November 2025
I was looking for possible ways to honour the great, under-appreciated, former cabinet Minister, the Honourable Bev Oda. I’m not sure if it should be in the form of a public apology, a monument, the Order of Canada, or a formal portrait hanging in the office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, but we need to find a way to celebrate the Bev’s contribution to Canada’s Parliamentary history. For me, mentioning the name Bev Oda makes me think back fondly to a long-ago time when a $16 glass of orange juice was enough to get fired from cabinet; get tarred and feathered; be labeled a pariah; become a punchline and the butt of many jokes reflecting the out-of-touch elitist attitude of many of our parliamentarians.
In an era when political figures like our esteemed Governor General expensed so much in limo rides in Iceland that it would have been more cost-effective to buy a car, fill it with premium gas, drive it for the entire trip, and then abandon it at the airport, while no one even blinks or has anything even remotely resembling shame or disgust, I think we need to find a way to honour dear Bev.
She was so ahead of her time, in so many ways.
