Political satirist and star of CBC's Monday Report Rick Mercer recently spent a day in Hamilton with Paul Martin's chief antagonist Sheila Copps. They were up to no good.
For Monday night's show, Mr. Mercer toured the riding with the former Chrétien minister and even accompanied her to the police station for a criminal background check, something to which all potential Liberal candidates are subjected.
"I will say that 'shooting' an interview with Sheila was like trying to herd a cat," said Mr. Mercer yesterday. "She was in full campaign mode. If she saw someone out of the corner of her eye and they had a pulse, she would leave the interview, run over and try to sell them a party membership."
The purpose of his visit was, of course, to underline the fact that Ms. Copps, who has recently flirted with Jack Layton's NDP, is in the battle of her political life for the nomination in her riding of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek. She is fighting Martin loyalist and senior minister Tony Valeri and has accused senior Martin strategists of trying to squeeze her out. So, it was against this backdrop that Mr. Mercer asked Ms. Copps this pointed question: "Is it possible that behind closed doors Paul Martin is a vindictive prick?"
Mr. Mercer said she was silent for quite a long time before she finally said: "Um . . . I didn't think so."
Tory tactics
The new Conservative Party's House Leader, Loyola Hearn, is planning to make Paul Martin's life difficult in the new Parliament. "Mr. Martin will have a few sleepless nights," predicted Mr. Hearn. Emboldened by a 74-member Conservative caucus, he said he and his colleagues will try hard to stall attempts by the Martin government to reinstate the left-over Chrétien bills, especially legislation on the redistribution of ridings. Mr. Martin needs to pass that bill immediately to call a spring election. But the Conservatives want to keep the Martin government around -- more chances for everyone to mess up. "The longer we keep them in the House, the rougher it is going to be for him," said Mr. Hearn.
Pot not high on
the agenda?
There is much behind-the-scenes manoeuvring among senior Liberal officials about what to do with Jean Chrétien's contentious marijuana bill. One day the view is it should be introduced in the House when Parliament returns Feb. 2; the next day the view is that it should not even see the light of day. Some of Paul Martin's senior officials believe the bill is just too controversial to be dealt with in this pre-election climate.
"I don't think we need controversy," said one Liberal MP. "I mean, why would we want to embrace or adopt legislation that Martin Cauchon [the former Chrétien justice minister]put forward? In the view of some on the Hill, he was the worst justice minister ever because he just let bureaucrats run havoc."
The cabinet's operations committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, is to decide what to do about all this when it meets early next week.
Hot and Not:
Hot: Apologies. Prime Minister Paul Martin apologized twice this week. First to public servants, admitting his government mishandled the announcement of a cap on the size of the public service. Later, he said sorry to the Canadian Mental Health Association for attempting to quiz Liberal candidates about their mental illnesses. He ordered the practice stopped after much backlash, including from his own MPs.
Not: Rick Borotsik. The Manitoba PC MP said he would quit the new Conservative Party if Stephen Harper becomes leader. Curiously, he showed up at the first caucus meeting of the new merged party this week. Many of his colleagues wondered what on earth he was up to. Make up your mind, Rick.
Not: Irwin Cotler. The Justice Minister refused to comment on the RCMP raids on the home and office of Ottawa Citizen reporter Juliet O'Neill. In his previous life as a backbench MP and university professor, Mr. Cotler was renowned for his passionate defence of human rights.
Hot: Ed Broadbent. His nomination victory in Ottawa Centre makes the NDP the first party in Canadian history to have three former and current leaders (Mr. Broadbent, Alexa McDonough and Jack Layton) running in the same election.