Phil McColeman: Not with a strong voice but a whimper

As our MPs relax into summer, it's a good time to review how they performed in Ottawa during the recent sessions of Parliament. During the last election, Phil McColeman promised leadership and a strong voice in Ottawa. In terms of leadership, he has failed to take a stand on any important issues. In terms of a strong voice, Phil has been nothing but a trained seal in the House of Commons, posing pre-planned questions to fellow Conservative ministers, and delivering speeches about how awesome the Conservative government is. Here's a chart showing what Phil talked about every time he opened his mouth:


It's heartwarming to see that Phil spends his speaking time setting up other ministers for an easy score instead of asking questions about, say, land-claims issues, or the need for medical isotopes, or really anything that matters at all.

Predictably, McColeman also voted just as Stephen Harper told him to every time. For example, even with the constituency of Brant that has many Italian-Canadians, Phil voted against a bill that would have recognized the injustice done to Italian-Canadians who were interned during the Second World War. (In 1988, Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government offered an apology and compensation to Japanese-Canadians who suffered similar mistreatment). Strong voice for Brant? As if!

With behaviour like this, it's no wonder that Phil was recently listed as a nominee for Canada's Worst MP. Too bad there's no category for Most Obedient MP, or it would be a shoo-in.