Oh, that we could always have a minority government:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has reached across party lines for foreign-policy help, appointing a Liberal MP as his adviser on the Middle East and Afghanistan. The sudden appointment of Mississauga Liberal MP Wajid Khan, a Muslim Canadian, to advise the Conservative government on the thorny political issues was made with the last-minute blessing of interim Liberal leader Bill Graham. Mr. Khan, who served in Pakistan's air force before coming to Canada in 1974, said he will travel to the region as Mr. Harper's envoy and prepare a report for the Prime Minister by Oct. 1, primarily dealing with the Middle East conflict and Canada's role in Afghanistan.Harper just went up five points in my books. A thoughtful, useful and honest move.
Comments
Gordo - August 9, 2006 10:28 AM
His complete snub of the the first International Outgames in Montreal last month and absence from the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto next week have done nothign to help his standing here. You can take the boy out if Alberta, but you can't make the red neck go away.
Alan - August 9, 2006 10:37 AM
I did not mention the starting point upon which my five points have been added.
Hans - August 9, 2006 11:33 AM
He missed the tractor pulling contest in Crapaud last week. Not sure if that speaks for or against his redneck sensibilities, but surely the Crapaud folk are feeling that snub as keenly as the Outgames athletes.
Hans - August 9, 2006 11:55 AM
P.S. Paul Wells insinuates on his blog that Khan's appointment is something more fishy than thoughtful honest and useful.
Alan - August 9, 2006 12:13 PM
Wells is a fishiness detector par excellance even if he signed up to the weasly Harper contact list. Send links, Hans. We need links!
Gordo - August 9, 2006 12:15 PM
A politician doing something self-serving and cynical? I'm terirble shocked and disillusioned. I'm off to sit in my corner now.
Hans - August 9, 2006 1:29 PM
http://weblogs.macleans.ca/paulwells/
Chris Taylor - August 9, 2006 6:13 PM
I am not sure why people expected PM Harper to show up to the Outgames given that the booing handed out to Minister of Public Works Michel Fortier gave some indication of what welcome the PM would have received. Fortier is an SSM supporter and one might expect some modicum of respect to be shown, but clearly it wasn't in the cards.
If you have the option of attending a neighborhood town hall meeting, one at which you are 100% certain to be shouted down at by opponents, does it benefit you anything to miss other scheduled engagements to go and be summarily shouted down? Perhaps Harper just sensed that the mission was futile, politically, and declined to spend time on it.
Hans - August 10, 2006 8:55 AM
The plot thickens:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=0a02a948-8733-422e-a78e-22fba7ed460f
David - August 10, 2006 9:19 AM
That cuts to the core of Liberal values, concern for the fates of various countries and people in the Middle East, etc: "what does it do for the Liberal Party?"