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I have heard that the Liberals are recruiting candidates for a byelection in Bourassa, as Denis Coderre is expected to step down and run for Montréal mayor. Still, I'll believe it when I see it.
Irwin Cotler and LSD will also be 75 by the next election. I wonder when/if they will recruit successors?
you're giving all these niggling barbs that seem to infer wedges in the NDP.
if there is a fact he was going retire maybe it is stepping down to give Topp a seat?
going to go wiki him 'cause i know nadda about him.
he was the Ontario beachhead in 2000 and is 65 this year seems like a really nice man went to his website and listened to his spiel.
he also announced his 6th grandchild today..congrats Mr Comartin
The Montreal mayoral election isn't until Fall of 2013 - so even if Coderre runs - he probably would not resign from Parliament for another year...I heard some pundits saying that the NDP was also already talking about star candidates to run in Bourassa if such a byelection materializes.
I'm sceptical when all of a sudden I see gossipy stories about Comartin out of the blue being posted by someone who coincidentally joined babble just today.
More details being tweeted about the shadow cabinet:
Comartin - Democratic Reform (I guess he isn't going anywhere)
Dewar - back to Foreign Affairs
Nash - back to Finance
Chisholm - Fisheries
Boivin - Justice
Harris - Defence
Saganash - Int'l Cooperation
Ashton - Status of Women
Turmel - Whip
...more to come
Mulcair is apparently keeping Intergovernmental Affairs for himself (previously held by Turmel). Cullen is House Leader.
Dewar's return to Foreign Affairs won't sit well with some people. I wonder what will happen to Helene Laverdiere?
Turmel would seem a good choice for Whip.
Whatever her qualities as a public face leader, she is obviously a leader, and has led this Caucus.
No surprise Mulcair keeping IGA for himself.
Does Cristopherson have something substantive now that he will not be Democratic Reform?
Here is the whole list http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/04/19/team-mulcair/
Megan Leslie retains Environment. Laverdiere is now Consular Affairs and the Americas, Peter Julian is now Energy and Natural Resources
Bet its Cullen and Julian tag teaming on Northern Gateway and other megaproject issues. Good set-up.
I have to say that i see little evidence that Mulcair has gone out of his way to demote MPs who backed his opponents or promote people just because they supported him for the leadership. In any cabinet or shadow cabinet shuffle, there are always a few appointments that make you scratch your head - but i think these appointments seem to be very merit based
Glad to see Nash return to Finance and Leslie keep Environment. Disappointed in Dewar keeping Foreign Affairs, though I can understand why Mulcair would want to avoid the impression of punishing a rival. (And I agree with a comment above, Saganash would have been an inspired choice.) Also, Tyrone Benskin would have been excellent for heritage, IMO.
Surprised that Rathika got nothing. And Cash and Morin didn't get more.
There are lots of things to like with the new shadow cabinet. It's hard to dislike a shadow cabinet so similar to Jack's and as inclusive as this one. I hope all the MPs will work hard in their new roles.
this is old but amazing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Nl5NACLd0
post in the thread for shadow cabinet and also break it up into paragraphs to make it a bit more readable.
Ugh, the Liberals seem to have a better stance on pot decriminilzation than the NDP under Mulcair: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/04/20/pol-mulcair-position-on...
The Liberals can promise anything seeing as they haven't a snowball's chance in hell of forming government.
Did the Liberals legalize pot when they were in power - of course the lying Liberals didn't.
Never mind what people say they are gonna do, just look at what they did when they had power, eh!
Check out HowdTheyVote.com or something like that.
What are u smoking? lol
Do u think he rolls his own? lol
DECRIMINALIZATION Mulcair clarifies stance on pot in time for 4/20 'pot holiday'
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mulcair-clarifies-stance-on...
I'd like to see the opposition parties put forward a joint motion.
"joint motion" -
I know lots of parties where they'd pass a joint motion. Hey Boomer, we're on a roll!
So, Mulcair doesn't even support decriminalization of possession, let alone decriminalization of cannabis as a whole. He's talking about "not going to jail" for "possession" of "small amounts". In other words, he's talking about sentencing.
The NDP has never seriously pursued decriminalization (forget about legalization) and never will, short of a sea change. Brad Lavigne's banishment of Dana Larsen from the Halifax convention, on phoney grounds, was the last nail in that coffin.
So....Mulcair's clarification is based on HIM getting confused between decriminalization and legalization?
Riiight.
ETA: I recall a number of bablers who were rushing to defend M's call for a "committee" to study the effects of decriminalization, because today's pot is oh-so-bad. Gosh, I wonder if they still feel that way. ;)
I remember at the time his spokesman came out immediatly after and clarified he would decriminalize for small amounts of pot, the same position he holds today. That interview was at the height of the leadership contest where he was traveling non-stop and doing interviews everyday. A slight slip in the talking points is not out of the question, aside from the misuse of the term decriminilzation the answer Tom gave was almost a verbatim rendition of Jack's answer about the same question in the May election (including the silly Baby Boomer BS about potent pot).
A majority of Liberal Party apparatchiks voted for legalization, so would most any vote held among the NDP membership, but actual politicians are way more cautious than that and are never going to reverse this continent's prevailing drug policy except by baby steps.
I am so pleased to know that if I buy my pot a joint at a time the NDP thinks I shouldn't go to jail. What if I can't afford the price the Angels want by the joint or I just don't want to deal with the criminal element and instead want to grow my own?
The War on Drugs is a war on people for their habits. Is it true that excessive internet use can lead to a myriad of mental health issues?
Yes.
so that's what is wrong with you BB - now I get it!
I think marijuana should be legalized, regulated, and taxed. Mulcair and the NDP are just being wimps on this issue.