Category: Other

Poisson d’Avril Jean Charest

Jean Charest is the victim of an April Fool’s joke in Quebec this morning as tweets go flying about his reported resignation. Of course, the news isn’t true as “mauvaisoeil.com” was not considered a reputable news source in Quebec last time I checked! The website is mocked up to look like cyberpresse.ca and probably had a few people spitting out their coffee this morning when they saw the headline topping a teary eyed Photoshopped image of the Quebec Premier.

The fake news site reports that the legislature will not sit on Tuesday as Liberals scramble to select a new leader and reports that Finance Minister Raymond Bachand has been selected in the interim.

The article alleges that Charest’s resignation comes on the heels of an RCMP investigation in the province of political links to unions that work in construction.

An unrelated headline in the sidebar links to a story that suggests that Greenpeace is upset because the internet is powered by coal.

[Link]

John Williamson to run

The news came this morning from the Telegraph Journal that the Prime Minister’s director of communications, John Williamson, would be seeking Greg Thompson’s seat in the next election should he win the nomination.

I spoke to Mr. Thompson by phone this afternoon and the former Minister of Veterans Affairs told me that he’s known John’s family for years and that he called John himself and encouraged him to run. Thompson says he hopes for a broad field of well qualified-nomination contestants and believes John would do well.

The Prime Minister’s office offered the following on Williamson’s projected departure from the office, “Like a lot of Atlantic Canadians, John went elsewhere for a job.  But he is now returning to the only place he calls home.”

I’ve also learned that the Prime Minister has been pleased with Williamson’s work and that had Greg Thompson not announced his retirement, John would be staying put.  He has said that his job is not easy, but he is glad that he accepted it in August and enjoys working for the Prime Minister, which he feels is “an honour and an exceptional privilege”.

Also, I’ve come to understand that John will not commence his nomination campaign until once he has left PMO. In the meantime, John will devote all of his efforts to government business and as an added precaution, he will have no involvement in New Brunswick issues and files.

Williamson will no doubt be a strong contender for nomination and his history both on the partisan/government side as Harper comms and movement side with the CTF and Manning Centre will likely offer the voters of New Bruswick Southwest the confidence they’d need to elect him to Parliament after the next election.

Good luck, John.

Senator Doug Finley Interview on Freedom of Speech

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to interview Senator Doug Finley on the inquiry that he is asking for in the Senate regarding the state of free expression in Canada. I wrote about this move by Finley late last week when he first rose in the Senate on the issue. I asked the Senator about his initiative, his concern over recent events, whether s.13.1 of the Canadian Human Rights Act should be repealed and if there should be a special section of the criminal code for those that inhibit freedom of expression. I also ask about Elections Canada and the in-and-out appeal by the non-partisan arbitrating body.