Dented Blue Mercedes: C-279 Passes Third Reading (Hansard)

C-279 passed Third Reading, on a vote of 149 – 137. Aaron Wherry gives the early breakdown:

“Randall Garrison’s bill was supported by the New Democrats, the majority of Liberals (Judy Sgro and John McKay abstained), the Bloc Quebecois, Bruce Hyer, Elizabeth May and, by my unofficial count, 17 Conservative MPs: Erin O’Toole, Bernard Trottier, Terrence Young, David Wilks, Laurie Hawn, Michael Chong, Chris Alexander, Shelly Glover, Kellie Leitch, Cathy McLeod, Deepak Obhrai, Gerald Keddy, Jim Flaherty, John Baird, James Moore, Lisa Raitt and John Duncan.”

Before the Third Reading vote, there were three votes on clusters

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Alberta Diary: Why wait? Read 2013’s shocking political headlines right now on Alberta Diary!

The Dagny Taggarts, a synchronized skating team from Ottawa get ready to do their popular routine, “Where Is John Galt?” Defence Minister Joan Crockatt is in the front row, second from right. Below: Senator Tom Flanagan; U of C economics student Kim Jong-un, in full Calgary drag; Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk, ecstatic for his boss; and Nobel Prize winner Raj Sherman with the author. Actual events may not turn out exactly as predicted.

Why wait for 2013’s headlines when you can read them here on Alberta Dairy right now? In a spirit of transparency bordering on clairvoyance, Alberta Diary

. . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: Why wait? Read 2013’s shocking political headlines right now on Alberta Diary!

Leftist Jab: Worst Political Accusation of 2012: Rob Anders

Rob Anders will always have a future in the private sector at Sun News.

Quite possibly the quote of year comes from the immensely quotable Rob Anders:

I actually think one of the great stories that was missed by journalists was that Mr. Mulcair, with his arm twisted behind the scenes, helped to hasten Jack Layton’s death.

Here’s what you need to know of Conservative MP Rob Anders of the

Calgary Grit: Canada’s Greatest Losers

Last week, Martha Hall Findlay and Karen McCrimmon declared their candidacies for the Liberal leadership race. This week, George Takach has taken the plunge. I’ve posted one blog interview with David Merner, and will have others with David Bertschi and Alex Burton next week. Deborah Coyne, meanwhile, has already released more fresh ideas than we’ve seen from Stephen Harper during his entire tenure as Prime Minister. These are seven very different candidates with seven very different messages, but the one … . . . → Read More: Calgary Grit: Canada’s Greatest Losers

Politics and its Discontents: One of Nature’s Hidden Affronts

I assume this requires no commentary from me: H/t janfromthebruce Recommend this Post . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: One of Nature’s Hidden Affronts

Alberta Diary: Alberta Tories send feds a message, but keep their most dangerous enemies close

Friends close, enemies closer: Alberta Tories, left, send a message to their federal counterparts. Alberta political parties may not be exactly as anthropomorphized. Below: Premier Alison Redford, Niccolo Machiavelli. Proving you really can have it both ways, Premier Alison Redford’s Alberta Tories rapped the knuckles of their federal counterparts yesterday but kept their most dangerous … . . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: Alberta Tories send feds a message, but keep their most dangerous enemies close

daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Social Credit celebrates 77 years in government.

TweetCALGARY STAR-TRIBUNE In 1935, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ hit song “Cheek to Cheek” topped the music charts and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers became the first western Canadian team to win the Grey Cup. It was also the year that t… . . . → Read More: daveberta.ca – Alberta politics: Social Credit celebrates 77 years in government.

daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta PCs propose uninviting federal Tories to annual meetings.

TweetAn amendment proposed to the constitution of the Progressive Conservative Party by party supporters in Calgary-Glenmore would remove the automatic invitation and voting privileges of federal Conservative Party Members of Parliament at PC Party annual general meetings. The explanation for the proposed amendment was listed in documents circulated by the PC Party this week (pdf): The [...]

Alberta Diary: By-election watch: Calgary Centre Grits hope to benefit from Justin Trudeau’s reflected glow

Justin Trudeau passes through the Calgary Centre riding, as seen by the media. Actual Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Conservative Party candidate Joan Crockatt, still the front-runner in the by-election that hasn’t been called yet; Liberal candidate Harvey Locke looking outdoorsy; the real Mr. Trudeau.

With the federal Liberals suddenly looking as if they have a little momentum courtesy of the media’s incipient relapse of Trudeaumania, perhaps there’s the vaguest possibility of a horserace in the eventual Calgary Centre by-election.

At any rate, the Liberals have a respectable Calgary Centre candidate in

. . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: By-election watch: Calgary Centre Grits hope to benefit from Justin Trudeau’s reflected glow

Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Harper must kick Conservative MP Rob Anders out of office: Canadians

Here’s your chance to engage in the noble task of cleansing Canadian politics of incompetent, offensive and bigoted politicians. The likes of Conservative MP Rob Anders. Hundreds of Canadians have signed a petition by Calgary native Harris Kirshenbaum calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the government of Canada to kick the controversial Calgary West MP out of office. [...]

Slap Upside The Head: Rob Anders Says Something Stupid (Again)

My former MP, Rob Anders, a fierce opponent of “homosexual sex marriage,” has once again done something incredibly dumb. Rick Mercer explains it nicely.

Dented Blue Mercedes: MP’s trans predator fearmongering escalates.

On Friday, Sun News commentator Brian Lilley interviewed Rob Anders, the Member of Parliament who has drawn condemnation for conflating transsexual and transgender people with sexual predators in a petition he has been circulating on his website, and to at least one church in his riding. In “Children’s bathroom bill reaches Parliament Hill,” both doubled down on conflating trans people with sexual predators, and suggested that granting human rights inclusion will somehow enable and legally absolve predatory acts. Anders claims there is “all sorts of examples of this going on.” Which is news to anybody else.

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Dented Blue Mercedes: The Mask of Gender

Normally, I’m not one to promote something if I’m in it. That kind of thing is horribly self-aggrandizing. So I’ll apologize right off for doing that here.

But given the recent focus on trans issues due to the comments made by Rob Anders, I thought it would be a good moment to give average Canadians a chance to get to know a little bit about trans people, and why clear human rights inclusion is necessary. This is a documentary that was put together last year, and features people in Calgary and the greater Calgary area.

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Montreal Simon: Rob Anders and the Reform Party Reborn

Oh. My. Zombie. I'm afraid that Rob Anders is entering the final stages of his earthly degradation.Just a few days ago that grotesque Con was accusing Tom Mulcair of killing Jack Layton.Now he's going after the human rights of transgendered Canadians.Read more »

Dented Blue Mercedes: Rob Anders, the transsexual bogeyman, and the weird phenomenon of MPs petitioning their constituents.

Rob Anders is on a mission. Hot on the heels of having to halfway apologize for alleging that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair drove former NDP leader Jack Layton to his grave, Anders is now sending at least one church (possibly more) a letter asking them to petition MPs to oppose Bill C-279, which would (in its current form) extend human rights protections to transsexual and transgender people. You’d almost think he needs an easy deflection, and trans people are the punching bag du jour.

It must be important, too. For a Member of Parliament who has

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Trashy's World: Rob Anders is a buffoon, part 346!

Yup, big Rob is at it again! This time he is trying to stop transgender folks from using women’s washrooms. Seems that this is a huge problem in his world. You know that world – the one with green skies, angels and dragons? That one. Gotta say, though, he’s great fodder for blog posts! Thanks, [...]

Montreal Simon: Harperland and the Foulness of the Cons

Sometimes these days when I go looking for my Canada, strong, noble, and decent, I can't find it.Instead of a young country charging confidently into the future, I see a country full of angry, bitter, crazed Cons, filling up with hatred, and heading for the bottom. Instead of the cool, fresh wind of the Canadian fall in my face, there is the stink of Harperland, and foul stench of Rob Anders.Read more »

Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Conservative MP Rob Anders: Thomas Mulcair Hastened Jack Layton’s Death

Conservative MP Rob Anders is “a politician who isn’t afraid to speak his mind”. Supposedly. He once called South African anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela, a “terrorist“. But this time, the Calgary West MP went too far. During an interview with iPolitics’ Laura Stone, Anders suggested that NDP Leader, Thomas Mulcair, helped push Jack Layton into an early grave. This is [...]

Politics and its Discontents: Like That Embarrassing Relative At Thanksgiving Dinner

That’s who Calgary West Conservative M.P. reminds me of. You know, like the slightly off uncle who says embarrassing and inappropriate things at family get-togethers that cause the rest of the guests to cringe, stare off into the distance, and quickly try to change the topic.

Well, the Tory exemplar who once accused Nelson Mandela of being a terrorist is at it again, this time suggesting that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair helped to hasten Jack Layton’s death.

This kind of lunacy must give pause to even the staunchest of believer.

Oh, and in case you forgot, Anders is also

Calgary Grit: Vote Out Anders – Part 84

Only Rob Anders has this theory, because he pays closer attention to the House of Commons than anyone else.

At least when Rob Anders is sleeping, he can’t say anything too offensive:

And so, [Anders] has a theory.

“I actually think one of the great stories that was missed by journalists was that Mr. Mulcair, with his arm twisted behind the scenes, helped to hasten Jack Layton’s death,” he said.

“It was very clear to me watching the two of those gentlemen in the front benches, that Jack Layton was ill and that Mr. Mulcair was making it

. . . → Read More: Calgary Grit: Vote Out Anders – Part 84

Alberta Diary: Does Bizarre Bethune brouhaha signal ideological rift within Harper Conservatives?

Communist physician Norman Bethune, left, and a comrade from the Red Chinese Army speak with Canadian Treasury Board President Tony Clement, right, in a vignette as imagined by Sun News Network. Below: Dr. Bethune, looking weirdly contemporary with a fashionable goatee; far-right ideologue Rob Anders; the real Mr. Clement.

Is the bizarre brouhaha over who stood up for the Chinese national anthem and what its words are evidence of a serious ideological split within Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ruling Conservative Party of Canada?

If you think stuff like that only matters in places like Communist China and North Korea, maybe

. . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: Does Bizarre Bethune brouhaha signal ideological rift within Harper Conservatives?

Trashy's World: And so it begins…

Thanks, Rob. OTTAWA — An outspoken Alberta Conservative MP is condemning his own government’s decision to spend $2.5 million on a new visitor centre honouring Canadian doctor and communist supporter Norman Bethune. Calgary Tory MP Rob Anders said Thursday the Harper government should not be using taxpayer dollars to fund a facility dedicated to someone [...]

Calgary Grit: Riding Talk

The electoral commission could have saved us a lot of time by painting this map blue

The new riding maps are out! The new riding maps are out! It’s Christmas in July for political geeks!

As you may be aware, new riding boundaries will be in place for the 2015 election, and the commissions tasked with drawing said ridings have begun releasing them. Yesterday, the proposed Alberta maps were published, following up Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and British Columbia.

While riding changes inevitably lead to squawks of protest, my first reaction to the Alberta map is almost completely positive.

. . . → Read More: Calgary Grit: Riding Talk

daveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: did jason kenney deepen the conservative divide in calgary-centre?

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In light of yesterday’s embarrassing missive by federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney about Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk, the race to become the Conservative Party candidate in the yet to be called Calgary-Centre by-election may get more interesting. Suggestions that the by-election could be defined by the deep schism between federal Conservatives (many of whom support the Wildrose Party) and the long-governing provincial Progressive Conservatives may soon become a reality in the lead up to the Conservative Party nomination.

Three in. The Conservative nomination contest.

Alderman John Mar

Conservative political pundit and former Calgary Herald editor Joan Crockatt

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David Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: What kind of message will Alison Redford send Stephen Harper in the next federal election?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Calgary West MP Rob Anders plot the destruction of Alberta Premier Alison Redford and her Progressive Conservative Party. Warning: neo-Con Alberta politicians may not have been scheming when this photo was taken. Then again… Below: a very creepy CP picture of Rob and Steve all dressed up with nowhere to go; Andrew Constantinidis; Tim Dyck.

The probability is very high that the next Canadian federal election will happen before the next Alberta provincial vote.

So, will Premier Alison Redford’s Tories just sit on their hands? Or will they get out and actively work against Prime

. . . → Read More: David Climenhaga’s Alberta Diary: What kind of message will Alison Redford send Stephen Harper in the next federal election?