Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 5, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba a4 Winnipeg free press sunday november 5, 2006 sunday columnists no joking harpers hilarious ? really o Ottawa ? you Wanna know something funny about prime minister Stephen Harper Well he a actually quite funny. And no i a not joking. I know it plays against Type what with All the talk about Harper being the Resolute Leader eyes fixed firmly on his top 5 priorities with no time for Small talk. But i be witnessed his wit. He has made me laugh. And if you Ever get a Chance ask him to do his bang on impersonation of John Mccallum the former Liberal Cabinet min ister. Alas the problem for Harper and by Extension his tories is that not enough canadians have seen this other Side of the prime minister. To most Vot ers he a the snarling parti san Quick to Label Liberal leadership candidates As anti jewish or to blame others for a slowdown in his legislative Agenda. But a Guy you could Yuk it up with a Mon get real. Fortunately for Harper a funny thing happened on the Way to the Rick Mercer report last tuesday. In what has been a time honoured rite of political passage for More than decade in Canada ? and one that Speaks volumes about our country and its leaders ? Harper allowed himself to be the butt of jokes with the Csc funny Man. The setup for the hilarious Send up was Mercer popping by for a political Chat at what he Calls two four Sussex drive with the pm. He wants to talk about Harper being a control Freak and his icy relationship with the parliamentary press corps. But before he knows it Harper is making Mer cer a Sandwich letting him play hockey in the hallway with his kids Ben and Rachel and then Reading him a bedtime Story from his Federal accountability act. I Don to want to give away the punchline from the final scene but lets just say the five minute skit ends with both a handshake and a hug As the pm bids Farewell to his kids and Mercer the next morning after the Sleepover. The brilliance of harpers appearance was its self deprecating nature. Take a Guy who supposedly has an authoritarian Streak and a hate on for the Media and show him being All sweetness and Light As he tucks into bed the pseudo reporter who has taken shots at Harper Over the years. Not Only did Harper steal the show with his dead pan delivery but almost a million canadians who tuned in got to see their prime minister in a completely different Light. Now i a not suggesting you need to be Able to do stand up comedy to be prime minister. But based on the polling numbers Harper needs to mix up his routine a bit if he wants to turn his minority government into a majority. In the nine months since taking Power the polls have barely moved. The tories Are still in the Lead but not where they need to be with an election looming next Spring. And with the liberals about to finally get a Leader whatever honeymoon Harper has enjoyed is about to end. Harper May no longer be seen As scary even if he does Bounce Guys like Garth Turner from his caucus or hit the Canadian wheat Board with gag orders. But do voters like him enough to give him a majority not yet they Don to. I tend to think of politics As a bit of a popularity contest. At one level they re not much different than what happens when High schools elect their presidents. Should the smartest Guy in the class win yeah. But its usually the student that the rest like the most who gets to be president. Now behind the scenes of harpers appearance on the Mercer report was a bit of ugliness involving the photographer that the Csc Star wanted to bring along to the shoot. You see David Chan used to be Paul Martins official photographer when he was prime minister. And in harpers world no one with Liberal ties was going to be allowed to get a camera anywhere near him so Chan was in hired. The next Day Security guards manhandled a to cameraman out of a photo of in the prime minis Ter a office for having the nerve to ask a question of Harper when no questions were to be asked. Neither incident was particularly funny or showed the prime minister in a Good Light. Far better for Harper to try to allow the Cam eras to capture More of his Good Side. Voters will like it a lot More than your dark Side or. Harper. Make us laugh once a while. Who knows it might even allow those crying Over their income trusts to forget for a moment that you broke an election Promise to them. Paul Samyn is the free press National reporter. His email is Piper Dave Morran leads in the head table. In Winnipeg. Sylvia Kuzyk of ctr news hosted the evening which included 25th anniversary Volunteer achievement awards historical displays dinner and a keynote presentation by genetic researcher or. Dessa Sadovnick pad of the University of British Columbia. Esteemed guests included the honourable John Harvard p.c., o.m., lieutenant governor of Manitoba the honourable Jim Rondeau minister of science technology Energy and mines or. Lou Maroun chair of the National Board of directors of the multiple sclerosis society of Canada or. Dessa Sadovnick department of medical genetics and faculty of Medicine division of neurology ubic. Awards were presented to volunteers who have supported the is society for Many years in the areas of client services fundraising and Volunteer achievement. The recipients were Jeanette Edwards Bob blight Kathy blighted Lawrence Rick Gorets Olive Dietrich Lyn Thompson Tiiu Lapko Campbell Mcintyre and the its pioneers. The Manitoba division office is newly located at 1465 Buffalo place in Winnipeg with chapter offices in Brandon Dauphin Portage la Prairie Morden and Steinbach. Konyk Rural client services coordinator Mary Lynn Moffat fundraising coordinator Mabel Brown. ;