MND MacKay at boot camp (on CBC TV Sunday, Sept. 13)

The minister, er, mixes it up with the troops:

From minister to private
MacKay is sworn at and humiliated when the CBC sends him to boot camp...

Defence Minister Peter MacKay is sworn at, publicly admonished for his tardiness, bossed around and made fun of. This treatment is at the hands of soldiers who technically work for him. But it's also part of a new CBC television show, Make the Politician Work , in which Mr. MacKay becomes Private MacKay and for two days is put through combat boot camp in Petawawa, Ont.

All sorts of hilarity and humiliation ensue. Never mind the lecture for being late, he is also filmed getting his hair shaved off, and there's the misstep on the obstacle course in which Mr. MacKay lands hard, awkwardly straddling a concrete-type balance beam (ouch). He's dressed in full fatigues. He also goes through a nighttime exercise, involving live ammunition.

“I had a fantastic time,” Mr. MacKay said in an e-mail yesterday. “They treated me just like a new recruit and it gave me a glimpse of what you go through when you first sign up. It was a challenge. They really put you through your paces and push you to perform to your potential. I loved it. It made me want to sign up.”..

More on the program here, broadcast details:

...This HD special airs Sunday, Sept. 13, on CBC Television, following CBC News: The National, at 10:25 p.m. (10:55 p.m. NT), and on CBC Newsworld, at 9:25 p.m. ET/PT...