Mood:
a-okTopic: Politics
Anyone remember a star politician named Belinda Stronach?
The woman National Posts once called: " most powerful businesswoman in Canada"?
The same one who earned the World Economic Forums title a "Global Leader of Tomorrow" ?
Fortune Magazines ranking her #2 in its list of the world's most powerful women in business in 2002?
One of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40"? One of Time Magazines world's 100 most influential people?
They almost seemed to bleed the virtual ink from politico-tab style
reporting rags dry
with their marriage imbroglio followed by, (or in tandem with? I ferget) Belindas crossing of the Parliament floor over to the Liberals.
Since all that has passed Stronach announced that she would not seek re-election, but will remain in Parliament until the next election before returning to her fathers company as Exec Vice Chair and to spend more time with her growing children, and the creation of a personal foundation to end poverty and disease in Africa.
But a vacant spot would still be left in the Toronto area riding that was hers.
Well, at least that vacant position was still open as of yesterday.
Because as of now
it has been filled by Tim Jones, a municipal political and government veteran.
http://www.yorkregion.com/article/65268
Meanwhile in another far off corner of the political field call if left if youre game
but another former Conservative is considering the same course as Belinda.
This one was ousted from the PC's apparently for choosing to speak out on policy
matters that were "at odds" with the the priorities with Stephen Harpers minority government.
Hmh. Maybe poverty, AIDS and homelessness are not exactly priorities with
the new government which is always constantly drawing its comparisons for progress against the old one. What a margin.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/280572
So we'll all have to wait and see if theres going to be a new star in the race.
But I imagine that the prospect of election 2008 no longer is starting to look like such a daunting task to many Liberals.
In fact I'll bet theres lots of young up and comers willing to rise to the occasion.
But can we get them to actually vote? Or run?
- -- - - - - -
While North East'er storms might be one for the weather record books, heres one for the historical recordbooks. IN the footnotes
categories that is...
Mon, December 17, 2007
Bad weather and cancelled flights combine to keep him from today's Canadian Club session.
In a Toronto Star interview published January 8, 2005, Stronach confirmed that she was dating deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay. After she left the Conservative Party, the Canadian Press reported that she and MacKay were taking "a break from their relationship". The National Post reported that MacKay was "gobsmacked" by her decision to join the Liberals. In October 2006, there was further fallout from this relationship, when backbench MP Mark Holland said that a Liberal colleague, David McGuinty asked MacKay about the impact of pollution on humans and animals by asking, "What about your dog?", in a joking manner (MacKay had been featured allegedly "posing" with his dog in the National Post newspaper after Stronach's defection). That is when Holland claims that MacKay made reference to Stronach's empty chair (as she was absent that day) and said "You already have her". Holland lodged a complaint with the Commons Speaker and demanded an apology be made by MacKay. In an interview with the press the following day, Stronach said that the comment is disrespectful not only to her, but to women and Canadians. She demanded an apology herself, which she would accept if given. MacKay has denied directly referring to Stronach as a "dog".[3] The alleged comment was not heard by Speaker of the House Peter Milliken and it was not recorded in the official Hansard. Afterwards, Milliken and his staff said that he could not hear the remarks on the tape recording.[4].- Thanks Wik.
