I am going to wade in on the new Tory Government's slip coming out of the gate. The appointments of Emerson and Fortier to the cabinet, and in Fortier's case the senate, have sparked no end of criticism from the media, fellow Tories and the opposition. Why, the question must be asked, did Stephen Harper bring his Conservative Government out of the gates this way? Greg Weston is writing in the Sun that the gravy train is still running in Quebec:

Lawrence Cannon, an able former minister in the Quebec government, has been put in charge of a new and giant federal cash cow that combines the transport and infrastructure portfolios, the latter spewing money at cities for everything from subways to sewers.

But no one in Harper's new cabinet will be more popular in the Quebec business community than Michael Fortier, the newly unelected political boss of Public Works (via a Senate appointment), the minister responsible for the awarding of more than $13 billion a year in federal contracts.

Harper's putting so much spending power in the hands of Quebec ministers is a clear signal that the federal spigot will once again flood La Belle Province with public largesse.

Again, the question being asked is why, but the real question is why not? The road to a majority government for Stephen Harper lies in Quebec, not Toronto. Ask yourself, will Harper lose his Western base over these appointments or will he actually be helping himself in Vancouver? Will these appointments help or hurt Harper in Quebec? Will these appointments help or hurt Harper in non-416 Ontario? Will they help him or hurt him in Atlantic Canada? The answer to all will be that they either help or do not hurt. Harper has gotten these things out of the way early and they will be forgotten when the House opens and a budget is prepared. The end game for Harper is a majority government in 18-24 months and to do this he needs Quebec and to increase his seats in British Columbia. This will allow him to jump over Toronto where he stands virtually no chance of picking up more seats even if he was endorsed by Gretzky, Don Cherry, Mohammed and Jesus. Quebec and Atlantic politics are about the gravy train and having representation in cabinet that can deliver the same. There are no two ways about it. Harper's approach is the obvious one. Instead of just trying to change the political game in this country he is trying to play it.