EXCLUSIVE POLITICAL COVERAGE: NEWS, FEATURES, AND ANALYSIS INSIDE NO ONE CAN HILL CLIMBERS: THERE’S ANOTHER BIOTECHNOLOGY ACCURATELY PMO HIRES MORE OPTION: MAKING POLICY PREDICT THE STAFFERS SOBER SECOND WINNER OF THE AHEAD OF FALL THOUGHT BRIEFING 2015 ELECTION p. 9 SESSION p. 34 EFFECTIVE p. 12 pp. 19 -28 TWENTY-FOURTH YEAR, NO. 1202 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSWEEKLY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 $4.00 PMO to focus on FOREIGN POLICY: SYRIA Global community long-term, policy- PM HARPER SAYS WORLD ‘inept’ at dealing with centric, offensive mass atrocities, Syria, political game MUST ACT IN SYRIA, OTHERS says Sen. Dallaire The PMO is crafting the Throne And critics say PM Stephen Speech, as Prime Minister Stephen CALL FOR DIPLOMACY Harper has no interest in Harper plans to roll out a ‘robust’ putting these policy decisions policy agenda, say Conservatives. into the hands of Parliament. By LAURA RYCKEWAERT By BEA VONGDOUANGCHANH PMO chief of staff Ray Novak The global community is still has repatriated familiar and expe- “inept” on how to deal with inter- rienced staffers whose strengths national crises in light of the mass play to the offensive, long-term atrocities currently taking place and policy-centric political game in Syria, says a retired Canadian which Conservative sources say Forces general. the government will pursue in the “Instead of having reinforced fall with the 2015 election in mind. the responsibility to protect and “You have to have staff in place operationalize it and take the who have the skill to recognize that risks of going through the delib- a particular issue is an issue that erate process, the stages of the can surface during an election and responsibility to protect, which is Please see story on Page 6 the creation of the post-Rwandan catastrophe, we are still inept, internationally, to bring about not Photograph courtesy of the White House: Pete Souza House: Pete the White courtesy of Photograph President Barack Obama, pictured Aug. 31, in the Situation Room with his national security advisers to discuss Please see story on Page 4 strategy in Syria. Congress will vote on taking military action in Syria this week. NDP call Trudeau Tory Senators ‘Harper-light’ could be more Firmly in third place for months, difficult to control, New Democrats vow to fight hard to regain momentum. say Conservatives By BEA VONGDOUANGCHANH As PM Stephen Harper fights to regain NDP MPs say party leader Tom control over the Senate expenses Mulcair, whose party is in third place scandal, Conservative Senators are in public opinion polls, will have a wondering where they stand. much higher profile in the coming months and will fight hard to regain the party’s momentum after win- By LAURA RYCKEWAERT ning more than 100 seats in 2011. But they’re also portraying Liberal Leader The Conservatives could have Justin Trudeau as an empty-headed more difficulty controlling their celebrity politician, calling him “Harp- Senate caucus and keeping them er-light,” and say, unlike Mr. Trudeau, onside to support the government’s their leader has substance. legislative agenda after Prime Min- NDP MPs, who will meet in ister Stephen Harper cut the Sen- Saskatchewan for their summer ate government leader from Cabi- caucus meeting this week, also net, say Conservative sources. say they’re not worried about “When you’ve isolated them, I public opinion polls because the the PMO courtesy of Photograph don’t know if they’re going to neces- election is two years away and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, pic- sarily want to be team players, and they are eyeing the gains they can tured on Sept. 5 at last week’s G20 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mr. Harper spoke passionately at the end of that’s the one issue that, I guess, will make in Western Canada. the G20 against the need for a unanimous UN Security Council call for force in Syria and criticized Russia for evolve over the next few months. using its Security Council veto to water down any attempt to deal with the crisis. Please see story on Page 16 Please see story on Page 17 2 THE HILL TIMES, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 FEATURE BUZZ ON HEARDTHE HILL BY B EA V ONGDOUANGCHANH Fight Club, anyone? and courtesy of Michael de Adder andMichael Healey Adder andMichael Michael de courtesy of and Hill Times, Embassy, and GCTC start Hill Times, The Friday Night Fights Photographs by Jake Wright, Wright, by Jake Photographs Let’s do this: Hill Times editorial cartoonist Michael de Adder, left, and Sun Media Hill journalist David Akin, second left, ridays are about to get a whole through his Cabinet Shuffles strip will talk about satirizing the PMO on Sept. 13 at the GCTC after watching Michael Healey’s new play, Proud. Hill Times Flot scrappier. The Hill Times, with the Jean Chrétien PMO (in publisher Jim Creskey, right, will moderate the evening’s discussion, which is expected to be frothy, lively and entertaining. Embassy, and Ottawa’s Great which he created “The Adven- Canadian Theatre Company are tures of Jean Chrétien’s Big Fat teaming up for “Friday Night Mouth”) and more recently with in Quebec. With his long-awaited opens at the GCTC for the rest hol,” said Hill Times and Embassy Fights,” starting this Friday, Sept. Prime Minister Stephen Harper majority in hand, the Prime Min- of the season, and is open to all. publisher Anne Marie Creskey. 13, where politicos and theatre- as “Lord Harper à la Darth Vader.” ister takes command and sets a The GCTC says it’s in keeping “What you can expect: No party goers get together for some fun, Proud is a comedy that may course of unprecedented fiscal con- with the theatre’s mandate to lines, no feigning shock, no pious lively and interesting debate. or may not have similarities to servatism. Enter novice Quebec “provoke examination of Cana- whining. Friday Night Fights will The Hill Times publisher Jim real-life politics. According to MP (and former St-Hubert man- dian life” and to “bring opposing dig into the real narratives that lie Creskey will moderate a debate the play’s description, it looks at ager), Jisbella Lyth—a woman with views to bear on themes” from behind the politics of the day and between editorial cartoon- the PM’s legendary control of his a certain charm. Is she an asset or each show. have a little fun with them.” ist Michael de Adder and Sun caucus and how he puts it ahead a liability to the Prime Minister’s “The GCTC does some of the Mr. Healey tweeted last week: Media’s David Akin after the of the greater good. It also looks plan? From the playwright who most interesting theatre in this “The Hill Times, Ottawa’s wonki- GCTC’s production of the contro- at how the over-simplification brought you The Drawer Boy and town and The Hill Times and est political newspaper, is the pro- versial, political play, Proud, writ- of political platforms has ruined Plan B, Proud is a comedy about Embassy have some of the most duction sponsor for Proud. Which ten by Michael Healey. The topic: critical thinking in Canada. what politicians actually want and interesting people in town as is hilarious and cool.” satirizing the Prime Minister’s From the playbill: “It’s 2011 the lengths to which they will go to readers. Who wouldn’t want to Proud opens Sept. 10 and runs Office, which has been a topic for and the Conservatives have just win their hearts’ desires.” see what happens when you put until Sept. 29. Mr. de Adder’s editorial cartoons secured a massive electoral major- Friday Night Fights will take them together and add an ideas- for years, highlighted specifically ity, winning virtually every seat place each Friday a new play fuelled debate and a little alco- More Heard on the Hill on Page 33 4 THE HILL TIMES, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 NEWS SYRIA Global community ‘inept’ at dealing with mass atrocities, Syria, says Sen. Dallaire And critics say PM Stephen Harper has no interest in putting these policy decisions into the hands of Parliament. and more than 100,000 killed since it erupted in 2011. The United Nations is currently conduct- ing tests to determine whether chemical weapons were used and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has urged the international community to not intervene militarily until a UN weapons inspector’s report is com- plete. Russia, a Syrian ally, has asked those who want to intervene with a military strike for proof that chemical weapons were used and that it was Mr. Assad’s government that used it. Russia and China also hold a Security Council seat at the UN and back Syria, making a UN-sanctioned response to the crisis deadlocked. In Canada, however, Parliamentarians did not have a chance to debate what its government should or could do to help either militarily or from a humanitarian perspective. The NDP called for Parliament, cur- rently on its summer recess, to be recalled so MPs could discuss the issues. Prime Photograph courtesy of the PMO courtesy of Photograph Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary South- G20: PM Stephen Harper with France President François Hollande last week during the G20 meetings in Russia. G20 leaders discussed how to intervene in Syria. west, Alta.), who recently announced that Parliament would be prorogued and not return until October, said last month that while Canada supports its allies and that Continued from Page 1 the crisis in Syria needs to be dealt with militarily, the government does not intend only conflict resolution, but conflict pre- to get involved.