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 Posté le: Dim Sep 22, 2013 1:32 am Sujet du message: Jason MacDonald’s strong reputation will be teste |
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{Jason MacDonald’s strong reputation will be tested as PM’s new communication director}
OTTAWA — When Ontario’s French-language public broadcaster decided to hold a leadership debate during the 2011 provincial election, the unilingual Progressive Conservative leader sent first-time candidate Jason MacDonald to speak on the party’s behalf.So not only did MacDonald have the unenviable task of running against then-sitting Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty in the local riding of Ottawa South, he was also tapped to represent his entire party. On television. In French.Such is the impression that MacDonald seems to make on all those around him — that he’s smart and capable and can step up to the plate when necessary. Certainly, the talents of the communications specialist caught the eye of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who Thursday named MacDonald as his new director of communications.It’s hard to remember the last time an appointment out of the Prime Minister’s Office triggered so much positive response,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.org]Michael Kors Outlet[/url], and from all ends of the political spectrum.Randall Denley, the PC candidate for Ottawa West-Nepean (and former Citizen columnist), got to know MacDonald during the last provincial election.“Jason is a rational, articulate, urban guy with a background in communications,” says Denley. “Speaks well, thinks well, works well with other people. He’s the kind of person that other people respect. I think he’s a great choice.”Indeed, many observers during the 2011 campaign noted how impressive — and progressive — MacDonald seemed. Although he was careful to toe the party line, MacDonald, in his early 40s, appeared much more comfortable arguing in favour of getting rid of the HST for hydro bills than, say, the PCs’ promise to make the sex-offender registry public.Scott Reid,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.org]Michael Kors Handbags[/url], a broadcaster and communications consultant who was also an adviser to former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, has known MacDonald for the better part of a decade.“It’s too easy to blow by the fact that he is a great guy and we probably shouldn’t,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.org]Michael Kors Handbags Outlet[/url],” says Reid, who met MacDonald when they were both associated with the Toronto-based communications firm Veritas. “Given how extraordinarily cynical people are about government and politics and politicians and those who work for politicians, when you see someone who is a genuinely decent, well-motivated person and you see them in such a short period of time rise to the top, it’s worth noting.”Indeed, MacDonald has barely set foot in the federal government.He came to Ottawa in 2009 as the director of communications for Carleton University. (Fun local fact: MacDonald’s father-in-law is National Capital Commission chairman Russ Mills.) It wasn’t until mid-2012 that MacDonald jumped to the feds, taking on the role of director of communications for the minister of aboriginal affairs.A little over a year later,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.org]michael kors canada[/url], MacDonald has the top — and toughest — communications job on the Hill.While his meteoric rise is fascinating, MacDonald’s background is also worth noting. According to previously published reports, he grew up in Montreal, and earned a degree (one of three) at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke. It’s hard to imagine it’s pure coincidence that the PMO sought someone with a Quebec background at a time when the federal government is dealing with the explosive “values charter” file.
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