We continue our panel on humour in politics. Plus a conversation with Greg Malone, a former member of CODCO tells friend Mary Walsh about his upcoming book, Don't Tell the Newfoundlanders. A book that uncovers the conspiracy to make sure Newfoundlanders joined Canada.

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PART TWO

Humour in Politics - Panel (cont'd)

Comedian Rick Mercer, former Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish and NDP Candidate Peter Stoffer joined us this morning to talk about why it seems so difficult for Canadian politicians to show a little humour on the hustings. So we continued our discussion taking a different tact and asked whether humour on the Hill is getting better or worse.

Rick Mercer is the host of The Rick Mercer Report on CBC Television. Carolyn Parrish is a former Liberal MP. And Peter Stoffer is running for re-election for the NDP.

Newfoundland - Greg Malone

We started this segment with a clip from 62 years ago today .... April 1st, 1949. Joey Smallwood, the little fella from Gambo who led the charge to get Newfoundland into confederation, had just been sworn into office as the new province's first Premier.

At the time of the vote on confederation, Newfoundland was being governed by Britain. And Newfoundlanders were given a choice -- join Canada or go back to being an independent nation, a status it was forced to relinquish in 1933 for economic reasons. In the end, on a second vote, Newfoundlanders elected to join Canada by a slim margin of 52 to 48 per cent.

That's the story most of us Canadians know. But according to Greg Malone and many other Newfoundlanders, there's a lot more to it than that. Greg is an old friend and former CODCO cast-mate of Mary Walsh. And he has uncovered what he says was a conspiracy to make sure Newfoundlanders did join Canada. He lays out his case in an up-coming book called Don't Tell The Newfoundlanders set to come out sometime next year. And he has agreed to give us a sneak peak this morning. He was in St. John's.

Related Links:

• The last province Newfoundland fights Ottawa, loves Canada By Rob Antle
  - Winnipeg Free Press
• The Tenth Province: Newfoundland joins Canada, 1949 by Melvin Baker (c)1987