— Musings —05.29.2015 08:54 AM
Fare thee well, Peter MacKay
He’s a nice guy, but I don’t think his departure matters too much. Things hadn’t been going particularly well for some time – see here and here and here and here.
There’s plenty more, but I think everyone gets the point: this guy was never going to have the political skills of Stephen Harper. And MacKay, perhaps, knew it before the rest of us did.
Mr. K: Are your words, “There’s plenty more…” a teaser? Plenty more to this story about Peter Mackay (?) or plenty more resignations from Harper’s caucus? (or both?)
Bill, no just that Peter has had a string of mishaps over the years. I was going to catalogue them all, but I had to get to work!
Supreme Court Justice Peter MacKay.
Maybe in a parallel universe.
We are in a parallel Canada.
Touche.
Peter MacKay – an average politician with above-average success and well above-average awareness of the limits of his abilities and potential
I was interested, when Omar Khadr was released, that McKay wished him well, and added that he trusted an independent judiciary to make the right decision. It was pretty pointed. I wondered at the time if he was long for this Government, how many old PC party MPs were still in the saddle, and how they were feeling about their leadership these days.
Could very well be. I’m not saying he’s the sgtrongest legal mind ever, but in many respects on justice files he’s above the common CPC Mp or voter. i recall when the idea of creating a special dept to go after government corruption (funny how that died out, eh?) he spelled out pretty clearly how it have to work, which bore little resemblance to the party line of the day.
I can’t remember whether he was justice minister during some of the really big cock-ups at that dept., or what hand he would have had in drafting some o their more problematic laws.
wow, with all these resignations, who is running the govt, oh yeah the servants:P
Don’t get too cocky there, young lady. 🙂
The Liberals are having trouble too. Their “star candidate” in the riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore resigned about a month ago (although it just became public this week) and the Liberals can’t find anyone to take her place.
They may have to appoint the head of the E-L riding association to run.
lol, I cannot disagree:)
Why is it that every time a politician (regardless of political affiliation) leaves, people of the opposite political affiliation assume that it is because there must be a problem? This particular government will have been in power for over nine years. MacKay has been around the federal scene for almost twenty years and is only now pushing fifty years of age. At this stage, if he knows that he has peaked, what would be more natural than getting out?
@Lance says: May 29, 2015 at 4:51 pm
Because politics is a high-stakes, high-profile game. Peter MacKay the dad is a great story, but Peter MacKay the politician that flies all over the world, creates policy and is in our conversations every day? That’s akin to a drug, you keep wanting that spotlight and that responsibility.
People leaving Harper’s ship indicates (to me at least) that they don’t feel he has the ability to maintain a majority and that they don’t want to be embroiled in a new election a few months after a minority is elected.
There is no truth to the rumour that Trudy is trying to recruit Omar Khadr to run for the Liberals in Etobicoke. None at all.
Isn’t also entirely possible that he is stepping down now in hopes of running a leadership campaign later as an outsider? I think it’s been done before?
The man has always been a backstabbing fraud.
he sees money Bairds making and says why not!!! ..He wont do as well but like others – McKenna , Tobin , Harris, Prentice (I am sure he regrets leaving CIBC) these guys become millionaires fairly quickly…
smart enough to squeeze through the exits of evil just in time.
“Nice guy”?
Er, no.
A nice enough guy but never had the sang froid for politics. The CPC Reform union proved that pretty convincingly.
He angered and alienated a lot of red Tories when he shook hands with the devil and sold out the PCs for nothing. Now we have a country in disarray, wrecked by bad ideas and incompetent implementation. I would like to wish him well, but instead have to say, “Don’t let the helicopter door hit you in the ass on the way out.”
Certainly no loss for the nation with this one(!)
Good news of the Libs in Eastern Canada?
“Now we have a country in disarray, wrecked by bad ideas and incompetent implementation.”
Please, get real.
Where should I start…from a grain transportation system in disarray, bungled military procurement projects, endless chaos in immigration, a score of illegal crime bills struck down as unconstitutional, deadly food contamination outbreaks thanks to weakened food and meat inspection, wars lost in Afghanistan and Libya (ISIS just captured the home town of Qdaffi) an estimated 2.9 billion loss on GM shares (sold to make it look like the budget was balanced) and on and on and on. Pretty much everything our “trained economist” PM and college dropout ministers like Kenney have touched has turned into a $#!t sandwich. That’s what you get when you have a government run by people who’ve done nothing but work as lobbyists and politicians their entire adult lives.
Possibly an intelligent woman who is a human rights advocate has been chatting with her spouse about the direction that he has been taking recently in legislation and in what his organization’s record has been regarding human rights.
I don’t hang on every word that Irving Cotler says, but his observation that the Justice ministry ought to have some distance between itself and the government sounds bang on.
“Please, get real.”
Kelly was being real.
In so many ways.
Here’s one Warren might want to keep his eyes on. It’s going to be a factor in the election.
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/05/30/immigration-canada-snafus-causing-a-lot-of-misery.html
I have a feeling that McKay and Baird will come back after the election.
I also have a feeling that McKay and Baird know Conservative support isn’t what it used to be so they will wait this dance out and let the dust settle.
“Though not gone, he is forgotten.” – Coyne. Says it all.
Coyne said it best: “Though not gone, he is forgotten. We shall look upon his like again.”
The blood continues draining from the CPC caucus, drip, drip, drip. I’ve seen a spate of cabinet vacancies prior to an election before, and to me, it looks like they are done for.