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Althia Raj
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Liberals Boycott Vote On Michael Ferguson Becoming Canada's Next Auditor General

Michael Ferguson

First Posted: 11/03/11 12:04 PM ET Updated: 11/03/11 12:23 PM ET

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Canada will have a unilingual Anglophone auditor general, Conservative MPs decided Thursday.

Despite a Liberal boycott of the vote to appoint former New Brunswick AG Michael Ferguson to a 10 year term as Canada's next auditor general, the vote passed the Commons 153 to 94 against.

The NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green Party were also opposed to Ferguson's nomination.

Liberal Interim Leader Bob Rae urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a letter released Thursday to scrap the vote and begin a new search for an auditor general fluent in both official languages.

He told reporters outside the House of Commons, as MPs were gathering to vote on Ferguson's appointment, that the federal government had not followed its own rules.

"The role of the AG is not to simply sit in a back room with a calculator. The Auditor General must be a communicator. When you can only communicate in one official language, you alienate those who speak the other," Rae said, in a press release.

He said because the selection process was flawed the entire Liberal caucus would boycott the vote.

The Liberals no-show surprised some MPs in the Commons.

Vancouver--Kingsway NDP MP Don Davies tweeted his shock that the Liberals were absent. "I mean NONE of them showed up to vote!!!

But as Green Party Leader Elizabeth May pointed out on Twitter: "The result of this vote was a forgone conclusion, even with the Liberals."

The Senate is expected to vote on Ferguson's appointment Thursday afternoon.

The Conservative majorities ensure he will be successfully endorsed by both houses of Parliament.


Don Davies
Voting on Con proposal for Auditor General: The Liberals are absent!! I mean NONE of them showed up to vote!!!


Elizabeth May MP
Now the CPC and NDP are cheering "no liberals!". The result of this vote was a forgone conclusion, even with the Liberals.#cdnpoli

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Canada will have a unilingual Anglophone auditor general, Conservative MPs decided Thursday. Despite a Liberal boycott of the vote to appoint former New Brunswick AG Michael Ferguson to a 10 year t...
Canada will have a unilingual Anglophone auditor general, Conservative MPs decided Thursday. Despite a Liberal boycott of the vote to appoint former New Brunswick AG Michael Ferguson to a 10 year t...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Cariboofly
Aye, Ready, Aye & Semper Fi
27 Fans
12:35 AM on 11/04/2011
Michael Ferguson was the Auditor General of NEW BRUNSWICK(a bi-lingual province) for 5 years, he has been that (bi-lingual) province's deputy finance minister for 2 years. He was selected by an INDEPENDENT consulting firm as THE MOST QUALIFIED to take over Sheila Fraser's position. He was appointed to the NB Deputy minister position by the LIBERAL government and kept on by the current Conservative government. Can you say "non-partisan" ?
Isn't it just nasty when "qualifications" trump "political correctness" ? It makes the Liberal MP run and hide. So it should.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
piceaglauca
The picture says it all....
295 Fans
 
12:12 AM on 11/04/2011
Reading the articles and comments one would be led to believe that there are enough anti
Harper votes out there. I am anxiously waiting for the next election to see if the Harperites are brought to their knees. I doubt it. As there is as many people out there that don't like what he is doing and have made their voice known there are just as many people out there that do like what he is doing and have not made their voice known. As for the AG. Can he do the job? That is my only concern.
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chuck nathaniel
Your micro-bio is pending approval
212 Fans
11:45 PM on 11/03/2011
Firstly, it's not "French", it's Quebecois. Those in France DETEST the way they speak.

Secondly, why is Canada ruled by a bunch of angry minorities like the Qubecers? ho cares if someone doesnt speak Quebec?
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JBoardman
0 Fans
08:58 PM on 11/05/2011
Just another ignorant hater all the way through.
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Jacetor
36 Fans
 
10:08 PM on 11/03/2011
King Stephen does it again!!! The man has no consideration for Parliament, the Canadian people nor general morals from what he has been pulling lately. I suspect that by year three of his lack of a mandate, he will attempt to do away with the Governor General and just appoint himself King and be done with the whole malodorous throng that he must deal with now. I certainly hope that those poor unfortunates who voted for him with a view that he was the 'best of the worst' come to their senses for the next election (if we ever have one ...)
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Cariboofly
Aye, Ready, Aye & Semper Fi
27 Fans
12:22 AM on 11/04/2011
"The man has no considerat­ion for Parliament­," But there was a vote, right?
".......by year three of his lack of a mandate," Uhh, he has a majority, that IS a mandate, it worked the same when the Liberals were in a majority.
As for the rest of your post? Juvenile silliness.
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JBoardman
0 Fans
09:11 PM on 11/05/2011
More than 60% of Canadians who voted in the last federal elections did not vote for Harper or his Conservative Party. Agreed, he has a majority but that doesn't change the fact that his Party reps breache the rules, put people in conflicts of interest, refuse to answer any question in the House of Commons. Harper fails to live up to his promises of transparent, accountable government procedure and to welcome non-partisan and impartial oversight of important decisions such as appointments.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
SeanMartin
Everything in moderation.
1442 Fans
09:25 PM on 11/03/2011
I dont know if he is indeed the *right* person for the job. I suspect not, since he's tainted with life as a government official for too many years. His bilingualism is, as far as I'm concerned, the least of our worries.
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LeftyNeoCon
What happens when extreme left and right combine.
36 Fans
09:01 PM on 11/03/2011
As inconvenient as it is, this bilingual contract we have in our government is one of the core essences of Canadian society. As somebody who took French up to Grade 9 and haven't looked back I do not support this.
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
173 Fans
08:45 PM on 11/03/2011
This stupid bilingualism BS costs us more than $6 billion a year,why don't we dump it and use common sense instead?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
SeanMartin
Everything in moderation.
1442 Fans
09:26 PM on 11/03/2011
Hey, I know, Stan! Why dont you learn French?

Oh wait. I forgot who I was talking to. Carry on.
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CanadaStan
Cogito ergo spud, I think, therefore I yam
173 Fans
10:40 PM on 11/03/2011
Cause I already have a second language?
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chuck nathaniel
Your micro-bio is pending approval
212 Fans
11:45 PM on 11/03/2011
Agreed. Fuck Quebec.
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headstrong
176 Fans
02:12 PM on 11/03/2011
Harpo parachutes another neocon right-wing toadie into a very important position. Guess nobody will be auditing the Cons financial con games anytime soon. The A-G job just became a joke.
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Cariboofly
Aye, Ready, Aye & Semper Fi
27 Fans
12:39 AM on 11/04/2011
HOGWASH ! Ferguson was appointed AG of New Brunswick by a Liberal government and appointed a deputy minister by a Liberal government. He was selected as the most qualified by an independent consulting firm. To call him anything except "non-partisan" is libelous.
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Capital Ottawa
46 Fans
01:59 PM on 11/03/2011
It's unfortunate that the Liberals did not take the opportunity to take on the role of Opposition, to make their views known and vote against the appointment. Democracy requires participation, when you don't show up you've given up.
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BlackRabbit
174 Fans
01:44 PM on 11/03/2011
So what's the problem? A decade ago we had a Prime Minister who couldn't speak either official language.
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Jim Cohoon
166 Fans
01:36 PM on 11/03/2011
I am a progressive (sometimes Liberal) voter, but I do question the wisdom of the strategy the federal Liberals have been using -- in emphasizing the trees rather than the forest. The Harper regime seems ideologically intent on incrementally cutting down the whole progressive forest built on the foundations of reason and ethics. These side battles may have some tactical significance, but how grandstanding over them will lead to putting the Liberal Party back in power in Ottawa escapes me. I implore the Liberal Party to not forget the 'big picture' -- the philosophical forest of grand and noble principles that historically separate them from the Harperites.
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Miller Time
63 Fans
01:27 PM on 11/03/2011
Liberals! Spoiled little children who are taking their ball and going home.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
patrickwwalker
26 Fans
 
12:44 PM on 11/03/2011
The situation is now one of fairness. Who is not being treated fairly? Surprisingly, it's other anglophones and francophones.

How many other more qualified people didn't put their name in because of inclusion of the bilingual requirement? If the bilingual requirement can be disregarded, then to be fair to all possible candidates, Ferguson should have to reapply with the changed job description.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
anugs
16 Fans
12:45 PM on 11/03/2011
Try to employ a unilingual anglo in a bilingual position in the rank and file of the public service, especially in Ottawa, and you'd be crucified for even trying. On the other hand I can personally attest to witnessing francos in bilingual positions who can bearly, or in some cases cannot be understood at all, trying to communicate in English. Were is the justice in this double standard.
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informedconsent
198 Fans
01:03 PM on 11/03/2011
The dislexic scottsman has a point. If a position calls for fluency in both languages, it should be fluency in both languages. If there is any preference given to one or the other it should not be so.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Miller Time
63 Fans
01:29 PM on 11/03/2011
I remember years ago when a woman applied for a bilingual position with Air Canada. When it was found she couldn't speak French, her answer was "I speak English and Dutch. That is bilingual". Does that qualify as being hoist?
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eternal-optimist
16 Fans
 
12:29 PM on 11/03/2011
I'm actually not opposed to this.
If the man is the best person for the job, then hire him and a translator.
You wouldn't see this being an issue in QC.
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