Nearly every word uttered during debates on the floor of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly is recorded into the official transcript known as Hansard. Sometimes, Members of the Legislative Assembly make odd comments, and those odd comments are recorded into Hansard.
Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman: …This is an area where the government consistently underfunds and/or cuts. The first thing that’s going to get cut, the first thing on the chopping block is any monitoring staff, and that is true for any department here. If we want to go through and look at SRD, if we want to look at tourism, anything that has a monitor involved with it or some monitoring capacity is what gets cut. Then everybody, you know, puts their panties on their head and runs around when a disaster happens going: how did we miss this? Well, you missed it.
Airdrie MLA Rob Anderson: I have never run around with panties on my head.
Ian Donovan
Ms. Blakeman: Well, that’s a good thing, and I’m glad to hear that from the hon. member. But, you know, we don’t want it to reach that stage. Honestly. We don’t want it to reach that stage.
…
Little Bow MLA Ian Donovan: I want to run around with my panties; I can’t wait.
Ms Blakeman: No. Honestly, you guys. It’s funny, but you do not want to be doing that because that’s when disaster has struck, and you look like fools. …
10 replies on “Wildrose MLA’s “panties” comments recorded in Hansard.”
Is this where the term “asshat” comes from?
Why would you title this Wildrose Panties when the thread, as it were, was actually started by the Liberal Blakeman?
Because wearing panties on your head in times other than disasters does not make you look like a fool.
Interesting that donovan refers to “my panties” and not “panties on my head.” Freudian slip?
Hansard still says “Ken Kowalski (Speaker)” sometimes when Gene’s talking
It is times like these that I am thankful that we dont have Hansard at my workplace.
I think everyone sometimes makes silly, ridiculous attempts at being humourous. (Okay, maybe not everyone. But I certainly am guilty.) Luckily for most, our lame attempts at humour are ignored and forgotten, not published for the world to read.
What ever happened to “Some Hon. Members: hear hear.”
So much for these rodeo clowns swingin their dicks in the Leg, caught by someone as useless as Blakeman must qualify one for the “egg on the face front page”
@David Harrigan – I was quite surprised when I saw that Hansard had actually transcribed Anderson’s and Donovan’s comments. Anyone who spends any amount of time around the Assembly will know that these kinds of comments are made regularly but rarely recorded.
Anderson’s comment seems more forgivable, because what he really meant (and what Laurie Blakeman probably meant) was to say “hair on fire” rather than “panties on head,” or something of the sort. These are heckle’s made in jest, but Donovan’s comment is the odder of the two because it came a few minutes after Anderson’s and just sounds… err… strange coming from a Wildrose MLA representing a red meat southern rural constituency like Little Bow.
And yes, I’m glad to be in a line of work where my every word or lame attempt at humour in the office is not recorded (because I can’t deliver a punch line to save my life).
– Dave
I received this note from a friend who used to work at the Hansard office which clarifies why they transcribed Rob Anderson’s and Ian Donovan’s comments in the Leg last week:
I used to be an editor at Alberta Hansard. Since you brought it up on the comments on the page, Dave, the editorial reason these “panties” remarks were recorded in Hansard was that Blakeman responded to them and they are needed to explain her remarks. If she hadn’t responded, they wouldn’t have been part of the record. This editorial reasoning makes for a complete and sometimes very interesting official record.
Makes sense.
Dave
Seems to me Mr Donovan is going to be one of those mercurial MLAs who leaves the others speechless. He presented a completely persona in his maiden speech on Oct 23. He talked about his parents, his childhood and life in the small town of Mossleigh. He talked about an MLA’s duty to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. Then he talked about the passing of his mother, who was suffering from dementia and staying in Carmangay—and got emotional. A colleague tells him to take a deep breath. Donovan takes a sip of water and says: “I can honestly say that as a son and as a member of the community, and – right on. Always nice to have water. Where was I at? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That can be in Hansard, I think. I did what I said to make sure that my mom and the 18 residents of Carmangay had the best care and were treated with the dignity and respect they so deserve.”
Between these heartfelt comments and cracks about panties the 28th session of the Legislature will be very interesting indeed.
10 replies on “Wildrose MLA’s “panties” comments recorded in Hansard.”
Is this where the term “asshat” comes from?
Why would you title this Wildrose Panties when the thread, as it were, was actually started by the Liberal Blakeman?
Because wearing panties on your head in times other than disasters does not make you look like a fool.
Interesting that donovan refers to “my panties” and not “panties on my head.” Freudian slip?
Hansard still says “Ken Kowalski (Speaker)” sometimes when Gene’s talking
It is times like these that I am thankful that we dont have Hansard at my workplace.
I think everyone sometimes makes silly, ridiculous attempts at being humourous. (Okay, maybe not everyone. But I certainly am guilty.) Luckily for most, our lame attempts at humour are ignored and forgotten, not published for the world to read.
What ever happened to “Some Hon. Members: hear hear.”
So much for these rodeo clowns swingin their dicks in the Leg, caught by someone as useless as Blakeman must qualify one for the “egg on the face front page”
@David Harrigan – I was quite surprised when I saw that Hansard had actually transcribed Anderson’s and Donovan’s comments. Anyone who spends any amount of time around the Assembly will know that these kinds of comments are made regularly but rarely recorded.
Anderson’s comment seems more forgivable, because what he really meant (and what Laurie Blakeman probably meant) was to say “hair on fire” rather than “panties on head,” or something of the sort. These are heckle’s made in jest, but Donovan’s comment is the odder of the two because it came a few minutes after Anderson’s and just sounds… err… strange coming from a Wildrose MLA representing a red meat southern rural constituency like Little Bow.
And yes, I’m glad to be in a line of work where my every word or lame attempt at humour in the office is not recorded (because I can’t deliver a punch line to save my life).
– Dave
I received this note from a friend who used to work at the Hansard office which clarifies why they transcribed Rob Anderson’s and Ian Donovan’s comments in the Leg last week:
I used to be an editor at Alberta Hansard. Since you brought it up on the comments on the page, Dave, the editorial reason these “panties” remarks were recorded in Hansard was that Blakeman responded to them and they are needed to explain her remarks. If she hadn’t responded, they wouldn’t have been part of the record. This editorial reasoning makes for a complete and sometimes very interesting official record.
Makes sense.
Dave
Seems to me Mr Donovan is going to be one of those mercurial MLAs who leaves the others speechless. He presented a completely persona in his maiden speech on Oct 23. He talked about his parents, his childhood and life in the small town of Mossleigh. He talked about an MLA’s duty to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. Then he talked about the passing of his mother, who was suffering from dementia and staying in Carmangay—and got emotional. A colleague tells him to take a deep breath. Donovan takes a sip of water and says: “I can honestly say that as a son and as a member of the community, and – right on. Always nice to have water. Where was I at? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That can be in Hansard, I think. I did what I said to make sure that my mom and the 18 residents of Carmangay had the best care and were treated with the dignity and respect they so deserve.”
Between these heartfelt comments and cracks about panties the 28th session of the Legislature will be very interesting indeed.