Royal Galipeau on spending spree again.

[Machjo]

I just got a letter in the mail today with a Christmas card from my Ottawa Orleans MP, Royal Galipeau. And sure enough, it's stamped with the government seal on the back, so clearly I paid for his Christmas gift to me. And worse yet, he's using it as an opportunity to promote his family at my expense by having his whole family on the front cover along with a letter enclosed. If that's not a mild form of promotion almost bordering on cronyism and nepotism at the taxpayers' expense, I don't know what is.

Yet last election, many people voted for this party hack not based on any merit of his, but solely on his party membership. I'd even had voters who'd voted for him say the same.

We have to do away with the party system if we ever want to get away from people voting for such uncritical party hacks just because of their pretty party colours.

Any other examples on your end of low-quality MPs having been elected not so much owing to any true merit of their own, but merely owing to their pretty party colours? And I don't care of their party membership. If you have one in your riding, please share your story.

 

[FiveParadox]

I actually have very little respect for Mr. Royal Galipeau M.P. (Ottawa--Orléans). When he served during the 39th Parliament of Canada as the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole (one of three presiding officers who may take the place of the Speaker of the House of Commons when he is absent), he demonstrated blatent partisanship from the chair--absolutely unacceptable. When he sought the speakership at the start of this Parliament, I didn't appreciate at all the way in which he insulted the conduct of The Honourable Peter Milliken M.P. (Kingston and the Islands), one of the best Speakers that Canada has ever enjoyed.

As for my own riding, representing by Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal M.P. (Newton--North Delta), I've noticed very little out of my representative in the House of Commons; it's actually to the point where I feel more effective in communicating with my province's senators, than I do communicated with my elected member of Parliament. He rarely speaks to substantive issues, and when he actually speaks in the House, it's usually just to commemorate Visaikhi, or to discuss Air India, or other issues prominent in the Sikh community in this riding. I've never heard him speak critically of anything that his own party has done, despite their current tailspin.

 

[Machjo]

I actually have very little respect for Mr. Royal Galipeau M.P. (Ottawa--Orléans). When he served during the 39th Parliament of Canada as the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole (one of three presiding officers who may take the place of the Speaker of the House of Commons when he is absent), he demonstrated blatent partisanship from the chair--absolutely unacceptable. When he sought the speakership at the start of this Parliament, I didn't appreciate at all the way in which he insulted the conduct of The Honourable Peter Milliken M.P. (Kingston and the Islands), one of the best Speakers that Canada has ever enjoyed.

As for my own riding, representing by Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal M.P. (Newton--North Delta), I've noticed very little out of my representative in the House of Commons; it's actually to the point where I feel more effective in communicating with my province's senators, than I do communicated with my elected member of Parliament. He rarely speaks to substantive issues, and when he actually speaks in the House, it's usually just to commemorate Visaikhi, or to discuss Air India, or other issues prominent in the Sikh community in this riding. I've never heard him speak critically of anything that his own party has done, despite their current tailspin.

Thanks. I was wondering then how he won his seat. And has it been more than once? if so, how did he manage to keep it? In the case of Gallipeau, from some of the conversations I've had with those who'd voted for him, more than a few of them acknowledged that as a person, he's a lightweight intellectualy speaking, but that they were voting for the party, not the candidate. How do we get people to actually vote for a qaulity candidate and ignore his party affiliation? In your riding, have you found any similar occurrence re: Mr. Dhaliwal, that essentially people vote for him not because of any quality of his own, but merely because he happens to belong to the right party? I can assure you that in the case of Mr. Galipeau, that is most likely the case. Remove his party affiliation, and he'd sink like a rock come next election.