We’re due to visit the The Elliot Community retirement home on Metcalfe Street at 9.30 a.m. and then we’ll be off to St. Joseph’s Hospital on Westmount Road for a tour, lunch and a roundtable discussion on Canadian health care.
We’ll also be joining in ‘the scrum’ on the bus – we’ll hopefully have a chance for a soundbite or two.
I guess we must be becoming a bit mainstream… We’ll try and keep our credibility intact by asking a difficult question or two.
It was our great pleasure to welcome Frank Valeriote, MP for Guelph, back to Royal City Rag on February 27.
During a wide ranging conversation in the first hour, we talked about the resumation of parliamentary activities in Ottawa on March 3 after Stephen Harper’s self-serving prorogation, the upcoming budget (to be tabled by the government on March 4)and Frank’s own committee work in the agriculture and food sectors.
Its also appropriate to mention that their will be another awareness event in Guelph on March 2 with respect to the inappropriate use of prorogation to stifle parliamentary debate.
The Guelph chapters of the Council of Canadians and Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament and Guelph Participates are encouraging people to come out to Carden Street, in front of City Hall for the “Searchlight on Democracy Walk and Talk” at 7.00 p.m. for some short speeches, followed by a short candlelight procession to Norfolk St United Church for a discussion on how we can hold the government accountable for their actions and avoid such abuses in the future.
There was an excellent panel discussion on this issue on January 2. You can check out the audio from that event including Frank Valeriote’s speech here.
Searchlight on Democracy Walk and Talk When: Tuesday, March 2 at 7.00 p.m.
Where: City Hall – Guelph (1 Carden St.) and then to Norfolk Street United Church for presentations and a group discussion
We also had a chance to discuss the burgeoning contorversy concerning Canada’s financial aid for earthquake stricken Haiti. It seems that the aid the government is providing may be coming out of funds already earmarked for Haiti prior to the earthquake and not new funding at all. This situation needs to be watched very closely.
The Canada Haiti Action Network are screening the documentary Aristide and the Endless Revolution at the Bookshelf Cinema on Saturday March 6 at 1.00 p.m. This is a free event. A discussion about the current situation in Haiti, including financial aid from the Government of Canada, will occur after the screening.
Aristide and The Endless Revolution
When: Saturday March 6 @ 1 p.m.
Where: The Bookshelf Cinema, Quebec St, Downtown Guelph
Admission: Free (donations gratefully accepted).
Frank Valeriote can be contacted via his Gueph office, 40 Cork Street East, Guelph, N1H 2W8, 519-837-8276, 519-837-8443 or by e-mail to Valeriote.F@parl.gc.ca. While in Ottawa he may also be reached at Room 713 Confederation Building, House of Commons, Ottawa, K1A 0A6, 613-996-4758, 613-996-9922 (fax).
Listen to Hour 1:
You can also follow the links here to check out Frank’s previous visits to Royal City Rag in April and June 2009. He’s a great interview.
We started the second hour of the show with a personal commentary regarding the upcoming municipal election scheduled for October 25. Mayor Farbridge announced her bid for re-election this week. Other candidates for mayor and council are sure to follow in short order.
Royal City Rag will continue to follow the municipal scene closely, focusing on the community issues that we believe are important as we move towards the election. Expect to hear more commentaries on the record of the current council and our hopes for the next.
Listen to the Commentary:
Po'Girl
Later in the second hour we talked to Alli Russell from Po’Girl. Po’Girl are in Guelph on March 9 for a show at Dublin St United Church as part of their “No Shame” tour, highlighting the serious problem of child sexual abuse.
Russell is the survivor of ten years of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. She wrote the song “No Shame” in 2006 after her stepfather was released from prison . You can find it on their critically acclaimed album, Deer in the Night.
Proceeds from the tour will support Little Warriors in Canada and the National Children’s Alliance in the USA. Alli Russell will also be running the Athens, Ohio marathon, on April 11 to support these groups.
Hailing originally from Canada, Po’Girl weave a blend of musical influences, sweetness, grit & soul into a fresh and original sound. Their latest release, 2009’s Deer in the Night still includes many of the trappings of the trademark Po’ Girl sound – the echoes of speakeasy jazz, the western lament, the accordion-strapped ghosts of European folk – but it’s all delivered with a soulful clarity and depth only hinted at on previous records.
Po’Girl And The No Shame Tour To Combat Child Abuse featuring Po’Girl (with special guest JT Nero) and Noise and the Ghost
When: March 9 at 7.30 p.m.
Where: Dublin St United Church, 68 Suffolk St W, Guelph
Tickets: $16/$20
Listen to Hour 2:
Music:
Johnny Cash, Redemption Day from American Recordings VI, Ain’t No Grave
Roseanne Cash, I’m Moving On from The List
Tony Bennett, Rags To Riches from Mob Life
Michael Buble, A Song For You from It’s time
Janis Ian, The Great Divide from Folk Is The New Black
Po’Girl, Bloom from Deer In The Night
Po’Girl, No Shame from Deer In The Night
We’ll be starting off Royal City Rag on Saturday February 27 with another conversation with Frank Valeriote, MP for Guelph. He’s a great interview. You definitely won’t want to miss it.
Remember if you don’t catch Royal City Rag live on CFRU93.3fm, you can pick it up later that day via the CFRU archive or here, on the blog, a day or so later.
We’ll be following up on all the recent intrigue surrounding Stephen Harper’s decision to shut down parliament through prorogation, Haiti earthquake relief and the current state of the Canadian economy. Frank will also update us on his own committee work and provide an update on Guelph’s impact on the national scene.
This is Frank’s third appearance on Royal City Rag. Check out his previous visits to Royal City Rag in April and June 2009.
Alli Russell
Later in the show, we’ll be catching up with Alli Russell from Po’Girl in New York. Po’Girl visit Guelph on March 9 for a show at Dublin St United Church as part of their “No Shame” tour.
Proceeds from the tour will support Little Warriors in Canada and the National Children’s Alliance in the USA. Alli Russell will also be running the Athens, Ohio marathon, on April 11 to support these groups.
Russell is the survivor of ten years of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. She wrote the song “No Shame” in 2006 after her stepfather was released from prison . You can find it on their critically acclaimed album, Deer in the Night.
Hailing originally from Canada, Po’Girl weave a blend of musical influences, sweetness, grit & soul into a fresh and original sound. Their latest release, 2009’s Deer in the Night still includes many of the trappings of the trademark Po’ Girl sound – the echoes of speakeasy jazz, the western lament, the accordion-strapped ghosts of European folk – but it’s all delivered with a soulful clarity and depth only hinted at on previous records.
They recently released a live album, Po’ Girl Live that captures the energy and spirit of the live show. Po’Girl also spent part of January recording new album “Follow Your Bliss” in Chicago, IL. “Follow Your Bliss” will be released in Europe in May and in North America in June.
Po’Girl And The No Shame Tour To Combat Child Abuse featuring Po’Girl (with special guest JT Nero) and Noise and the Ghost
When: March 9 at 7.30 p.m.
Where: Dublin St United Church, 68 Suffolk St W, Guelph
Tickets: $16/$20
As always, we’ll wrap it all up with some cool music…
Royal City Rag, Saturdays 7-9 a.m. on CFRU93.3fm, Guelph’s Campus Community Radio Station.
Guelph MP Frank Valeriote will be back on Royal City Rag this coming Saturday, February 27 between 7.15 – 8.00 a.m.
We’ll be catching up on all the goings on in Ottawa, including the recent intrigue around prorogation, Haiti earthquake relief and the current state of the Canadian economy. Frank will also update us on his own committee work as well as provide an update on Guelph’s impact on the national scene.
This is Frank’s third appearance on Royal City Rag. Check out his previous visits to Royal City Rag in April and June 2009.
If you have questions you’d like us to ask Frank, we’d love to hear from you. Please send them to info@royalcityrag.ca.
Royal City Rag, Saturdays from 7-9 a.m. on CFRU 93.3 fm, Guelph’s Campus and Community Radio Station. Listen live on CFRU 93.3fm, or, after the fact, via the website. If it happens in Guelph you’ll hear about it on Royal City Rag!
Reeling from heavy criticism over his decision to prorogue parliament to avoid difficult questions regarding Afghan detainees, he is now backpeddling and asking MPs to work through two scheduled breaks when they get back.
Does this guy really have a clue?
Mr. Harper’s decision to turn a customary recess into a prorogation meant that work in committee stopped and all the bills progressing through both houses were lost, no matter how close they were to approval.
Needless to say, his cynical ploy did not go unnoticed. 132 political scientists signed a letter condemning the proprogation and calling for electoral reform.
Even analysts and newspapers normally supportive of his Conservative government’s agenda called this a dangerous tactic, and one that puts our democracy at risk.
And now, he wants MPS to work through their breaks to correct his mistake?
Stephen Harper With Charles I, Birds Of A Feather?
I was talking to my mother in England about the prorogation issue this past week. Despite being in her eighties, she’s as feisty as ever as far as politics are concerned.
She couldn’t ever remember prorogation becoming an issue in the UK and was quite shocked to hear that Stephen Harper would shut down parliament before a session was due to end, while there was still legislation passing through committees and issues being debated in the house.
She reminded me that the English King Charles I also shut down parliament because he didn’t like some of the decisions they were making. Of course his need for control eventually lead to him having his head chopped off.
I wouldn’t wish that on Stephen, of course… but I strongly suspect that this issue will come back to bite him severely in the nether regions at the next election!
Stephen Harper’s desire to control the parliamentary agenda is reaching absurd levels.
One wonders what will be next… Stephen Harper, the first King of Canada?
Stephen Harper, the first King of Comedy more like. A man, like comedian Rupert Pupkin, whose ambition far exceeds his talent.
Canada deserves better.
Don’t forget that Ned Franks, Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University,will be in town next week for a lecture on “The State of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada”. The lecture takes place at the University of Guelph’s War Memorial Hall on Monday February 8 at 7.30 p.m.
The rally was not only an opportunity to register opposition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to shut down parliament but also allowed those present to educate themselves on the fragile state of our democracy.
Stephen Harper’s cynical decision to stifle debate is far more than just a storm in a teacup on the internet. There are a great many Canadians who are deeply troubled about an excessive concentration of arbitrarily-exercised power in the office of Prime Minister.
Even analysts who normally support the actions of Canada’s right wing government believe that Stephen Harper has seriously miscalculated the mood of the nation. Quite clearly, Canadians really do care about this issue.
As Tom Flanagan, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said on January 12in a panel interview on CBC Television’s ‘Power & Politics’ with Evan Solomon, “Everybody knows that Parliament was prorogued in order to shut down the Afghan inquiry, and the trouble is that the government doesn’t want to explain why that was necessary,” adding “instead of having an adult defence of it, the government comes up with these childish talking points. So then you try and backfill with other stuff that doesn’t make much sense either. So it’s a self-created problem.”
Left to Right: Jim Profit, Phil Allt and Byron Sheldrick
Many of those present attended the, standing room only, panel discussion at Knox Church featuring Guelph MP Frank Valeriote, Accessibility Advocate/Writer Susan Wheeler, University of Guelph Political Science Professor Byron Sheldrick, History professor/former NDP candidate Phil Allt and Father Jim Profit from the Ignatius Jesuit Centre. The panel discussion was moderated by Rev. John Lawson.
Susan Wheeler with Frank Valeriote MP
Frank Valeriote gave an excellent speech on parliamentary democracy while the panelists provided a lot of food for thought. There was also an excellent question and answer session.
It really was a wonderful session and a great primer on the problems currently afflicting our parliamentary democracy. Definitely worth a listen if you missed it.
Listen to Frank Valeriote’s Speech:
Listen to the Panelists Comments:
Listen to the Question & Answer Session:
The urgent need for parliamentary procedure reform will be discussed in a lecture on February 8 featuringDr. Ned Franks, Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University. Professor Franks, who has been frequently quoted in recent editorials on the prorogation issue, will present a lecture on “The State of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada”.
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Council of Canadians – Guelph Chapter, the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph and the Central Students Association. The lecture will be held at the University of Guelph’s War Memorial Hall at 7.30 p.m.
It seems that the Perogies not Proroguing event planned for January 23 is creating quite a stir in Guelph. Stephen Harper’s decision to close down parliament is clearly more than just a storm in a teacup on Facebook.
The rally will now start in St George’s Square at 1.00 p.m. before moving to Knox Church where perogies and hot drinks will be served. There will then be an opportunity to share concerns about the prorogation during a panel discussion moderated by Rev. John Lawson.
The rally will be a clear demonstration of concern over the Prime Minister’s recent prorogation of Parliament, the deepening crisis in Parliamentary democracy, and the broader implications of this crisis. Over 200 citizens are now expected to attend.
Almost 50 cities across the country are having rallies, forums and protests, including St. John’s, Halifax, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Yellowknife and Whitehorse. There are even rallies being planned in the US and the UK!
Perogies Not Proroguing
1.00 p.m. Rally in St George’s Square and parade to Knox Church (note new venue!)
1.30 p.m. Perogies / hot drinks will be served at Knox Church
2.00 p.m. MP FrankValeriote and panel discussion/Q&A
Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is a national grassroots group started on Facebook about two weeks ago. The group now has an incredible 195,000 members and is growing daily.
If you haven’t yet joined the group, visit them on the web here.
The venerable British magazine, The Economist has weighed in about Stephen Harper proroguing parliament. Their editorial is definitely worth repeating.
Its starting to look like Stephen Harper may have seriously misjudged the mood of the nation. With a Facebook group that is growing exponentially, we now also have a Guelph event to support, Perogies not Proroguing! Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament.
The event takes place on January 23 with a rally in St George’s Square at 1.00 p.m. followed by a panel discussion in in Knox Church. Rev. John Lawson will moderate a discussion featuring Guelph MP Frank Valeriote, history teacher Phil Allt, and more. Hot perogies and beverages will be served.
Stephen Harper is counting on Canadians’ complacency as he rewrites the rules of his country’s politics to weaken legislative scrutiny
THE timing said everything. Stephen Harper, the prime minister, chose December 30th, the day five Canadians were killed in Afghanistan and when the public and the media were further distracted by the announcement of the country’s all-important Olympic ice-hockey team, to let his spokesman reveal that Parliament would remain closed until March 3rd, instead of returning as usual, after its Christmas break, in the last week of January.
Mr Harper turned a customary recess into prorogation. This means that all committees in both houses are disbanded and government bills die, no matter how close they are to approval. The prime minister, who heads a Conservative minority government, clearly reckoned that giving legislators an extra winter break, during which they might visit the Winter Olympics (in Vancouver between February 12th and 28th), would not bother Canadians much.
He may have miscalculated. A gathering storm of media criticism has extended even to the Calgary HERALD, the main newspaper in his political home city, which denounced him for “a cynical political play”. There are plans for demonstrations on January 23rd, just before Parliament would have reconvened. “Parliamentary democracy is in danger,” declared Peter Russell of the University of Toronto, who was one of 132 political scientists who signed a letter condemning the prorogation and calling for electoral reform.
Past Canadian prime ministers have normally asked the governor-general (who acts as Canada’s head of state) to prorogue Parliament only after the government has completed most of its legislative business in order to start afresh with a new speech from the throne outlining new priorities. But nothing has been normal in Canadian politics since 2004, when more than two decades of majority government ended with voters electing a Liberal minority government. They then returned Conservative minority governments in 2006 and 2008.
Far from completing its work, Parliament was still considering important measures, including bills that are part of Mr Harper’s crackdown on crime, as well as ratification of free-trade agreements with Colombia and Jordan. All must now be reintroduced. So why shut down Parliament? Breaking six days of silence, Mr Harper said this week that it was a “routine” move to allow the government to adjust its budget due on March 4th. His spokesman claimed that the 63-day gap between sessions was less than the average prorogation of 151 days since 1867. However, the average in the past three decades has been just 22 days.
Opposition leaders claimed Mr Harper’s real reason was to end an embarrassing debate on the government’s apparent complicity in the torture of Afghan detainees, and in particular to avoid complying with a parliamentary motion to hand over all documents relevant to those charges. They also claim that the prime minister wanted to name new senators and then reconstitute the Senate’s committees to reflect the Conservatives’ additional representation, something that could not be done if Parliament was merely adjourned.
Having prorogued Parliament last winter to dodge a confidence vote he seemed set to lose, Mr Harper has now established a precedent that many constitutionalists consider dangerous. No previous prime minister has prorogued the legislature “in order to avoid the kind of things that Harper apparently wants to avoid,” says Ned Franks, a veteran political scientist and historian of Parliament. Although other prime ministers may have had ulterior motives, they were less blatant, he says.
The danger in allowing the prime minister to end discussion any time he chooses is that it makes Parliament accountable to him rather than the other way around. Some of Mr Harper’s critics are also affronted by his high-handedness in not bothering to call on the governor-general personally to ask for prorogation, as tradition demands, but instead making his request by telephone. “That was gravely insulting to the governor-general and the country,” says Mr Russell.
Whether Mr Harper gets away with his innovative use of prime ministerial powers depends largely on whether the protest spreads and can be sustained until Parliament reconvenes in March. Mr Harper is doubtless counting on the Winter Olympics to reinforce Canadians’ familiar political complacency. But he has given the opposition, which is divided and fumbling, an opportunity. It is now up to it to show that Canada cannot afford a part-time Parliament that sits only at the prime minister’s pleasure.
They are still working on the details but its good to see Guelph’s MP Frank Valeriote getting involved. With talk of the liberals attending parliament as usual on January 25, Stephen Harper may be left with a significant amount of egg or soured cream on his chin.
What were they saying about not being able to talk and chew gum at the same time?
Shutting down parliament so we can all focus on the olympic-sized boondoggle in Vancouver? Ridiculous.
Can we please have a new Prime Minister?
One that believes in democracy.
Perogies not Proroguing! Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament
On July 22, we replayed the great show from June 24 featuring Guelph MP Frank Valeriote. During a wide ranging discussion Frank updated us on a variety of issues including the current state of the Canadian economy. It’s definitely worth a listen if you missed it. Also check out Frank’s last appearance on Royal City Rag on April 15, if you get a chance.
Frank can be contacted via his Gueph office, 40 Cork Street East, Guelph, N1H 2W8, 519-837-8276, 519-837-8443 or by e-mail to Valeriote.F@parl.gc.ca. While in Ottawa he may also be reached at Room 713 Confederation Building, House of Commons, Ottawa, K1A 0A6, 613-996-4758, 613-996-9922 (fax).
Music:
Mark Seymour, When The River Runs Dry from Closest Living Thing
Sue Smith, Walkin Away from I’m So
Mark Seymour, Throw Your Arms Around Me from Closest Living Thing
Guelph MP Frank Valeriote was in the studio again on June 24 to provide an update on the federal scene. During a wide ranging discussion we covered the recent intrigue around Employment Insurance reform and the current state of the Canadian economy as well as an update on Frank’s own committee work on food safety and agriculture. Definitely worth a listen. Also check out Frank’s last appearance on Royal City Rag on April 15, if you missed it.
Frank can be contacted via his Gueph office, 40 Cork Street East, Guelph, N1H 2W8, 519-837-8276, 519-837-8443 or by e-mail to Valeriote.F@parl.gc.ca. While in Ottawa he may also be reached at Room 713 Confederation Building, House of Commons, Ottawa, K1A 0A6, 613-996-4758, 613-996-9922 (fax).
During the show we also played music by Australian singer-songwriter Mark Seymour (formerly of Hunters and Collectors) and Guelph’s own Sue Smith. Mark has a June 27 show at Guelph Little Theatre at 8.00 p.m. with support from Sue (with Jeff Bird and Nick Craine) and Marta Pacek. Tickets are $20 in advance from Ground Floor Music and $25 at the door.
We have two tickets to give away for that event. If you are interested in them, e-mail us at info@royalcityrag.ca. The tickets will be waiting for you, with our compliments, at the door.
Music:
Mark Seymour, When The River Runs Dry from Closest Living Thing
Sue Smith, Walkin Away from I’m So
Mark Seymour, Throw Your Arms Around Me from Closest Living Thing
Guelph on the federal scene will be the subject of Royal City Rag on June 24 with a return visit from Guelph MP Frank Valeriote.
We’ll be catching up on all the goings on in Ottawa, including the recent intrigue around Employment Insurance reform and the current state of the Canadian economy. Frank will also update us on his own committee work on food safety and agriculture. We’ll also see if we can get the inside track on when to expect a federal election.
If you are interested in them, e-mail us at info@royalcityrag.ca. The tickets will be waiting for you, with our compliments, at the door.
Join us on Royal City Rag, Wednesday 6-7 p.m., on CFRU 93.3fm, Guelph’s Campus-Community Radio Station. Listen live or after the fact via the CFRU archive or this website.
It was our pleasure to welcome Frank Valeriote back to Royal City Rag on April 15. An opportunity to catch up on his first six months as Member of Parliament for Guelph.
In a wide ranging discussion we chatted about his life in politics, working with Michael Ignatieff in the Liberal caucus, the fate of the Liberal-NDP coalition as well as the major issues affecting us locally and nationally, including the current recession and the auto bailouts. We also had a chance to explore the other career options that Frank may (even briefly) have considered! LOL.
It turned out to be a great show. Well worth a listen!
Music:
KD Lang, I Dream Of Spring from Watershed
Tony Bennett, Rags to Riches from Goodfellas (Original Soundtrack)
Nick Lowe, You Inspire Me from Quiet Please, The New Best Of Nick Lowe
Allen Toussaint, Yes We Can Can from Our New Orleans 2005
Frank Valeriote MP will be joining us on Royal City Rag on April 15. This fulfills a commitment he made during the election campaign. We’re looking forward to catching up on his first six months as Member of Parliament for Guelph.
Listen live on CFRU 93.3fm, Guelph’s Campus and Community Radio Station or, after the fact, via the website.
Join CFRU each Thursday afternoon from 4-6 p.m. throughout the election campaign for our weekly dose of federal election talk. Listen live at 93.3fm or online at http://www.cfru.ca.
On the election blog, you will find all the audio from the election shows including interviews with the local candidates. We also have audio from several of the election debates that we hope will help your decision-making process.
Jack Layton has finally woken up and realised that, not only is it not doing the NDP candidates any favours, but it would be also be inappropriate to exclude the leader of the Green Party from the leadership debates.
“I have only one condition for this debate, that the Prime Minister is there, because I want to debate the issues with him,” said Mr. Layton. “I don’t want to be debating the debate forever.”
That clears that up then…
Now if we could just get Joe Clark in the debate instead of Stephen Harper…
The views express on this site are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of CFRU 93.3fm Radio Gryphon, www.cfru.ca. RoyalCityRag.ca is not responsible for the content or views expressed on external sites.
Royal City Rag will be on tour with Guelph MP Frank Valeriote and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff on Monday.
Formerly Royal City Rag 
Stephen Harper, The Man Who Would Be King
Posted in Commentary, tagged Federal Politics, Prorogation, Stephen Harper on February 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
It seems that Stephen Harper can’t get a break…
Reeling from heavy criticism over his decision to prorogue parliament to avoid difficult questions regarding Afghan detainees, he is now backpeddling and asking MPs to work through two scheduled breaks when they get back.
Does this guy really have a clue?
Mr. Harper’s decision to turn a customary recess into a prorogation meant that work in committee stopped and all the bills progressing through both houses were lost, no matter how close they were to approval.
Needless to say, his cynical ploy did not go unnoticed. 132 political scientists signed a letter condemning the proprogation and calling for electoral reform.
Even analysts and newspapers normally supportive of his Conservative government’s agenda called this a dangerous tactic, and one that puts our democracy at risk.
And now, he wants MPS to work through their breaks to correct his mistake?
Stephen Harper With Charles I, Birds Of A Feather?
I was talking to my mother in England about the prorogation issue this past week. Despite being in her eighties, she’s as feisty as ever as far as politics are concerned.
She couldn’t ever remember prorogation becoming an issue in the UK and was quite shocked to hear that Stephen Harper would shut down parliament before a session was due to end, while there was still legislation passing through committees and issues being debated in the house.
She reminded me that the English King Charles I also shut down parliament because he didn’t like some of the decisions they were making. Of course his need for control eventually lead to him having his head chopped off.
Stephen Harper’s desire to control the parliamentary agenda is reaching absurd levels.
One wonders what will be next… Stephen Harper, the first King of Canada?
Stephen Harper, the first King of Comedy more like. A man, like comedian Rupert Pupkin, whose ambition far exceeds his talent.
Canada deserves better.
Don’t forget that Ned Franks, Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University,will be in town next week for a lecture on “The State of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada”. The lecture takes place at the University of Guelph’s War Memorial Hall on Monday February 8 at 7.30 p.m.
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