I react with horror and alarm as a giant disembodied hand prepares to high-five the Prime Ministerial forehead.

Comments (13)

Here:

A prominent Progressive Conservative who sat on a variety of ORNGE boards and gave a consultancy job to founder Chris Mazza’s girlfriend told a hearing probing the air ambulance scandal he resigned when he found out about Mazza’s salary.

Pathway Group’s Kelly Mitchell, who was involved in PC Leader Tim Hudak’s election campaign, said his first experience with being a board member was at ORNGE. He sat on half-a-dozen ORNGE public and for-profit company boards.

And:

Liberal MPP David Zimmer quizzed Mitchell on why he hired Kelly Long to be a consultant.

Long, a former waitress and water-ski instructor, was a Pathway consultant at ORNGE who later moved up to an associate vice-president job at the scandal plagued agency.

Mitchell told reporters Mazza gave him Kelly Long’s name.

And:

In 2008, Mitchell was also the campaign chair for Conservative Tony Clement, who is now head of the federal Treasury Board.

And, what a total coincidence! Ornge’s lawyers were Lynne Golding! And Guy Giorno! And former Mike Harris “policy analyst” Perry Martin!  All card-carrying, big-wig Conservatives!

Isn’t that coincidence interesting?

Comments (5)

Wonder if he got asked about his senior advisor getting tens of thousands from Ornge? He will today, if not.

Comments (4)

Many years ago, while Conservatives were still the government, an Ontario PC lobbyist introduced me to Chris Mazza. Mazza was a Toronto doctor hoping to set up an air ambulance service.

He was also, the Con told me, a hardcore Conservative supporter. He and his chief fart-catcher – another Conservative partisan, named Dr. Blum – met me and described their plans for their empire. They also expressed the fervent hope Ontario Liberals would never form government.

I thought they were nut cases, and never ran into them again. In the past few months, of course, I’ve heard all about their exploits. And about their use of card-carrying Conservative campaign managers and lobbyists and lawyers.

This morning, we now see why Tim Hudak’s minions tried to use QP yesterday to slime Liberals, and friends of Liberals.

They knew what was coming.

Mazza, a water ski enthusiast, had met and become close friends with Long, a former water ski instructor who worked as an account manager at a Newmarket water ski club.

Kelly Mitchell, one of the Pathway Group partners, received a call from Mazza in October 2005, asking him if he would hire a young woman to work as a consultant.

Mitchell did not need a new consultant, but — eager to continue doing business with ORNGE — he decided to do Mazza a favour. He interviewed Long in December 2005 and hired her with a start date of early January 2006…

The contract, between Ontario Air Ambulance (which became ORNGE) and Pathway Group, provides the full-time services of a Pathway employee (Long) on a secondment basis starting August 15, 2006. Pathway was paid $8,836 plus GST each month, along with all approved expenses, the contract states.
 

Comments (5)

From Fraser Allison, at frasman@shaw.ca:

Occasionally, while having a coffee at a Second Cup and having nothing better to do, I have a look through the Calgary Sun ‘newspaper’. I noted your photo in your column and it seems that you have a very large mis-shapen head (forehead in particular) which leads me to believe that you may have been the result of an abortion gone wrong. Is this why you are so concerned with the abortion issue or is it just some of your left wing liberal crap that you spew forth on a regular basis?
 

Comments (41)

…but not down the memory hole.  From a year ago:

The NDP got its first taste of the perils of prominence Wednesday after being forced to handle two public relations disasters as the newly elected Official Opposition.

While MP-elect Ruth Ellen Brosseau was scrutinized for allegedly filing falsified nomination papers in Quebec, deputy leader of the NDP, Thomas Mulcair, drew gasps when he said he does not believe the United States government has photographs of terrorist Osama bin Laden. He also hinted there may be “more going on,” behind the scenes of his assassination than the U.S. is making known.

“I don’t think, from what I’ve heard, that those pictures exist. And if they do, I’ll leave that up to the American military,” Mr. Mulcair said during an appearance on the CBC TV’s Power and Politics Wednesday.

Asked again whether he thinks the photos exist, Mr. Mulcair said: “No, I don’t think they do. If they’ve got pictures of a cadaver, there’s probably more going on than we suspect in what happened there.”

Comments (20)

Say what you said in the Leg outside, coward.  We dare you.

UPDATE:  She’s responded, here.

Comments (10)

Nearly one year after the election that finally saw them capture their much-desired parliamentary majority, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has become remarkable for being unremarkable.

Apart from killing off the long-gun registry (which was promised), musing about changes to Old Age Security (which wasn’t), and handing out pink slips to some public servants (which should surprise no one), the Harper government hasn’t done much of significance. Until last week, that is.

Last week, one of the trained seals who populate the Conservative backbench summoned the courage to re-open the abortion debate. Stephen Woodworth, the social conservative who represents Kitchener Centre — and who previously achieved distinction for making a joke on Twitter about a drunk who feared he was “crippled” — offered up a private member’s bill that would review when a human being becomes one. At the moment of birth, as Criminal Code declares — or in the womb, as Woodworth believes.

A year after their big election win, it isn’t at all noteworthy that one of Harper’s followers is attempting to re-criminalize abortion. Quite a few of us predicted a Conservative would table a private member’s bill to dilute reproductive rights.

A year later, however, something is indeed noteworthy. Specifically, how Harper and his executive reacted to Woodworth’s motion.

Quite a few of us didn’t see it coming, at all.

Comments (41)

Check this out:

“Mayor Rob Ford says he will work to defeat the Liberal candidate in the crucial provincial byelection in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Ford, a proud supporter of the Progressive Conservatives, threatened last year to unleash “Ford Nation” on Premier Dalton McGuinty if McGuinty did not accept his request for more funding for the city. On his NewsTalk 1010 radio show on Sunday, Ford was far more partisan.

“There is going to be a byelection out in Kitchener-Waterloo, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure a certain party does not win so they don’t get a majority government,” he said. “We cannot let the Liberals run this province like they are. (They’re) giving us very little respect.”

I’m torn on this one.  On the one hand, the mere existence of this porcine mouth-breather, and his desire for a far-Right hat trick, led to the Hudak PCs being entirely shut out of Toronto last Fall.  Then, on the other hand, this guy is supposed to be the Mayor for all the people – not just, you know, racist and homophobic white trash.

What say you, O readers of mine?  Helpful or not? I’m leaning towards the former.  You?

Comments (30)

You remember Herb Tarlek, don’t you? Well, Herb lives, to this day, in the Earthly form of Frank Klees, Tea Party North MPP.  He does: they look the same, they dress the same, they think the same. Herb/Frank this morning declared that he intended to keep the bells ringing at the Ontario Legislature, until he gets what he wants in the Ornge mess – said mess having been entirely conceived, directed, and staffed by partisan Conservatives.

Herb/Frank wants more hearings so he can call more witnesses. So, here, once again, is one of Herb/Frank’s “star” witnesses on YouTube, now watched by more than 1,000 folks. It’s perhaps the most amazing bit of footage in Canadian politics so far this year – and it fully explains why the Ontario PCs blew a double-digit lead last Fall, lost the election, and are now losing the likes of Liz Witmer.  Because they’re idiots.

Take it away, Herb/Frank!

Comments (10)