Filled with romantic and political betrayal, ‘stressed out’ MPs and rogue independents changing the balance of power, this session of parliament has made CPAC almost enjoyable to watch. It also got former Ryerson student Mark Shyzer designing his own politically inspired, tongue-in-cheek shirts. They can be found at www.bawdypolitic.ca, perfect for those who want to wear their party affiliation on their chest.

How did you come up with the idea for the shirts?

Sometime after the whole Belinda crossing the floor thing I said to myself I want Belinda on a t-shirt. That’s how it all started. I started messing around with the design, came up with this image and I said that I needed a slogan and knew that I wanted a play on words; something to do with strength and general ballsiness so I came up with that. Then I started thinking about other politicians who had that same draw to them. Carolyn Parrish was the next one.

How do you pick your subjects?
There are certain MPs, unless they’re your representative, they just go unnoticed. It’s looking for a certain quality, almost like celebrity. Certain politicians, love’em or hate’em, they’ve got this quality. Like Jack Layton, the shirt that I did centred around his moustache. Even during the last election people were asking him about the moustache, if he was going to shave it off.

What are your politics?

Basically, I like anything that’s not conservative. I’ve been thinking about that too. The Ralph Klein one is the only one that’s a bit derogatory; it makes fun of his drinking. I wouldn’t have anything against doing designs with conservative politicians, it’s just there aren’t any right now that have that sexy quality that would make a good T-shirt.

Maybe, Peter McKay?

Maybe something with Peter McKay, but he’s had a rough year.

Do you think all this craziness, the minority government have made people more engaged in politics?

Well it’s definitely made parliament more interesting. There’s been all sorts of stuff going on. without getting deeply involved in politics you can still be interested, it’s a big drama up on the Hill right now.

How have people responded to the shirts?

People seem to like them. Particularly people in the ridings, like Parrish’s or Stronach’s. I wore one to Pride and people were constantly stopping me, telling me that they liked the shirt.

Have any of the politicians approached you?

Not yet, my goal was to get pictures with the MPs wearing the t-shirts, that’d be fun.

Who are you thinking about t-shirting next?

I’ve been toying with Kyle Rae, with the phrase “Rae of sunshine.” He’s just got that face, that’s just ridiculously cherubic. But that’s got pretty limited appeal to people in Toronto.

I wanted to do something on David Miller after I heard about that suicide thing. But I was worried that two weeks from now people wouldn’t get the reference. But I would like to do something with Miller too.