Politics on TV: The three things you need to see
38-year-old homeless tour guide Karim stands at the Prague’s main railway station during his tour in Prague November 20, 2012. Karim works for a student-run tour agency Pragulic as a tour guide that shows tourists the sides of Prague that sightseers would normally avoid. Picture taken November 20, 2012. To match CZECH-HOMELESS/TOUR REUTERS/Petr Josek (CZECH REPUBLIC – Tags: SOCIETY POVERTY TRAVEL)
Here are the three things you should not have missed:
Power Play spoke with Bloc Québécois leader Daniel Paillé about his newest MP, former NDP MP Claude Patry, after Patry crossed the floor that morning. Paillé said he knew Patry was a sovereigntist, and that he was unhappy with the NDP’s “Unity” bill, and that he also felt that any future referendum is the purview of the Quebec’s National Assembly. Paillé said Patry crossed the floor for his personal convictions, that he knows there are others in the NDP who are also sovereigntists that he would welcome, and added that the Patry’s vote on the NDP motion to force floor-crossers to run in a by-election was a whipped vote. Later on Power & Politics, NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen called Patry’s move “bizarre,” said that he didn’t see it coming, and reminded Patry of his vote to run in a by-election if there was a floor crossing.
Power & Politics spoke with Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page about his report on the planned Joint Support Ships. Page’s report says that while the original plan had called for three ships, only two are now planned, with a budget of $2.6 billion, though his figures say that figure should be closer to $3.3 billion, but recommends $4.1 to build in prudence. Page said that the planned requirements for the ships – core replenishment, airlift capacity, hospital facilities and so on – can’t be had for the $2.6 billion figure, and it will become a political decision as to which requirements will be sacrificed in order to keep it in that cost envelope. In the MP panel that responded, Conservative MP Andrew Saxton indicated that the ships were still in the design phase, while both Matthew Kellway and John McKay blasted the government for their poor cost assumptions and lack of expert engagement.
In the fallout of Tom Flanagan’s comments about child pornography, Don Martin asked his MP panel of Michelle Rempel, Robert Chisholm and Elizabeth May for reaction. May called the comments stunningly insensitive and wrong-headed. Rempel said she felt sick when she heard the comments, and that it angered her as a Conservative given the amount of work done by government to protect children. Chisholm strongly condemned the sentiments. P&P’s Power Panel also weighed in, as did journalists Jeffrey Simpson and Craig Oliver.
Worth Noting: