One-day story (Day Three)

Canadian Press:

Even some Conservative MPs were openly musing yesterday about holding byelections if Prime Minister Stephen Harper opts again for unorthodox means to fill out his cabinet.

On their way into their first caucus meeting, some did little to conceal their unease with Harper's decision to welcome Liberal defector David Emerson into his cabinet along with Michael Fortier, who will run the Public Works Department from his seat in the Senate.

While Liberal and NDP MPs are already howling, some Tories talked about reviving a bill that would stop MPs from switching parties until they face voters in a byelection.

"Oh, I think there is support (for the idea)," said Calgary's Diane Ablonczy. "That'll be up to Parliament to decide but I think it's probably going to be back on the table."

Not a single Tory challenged the qualifications of their new colleagues, whom many applauded as quality additions to cabinet.

But the way they were appointed left many puzzled. Some Tories said they feared Harper's action could instantly tarnish their new government, prompting voters to conclude the Conservatives were just as cynical as the Liberals they replaced.

"I'm quite sure you're going to hear that. Why wouldn't you?" said Thompson.

"That wouldn't be a surprising comment coming from anyone that was a voter ... a lot of comments that come from voters don't surprise me and a lot of things up here (in Ottawa) do surprise me, even from my own party," he said, quickly adding he still trusts Harper's judgment.

Reuters:

New Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday dismissed widespread unhappiness with his Conservative cabinet as "superficial criticism" and said he had no regrets about giving top jobs to an unelected aide and to a recent defector from the Liberals.

Newspapers and media commentators condemned both decisions, saying they flew in the face of Harper's promises to run a more accountable government after winning the January 23 election.

Globe and Mail:

Members of the Conservative caucus squirmed in public and seethed in private yesterday, trying to come to grips with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's two controversial cabinet appointments.

"This looks like expediency, even hypocrisy," a veteran Conservative MP from Western Canada said of the appointments of David Emerson, who was elected last month as a Liberal, and Conservative campaign co-chairman Michael Fortier, who didn't run but will get a Senate appointment.

"This is shocking. It's just unbelievable. Who was Stephen talking to? We campaigned against this kind of stuff," the MP said.

A rookie MP said: "I'm not sure how I'm going to explain these appointments to my constituents. It's bewildering."

Vancouver Sun/National Post:

Stephen Harper, in his first interview since becoming Prime Minister, said yesterday he anticipated the "superficial" criticism of his decision to convince former Liberal Cabinet minister David Emerson to cross the floor to join his Cabinet.
While Mr. Emerson's defection was praised in some quarters, many Canadians voiced outrage and media commentators described the floor-crossing as a betrayal of grassroots voters and a reflection of "dirty" politics.
"I expected some of the superficial criticism I've seen," Mr. Harper told The Vancouver Sun in an interview. "But I think once people sit back and reflect, they'll understand that this is in the best interests of not just British Columbia but frankly of good government."

Edmonton Sun:

At least two prominent Alberta Conservative MPs are expressing doubts about Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to appoint a floor-crossing Liberal to a cabinet post.

James Rajotte and Ken Epp - who both voted for a private member's bill that would have barred MPs from switching parties between elections - said they were not comfortable with Harper's appointment of rogue Liberal David Emerson to be his new International Trade minister.

"My view, my personal view, is that an MP has to consult his constituents before he makes a move to another party," said Rajotte, who also admitted he was "disappointed" at having been passed over for a cabinet spot himself.

"That's why I voted for that bill. If it were presented again, I'd vote for it again. I think there should have been a byelection or something (in Emerson's riding), so the constituents could have some kind of input."

Epp said he also still supports the idea of forcing MPs to fight byelections before switching parties.

Calgary Sun:

As a firestorm erupted over the appointment of a Liberal turncoat and an unelected Montrealer to the new cabinet, Stephen Harper moved to soothe sore feelings yesterday during his first caucus meeting since the election.

Conservative MPs say they're bracing for a backlash from their ridings, but stood behind the new PM's decision to appoint Michael Fortier to the Senate in spite of the party's stand on appointments to the Upper Chamber.

CBC News: Vancouver Liberals want Emerson to repay $97,000:

The Liberal riding association in Vancouver Kingsway wants David Emerson, who left the Liberals for a Conservative cabinet job two weeks after the federal election, to repay almost $97,000 in campaign donations...

In a letter to Emerson, the president of his local Liberal riding association says people who donated to the campaign wanted to elect a Liberal, not a Conservative.

Ivan Curman is also demanding that the MP resign and run in a byelection in Vancouver Kingsway.

Liberals more popular than Emerson in his riding:

David Emerson, despite his high-profile national role as British Columbia's senior federal minister in Ottawa, wasn't known by most of his Vancouver Kingsway constituents before the 2006 campaign began, according to a poll obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
The Mustel Group survey conducted last October found only one-quarter of respondents could identify Mr. Emerson, widely criticized for abandoning the Liberals on Monday to join Stephen Harper's Tory Cabinet as a star recruit, as their member of Parliament.
"Perhaps as further evidence of the relatively low profile of David Emerson amongst voters in his riding, 90% could not name a single accomplishment since being elected to the riding,'' Mustel Group president Evi Mustel advised the Liberal party in her 22-page analysis of the October, 2005, survey results.

National Post:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper must blunt the criticism of his appointment of an unelected party organizer to the Senate and to his Cabinet by holding elections for Parliament's Upper Chamber in the next year, says Bert Brown, who won Alberta Senate elections in 1998 and in 2004, but was never appointed by the Liberals.
Mr. Brown yesterday urged Mr. Harper to hold votes for the five existing Senate vacancies and to elect eight "extraordinary Senators" in order to ensure the country "can't turn back" from the parliamentary reforms promised during the recent campaign.
Prime ministers have the option of appointing two Senators from each of Canada's four regions in order to combat a Senate dominated by the opposition parties, a measure Brian Mulroney used as prime minister in the 1980s.

AND FINALLY: Harper hints at Senate vote:

A day after stunning many Western Conservatives with the appointment of a party organizer to the Senate and then to cabinet, Prime Minister Stephen Harper moved to soothe their feelings, suggesting the Tories may hold Senate elections in conjunction with the next federal vote.
According to caucus sources, Harper said he hopes to be able to fill any remaining vacancies in the Senate the next time voters go to the polls in a federal election — which is likely to happen within the next 18 months.
"The idea is to let Elections Canada run it; there's no need for any constitutional amendment, although there would presumably have to be discussions with the provinces," said a Tory source who was heartened by Harper's pledge.

Why? Why "discussions with the provinces"? This is a house of the federal Parliament. Its job is to represent the regions -- not the provincial governments.