Guelph voters can continue with absentee Liberals, or vote for change
You always hope to have a good MP. But when you think about it, a good MP generally has a low profile. As a member of a federal party, big decisions are made at the cabinet level. Issues being voted on affect the country as a whole. Most truly local issues are properly handled by a municipal representative or perhaps a provincial MLA.
That is not to say an MP doesn't have an important role to play. For all the money spent on polls, for example, a party would do well to listen to MPs about the feeling on the ground. And a good MP ought to always be plugged in to his riding and the issues that people are concerned about.
When all is said and done, an election is still won riding by riding.
And a great MP, well, can do a lot for a riding. Especially one who is well versed in politics.
I say this by way of introduction to an interesting post by Gloria Kovach, who is hoping to win in the riding of Guelph, next door to where I am in Cambridge. No by-election has been called yet, but perhaps one ought to be called soon, because it seems like Guelph has not been well served by the former Liberal MP.
Conservative Gloria Kovach would like to be the next MP for the riding of Guelph. Technically, she would be succeeding Liberal Brenda Chamberlain, but with Chamberlain's notorious attendance record, you might be forgiven for thinking Kovach would be seen as the first MP Guelph had had for quite some time.
Brenda Chamberlain announced her retirement, and then apparently skipped town:
When Guelph M.P., the Hon. Brenda Chamberlain resigned on April 7, the Liberal Party wasted no time getting out of town. Although responsible to maintain the constituency office, they quickly removed all indications that one continues to exist.
Guelph has been used to silence in the House of Commons from their Liberal representative. Not only did she have one of the poorest attendance records, she also consistently ranked in the bottom 5% of participation when in the House. Now upon her departure from office, the last vestiges of her presence in Guelph are being expunged by the Liberals, including the signs for the office.
No statement has been issued by the departing M.P., or local party officials as to how the people of Guelph are to obtain federal government services.
You might think this was Conservative Party propaganda, but in fact, Chamberlain's performance as an MP was such that a petition was started to have her resign her seat!
In 2005 she was ranked 306 out of 308 in words spoken in the House of Commons.
Mrs. Chamberlain has not voted on any legislation in Ottawa since June 2007 and missed 37 per cent of all votes in the spring session.
Guelph's representative voice in Ottawa was not heard on far too many significant pieces of legislation.
The site, stepaside.ca, lists 11 votes that Chamberlain missed since December 2007.
The site was created by local politician Cameron Guthrie. Cameron Guthrie is also a Conservative, but really, Chamberlain seems to be a special case. I haven't heard of any other MP, Liberal or otherwise, being taken to task this way.
Has Chamberlain really gone? Her site at http://www.brendachamberlainmp.ca/ is down, and as far as I can tell from the Internet Archive, it has been down since June 2007, having last been updated in February 2007.
So yeah, it sure seems like the Liberals have not been all that interested in Guelph for quite some time. This could be a serious problem for Stephane Dion. Imagine making a visit to Guelph to promote the local candidate, millionaire businessman Frank Valeriote. Voters would be asked to swap a Liberal who seems to have done nothing for quite some time for another Liberal who would be under orders from Stephane Dion to do nothing for God knows how long.
The could be a real opening for Gloria Kovach:
Gloria Kovach has been speaking up for the people of Guelph for many years as this City's longest serving Councillor. As the former President of FCM, she has spoken up for us and other cities on the national stage, working alongside the Canadian Government. Her voice has been heard on the international stage via her work with the FCM and the United Nations.
If there is no election, a by-election in Guelph could shape up to be a real opportunity for the Conservatives.
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Gloria Kovach Brenda Chamberlain Cameron Guthrie Conservative Party Liberal Party Stephane Dion Frank Valeriote
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