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Thunder Bay-Superior North Conservative MP Joe Comuzzi vehemently denied that he is not running in the next federal election. Comuzzi‘s name was listed in an Ottawa weekly newspaper along with 23 other MPs who have chosen to not contest the next election. The Hill Times, an independently-owned newsweekly, covers federal politics and the federal government for political and government insiders. Also included on the list are former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin and Liberal MP Belinda Stronach. “It‘s wrong, it‘s wrong, it‘s wrong,” Comuzzi said Wednesday from his Ottawa office. “I don‘t know where they get their information but they never talked to me. “It‘s wrong,” he said. “As of right now, I have not committed to not run in the next election.” Without going into too much detail, Comuzzi said Northwestern Ontario is on the cusp of some big developments and the time is not right for an election. “We can‘t wait around for a budget. We‘ve got to get moving on this stuff right now,” he said. “Nobody in Canada really wants an election. We‘ve got to come to grips in Ontario with the manufacturing sector and the automobile and forestry industries. You can‘t do that if you‘re in the midst of an election.” One of the reasons Comuzzi, 74, has found his second wind in politics is Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “I‘m going to say something that is not going to go down the throats smoothly of a lot of people. This is the best prime minister I‘ve ever worked for. I‘ve got to be frank with you,” Comuzzi said. “This guy (Harper) has given the government pretty good government.” Comuzzi was victorious in the 2006 election in Thunder Bay-Superior North but just barely. He edged out Bruce Hyer of the NDP by just 408 votes but the results will be different next time around, predicted Doug West, associate professor of political science at Lakehead University. “People are pretty disenchanted with Comuzzi so I think regardless of which party he ran for, he wouldn‘t get in,” he said. “Bruce Hyer will probably take it this time. “He‘s a businessman who appeals to the small business owner and at the same time he has a strong track record as far as the environment is concerned,” West said. And Liberal hopeful Don McArthur is doomed to failure, West said. “The Liberals have chosen a candidate from Schreiber but the bulk of the voters are in Thunder Bay.” West said the Liberal Party does dumb things and having McArthur as a candidate was a mistake. “They should have picked Mary Long-Irwin. Nobody knows this guy and you‘d be hard pressed to find someone on the street who knows who he is. “Everyone knows Mary Long-Irwin. She‘s in the news all the time,” West said. McArthur conceded it will be a tough campaign going against Comuzzi, who has represented the riding as a Liberal since 1988. “Joe is a long-time incumbent and it will be a very tough fought campaign, I‘m sure of that,” he said. But McArthur said he has an advantage running as a Liberal in a riding that has been painted red for most of the past 50 year. Being an underdog is nothing new for McArthur. He wasn‘t favoured to win the nomination over the other two well-known candidates, Long-Irwin and lawyer Dave Shannon. Top of Page |
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September 2, 2010, 8:22 am |