Marc Garneau

Marc Garneau, Député/MP for Westmount-Ville-Marie
Marc Garneau on Wednesday-Night.com plus Marc Garneau
Marc Garneau on Open Parliament
Marc Garneau on Facebook

See Liberal Party of Canada Leadership race

Marc Garneau jokes on Twitter — CBC’s Rosemary Barton took a liking to the jokes and included them on the Power and Politics show.
Marc Garneau makes his case for becoming interim Liberal leader
(CTV) As well as being an MP and an astronaut, Garneau headed the Canadian Space Agency and its $300-million budget for four years. In doing so, he proved that he can run a “tight, disciplined team that can deliver on projects,” he said.
Garneau stressed that the Liberal caucus needs discipline and unity following a dismal election result, which saw the party reduced from 77 to 34 seats,
He does not, however, aim to become permanent leader.
Marc Garneau offre ses services comme chef intérimaire
(Ottawa) Le député de Westmount-Ville-Marie et ancien astronaute, Marc Garneau, a proposé ses services pour être le prochain chef intérimaire du Parti libéral du Canada, après la défaite historique du 2 mai.
Les libéraux se cherchent actuellement un successeur temporaire à Michael Ignatieff, qui a démissionné au lendemain de l’élection qui a vu la députation libérale passer de 77 sièges à 34, lui-même n’ayant pas pu sauver sa place à la Chambre des communes.
Les règles élaborées par les hautes instances du parti pour la nomination d’un chef intérimaire prévoient que ce dernier soit bilingue et qu’il refuse par écrit de se présenter à la véritable course à la chefferie, qui devrait avoir lieu dans deux ans.
(CBC) Garneau vies for interim Liberal leadership
6 May
What happened in Westmount – Ville Marie?
(Westmount Examiner) Tight races are common in elections; it’s all part of the territory. The words “too close to call” can be downright exciting to the politically inclined, but declaring a distinct winner when a significant portion of the ballots had yet to be counted was both irresponsible and misleading.
The very fact that the incumbent Marc Garneau ended up winning is proof that there was no way he could have been “mathematically” eliminated from the race at any point, thus adding to the utter recklessness of declaring Corbeil elected long before the last poll reported. What happened in Westmount-Ville Marie that caused a substantial portion of the ballots to be tabulated so late, thus causing so much confusion and stress? Can steps be taken to make sure this doesn’t happen during our next election — which, thanks to the majority federal government elected this time around, should be a provincial vote. These questions must be addressed before that vote, otherwise local voters are liable to be going to bed believing Westmount-Ville Marie has turned a distinct shade of PQ blue.
3 May
Peggy Curran: Tight race for star Liberal
Garneau running neck and neck with NDP’s Corbeil
It was a sign of the wacky election times that even the astronaut running in the Liberal fortress of Westmount- Ville-Marie couldn’t count on winning.
With results reported in only a few dozen of 205 polls, Liberal incumbent Marc Garneau was still expected to scrape out a victory in the sprawling downtown riding, but not without a stiff challenge from Jack Layton’s New Democrats, represented by a virtually unknown rival named Joanne Corbeil.
But with a few dozen of 205 polls reporting, Garneau and Corbeil were running neck and neck, trading the lead with Conservative Neil Drabkin a distant third.
As results scrolled across the television screen, a dull silence filled the store front riding office on Sherbrooke St. where Garneau supporters had gathered for what they hoped would be a victory party.
The very notion that Corbeil, a Kirkland resident with a background in communications but no political experience, might unseat Garneau, a star candidate touted as cabinet material when he was recruited by the Liberals in Paul Martin’s time, was proof of the cosmic shift in the Canadian political landscape.
Political shake-up in Montreal ridings
(Global) Former astronaut and Liberal incumbent Marc Garneau has suffered defeat at the hands of a dramatic NDP sweep of Quebec.
Joanne Corbeil, the NDP candidate in Westmount-Ville-Marie, managed to grab the seat with a 600-vote majority.
“I wouldn’t say I felt ambushed. I did what I could for the Liberal Party. I’m very proud of my record in Westmount-Ville-Marie but sometimes changes do occur and there’s nothing I can do about that,” Garneau told his supporters.
“I just have to do my best and sometimes that doesn’t work out,” he added.
BUT WAIT A MINUTE! Six polls had been left out of the count — and at 2:23 am, the Elections Canada website showed Marc as the victor

April 28, 2011
7:00pm – 9:00 pm
Montreal Citizen’s Forum presents
Panel Discussion : Conservative government’s Crime Bills
Panellists include: Marc Garneau, MP, Simon Potter, Elizabeth Fry Society and others.
Atwater Library
1200 Atwater Ave., Westmount, Québec H3Z 1X4

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 – All Candidates debates
12:00pm – 1:30pm
McGill University
University Centre
2nd Floor, Lev Bachman Room
3480 McTavish Street
Montreal, Quebec H3A 1X9
Contact: Miriam Zaidi
Tel: (514) 992-5310
e-mail: external@ssmu.mcgill.ca
2:00 – 3:00pm
Concordia University
Sir George William Campus
Hall Building, Room H-711
1550 de Maisonneuve blvd
Montreal, QC
Contact: Adrien Severyn
Tel: (514) 513-7494
e-mail: aseveryns@csu.qc.ca
14 April
Montreal’s ‘Socratic’ dialogues
City conference cites ‘Canadian Model’ as a working plan for a ‘post-crisis world’
(The Metropolitain) … While taking a break from the hectic life of a working politician during a national election campaign, his colleague, former Canadian Space Agency President Marc Garneau, did not hesitate to warn his audience about the importance of Canada’s research & development facilities and infrastructure if the nation wants to maintain its place in the planet’s new globalized economy.
“We’ve had some success,” said Garneau. As a committed scientist who understands the crucial importance of new technology in a digital world, Garneau believes the government has little choice but to increase its efforts to support committed entrepreneurs if they are to compete in a global economy. While he admits Canada is putting a minimal fraction (roughly 1.5%) of its national budget into the nation’s assorted Research & Development sectors, Garneau also said it’s a fraction of what smaller nations like Israel are spending to finance their schools and laboratories. As one of the country’s leading advocates for a coherent and committed research and development policy, Garneau believes the government can learn a lot from what other people around the world are doing to help their own entrepreneurs compete in a global economy.
“While we’ve had some success,” said Garneau, “… but we could be doing a lot better.”
6 April
Photo: Robert Galbraith

Garneau launches campaign with strong Liberal agenda
(Westmount Examiner) Reached by phone in advance of yesterday’s official campaign launch, Garneau was upbeat. … [He] thinks the Liberal platform will resonate with voters, because it helps families.“It’s a program that is very much focused on people, and I think that it was just the right thing to do at this particular time,” Garneau says.
7 March
Raising stakes in name game, Grits go after ‘Harper regime’
Montreal Liberal MP Marc Garneau, meanwhile, followed up in Question Period, inquiring directly about the name-change order: “It is no longer the ‘Government of Canada’, but the government of the Prime Minister’s last name. It is a government of only one, for only one and by only one.”
Mr. Garneau could not say the word “Harper,” because in the House of Commons MPs must refer to their colleagues by their ridings or titles and not their names.

2010

16 November
(Oral question in the House) Mr. Speaker, the purchase of the F-35s is becoming more and more embarrassing. The Pentagon, the British, the Dutch, the Norwegians, all are concerned about soaring costs. While other countries are deferring their decision to purchase F-35s, Canada is going full speed ahead in the opposite direction. Moreover, some experts are concerned that the F-35 is an unaffordable plane that does not meet Canada’s real performance requirements.
When will the government show us why only one manufacturer is able to meet our requirements?
2 November
Universal high-speed internet essential: Liberals
The federal government should provide funding to ensure high-speed internet access is available for all Canadians to subscribe to, says the Liberal technology critic.
“All Canadians should have equal opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live,” Marc Garneau told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Tuesday. “Without universal access to high-speed internet, this cannot be achieved.” Garneau said a download speed of at least 1.5 megabits per second should be in place across the country by 2014.
21 October
Resource too precious: Goodale
Goodale and Liberal MPs Denis Coderre, Marc Garneau and Martha Hall Findlay issued a joint statement in Ottawa Wednesday recommending rejection of the $38.6-billion US bid when Industry Minister Tony Clement makes his decision on the takeover Nov. 3. Goodale said all the evidence suggests BHP’s takeover of PotashCorp would not be in the best interests of PotashCorp shareholders or Canadian citizens, especially residents of Saskatchewan.
Westmount town hall: Garneau meets voters
(The Suburban) Westmount Ville-Marie MP Marc Garneau chatted with dozens of constituents last week [October 14] during an “Open Mike” town hall meeting.
Garneau, who is also the party’s Quebec lieutenant, fielded questions on separation, foreign policy, sustainability and more.
“One of the perks (of being lieutenant) is that I get to go across Quebec,” he said. “Last week, I was at the Festival de la galette in Louiseville. It was almost as wild as the Western Festival in St-Tite in September.”
The event took place at NDG’s Lower Canada College on Thursday. The crowd was friendly; one participant even told Garneau he looked “prime ministerial.”
20 October
Liberals call for rejection of potash bid and smarter approach to foreign investment
“Canadians welcome incoming investment, because it’s good for our economy, and we invest heavily abroad – but we can’t be pushovers either,” said Liberal Industry, Science and Technology Critic Marc Garneau. “The Conservative government operates with no transparency or sense of strategy in the international sphere. They are allowing our flagship industries to be hollowed out, when no other country would stand aside when their strategic interests are at stake.”
28 September
Transcript – CBC News – Marc Garneau comments on Liberal motion to reinstate Long-Form Census
7 May
Digital divide leaves people in virtual cold
‘Word of mouth has become word of web’; Lack of Internet access has some Canadians falling behind, experts say
(CanWest) Data released yesterday from Statistics Canada shows that the gap in Internet use on the basis of socio-economic factors narrowed between 2007 and 2009, but remains relatively large.
In 2007, 90 per cent of Canada’s top earners used the Internet vs. 48 per cent of people earning less than $30,000, a gap of 42 percentage points. By 2009, the margin had narrowed to 38 percentage points.
In terms of schooling, Canada’s university-educated population still uses the Internet much more than people with no post-secondary education, and the gap remains at nearly 25 percentage points.
Sidney Eve Matrix, a Queen’s University media professor said that disparity is impeding people in their ability to communicate and participate in the economy, so she is happy that the Conservative government is investing in better access to high-speed Internet.
Conservatives show zero leadership on digital economy
OTTAWA – Liberal MPs called the Harper Conservatives’ newly released digital economy consultation too little, too late when compared to recent Liberal commitments.
“Minister Clement’s timid consultation paper just shows the government’s lack of ideas and leadership when it comes to the digital economy,” said Mr. Garneau. “Our future will be centered around the internet – with jobs, health, and education all dependent on it – yet our government has no clear policy direction on the digital economy. After four and half years in office, they are only just now consulting on it, putting any action off another 18 months – which will be far too late.”
Not that there was any doubt in our minds regarding the outcome, but we are nonetheless pleased to see that Elections Canada has dismissed the obviously frivolous – if not deliberately vicious – charges concerning Marc Garneau’s campaign finances.
Garneau won’t face probe over loans
(National Post) Elections Canada has ruled that no investigation of Liberal MP Marc Garneau is warranted after he loaned his own election campaigns $20,000 without a written contract.
In March, a longtime member of the Liberal riding association of Westmount-Ville Marie submitted a complaint to the Commissioner of Canada Elections regarding the circumstances of a June 2009 payout of more than $20,000 from the riding association to Mr. Garneau. The MP– a former astronaut and the Quebec lieutenant to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff — and his wife, Pamela Soame Garneau, had taken out a line of credit and made two $10,000 loans for expenses on two election campaigns during the fall of 2008.
In a decision letter written in French and addressed yesterday to Westmount-Ville Marie Liberal association president Brigitte Garceau, an Elections Canada official wrote that all loans made by the Garneaus to Mr. Garneau’s own campaign were “duly reported.”
28 April
Un membre de l’association libérale porte plainte… contre Marc Garneau
(La Presse) Daniel Sweeney, libéral de longue date, a demandé en mars dernier au Commissaire aux élections fédérales d’enquêter sur le remboursement au député d’un prêt de 20 000 $ par l’association libérale de Westmount-Ville-Marie, prêt pour lequel M. Sweeney affirme n’avoir vu aucune pièce justificative originale, malgré ses demandes répétées.
22 February
Marc Garneau: A sorry state of affairs: Canada gets failing grade in science and innovation
(Hill Times) Let’s get down to brass tacks; Canada has no science policy. It is drifting and its competitors are overtaking it. What it has is a minister of state who says exactly the same thing every time he is questioned on the subject: “Canada is making record investments in science and technology.” This is not only false, it doesn’t answer the question.
11 February 2010
Developping Canada’s digital economy
“The world’s economy continues to evolve rapidly and a renewed vision is required,” said Liberal Industry, Research and Technology Critic Marc Garneau. “Knowledge and creativity are the hottest commodities and increasingly powerful drivers of Canada’s economy, and the Internet is their medium.”
While other developed countries are investing heavily to capitalize on the digital economy, Canada is falling behind in terms of its commitment to connectivity and universal access. The Conservative government has failed to take progressive positions on the issues of net neutrality, foreign ownership, copyright and intellectual property. In comparison, Australia has dedicated an entire federal department to high speed communications and the digital economy, focused on trying to build technology leadership. The UK, with its Digital Britain strategy, is developing a system of next generation digital infrastructure.
2 February 2010
Marc Garneau: Where is Canada’s plan for the digital age?
Canada must set an ambitious goal of 100% connectivity for all Canadians. including Canada’s rural and remote communities; we must create an environment of competition that accelerates investment in next-generation fibre and wireless digital networks; we must also reform our laws to ensure the internet remains a free and open platform for the sharing of ideas.
Technology is changing our world. While mindful of Canadian content and the cultural ties that bind our nation through radio, television and other traditional media, we must also evolve if we hope to prosper.
The digital economy will be a defining part of our economy, and will alter the essence of Canadian society.

7 October 2009
Garneau to be Ignatieff’s Quebec point man
(CBC) Ignatieff said Wednesday in Ottawa that Garneau, the MP for the Montreal riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie, to take over responsibilities in the province from former lieutenant Denis Coderre.
But Garneau will not be called the Liberals’ lieutenant — instead he will hold the title of “Michael Ignatieff’s representative in Quebec.”
11 June
A Children’s Commissioner for Canada
By Ginette Sauvé-Frankel
(The Suburban) On Thursday, June 11, Marc Garneau, Member of Parliament for Westmount–Ville-Marie, tabled a Private Member’s Bill to ensure that Canadian children have a voice thanks to the establishment of a national Children’s Commissioner.
I have been advocating the establishment of such a commissioner for a number of years and I’m very pleased to see the issue finally reach our House of Commons. For the children of Canada and for all of us, I thank Mr. Garneau.
Under Mr. Garneau’s bill, a federal Children’s Commissioner will promote, monitor and report on the effective implementation of Canada’s obligations under the Convention for the Rights of the Child that are within the legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada, to advance the principle that children are entitled to special safeguards, care and assistance, including appropriate legal protections. Westmount’s Garneau introduces his first Private Member’s Bill
Postscript 6 January 2009
2008 wasn’t all blah
By Wayne Larsen
(Westmount Examiner) Of all the personalities and newsmakers who contributed to the 2008 page in Westmount’s history book, most would agree that the year belonged to Marc Garneau. From the autumn of 2007, when after a loud round of protests from constituents Liberal leader Stéphane Dion reversed a previous decision and confirmed him as the candidate to replace the retiring Lucienne Robillard, Mr. Garneau embarked on an election campaign that would end up lasting nearly a year.
When he finally won the riding in the October federal election, Westmounters got what many had been clamouring for — an MP who not only lives in Westmount, but someone who is thoroughly familiar with the community and is well aware of local issues and concerns. This may not sound like a big deal, but it certainly comes as a breath of fresh air when compared with the prospect of another four years (or six months in Canadian politics) of representation by a non-resident who was parachuted in for a guaranteed win in this “safe” riding. As someone said of Mr. Garneau at the Meet the Candidates evening shortly before the ultimately aborted September by-election, “Even if he hadn’t known the riding like the back of his hand before this, he sure does now!”
Marc’s blog

7 December 2007
Westmount-Ville-Marie Liberal Association Site not ready

Famous, Should be famous and Infamous, Canadians
Marc Garneau graduated from the Royal Military College in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics. Three years later, he received his doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England. In 1974, Garneau joined the Navy where, among other things, he designed a weapons training simulator and helped to create a target system using planes.
In 1983, Marc Garneau was one of six people selected from over 4,000 applicants to begin training for Canada’s new astronaut program. He began training early the next year and on 5 October 1984, Garneau became the first Canadian in space when he flew aboard Challenger (STS-41G) as a payload specialist.
The Navy promoted Garneau to captain in 1986 and he retired three years later to become the Deputy Director of the Canadian Astronaut Program. In August 1992, he began training as a NASA mission specialist and flew aboard Endeavour twice, in 1996 (STS-77) and 2000 (STS-97). He has logged over 677 hours in space.
Marc Garneau was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1984 and promoted to Companion in 2003. His many awards and honours include the Golden Jubilee Medal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and the Prix Montfort en sciences. On 22 November 2001, Garneau was appointed President of the Canadian Space Agency. He resigned on 28 November 2005 to run in the 2006 Canadian federal election as the Liberal candidate for Vaudreuil-Soulanges. He was unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in Parliament.

28 November
Marc Garneau was lecturing on Research, Innovation and Canada’s Competitiveness at McGill this afternoon, invited by Liberal McGill, Liberal Concordia and the Young Liberals of Canada (Québec). My question, aside from its casual intro, switch of language and nervousness that might have lead to less clarity, was approximately “Since the environmental problems you spoke about are linked to climate change, and you seem to emphasize public research and development, and Kyoto is not only a policy nor political will problem, but also a technology one, which actions will the Liberal Party take if it is back in power to takle climate change, will that also include ‘help’ for private firms undertaking R&D?” Aside from the usual turning-around-the-subject, he answered “Canada has to gain its credibility back, then bring developed countries in. Stéphane Dion has written a Green Budget including incentive-based measure[s] to high greenhouse gas emitters, which will also include penalties. The increase[d] use of renewable energy is also included”.

October 5
Canada’s first man in space is calling for the federal government to form a national space policy before its “ad hoc” attitude leaves it lagging far behind others carving out their own spots in the sky. … The former astronaut said Canada needs to decide how important space is for the country’s interests on issues such as the environment, security, monitoring natural resources and even connecting Canadians through satellite communications.The national space budget has been frozen at $300 million a year since 1999, he said.

(Ottawa, September 16, 2003) – Carleton University is pleased to announce that President of the Canadian Space Agency and former astronaut,Marc Garneau, will become the University’s ninth Chancellor succeeding The Right Honourable Ramon Hnatyshyn, who passed away last December.