The newly Honourable Mr. Ignatieff
By Kady O'Malley
Turns out that the Liberal leader does, indeed, have at least one thing on his agenda today: he'll be heading to Rideau Hall to be sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, which will add his name to the list of those permitted to style themselves as "The Honourable" for life, as well as receive cabinet briefings, and view cabinet documents, should the prime minister of the day invite him to do so; he cannot simply show up at Langevin and start rifling through the PM's desk.
Apparently, this doesn't have anything to do with the negotiations over access to the Afghan detainee documents -- which are still ongoing, we're told -- but it's hard not to see the timing as possibly more than coincidental, what with the Speaker's deadline just days away. (Then again, would it really make sense to designate the party leader as a member of an in camera subcommittee charged with sorting through the uncensored documents?)
Nevertheless, as per the privy council oath, Ignatieff "shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council," although it's not entirely clear what the penalty would be for breaching that particular provision. At the very least, you most likely wouldn't be welcome the next time the monarch of the day summons the Canadian privy councillors for a formal meeting, which has only happened twice since Confederation.
Tags: let the honourablizing begin! michael ignatieff, nothing to see here move along move along, queen's privy council for canada
