A Team is a Team

February 15, 2006

One of the greatest privileges I’ve ever had was the opportunity to coach my son in minor hockey so many years ago. Not just because I’ve always believed that the most important job in life is parenting, but also because it gave me the chance to help motivate youngsters and learn the team building skills that have proven invaluable throughout my life.

Despite undoubtedly having the worst loss record my first year as a coach, my team always showed up in force, no matter how early, how tired, or how cold … why? Morale remained high because everyone was made to feel important and welcome. No one wanted to “let the team down.”

I’ve noticed that the teams that have been the most successful (and I don’t mean only on the scoreboard) are those that play as a team.

Whether a team-mate had an outstanding shift and scored the game-winning goal or stumbled and fell and allowed it to be scored, when that player returns to the bench, it is the teams that rally round and give a needed pat on the back that truly represent what is “a team”.

The same applies in life, and certainly in politics. Our new Conservative government began with Prime Minster Stephen Harper making a couple of controversial decisions about who to appoint to his first Cabinet.

The unexpected move by Minister David Emerson caught everyone by surprise. As did the temporary appointment of Michael Fortier to not only the Senate of Canada, but also the federal Cabinet.

That these two gentlemen are eminently qualified to do their respective jobs as Ministers of International Trade and Public Works I believe goes unquestioned. It was the process itself that surprised, frustrated, and disappointed many Canadians, including many of you that have communicated your dismay directly to me.

As your Member of Parliament, I have placed my trust in the judgment of our new Prime Minister. I believe that he made these two controversial appointments in the best long-term interests of Canada.

He believes it is imperative to the success of our government ... your government, that he has strong representation from, and for, Canada’s second-and third-largest cities, Vancouver and Montreal, at the Cabinet table.

Something else I learned from successful hockey teams: if you find yourself behind early in the game, you don’t point the finger at your goalie, and you don’t blame the coach … you pull together as a team.

Throughout the controversy over these ministerial appointments, the Conservative team quickly got “down to business”. Prime Minister Harper and our new Cabinet Ministers have been working hard to familiarize themselves with their portfolios and the operations of their departments.

They have already made concrete decisions to the benefit of Canadians. These included the cancellation of the ‘firesale’ of Ridley Terminals at the Port of Prince Rupert, thereby securing the future of local coal mining operations and jobs in Prince George-Peace River.

Like hockey teams, governments are not judged on the outcome of a single game, but rather on their record for the entire season.

Our Conservative government’s season is just beginning.

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