All posts by Chris Tindal

That was then…

democracy and good government

Newsflash: I don’t disagree with everything Stephen Harper says. For example, in 2002 Harper wrote that “standing committees of the House should not simply be extensions of the Prime Minister’s Office, and members of Parliament should choose their committee chairs by secret ballot and set their own agenda.”

Bang on! I couldn’t agree more. The centralization of power only leads to corruption and opacity. Harper was ahead of his time, actually. The Gomery report would later note that “there has been an increasing concentration of power in the Prime Minister’s Office,” and that many Canadians believe that the structures of power should ensure that “no one single individual, such as the Prime Minister, can influence by appointment the decisions of others.” Go Harper go!

Except that now that he’s the PM, he’s changed his mind. The Globe and Mail reports that Harper is, “choosing which Conservative MPs will become chairs of Commons committees, reversing a parliamentary reform that he championed while leader of the Official Opposition.” Oh well, so much for priority number one.

And who gets to benefit from the Prime Minister’s first committee chair appointment? Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott, who the Globe notes is best known for frequently issuing anti-abortion press releases.

Bush Baby vs. Hillier

climate crisis, conservative party, democracy and good government

The man Robin Williams calls a Bush Baby has told yet another person they’re not allowed to speak publicly. Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier now joins Conservative MPs, cabinet ministers, people who use cell phones in meetings, and an Environment Canada scientist who believes in global warming on the list of people who aren’t allowed to talk without checking with the PM first.

Seriously, how long is this list going to get? And how far down is my name?

More than “positioning,” please

climate crisis, conservative party, polls

A new poll by Decima Research finds that 63% of Canadians believe the Conservative government is “doing a poor job on the environment.” (The poll was even taken before the government gutted environment programs last week.)

Pollster Bruce Anderson was quoted as saying that public opinion research suggests Canadians are becoming more focused on global environmental issues, and that “it’s important for [the Conservatives] to position themselves as progressive advocates of environmental solutions domestically and internationally if they want to broaden their support base.”

Bruce isn’t wrong. I might humbly add, however, that “it’s important for the Conservatives to become progressive advocates of environmental solutions — and implement those solutions — if all of us want to preserve our quality of life.”

But hey, I don’t want to get into an argument over semantics.

Rahim’s Magic BlackBerry

conservative party

On the lighter side, our friend Rahim Jaffer was on the radio today defending his government’s decision to ban cell phones and BlackBerries in cabinet meetings. Cynics could be forgiven for taking this as a sign that the Conservative government does not trust its ministers, or that they want to further clamp-down on ministers’ abilities to communicate with the media.

Not so, explained Jaffer. The ban is for security reasons. You see, according to Jaffer, even if your BlackBerry or cell is turned off, a hacker could remotely turn it on and cause it to start transmitting audio from your location to theirs without your knowledge.

Seriously. He said that. I am not making this up.

Tell ya what — I’m offering a cash prize to anyone who can do that with my phone. I’ll even give you a head start: I’m leaving it turned on.