Dr Hedy Fry: Kinda Stupid

Liberal MP embarrasses party, self -- again

One simply had to rest assured that if the Liberal party had a Rob Anders of its very own, it would be a kinder, gentler Rob Anders.

Those who follow Canadian politics even passingly know who Anders is: he's the Conservative MP for Calgary West, and generally a disgrace to Parliament, his party, and himself.

Among the various controversies Anders has stirred up included denouncing Nelson Mandela as a "terrorist, and firing the manager of his riding office over a financial dispute.

But the Liberal party has a Rob Anders of its very own, and it bears the very unthreatening guise of MP Dr Hedy Fry.

Like Anders, Dr Fry is well-known and recognized as a general embarrassment to Parliament, her party, and herself.

Among the various controversies Fry has stirred up included claiming cross burnings were taking place in Prince George, BC, and sending out mailings that seemed to imply that Canada's military was no longer proud to wear the flag on their ruck sacks.

But today Dr Fry seems to think she's finally hit that partisan home run she's been itching for, when she drew comparisons between some Olympic gear the Hudson's Bay Company are selling to commemorate the Vancouver Olympics and the Conservative party logo.

Dr Fry insists that the logo being used for the gear "bears a striking resemblance" to the Tory logo.

Even blogging magnate Jeff Jedras has taken the bait.

One assumes that a great many Canadians would be surprised to find out that HBC is actually secretly a Conservative party front -- perhaps none more than HBC itself.

Undemocratic, Not Prudent

Tories make it harder to contest nominations

Most Canadians have long been fed up with Conservative MP Rob Anders.

A recent bid by Donna Kennedy-Glans to challenge Anders for his nomination has, unfortunately, hit a snag as the Conservative party national council issued a rule change requiring a two-thirds affirmative vote by the members of a riding association's membership in order to have a nomination challenge.

In Calgary, Anders must be breathing a sigh of relief.

But in Vegreville-Lloydminster, where local MP Leon Benoit is at no risk of a nomination challenge, Conservative riding association Danny Hozack doesn't like the change. Despite the fact that his MP is beyond secure in his nomination, Hozack has his concerns about the change.

“Imagine if the equivalent happened at a federal election,” he mused. “We just want to make sure everyone gets out and votes.”

“We spend a lot of time convincing people to become involved,” he added. “At least before they felt included, some might find the change offensive.”

If one accepts the rationale of Conservative party President Don Plett, the move was simply to keep Tory MP's attention focused on the current economic crisis.

“If we don’t do something like this then the incumbent doesn’t know whether he or she will be challenged and so they have to spend an unbelievable amount of time in the riding securing their own job if you will and not doing the work they were elected to do,” explained Plett. “We had nominations less than a year ago in many of our ridings across the country.”

“At a time like this when we are focusing so much and working hard with a serious financial crisis, it’s hardly time to take our attention away to fight nominations,” Benoit agreed. “I know the Prime Minister was very concerned that MPs [would] have their focus taken away from the business at hand."

"[My last nomination] a little more than two years ago was a very clear decision," Benoit added. "I’ve had five nomination races in my 15 years and none of them have been really heavily contested lets just say.”

All of this is well and fine for someone like Benoit who has served his constituents honourably.

But as it regards an individual like Anders, who has embarrassed Canadians on numerous occasions -- including denouncing Nelson Mandela as a terrorist -- this move may prove unwelcome to his constituents.

While Don Martin continues to hold out hope that Conservatives in Calgary West may yet get to Anders by throwing out the riding association board of directors that supports him, a two-thirds affirmative vote to challenge his nomination may be difficult to muster. A simple majority may not be.

If the Conservative party were really prepared to live up to the populist credentials its roots in the Reform party would otherwise demand it would scrub rule changes such as this and allow members of riding associations to make their decisions unencumbered by the fiat of the party's national council.


Other bloggers writing about this topic:

Buckdog on Politics - "Trouble Ahead for Rob Anders"

Pierre Trudeau is my Homeboy - "Does Stephen Harper Support Rob Anders?"

Calgary Grit - "Closet Liberals"

Nelson Mandela is Not a Terrorist

Nobel Peace Prize winner needs to be removed from terror list

In a not-so-shocking recent revelation, it's been discovered that former South African President Nelson Mandela is still on a list of those considered to be potential terrorists by the US government.

And the US Congress is only now debating legislation that would force his removal from that list.

Of course, the United States aren't the only ones who have experienced telling terrorists and legitimate freedom fighters apart. Perpetually fresh in the memories of many Canadians are the terminally stupid remarks of Conservative MP Rob Anders who, as a then-Canadian Alliance MP, called Mandela a "Communist and a terrorist."

"He's the politically correct kind of 'lib' left poster-boy of today," Anders would later add. "I would say that 30 years from now Nelson Mandela will not be lionized as much as he is today."

It was a stupid (as then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien generously described the remark) notion then, and it's still stupid now.

Only in this day and age could Nelson Mandela, who successfully managed to force the abolition of South African apartheid, share a space on a list with Osama Bin Laden.

Hopefully, that will change within the next 30 hours -- not merely the next 30 years.

Corruption: Is What's Good For the Goose Also Good For the Gander?

Liberals may have hit the jackpot

Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have something other than not getting along with the media to keep him busy these days.

On June 6th, the Liberals called on the RCMP to investigate a lawsuit filed against Conservative MP Rob Anders filed by James Istvanffy, a former executive assistant who alleges he was fired for questioning Anders' decisions regarding the expenditure of his campaign funding.

Istvanffy, who was paid $51,500 annually, claims that Anders borrowed thousands of dollars from him, in order to cover expenses that the House of Commons would't spring for. He also claims that Anders resorted to fraudulently billing the government in order to repay some of his debts. Istvanffy claims that Anders used expense accounts to do this, under the guise of salary increases, fake travel expenses, and book shelves. He also claims that a number of people were put to work on the federal Conservative campaign while being paid with taxpayer dollars.

Naturally, Anders denies these allegations, and has promised a strong statement of such will be released by the end of the week.

As always in Canada, Anders is innocent until proven guilty. It isn't entirely implausible that Istvanffy may be filing the lawsuit and making these accusations strictly as an act of retribution. One could wonder why Istvanffy is suing for unpaid debts while claiming that he was repaid with pilfered taxpayer dollars. Then again, one would also expect that Istvanffy wouldn't be so bold as to make these accusations unless he could prove them.

He will have to prove them -- possibly even in the course of an RCMP or Parliamentary investigation.

"Obviously these allegations are very serious and if they are true, this is something that's more than just a breach of good faith - this is outright fraud and criminal if true,'' said Liberal MP Mark Holland, who represents Ajax-Pickering.

He's absolutely right. After all the ruckus raised by the Conservatives over the sponsorship scandal (and rightfully so), the last thing the Conservatives can afford to have is an in-house scandal of this sort. Should these allegations be found to be true, they could even potentially de-rail the crucial accountability act that the Conservatives have promised.

The Anders story breaks as the Liberal party has uncovered a scandal of its own. Liberal Senator Raymond Lavigne has been accused of using a member of his office staff to cut down trees near his cottage -- while on the taxpayers' clock.

However, in what seems like an uncharacteristic move, Liberal interim leader Bill Graham has done what former leader Paul Martin wouldn't do, and has kicked Lavigne out of caucus until the investigation is settled -- one way or the other. Martin, as some may recall, refused to discipline Scott Brison, who as Vice-Chairman of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance sent an e-mail to a friend leaking what he believed would be a favourable policy regarding the taxation of income trusts.

"It is inappropriate for Senator Lavigne to sit with the Liberal caucus until any investigations have been completed," Graham said in a statement.

Wow. In an uncharacteristic move, the federal Liberals have set a good example on how to deal with potential corruption (the allegations against Lavigne are not yet proven, either). Certainly, all eyes will turn to Stephen Harper: will he follow suit and (at least temporarily) oust Anders from caucus until this matter is settled?

Hopefully, he will. At least asking Anders to voluntarily sit out from the Conservative caucus until the matter is settled certainly isn't any sort of accusation. Nor would Anders agreeing to do so be an admission of guilt. It would be an act of a government that (as promised) takes corruption -- even the mere accusations of corruption -- seriously.

It isn't often that the Liberal party sets an example that other parties should follow, but this is one of these times. Unfortunately for the Liberals, Bill Graham isn't running for their party leadership.

How, it is up to Stephen Harper to follow Graham's example and show Canadians that his party takes corruption within its ranks every bit as seriously as it has proven it takes corruption within other parties.