2004 - the political year that was - Page 2

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Dec 31, 2004

9. Conservatives merge - elect Stephen Harper.

In an outcome that surprised exactly no one, the fledgling Conservative Party of Canada placed Stephen Harper on the leadership pedestal, hoping to have finally found a candidate who the all-important Ontarian voters would not see as backwoods hick. To date, it hasn't helped. While Harper certainly presents a more moderate image than say, Stockwell Day at the helm of the previous Canadian Alliance Party, the degree of moderation was viewed only slightly less skeptically by the central Canadian masses needed to get a party into government.

8. Svend Robinson takes flight.

Many Canadians already view politicians as thieves and crooks but this year longtime New Democrat MP Svend Robinson abandoned the subtlety of usual government largesse and "pocketed" an expensive diamond ring at a jewelry auction in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. After tearfully confessing his Section 322 sins, and returning the pilfered loot, Robinson departed public life on stress leave.

7. Sex, sex and same sex.

Proving yet again that politics moves at the speed of a dead turtle, the issue of same sex marriage, already on last year's list of big political issues [http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/cana... ] found its way into the news again, with the indecisive federal government turning to the Supreme Court of Canada for non-binding legal opinion on whether or not existing marriage laws are constitutional, and please, pretty please, tell us what we should do.

6. Those crazy cows and wacky wood problems

Mad Cow disease made its way back into the political arena, alongside its other tiresome trade issue of softwood lumber trade penalties. While Mad Cow disease has little to do with government initiative or lack thereof, the government's inability to successfully negotiate a timely re-opening of the beef trade between Canada and the US raised the ire of ranchers everywhere. And softwood lumber? We'll get back to you.

5. Prime Minister Martin leads the Liberals to victory....err...sort of

As if to underscore the under whelming confidence Canadians felt in their new leader, Martin won his first election as leader of the federal Liberal party with barely enough members of parliament to form the government, and tossed Canada back into a minority government at the federal level for the first time in twenty-five years [http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/cana... ] . Any hope the new minority situation would result in a more cooperative, collaborative approach to governance quickly evaporated. If the government survives through 2005, count on another election sometime in 2006.

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