Category: Politics/Liberals

Ignatieff on liberalism and the Canadian Liberal Party

One thing the Liberals need — say Liberals themselves — is a policy convention. The last time the Liberals met to formulate policies was in Ottawa in March 2005. The keynote speaker on the Friday before the conference began was none other than a Harvard professor named Michael Ignatieff. He spoke about small-l liberalism and the state of the Canadian Liberal Party.

Now, as Ignatieff prepares to take over the leadership of said Liberal Party, it's interesting to go back to that speech and take a look at what might stand, at this point, as his manifesto. Happily, you need not look around too much for it because I blogged the speech in its entirety here back in 2005.

As I see it, the Liberal party has three essential purposes:

” To protect and enhance our national unity

” To preserve and defend our national sovereignty

” To advance the cause of social justice.

Je voudrais parler de la base morale de notre action politique : l'unité nationale d'abord; la souveraineté canadienne ensuite; et enfin, la justice sociale pour tous nos citoyens.

Unity, sovereignty, justice: the three fundamentals. Everything else is detail.

Are you a Liberal candidate or EDA president?

Were you a federal Liberal candidate in the 2008 general election? Are you a current Liberal riding association president? Do you know one?

If so, we want to hear from you as soon as possible.

As you likely know, there could be a time in the very near future where Liberal candidates in the last election and/or riding association presidents may be called upon to voice their preference for Michael Ignatieff or Bob Rae for leader.

We're trying to contact as many candidates/EDA presidents as possible by 8 pm Ottawa time Tuesday to get a sense about which way the wind is blowing.

Can you help?

Letting my know by e-mail (dakin @ canwest.com) is best but feel free to call or PIN me. All my contact info is here.

NOTE: We don't need to identify you publicly. We're just trying to do a head count right now.

Thank you!

, ,

Dion resigns

This statement was just released:

Date: December 8, 2008

For Release: Immediate

Statement by the Honourable Stéphane Dion

After the election on October 14 I announced I would stay on as Leader of the Liberal Party until my party could select my successor. One of my goals was to ensure an effective opposition to Stephen Harper's government. I believe that decision was the right one and I am proud of having forced Stephen Harper to back away from his attempt to force upon Canadians his most ideological and harmful plans in these tough economic times.

The alliance between the Liberal Party and the NDP to replace the Harper government, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, is a solid basis to give Canada a government that reflects both the aspirations of the majority of Canadians and the support of the majority of Members of Parliament.

Such a government would be more stable than a minority Conservative government incapable of cooperating with opposition parties. As the Governor General has granted a prorogation, it is a logical time for us Liberals to assess how we can best prepare our party to carry this fight forward.

There is a sense in the party, and certainly in the caucus, that given these new circumstances the new leader needs to be in place before the House resumes. I agree. I recommend this course to my party and caucus.

As always, I want to do what is best for my country and my party, especially when Canadians' jobs and pensions are at risk.

So I have decided to step aside as Leader of the Liberal Party effective as soon as my successor is duly chosen.

I will offer my unconditional and enthusiastic support to my successor in the same way I have always supported the leaders of our great party.

I will work under the next leader's direction with all my energy in order to give Canada a better government.

I wish to close by making it absolutely clear that my earlier departure does not change the facts of the situation that the Prime Minister has created in the last two weeks. The Prime Minister and his government refused to lay out a plan to stimulate the economy. The Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the House of Commons. The Prime Minister shut down Parliament to save his job while thousands of Canadians are losing theirs. The Prime Minister has poisoned the well of trust and respect that is necessary for a minority government to work in Parliament – especially in a time of crisis.

Mr. Harper took an economic crisis and added a parliamentary crisis that he then tried to transform into a national unity crisis: this is no way for a Prime Minister of Canada to act.

It is my hope that the decision I have announced today will enhance the capacity of Parliament to function effectively for the sake of Canadians in this economic crisis.

Stéphane Dion, PC, MP

Monday's motions from the Liberals

In addition to the confidence votes that will be prompted when the government tables a bill and a motion of its own on Monday, the Liberals get to table and vote on their own motion Monday for Monday is one of the alloted “Opposition Days” in Parliament. In every parliamentary session, the government is obliged to set aside a certain number of days for the introduction, debate, and vote of a motion put forward by an opposition party.

Under the House of Commons procedural rules, the opposition party must publish the motion they intend to introduce one business day ahead of their opposition day. They can, if they choose, give notice of several different motions and then decide only to actually debate and vote on one.

So what are the Liberals thinking about for Monday? Pick one from the list below:

Mr. Dion–THAT, in light of the Conservatives’ failure to recognize the seriousness of Canada’s economic situation, and its failure in particular to present any credible plan to stimulate the Canadian economy and to help workers and businesses in hard-pressed sectors such as manufacturing, the automotive industry and forestry, this House has lost confidence in this government, and is of the opinion that a viable alternative government can be formed within the present House of Commons.

Mr. Kennedy–THAT this House call upon the government to table in Parliament before December 12th, 2008 a comprehensive analysis of Canada’s troubled automotive sector; a calculation of the most likely impact upon Canada and Canadian jobs of American action to support the U.S. auto sector without corresponding action in Canada; and the principles which should shape such Canadian action.

Mr. McCallum–THAT, in the opinion of this House, the government should revise its most recent Economic and Fiscal Statement to reflect the views of the now-Prime Minister who said in this House on October 6th, 2004: “It is the government’s obligation to craft a working majority to advance its agenda by taking into account the policies and priorities expressed by the three opposition parties in the House” and “the first thing the government must do is actively find common ground with the opposition parties to better serve the Canadian population.”

Mr. Brison–THAT the House call upon the government to provide Parliament with a specific list of all assets under review for disposal, as referenced in the government’s Economic and Fiscal Statement, together with an explanation of the criteria that has lead the government to conclude that such assets are expendable, with particular emphasis on the assets reportedly worth at least $2.3 billion above book value which are to be disposed of first, in the coming fiscal year.

Savage for Rae

Michael Ignatieff has been notching some key 'wins' when it comes to support from his caucus colleagues but today, Nova Scotia MP Mike Savage (left) declares for Iggy rival Bob Rae:

For me, Bob stands out as the person most capable of ensuring the party does the hard work that is required to prepare us for the next election and the years ahead. He is a decisive leader, someone who has tremendously strong political skills, he has been tested and he understands that government matters and should be an instrument to help those in need. His record of service to Canada is unsurpassed.I know all leadership candidates will endeavour to make this race about leadership and are committed to a respectful and civil debate. At the end of this process, we will be united and ready to defeat Stephen Harper.

,

Layoffs in the OLO

Parliamentary research and staff budgets are, ultimately, a function of the number of seats your party wins in a general election. The Liberals, of course, did pretty poorly in the last election, getting fewer votes and fewer seats. The fact of fewer votes will mean less money for the party and fewer seats means their slice of the parliamentary budget will thinner.

We understand that, this afternoon, thinner budgets means fewer people working in the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition. At least eleven staffers have been let go in the OLO. While the party is appropriately reluctant to relesase names, an OLO official says there will be fewer people in the OLO working on policy or on the regional desks or on Leaders' Tour. After all, with only a few months left in his leadership, Dion is not going to be developing new policies or travelling the country whipping up support. That will be up to the new leader.

Stéphane Dion's core communications team — shop leader Mark Dunn and team members Sarah Bain and Jean-François del Torchio — will remain on the job.

Bob Rae's first hurdle: Ontario

The Liberal Party of Canada-Ontario (LPCO) executive meets at a Mississauga hotel this weekend to talk about a variety of matters and on Sunday, I'm told, they'll get a chance to hear the first pitches from the three declared leadership candidates – Dominic Leblanc, Michael Ignatieff, and Bob Rae.

Now the LPCO executive is not a small group. The executive includes the president of each Ontario riding association (or designate) as well as every Ontario Liberal MP. That's a big bunch and, if you're Bob Rae, an important bunch. I'm told that about 150 are expected for the weekend meeting.

Rae is popular among Liberals in many parts of the country but in Ontario, there are LIberals who worry his tenure as the NDP premier who had the misfortune of presiding over a rough recession that left a big hole in the provincial treasury will not be remembered fondly by Ontario voters. Sunday's meeting will be Rae's first chance in this relatively short leadership contest to convince his Ontario colleagues that his name can indeed win more seats for Liberal brand in Ontario.

, ,

Whither Peter Milliken?

Peter Milliken, as every politics-mad Canadian knows, is the Speaker of the House of Commons. Or at least he was for the 39th Parliament. On Nov. 18, the 40th Parliament of Canada will convene for the first time and its first order of business will be to elect a speaker. The election of a speaker is done by secret ballot which is preceded often by intense lobbying by the aspirants.

I can confirm, dear reader, that Milliken will, indeed, be one of those who aspires to be Speaker for the 40th Parliament.

There are other names being bandied about on the gossip circuit. I've heard that Merv Tweed, a Conservative from Manitoba, and Andrew Scheer, a Conservative from Saskatchewan who was assistant deputy speaker in the last Parliament might be interested.

With the retirement of Bill Blaikie, it seems unlikely that an NDP MP will put his or her name forward to be speaker. And we can rule out a BQ MP.

Now, here's an interesting little conspiracy theory advanced to me this afternoon by a smart and enthusiastic Hill staffer: The Conservatives may be interested in seeing anyone — even another Liberal – take the Speaker's job, so long as it's not Milliken. Here's why: Milliken has been the speaker for seven years and it's his dream job. Wily Conservatives though may be betting that if Milliken was deprived of his dream job, he might quit as an MP. After all, he was hinting during the last election campaign that this run would be his last. So, without the Speaker's job to keep him in Ottawa, some Tories think he might just up and vacate his seat of Kingston and the Islands, which Milliken and the Liberals have held since 1988. Milliken beat out Flora MacDonald who had held the seat for the Progressive Conservatives since 1972.

Now if Milliken quits his MP's job, that would free up a byelection and, given the fact that Kingston is a tiny little red dot in the sea of blue Conservative ridings between Toronto and Ottawa, the Tories have every reason to believe that they could take that riding.

So, for that reason, the Conservative leadership may suggest that the 143 Tory MPs cast their secret ballot for someone other than the incumbent.

,

The War Room War

In the wake of last night's French-language debates — which our pollster says Dion did best at — the war rooms of the major parties have been issuing releases left, right, and centre today. These are some summaries of all of the press releases filling my inbox today. It all seems like terribly wasted effort as all the political news that most assignment editors will want for tonight's newscasts and tomorrow's papers will almost certainly be about the two debates on this evening.

The Liberal war room wants us all to know:
• NDP Leader Jack Layton needs to do something about Durham candidate Andrew McKeever who apparently says, on his MySpace page, that he liked the part in Schindler's List “when the guard starts waxing the prisoners” and goes on to say his hero is George W. Bush.
• Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant needs to retract the “lies” she's been telling consituents in her rural Eastern Ontario riding. The Liberals would like her to know that their plan will not tax the use of firewood.
• They have a new television ad, might even be their best yet, though that's probably not saying much. This one reminds viewers that, in 2003, Stephen Harper delivered a speech that had been plagiarized from a speech of Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
• The Liberals followed that up with a press release detailing all the international press coverage with headlines like “Copycat Canadian leader” or “Harper Speech Scandal“.
• Harper has no plan for the economic crisis facing Canadians.
• They've launched an anti-Harper Web site: Harpernomics.ca
• A Vancouver woman got a half-a-million dollar government contract shortly after being acclaimed as a Conservative candidate in a riding that is just about the best thing the Liberals have for a lock in B.C. (It's Ujjal Dosanjh's riding in Vancouver South)
• Conservative MP and former minister Michael Chong likes the idea of a carbon tax, thank you very much.
• The NDP would hike EI benefits.
• If you criticize anything the Conservative government does, even if you are demonstrably non-partisan, you are, by definition, a “Liberal.”

The NDP war room asks:
• Why can't the Tories add? Conservative “Bay Street” math doesn't add up when it comes to the cost of the Afghanistan mission. The Tories say it has or will cost $8-billion but the NDP says other estimates suggest it could cost $22-billion.
• Where is the Conservative election platform? The Conservatives are the only party that has not released their election platform. If I were a betting man, I'd say they do it Monday.
• Why are the Liberals contradicting themselves on unemployment insurance? Liberals are misleading Canadians on funds available to help workers, the NDP says.
• What if Dion calls a meeting of premiers and bigwigs on the economy, as he promised last night that he would do, and they all tell him to ditch the carbon tax? (Funny: Several Tories I had a beer with last night said the same thing.)

The Conservative war room reminds us that:
• Dion is hiding — hiding, I tell you! — from his Green Shift.
• Stéphane Dion “discovers the economy but still has no plan.” This picks up on a theme several Tory advisors were scratching their head about after last night's debate. Dion's plan, they said, is to come up with a plan after he's elected? How do you campaign on a plan to plan, they wondered.
• Some Liberals have said some dumb things about their leader, including MP Charles Hubbard, who apparently wondered today how things might have been if Bob Rae or Michael Ignatieff were in charge.
• Dion is a hypocrite when it comes to the issue of arts funding.
• In announcing a new economic plan (or a plan to plan) in the middle of last night's debate, Dion is reminding us that his predecessor did the same thing in a debate in 2006 — and that really didn't turn out well for him.

The Bloc Quebecois war room lets us know that:
• It, too, has some new TV ads featuring various BQ candidates attacking Harper for his rigid ideology.

And then there's the Green Party:
• Party in New Glasgow Saturday night! BYORB! (Bring Your Own Reuseable Bottle!)

Dion has until end of next year to find $690,000

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand issued his ruling today [PDF here] on an application by Stéphane Dion's Liberal leadership campaign for an extension to pay off campaign debts.

Like he did for other leadership candidates, Mayrand gave Dion until the end of 2009 to pay off debts that , as of June 3, added up to $690,000.

If Dion's team takes all of the extension to pay that off, he will most certainly be fighting the next general election campaign while fighting to pay off his leadership campaign.



Dion's team is looking to pay off the following creditors:

  • Stephanos Mamdouh (left) – 2 loans totalling $320,000
  • TD Canada Trust – $150,000
  • Marc de la Bruyere – $70,000
  • Stephen Bronfman – $50,000
  • Salvatore Guerrera – $50,000
  • Remi Nault – $50,000

UPDATE: A senior official in Dion's office calls in to say that, since those documents were filed with Elections Canada, Dion's campaign has been busy raising money. The official says that Dion's campaign has paid off a substantial amount of the debt and it now stands at about $250,000. Moreover, the Dion team is confident it will pay the rest of it off by this fall.

Technorati Tags: , , ,