David Emerson: Media Watch
As David Emerson – illegitimately in the eyes of most observers – takes his seat in the House of Commons, elsewhere in Canada citizens continue to demand his resignation. His response? He holds us all in contempt and declares ”I don’t care.”
April 4 (Rick Smith, Thunder Bay’s Source) One Man’s Opinion – Democracy
We think our young people are being killed and maimed in Afghanistan so we can introduce those people to democracy and the great Canadian slash American way. Why donât we try to restore democracy to this country first? Do you know that only 36% of Canadians say this country is governed by the will of the people? And the survey that turned up that sentiment was conducted long before Stephen Harper and David Emerson displayed their disgusting disregard for democracy and the will of the people.
That same survey results tell us that half of us donât trust the politicians we elect. And why should we?
Its clear that Harper and Emerson consider the Canadian people as a mere annoyance.
April 4 (CP, National Post) Emerson urged to ‘call home’
He said Emerson won’t agree to a public meeting over his defection and dismisses protests as the work of partisan activists.
“I know most of the people who have been involved in these protest campaigns and I know for a fact that they are ordinary citizens who want to exercise their right to speak to their member of Parliament,” Pereda said.
April 4 (Canadian Press, Hamilton Spectator) Protest in plane sight for Emerson
MPs arriving for the opening of Parliament were greeted by a small plane circling overhead towing a banner reading “David Emerson: call home.”
“Regardless of what Harper says, regardless of what the ethics commissioner says, this is a moral issue,” Pereda stressed. “Politicians should not be allowed to cross the floor the day after they got elected.”
April 4 (Alan Findlay, Ottawa Sun) Protesters buzz about the House
Also carried in the Toronto Sun and Edmonton Sun
April 3 (CBC News) Emerson recall protest takes to the sky
“We’ve been receiving e-mails from all across Canada. People want us to send lawn signs, just ordinary people who want to participate in this because they see they also have something at stake,” he said. “They see that they have a very small voice. We only get to elect one member of Parliament, and when that one member of Parliament crosses the floor, the value of our vote becomes zero.”
CBC B.C. Almanac’s Mark Forsythe speaks with Maneul Pereda and takes calls – Real Audio
April 4 (CP, Toronto Sun) Turner seated in Tory ‘Siberia’
OTTAWA—Tory MP Garth Turner, who managed to get labelled a maverick even before Parliament met, has been banished to the Commons equivalent of Siberia in the new seating plan.
He got himself into hot water with his party just days after the election when he criticized David Emerson’s defection from the Liberals to Stephen Harper’s cabinet.
In his latest blog posting, he said he understands his critics. “I have spoken my mind since being elected, and repeatedly stated who I am working for, which is the voters and not my party,” he wrote.
Turner is one of the few MP’s in the House of Commons that appears to really get it. He works for the people, not the prime minister. Emerson should be working for, and listening to, his people, not the business elite of British Columbia.
April 4 (Neil Waugh, Edmonton Sun) It’s trouble all over
Yesterday, while Conservative MPs were filing back into the House of Commons, a wise guy rented an airplane with a banner that read “David Emerson – Call Home.”
Emerson has been hounded by his former Vancouver Liberal and NDP constituents since he crossed the floor. And the former forest company CEO got a cabinet job for doing it. My man Myron Thompson didn’t. There is no justice.
Meanwhile, Emerson stopped making public appearances when the heat started.
April 4 (Editorial, The Montreal Gazette) Honeymoon is over as Tories get to work
What can we say about the Conservative time in office so far? Nothing much, actually. New governments traditionally get a honeymoon with the public, if only because ministers are too busy learning their files to implement many controversial decisions. So it is with Harper’s lean cabinet. The surprise appointment of David Emerson was a nine-day wonder in the media, although it must be said that the anger will last much longer in the turncoat minister’s Vancouver riding.