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.
More on the Harper Government Stephen Harper caused a furor, particularly in the Eastern media, when he announced his cabinet, a lean and mean 27 men and women, with nary a leak to the press. Apparently all were warned: "We see your name in the press, you are out of cabinet." The furor was over the appointments of David Emerson and Michael Fortier, with a general approval of the rest. Emerson, as we know, was recruited from industry to run for the Liberals last time and was Minister of Industry in Martin's government. Harper convinced him to switch to the Tories shortly after being re-elected as a Vancouver Liberal and appointed him as Minister of International Trade and other duties related to Vancouver. One of the reasons given was that the new government needed a voice in Vancouver, and Emerson could fill the bill rather than languishing in the opposition benches. Emerson, one of the real captains of industry in the most western province, was a true bright light in Martin's cabinet and is a serious loss for the Grits, who are used to having other party members switch to them. Emerson describes himself as a "small 'c' Liberal." Watching him on TV during the campaign, one noted how businesslike and non-partisan he is compared to most of the others. His switch was quite a shocker for the press and political pundits. His and Harper's explanation makes sense in a pragmatic way, but didn't satisfy the critics. The Vancouver NDP, led by the man who used to hold the riding, Ian Waddell, demanded Emerson resign and run as a Tory (so Waddell could try to win, no doubt). There was even a request that the Ethics Commissioner investigate Prime Minister Harper for convincing Emerson to switch and get a cabinet post. Isn't it interesting that this never came up when Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison switched to the Liberals and were put in Cabinet. What about the former health minister who switched from being provincial NDP leader in B.C. to running for the Liberals? Loose cannon Conservative Garth Turner of Ontario will be presenting a private member's bill to force those who switch to resign and run in a by-election. The bill is interesting but has as little chance of passing as Turner has of getting an appointment from Harper. But most of the fury was whipped up by the media and the B.C. NDP. Emerson is standing firm, says if he runs next time it will be as a Conservative, and he hopes to do a good job for his province and the country. He is being strongly supported by Harper and the Conservative cabinet. The important thing for him is that he do a good job in his portfolio. What about Fortier, the former national PC president and high-powered Montreal businessman, a buddy of Harper who never even ran in the election? Harper claims that he needs a strong voice from Montreal, and Fortier, whom he appointed to the Senate, will run in the next election and do the job for the Tories. There was a bit of press fury over this as Harper has promised an elected Senate. His appointment of Fortier would seem to be hypocritical. The PM explained that Fortier would resign from the Senate and run for the House next time or in a by-election, and that Harper has full intentions of getting an elected Senate. The two controversial appointments certainly overshadowed the others in the Cabinet, including Manitoba's own Vic Toews as Minister of Justice. As Manitoba's only minister, Toews will be the political minister for the province, following defeated Reg Alcock. As Justice Minister, Toews will lead the important legislative changes as promised by the Tories. He has promised to raise the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16, train and arm Canada's customs officers, toughen Canada's criminal laws and hopefully scrap the long-gun registry and use the money to hire more police officers. This writer was pleased to see that the two young MPs from the province, Steven Fletcher and Rod Bruinooge, were among the 26 parliamentary secretaries appointed. Fletcher is in health, of course, and Rod is in Indian Affairs. Bruinooge is Metis and will assist Minister Jim Prentice in this sensitive portfolio. By the way a recent poll shows that well over half of those polled are pleased with the job that Prime Minister Harper has done to date. Much more to come.
