Jane Philpott

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) 

 

Wednesday April 24, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 24, 2019

D’Oh Canada! Canadian journalist voicing Trudeau on The Simpsons

Canadian journalist Lucas Meyer is putting the hours he’s spent listening to politicians to good use, lending his imitation of Justin Trudeau to The Simpsons.

March 24, 2017

Sunday’s upcoming episode, “D’Oh Canada,” will feature a subplot involving Lisa being granted asylum in Canada during a family trip to Niagara Falls.

Meyer, a lifelong fan of the show, said he was thrilled and a bit stunned to receive an email from a Simpsons producer last September. He auditioned a few hours later and found out he got the part the next day.

“I just couldn’t believe it, I sent it to my wife and she was losing her mind,” he said.

“A, it was unexpected. B, it’s not just a show it’s The Simpsons, one that I grew up with. And C, it’s not just a guest voice. It’s guest-voicing the prime minister.”

Meyer, who grew up in Montreal and Antigonish, N.S., has been honing his impersonation skills for years. He said Trudeau is one of his favourites to mimic, along with Don Cherry, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and his mother-in-law, Esther.

August 15, 1997

While working as a reporter in Calgary in 2017, Meyer relented to urgings from friends and posted a compilation of his impressions on YouTube. The video has garnered about 32,000 views and caught the attention of The Simpsons producers.

Meyer kept the news secret for more than six months and finally shared it Monday on social media.  

“I never would have anticipated this,” he told CBC News with a laugh.

Tim Long, a Canadian-born consulting producer on The Simpsons, hinted the episode featuring Trudeau would touch on a “current scandal,” perhaps the SNC-Lavalin controversy.

“That may be one of those things that nobody in America is going to get,” Long, who was born in Brandon, Man., and grew up in Exeter, Ont., said in a recent phone interview with The Canadian Press.

“It’s funny, though, because of course America got used to the idea that, ‘Well, Trudeau is great’ — at least the liberal part of America has sort of got it in their head that, ‘Oh, he’s amazing and Canadians must love him’ — and I think they’re shocked to learn that he’s in a little bit of trouble right now.”

Meyer currently works as a reporter with Newstalk 1010 in Toronto and has had his own professional dealings with Trudeau on the scandal. (Source: CBC) 

Meme-able illustrations

Wednesday March 27, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 27, 2019

Morneau says fate of Wilson-Raybould, Philpott ‘will come down to caucus’

March 8, 2019

The decision about whether former ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will remain in the federal Liberal fold is up to caucus, says Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

Morneau made the comments Tuesday in Vancouver while on a tour to tout the new federal budget.

“It’s really not up to me to decide,” said Morneau, when asked if the pair should remain in caucus.

“They’ve said that they believe that they still want to follow what our Liberal Party has been doing. I think we’ve made enormous strides over the last few years, but it will come down to caucus to come to that conclusion.”

February 9, 2019

Wilson-Raybould, who quit cabinet on Feb. 12 over allegations the Prime Minister’s Office pressured her inappropriately to intervene in the corruption prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, has told her constituents she plans to run in the October federal election as a Liberal.

Morneau said he hasn’t spoken to Wilson-Raybould or Philpott because he’s been “busy through the process” of rolling out the budget but added that despite the rift, his sense was that MPs across caucus remain united and positive.

“They’re feeling good about the program, they’re feeling good that we’ve been invested in middle-class Canadians and they can see that this budget is going to do that as well, and there will always be people that have a different point of view,” he said.

February 16, 2019

Morneau also said he believes his office did not overstep its role in dealing with the SNC-Lavalin case, which he said includes thinking through the economic implications of policy decisions.

“I’ve been pretty clear in saying I didn’t really have any interactions with Jody Wilson-Raybould on this issue,” he said.

“She approached me at one stage to say our offices were talking. In my view, that’s appropriate for them to be talking. Of course, we’ve had a broader discussion about this, and the prime minister has been pretty clear in terms of our discussions and in terms of the fact that we followed the rule of law all the way through.” (Source: Global News) 

 

Tuesday March 5, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 5, 2019

Jane Philpott resigns from cabinet, citing loss of ‘confidence’ over government’s handling of SNC-Lavalin

February 9, 2019

Jane Philpott, one of Justin Trudeau’s most trusted ministers, announced today she has resigned from cabinet as the Liberal government’s crisis over the SNC-Lavalin affair deepens.

“I must abide by my core values, my ethical responsibilities and constitutional obligations,” she said in a written statement.

“There can be a cost to acting on one’s principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them.”

Trudeau later praised Philpott for her diligent work on crucial government files.

Philpott, the MP for Markham-Stouffville, said she has been considering the events that have shaken the federal government in recent weeks and, after “serious reflection,” concluded she must quit.

She said the constitutional convention of cabinet solidarity means ministers are expected to defend all cabinet decisions and other ministers publicly, and must speak in support of the government and its policies.

August 20, 2016

“Given this convention and the current circumstances, it is untenable for me to continue to serve as a cabinet minister,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, the evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former attorney general to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts, have raised serious concerns for me. Those concerns have been augmented by the views expressed by my constituents and other Canadians.”

Philpott is a close ally of Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister and attorney general at the centre of the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Wilson-Raybould testified before a Commons committee last week that 11 officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and other offices inappropriately pressured her to override a decision to prosecute SNC-Lavalin on bribery charges related to contracts in Libya. (Source: CBC News)  

 

Saturday August 20, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday August 20, 2016 Health Minister Jane Philpott accused of misleading Parliament on limo tab Health Minister Jane Philpott is facing accusations that she misled the House of Commons by failing to disclose controversial limousine travel she charged to taxpayers earlier this year. In a response to a question placed on the order paper by Conservative MP Dan Albas about the use of limousines, Philpott's department supplied an answer, signed by the minister, categorically denying any of the luxury vehicles were rented. "With regard to government travel, for the period of Nov. 3, 2015, to April 22, 2016, the minister of health did not use rented limousines while on official business, within Canada or elsewhere," the department wrote in its answer tabled in the House of Commons in June. However, Philpott has found herself in the opposition crosshairs this week after it was revealed that she charged taxpayers $1,700 for transportation around the Greater Toronto Area on March 31, using a limousine service owned by someone who campaigned for her in the federal election. The travel, to four events ranging from Hamilton to Markham and Toronto, took place during the time frame covered by the order paper question. Philpott's office has so far failed to provide any explanation for the discrepancy between her response tabled in the House of Commons and her expense accounts. In an e-mail late to CBC News late Thursday night, her office said "the minister did not, and has not used a limousine.Ó However, spokesman Andrew MacKendrick did not respond to e-mails and phone calls from CBC News to explain what kind of vehicle the limousine service provided. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jane-philpott-limousine-government-spending-parliament-1.3727430 Canada, entitlements, expense, scandal, Jane Philpott, honeymoon, Liberal, Justin Trudeau, ceremony, Olympic

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday August 20, 2016

Health Minister Jane Philpott accused of misleading Parliament on limo tab

Health Minister Jane Philpott is facing accusations that she misled the House of Commons by failing to disclose controversial limousine travel she charged to taxpayers earlier this year.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator,Ê Wednesday April 25, 2012 Bev Oda apologizes for swanky hotel stay International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda said sorry Tuesday for charging taxpayers with an expensive hotel stay in London, EnglandÊlast year, but her apology failed to satisfy critics. "The expenses are unacceptable, should never have been charged to taxpayers," Oda said in the House of Commons in response to aÊquestion from interim Liberal leader Bob Rae. "I have repaid the costs associated with [the] changing of hotels and I unreservedlyÊapologize." Oda's travel expenses caused controversy on Monday when it was revealed that she was originally booked to stay at a hotel where she wasÊattending a conference last June, but had her staff rebook her at the swanky Savoy hotel, where her stay cost her about $665 per night. TheÊtotal bill for her three-day stay including the room and room service was $1,995. The room charges included an orange juice that cost $16. Oda also hired a car and driver, at a cost of about $1,000 per day, to bring her to the hotel she was originally supposed to stay at andÊincurred a cancellation charge for refusing to stay at the Grange St. Paul's hotel. After the Canadian Press broke the story on Monday, Oda's office said she would personally cover the tab for the difference in costÊbetween the two hotels, the cancellation fee, and the orange juice. In total, she repaid $1,353.81. "She only did this because she got caught," NDP House leader Nathan Cullen said Tuesday. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bev-oda-apologizes-for-swanky-hotel-stay-1.1169374

April 25, 2012

April 25, 2012

In a response to a question placed on the order paper by Conservative MP Dan Albas about the use of limousines, Philpott’s department supplied an answer, signed by the minister, categorically denying any of the luxury vehicles were rented.

“With regard to government travel, for the period of Nov. 3, 2015, to April 22, 2016, the minister of health did not use rented limousines while on official business, within Canada or elsewhere,” the department wrote in its answer tabled in the House of Commons in June.

However, Philpott has found herself in the opposition crosshairs this week after it was revealed that she charged taxpayers $1,700 for transportation around the Greater Toronto Area on March 31, using a limousine service owned by someone who campaigned for her in the federal election.

The travel, to four events ranging from Hamilton to Markham and Toronto, took place during the time frame covered by the order paper question.

Philpott’s office has so far failed to provide any explanation for the discrepancy between her response tabled in the House of Commons and her expense accounts.

In an e-mail late to CBC News late Thursday night, her office said “the minister did not, and has not used a limousine.”

However, spokesman Andrew MacKendrick did not respond to e-mails and phone calls from CBC News to explain what kind of vehicle the limousine service provided. (Source: CBC News)

Published in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Published in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

FullSizeRenderLetter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator, August 25, 2016

Spec loves to unfairly skewer Trudeau

Dependably Trudeau and Dr. Jane Philpott, busy limo-using cabinet minister, are ridiculed under an Olympic closing ceremony, end of federal Liberal honeymoon entitlement guise.

Might we expect a cartoon that captures the Liberal’s cabinet meeting last weekend? It was held at a dormitory at Sudbury’s Laurentian University and surely saved quite a bit of money. And that the limo-indulgence was accepted as money is being returned. A complex challenge; much easier to jump at the easy ones. 

But, corporately at least, The Spec, to its credit, endorsed Trudeau so surely at least we can expect a bit of balance. Then again, how to deal with Trudeau’s presence at the last performance of the Tragically Hip. A positive cartoon?

Richard Ring, Grimsby