Lucky #13 - Guelph MP Frank Valeriote amongst "Most Absentee Liberal MP's"

Well what do you know... Guelph's Liberal MP Frank Valeriote is the Lucky #13 on the "Most Absent Liberal MP's" list. Guess he's just following in the footsteps of his mentor and predecessor, Brenda Chamberlain... who earned the distinction of being the second most absent MP in her final year in the House, beating only former Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Liberals Skipping Work

Did you know that there are people who count how often parliamentarians actually show up to vote?

In the case of the Liberal Party of Canada, that is quite a lot. This kind of absenteeism generally doesn't make headlines, except that it should when these same Liberal MPs were protesting in the streets of Canada for Parliament to be sitting just a few short months ago.

"Parliament is the sovereign" Ignatieff so solemnly declared.

Prorogation created an alleged grass roots fury that allegedly enraged our Nation. The Liberals quickly jumped on that bandwagon.

Since prorogation, Iggy has missed 29 votes! The Prime Minister, the busiest of all members who has to fly all over the world on a frequent basis missed 16 votes.

13 of the top 16 absentee MPs are from the Liberal Party. 25% of the Conservative caucus has not missed a vote this session, but the same can only be said of 2% of the Liberal caucus (Dryden and Milliken).

So who are those "Lucky 13" Liberals MPs who don't like showing up to cast a vote for their constituents? The following list is in order of the most truant Libs. Marlene Jennings had eye surgery. That is an adequate excuse.

Most Absent Liberal MPs

1. Michael Ignatieff
2. Marlene Jennings (due to eye surgery)
3. Ruby Dhalla
4. Jim Karygiannis
5. Pablo Rodriguez
6. John Cannis
7. Judy Sgro
8. Gerard Kennedy
9. Marc Garneau
10. Kirsty Duncan
11. Mario Silva
12. Stéphane Dion
13. Frank Valeriote

Guess the rookie MP must have gotten lost in the halls or something while the votes were being taken...