The Senate is nothing like Paris in the spring

[oneh2obabe]

Tim Harper
National Affairs Columnist

Stability. Continuity. Cynicism.

These are the early hallmarks of Stephen Harper’s majority.

It is the third pillar that should be the main preoccupation of Canadians.

In appointing his Coalition of Losers to the Senate Wednesday, Harper managed to insult voters in two provinces, provoke a backlash inside his own party, overshadow his own cabinet announcement, give the back of his hand to the Ottawa press gallery and exhibit his disdain for Parliament.

In becoming the first prime minister since the 19th century to reappoint senators after they lost elections, he managed to draw fire from Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and his Nova Scotia counterpart, Darrell Dexter.

But there is more to come.

The Senate is fine but it can’t compare to Paris in the spring.

The reason defeated former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon is not in the Senate today is that Harper will reward him with a posting to either London or Paris.

It is said to be Cannon’s choice.

Harper has also specifically put a hold on diplomatic appointments to Chicago and Denver so he can make his own choices.

Harper has been a patronage machine when it comes to stacking the Senate, but has shown restraint in his diplomatic appointments.

Even when he reaches into the political ranks, Harper has often shunned partisanship, the most notable example being his choice of former Manitoba NDP premier Gary Doer as his ambassador in Washington.

But Harper is generally distrustful of the foreign service and he could be ready to shake up the traditional mix of career diplomats and politicians in Canadian missions worldwide.

Harper has so far used the well-worn patronage path of Ireland and Boston.

A former Harper cabinet minister, Loyola Hearn, is in Dublin.

Harper has twice rewarded former Prince Edward Island premier Pat Binns, first handing him the ambassador to Ireland after he lost the 2007 election, then giving him the consulate job in Boston.

The Boston Boneyard has long been a home for defeated politicians.

Mary Clancy, Ron Irwin and Stan Keyes are all Liberals who landed in Beantown after defeat or retirement.

When Harper defeated Paul Martin, he yanked Keyes out and gave Boston to Nova Scotia’s former Conservative finance minister, Neil LeBlanc.

The most intriguing chatter in diplomatic ranks revolves around Conservative Senator Hugh Segal, seen as a potential high commissioner to the United Kingdom, a move that would free up another Senate seat for a Harper loyalist.

“A number of people will be surprised to read this, none more so than me,’’ Segal said Thursday

He says he has not been approached and does not consider himself a candidate.

The senator heaped praise on High Commissioner Jim Wright, with whom he has had extensive dealings through his work as the Canadian representative on the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

It is an open question, however, as to how much Segal is enjoying his work in the Senate.

He said Thursday it offers him a “certain capacity to put out some fresh ideas,’’ and he enjoys the committee work.

But the former adviser to Brian Mulroney often sees the world differently than Harper, even though he sits as a Conservative.

Early in his Senate tenure, his outspoken nature was believed to be behind his removal from the chair of a high-profile committee.

Either Wright or our man in Paris, Marc Lortie, could be candidates to move to the United Nations, but since Ottawa bungled its bid for the Security Council seat that job has lost much of its allure.

The chief bungler, of course, was Cannon, the man headed for his great reward.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/poli ... pring?bn=1

[The Green Barbarian]

man those tools at the Red Star are a bunch of bitter folk. Appointing people that helped you in your party is a political tradition, that isn't just a Canadian thing. Look at all the losers that Obama has surrounded himself with - do you think those people aren't there due to "loyalty" etc? That's how politics works. Calling the new senators a "coalition of losers" is just plain poor journalism, as that name was already taken by Layton, Dion and Duceppe a few years ago. The Red Star better shape up, and drop the bitter routine, or they are going to lose the few readers they have left.

[oneh2obabe]

He's a columnist so he gets some leeway with his column. As for The Star losing readers, don`t think they care one bit if you leave or don`t read them. Must be a reason they are the largest newspaper in Canada.

[The Green Barbarian]

He's a columnist so he gets some leeway with his column. As for The Star losing readers, don`t think they care one bit if you leave or don`t read them. Must be a reason they are the largest newspaper in Canada.

The Red Star is the "largest newspaper in Canada" by default, their readership base happens to be the most populous area of Canada. There are probably flyer distributors who do more circulation in Toronto than most other newspapers have in Canada. The real story lies in the numbers:

Rank Newspaper Headquarters Weekly Circulation 2010 Weekly Circulation 2009 Weekly Circulation 2008 Weekly Circulation 2007 Readership Trend
1 Toronto Star Toronto 2,044,024 2,199,214 2,349,760 3,260,621 -37%
2 The Globe and Mail Toronto 1,906,686 1,891,629 1,996,582 2,024,320 -6%
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ne ... irculation

This didn't cut and paste very well but the case is clear - the Red Star has seen it's circulation drop by 37% since 2007. Could it be that they've lost the pulse of Toronto, as they have the entire country, by continuing to print nonsensical rants like the one you posted? With Toronto electing a right-wing mayor and the Conservative strength in Toronto surging, that could be it. Or it could be that people just aren't reading newspapers anymore, especially ones that churn out this kind of filth on a regular basis.

[oneh2obabe]

Think it's a case of people aren't reading newspapers these days when you can access them online.

As for the new mayor ... he'll be a one-term wonder as people are getting fed up with his "my way or no way" attitude. Not to mention him giving the police a huge increase over the term of their new contract. Not a good move when most of the other union contracts are up for negotiation this year.

[The Green Barbarian]

Think it's a case of people aren't reading newspapers these days when you can access them online.

As for the new mayor ... he'll be a one-term wonder as people are getting fed up with his "my way or no way" attitude. Not to mention him giving the police a huge increase over the term of their new contract. Not a good move when most of the other union contracts are up for negotiation this year.

he's definitely pretty unpolished - if he doesn't do what he said he would do - like cut spending etc then he should get turfed.