caucus

Friday January 22, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 22, 2021

Conservatives have voted to expel Derek Sloan from caucus

August 25, 2020

Conservative MPs today voted to expel Derek Sloan from caucus after the eastern Ontario MP accepted a donation from a notorious white nationalist.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole initiated the ouster earlier this week after news emerged that Paul Fromm — whose ties to white supremacist and neo-Nazi causes have long been documented — had contributed $131 to Sloan’s leadership campaign.

Sloan fought against the vote, saying he was unaware of the source of the donation because Fromm used his full name, Frederick P. Fromm.

Conservatives voted by secret ballot today, with the majority of MPs voting to remove Sloan from their benches. 

In a statement issued this afternoon, O’Toole called the donation the “last straw.”

July 16, 2020

“The Conservative caucus voted to remove Derek Sloan not because of one specific event, but because of a pattern of destructive behaviour involving multiple incidents and disrespect towards the Conservative team for over a year,” he said.

“These actions have been a consistent distraction from our efforts to grow the party and focus on the work we need to do. Events of the past week were simply the last straw and led to our caucus making the decision it did today.”

News of Fromm’s contribution was first reported by PressProgress, a non-profit news website funded by the left-leaning Broadbent Institute.

Sloan, who was elected in 2019 to represent the riding of Hastings—Lennox and Addington, argued his team couldn’t vet every donation to his leadership campaign last year. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday May 28, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 28, 2019

Wilson-Raybould, Philpott to run again as independent candidates

Former ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will be running for re-election in the fall federal campaign as independent candidates, though have both cited an intent to align themselves with the Green Party on some issues.

March 8, 2019

The two former Liberals and close political allies donned white and unveiled their next political moves in consecutive announcements in their respective ridings on Monday. Meanwhile in Ottawa, Green Leader Elizabeth May said while she she’ll push for their re-election, she is “at a loss” as to why the two wouldn’t join her team after a serious courting.

Wilson-Raybould, who was Canada’s first-ever federal Indigenous justice minister and attorney general, said being an MP has been one of the greatest honours of her life and she wants to be elected again to return to the House of Commons, without any party affiliation.

“Today is a good day,” she said during the much-anticipated announcement in her Vancouver-Granville, B.C. riding. “I know who I am, and I am not a party person.”

Philpott, who held a trio of cabinet positions over the course of the last four years, said her decision to run again comes in part out of a desire to show young women that you shouldn’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.

March 27, 2019

“What lesson would it be for those young girls if I were to walk away… with my tail between my legs… I need to persevere,” Philpott said in her Markham-Stouffville Ont. riding announcement. “We’re going to do it together.”

Running as independents will prove to be tougher campaigns to wage and win, given the additional supports available to recognized parties in the Canadian electoral system. While they will likely continue to help each other, the political realities in their ridings differ. Wilson-Raybould won her seat in 2015 with 44 per cent of the vote, while Philpott won with 49 per cent.

“There will be challenges but with your support I am confident that running as an independent is the best way to go about it at this time, and the best way to transform our political culture,” said Wilson-Raybould.

Similarly, Philpott spoke about how this decision will free her from the confines of partisan politics. She said she hopes that her and Wilson-Raybould’s campaigns will start a tradition of more independent candidates running, and winning. (CTV) 

 

Tuesday April 2, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 2, 2019

Trudeau apologizes to Grassy Narrows protester thanked for ‘donation,’ kicked out of Liberal Party fundraiser

February 15, 2019

Two former women cabinet minister from Justin Trudeau’s government, Jody Wilson-Raybould (Canada’s first indigenous Attorney General and Justice Minister) and Jane Philpott (Treasury Board President), were unceremoniously booted from party caucus today.

This follows an embarrassing moment for the Prime Minister from a few days earlier:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized for how he responded to a protester Wednesday evening who was advocating on behalf of a northern Ontario First Nation struggling with health effects linked to historical industrial dumping upstream from the community.

Grassy Narrows First Nation held a protest and demonstration in Toronto on Wednesday evening during a Liberal Party fundraiser to press the Trudeau government on its promise to fund a specialized mercury treatment facility in the northwestern Ontario community that’s about 100 kilometres northeast of Kenora.

During the event, the protester appeared to be escorted out of the room while Trudeau thanked her for her “donation.”

“From time to time, I’m in situations where people are expressing concerns or protesting a particular thing, and I always try to be respectful and always try to engage with them in a positive way,” Trudeau told reporters in Halifax on Thursday morning.

“I didn’t do that last night — last night I lacked respect towards them and I apologize.”

Grassy Narrows also is pushing for federal help for remediation of the polluted English-Wabigoon River system and better compensation for people affected by the toxic element.

Animated!

In a video posted to the Council of Canadians’ verified Facebook page Wednesday evening, a woman is shown standing in front of the stage where Trudeau is standing; she appears to unfurl a banner that references the prime minister and compensation for the “mercury crisis.” She is heard saying “people in Grassy Narrows are suffering from mercury poisoning, you committed to addressing this crisis,” while appearing to be removed from the room.

Trudeau, still on the stage, is heard saying, while facing the direction in which the woman was taken out of the room, “Thank you for being here, thank you very much for your donation tonight, I really appreciate it,” which draws cheers and applause from the crowd.

The Grassy Narrows protest in Toronto was at the Omni King Edward Hotel, where Trudeau was scheduled to appear at a Laurier Club donor “appreciation event.”

Former Indigenous services minister Jane Philpott pledged in late 2017 that Ottawa would fund the development and construction of a treatment facility for people exposed to mercury-related illnesses in Grassy Narrows. A number of studies have linked  the comparatively poor health of people in the community to the dumping of mercury-contaminated effluent by Reed Paper, former owners of the mill in Dryden, into the river where members of the First Nation have traditionally fished.

The dumping also affected Wabaseemoong, another First Nation, about 100 kilometres northwest of Kenora. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Wednesday February 18, 2004

February 18, 2004

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 18, 2004

The latest political news from Hamilton

The sponsorship scandal plaguing the Liberal government appears to be costing more than percentage points in public opinion polls. 

John Bryden announced Tuesday that he is leaving the party after more than a decade in Parliament. 

“I’ve been holding off these past number of weeks as I’ve watched things happen here in Ottawa, and I’ve been very disturbed,” Mr. Bryden told a Calgary radio talk show Tuesday. 

“I can’t be in the Liberal caucus under the circumstances because, basically, what I’ve said is I’ve lost confidence in the prime minister and I’ve lost confidence in the Liberal party.” 

The MP for the southern Ontario riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot released a one-line statement Tuesday morning that read “Liberal MP Bryden quits party. Looks to the Conservatives.” (Globe & Mail)