Welcome to this week’s The Buzz where I share some of the news I found interesting this week - often, it’s the news behind the news. Enjoy.Readers should be aware that in some cases these articles may be behind a paywall. If you subscribe to that news organization, then no problem. Some organizations offer you free access for a limited number of articles. Whatever the case, you will see a small lock icon behind these pieces to signify the paywall. Please understand that good journalism does cost money, and some orgs need the income to stay afloat. Now, on to this week's stories: It seems to happen every time we get close to an election, especially when the polls suggest the possibility of a change in government. The media begins to churn out stories about how a new government would operate, what it would stand for, and who is likely to sit in important Cabinet positions. I remember being assigned to do just that as a young reporter in Ottawa in the late seventies. “Tell us who will likely be in the Cabinet if the Conservatives win, as the polls suggest” was the instruction. So off I went. Many of the names were obvious: Walter Baker, Allan Lawrence, John Crosby, Flora MacDonald - but I wanted a surprise. So, I scanned the Tory field looking for who would likely be the youngest cabinet member. The answer was Perrin Beatty who was only 22 when first elected in 1972 and would be just 29 on Election Day in 1979. The Tories won and the suggestion came true when Beatty became the youngest minister in the country’s history. He proceeded to rack up a series of senior portfolios over the years until he lost his seat in 1993. Two years later he became my boss when Jean Chretien appointed him President of the CBC. His strong suit in the job was that he actually listened to staff when legitimate concerns were raised. Anyway, get to the point Peter - at least get us into this century. Okay, those stories are going to come out now about the current crop of Conservatives. | 
