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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Good riddance to Brodie
It seems Ian Brodie is out as Prime Minister Harper's Chief of Staff and Guy Giorno is in.
Hallelujah!
Let's face it, Brodie – an academic – was out of his league in the rough and tumble world of federal politics.
And while his "NAFTA-gate" gaffe was what probably did him in, he could just as easily been canned both for his general incompetence and for his disdain for true conservatives.
It's also good to see that his replacement will be Giorno, a former Mike Harris staffer.
Will things change dramatically in the Harper government because Brodie is gone?
Probably not.
But at least, this is a step in the right direction.
Posted by Gerry Nicholls on May 22, 2008 | Permalink
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Comments
I am not as quick to condemn Brodie.
As a an original Ontario Reformer, I recall Brodie while he was a Prof at Western in London and find it hard to believe he would ever lose his conservative bent as Jerry accuses him.
As for Giorno I will wait and see, because if he was advising Harris during Harris's last mandate, either Harris wasn't listening to Giorno or Giorno wasn't giving Harris good advice.
The skinny that Giorno is palsy with former Harris Red Tory MP's ( currently in Harper's cabinet) strikes me as a rear guard movement against Harper.
Any Conservative who could write pieces for the Red Toronto Star as a conservative, is suspect as a true Blue conservative in my view.
Posted by: Joe Molnar | 2008-05-22 9:23:21 AM
I saw Guy Giorno speak in Calgary. (I think the NCC hosted the event.) I was very impressed. He has a sharp mind for strategy and seems to be a genuine small government advocate.
That being written, I've heard only good things about Brodie and think the Harper government has been run very well as far administration and communication are concerned.
On policy, it's been a disaster, but that's politics I guess. I’m told to be patient, but I’m not seeing any incremental improvements. However, I am seeing some very sad moves to expand the size and scope of government: Bill C-10 (Film Tax Credits), Bill C-51 (Alternative Health Care Supplements), Bill C-33 (Biofuel mandates and subsidies), etc, etc, etc.
Posted by: Matthew Johnston | 2008-05-22 9:36:10 AM
Good riddance to Brodie? I beg to differ. He's been a linchpin to the operation of this government.
I agree that policy-wise, this government hasn't been something to get overly excited about, but in terms of message discipline? Unparalleled. So he made one error with the Obama thing - nobody's perfect.
All this said, Guy Giorno is solid also so no worries there!
Posted by: ALW | 2008-05-22 10:05:13 AM
Bill C-10 expands the criteria upon which the government can decide to refuse spending taxpayer dollars on projects that the government believes the taxpayer would not want his/her money going towards, reducing the size of government. A little bit. Not a lot, but a little.
Posted by: Anonymous | 2008-05-22 6:58:28 PM
Bill C-10 has nothing to do with "spending taxpayer dollars." It's a tax credit, not a subsidy.
All it does is consolidate power in the office of Canadian Heritage to decide whether or not a film is consistent with public policy.
Raise the tax credit to 100%, get the government out of the business of propaganda, and eliminate all direct film subsidies.
Posted by: Matthew Johnston | 2008-05-22 7:14:59 PM
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