But charity begins at home. Peter MacKay weds girlfriend in private ceremony in Mexico. Defence Minister Peter MacKay has announced his marriage to a former beauty queen who was born in Iran and later represented Canada at a Miss World pageant. Is there a reason the location was kept hush-hush? Publications that even bothered to mention that the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages got married did so in briefs that didn’t include his new partner’s picture, age or occupation. Negotiating a massive trade deal in secret and not releasing the details until after the election. Obviously it still is. If MacKay had married an older middle-aged woman, closer to his own age, who toiled unglamorously in the trenches as a real-estate lawyer or a dental hygienist, this marriage, like Moore’s, wouldn’t warrant more than a brief, if that.If one indication of “newsworthiness” is the value of information to the public, I’d say the marriage of a lame-duck politician doesn’t rank nearly as high as the five-marriage history of a Supreme Court Justice – unless, that is, the politician is marrying someone who is beautiful, much younger and extremely photogenic. Maybe it But back to MacKay. MacKay’s age wasn’t usually mentioned, although most included the age of Afshin-Jam, which according to the Canadian Press Style Book, is not supposed to be relevant unless it is pertinent to the story. 97. Or that a woman’s pretty face is still what matters.Get this buffoon out of the news, he is embarrassment enough.This is not national news, this is soap-opera news.This is utter nonsense.
read. Just how close? "A wedding should be something that goes exactly how you want it to go.
"I am overjoyed to announce Nazanin Afshin-Jam and I married at a private ceremony surrounded by family and loved ones today," MacKay wrote in a posting Wednesday on his constituency website.
A colleague commented that MacKay was one of Canada’s most “eligible” bachelors, so the wedding I just wonder exactly where in Mexico did the lovebirds ties the knot.
But in her recent memoir "No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington," Rice wrote that while she found MacKay charming, there was no truth to rumours they had a fling.MacKay wasn't the only cabinet minister to head down the aisle over the holidays.Heritage Minister James Moore and girlfriend Courtney Payne tied the knot on December 29th in snowy Ottawa.Payne is a communications staffer in the prime minister's office.A spokesman for Moore, James Maunder, confirmed his boss also got hitched over the holidays, but declined to comment or give any details, saying it was a private matter for the minister and his new wife to address.It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onDefence Minister Peter MacKay has announced his marriage to a former beauty queen who was born in Iran and later represented Canada at a Miss World pageant.
The trilingual pilot was once named one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.“She is the most important person in my life and over the coming months, Nazanin and I look forward to spending more time at home in Central Nova and sharing our happiness with all of you,” MacKay said this week in a statement on his website.“Nazanin and I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2012.”Here’s an official wedding photo from MacKay’s Facebook site.365 Bloor St East, Toronto, ON, M4W3L4, www.postmedia.comUnauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. She was subsequently named the first runner up in the Miss World contest.The couple was first spotted in public together last year, although they reportedly met seven years ago when Afshin-Jam was in Ottawa to speak about human rights abuses.The new bride was born in Iran, but fled Tehran with her family following the 1979 Islamic revolution and immigrated to North Vancouver, B.C.The wedding was a closely held secret, although both MacKay's parents, former Tory cabinet minister Elmer MacKay, and his mother, Macha MacKay, are reported to have attended the ceremony.The news first filtered out over the social networking site Twitter when Conservative MP Laurie Hawn congratulated the couple and sent best wishes for a long life together.Fellow Conservative member Scott Armstrong, whose Nova Scotia riding sits next door to MacKay's, chided Hawn over Twitter later in the evening:The mayor of MacKay's hometown said he was delighted to hear the news, adding that he and his wife first met Afshin-Jam when the couple visited New Glasgow, N.S. "Since coming into my life many of you have met Nazanin on her many visits to Nova Scotia.
One appointee was MacKay's best man at his wedding. Friends said MacKay proposed over the summer.Afshin-Jam, who fled Tehran with her family as a young child, was crowned first runner-up at the 2003 Miss World pageant, and has since been known in Vancouver as a vocal campaigner for human rights issues, having co-founded the organization She garnered wide attention and acclaim in 2003 for her successful campaign to stop the killing of Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi, an Iranian teenager who was sentenced to death by stoning for killing one of three men who were trying to rape her and her niece.MacKay's new wife speaks fluent English, French and Persian, and holds degrees in international relations and political science.Afshin-Jam also has acted in bit television and film parts, with roles in the The newylweds reportedly met in 2004 when Afshin-Jam visited Ottawa to speak about human rights abuses.MacKay, 46, has until now been known as one of Ottawa's most eligible bachelors, having been ranked as "Canada's Sexiest Male MP" by The Hill Times for several years.Before finally meeting his match in the 32-year-old beauty contestant turned activist, MacKay was previously tied romantically to some high-profile and high-powered women.MacKay has also been engaged previously to Jana Juginovic, who was a CTV executive, and dated Lisa Michelle Merrithew, daughter of former Mulroney-era cabinet minister Gerald Merrithew.He also once dated fellow Tory MP Belinda Stronach, although the pair endured a very public split when Stronach dumped him in 2005 to cross the House floor to join Paul Martin's Liberals.Gossip at one time also linked MacKay to former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.