Shenanigans in the House

July 07, 2008

Watched Question Period (QP) lately?  Then, you must be wondering if QP has become an afternoon soap opera.  The Cadman affair is one such soap opera drama wherein the Prime Minister was accused of trying to buy Chuck Cadman’s vote to bring down the government in 2005. A tape, recorded during an interview with the then Leader of the Opposition, Stephen Harper, was tabled by the Liberals as evidence of a one million dollar insurance policy offer to secure Chuck Cadman’s support. Liberals cried foul and demanded the Prime Minister come clean.  The Prime Minster denied any such offer and hired lawyers to defend his name.

Now we find out, through documents filed with the courts, that video forensic experts have proven the tape was doctored. The mystery:   who doctored the tape?  Was it the Liberals?  Was it the author that recorded the interview? Or was it a middle man? As they say in the afternoon soap operas--- stay tuned!

A recent episode was about the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Bernier.  The episode starts with the Minister dating a beautiful young women having past connections with a biker gang. The Minister is intrigued by her beauty and during a visit to her home he forgets classified documents. This is real James Bond stuff!  She returns the documents unopened and the drama begins. Liberal and Bloc opposition parties want to know what went on between the two and why she wasn’t cleared by the Canadian International Security Service?  When did the PM know there was a breach of security and what was in the documents, they asked.

The PM accepts the resignation of the Minister for breach of procedure when handling classified documents and directs the department to investigate. The opposition parties are not happy with the department investigating this affair and want to know about this mysterious woman and they demand a Royal Inquiry to uncover the plot of crime and international intrigue. Good use of our time in Ottawa, I guess.

In spite of these distracting fabricated dramas and accusations by the opposition I want to assure constituents of the Okanagan-Shuswap that I am keeping my eye on the ball. I stay away from getting involved in this nonsense and live the simple life of dealing with your affairs and being your voice in Ottawa.

I can assure you that despite these distractions by the opposition, having no policy ideas, our government is moving forward with your priorities and getting the job done. Taxes are down, investment in health and education is up, and our ‘Crack Down on Crime’ strategy is making our streets safer.

Colin Mayes MP Okanagan-Shuswap