Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are hardening their message as the vote to abolish the controversial long-gun registry is fast approaching, accusing the Ignatieff Liberals of arrogance and anti-democratic behaviour.
Indeed, the stakes are getting higher for the Conservatives who won an important battle in the House of Commons last November when Manitoba Tory MP Candice Hoeppner’s private members’ bill to abolish the registry passed second reading and into committee — with the help of 12 NDP MPs and eight Liberal MPs
The bill is to be out of committee and back to the House for third and final reading this month. But it is not clear if she will have the same support from the opposition to pass the bill.
And so the battle is heating up: In a series of talking points — Ignatieff Liberals Move to Derail Long-Gun Registry Bill — issued last night by the Harper Conservatives to their base supporters, strategists accuse the Liberal leader and his public safety critic Mark Holland of trying to muzzle the eight Grit MPs who voted with the government to abolish the registry.
“In a fit of Liberal arrogance, Michael Ignatieff’s spokesman Mark Holland introduced a motion this afternoon (yesterday) at the Public Safety Committee to reject the bill that would end the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry, essentially keeping the long-gun registry ‘as-is’,” according to the talking points.
“Ignatieff and Holland are clearly telling the constituents of Liberal MPs (and the memo lists the eight MPs who supported the Hoeppner bill) that their voices don’t matter and they don’t count.”
Mr. Ignatieff has said that he will whip the vote when it comes to third reading, meaning that any Liberal who supports the government to scrap the bill would face consequences.
However, he has recently proposed changes to the registry he says he would bring in if the Liberals form government. They include making failure to register for the first time a ticketing, rather than a criminal offence. So far they appear to be acceptable to the eight MPs.
Says a senior Ignatieff official: “It is too bad there were so few journalists at the hearings last week. Jacques Dupuis, the Quebec Public Safety Minister, did a great presentation. Tons of stats – facts, something the Conservatives have a hard time with – showing the registry works.”
The official noted that other witnesses, including mothers of victims of the Polytechnique, supported the Liberal proposals.
“So now it is up to Jack Layton to show some real leadership,” says the official.
That’s right — Mr. Layton has not said yet how he will deal with the 12 MPs who voted with the government. Does he whip a private members’ vote? Or does he allow the registry to be killed?
Did Maxime Bernier kill the show?
Sheila Copps and Maxime Bernier
Clearly Maxime Bernier couldn’t compete with Stephen Harper’s piano-playing performance — and so official Ottawa is losing one of its cultural (fundraising) events.
Well, it’s not entirely Mr. Bernier’s fault.
Mr. Bernier, the dashing former Foreign Affairs Minister who is making a come-back in official Ottawa after his relationship with a woman with ties to bikers ended in disaster. He was the co-host with former Liberal deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps, of this year’s Black and White Opera Soiree. It is one of a handful of black-tie galas in the nation’s capital in which the stars of the show are the politicians. This year it was held in February during the Olympics, so it was a harder sell.
Sadly, Mr. Bernier is the last co-host. It was announced yesterday the event — a fundraising vehicle for the National Arts Centre and Opera Lyra Ottawa — is being retired; it started in 1998. Over the past few years proceeds have dropped and both organizations believe there are better ways to raise money.
In his blog, Mr. Bernier wrote about the evening and seemed pretty pleased with himself:
“In addition to the opera singers who gave a magnificent show, Sheila and I did some funny skits,” he wrote about the 13th gala, the theme of which was Opera on the Hill. “The Soirée also included cameo appearances by MP5, a southern gospel-style quintet made up of members of parliament – Ed Fast, Randy Kamp, Kevin Sorenson, Mark Warawa, and Chuck Strahl – by Elizabeth May, Bob Rae, Lisa Raitt, Paul Dewar, Justin Trudeau, and by the Mayor of Ottawa Larry O’Brien.”
Still, the event could not compete with others, such as the annual NAC Gala, which last fall featured a surprise and stunning performance by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who played the piano as he sang a Beatles tune.
Meanwhile, there have been some lean gala years in Ottawa, especially after the Tories took office; they seemed to want to avoid the swishy affairs. The low point came during the 2008 election campaign when the Prime Minister said that these black tie events don’t resonate with ordinary Canadians.
The anti-culture stance of the Tories hurt them in Quebec.
But since then, the Tories have worked hard to show Canadians they support the arts — the Prime Minister’s on-stage performance and now his jamming sessions at 24 Sussex Drive with Bryan Adams and Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger are evidence of that.
But as far as opera goes — despite Mr. Bernier’s efforts — it may not be the Conservative’s thing.
