Winners, losers emerge from House of Commons
OTTAWA — For 52 days this autumn, Canada’s MPs walked into the House of Commons to represent their constituents and spar with their political opponents.
Some emerged from the fall session with their reputations intact or enhanced. Others stumbled and suffered the consequences. Some just disappeared into the woodwork.
Here’s a snapshot of what happened to a handful of the 308 MPs.
Peter MacKay: He was once a powerful figure in Parliament — a party leader in opposition, later foreign affairs minister and then defence minister. But this was the fall MacKay fell silent — forbidden to answer repeated questions about the rising costs of the F-35 plane he once touted. Instead, the public relations task fell to Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose. MacKay’s future in defence is in doubt.
Thomas Mulcair: Chosen as NDP leader in the spring, this was the session for the Montreal MP to prove himself. Would he fall flat on his face as an ill-tempered politician or would he shine as a credible, controlled opposition leader? Despite some instances of raw anger directed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the broad strokes of Mulcair’s performance delivered what his supporters wanted: tough but measured questions without too many histrionics.
Justin Trudeau: He is the supposed golden boy who many Liberals, and the media, are assuming will win the party leadership next April. He’s also the MP who had virtually no presence in the Commons, speaking only once this fall in the chamber. Instead of bolstering his reputation in question period, Trudeau was elsewhere — travelling the country drumming up votes among Liberals for the leadership contest.
Peter Van Loan: Normally, a government House leader’s work is done quietly, behind closed doors. Van Loan departed from that practice one afternoon in the dying days of the session. Angered by an NDP tactic, he stormed across the aisle, glared at his NDP counterpart (Nathan Cullen) and hurled some “unparliamentary” language at him before being pulled back by MacKay. The next day, he publicly apologized. Still, the verbal dust-up confirmed the public’s view that parliamentary decorum is in decline.
Gerry Ritz: The agriculture minister was far from polished or consistent in his handling of the sweeping beef recall after a virulent strain of E. coli was found in meat from the XL Foods plant in Alberta. He told MPs early on that the government had done a “tremendous job” and he looked forward to getting the beef “back into that lucrative American market.” Ritz spoke too soon. As the crisis intensified, Ritz was absent from the House for three days. Eventually, his department appeared to find its footing with consistent communication to the public. Too late to repair Ritz’s tattered image.
Stephen Woodworth: For a brief time this fall, a backbench Conservative MP known primarily to his Ontario constituents became nationally known. Woodworth ignited a debate about abortion — even though he claimed that wasn’t his purpose. MPs voted on his motion to have parliamentarians study whether a fetus is a human being before the moment of birth. It was defeated 203-91, but the vote revealed a deep split among Tory MPs — 87 of 163 Tories backed the motion. Among those with Woodworth were eight ministers and two ministers of state — including Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Ambrose, whose duties in cabinet include “status of women.”