"Monkey Man" Mike Lake (Conservative MP for Edmonton, Mill Woods-Beaumont) employs the John Turner Defense when trying to explain why he has wasted the nation's precious time with a "save Bigfoot" petition that he presented to the HOC on behalf of a number of his constituents, primarily Bigfoot "discoverer" Todd Standing :
“You don’t make judgment calls on petitions,” Lake told Sun Media yesterday. “We try to do it as a service to constituents.”
Actually, this is false, perhaps deliberately so. You do make judgement calls on petitions, according to Petitioning The House of Commons: A Practical Guide
Nothing in the rules or practices of the House of Commons requires a Member to present a petition he or she has received. The Member may even ask another Member to present the petition.
So the question remains: why, Monkey Man, why? And further, why didn't known control freak Stephen Harper put a spike through this thing? Has he lost control of his back-benchers?
What if there was a petition, to say, something like another Nazi movement - would he submit that?
ReplyDeleteWhat a doze.
Again, Harper's key adviser did say intelligence doesn't matter, just electability - it shows.
i first thot you guys r aving fun with this guy's last name
ReplyDeleteu know, bigfoot in lake, etc
apparently, this guy really had a bigfoot petition
move over Anders, hello Lake ...
harper is pleased with this petition as it serves as a useful distraction from the gov'ts incompetence
ReplyDeleteLake is a loon! He's protected!
ReplyDeleteAnd further, why didn't known control freak Stephen Harper put a spike through this thing? Has he lost control of his back-benchers?
ReplyDeleteThis is Harper's idea of comedy. He did this to show he's a spontaneous, fun-lovin' kind of guy.
Worked on me. I pooped myself laughing.
Well, that would be censorship, wouldn't it? I thought people had the right to free speech, and the right to have their concerns heard in Parliament? So much for rights in Canada.
ReplyDeleteSo if a petition supporting same-sex marriage came to an MP and he DIDN'T bring it to Parliament, you'd all be fine with that, right?
A petition has to be deemed 'in order' by the Clerk of Petitions before it is accepted. If it is racist etc, it will not be deemed to be in order and will be rejected by the clerk.
ReplyDeleteAnon, good point on the SSM thing.I guess Liberals have a hard time with an MP who is willing to represent one of his constituents even if the MP himself disagrees with those views. Totally unheard of in Liberal circles I guess.
Al