Sometimes the Harper government likes to flex their veto powers just ’cause.
Last night, in a stunning move of cunning prissiness, Tory Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, rejected Thomas Mulcair’s request to visit the military post in Manitoba where soldiers work to control the ongoing flood. The NDP leader’s visit had already been green-lit by Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger (admittedly a member of the NDP) and Brigade General Christian Juneau, but, for one reason or another, Nicholson felt that Mulcair’s tour would draw too much focus away from the task at hand: fighting the flood.
Although Mulcair’s people have gone on record to call the veto a political bitch slap (not a direct quote), a spokesperson for the Defence Minister assures us that this is no time for diversion, and that all tours were rejected, not just Mulclair’s.
Funny. We could have sworn that Harper just got a helicopter tour of the area on Sunday.
Heli-Harper to the rescue
The Canadian Press
As far as opposing political leaders go, Mulcair and Harper fall in somewhere between bitter rivals and the Philippines. Mulcair is a gifted debater and uses his skills to vigilantly call out Harper in Parliament, as opposed to other Members of Parliament who prefer to cuss at each other and boo harmoniously. Manitoba’s Premier applauded the Prime Minister earlier this week for the swift dispatch of the military after a state of emergency was called. Harper probably doesn’t want rival Mulcair to get any of that sweet Manitoba love, even if it’s from an NDP Premier.
In the end, we’re pretty sure Manitobans don’t really care which politician they’re thanking, as long as they’re getting the flood assistance they need.