Party of One (67 page)

After the charges were laid against Duffy, I asked Robert Fife his final thoughts for the book. He told me, “It’s a tragedy when you think about what happened to Mike.”

15
  Mr. MacDonald is Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s eighth director of communications.

seventeen
· P
ARLIAMENT ON THE
B
RINK

1
  Joan Bryden, “Fair Elections Act: Sheila Fraser slams Bill C-23 as attack on democracy,”
Huffington Post
, March 4, 2014, updated March 6, 2014. Refers to Fraser as becoming a “virtual folk hero” for exposing the sponsorship scandal.

2
  Reported by CBC News In Depth, February 17, 2004, re. 125th anniversary of the RCMP. The RCMP received $1.7 million with a commission of $244,350. They bought six horses and two trailers, etc.

3
  The Treasury Board Secretariat is the administrative arm of the Treasury Board. The Secretariat has dual mandates: “to support the Treasury Board as a committee of ministers and to fulfill the statutory responsibilities of a central government agency.” The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary who reports to the president of the Treasury Board, currently Tony Clement.

4
  The Canada logo is a specific font of the word “Canada,” with a small Canadian flag above the final letter. The AG still uses coats of arms in reports and job advertising.

5
  The Harper government used time allocation to limit debate seventeen times during the nineteen-day marathon Commons sitting at the end of May 2014 before the summer recess. Nineteen bills went through the House of Commons in under four weeks.

6
  “Navigation Protection Act: government braces for court battles over waterways,” CBC News, July 13, 2014, updated July 14; “Pipeline industry drove changes to Navigable Waters Protection Act, documents show,”
Toronto Star
, February 20, 2013.

7
  “Government shut down detainee documents panel: judges’ letter,” CP on CTV News, June 24, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from
http://www.ctvnews.ca/gov-t-shut-down-detainee-documents-panel-judges-letter-1.661814
.

8
  Steven Chase (with a report from Bill Curry), “Speaker gives backbench MPs freedom from party’s whip,”
The Globe and Mail
, April 23, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2014. from
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/speaker-gives-backbench-mps-freedom-from-partys-whip/article11506636/
. A group of ten backbench Harper MPs had complained to the Speaker about Harper’s iron grip over what MPs can say in the chamber. They asked Scheer to rule on a point of privilege.

In his first major ruling since being elected to the post nearly two years earlier, Scheer told MPs they are not constrained by caucus lists that dictate who can deliver sixty-second statements or ask questions in Question Period. Scheer’s ruling challenged the centralized discipline of the Harper government. In effect, backbenchers had a right to be heard. Party whips could coordinate but not control the backbenchers. Traditionally it is the Speaker’s role to decide who speaks. In the UK, members bob up and down for a chance to speak by being recognized by the Speaker. Harper’s continuing attempt to control who speaks in the House of Commons is a radical departure from parliamentary practice.

9
  An appreciative prime minister called his new information commissioner the day after New Year’s in 2007 to say he was “grateful” that Marleau had accepted the appointment. Stephen Harper had obviously ignored what Marleau had previously told him: “Be careful what you wish for.” Marleau kept his bargain. After serving for two years, re-engineering the Office of the Information Commissioner (there were many critics), and presenting a legislative review to Parliament, he resigned on June 29, 2009. For his part, Stephen Harper kept his word too—a fact that Marleau appreciated. Although the PM knew of the resignation in advance, Harper allowed Marleau to make it official.

eighteen
· D
ELAY
, D
ENY, AND
D
IE

1
  The art works were described to me by MacKay as video grabs, with heavy use of charcoal, pastel, and wax on them done by hand. Each piece was unique. This is a technique he has used for years, based on taking
hours of video in war zones, then choosing a particular frame to work on as a background, sometimes in sequence. You can also see his work at the Pape TTC station in Toronto.

2
  “Stephen Harper attacks Vladimir Putin and ‘evil’ communism,” Canadian Press, May 31, 2014.

3
  Teachers’ college.

4
  For comment about Bush comparison, see “Stephen Harper’s military jacket is irritating and offensive,”
Huffington Post
, July 2, 2013. People I interviewed also mentioned it. Harper is an excellent marketer and very aware of branding. President Bush’s first trip after his presidency was to speak to a closed-door Conservative group in Calgary. They loved him.

5
  The provincial marine was a coastal protection service that operated in the Great Lakes, and St. Lawrence River, etc. Their schooners were armed and staffed by the Royal Navy during the War of 1812.

6
  Colvin is referring to Canada’s diplomatic instinct and reputation before he became aware of the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan in 2006— the Pearson legacy as well as his own experiences as a diplomat since the 1990s. He was shocked to see what was happening on the ground to detainees, because of his view of Canada as a humanitarian country. He risked his career and reputation to reveal what he suspected was going on. At the time of my interview, he was first secretary in the Intelligence Section of the Canadian embassy in Washington.

7
  According to records recently released under the Access to Information Act, over a thousand prisoners were caught by the Canadian military in Afghanistan. Most were transferred to Afghan authorities, where they faced possible torture at the hands of Afghan jailers. A lawyer who worked for Amnesty International in an attempt to halt the transfers said, “I think Canada really lost its innocence in the detainee controversy.” (See “Alleged Afghan prison torture controversy slips quietly into history books,” Canadian Press, March 10, 2014.)

8
  “Tories secretly gave Canadian military OK to share info despite torture risk,” by Jim Bronskill, Canadian Press, April 13, 2014.

9
  In June 2014, the Taliban attacked police outposts and government facilities across several districts in northern Helmand province, as well as neighbouring districts. The deepening crisis in Kabul has put long-term stability in doubt, even before US troops have completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan. Fear and violence are increasing and the
country is facing a humanitarian crisis. Water and food in certain areas are in short supply.

10
  There is a looming crisis of homelessness among veterans. The number of homeless people identified as veterans has jumped from 35 in 2009–2010 to 236 in 2013. Like the suicide rate, the actual number is probably much higher. In Toronto, a 2013 study found that 16 percent of people sleeping on the streets identified themselves as veterans. See Annie Bergeron-Oliver, “The number of homeless veterans in Canada is soaring,” iPolitics, June 30, 2014; Annie Bergeron-Oliver, “Addictions, mental illness pushing veterans onto the street: expert,” iPolitics, July 23, 2014.

11
  See “Roméo Dallaire, Senate Liberal, retiring from Parliament,” CBC News, May 28, 2014.

12
  David Pugliese, “Veterans Affairs paid $700,000 in bonuses,”
Ottawa Citizen
, May 26, 2012; Peter Worthington, “Bonus Pay for Veterans Affairs managers has to end,”
Toronto Sun
, June 21, 2012.

13
  In the 2012 announcement, MacKay said he would target long wait times by recruiting four more psychiatrists, thirteeen more psychologists, ten or more mental health nurses, thirteen more social workers, and eleven more addictions counsellors. Figures updated in December 2013 show that current mental health staffing levels are 388, which is 62 short of the military’s own staffing target of 450 back in 2009. If MacKay’s promise had been fulfilled, at least 51 more staff would have been recruited.

14
  Murray Brewster, “Turf war hindered hiring of mental health staff at National Defence, sources say,” Canadian Press,
The Globe and Mail
, January 26, 2014.

15
  The lawyers for the vets are doing the case pro bono.

16
  Frequently, Ottawa showed that respect and support for Canada’s veterans in odd ways. Between 2006 and 2011, it turned down 67 percent of applications made under the Last Post Program. That is the federal program that assisted to the amount of $3,600 in the burial costs of veterans. (After publicity, the amount was raised to $7,376 in 2013.) If a military couple have joint assets of $12,000, they do not qualify for the Last Post benefit.

17
  David Pugliese, “It’s their fault: MacKay blames military for cut in danger pay for soldiers in Afghanistan,” Postmedia News, April 24, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/24/its-their-fault-mackay-blames-military-for-cutin-danger-pay-for-soldiers-in-afghanistan
/. Soldiers contacted Postmedia News to complain about cuts to danger pay in Afghanistan. After the public backlash, the government reversed its position.

18
  “Father of slain soldier calls Afghanistan war ‘a waste,’” CBC News (no byline), March 15, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/father-of-slain-soldier-calls-afghanistan-war-a-waste-1.2573058
.

nineteen
· A
WALK WITH
F
ARLEY

1
  
The Sunday Express
was a weekly paper started in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1986 by businessman Harry Steele. I was the founding publisher and editor-in-chief, and we hired some great young journalists.

2
  Laureen Harper is the third prime minister’s wife who has been on Dennis’s list of celebrity clients, though in the case of Mila Mulroney, only the legendary Rinaldo himself was permitted to cut her hair. It was acceptable if the blow-dry was performed by a lesser mortal. It was the same with her husband. “We always knew when the Mulroneys were coming because you could hear the stairs shaking,” Dennis recalled. “He brought a lot of people.”

Dennis had a mind that noted and classified details others might miss. The “classy” Margaret Trudeau drove a Mercedes; the confident Mila Mulroney, a Land Rover; and the shy and unassuming Laureen Harper, a Honda van, and before that, a Ford Escort.

3
  
Deepwater Horizon
was the BP oil rig that exploded, causing the largest marine oil spill in the world. The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico began April 20, 2010, and it took eighty-seven days to cap the well. An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled in to the gulf. Dolphins and other marine species such as tuna continue to die in record numbers there.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A
great may people were involved in the writing of this book, but none more important than Lawrence Martin. It was Martin, the first mainstream journalist to take a critical look at the Harper government in his book
Harperland
, who encouraged me to take on this project. His support and advice were invaluable.

James Baxter, the publisher of iPolitics.ca, gave me generous leeway to complete extensive research and to write
Party of One
on time that would otherwise have been devoted to my job as his national columnist. On both a personal and professional level, his support has been unconditional and constant.

Diane Turbide, my editor and publishing director at Penguin Canada, and Tara Tovell, who copy edited the book, provided insightful and meticulous advice on a project made more difficult by stringent deadlines, driven by events beyond everyone’s control. Thank you to production editor Catherine Dorton for her precise attention to language. When I signed the contract with Penguin, neither robocalls nor the Senate scandal had appeared on the national radar, and both stories have unfolded at the snail’s pace of the legal calendar. I thank my editors at Penguin for their support and patience in keeping the book as current as possible.

Two former colleagues from my radio years, Ms. Ronnie Roberts and Dean Staff, smoothed the logistics of arranging countless interviews with people spread out across the country. Without their cheerful assistance, the job would have been much harder.

Suzanne Norman, who teaches a publishing course at Simon Fraser University, was my tutor in how best to reach the widest audience in social media. Her knowledge, perspicacity, and friendship lightened the load.

Special thanks to Jan Reatherford and Jane Fordham, who contributed their energy and ideas to the project. Tragically, Jane passed away before she could see the book come to fruition. She is sorely missed by her family, friends, and by me.

This book also benefitted from the superb reporting of various news agencies and individual reporters covering the Harper government. Heather Schoffield’s reporting team at Canadian Press produced a string of original and important stories on the conduct of the federal government.

Robert Fife of CTV News and Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor of Postmedia News broke major stories that changed the political landscape in Ottawa. They were generous in sharing their observations with me. Elizabeth Thompson, my colleague at iPolitics.ca, contributed many original stories on the modus operandi of the government, often employing her gift for computer-assisted journalism.

I also carefully followed the work of CBC reporters Laura Payton and Hannah Thibedeau in their excellent daily coverage of happenings on the Hill. Veteran Ottawa reporter Tim Naumetz of the
Hill Times
contributed more than his share of important investigative pieces. I also learned a lot from inspired reporting across Canada, some of the best of it written in
The Tyee
by author and journalist Andrew Nikiforuk.