OttawaWatch: Chuck’s Trudeau mentorship

chuckstrahl

Chuck Strahl is one of the new Trudeau mentors. It is quite an honour, and a good way to make use of the experience he gained in the almost two decades he spent in the House of Commons. Strahl was one of the original “class of ’93” Reformers and, in Stephen Harper’s minority government, held three of the most challenging cabinet portfolios. It was under his watch as Indian Affairs (now Aboriginal Affairs) minister that the historic parliamentary apology to residential school … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Nenshi’s facilitator

Naheed Nenshi Portrait

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi found himself being bashed, nationally, a few days ago, for his effort to reduce conflict among members of his city council. At the root of the bashing was a somewhat contentious decision the mayor had taken, to have a psychologist/facilitator meet with council members. Nenshi was a surprise winner in the city’s 2010 mayoralty race. He was known, among other things, as a teacher in non-profit management (not an oxymoron) at Mount Royal University. The first … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Kinder and gentler

leestrobel

Lee Strobel is an apologist. No, he has nothing for which to apologize. The “apologist” moniker relates to the increasingly professional practice of providing friendly and informed venues for defending and/or explaining the Christian faith. Apologists are not evangelists or pastors, exactly, but they can, at their best, provide considerable support for both of those other faith-based professions. So what does this have to do with the faith-political interface? As part of my … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Small state, small society

David Cameron and Tony Blair

"The difficulty with the 'big society' concept, as it is being worked out in Great Britain, is that, as it stands, we have an emerging 'small state and small society.'" I will not name the originator of that quote. It came earlier this month from a visitor from Great Britain who was commenting on my continuing interest in the "big society." For starters, an explanation for those who are reading OttawaWatch for the first time: One of my continuing interests, in embarking on a … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: The marriage!

MACKAY-WEDDING

Why should the recent marriage of Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Iranian-born human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam be of interest to readers of OttawaWatch? I invite readers to respond, either by e-mailing me or putting a comment at the bottom of this piece on www.canadianchristianity.com. That means this OttawaWatch will be rather short. Please bear with me to run through some preliminary comments: Despite MacKay’s rather colourful list of romantic liaisons, there has always … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Wit to win

Jack Layton Stephen Harper Stephane Dion Elizabeth May Gilles Duceppe

He drew a circle that shut me out – Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in!   -- An epigram entitled “Outwitted” by Edwin Markham, 1852-1940, sometime Poet Laureate of the state of Oregon. *  *  * The above lurked just above the surface of my subconscious several times early in the New Year, as I looked back on the faith/political interface in Canada. Admittedly, Markham’s epigram might have … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Back to school

tyndale_university_college_and_seminary_about_1268621458

Now that winter is properly launched in the nation’s capital, it is time to wish OttawaWatch readers a Happy New Year. And, as well, to talk about some interesting adjustments which I trust will make these weekly pieces more relevant and interactive. While it would be nice to spend the first week of 2012 on some warm ocean beach, that is not to be. Instead, Edna and I will be in warm Toronto classrooms, participating in an exercise that we trust will take us a little further forward in the … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Electrifying Christmas minutes

JoyToTheWorldBigNativityScene

It was an electrifying two minutes on CTV’s Question Period this past Sunday, December 18. After the usual attacks and counter-attacks by the talking heads, QP’s co-anchor, Kevin Newman invited – yea, required – his three MP guests to say something good about their political opponents. The three, Megan Leslie of the NDP, the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau and Dean Del Mastro of the Conservative party, all rose to the occasion. I was watching this epic performance, warmly propped up … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: Finishing well

IrwinCotler

Following the May 2 election, the friends of several re-elected Liberal MPs, mostly in their 60s, began to try to find ways of helping them to "finish well". Most of the MPs, as it happened, were people of faith. I will try to describe, in a semi-educated fashion, what was happening and why. The MPs concerned represented central Canada urban ridings. Their commonality was as follows: They were in the sector of the party that tended to lean "blue" rather than "pink" so they would not be … [Read more...]

OttawaWatch: The exhorting senator

Senator Don Meredith

Senator Don Meredith, a Toronto pastor, business person and dampener-down of youth violence, is urging the private business sector to support efforts to resolve long-standing problems at the Attawapiskat First Nation. In the interests of full disclosure: Senator Meredith took me on as his communications advisor for a few months, after my main source of earned revenue largely disappeared, last January. So I feel comfortable offering some analysis of his November 30 press release in which he … [Read more...]