One can tell it is summer in Ottawa as there is never ending speculation about a cabinet shuffle. First the bets were on a mid-July one, and then it was a mid to late August one followed by a short prorogation over the summer break period and then a return on the already established date of September 17th. Now speculation is looking at an early to mid-August shuffle. The one thing we do know is th
Keith Beardsley | more | posted July 4th
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Enjoyed my time on CBC "The House" with Evan Solomon and co-guest David McLoughlin.
Link can be found here: http://www.cbc.ca/thehouse/listen/. Our section begins at roughly the 18:40 mark of the broadcast.
Keith Beardsley | more | posted 6 hours ago
The Senate scandal continues to dog the Harper Conservatives with new revelations occurring on almost a daily basis. Watching from the sidelines, it’s also interesting to watch the spin wars unfold as each party tries to get its message out to the public. So far I would have to give the opposition spin machines the edge.
No one can down play the seriousness of the issue both for the indiv
Keith Beardsley | more | posted 1 day ago
It seems as though most days are dominated by more bad news stories for the governing Conservatives.
Spin it anyway they want, and some of their spin is hilarious, the reality is the Conservatives have been digging themselves deeper into the mud with each passing day. As we saw in the Labrador by-election, the public will only stand for so much before they punish a party.
As the latest Senat
Keith Beardsley | more | posted May 16th
Participated in a panel discussion on CTV PowerPlay today. http://t.co/YBsf6EDrIR
Keith Beardsley | more | posted May 15th
Fiscal responsibility has been the hallmark of the Harper government from day one. It’s therefore quite interesting to see in year seven of his reign that the opposition is focused on trying to destroy the credibility the Tories have on that front. It’s a good strategy on their part, enabled by some help from the government side.
It is said that governments defeat themselves in thei
Keith Beardsley | more | posted May 8th
Yesterday, Stephen Harper defended the Conservative's use of bulk mail outs or “ten percenters” that attack Justin Trudeau, the new Liberal leader.
“There are House of Commons rules for communications that we do with constituents across the country,” Harper said. “All parties work within those rules, and all parties use those activities and use those rules.&rdquo
Keith Beardsley | more | posted April 26th
With Justin Trudeau’s official arrival on the scene as captain of the Liberal team, everyone knew the Conservatives would be quick of the mark with their attack ads. Now that they are out and saturating the airwaves, voters will have an opportunity to decide if they are a hit or miss.
Suffice it to say there was quite a bit of anticipation in partisan ranks (from all quarters) to see how
Keith Beardsley | more | posted April 18th
Today we have another poll, this one from Nanos, which shows the Liberals on the upswing. When looked at with other recent polls, the trend shows an upward movement for the Liberals, with a slight downward trend for the Conservatives and NDP.
It’s an interesting trend and one that shouldn’t surprise anyone considering the saturation coverage the media have given Justin Trudea
Keith Beardsley | more | posted April 12th
It has been reported that the Prime Minister has set up an ad-hoc committee of Conservative MPs to look at their concerns that they are muzzled by PMO.
It is an interesting way of addressing this mini-rebellion in Conservative ranks. Is this a true ad-hoc committee or a “stop gap” committee? There are only 34 regular sitting days plus a potential extra ten days remaining befo
Keith Beardsley | more | posted April 5th
As the Conservative caucus gathers on the Hill today there are rumors swirling of a mini revolt against the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). If true, so far it hasn’t amounted to much, but Harper will have to pay attention to it just the same.
There are media reports that up to 24 Conservative MPs met in secret on the Hill to plot strategy. I doubt that number is accurate. First of al
Keith Beardsley | more | posted March 27th
Sometimes you just have to give your head a shake in disbelief. Today we learn that Justin Trudeau has once again copied his father. No, he didn’t swear again in the House of Commons, but he did use his father’s infamous words from the 1970 FLQ crisis “Just Watch Me.” Those words of course were spoken as his father was implementing the War Measures Act designed to curtail c
Keith Beardsley | more | posted March 20th
Marc Garneau’s decision today to withdraw from the Liberal leadership race was not unexpected. His hard-hitting attacks on the front-runner (even challenging Trudeau to a one-on-one debate) over the last few weeks indicated that either he or his team was becoming increasingly frustrated that they could not move ahead, build additional support and overtake Justin Trudeau.
If anything,
Keith Beardsley | more | posted March 13th
Poor Marc Garneau, he wanted a one on one debate with Justin Trudeau and Trudeau turned him down. That was a smart move on Trudeau’s part, dumb one on Garneau’s.
While it’s true many people would like to know where Trudeau stands on a variety of issues, there is no reason for him to get involved in a one-on-one debate. Right now he is the front-runner and he has the most to lo
Keith Beardsley | more | posted February 25th
It looks like I wasn’t too far off base when in a previous blog I mentioned that Harper’s week dealing with Senate scandals could get worse. Indeed it has now that Senator Dennis Patterson is also under the microscope with questions raised about whether or not he meets Senate residency standards.
With most of the issues involving recently appointed Conservative senators one has to w
Keith Beardsley | more | posted February 15th
Finally the NDP is making Question Period interesting to watch. And they have the Conservatives to thank for handing them the issues and the ammunition.
I am speaking about NDP attacks on the Senate and the ongoing issues faced by the Prime Minister as he deals with Patrick Brazeau, and the financial questions hanging over the heads of Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy and let’s not forget rob
Keith Beardsley | more | posted February 13th
Bruce Hyer’s comments on the difficulties he faced when he wished to vote against the NDP’s position on the long gun registry highlights the difficulties and pressures felt by MPs when they vote against their party’s wishes. It was quite interesting to see that when a vote is in question, even the so-called “progressive” NDP are no different than the Liberals or Conse
Keith Beardsley | more | posted February 5th
Bravo to Nathan Cullen, the NDP House Leader, for at least attempting to clean up the poor decorum in the House. However, I doubt his suggestions will go anywhere as the Conservatives will have to cooperate and that is unlikely. The Conservatives will give the standard answers that they want to see more civility, but Cullen’s motion will be shunted off to the Standing Committee on Procedure
Keith Beardsley | more | posted January 29th
With a final media show, Chief Spence has now ended her 44 day “reduced food” diet. The question should now turn to what did she accomplish?
Are Canadians more aware today and do they have a better understanding of the abysmal living conditions in First Nations communities? Probably not, such conditions were already well known and have been for decades. To her credi
Keith Beardsley | more | posted January 25th
Today’s “National Day of Protest” is more than a symbolic gesture, it’s an important step by the grassroots movement, “Idle No More”, to encourage respect and bring about long overdue improvements to First Nations communities.
Canadians and government officials (both political and departmental) have been watching closely and analyzing what they see. The gover
Keith Beardsley | more | posted January 16th
I had an opportunity last night to take part in an interesting panel discussion on the CBC with Peter Mansbridge, Tom Flanigan, Wab Kinew, Gabrielle Scrimshaw. It was the opening show of a week long series looking at the Idle No More Movement. The link can be found here. is.gd/Otplj8
Keith Beardsley | more | posted January 8th
The Prime Minister’s announcement today that he will be meeting with First Nations leaders on January 11th sets the stage for discussions that can provide meaningful progress on First Nations issues.
It was not an unexpected move as both the government and the AFN need to limit the growth of the “Idle No More” movement both in terms of its popular support and to limit any damage
Keith Beardsley | more | posted January 4th
As we enter the New Year, it is time for Chief Spence and Prime Minister Harper to pause and reflect about their on-going standoff. Both sides need to feel that they have won and both sides need to find a way to declare victory. Only then can the two sides proceed to the next step which should be fresh dialogue and agreed to solutions for key First Nations issues.
Some victories are won on the
Keith Beardsley | more | posted January 2nd
Once in awhile its nice to do something other than just blog. A year end wrap up interview on CFN, Cornwall Free News http://www.youtube.com/user/justjg
Merry Christmas every one. Have a great holiday with friends and family.
Keith Beardsley | more | posted December 21st
As the end of the year approaches, one tends to relax more with friends and it’s always enjoyable to see how those who are not caught up in the political bubble in Ottawa perceive our politicians and political parties.
These discussions reminded me of the expression that “perception is reality” in politics. We don’t have to look too far to see examples of this as it play
Keith Beardsley | more | posted December 19th
Rumours are swirling around Ottawa that the F-35 aircraft purchase is dead. Is it? No one knows just yet, but it would be a shock to see the Conservative government move away from its defense of this much maligned purchase.
According to media reports, the cabinet Operations Committee has decided to kill the deal. Quite possibly they have, however, they don’t have final say as that is left
Keith Beardsley | more | posted December 7th
Everyone is agog over the supposedly big dust up in the House of Commons yesterday. In reality it wasn’t very much, just another new low registered for decorum in the House.
When you compare Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan’s march across the Commons floor to wave his finger and get into a heated verbal match (with NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair
Keith Beardsley | more | posted December 6th
Here they go again. The Conservatives are about to turn a positive news story into negative one. The bright lights on the Conservative side have decided to call Justin Trudeau and David McGuinty before the House of Commons Natural Resources committee to explain their negative comments about Alberta. Comments that both McGuinty and Trudeau have already apologized for and which in addition led to Mc
Keith Beardsley | more | posted November 30th
It is hard to believe, but back on this day in 2005, we were all involved in an election that was forced on November 28th when the Martin government lost a confidence vote.
Part of what made that election possible and which laid the ground work for that nonconfidence vote was the success the then opposition Conservatives had in Question Period. Question Period was interesting, hard hitting and
Keith Beardsley | more | posted November 29th
Congratulations are in order for Joan Crockatt, Erin O’Toole and Murray Rankin for their bye-election victories. We should also be thanking the other contenders who while they didn’t win, did have the courage to run for public office.
With the bye-elections over, everyone will be reading the tea leaves to see what it means for the next federal election. At this point probably not al
Keith Beardsley | more | posted November 27th
I see that Martha Hall Findlay has jumped into the federal Liberal leadership race, good for her.
Her entrance will give media types a chance to talk about another serious candidate instead of the daily dribble about Justin Trudeau. Frankly at this point there isn’t anyone else of real interest just yet; the other three candidates (Deborah Coyne, David Bertschi, and Alex Burton) simply do
Keith Beardsley | more | posted November 14th
History was made last night when President Obama was re-elected for another four year term. What struck me while listening to his acceptance speech was the fact that his words (whether we agree or disagree with him) are now part of his nation’s historical record. Quite simply they are there for future generations to study.
In much the same way, when our MPs stand in the House
Keith Beardsley | more | posted November 7th
In a recent speech, Michael Ignatieff raised some very good points about what is wrong with politics and political discourse. A lot of his points could apply to our House of Commons.
Ignatieff was right on target when he referred to politicians today regarding each other as enemies as opposed to adversaries. Unfortunately that is exactly how the Conservatives and more lately the other parties,
Keith Beardsley | more | posted October 31st
When political parties spend time on the opposition benches they often come up with ideas that look great on paper but lose their lustre once the party moves from the opposition side of the House to the government side. Such has been the case with the Conservatives and the Parliamentary Budget Office presently run by Kevin Page.
It is quite clear that in opposition, the Conservatives envisioned
Keith Beardsley | more | posted October 23rd
Anyone watching Question Period the last few days would be excused if they simply turned it off and walked away in disgust.
Basically the kids in the chamber are back to their old games- insults, evasive answers and slap downs. True it can get partisan blood going, but partisans are already committed to their own side’s position. I doubt too many in the public are getting much out of the
Keith Beardsley | more | posted October 19th
Justin Trudeau will have to wade through a political minefield over the next few weeks while he waits to see if anyone else will challenge him for the Liberal Party leadership. It is a tough position to be in, especially with the Ignatieff coronation serving as such a recent example.
However, the last thing Trudeau needs is another 2008-09 style coronation which in the end didn’t do Micha
Keith Beardsley | more | posted October 11th
John Ivison’s column on the frustration being felt by backbench Tory MPs was quite interesting and for the most part pretty accurate.
It is true that Tory MPs and ministers are champing at the bit because they have to take orders from “the boys in short pants”. It also says something when that term has been widely adopted by MPs when they converse with other MPs, and the
Keith Beardsley | more | posted October 3rd
I gather from all the media hype that Canadians are supposed to be waiting with bated breath and pounding heart for the “Second Coming” IE Justin Trudeau’s non-announcement this week that he will enter the Liberal Party’s leadership race. I say non-announcement as I don’t know anyone who pays attention to politics who actually thought Trudeau would sit this one out.
Keith Beardsley | more | posted October 1st
Eric Grenier has tabulated that Members Statements in the House of Commons under Standing Order 31 or simply SO 31s as we normally refer to them are considerably more partisan than in the past. Eric put together an interesting piece that highlights this and points the finger at the Harper Tories as the main culprits. His analysis and conclusions are dead on. However, originally there was no
Keith Beardsley | more | posted September 25th
According to a media report I read, it would appear that New Brunswick MP, Dominic Leblanc, would like to limit the number of contenders for the Liberal Party leadership.
What does he want to give the public, the same old tired crowd that got them to where they are now, IE third party status? Leadership races are supposed to rejuvenate a party, improve its fortunes and give it a bounce in the p
Keith Beardsley | more | posted September 17th
It has been reported that then minister for CIDA, Bev Oda, was charged a penalty fee of $250 US in 2010 for smoking in her hotel room in Washington. Rather than pay this penalty herself it is reported that she inexcusably expensed the penalty amount to her department. In other words we the taxpayer paid this penalty fee. It certainly explains why she switched hotels in London to one that allowed s
Keith Beardsley | more | posted September 9th
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The opinions of blogs aggregated by this website are those of the respective individual authors. These individuals have no association, legal or otherwise with Blogging Tories or with each other. The aforementioned opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the opinions held by Stephen Taylor, Craig Smith, other individual bloggers, any political party or Blogging Tories as an organization.