to 2008 from 51% to 70% was based on the Tory vote collapsing, his raw vote in 2008 was actually slightly lower than his 2006 score) while the NDP vote from 2008 to 2011 went up by almost 1000 votes. With the provincial NDP polling well right now, they will be a factor in the race.

By-elections historically have low turnout, but it should be noted that the 2005 Labrador by-election in which Russell was elected had a 53% turnout, higher than the turnout in the general elections of 2011, 2008, 2004 and 2000. However, this by-election was held during the height of the Martin minority government when one seat could have tipped the balance of power in the House, so with this by-election being held two years into a majority mandate I'd be very surprised to see the voters of the riding hold the same level of urgency. Not sure exactly who would benefit the most from low voter turnout, particularly in a riding with a large aboriginal population.

With clouds of election donation and spending over his head, Penashue hardly goes into the by-election with momentum on his side. Given the strained relations between the federal government and First Nations groups, it might be difficult for Penashue to motivate Innu turnout like he did in 2011. Aboriginals make up just under 40% of the population of the riding. The big wild card will be the Muskrat Falls project, which Penashue will almost certainly point to as an example of his being able to bring home the bacon. Penashue has done almost nothing else notable as Intergovernmental Affairs Minister.

Former MP Todd Russell (who is aboriginal himself) would be the most likely candidate for the Liberals, he's said he's going to take a few days to make a decision. Russell was generally well liked from what I understand (his losing 38.1% of the vote would be enough to get you elected in a lot of other ridings) and was close with Justin Trudeau when they served together as MP's, so the nomination would probably be his for the taking. If Russell takes a pass, the other name I've seen tossed about on Twitter is Liberal MHA and former leader Yvonne Jones, who represents the Southeastern portion of Labrador. Jones has a strong local base in her Liberal stronghold riding, never winning less than 56% of the vote, and that was as an independent candidate. Even in the 2007 Danny Williams landslide, Jones won 73% of the vote, and in the last election won 71%.

I briefly mentioned the NDP, who would hope to play spoiler and potentially come up the middle. The NDP has never won the seat federally, although they have posted respectable results historically, and have twice won the Labrador West seat provincially (they also won the poll covering most of western Labrador in the 2011 federal election). New polls show the NDP leading the PC's in popular support province wide, although support for the NDP outside Western Labrador tends to be concentracted in the St. John's and Avalon area. The newest poll shows them nearly 50% of the vote in this area, compared to 32% in the rest of the province. The size and remoteness of Labrador is problem in terms of polling, however, as Labrador has only 6% of the population of the province, and thus only 6% of the survey results were from the province. I won't claim enough about Newfoundland politics to know who the NDP candidate might be, with 2011 and 2006 candidate Jake Larkin being the most obvious choice. Former Labrador West NDP MHA Randy Collins spent 21 months in jail for fraud, so I'm willing to cross him off the list, as well as the previous NDP MHA Peter Fenwick, who ran for the Canadian Alliance in 2000. 2011 Labrador West provincial candidate Tom Harris perhaps?

Timing will also be an issue. Assuming Denis Coderre resigns as MP for Bourassa to focus on a bid for Montreal mayor, Harper would probably call both by-elections at the same time. It makes sense tactically for the Conservatives to do so anyway, they are an afterthought in Bourassa, so they could throw everything at Labrador (assuming they want to), while the Liberals and NDP would have to focus on both, with the Liberals in particular wanting to hold on to Bourassa from the NDP or Bloc (whose leader, Daniel Paille is seatless), while the NDP would dearly like to mount serious offensive campaigns in both ridings.

On the whole, I think the Liberals have the best shot of winning the riding back, assuming they get an A list candidate in either Russell or Jones although realistically any of the 3 parties has a shot. What kind of support Penashue gets from party central will be an interesting question, the Conservatives obviously would prefer to keep the seat, but given the circumstances of Penashue's resignation and new campaign, I can't imagine they want to get many media photos of Penashue with visiting Ministers.

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Tim Hudak says Ontario is protecting too many endangered species?

Bit of an odd priority for a leader looking to be taken more seriously, but here we are. Hudak's already on the record as wanting to eliminate full day kindergarten and put 10,000 education workers out of a job, but I guess we can add endangered species to Hudak's chopping block. 

Elephant in the room: Hudak continues to flip-flop on power plants

The literal elephant in that picture is from a PC photo op stunt done in Mississauga on September 28th, in an attempt to attack the Liberals over the power plant issue. The bigger elephant though, are the numerous statements made by Hudak and local Mississauga Conservatives in favour of scrapping the plant.

Hudak, who has flip-flopped on issues like the tax reform, health care funding, protecting the rights of Ontario citizens and a triple flip-flop on full day kindergarten has ironically now built up a pretty consistent track record of flip-flopping and making up policy on the fly. Hudak and the PC's can go after the Liberals, but the facts are simple; while the PC's talked and played politics, the Liberals took action. I'd say Bill Clinton's quote about it taking some brass for attacking someone for doing what you did would be a good fit, but all Hudak has actually do is vent hot air and continue to flip-flop.

Hudak wants a $300 million election, vows to vote against a budget that hasn't been written yet

Yesterday, Finance Minister Charles Sousa started his first round of pre-Budget consultations in Mississauga, listening to the concerns of everyday Ontario families as he works to prepare a budget focused on creating jobs, lowering youth unemployment, and fostering growth and opportunity as the way forward.

"My hope is that the members of the Opposition have heard how closely I've listened to their concerns and the concerns of people around the province," Wynne told reporters.


Sousa, meanwhile, said he will get in touch with Opposition parties as he prepares the budget.

"Premier Wynne wants to work with members of the Opposition and I'm certainly going to have consultations (with them) in regards to the budget," said Sousa. "I think it's critical for us to work together."

The minister believes a number of the initiatives that were revealed in the throne speech, which included a $300-million venture capital fund, achieving labour peace with teacher unions, a commitment to eliminate Ontario's $12-billion deficit by 2017/18 and tackling gridlock, should appeal to "both sides of the House." He believes it will be enough to stop an early election.

Sousa will be meeting with businesses and stakeholders across the province to hear their concerns heading into the budget process. He couldn't confirm when the budget will come down, but some pundits have suggested it should be sometime in April.

Tomorrow, Sousa will be in Mississauga to meet with Peel businesses and groups for pre-budget consultations.


But while Minister Sousa and Premier Wynne want to work together for Ontario families, Tim Hudak is playing politics, demanding an election 16 months after his agenda of slashing cuts to education and health care was rejected.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak is itching for an election even though voters only went to the polls 16 months ago.


His burning desire for a general election at a cost of $300 million appears at odds with the constant message of slashing government spending. The last provincial election was in October 2011.

Hudak is feeling the pressure from a party that knows he's a drag on their chances of winning the next election, so he's willing to play reckless games with Ontario's stability and economic growth. By pledging to vote against a budget that hasn't even been written yet, Hudak is demonstrating his unreliability as a leader.

Check out the Ontario throne speech live at 3 pm!

http://www.livestream.com/premierofontario

Kathleen Wynne's first Throne Speech as The Premier is starting in just a few minutes! Watch at the link and see Premier Wynne's Way Forward for a better Ontario!

24 hours to go before the GTA Liberal leadership debate!

http://www.liberal.ca/newsroom/blog/watch-candidates-go-1on1/

I'll be there volunteering, but if you can't make it, you can watch live at Liberal.ca/Live and join thousands of Liberals from across Canada on the live chat. The race is getting more and more heated, so you won't want to miss all 9 candidates debating each other 1 on 1 and talking about how to rebuild our party and make Canada a better place.

And of course, don't forget that you can have your voice heard and help choose the next Liberal leader for free by signing up as a supporter! http://www.liberal.ca/supporter/

Hope you'll tune in, watch the debate, participate in the live chat, and sign up as a supporter or member if you haven't already!

Want to have your say in choosing the next Liberal leader? You gotta register! Check your email now!

Registration emails have started going out to LPC members and supporters so check your email and follow the instructions! If you don't register, you don't get to vote! Interm leader the Hon. Bob Rae registered today, and it only took him a minute. The deadline to register is March 14, spread the word!

Hudak would end support for students from low income families with attack on 30% tuition rebate

Tim Hudak rolled out his latest double down on right-wing policy, announcing he would end the 30% tuition rebate for Ontario post-secondary students.

Hudak and his post-secondary education critic, Rob Leone framed the tuition cut as not helping mature students or single parents (ironic, given the not so high regard single mothers have been held in historically by conservatives).

They also seem to want to restrict the way students could use the use any financial assistance they would receive:

"The Tories say student aid should be given to students who are getting good marks and can show they're using the money to improve their education."


What does "improve their education" mean, exactly? I, like many other students, used my 30% off tuition rebate to help pay the rent on my apartment, would Hudak force students like me to spend it on textbooks I could check out of the library and worry about a place to live?

The idea of tying student aid to performance seems attractive on the surface, but is in fact highly problematic and regressive. Under Hudak, would a student from a low-income New Canadian family, perhaps the first in her family to attend a post-secondary institution with a B average receive less financial support than a student from a high-income family with who had an A average? If a student from a low income family in first year university was finding the transition to university difficult to deal with, and their marks were lower than expected be cut off from financial aid, thus dramatically increasing the risk of this student dropping out? If a student were struggling with depression or another mental health issues and it affected his or her grades, would Hudak slash aid for this student?

The 30% tuition cut was designed specifically for full time undergrad students from low income families to help ease the financial burden of post-secondary education. It helped me and students across Ontario like me to focus on education and preparing ourselves for the global economy. Any move away from a system in which income is the main qualifier for student aid is deeply regressive and shows how out of touch Tim Hudak is with working families, students, and youth across Ontario.

Your new Ontario cabinet, and some facts and firsts

Excited to see the new cabinet sworn in today. In particular, I'm very happy to see Charles Sousa and Yasir Naqvi as Finance and Labour Minister respectively. I started this blog in 2007 in large part to help support the local campaigns in Mississauga South and Ottawa Centre, so seeing them both in cabinet is fantastic.

Here is the new cabinet of Ontario:

Kathleen Wynne-Premier of Ontario, Minister of Agriculture
Deb Matthews-Deputy Premier of Ontario, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
Jim Bradley-Minister of the Environment 

John Gerretsen-Attorney General of Ontario
Michael Gravelle-Minister of Northern Development and Mines 

Ted McMeekin-Minister of Community and Social Services 

Laurel Broten-Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister responsible for Women's Issues
Brad Duguid-Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities
Linda Jeffrey-Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Chair of Cabinet

Jeff Leal-Minister of Rural Affairs
Madeleine Meilleur-Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs
David Orazietti-Minister of Natural Resources
Liz Sandals-Minister of Education
Harinder Takhar-Minister of Government Services, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet

David Zimmer-Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
Michael Chan-Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Minister responsible for the 2015 Pan and Para Pan American Games
Reza Moridi-Minister of Research and Innovation
Yasir Naqvi-Minister of Labour
Charles Sousa-Minister of Finance
Eric Hoskins-Minister of Economic Development, Trade & Employment 

Glen Murray-Minister of Transportation, Minister of Infrastructure

Bob Chiarelli-Minister of Energy
Michael Coteau-Citizenship and Immigration 

Tracy MacCharles-Minister of Consumer Services
Teresa Piruzza-Minister of Children and Youth Services
Mario Sergio-Minister responsible for Seniors
John Milloy-Government House Leader
And some facts and firsts:   As well noted, Wynne is Ontario's first female premier, and the first openly LGBT Premier/non municipal head of government in North America and the Commonwealth   Reza Moridi is the first Iranian-Canadian provincial cabinet minister in Canada   Women control the Premiership, the Deputy Premiership, and the ministries of Health, Education, Intergovernmental Affairs, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Community Safety and Correctional Services, Francophone Affairs, Consumer Services, and Children and Youth Services   9 members will be new to cabinet, with 3 being elected in the 2011 election. On the flip side, Mario Sergio was first elected in 1995.   Madeleine Meilleur in Francophone Affairs is the only Minister to have held the same portfolio from 2003 on.   I've personally volunteered on election campaigns for Meilleur, Hoskins, Sousa, Naqvi, Murray and Chiarelli.