The Liberal Cabinet Shuffle Shows Real Promise

Michael Ignatieff has made some changes to his shadow cabinet, and I think they are very good choices.

I had an opportunity to hear Scott Brison speak in Kingston awhile back, my very first Liberal function, and I was very impressed. He is articulate and funny and very bright. He will make a great finance critic and hopefully, in the fall, our next finance minister.

The Conservatives really shot themselves in the foot when their homophobia drove him from their ranks.

David McGuinty will give John Baird a run for his money, as he is painfully aware of how corrupt the Mike Harris boys were. He'll keep them on their toes.

And then there's Justin Trudeau. What a cutie.

But don't let his good looks fool you. He's smart as hell, and has been spending a great deal of time encouraging Canada's youth to get involved in the political process. And pitting him against Jason Kenney. Brilliant.

And while we're on the subject of cuties and smart people, Gerard Kennedy is now the environment watchdog.

Gerard had a huge success last winter putting in hundreds of hours of work, with an army of volunteers calling municipalities across the country to expose the government's incompetence on stimulus spending. Rumour has it there is an Environment Minister in the current Harper cabinet - though nobody can actually prove it to be the case. I expect Gerard to raise the heat on whoever he/she may be this session for the total lack of a Canadian climate change policy.

Gerard was once in the Ontario legislature, and is also familiar of the way the Harrisites operate. This should be fun.

And if these three hotties can't bring a little excitement to political debate, nothing will.

However, they are not just pretty faces. They are all smart, hard-working, and in a battle of wits against Harper's crew, these guys are holding all the ammunition.

And other good choices:

Ralph Goodale will be deputy leader, Dr. Carolyn Bennett will be in charge of democratic reform and Dennis Coderre will be the Natural Resources critic.

Yeah For Scott Brison Whose Talents Have not Gone Unnoticed

I really like Scott Brison. He's very bright.

I heard him speak in Kingston, and while I made an idiot of myself and almost gave the poor man a heart attack, I came away feeling confident that I had picked the right team.

We Liberals reaped the benefit of his former party's homophobia. You may remember that he crossed the floor because of the way that he was being treated by Harper's Reformers.

Scott Brison gets Davos nod
Jane Taber
January 27, 2010

It’s unlikely that Scott Brison, the Nova Scotia Liberal MP, ever imagined himself on stage with Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, and Conservative leader David Cameron, who everyone assumes will be the next British Prime Minister, when he was running his mini-fridge rental business as a young entrepreneur at Dalhousie University. But he’ll do just that on Friday in Davos, Switzerland. ...

Everything I Wanted to Learn from Scott Brison But Was too Afraid to Ask

On June 3, Liberal MP Scott Brison, was the guest speaker at a Townhall meeting in Kingston, Ontario.

I had been looking forward to the event for weeks, studying his resume and creating what I thought would be intelligent questions, that I could present to the Critic for International Trade.

I was going to get a picture with him to post on my facebook, and give a glowing report of our exchange of ideas.

But when the big day finally arrived, I started having second thoughts, and developed a case of nerves.

What was wrong with me? I've never been one to be star struck. I once bumped into Dan Ackroyd, literally, and after an exchange of pleasantries and demands for the name of my lawyer, he asked if I would like an autograph.

I replied; "No thank you." He chuckled and walked away, while I banged myself on the forehead "Idiot, idiot, idiot." Why didn't I take the damn autograph? I could have thrown it in the trash or given it to someone. I like Dan Ackroyd, but autograph seeking has never been my thing.

However, with Mr. Brison it was different. He is smart and I have always been intimidated by smart. What if I asked my question and he realized that I was a fraud? What if he demanded I return my recently acquired Liberal membership card, and cut it up in front of me?

But after a bit of soul searching and a lot of booze (kidding, I don't drink, but really wish I did at that point), I mustered up my courage and headed for the local City Hall.

Making my way through the coiffed and well dressed crowd, I plonked down in the front row, tucked my $20.00 Payless shoes under the seat and carefully placed my notebook over the stain on my pants, determined not to be thrown off by anything.

Mr. Brison finally arrived, only very fashionably late (the day's session didn't end until 4:30 and he had to be in Kingston by 7), and I was immediately impressed with his warmth. Rather than taking his seat at the table where a microphone was placed, he grabbed the mike and stood facing the crowd, as he gave a short speech.

He then opened the floor to questions, and I could feel my hand wanting to go up, but for some reason, it refused to move.

Fortunately a gentleman on the other side of the room arose and after citing facts and figures, posed an intelligent query on what Canada's position would be on whatever those facts and figures were.

Through glazed eyes, I looked down at my notebook and realized that 'boxers or briefs' just wasn't going to cut it.

The rest of the evening continued in much the same way. People cited their visits to Africa and South America; their studies and their life experiences and Mr. Brison was spot on in his answers, never faltering.

He joked and inspired, and the audience was captivated. I just sat on my hands and pretended to be invisible.

At one point, when he was discussing a program, whereby the brightest university students would be given an opportunity to work abroad for a year in a mentoring program, I wanted to ask 'but wouldn't that mean they were just visiting'? But I didn't. At least I assume I didn't, because he had already moved on to another topic.

So I continued to sit on my hands, deciding to wait for the promised 'meet and greet', that would take place when the formal question period was over.

I dutifully stood in line, got my camera out of my purse, accidentally snapped a picture of my foot, and charged out the front door.

Later, however, I found an opportunity to finally engage him in conversation. I was waiting for my ride when he and his aid came out the front door. Standing in the shadows, I finally found my voice and blurted out 'Bye', perhaps a little louder than I intended.

The poor guy jumped about three feet, but when he realized that I wasn't armed, graciously extended his hand. I may or may not have said something else, but I doubt it.

As Mr. Brison finally drove away, I banged myself on the forehead "Idiot, idiot, idiot."

More Postings on Scott Brison:

1. Are Gay Politicians Cool Now? I Love This Story.