Sunday, June 26, 2005

Was There A Landslide Somewhere Else?

Why, oh why, did it take Anne McLellan so long to tour the flood damage in Calgary in southern Alberta? Paul Martin had valid business to attend to, so it’s understandable that he couldn’t come until now. But Anne McLellan is the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Given that there aren’t a lot of other emergencies in Canada right now (save perhaps the ongoing NHL lock-out), it strikes me as odd that the minister responsible for disasters and the Senior Political Minister for Alberta (well, the only Minister - and only MP - for Alberta) would wait until now to come see the flood damage.

I imagine next weekend she will be off to see the damage from Hurricane Ivan in Nova Scotia and then she’ll be off to tour Ice Storm damage in Quebec.

posted by calgarygrit at 3:20 a.m.

16 Comments:

  • Do you Albertans really need the feds to come and hold their hand? C'mon, what is the point of having Paul or Anne show up? What are they really going to do besides smile for the camera and exclaim, "Damn, that's a lot of water." They can do that by just watching the TV in Ottawa. As long as the people who know what to do in these situations are on the job, there's really no need for the politicians to stick their noses into it.

    By Blogger Robert McClelland, at 8:52 a.m.  

  • I think it's important for officials like Paul Martin and Anne McLellan to show up, to at least show that they care.

    I send my prayers to the people of Alberta.

    By Blogger James Bow, at 9:54 a.m.  

  • _Looking for The Great McLellan? Join the club.
    http://classicquarters.blogspot.com/2004/12/anne-mclellan-is-dead.html
    _She's been M.I.A. for years.

    By Blogger CQ, at 10:28 a.m.  

  • Anne has a tin ear. Her response to requests for an inquiry following the Air India verdict were less than impressive.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:34 p.m.  

  • I'm thinking the reason might be that Anne's functionality as a MP might have unfortunately overrided her other duties. Like you seem to be, I was hoping that they would go to Alberta early with much fanfare, and found the Liberals actions (or lack thereof) frustrating. But it seems they were really just focused on getting the budget bill passed, and they needed every MP available in order to spring the trap that eventually got them (and Canadians) the budget.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:37 p.m.  

  • It's bologna that Paul Martin couldn't make it. Nealenews links to a blog with a very good post on the subject:
    http://wakinguponplanetx.blogspot.com/2005/06/martin-insults-albertans-intelligence.html

    And yet there still are people in Alberta that vote Liberal. Mind-boggling.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:16 p.m.  

  • Did Harper make it over?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:18 p.m.  

  • " Did Harper make it over?"

    Did Harper have any concrete assistance to provide? Could Harper mobilize the resources of the Canadian Government?

    Oh, I forgot - that's the government's job, isn't it?

    Dean

    By Blogger deaner, at 9:11 p.m.  

  • Wow,

    Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

    PM and Screeching Annie are pilloried because they don't come to Alberta to tour the floods or offer assitance right away.

    But had they come right away, they same guys whining about it here would be talking about 'Liberal opportunism' or 'trying to gain political points from a tragedy' and the other claptrap we've heard before.

    I am not a Liberal supporter, but lets be fair - King Ralph has never asked for help from the feds on this. Why aren't you guys upset with him?

    Oh, that's right, he's a Conservative. Now who's using a tragedy for cheap political points?

    Shame on the lot of you.

    By Blogger Mike, at 9:27 p.m.  

  • Harper came the previous weekend for what it's worth.

    I'm generally not big on politicians running around for cheap photo ops, but the fact is this is McLellan's portfolio and she's the senior minister for Alberta. It seems like a no-brainer for her to visit.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 12:32 a.m.  

  • Grit? ... is that one of them thieving Librano things?

    Yuk... browser contamination...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:36 a.m.  

  • "Did Harper make it over?"

    Harper viewed the flood damage on June 10th.

    "But had they come right away, they same guys whining about it here would be talking about 'Liberal opportunism' or 'trying to gain political points from a tragedy' and the other claptrap we've heard before."

    No, had they come to Alberta to meet with residents and see the damage rather than a photo op (like Harper did) no one would have complained. But that would mean that they actually care...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:39 a.m.  

  • ooops! "only MP - for Alberta"?

    I am sure you meant, only Librano MP! There are plenty of MPs for Alberta in the Commons.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:25 a.m.  

  • How many times last week was there a hue and cry about the possibility of a snap vote at any time? A photo op in a drenched basement takes second place to making sure the government doesn't fall because you weren't around the register a House of Commons vote.

    By Blogger Michael, at 12:05 p.m.  

  • " How many times last week was there a hue and cry about the possibility of a snap vote at any time?"

    hmm, let's see.

    V-E day (late) celebration - PMPM took all opposition leaders, removing the threat to his illegitimate government

    Ireland/Air India memorial - PMPM took all opposition leaders, removing the threat to his illegitimate government

    I call bullshit. check my blog aka his daytimer.

    He had time, he just doesn't give a damn. Nor does the Screech.

    Enjoy her while she lasts...

    By Blogger Candace, at 2:10 a.m.  

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