The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Those who follow Canadian politics know there were lots of happenings to test the mettle of the Harper government even before the opening of Parliament in April. One observer called February 27 Ð the day of the public grilling of Marshall Rothstein Ð "Manitoba Day," referring to both the historic first-time questioning of a Supreme Court nominee and Manitoba Olympic queens Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes, all three from our province. Justice Rothstein, as The Corner expected, proved more than a match for the all-party MPs who questioned him with his self-depreciating humour, natural charisma and vast knowledge of the legal system. This writer watched the entire three-plus hours of the procedure and did not find it boring as some commentators did. There were some suggestions that the procedure would be better served by having the media do the interviews, but that's not a great idea. The media would want to ask embarrassing questions and have little or no real knowledge of the legal system. Most of the 12-member panel did a credible job, but others showed an "I want to be important" attitude. One Liberal MP, from Ontario of course, made a speech and did not really ask a question, leaving Rothstein to make up the question. Retired Supreme Court Judge Major, whose position is being filled, commented that the MPs didn't want to show how smart the nominee is, but how smart they are. Most of the questioners praised the nominee, particularly for his vast experience, especially the panel's Liberals and Conservatives. His vast knowledge and "suffering the fools gladly" attitude toward some of the more inept questioners, particularly the Bloc members and a strangely mean Joe Comartin of the NDP, meant his appointment was guaranteed. The average viewer could not help but be impressed by the vintage Rothstein performance, which will set a high standard for future appointees if the same procedure is used. Should this public questioning and exposure of judicial candidates be followed in the future or even used for lower court appointments? The debate is on, but this writer agrees with many who said there is no going back and that the public will demand such openness. The Prime Minister has also been questioned on such diverse events as his response to the shocking Mexican murders and the Alberta proposal to help solve wait times for some medical procedures. This showed the political pressure that the PM position is under. Most of the questioning and criticism is from Liberal caucus members trying to score political points. A couple of Toronto Liberals criticized Harper for not getting Canada involved in the murder investigation, which he explained is being handled by the RCMP in co-operation with Mexican authorities and does not require political interference. The Alberta (and Quebec proposals) to help solve the wait-time problems in many medical procedures is being favourably looked on by Stephen Harper, who is not rushing to condemn any violations of the Canada Health Act (real and imagined). As many medical experts point out, all countries with a public health system use a blended public/private system. It brings to mind the Manitoba PC's proposal to use private clinics when necessary and pay the bills with the patient's Manitoba Health card. It makes good sense to this writer, but the NDP Health Minister to date is hung up on ideology. This may change in a hurry if other provinces change and we run out of extra dollars to pour into the system, or if our wait times don't improve. In our province, it takes months to schedule a simple carpel tunnel hand operation, and a number of other procedures are worse. Watch for the Harper government to do their best to help solve the wait-time crisis in Canada, as they promised to do in the campaign.
