Bruinooge Watch pt.1: Bill C-393, "Odd-Rocket" Rod Bruinooge fails to vote to help those suffering from AIDS?

So what is the true story behind why my Conservative MP in Winnipeg South, "Rocket Rod" (aka "Odd-Rod") Bruinooge was unable to cast any vote whatsoever on bill C-393 ("An Act to amend the Patent Act drugs for international humanitarian purposes...")?

On both the 2nd reading of Bill C-393 and again on the final and 3rd reading just two weeks ago on March 9th, he was curiously mute. Hmm. Very curious. Even more so because it's not like he was a "paired vote". Further, if I am correct, he was not in any committee meetings anywhere on the Hill. The simple fact is he simply (very, very simply), didn't bother to vote at all. Hmm.

Curiouser still because I know that on March 9th he was present both on the Hill and in the House. Even odder because when I phoned his parliamentary office earlier this month, a member of his staff went out of their way to remind me that Odd-Rod is not the kind of MP who ever "misses a vote" - ergo, given my call occurred on March 9th ... his not voting on C-393 that very same day is indeed very strange stuff.

So what's up?

Could it be that Bruinooge knew all along he would not have to go on the record on bill C-393? Could it be he knew it would be killed in the Harper-Government controlled Senate on orders from the most mindless minuscule and weaselly wonders of Harpoism - Minister Tony Clement? Did Bruinooge know in advance (on March 9th?) that the hapless grinning aping chimp that is Industry Minister Tony Clement would be tasking Harpo's hand-picked partisan Senators with goosestepping marching orders to NOT let bill C-393 pass the Upper Chamber before the anticipated, ugly, and rightful demise of Canada's 40th Parliament?

Did Bruinooge know, in effect, the Tories had planned all along to leave the bill in an aborted stage on the Senate floor?

Or, alternatively (and/or concurrently) could it be that Bruinooge (much like Montreal's Tory Senator Larry Smith) had already been approached by Big Pharma here and told to either vote no and let them keep maximizing their obscene profits because of our flawed drug patent laws - or to simply (again very simply) stay away altogether? Hmm? Why wouldn't Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge cast any vote at all on a bill designed to improve access to life saving drugs for HIV/AIDS patients in Africa?

What are his true reasons for missing both C-393 votes?
Did he know something we didn't?

Stay tuned.

MP Rod Bruinooge & Ezra Levant: Amigos Forever

So this is what a mutual admiration society looks like?

The next time we voters in Winnipeg South are at the ballot box, we should be mindful that: "there’s truth to the adage that we are known by the company we keep."

And then, we should vote accordingly!

Rod Bruinooge and Ezra Levant: Separated at Birth?

"Misleading the public has never been a strategy I've condoned."
Rod Bruinooge

Winnipeg South Tory MP Rod Bruinooge is my Member of Parliament. As such, I like to know what he's doing on my behalf. Last week I was delighted to read of Bruinooge's announcement that federal funding has finally materialized to upgrade a very dangerous rail crossing near my house. It's one that I traverse hundreds (if not thousands) of times a year, so yep, this sure was welcome news.

Hmm, ... wonder what else intrepid Odd-Rod has been up to lately?

Oh Drats! Unfortunately, that is a question easier asked than answered.

The problem is that it is no longer easy to keep a tab on Bruinooge's activities. You see his official website, once a fairly reliable source that allowed his constituents see what he was up to, has changed. At the very least, you think his site would strive to highlight the kind of announcement mentioned above - sadly, it doesn't bother.

Instead, it seems now that Mr. Bruinooge and his "crack" constituency office have better things to do than keep we constituents informed. What Odd-Rod is actually doing and saying seems to be intentionally ignored at his own site. Rarely updated, his current website lacks clarity and transparency. The last "recent event" posting on his site is dated April 5th, 2009 and, presumably, is was intended to highlight how he helped mark the significance of the 92nd Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. I say presumably because there is no way to verify the snippet presented. You see the link to the item leads to a dead MSNBC page, so while I have no doubt he was recently supportive of Canada's history of sacrifice at the Battle of Vimy - I also, based on the link provided, have no proof.

What I do have proof of is that MP Bruinooge has apparently decided Facebook is the platform best suited to advance his narrow anti-abortion agenda. How else does one explain why his official site contains NO mention of his much publicized anti-abortion statement last December - or his recent assertion that Canada has seen "an alarming increase in the number of cases where ... free speech [is] suppressed". Sure, his "official" website notes he is "chair of the multi-party pro-life caucus"; but it does not contain any links that would allow us to read what he is actually saying about the issue.

No, for that we have to go to his Facebook group page, "The Bruinooge Effect" - the one with 821 members that seeks to profligate an "ideal that shakes people out of their tainted world view. Tainted by years of deceptive propoghanda [sic] that has convinced millions of Canadians that humans arrive at birth, not before." Wow. As a supporter of a woman's right to choose, I am utterly shocked at how naive I've been! And if it weren't for Rod, I may never have realized that my own personal world view is, by virtue of my pro-abortion stance, "tainted"! Thanks Rod, obviously I am too ill-equipped to have already formed my own opinion on this matter. You are so right - only yours has merit.

Funny, had I relied only on his official website and not bothered to track down his facebook site, I would never have been aware that he considers the "world view" of 65+% of his constituents to be "tainted'. Oh Rod, how odd?

Well, maybe not so odd; true he is upfront on one of his four Facebook pages that contain such links as:

Rod Bruinooge came out strong in the media on re-opening the debate on abortion in Canada. Read his op-ed here!

and,

Rod Bruinooge was the first MP to speak out against Morgentaler's Order of Canada and appeared on Question Period on CTV. Watch it here:

Being up front on Facebook is one thing - but, apparently, Rod considers being up front on one's OFFICIAL WEBSITE to be something else altogether (i.e. not necessary). If his site is to be believed, 2009 has so far been an unremarkable year for Odd-Rod. In fact, it itemizes his attendance at only three "events" since the January.

And, it most certainly, does not include any reference to this!




Hmm curious ... you would think Odd-Rod would be proud to include the video endorsement above on his public political website? After all, he clearly believes Ezra Levant is "telling it like it is"? Further, his promise to help Ezra "continue" to the fight to abolish s. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act is no small pledge. It's something that we, as his constituents, should be apprised of.... no?

If my MP Rod Bruinooge truly believes in what he is saying on Facebook and at events like the one celebrating Ezra Levant and his "Shake Down" theory on Canada's flawed(?) Human Rights Act, fine. But the least he could do is be transparent about these activities on his official website. After all, we South Winnipeg voters don't want to have any "tainted ideas" about what Odd-Rod really stands for before we head into the next election... now do we?


Update *** Oh my, miracles of miracles, Bruinooge's Official Website has just updated its "Recent Events" listings for the first time in 6 weeks. Hmm, ... wonder what prompted that?

AGAIN: "Misleading the public has never been a strategy I've condoned."
Rod Bruinooge