'Fabulous blue tent' showcases gay Conservatives' power

At the Conservative Party's convention in Calgary in November, supporters queued up outside a chic lounge blocks from the convention centre. Music throbbed and lights flashed inside as the doorman stopped them: the party was full and the only way new people could get in was if somebody else left.

The biggest after-hours event at the Conservative Party convention last fall wasn't Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's hospitality suite. Nor was it a shindig thrown by a major lobbying firm. The party everyone wanted to go to is one that, 10 years ago, many wouldn't have imagined: one that celebrates the prominence and prevalence of gay Conservatives. Organizers call it the fabulous blue tent.

"I get more reaction from gay people" who aren't Conservative, says Fred Litwin, one of the organizers of the biennial fabulous blue tent parties, and president of the Free Thinking Film Society.

Litwin, who has been known to say that he has to come out as Conservative to his gay friends, was one of the party members in 2011 who helped arrange the first blue tent party.

Party-goers at the 2013 fabulous blue tent party, held during the Conservative Party convention on Nov. 2. (Jamie Ellerton)

"Look, when I first started blogging under the name 'gay and right' back in 2003 or 2004, I used to get three different types of email. I'd get [small-c] conservatives who were really pissed off that I was gay, I'd get gay people who were really pissed off that I was Conservative, and then I would get a whole bunch of gay people who are like, holy f--k, I found somebody [similar]," he said.

For a party that saw most of its MPs vote against legalizing same-sex marriage in 2005, and which ran ads about Stephen Harper's support for "traditional marriage," the difference is striking.

The first fabulous blue tent party in 2011 drew about 600 people, said Roy Eappen, one of the organizers, who helped front some of the money for the events. Thrown in a swanky suite at Ottawa's Westin hotel, the party spilled out onto a balcony with a view of Parliament Hill. 

"I think people are very supportive and you know it's funny, people have now started calling it an institution at conventions. After two times — it's hilarious," Eappen said.

Among the guests at the 2013 party were Laureen Harper, whom Eappen notes stayed for three hours, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Employment Minister Jason Kenney, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Minister of State for sports Bal Gosal. Wild Rose Party Leader Danielle Smith was also there.

The doorman at this year's event said he turned away a cabinet minister because the event was too full, albeit at a smaller venue than the 2011 event.

'Vocal' on gay rights

The idea for the party started with Jamie Ellerton, a former staffer for Jason Kenney and a Conservative Party member since 2005.

Ellerton says it's inaccurate to paint the Conservative caucus as the only one that was slow to recognize gay rights.

Laureen Harper, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's wife, and Conservative supporter Jamie Ellerton, pose at the fabulous blue tent party Ellerton helped organize in Calgary Nov. 2. (Jamie Ellerton)

"If you look at how society has progressed on this issue, don't forget that in the late nineties, the vast majority of the Liberal caucus voted against this when Jean Chrétien was prime minister," he said.

When the then-Liberal government passed the Civil Marriage Act in 2005, more than two dozen Liberals voted against the bill. 

Now, Ellerton and Eappen say, the Conservatives, fight for gay rights around the world. Baird has singled out individual countries for criticism over bills that would punish people for being gay or for fighting for gay rights.

"The government has been very vocal symbolically when it matters and tactically behind the scenes constantly looking to advance minority rights," including minority religious rights, Ellerton said.

"Yes, some historical NDP members were there in the very early days when nobody had time or were accepting of gays or lesbians. But this isn't 1965 anymore. It's 2013 and here you have gays and lesbians across the political spectrum, active in all parties, including in the Conservative Party and robustly so ... So the fact that Liberals, and I think more particularly NDP, think that because you're gay you're a tax and spend socialist is disconnected from reality," Ellerton said.

Despite that, the party doesn't have any MPs who are open with the media about being gay or lesbian (both the Liberals and New Democrats have openly gay MPs). A Conservative senator, Nancy Ruth, is the lone openly gay member of caucus.

Interests beyond rights

After a couple of high-profile teen suicides, attributed in part to bullying over the teens' sexuality, comedian Rick Mercer, who is gay, alluded to a gay cabinet minister and urged people in the public eye to come out of the closet.

"Because I know gay cops, soldiers, athletes, cabinet ministers, a lot of us do. But the problem is, adults, we don't need role models. Kids do," Mercer said in 2011.

Laureen Harper, wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Wild Rose Party Leader Danielle Smith pose for a photo at the fabulous blue tent party in Calgary, Nov. 2, 2013. (Twitter)

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"So if you're gay and you're in public life, I'm sorry, you don't have to run around with a pride flag and bore the hell out of everyone, but you can't be invisible. Not any more."

Eappen suggests there's a difference between being openly gay and doing interviews about one's sexuality.

"I think people are comfortable with what people are comfortable with. Until recently I never went around telling people I'm gay. It's not that I was closeted, everyone knows, I just didn't make a big point of talking about it," he said.

After all, Ellerton said, there are plenty of other issues for people to care about. The fight in Canada is more about how to take on bullying than pushing for equal rights.

"We have all the laws on the books," he said, while acknowledging there's likely room for improvement on some. 

Being gay or lesbian doesn't mean someone who is politically interested cares only about gay rights, Ellerton said.

"I think gay Canadians want a job. Gay Canadians want to be able to live free and prosper ... They want to make sure government is being run effectively," he said.

"Just because they happen to be sexually attracted to and love someone of the same sex, they're otherwise Canadians like the rest of us."

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A year of hot air on MPs' and senators' expenses

Politicians' expenses are usually a sleeper issue because so little is known about travel and housing claims that are regulated in secret sessions by the politicians themselves.

But this year, the veil on politicians' expenses was pulled back - a bit - in what became the top Ottawa story of 2013: the gross abuse of public money by a few senators.

The year began with the revelation of Senator Mike Duffy's habit of claiming expenses for living in his long-time Ottawa home. It drew to a crescendo with the spectacle of  Duffy and three other senators — Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb — suspended or retired and under an RCMP microscope over their inappropriate travel and housing claims.

The scandal might have been the reason for MPs unanimously voting in what senators call "the other place" — the House of Commons — to consider replacing their own secretive administrative closed-shop with an independent body to monitor their expenses.

Suddenly, transparency for expense accounts was an urgent issue.

But by year's end, almost nothing has changed.

One small step, but little detail

There was one bit of movement: Liberal MPs and senators, under orders from new leader Justin Trudeau, began posting online their travel and hospitality spending, modelled on cabinet ministers' proactive disclosure, a step in the right direction to be sure, but with little detail. Conservatives followed suit a month ago.

Yet in June, when the Senate expense scandal was near a boiling point, it seemed the House of Commons was ready to slay its own dragon. The NDP persuaded all MPs to turn their attention towards replacing their closed-door committee for monitoring expenses known as the board of internal economy. The board, or BOIE, is made up of MPs from each party.

The mission was to find some independent body to scrutinize and regulate MPs' expenses

In special hearings, MPs listened to Auditor General Michael Ferguson urge them to allow random audits, "at my discretion," as he put it, of their expenses.

MPs also heard from John Sills of IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in the U.K., set up in 2009 after a scandal revealed some British MPs were charging the public for expenses such as moat-cleaning, or were claiming second homes a few miles from their main homes, and then flipping them or renting them out.

Sills explained that IPSA, an organization independent of Parliament, approves MPs' expenses and sets members' pay and pensions. Then it publishes the information — all of it.

The 'exam question'

Some Conservative MPs asked Sills if the same system were adopted here, wouldn't parliamentary staff just have to move over to a new body modelled on IPSA and "basically replicate what they do now under a different organization."

Sills replied that query was what he always called "the exam question." And, he added, "Can you be truly independent if you're in-house?"

In the end, the Conservative majority on the committee recommended keeping the status quo.

MPs will continue having the final, undisclosed word on expenses. Meetings will be held in camera. The Auditor General was shown the door.

Not all MPs went along with preserving the secretive board of internal economy, or shutting out the Auditor General.  The Liberals agreed the board should continue to monitor MP expenses, but asked for an independent commissioner to set salaries and pensions. The NDP dissented, holding out for an independent body.

Neither suggestion was adopted.

Bigger steps taken in the Senate

In the Senate, with members wincing from being viewed as scandal-ridden and way too clubby, bigger steps were taken.

Most significantly, the Senate invited the Auditor General to conduct an audit of every senator's expenses. His first report is possibly a year or more away, but for some senators, inevitably, the iceman cometh.

No such fate awaits MPs. As the clerk of the House of Commons, Audrey O'Brien, reminded the committee debating opening up expenses, MPs have never been audited by the Auditor General. It's "something members have strongly resisted," she testified.

As the year ends, a public wanting to know what true transparency about expenses looks like is left to read the private websites of Conservative senators Doug Black, Bob Runciman and Linda Frum, or Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. These four have decided to publish details of every public penny they spend.

Readers will find that Frum doesn't charge for meals, that Black paid $5.50 for parking, that May has posted more than 300 pages of scanned receipts for everything from postage stamps to office cleaners.

Otherwise, it seems the matter of politicians' expenses has been put back in the closet until the next scandal.

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As NAFTA turns 20, Mexico emerges as pact's biggest winner

Ross Perot may have had it right after all about who would win under NAFTA.

The North American Free Trade Agreement was an important step for all three members, but the evidence points to Mexico — at the time the weak sister in the group that included two G7 economies, the United States and Canada — as by far the biggest winner.

On the 20th anniversary of the pact, Mexico — in 1994, an insular, economic basket case — has in two decades emerged as a forward-looking country with expanding global reach, a handful of world-class corporations and a ballooning middle class.

Perot, who twice ran for U.S. president in the 1990s and made his name as an anti-NAFTA crusader, generally saw that coming although he focused his barbs on what the U.S. would lose in what he termed "the giant sucking sound of jobs going south."

Perot's fear was that U.S. firms would flock to where labour costs were cheapest. To an extent that has happened, and it can be argued that Canada too lost critical manufacturing jobs to Mexico.

While there are some in Mexico who would dispute the characterization of their country as the big winner, the numbers make a strong case.

Mexico under NAFTA had a rough start, because of a coincidental pesos crash just as the deal was getting under way. But the country has grown into the one of the more robust emerging economies with exports of about $1 billion a day, more than 10 times what they were in 1994.

Mexico is now estimated to be the world's 13th-largest economy with total output similar to Canada's, although on a per capita basis it still lags.

"I think NAFTA has been excellent for Mexico," says economist Jaime Serra Puche, the Mexican trade minister at the time, adding it would have worked even better if Mexico had not waited almost 20 years to bring in internal reforms to the economy.

"Now with the reforms that are finally taking place I think we are going to gain competitiveness and the platform that has been constructed mostly for exports and manufacturing is going to become stronger."

'Manufacturing catastrophe'

Some of that has come at the expense of Canada, or so believes Jim Stanford, an economist with the Unifor union. Under the deal, Mexico has gone from a bit player in the North American auto sector to the second-largest participant with almost 20 per cent of total production, compared with Canada's 16 per cent.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signs the North American Free Trade Agreement in Ottawa on Dec.17, 1992. After two decades, the age lines are starting to show on the NAFTA trade deal that at one time made Canada, the United States and Mexico the globe's biggest and most affluent economic zone. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

"Heavy truck shipments in Canada collapsed by 75 per cent between 2006 and 2011. It's an incredible example of a manufacturing catastrophe and NAFTA was absolutely a key part of it," he says.

Serra and others who have studied post-NAFTA impacts agree that Mexico's manufacturing sector, and particularly the auto industry, has been a big beneficiary.

But they don't give all the credit to the deal.

Even before 1994, Mexico had started on the road to trade liberalization and economic stability, by giving its central bank independence, for instance. NAFTA may have been the last and most important piece of the puzzle, but not the only one, they say.

Overall, trade deals are often oversold by both proponents and critics, says Angeles Villarreal, a trade specialist with the U.S. Congressional Research Service who co-authored a paper on the deal earlier this year.

"It didn't benefit as much as the optimists predicted, but also the negative effects weren't as severe. There weren't huge job losses," she says.

Mexico transforming

On the plus side for Mexico, the auto industry has taken off, skills have improved and manufacturing has increased — and not just low-skilled factory jobs, she says.

On the negative side, there were losers as well, particularly firms propped up by high tariff walls and small subsistence farmers, although even here the evidence is unclear. Villarreal says it's difficult to separate the NAFTA effect on farming from that of land reform that came at about the same time.

Christopher Wilson of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington says while there were losers, NAFTA has to be considered an overall success for the country.

"Mexico at the time was the smallest, now the Mexican and Canadian economies are similar in size," he points out.

"One of the big stories in Mexico has been the slow but steady emergence of a middle class that's now about half of the country.

"It's not the same as the middle class as the U.S. or Canada, but it does mean they are not in poverty, they now own a car, they go to the movies, they take a vacation. It's transforming the country," he says.

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Federal Conservatives see performance rating plunge in poll

Canadians' unhappiness with the federal government grew dramatically in 2013, judging by the results of a yearly poll released by Nanos Research and the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

When it comes to the performance of Stephen Harper's Conservatives, 56 per cent of those polled said they did a poor job in 2013. That compares to 33 per cent last year and 25 per cent in 2011.

"[The survey] completed in December 2013 showed its most dramatic shift," wrote the pollsters.

In the four questions asked in the poll, perceptions "have all taken a negative hit."

The polling firm and research institute have conducted the "Mood of Canada" poll every year since 2007. 

The questions asked about:

• Performance of the government.
• Direction of the country.
• Federal-provincial relations.
• Canada's reputation abroad.

In each case, pollsters found that opinions this year were decidedly more negative than they were last year.

Fifty-five per cent of those polled thought Canada was moving in the wrong direction compared to 28 per cent last year.

On the issue of Canada's reputation abroad, the year-to-year difference was the most pronounced. In 2012, only eight per cent thought Canada's reputation had not improved. This year it was 45 per cent.

For more in depth discussion and analysis of the results of this survey, tune in to Monday's edition of Power & Politics at 5 p.m. ET on CBC News Network.

Nanos carried out the survey between Dec. 14 and 16 of this year. About 1,000 Canadians were recruited by phone and given the survey online. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 

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Top 5 aboriginal stories of 2013

Anti-fracking protests, the growth of a movement, a hunger strike, an unprecedented turnout at a reconciliation walk and a disgraced senator — all of these aboriginal stories made headlines this year.

Here are five editors' picks, put together by CBC's Aboriginal Digital Unit.

1. Elsipogtog anti-fracking protests

An anti-shale gas protest closed Highway 11 near Rexton, N.B., on Nov. 29. (Jessica Doria-Brown/CBC)

Across the country this year First Nations have been making news in opposition to resource extraction. At the heart of resource development battles being waged right across Canada — including the one by Elsipogtog First Nation — is the duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal people when the development is on their traditional land.

The Elsipogtog First Nation began protesting on Sept. 30 with a blockade on Route 134 near Rexton, N.B., but it was the face-off with the RCMP on Oct. 17, 2013, that made news across the country.

Within 24 hours there were supportive actions organized across the country. In the process, the photograph picturing Amanda Polchies, kneeling with a feather raised in front of the RCMP, was retweeted and reworked countless times, making it an iconic image of 2013.

We haven't heard the last from Elsipogtog, and the First Nations opposition to resource extraction without consultation and accommodation will no doubt be in headlines in 2014.

2. Idle No More

The Idle No More movement has settled into a quiet simmer, but there is no doubt it continues to be a force across the country.

The movement began last year, but it rang in the new year of 2013 with a bang. On Jan. 11, countrywide demonstrations brought attention to changes in Bill C-45, the Conservative government's controversial omnibus budget bill that directly affected First Nations communities.  

While it seems that Idle No More has settled into a quiet simmer, there is no doubt that it continues to be a force across the country, and beyond Canadian borders. 

In December, Foreign Policy magazine included the four founders of the movement in its prestigious list, Top 100 Global Thinkers. And recently, flashmob round dances took place across Canada, sending out the message that Idle No More will continue to be a presence in 2014.

3. Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike

Chief Theresa Spence went on a six-week hunger strike in Ottawa to raise awareness about First Nations issues, including the housing crisis in Attawapiskat. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

For many, the rise of Idle No More and the hunger strike of Attawapiskat's Chief Teresa Spence are closely entwined— both hitting the news in January 2013.

Spence camped on an island close to Parliament Hill, subsisting on fish broth and medicinal tea, in an effort to convince the country's top leaders to take First Nations concerns seriously — including the housing crisis in Attawapiskat in northern Ontario.

She ended her six-week-long hunger strike on Jan. 23, 2013, after members of the Assembly of First Nations and the Liberal and New Democrat caucuses agreed to back a list of commitments supporting aboriginal issues.

To date, Attawapiskat is still facing a serious housing crisis and Spence is standing firm as chief.

4. Vancouver's Reconciliation Walk

A First Nations woman cheers while taking part in the Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver, Sept. 22. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission held a four-day national event in Vancouver, Sept. 18-21. It culminated in a Reconciliation Walk that drew an unprecedented number of people, more than 10,000 by some estimates.

"Who would have thought tens of thousands of people would brave pouring rain in September, to symbolically demonstrate a better relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples," recalls CBC's Duncan McCue. This story was voted as one of CBC Vancouver's top stories of 2013.

5. Senator Patrick Brazeau

On Nov. 5, Senator Patrick Brazeau was suspended from the Senate for two years. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Finally, a disgraced senator might have been the most talked about aboriginal figure in mainstream news. 

Named to the Senate in 2008 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Patrick Brazeau was a controversial choice right from the start, as he was facing a sexual harassment complaint before a human rights tribunal from his last job as national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. 

Brazeau first made the news this year In February when he was charged with sexual assault and spent a night in jail before posting bail. His Senate peers called for Brazeau to resign. The assault case was put over until February 2014 owing to Brazeau's health problems.

And then there was the Senate scandal. On Nov. 5, Brazeau was suspended from the Senate for two years, without pay, along with senators Mike Duffy and  Pamela Wallin.

Most recently, Brazeau was denied press credentials to work as a journalist on Parliament Hill.

With files from CBC's Daniel Schwartz, Mark Gollom and Duncan McCue.

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Greenpeace activists arrive in Canada from Russia

Alexandre Paul and Paul Ruzycki, two Canadian Greenpeace activists who were part of a group detained by Russia for more than three months, arrived back in Canada Friday.

Smiling through a heavy beard and flanked by his parents, Paul told reporters gathered at Montreal's Trudeau airport that the experience was not a happy one, but the international attention that it brought to the environmental risks of drilling for oil in the Arctic was worth it.

"This is a hard time for humanity, our survival depends on getting people to care," he said.

Alexandre Paul smiles along with his parents, Nicole and Raymond, after his arrival in Montreal. Paul was detained by Russian authorities Sept. 19 along with 29 others on board a Greenpeace ship while protesting oil drilling in Russia's Arctic. (CBC)

Ruzycki, of Port Colborne, Ont. arrived in Toronto, Greenpeace confirmed Friday evening.

Friday marked 100 days since Paul, Ruzycki and 28 others — mainly Greenpeace activists — were arrested in Russia's Arctic while protesting against offshore oil exploration in the Pechora Sea. Russian military stormed their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, after several Greenpeace activists scaled a Gazprom drilling platform.

The group, now known as the Arctic 30, faced charges of piracy, which carries a possible 15-year prison term in Russia. The charges were later reduced to hooliganism, and then dropped entirely.

The Arctic 30 spent six weeks in jail in Murmansk, a city in Russia's far northwest. The group was transferred to St. Petersburg in early November.

Russian authorities granted the group amnesty on Dec. 18 and Paul received his exit visa on Dec. 26.

Paul applauded Canada's consular services in Russia, but said he was disappointed with the Canadian government's response to the situation, in particular that of Foreign Minister John Baird.

Paul Ruzycki arrives at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Friday. (Courtesy of Greenpeace)

Paul said he doubted whether he would have been released had it not been for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the Russian government's desire to avoid more controversy over the detentions.

The fear of prolonged incarceration in Russia and the possibility of not seeing his parents again had weighed on his mind, said Paul.

"Finding out that piracy carries a sentence of up to 15 years, that was the darkest time," he said. 

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Canadian politics in 2013: The year in photos

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The House

• Political Review of 2013 Dec. 28, 2013 6:30 AM This week, The House looks back at the political events that shaped 2013 with Radio-Canada Ottawa bureau chief Emmanuelle Latraverse, National Post and iPolitics columnist Tasha Khereiddin and CBC senior political correspondent Terry Milewski.

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Senate scandal tested federal political leaders in 2013

The Senate scandal dominated federal political news in 2013, causing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stumble while New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair used his aggressive style to score points.

The controversy over spending by senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb gave Mulcair the chance to stand out among MPs — and among the three party leaders — for his pointed, careful questions. Harper, forced on the defensive, faltered and was forced to retreat on his support for his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, as well as on his assertion that it was Wright alone who knew about the deal to cover Duffy's $90,000 in expenses.

Keith Beardsley, a former deputy chief of staff to Harper, says the Senate scandal was pivotal for Harper.

"It's the first time the government has got themselves into pretty heavy criticism and one I suppose where the population is really paying attention," Beardsley said in an interview with CBC News.

Harper also faced increasing grumbling among his MPs, with several complaining in the House about the Prime Minister's Office limiting their ability to speak in the few minutes allotted to backbenchers, and Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber quitting caucus.

Even some cabinet ministers disagreed publicly. Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Justice Minister Peter MacKay defended Wright after Harper said he'd fired him, and Kenney spoke out against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's crack use, despite Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's public support for Ford.

"You can see the backbenchers starting to stir a little bit," Beardsley said, adding there could be more of that to come in 2014 as MPs decide whether they're going to run again in 2015.

"There will be a number that, for all sorts of reasons, decide they don't want to run again, so they're going to have a certain degree of freedom and they're going to want to leave their mark … they don't give a damn what PMO says or anyone else says," he said.

Mulcair excelled

The Senate scandal gave Mulcair the chance to show off his skills in question period, asking sharp questions and highlighting Harper's refusal to answer beyond a few talking points.

Gerry Caplan, a former NDP strategist, said Mulcair has been embraced by the media and even conservative commentators for his question period ability.

Caplan calls it "the splendid and completely irrelevant job he's done in the House in pinning Harper to the wall."

"I say irrelevant because Harper hasn't changed his tune and it doesn't seem politically to be helping the NDP," he said.

The Liberals are ahead of the NDP and even the Conservatives in recent polls, though, as Mulcair pointed out in a year-end press conference, the NDP's previous ceiling in polls is now its floor.

Steve MacKinnon, former Liberal Party national director, agreed that Mulcair kept Harper on his toes in question period.

"I think that his work in the House of Commons has been more or less effective, perhaps not in elevating his own stature, but certainly in keeping this scandal on the front pages and on Canadians' minds. He has at times made the prime minister look very, very bad. And speaking as a Liberal, any time the prime minister looks bad, that's a good day," he said.

Canada-EU trade a bright spot

The tentative trade deal Canada is finalizing with the European Union was the one bright spot for Harper in 2013, although it isn't a done deal.

"There's a lot of heavy lifting to be done, both with the provinces and in terms of settling on final language," said MacKinnon, who handles financial transaction files in his role at Hill & Knowlton Strategies.

"Obviously all judgment on any deal has to be suspended until we see that [final text]. But nonetheless, I think a major trade victory there … one that's pretty good for the country."

While Harper's trade policy drew praise, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who won the party's leadership race last April, has been criticized for lacking policy ideas. Trudeau says he's consulting with experts and with Canadians.

Caplan said those explanations usually mean a politician doesn't have any policies.

"That's been true for many, many generations of politics," he said.

"Can he get away with it? We don't know. Sometimes you can. Sometimes you bluff it out.… [But] it's very hard to do because the pressure to say something of substance gets pretty strong."

Trudeau exceeded expectations

New Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau appears lacking on the policy front, but has outperformed expectations in drawing popular support. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

MacKinnon said the on-the-ground organizing done by Trudeau's team is under-appreciated. Both Beardsley and Caplan agree Trudeau has done better than expected.

"He still has a way to go in question period. He's not quite there in that," Beardsley said.

"If you look at his first few days versus now, he's much more polished than he was before, so I think he's done well and he's shown that he's got some staying power.

Caplan said he fears Mulcair isn't taking Trudeau as seriously as he should.

Trudeau "has succeeded far beyond what anyone ever thought. I don't know anyone who thought the Liberal Party could come back as far as it appears to have done. Much of it I attribute to him and this astonishing appeal that he has," Caplan said.

"I think [Mulcair] hopes it's a passing ephemeral phenom, which is something that I'm not sure that it is." 

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GG David Johnston's New Year's message about helping others

The Governor General tells Canadians to "discover their giving moment" in his New Year's address to the country.

"We all have something to contribute, and I encourage everyone to find out what that could be," David Johnston says in his message for 2014, which was released today.

"It doesn't matter if your gift is large or small. Or whether you make a cash donation or volunteer with an organization. Or help your neighbour to rebuild a fence. Whatever you give — time, talent or money — you are strengthening our culture of generosity and creating your very own giving moment," he states.

Here is a transcript of Johnston's message:

As we usher in 2014, I think back on the past year — the challenges we have faced and the joys we have experienced as a country.

Gov. Gen. David Johnston says there is 'so much that we still must do to build a stronger Canada, to provide all Canadians with the chance to succeed.' (The Canadian Press/Fred Chartrand)

My wife, Sharon, and I are thankful to live and work in this country, where so many Canadians are devoted to caring for their fellow citizens.

We have seen Canadians helping others, giving back to the country and the world. These acts of sharing create a virtuous circle, a wonderful reciprocity, in which we find so many participants. They are volunteers and philanthropists, business leaders and military personnel, artists and athletes, friends and neighbours.

They are young and old. They are strangers helping strangers.

And we have seen, too, how Canadians unite in response to tragedies — in Alberta and in Lac Mégantic, for instance. 

There is so much good in our country, so many compassionate and generous Canadians willing to give back. We have seen this.

And yet, we also see so much that we still must do to build a stronger Canada, to provide all Canadians with the chance to succeed.

Doing so begins with each and every one of us. We all have something to contribute, and I encourage everyone to find out what that could be. 

I am now asking Canadians to discover their giving moment, to share their stories and to inspire others to give.

It doesn't matter if your gift is large or small. Or whether you make a cash donation. Or volunteer with an organization. Or help your neighbour to rebuild a fence. Whatever you give — time, talent or money — you are strengthening our culture of generosity and creating your very own giving moment.

And when we add up all the moments throughout this country, when all of us discover what we have to give, the result is a smarter, more caring nation.

The New Year is a blank slate full of possibility. It is a time to look back and rejoice in what we have accomplished. And it is a time to look forward, with hope and optimism.

On behalf of Sharon and my family, we wish all Canadians a very happy and healthy New Year.

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A year of hot air on MPs' and senators' expenses

Politicians' expenses are usually a sleeper issue because so little is known about travel and housing claims that are regulated in secret sessions by the politicians themselves.

But this year, the veil on politicians' expenses was pulled back - a bit - in what became the top Ottawa story of 2013: the gross abuse of public money by a few senators.

The year began with the revelation of Senator Mike Duffy's habit of claiming expenses for living in his long-time Ottawa home. It drew to a crescendo with the spectacle of  Duffy and three other senators — Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb — suspended or retired and under an RCMP microscope over their inappropriate travel and housing claims.

The scandal might have been the reason for MPs unanimously voting in what senators call "the other place" — the House of Commons — to consider replacing their own secretive administrative closed-shop with an independent body to monitor their expenses.

Suddenly, transparency for expense accounts was an urgent issue.

But by year's end, almost nothing has changed.

One small step, but little detail

There was one bit of movement: Liberal MPs and senators, under orders from new leader Justin Trudeau, began posting online their travel and hospitality spending, modelled on cabinet ministers' proactive disclosure, a step in the right direction to be sure, but with little detail. Conservatives say they will follow suit.

MPs already post expenses in broad categories covering their office budgets, printing, hospitality costs and use of travel points, but again, with almost no detail.

Yet in June, when the Senate expense scandal was near a boiling point, it seemed the House of Commons was ready to slay its own dragon. The NDP persuaded all MPs to turned their attention towards replacing their closed-door committee for monitoring expenses known as the board of internal economy. The board, or BOIE, is made up of MPs from each party.

The mission was to find some independent body to scrutinize and regulate MPs' expenses

In special hearings, MPs listened to Auditor General Michael Ferguson urge them to allow random audits, "at my discretion," as he put it, of their expenses.

MPs also heard from John Sills of IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in the U.K., set up in 2009 after a scandal revealed some British MPs were charging the public for expenses such as moat-cleaning, or were claiming second homes a few miles from their main homes, and then flipping them or renting them out.

Sills explained that IPSA, an organization independent of Parliament, approves MPs' expenses and sets members' pay and pensions. Then it publishes the information — all of it.

The 'exam question'

Some Conservative MPs asked Sills if the same system were adopted here, wouldn't parliamentary staff just have to move over to a new body modelled on IPSA and "basically replicate what they do now under a different organization."

Sills replied that query was what he always called "the exam question." And, he added, "Can you be truly independent if you're in-house?"

In the end, the Conservative majority on the committee recommended keeping the status quo.

MPs will continue having the final, undisclosed word on expenses. Meetings will be held in camera. The Auditor General was shown the door.

Not all MPs went along with preserving the secretive board of internal economy, or shutting out the Auditor General.  The Liberals agreed the board should continue to monitor MP expenses, but asked for an independent commissioner to set salaries and pensions. The NDP dissented, holding out for an independent body.

Neither suggestion was adopted.

Bigger steps taken in the Senate

In the Senate, with members wincing from being viewed as scandal-ridden and way too clubby, bigger steps were taken.

Most significantly, the Senate invited the Auditor General to conduct an audit of every senator's expenses. His first report is possibly a year or more away, but for some senators, inevitably, the iceman cometh.

No such fate awaits MPs. As the clerk of the House of Commons, Audrey O'Brien, reminded the committee debating opening up expenses, MPs have never been audited by the Auditor General. It's "something members have strongly resisted," she testified.

As the year ends, a public wanting to know what true transparency about expenses looks like is left to read the private websites of Conservative senators Doug Black, Bob Runciman and Linda Frum, or Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. These four have decided to publish details of every public penny they spend.

Readers will find that Frum doesn't charge for meals, that Black paid $5.50 for parking, that May has posted more than 300 pages of scanned receipts for everything from postage stamps to office cleaners.

Otherwise, it seems the matter of politicians' expenses has been put back in the closet until the next scandal.

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Greenpeace activists arrive in Canada from Russia

Alexandre Paul and Paul Ruzycki, two Canadian Greenpeace activists who were part of a group detained by Russia for more than three months, arrived back in Canada Friday.

Smiling through a heavy beard and flanked by his parents, Paul told reporters gathered at Montreal's Trudeau airport that the experience was not a happy one, but the international attention that it brought to the environmental risks of drilling for oil in the Arctic was worth it.

"This is a hard time for humanity, our survival depends on getting people to care," he said.

Alexandre Paul smiles along with his parents, Nicole and Raymond, after his arrival in Montreal. Paul was detained by Russian authorities Sept. 19 along with 29 others on board a Greenpeace ship while protesting oil drilling in Russia's Arctic. (CBC)

Ruzycki, of Port Colborne, Ont. arrived in Toronto, Greenpeace confirmed Friday evening.

Friday marked 100 days since Paul, Ruzycki and 28 others — mainly Greenpeace activists — were arrested in Russia's Arctic while protesting against offshore oil exploration in the Pechora Sea. Russian military stormed their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, after several Greenpeace activists scaled a Gazprom drilling platform.

The group, now known as the Arctic 30, faced charges of piracy, which carries a possible 15-year prison term in Russia. The charges were later reduced to hooliganism, and then dropped entirely.

The Arctic 30 spent six weeks in jail in Murmansk, a city in Russia's far northwest. The group was transferred to St. Petersburg in early November.

Russian authorities granted the group amnesty on Dec. 18 and Paul received his exit visa on Dec. 26.

Paul applauded Canada's consular services in Russia, but said he was disappointed with the Canadian government's response to the situation, in particular that of Foreign Minister John Baird.

Paul Ruzycki arrives at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Friday. (Courtesy of Greenpeace)

Paul said he doubted whether he would have been released had it not been for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the Russian government's desire to avoid more controversy over the detentions.

The fear of prolonged incarceration in Russia and the possibility of not seeing his parents again had weighed on his mind, said Paul.

"Finding out that piracy carries a sentence of up to 15 years, that was the darkest time," he said. 

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Canadian politics in 2013: The year in photos

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The House

• Political Review of 2013 Dec. 28, 2013 6:30 AM This week, The House looks back at the political events that shaped 2013 with Radio-Canada Ottawa bureau chief Emmanuelle Latraverse, National Post and iPolitics columnist Tasha Khereiddin and CBC senior political correspondent Terry Milewski.

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Senate scandal tested federal political leaders in 2013

The Senate scandal dominated federal political news in 2013, causing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stumble while New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair used his aggressive style to score points.

The controversy over spending by senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb gave Mulcair the chance to stand out among MPs — and among the three party leaders — for his pointed, careful questions. Harper, forced on the defensive, faltered and was forced to retreat on his support for his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, as well as on his assertion that it was Wright alone who knew about the deal to cover Duffy's $90,000 in expenses.

Keith Beardsley, a former deputy chief of staff to Harper, says the Senate scandal was pivotal for Harper.

"It's the first time the government has got themselves into pretty heavy criticism and one I suppose where the population is really paying attention," Beardsley said in an interview with CBC News.

Harper also faced increasing grumbling among his MPs, with several complaining in the House about the Prime Minister's Office limiting their ability to speak in the few minutes allotted to backbenchers, and Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber quitting caucus.

Even some cabinet ministers disagreed publicly. Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Justice Minister Peter MacKay defended Wright after Harper said he'd fired him, and Kenney spoke out against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's crack use, despite Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's public support for Ford.

"You can see the backbenchers starting to stir a little bit," Beardsley said, adding there could be more of that to come in 2014 as MPs decide whether they're going to run again in 2015.

"There will be a number that, for all sorts of reasons, decide they don't want to run again, so they're going to have a certain degree of freedom and they're going to want to leave their mark … they don't give a damn what PMO says or anyone else says," he said.

Mulcair excelled

The Senate scandal gave Mulcair the chance to show off his skills in question period, asking sharp questions and highlighting Harper's refusal to answer beyond a few talking points.

Gerry Caplan, a former NDP strategist, said Mulcair has been embraced by the media and even conservative commentators for his question period ability.

Caplan calls it "the splendid and completely irrelevant job he's done in the House in pinning Harper to the wall."

"I say irrelevant because Harper hasn't changed his tune and it doesn't seem politically to be helping the NDP," he said.

The Liberals are ahead of the NDP and even the Conservatives in recent polls, though, as Mulcair pointed out in a year-end press conference, the NDP's previous ceiling in polls is now its floor.

Steve MacKinnon, former Liberal Party national director, agreed that Mulcair kept Harper on his toes in question period.

"I think that his work in the House of Commons has been more or less effective, perhaps not in elevating his own stature, but certainly in keeping this scandal on the front pages and on Canadians' minds. He has at times made the prime minister look very, very bad. And speaking as a Liberal, any time the prime minister looks bad, that's a good day," he said.

Canada-EU trade a bright spot

The tentative trade deal Canada is finalizing with the European Union was the one bright spot for Harper in 2013, although it isn't a done deal.

"There's a lot of heavy lifting to be done, both with the provinces and in terms of settling on final language," said MacKinnon, who handles financial transaction files in his role at Hill & Knowlton Strategies.

"Obviously all judgment on any deal has to be suspended until we see that [final text]. But nonetheless, I think a major trade victory there … one that's pretty good for the country."

While Harper's trade policy drew praise, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who won the party's leadership race last April, has been criticized for lacking policy ideas. Trudeau says he's consulting with experts and with Canadians.

Caplan said those explanations usually mean a politician doesn't have any policies.

"That's been true for many, many generations of politics," he said.

"Can he get away with it? We don't know. Sometimes you can. Sometimes you bluff it out.… [But] it's very hard to do because the pressure to say something of substance gets pretty strong."

Trudeau exceeded expectations

New Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau appears lacking on the policy front, but has outperformed expectations in drawing popular support. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

MacKinnon said the on-the-ground organizing done by Trudeau's team is under-appreciated. Both Beardsley and Caplan agree Trudeau has done better than expected.

"He still has a way to go in question period. He's not quite there in that," Beardsley said.

"If you look at his first few days versus now, he's much more polished than he was before, so I think he's done well and he's shown that he's got some staying power.

Caplan said he fears Mulcair isn't taking Trudeau as seriously as he should.

Trudeau "has succeeded far beyond what anyone ever thought. I don't know anyone who thought the Liberal Party could come back as far as it appears to have done. Much of it I attribute to him and this astonishing appeal that he has," Caplan said.

"I think [Mulcair] hopes it's a passing ephemeral phenom, which is something that I'm not sure that it is." 

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GG David Johnston's New Year's message about helping others

The Governor General tells Canadians to "discover their giving moment" in his New Year's address to the country.

"We all have something to contribute, and I encourage everyone to find out what that could be," David Johnston says in his message for 2014, which was released today.

"It doesn't matter if your gift is large or small. Or whether you make a cash donation or volunteer with an organization. Or help your neighbour to rebuild a fence. Whatever you give — time, talent or money — you are strengthening our culture of generosity and creating your very own giving moment," he states.

Here is a transcript of Johnston's message:

As we usher in 2014, I think back on the past year — the challenges we have faced and the joys we have experienced as a country.

Gov. Gen. David Johnston says there is 'so much that we still must do to build a stronger Canada, to provide all Canadians with the chance to succeed.' (The Canadian Press/Fred Chartrand)

My wife, Sharon, and I are thankful to live and work in this country, where so many Canadians are devoted to caring for their fellow citizens.

We have seen Canadians helping others, giving back to the country and the world. These acts of sharing create a virtuous circle, a wonderful reciprocity, in which we find so many participants. They are volunteers and philanthropists, business leaders and military personnel, artists and athletes, friends and neighbours.

They are young and old. They are strangers helping strangers.

And we have seen, too, how Canadians unite in response to tragedies — in Alberta and in Lac Mégantic, for instance. 

There is so much good in our country, so many compassionate and generous Canadians willing to give back. We have seen this.

And yet, we also see so much that we still must do to build a stronger Canada, to provide all Canadians with the chance to succeed.

Doing so begins with each and every one of us. We all have something to contribute, and I encourage everyone to find out what that could be. 

I am now asking Canadians to discover their giving moment, to share their stories and to inspire others to give.

It doesn't matter if your gift is large or small. Or whether you make a cash donation. Or volunteer with an organization. Or help your neighbour to rebuild a fence. Whatever you give — time, talent or money — you are strengthening our culture of generosity and creating your very own giving moment.

And when we add up all the moments throughout this country, when all of us discover what we have to give, the result is a smarter, more caring nation.

The New Year is a blank slate full of possibility. It is a time to look back and rejoice in what we have accomplished. And it is a time to look forward, with hope and optimism.

On behalf of Sharon and my family, we wish all Canadians a very happy and healthy New Year.

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A year of hot air on MPs' and senators' expenses

Politicians' expenses are usually a sleeper issue because so little is known about travel and housing claims that are regulated in secret sessions by the politicians themselves.

But this year, the veil on politicians' expenses was pulled back - a bit - in what became the top Ottawa story of 2013: the gross abuse of public money by a few senators.

The year began with the revelation of Senator Mike Duffy's habit of claiming expenses for living in his long-time Ottawa home. It drew to a crescendo with the spectacle of  Duffy and three other senators — Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb — suspended or retired and under an RCMP microscope over their inappropriate travel and housing claims.

The scandal might have been the reason for MPs unanimously voting in what senators call "the other place" — the House of Commons — to consider replacing their own secretive administrative closed-shop with an independent body to monitor their expenses.

Suddenly, transparency for expense accounts was an urgent issue.

But by year's end, almost nothing has changed.

One small step, but little detail

There was one bit of movement: Liberal MPs and senators, under orders from new leader Justin Trudeau, began posting online their travel and hospitality spending, modelled on cabinet ministers' proactive disclosure, a step in the right direction to be sure, but with little detail. Conservatives say they will follow suit.

MPs already post expenses in broad categories covering their office budgets, printing, hospitality costs and use of travel points, but again, with almost no detail.

Yet in June, when the Senate expense scandal was near a boiling point, it seemed the House of Commons was ready to slay its own dragon. The NDP persuaded all MPs to turned their attention towards replacing their closed-door committee for monitoring expenses known as the board of internal economy. The board, or BOIE, is made up of MPs from each party.

The mission was to find some independent body to scrutinize and regulate MPs' expenses

In special hearings, MPs listened to Auditor General Michael Ferguson urge them to allow random audits, "at my discretion," as he put it, of their expenses.

MPs also heard from John Sills of IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in the U.K., set up in 2009 after a scandal revealed some British MPs were charging the public for expenses such as moat-cleaning, or were claiming second homes a few miles from their main homes, and then flipping them or renting them out.

Sills explained that IPSA, an organization independent of Parliament, approves MPs' expenses and sets members' pay and pensions. Then it publishes the information — all of it.

The 'exam question'

Some Conservative MPs asked Sills if the same system were adopted here, wouldn't parliamentary staff just have to move over to a new body modelled on IPSA and "basically replicate what they do now under a different organization."

Sills replied that query was what he always called "the exam question." And, he added, "Can you be truly independent if you're in-house?"

In the end, the Conservative majority on the committee recommended keeping the status quo.

MPs will continue having the final, undisclosed word on expenses. Meetings will be held in camera. The Auditor General was shown the door.

Not all MPs went along with preserving the secretive board of internal economy, or shutting out the Auditor General.  The Liberals agreed the board should continue to monitor MP expenses, but asked for an independent commissioner to set salaries and pensions. The NDP dissented, holding out for an independent body.

Neither suggestion was adopted.

Bigger steps taken in the Senate

In the Senate, with members wincing from being viewed as scandal-ridden and way too clubby, bigger steps were taken.

Most significantly, the Senate invited the Auditor General to conduct an audit of every senator's expenses. His first report is possibly a year or more away, but for some senators, inevitably, the iceman cometh.

No such fate awaits MPs. As the clerk of the House of Commons, Audrey O'Brien, reminded the committee debating opening up expenses, MPs have never been audited by the Auditor General. It's "something members have strongly resisted," she testified.

As the year ends, a public wanting to know what true transparency about expenses looks like is left to read the private websites of Conservative senators Doug Black, Bob Runciman and Linda Frum, or Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. These four have decided to publish details of every public penny they spend.

Readers will find that Frum doesn't charge for meals, that Black paid $5.50 for parking, that May has posted more than 300 pages of scanned receipts for everything from postage stamps to office cleaners.

Otherwise, it seems the matter of politicians' expenses has been put back in the closet until the next scandal.

21.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canadian Greenpeace member in Russia awaits exit visa after charges dropped

One of two Canadians among a group of Greenpeace activists who have had charges dropped against them by the Russian government says he was treated "fairly" but is eager to leave the "sad conditions" of the detention centre where they have been held for months. 

"I'm healthy. I'm safe now," said Paul Ruzycki of Port Colborne, Ont., who was arrested along with Montrealer Alexandre Paul in September. "I'm not angry...It could have been a lot worse."

Meanwhile, the first of the so-called Arctic 30 has left Russia, the environmental group said on Thursday.

Soviet-born Swedish activist Dima Litvinov crossed the Finnish border getting an exit stamp in his passport. The rest of the group is expected  to go through the process on Friday.

'The ordeal — it's memorable. I don't think I ever want to go into a Russian detention centre again- Paul Ruzycki

The Arctic 30, which includes two journalists, were detained following a high-seas protest at the Prirazlomnaya oil rig in the Arctic, where several demonstrators attempted to scale the offshore drilling platform before they were intercepted and their ship was commandeered by Russian commandos. 

"It could have been a lot worse. The ordeal — it's memorable," he told CBC News on the phone. "I don't think I ever want to go into a Russian detention centre again."

Paul has been given his exit visa, and is expected to arrive in Montreal late Friday afternoon, but Ruzycki, who spoke to CBC News on Thursday morning,  is still waiting for his. Ruzycki expected to get his in the "next couple of days."

The group was originally charged with piracy, but that was downgraded to hooliganism.

Russian investigators have now dropped charges against all of the Greenpeace ship's crew, the environmental group said Wednesday.

"I'll say they did treat me with dignity and respect," noted Ruzycki."[But] there was no special treatment."

Ruzycki described the detention centre as having "sad conditions."

He said he was satisfied with the actions taken by the Greenpeace group.

"We got attention to oil exploration and exploitation in the Arctic," said Ruzycki.  "We're calling for world park status similar to the Antarctic where only research is allowed, no mining or oil exploration."

The criminal charges against the crew were dropped under an amnesty that was passed by the Russian parliament earlier this month, seen by many as an attempt by the Kremlin to dampen criticism of Russia's human rights record before the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.

Canadians Alexandre Paul and Paul Ruzycki were among the 29 who had hooliganism charges against them dropped. (Greenpeace and Sergei Eshchenko/Reuters)

"This is all PR on [President Vladimir] Putin's part trying to look good before the world comes to Russia," Ruzycki-Stirling said.

Ryabko said that foreign members of the crew had already applied to the Russian authorities for exit visas and expect to get them in the next few days.

Peter Willcox, the U.S. captain of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, said in a statement released by the group that he was "pleased and relieved the charges have been dropped, but we should not have been charged at all."

Putin has questioned the Greenpeace protesters' intentions to protect the Arctic and alleged they were trying to hurt Russia's economic interests by demonstrating at the oil rig, run by state-controlled petroleum company Gazprom. He said earlier this month that he did not mind that charges against the Greenpeace team were dropped under the amnesty, but that he hoped that "this will not happen again."

Greenpeace says Gazprom — the world's largest gas company — risks causing a catastrophic oil spill in an area with three nature reserves that are home to polar bears, walruses and rare seabirds.

Gazprom says it began production from the Prirazlomnaya offshore platform this week.

Greenpeace argues that any oil leak would be catastrophic in the pristine environment and impossible to bring under control.

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Harper and Obama try to put a bad year behind them

Stephen Harper or Barack Obama. You could spark a good debate at Christmas dinner about who had the worse year.

The Canadian prime minister staggered through a Senate scandal that smothered his economic agenda, tarnished his government's claim to hold the accountability high ground, and pushed Conservative support in most polls as much as 10 percentage points below the party's support in the last election.

South of the border, the U.S. president's prized health-care plan arrived in critical condition. Polls put the president's personal approval ratings at near historic lows. His domestic agenda is largely stagnant.

Obama faced White House reporters at a rare news conference last week with the chastened look of someone expecting a lump of coal.

"When you take this all together, has this been the worst year of your presidency?'' was the first question.

"That's not how I think about it,'' Obama replied, managing a short laugh through clenched teeth. His focus, he said, remains on the economy, predicting 2014 "can be a breakthrough year for America."

Scripted answers

Harper wasn't in the spirit of giving, either. He didn't bother with a year-end news conference, granting just four interviews to sum up 2013.

His answers in the two given to English-language media were not only scripted, they were nearly identical, neatly packaged into digestible sound bites as interviewers sought his reaction to learning his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, had paid off the improper expenses of Senator Mike Duffy. 

Senator Mike Duffy arrives on Parliament Hill for a meeting on Parliament Hill on May 9, 2013. The so-called Duffy affair occupied much of the political and media attention on Parliament Hill in 2013. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"A sense of anger, betrayal, disappointment, deception. You name it,'' Harper told Postmedia.

"I've had a range of emotions about that. You know, anger, betrayal, disrespect, you name it, disappointment,'' he told Global News.

Harper, like Obama, was far happier talking about the future. And given the past year, that's entirely understandable.

The PM says he's ''got the only strong team and the only group of people with a serious economic agenda for the country.''

Harper no lame duck

So two leaders, both ending difficult years in office, both feeling the heat from voters, but that's really where the similarities end. 

Obama is in his second term, and under U.S. law cannot run again in 2016. In some circles he's already a lame duck. In others, he's just beginning to enjoy the kind of freedom politicians have when voters don't get another chance to pass judgment.

Harper, on the other hand, is planning to run, making it clear in those year-end interviews that he intends to lead the Conservatives in the 2015 election. And even with the first real signs of discontent in his caucus, Harper is anything but a lame duck.

His message remains solid economic stewardship, and on that score at least, 2013 was not a complete writeoff. His government set a foundation this year upon which to build, beginning with the preliminary free trade agreement with the European Union.

While CETA, as it's known, was all but lost in the furor sparked by the Senate scandal, the deal is worth billions of dollars to the Canadian economy, removing virtually all tariffs on exports and imports and making Canadian products more competitive in Europe.

The federal budget is also well on the way to being balanced in time for the next election. Conservatives reduced direct spending for a third consecutive year. Federal government spending as a share of the economy fell to its lowest point since 1948.

Tough selling the message

Harper's problem is that these things are hardly the stuff that makes for great ad copy, let alone the kind of thing to convince Canadians to move beyond the raft of bad news that's stalked him since May, when Wright's largesse to Duffy first became public.

From that point on, question period and the media fixated on what the prime minister knew, when he knew it and how on earth he wasn't told when so many of his underlings were aware of Wright's decision.

Harper has skirted those questions, even in his year-end interviews. 

Beyond acknowledging the prime minister ''is always responsible'' for the actions of his government, he's said little of substance about what blame he accepts, or how the situation spiralled so wildly out of control.

If the Senate scandal overwhelmed the good news of 2013, it also had the effect of underplaying other problems, including unrest among some Conservative MPs who chafe at the Prime Minister's Office telling them what to say and when they can say it.

The government is fighting a legal challenge initiated over Justice Marc Nadon's qualifications to accept Harper's nomination to the Supreme Court of Canada. Nadon's not sitting until the matter is resolved, leaving the country's highest court short-handed at a time when judges of the lower courts are refusing to bow to the government's victims' rights agenda.

The provinces are refusing to go along with the proposed Canada Job Grant, which would see Ottawa, the provinces and business kick in up to $5,000 each to train Canadians for skilled jobs that are now going unfilled by the thousands.

​And there's a growing dispute with the provinces over enhancing the Canada Pension Plan as a way of ensuring Canadians enter their retirement years with enough money.

Job creation. Retirement security. Victims' rights. These were the kinds of issues that once defined the Conservatives agenda. And who knows, they could again. But that depends on whether Harper can retake the agenda he lost in 2013 and show Canadians that the new year is more than just a turned page on the calendar.

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Governor General David Johnston reaches out to the troops

Canada's commander-in-chief is calling for greater responsibility toward Canadian Forces members in a special holiday
message to the families of military personnel coping with a recent series of suicides.

Governor General David Johnston says the recent deaths of Forces members are a reminder of the stresses faced by military personnel and the mental health challenges that can result.

"Recent tragic losses have reminded us of the stresses to which you are often exposed and of the subsequent mental health challenges that may result from military service," Johnston says in his Christmas Eve message to the Forces.

"Help is available, and together, we must demonstrate a greater sense of responsibility to our men and women in uniform, both during and after active service."

At least four apparent military suicides occurred earlier this month, a week apart in different parts of the country, reigniting the soul-searching debate around how Canada is treating its new generation of returning war veterans.

The Forces have already begun the 100-day countdown for a total withdrawal of all military personnel from Afghanistan. The non-combat training mission will close up shop by the end of spring, following the final withdrawal of combat troops in the summer of 2011.

The House of Commons defence committee was recently told that while the Harper government has invested millions into the military's mental health services, far less attention is being paid to helping the mentally and physically wounded transition to civilian life.

A September 2013 report obtained by The Canadian Press said that there were 25 confirmed suicides in 2011 and an additional 17 deaths in 2012.

The military's medical establishment is trying to determine what is triggering the deaths.

Johnston says his thoughts and prayers are with families and friends who have lost a loved one.

"The core military values of the Canadian Armed Forces -- duty, loyalty, integrity and courage -- are reflected in your indomitable spirit of determination and camaraderie," Johnston says in his Christmas Eve message.

"This professional ethos also means you may be called upon to serve under extremely hazardous conditions and circumstances."

Johnston says he is proud and grateful for the work of the Forces.

He cited the relief efforts during this year's severe flooding in Alberta and the recent typhoon relief mission to the Philippines.

"Our men and women in uniform show unwavering dedication to helping others and to upholding our democratic values."

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Pope Francis's personal appeal rebuilds his flock

The last Sunday before Christmas was cold and grey in Ottawa, with a storm bringing in snow and freezing rain.

Despite the weather, the hearty parishioners at St. Patrick's Basilica downtown filed in, stamping snow off their boots, for morning mass.

Outside the basilica, Glen Goss stopped to admire the nativity scene on the front lawn. He also paused to speak about a subject that's caught the attention of Catholics and non-Catholics alike: the new pope. Goss calls him an honest and true man. 

"The previous pope was a significant intellectual and also a very holy man," Goss said. 

"But Francis is more a people's man."

That sentiment is common among parishioners. 

"He's more into the ordinary people and that's what we're striving for in our church," said Jovy Salas as she hurried in for mass. 

Pope Francis has caused a stir within the church in Canada and around the world. Since becoming Pope in March, Francis hasn't changed church doctrine, but he has set a new tone at the Vatican. 

He's rejected many of the luxuries that go with his title and focused instead on caring for the poor. He has railed against unbridled capitalism and invited homeless men to breakfast to celebrate his birthday.

Observers say the new style is making a difference in the way the church is perceived.

Pope Francis's common touch is part of his charm and what appeals to many Roman Catholics. (Claudio Peri/Pool/Associated Press)

"What's most attractive about Francis is the simplicity and the authenticity of his own witness. People get it," said Prof. Catherine Clifford of St. Paul University in Ottawa. 

"He's cutting through the jargon of things and really communicating the heart of the Gospel message in a very direct way."

Person of the Year

Francis has become something of a media sensation. Time magazine named him its Person of the Year for 2013. So did The Advocate, a leading gay rights journal. Church leaders are welcoming the good publicity and positive headlines. 

"I would say it certainly gives us some breathing room," said Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

"I think what is happening now generally is that there's a more kind of openness to the possibility that the church might have something to offer to this world. And I'm very glad that there's this openness, because I personally believe that the church has much to offer to this world," he said.

Pope Francis gets a kiss during his visit at the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital in Rome, on Dec. 21. The pontiff visited the hospital's chapel and met with young patients and their families. (Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press)

The question that remains is whether Francis can draw in Catholics who have drifted away. No figures are available for Canada, but some churches in Europe have reported a spike in attendance. For some, though, the numbers are secondary.     

"I don't think it's just a question of how many people are at mass. You can have a church full of the standing dead," said Mary Jo Leddy, a theologian and lecturer at the University of Toronto.

"But it's the sense of joy and sense of life that you get in conversations among Catholics now. There's something fresh. There's something really exciting that's happening. And none of us know quite what it is. We're as surprised by this Pope as anybody. And maybe he's surprising himself."

Challenges remain

The Catholic Church, of course, still faces significant challenges. They include a legacy of sexual abuse and coverup as well as doctrine and practices that critics say exclude women, gays and other members of society.

For now, the focus is on the new face of a new Pope. The fundamental change some are looking for may still be a long way off. Outside St. Patrick's Basilica, however, there's no mistaking a sense of optimism. 

"I was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church and lots of times I found it very routine," said parishioner Rose Bechamp. 

"But since Pope Francis has entered the picture, there is a new vibrancy," she added. 

"If you came to church on Sunday, you would see for yourself."

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Senate scandal made Stephen Harper stumble, Tom Mulcair shine

The Senate scandal dominated federal political news in 2013, causing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stumble while New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair used his aggressive style to score points.

The controversy over spending by senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mac Harb gave Mulcair the chance to stand out among MPs — and among the three party leaders — for his pointed, careful questions. Harper, forced on the defensive, faltered and was forced to retreat on his support for his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, as well as on his assertion that it was Wright alone who knew about the deal to cover Duffy's $90,000 in expenses.

Keith Beardsley, a former deputy chief of staff to Harper, says the Senate scandal was pivotal for Harper.

"It's the first time the government has got themselves into pretty heavy criticism and one I suppose where the population is really paying attention," Beardsley said in an interview with CBC News.

Harper also faced increasing grumbling among his MPs, with several complaining in the House about the Prime Minister's Office limiting their ability to speak in the few minutes allotted to backbenchers, and Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber quitting caucus.

Even some cabinet ministers disagreed publicly. Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Justice Minister Peter MacKay defended Wright after Harper said he'd fired him, and Kenney spoke out against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's crack use, despite Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's public support for Ford.

"You can see the backbenchers starting to stir a little bit," Beardsley said, adding there could be more of that to come in 2014 as MPs decide whether they're going to run again in 2015.

"There will be a number that, for all sorts of reasons, decide they don't want to run again, so they're going to have a certain degree of freedom and they're going to want to leave their mark … they don't give a damn what PMO says or anyone else says," he said.

Mulcair excelled

The Senate scandal gave Mulcair the chance to show off his skills in question period, asking sharp questions and highlighting Harper's refusal to answer beyond a few talking points.

Gerry Caplan, a former NDP strategist, said Mulcair has been embraced by the media and even conservative commentators for his question period ability.

Caplan calls it "the splendid and completely irrelevant job he's done in the House in pinning Harper to the wall."

"I say irrelevant because Harper hasn't changed his tune and it doesn't seem politically to be helping the NDP," he said.

The Liberals are ahead of the NDP and even the Conservatives in recent polls, though, as Mulcair pointed out in a year-end press conference, the NDP's previous ceiling in polls is now its floor.

Steve MacKinnon, former Liberal Party national director, agreed that Mulcair kept Harper on his toes in question period.

"I think that his work in the House of Commons has been more or less effective, perhaps not in elevating his own stature, but certainly in keeping this scandal on the front pages and on Canadians' minds. He has at times made the prime minister look very, very bad. And speaking as a Liberal, any time the prime minister looks bad, that's a good day," he said.

Canada-EU trade a bright spot

The tentative trade deal Canada is finalizing with the European Union was the one bright spot for Harper in 2013, although it isn't a done deal.

"There's a lot of heavy lifting to be done, both with the provinces and in terms of settling on final language," said MacKinnon, who handles financial transaction files in his role at Hill & Knowlton Strategies.

"Obviously all judgment on any deal has to be suspended until we see that [final text]. But nonetheless, I think a major trade victory there … one that's pretty good for the country."

While Harper's trade policy drew praise, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who won the party's leadership race last April, has been criticized for lacking policy ideas. Trudeau says he's consulting with experts and with Canadians.

Caplan said those explanations usually mean a politician doesn't have any policies.

"That's been true for many, many generations of politics," he said.

"Can he get away with it? We don't know. Sometimes you can. Sometimes you bluff it out.… [But] it's very hard to do because the pressure to say something of substance gets pretty strong."

Trudeau exceeded expectations

New Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau appears lacking on the policy front, but has outperformed expectations in drawing popular support. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

MacKinnon said the on-the-ground organizing done by Trudeau's team is under-appreciated. Both Beardsley and Caplan agree Trudeau has done better than expected.

"He still has a way to go in question period. He's not quite there in that," Beardsley said.

"If you look at his first few days versus now, he's much more polished than he was before, so I think he's done well and he's shown that he's got some staying power.

Caplan said he fears Mulcair isn't taking Trudeau as seriously as he should.

Trudeau "has succeeded far beyond what anyone ever thought. I don't know anyone who thought the Liberal Party could come back as far as it appears to have done. Much of it I attribute to him and this astonishing appeal that he has," Caplan said.

"I think [Mulcair] hopes it's a passing ephemeral phenom, which is something that I'm not sure that it is." 

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Governor General David Johnston reaches out to the troops

Canada's commander-in-chief is calling for greater responsibility toward Canadian Forces members in a special holiday
message to the families of military personnel coping with a recent series of suicides.

Governor General David Johnston says the recent deaths of Forces members are a reminder of the stresses faced by military personnel and the mental health challenges that can result.

"Recent tragic losses have reminded us of the stresses to which you are often exposed and of the subsequent mental health challenges that may result from military service," Johnston says in his Christmas Eve message to the Forces.

"Help is available, and together, we must demonstrate a greater sense of responsibility to our men and women in uniform, both during and after active service."

At least four apparent military suicides occurred earlier this month, a week apart in different parts of the country, reigniting the soul-searching debate around how Canada is treating its new generation of returning war veterans.

The Forces have already begun the 100-day countdown for a total withdrawal of all military personnel from Afghanistan. The non-combat training mission will close up shop by the end of spring, following the final withdrawal of combat troops in the summer of 2011.

The House of Commons defence committee was recently told that while the Harper government has invested millions into the military's mental health services, far less attention is being paid to helping the mentally and physically wounded transition to civilian life.

A September 2013 report obtained by The Canadian Press said that there were 25 confirmed suicides in 2011 and an additional 17 deaths in 2012.

The military's medical establishment is trying to determine what is triggering the deaths.

Johnston says his thoughts and prayers are with families and friends who have lost a loved one.

"The core military values of the Canadian Armed Forces -- duty, loyalty, integrity and courage -- are reflected in your indomitable spirit of determination and camaraderie," Johnston says in his Christmas Eve message.

"This professional ethos also means you may be called upon to serve under extremely hazardous conditions and circumstances."

Johnston says he is proud and grateful for the work of the Forces.

He cited the relief efforts during this year's severe flooding in Alberta and the recent typhoon relief mission to the Philippines.

"Our men and women in uniform show unwavering dedication to helping others and to upholding our democratic values."

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4 more secrets of Parliament Hill

Hundreds of thousands of people visit Parliament Hill every year, but most don't get to go behind the scenes in one of the country's most important buildings. From secret doors to the Speaker's Scotch, CBC News has a two-part series to show you nine things you probably don't know about Parliament Hill. Read the first secrets of the Hill story here.

1. The House of Commons Speaker has a special Scotch

House Speaker Andrew Scheer has continued a new tradition of selecting a special Speaker's Scotch, which gets its own label and can be purchased through the parliamentary restaurant.

The last House Speaker, Peter Milliken, started the practice after visiting his counterpart at Westminster. The British Parliament has a long tradition of selecting a Speaker's Scotch.

In Canada, the Scotch is selected after a tasting by MPs, usually once per Parliament (the combined sessions between federal elections is known as a Parliament).

This Parliament's Scotch is a 12-year-old Balvenie DoubleWood.

2. There is a secret stairwell in the West Block

Alexander Mackenzie, Canada's second prime minister and the first Liberal prime minister, was leery of lobbyists during his five years in office, according to Liberal Party researcher Kevin Bosch.

Mackenzie came from working-class origins and had been a stonemason. 

An addition was built on the West Block of Parliament Hill while Mackenzie was prime minister, from 1873 to 1878. The building included an office for him — with a secret escape route.

"He had a special spiral staircase installed that went all the way from the third floor to the ground level," Bosch said.

"And this was not really to escape his enemies. It was more to escape his friends. At the time, if you wanted a patronage appointment or you were a lobbyist, you would literally hang out in the lobby of the Prime Minister's Office and hope to catch his eye as he was walking out. And so he had this backdoor escape route."

The office sits right under the building's tallest tower, which is known as the Mackenzie Tower.

Mackenzie wasn't the only person to use the staircase: Pierre Trudeau used it to evade reporters the day he went to the Governor General to request the 1968 election, Bosch said.

The West Block is currently closed for a massive restoration project, but Mackenzie's office — and the spiral staircase — are expected to be preserved in the renovation.

3. There is a Rodin sculpture near the Library of Parliament

Much of Centre Block is a monument to the military that fought in the First World War. The original Centre Block burned to the ground, save the Library of Parliament, in 1916, and had to be rebuilt.

House of Commons curator David Monaghan stands next to a bust by Auguste Rodin in Centre Block on Parliament Hill. (Laura Payton/CBC)

The new building was finished in 1922, with the Peace Tower completed in 1927. France presented Canada with the gift of a sculpture by Auguste Rodin. The sculpture is a bust meant to represent France as a person. It was designed by Rodin in 1904 and cast after his death, then given to Canada by the French government.

"It's essentially a commemoration or memorial to Canada's contribution in the First World War," said David Monaghan, the House of Commons curator.

Visitors can catch a glimpse of the bust if they look to their left down the Speaker's hallway as they approach the Library of Parliament. The bust comes with a plaque that reads, "To Canada, whose sons shed their blood to safeguard world freedom."

4. The Peace Tower bells range from enormous to small and really complicated to fix if one cracks

Some of the bronze bells inside the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (Laura Payton/CBC )

There are 53 bronze bells in the Peace Tower in a variety of sizes. They allow the Dominion Carillonneur to play music ranging from O Canada to pop tunes to classical selections. The biggest bell weighs 10 tonnes and was cast using a mould built into the ground. All of the bells were cast in 1927 in England and were tuned to each other. If one cracks or breaks, it would have to be re-cast and retuned — maybe even requiring all the bells to be re-cast.

The bells sit inside the Peace Tower next to shutters that can be closed during the winter to protect the bells from Ottawa's harsh weather.

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Harper and Obama try to put a bad year behind them

Stephen Harper or Barack Obama. You could spark a good debate at Christmas dinner about who had the worse year.

The Canadian prime minister staggered through a Senate scandal that smothered his economic agenda, tarnished his government's claim to hold the accountability high ground, and pushed Conservative support in most polls as much as 10 percentage points below the party's support in the last election.

South of the border, the U.S. president's prized health-care plan arrived in critical condition. Polls put the president's personal approval ratings at near historic lows. His domestic agenda is largely stagnant.

Obama faced White House reporters at a rare news conference last week with the chastened look of someone expecting a lump of coal.

"When you take this all together, has this been the worst year of your presidency?'' was the first question.

"That's not how I think about it,'' Obama replied, managing a short laugh through clenched teeth. His focus, he said, remains on the economy, predicting 2014 "can be a breakthrough year for America."

Scripted answers

Harper wasn't in the spirit of giving, either. He didn't bother with a year-end news conference, granting just four interviews to sum up 2013.

His answers in the two given to English-language media were not only scripted, they were nearly identical, neatly packaged into digestible sound bites as interviewers sought his reaction to learning his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, had paid off the improper expenses of Senator Mike Duffy. 

Senator Mike Duffy arrives on Parliament Hill for a meeting on Parliament Hill on May 9, 2013. The so-called Duffy affair occupied much of the political and media attention on Parliament Hill in 2013. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"A sense of anger, betrayal, disappointment, deception. You name it,'' Harper told Postmedia.

"I've had a range of emotions about that. You know, anger, betrayal, disrespect, you name it, disappointment,'' he told Global News.

Harper, like Obama, was far happier talking about the future. And given the past year, that's entirely understandable.

The PM says he's ''got the only strong team and the only group of people with a serious economic agenda for the country.''

Harper no lame duck

So two leaders, both ending difficult years in office, both feeling the heat from voters, but that's really where the similarities end. 

Obama is in his second term, and under U.S. law cannot run again in 2016. In some circles he's already a lame duck. In others, he's just beginning to enjoy the kind of freedom politicians have when voters don't get another chance to pass judgment.

Harper, on the other hand, is planning to run, making it clear in those year-end interviews that he intends to lead the Conservatives in the 2015 election. And even with the first real signs of discontent in his caucus, Harper is anything but a lame duck.

His message remains solid economic stewardship, and on that score at least, 2013 was not a complete writeoff. His government set a foundation this year upon which to build, beginning with the preliminary free trade agreement with the European Union.

While CETA, as it's known, was all but lost in the furor sparked by the Senate scandal, the deal is worth billions of dollars to the Canadian economy, removing virtually all tariffs on exports and imports and making Canadian products more competitive in Europe.

The federal budget is also well on the way to being balanced in time for the next election. Conservatives reduced direct spending for a third consecutive year. Federal government spending as a share of the economy fell to its lowest point since 1948.

Tough selling the message

Harper's problem is that these things are hardly the stuff that makes for great ad copy, let alone the kind of thing to convince Canadians to move beyond the raft of bad news that's stalked him since May, when Wright's largesse to Duffy first became public.

From that point on, question period and the media fixated on what the prime minister knew, when he knew it and how on earth he wasn't told when so many of his underlings were aware of Wright's decision.

Harper has skirted those questions, even in his year-end interviews. 

Beyond acknowledging the prime minister ''is always responsible'' for the actions of his government, he's said little of substance about what blame he accepts, or how the situation spiralled so wildly out of control.

If the Senate scandal overwhelmed the good news of 2013, it also had the effect of underplaying other problems, including unrest among some Conservative MPs who chafe at the Prime Minister's Office telling them what to say and when they can say it.

The government is fighting a legal challenge initiated over Justice Marc Nadon's qualifications to accept Harper's nomination to the Supreme Court of Canada. Nadon's not sitting until the matter is resolved, leaving the country's highest court short-handed at a time when judges of the lower courts are refusing to bow to the government's victims' rights agenda.

The provinces are refusing to go along with the proposed Canada Job Grant, which would see Ottawa, the provinces and business kick in up to $5,000 each to train Canadians for skilled jobs that are now going unfilled by the thousands.

​And there's a growing dispute with the provinces over enhancing the Canada Pension Plan as a way of ensuring Canadians enter their retirement years with enough money.

Job creation. Retirement security. Victims' rights. These were the kinds of issues that once defined the Conservatives agenda. And who knows, they could again. But that depends on whether Harper can retake the agenda he lost in 2013 and show Canadians that the new year is more than just a turned page on the calendar.

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