[LINK] "James Moore heads home"

[rfmcdonald]

Paul Wells of MacLean's notes that federal industry minister James Moore is leaving politics, to tend to his ill son.

How many people will the Conservatives have left?

Thirty-nine is young to end a career in politics, and while Industry Minister James Moore could well return to public life some day, it was natural that he raised a lot of eyebrows when he announced today he won’t be running for re-election in October. Yet another rat fleeing a sinking ship, some said, as Moore’s announcement followed others, by Conservative figures as prominent as John Baird, Peter MacKay, James Rajotte and (OK, less prominent) Christian Paradis.

But Moore tipped his hand a bit when he wrote, on his web page, about “difficult news about the health of our beautiful son Spencer.”

For a small circle around Ottawa, news updates about young Spencer have been an occasional occurrence for two and a half years.

News reports on Friday revealed Spencer has “a form of skeletal dysplasia that requires extensive care.” Moore has never spoken in public about his son’s health problems. He knew there would be some challenges before Spencer was born in October 2012, and sent his first update to a range of friends, including me, in December of that year. (I’ve known Moore since he arrived in Parliament after the 2000 election. We have dinner a few times a year.)