Vellacott Resigns From Chair

[FiveParadox]

Maurice Vellacott, M.P., the Member for Saskatoon—Wenuskewin, today resigned as the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, amidst increasing fire from members of the opposition parties in the House of Commons. The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., M.P., the Member for Winnipeg South Centre, the Indian Affairs Critic for Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and a member of the Committee, had introduced a motion to declare that the Committee had lost confidence in Mr. Vellacott as Chair — a motion which had the support of every opposition member of the Committee membership. He pre-empted the motion, escaping the censure of the Committee, by resigning from the Chair and becoming a regular member.

Liberal Party of Canada[/color]]"Mr. Vellacott's forced resignation is a victory for Aboriginal Canadians", said Indian Affairs Critic Anita Neville, who tabled a non-confidence motion in Mr. Vellacott's position as Aboriginal Affairs Committee Chair earlier this week. "A person who holds such prejudicial views of Aboriginal people has no business playing a leadership role in addressing their issues. Mr. Vellacott's recent attack on the independence of the judiciary was just another example of why he is an inappropriate choice to chair the committee."

...

Justice Minister Vic Toews, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, PMO chief of staff Ian Brodie — even the Prime Minister himself — have also expressed a deep suspicion of the Supreme Court in the past. In fact, much of the Conservative government's policy is guided by the right-wing "Calgary School" of thought, which is highly critical of Canada's judiciary and Charter jurisprudence.

Click here to read the entire statement in English.
Cliquetez içi pour lire le communiqué entier en français.

:arrow: Media : Click here to view footage from Question Period from the House of Commons on this subject. One needs a media player capable of performing streaming video, such as Windows Media Player, to view the footage.

The footage is that of an exchange between the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., the Member for Calgary Southwest and the Prime Minister of Canada, and the Honourable Bill Graham, P.C., M.P., the Member for Toronto Centre and the Leader of the Opposition).

:arrow: My Opinion Re: The Resignation of Vellacott

I am happy to see that Mr. Vellacott decided to resign from the chairpersonship of a committee which, in my opinion, he had no place acting as an arbiter, given his prejudiced views (in my opinion) of Aboriginal Canadians that he has expressed in the past. The attacks that he launched on the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Right Honourable Beverly McLachlin, P.C., the Chief Justice of Canada, were only icing on a cake of contempt. However, I was quite dismayed to see the smug way in which he resigned — instead of taking responsibility for his comments, he blamed the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party of Canada for obstructing the activities of the Committee (which is, in my opinion, untrue).

:?: Sources
1. Click here for the Web site of Politics Watch.
2. Click here for the Web site of the Liberal Party of Canada.

 

[Colpy]

Claire Hoy said it best in his letter to the Globe and Mail:

So you agree that Supreme Court justices do not see themselves as "Godlike" figures, as charged by MP Maurice Vellacott. Quite right, too. After all, God is subject to criticism.

Mr. Hoy has always displayed a clarity of vision seldom matched by his fellow commentators.

 

[Grit86]

I figured Harper and co would just weather the storm and let it blow over. A bit extreme in my opinion.

I guess one could argue this move is a reflection of the vulnerability the Conservatives feel as a minority government. If so, it's nice to see that they know their place.

 

[sanch]

A person who holds such prejudicial views of Aboriginal people has no business playing a leadership role in addressing their issues.

This appeared to be the issue and not comments about the supreme court. Not even certain how that could be misinterpreted.

 

[FiveParadox]

sanch, my understand of this situation would be that the attacks on Chief Justice McLachlin were the "last straw", so to speak, which prompted the more immediate push to have Mr. Vellacott removed as the chairperson of that committee.