PoliticsWatch's Best and Worst Political Performers of 2006
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch Updated 5:00 p.m. December 22, 2006]

The winners (and losers) are in. 

Find out who were the best and worst cabinet ministers and MPs, the biggest dissidents in 2006 and the MPs to watch out for in the future. 

PoliticsWatch presents The Best and Worst Political Performers of 2006.  

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

Cabinet Performers

1. Jim Flaherty, Finance  

The former Ontario finance minister has made quite an impression in Ottawa in his first year here. Flaherty is unshakeable in question period and scrums. The more the opposition attacks him the more he seems to smile. If Flaherty begins taking French lessons, then Stephen Harper better watch his back. 

2. David Emerson, Trade

Three words -- softwood lumber deal.  After a rocky start when he defected from the Liberals, Emerson proved to be an asset to the Conservative government by getting the provinces and most of the lumber industry on side to settle a never-ending trade dispute with the U.S. 

3. John Baird, Treasury Board

Somebody tell this guy he's in government. Baird is a strong believer in the strategy that the best defence is a good offence. So whenever he is grilled in question period, Baird takes great pleasure turning the tables on the Liberals who are questioning him, usually with entertaining results. Baird also was key in getting the government's landmark legislation, the Federal Accountability Act, amended and through a minority Parliament and a Liberal-controlled Senate. 

4. Vic Toews, Justice 

After the prime minister, Toews is probably the busiest man in Ottawa. Toews is overseeing the government's tough-on-crime agenda and has introduced 11 of the 45 bills introduced by the government since January.  

5. Jim Prentice, Indian Affairs

Prentice chairs the cabinet's powerful operations committee and is rumoured to get a bigger cabinet job if or when there is a cabinet shuffle. 

Cabinet Under Performers

Senator Michael Fortier

1. Michael Fortier, Public Works  

The Phantom of Ottawa is here. Unlike Emerson, Fortier has not performed well enough in his job to overshadow the controversy that saw him come into cabinet. While he promised he would be accountable, the appointed Senator is rarely seen by reporters on the Hill and almost never scrums after question period.  

2. Maxime Bernier, Industry

In fairness, Bernier is a rookie MP who has been thrust into a major cabinet portfolio. Nonetheless, it was hard to differentiate his performance before the Commons industry committee in the spring from a Saturday Night Live skit. Bernier answered virtually every question about what the government was going to do to help various economic sectors with the same answer, which was reading talking points about the tax cuts contained the federal budget.  

3. Bev Oda, Heritage

Ottawa is still waiting for Oda's CBC mandate review and she has been largely silent on the government's decision to cut $4.5 million from the Museums Assistance Program. In addition to being one of the weaker ministers in question period, Oda also had to cancel a Tory fundraiser organized by the head of regulatory affairs for media giant CanWest after the opposition parties suggested it was a conflict of interest. 

4. Loyola Hearn, Fisheries

Hearn is showing himself to be reluctant to take advice from the House of Commons and his caucus colleagues. He was caught by surprise during his appearance before the Commons fisheries committee when Tory MP John Cummins lobbed less than friendly questions to him. On the plus side, Hearn has taken credit, tongue-in-cheek, for the Paul McCartney-Heather Mills break-up, because of the seal hunt debate. "We'll take some credit for that," he said. 


5. Rona Ambrose, Environment

With no previous cabinet experience at the federal or provincial level and less than two years in Parliament, Ambrose was given the environment portfolio, which had traditionally been a second-tier cabinet post. And with that, she was given an impossible task of essentially having to admit Canada can't meet its Kyoto targets and then come up with a new "Made in Canada" plan. As much as Ambrose is panned by the opposition parties and some in the media, there aren't too many politicians anywhere in the world that could make that sell.  Ambrose begrudgingly makes this list, but mainly to point out that she has become a scapegoat for a poorly-designed government strategy. Whoever was environment minister for Harper would have made this list, even Brian Mulroney.


Top Performing MPs

Garth Turner: Rebel Without a Caucus

1. Garth Turner, Independent 

Love him or hate him, Garth Turner has made his mark in Ottawa this year. In addition to getting booted out of the Tory caucus, Turner has been a leading advocate of democratic reform and income-splitting. He was also the person who broke the news of cabinet minister Michael Chong's resignation during question period. In addition to his role as an MP, Turner diligently updates his blog, which has become a must-read for Press Gallery reporters. 

2. Jason Kenney, Conservative

This Tory MP may not be in cabinet, but he appears to be the most powerful backbench MP in recent memory. As Harper's parliamentary secretary, Kenney flawlessly pinch-hits for the PM when he is not in question period. And the MP is believed to be very influential in the government's foreign policy. 

3. Pat Martin, NDP 

NDP MP Pat Martin has been a busy man as the NDP's ethics critic and was the swing vote on the Commons committee examining the Accountability Act. The Winnipeg MP had one of the best quotes of the year after a fundraising controversy overtook Liberal MP Joe Volpe's leadership bid.  “The Liberal Party is like an egg-sucking dog … they dig under the fence to get at that money and they just can’t be cured. With an egg-sucking dog, all you can do is put them down.”  

4. Serge Menard, Bloc

All members of the Commons public security committee deserve credit for their follow-up investigation of the Maher Arar affair, but Bloc MP Serge Menard, a former public security minister in the PQ government, ranks among the best when it comes to grilling witnesses, including former RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.  

5. Peter Stoffer, NDP

Stoffer was voted by his colleagues this year as Most Collegial MP, but he is also one of the hardest working who champions many causes, including veterans. This year, Stoffer proposed a motion in the Commons to offer a formal state funeral for the last Canadian veteran of the First World War. The motion passed unanimously. "Offering a state funeral for the last Canadian veteran of the First World War is a fitting and symbolic tribute to recognize the great personal sacrifices of those who have served and who are currently serving our country," Stoffer said at the time.

Under Performing  MPs

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin missed the Afghan vote.

1. Paul Martin, Liberal 

Martin did a good job not overshadowing the interim Liberal leader and deserves kudos for his private member's bill on the Kelowna Accord. However, the former PM's noticeable absence from the vote on extending the Afghanistan mission puts him at the top of the list. 

2. Colin Mayes, Conservative

This rookie B.C. MP made headlines this year after he defended the PM's new restrictions on media access in a column to his local paper. Mayes went further and suggested journalists would be more responsible if they faced jail terms for professional misconduct. "Boy, would the public get accurate and true information if a few reporters were hauled away to jail! Maybe it is time that we hauled off in handcuffs reporters that fabricate stories, or twist information and even falsely accuse citizens." Mayes quickly retracted his comments. 

3. David McGuinty, Liberal 

McGuinty played a key role in one of the bigger controversies in the Commons this fall. He was the Liberal that provoked to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay to allegedly make the "dog" remark in the House of Commons. The whole confrontation took place during a question period debate on the Clean Air Act. McGuinty was able to get under MacKay's skin by asking if MacKay was concerned about climate change's impact on his dog, who was photographed with him after his break-up with Liberal MP Belinda Stronach.. While McGuinty was going on to reporters about MacKay's lack of decorum, he was pressed to explain why he was heckling MacKay. McGuinty's response is about as lame as you can get in politics. "My motivation asking Mr. MacKay about his dog and asking about wildlife and asking in French about other wildlife on a regular basis about climate change is because I've put 22 years of my life into fighting climate and fighting for Kyoto." 

4. Rod Bruinooge, Conservative

Even people who aren't fans of Paul Martin were not impressed with Bruinooge's attack of the former prime minister when he appeared before the Commons aboriginal affairs committee to discuss his private member's bill to recognize the Kelowna Accord. "Mr. Martin, are you pursuing this as a legacy item, perhaps due to the fact that the only legacy it seems you have is the fact that your nemesis served you up a rather large political grenade in terms of the sponsorship scandal?" he asked the former prime minister. "Is this something that you're attempting to use as a legacy item?" 

5. Pierre Poilievre, Conservative

Dropping an f-bomb during a committee meeting, making obscene gestures to opposition MPs during a vote and starting a standing ovation virtually every time Baird speaks in question period puts Poilievre on this list. 

Biggest Tory Dissidents

Tory MP  Michael Chong.

1. Michael Chong, Conservative 

Michael Chong is no trained seal. The former intergovernmental affairs minister resigned from his cabinet job because he could not support Harper's motion recognizing Quebec as a nation. 

2. Garth Turner, former Conservative
Whether it was floor crossers, MP perks or the environment, Turner was never afraid to speak (or in his case blog) his mind on the issue even if it ruffled the feathers of the PMO. Not surprisingly, Turner was booted from caucus. 

3. John Cummins, Conservative 

The veteran Tory MP has butted heads with a cabinet minister during a committee meeting  and sent a letter to the PM and the media publicly stating he cannot support an aboriginal treaty the government plans to sign. 

4. Inky Mark, Conservative

Mark gets on this list because of his opposition to his own government's plans for the Canadian Wheat Board -- voting against the government twice -- and also for not supporting the motion recognizing Quebec as a nation. 

5. Bill Casey, Conservative

Was one of the few Tory MPs to originally voice concerns about Emerson's floor-crossing and was among a handful of MPs to decide to vote against reopening the gay marriage debate after originally voting against it last year. 



Top Four MPs Under Forty 

Tory MP Helena Guergis

1. Helena Guergis, Conservative 

As parliamentary secretary to Emerson, Guergis played an integral role in seeing the softwood lumber deal through committee. In addition, she had perhaps the best quote about the whole MacKay-Stronach dog comment when she said in the House, “I have to say that I do believe that Canadians are probably sick and tired of being dragged into a high school romance gone wrong." 

2. Mark Holland, Liberal

Stockwell Day calls him "Perry Mason on steroids," but the Toronto-area MP has become the Liberal point man on the Arar scandal. In addition, Holland was one of the key backers of Liberal leadership kingmaker Gerard Kennedy.  

3. Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal

LeBlanc was the master of ceremonies at the Liberal leadership convention and even moderated a number of the leadership debates. In addition, he was also key in seeing the softwood lumber deal through committee.  

4. Ruby Dhalla, Liberal

The Toronto-area MP is the party's health-critic but was also a campaign co-chair for Michael Ignatieff's leadership bid.  

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