Who is Rob Anders?
- He was elected MP for the riding of Calgary-West in 1997.
- Before the 2011 election he was known as the MP who spoke the fewest words in the House of Commons and for being the only member of parliament to vote against making Nelson Mandela a “Honorary Canadian Citizen” in 2001.
- A year ago he was caught on camera falling asleep during Question Period.
- He hates the CBC and has an anti-CBC petition on the front page of his website.
- Before the last election, Alison Redford (now Premier of Alberta) tried to challenge Anders for the Conservative nomination in Calgary-West, Stephen Harper personally intervened to prevent an open nomination.
A few weeks ago Jim Lowther and David MacLeod of VETS (Veterans Emergency Transition Services) Canada gave a presentation to the Veterans Affairs Committee. According to the two men, Mr. Anders arrived to the meeting late and then feel asleep during the briefing. When Lowther and MacLeod mention this to the press Anders lashed out at them saying they were “NDP hacks” and also calling them “Pro-Vladimir Putin.” When he did apologize, he did it on a Friday evening and his apology was rejected by the two veterans. He then apologized in the House of Commons but only for the words he called them (it’s not very relevant, but I believe both men are members of the Conservative Party) and not for falling asleep.
On CBC’s “Power and Politics” on March 5th, Liberal MP Sean Casey, who sits on Veterans Affairs with Mr. Anders, said that Rob Anders falls asleep at almost 1/3 of Veteran Affairs committee meetings. Mr. Casey went on to say that when Mr. Anders does contribute he is quite substantive. Conservative MP Eva Adams said that this was a “smear” and that she only hears accusations against Rob Anders from “partisans.”
It is entirely possibly that Rob Anders suffers from sleep apnea, which causes him to fall asleep out of exhaustion. However, if this is the case, Mr. Anders should seek treatment and explain himself to the Canadian people and the veterans whom he insulted by sleeping during their presentation (which he has yet to admit doing.)
Rob Anders’ first reaction to two veterans taking offensive from his rude behaviour was for him to smear them in the press. This is unacceptable. Mr. Anders should resign or be forced to resign from the Veterans Affairs committee as soon as possible.
One again, here is the VETS Canada website: http://vetscanada.org/ Please visit, find out more about them and donate if possible.
