Category: Politics/Liberals

While many of my Sun Media colleagues have had the chance this summer to enjoy the hospitality aboard the Liberal Express, I have not — until today. I'm picking up Michael Ignatieff's summer tour on its last days, as it travels from Halifax to Cape Breton and the end-of-summer national Liberal caucus in Baddeck, N.S.

The tour today stops in Elmsdale at 0900, Masstown at 1100, Antigonish at 1330 and Big Pond at 1700.

I and other reporters then head to Baddeck this evening while Ignatieff and the bus overnight in Sydney. Ignatieff will then arrive Monday in Baddeck to begin the caucus.

The bus ride today is full of Liberal candidates, MPs, and Senators including:

• MPs Scott Brison, Maria Minna, Geoff Regan, and Rodger Cuzner
• Senators James Cowan, Terry Mercer, Wilfred Moore

I've just spent the last few days at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Station where I learned, in no particular order, that accused Canadian terrorist Omar Khadr thinks the whole U.S. military commission process is a sham; that the suspected terrorists he's jailed with started computer classes there this week; and that military personnel and journalists start their day with breakfast at the Iggy Cafe. As for Khadr, you can read some reports on what I've been up to here and here, but there is also a new poll out this morning from Angus Reid Public Opinion which concludes that a majority of Canadians have little sympathy for the plight Khadr is in. That said: Canadians, being a nation of people with sharp and subtle minds, appear to be able to tell when the system is gamed with 42 per cent of us doubting that the military commissions set up to try Khadr and other suspects will be able to do a fair job of it.

Meanwhile, Canadian reporters who normally find themselves reporting on Parliament Hill — that would be me and Canwest's Andrew Mayeda — were chuckling to find that the mess hall at the U.S. Naval Station is the Iggy Cafe — it's formal name is the Gold Hill Galley — which we, of course, assumed that Guantanamo must be a stop on Michael Ignatieff's Liberal Express tour. Here's a picture (left) of your correspondent patiently waiting outside for the the bus get fixed on get on the road to Gitmo. (It's called Iggy Cafe, incidentally, for all the iguanas on the island.)

UPDATE: The link seems problematic at the Angus Reid site. If you're having trouble, point your Web browser to http://www.visioncritical.com/ and try to navigate your way to the poll. As of Wednesday it was down near the bottom left of the page under the “News” section.

Bill Flanagan, the dean of the law school at Queen's University, has called a press conference for Thursday afternoon in which he will “make an announcement about Liberal nomination race in Kingston and the Islands.”

Kingston and the Islands has been represented since 1988 by a certain Peter Milliken who, after setting the all-time record for longevity in the Speaker's Chair in the Canadian House of Commons, has decided to retire at the end of this Parliament.

Before Milliken, Kingston was represented by Progressive Conservative Flora MacDonald.

And, with Milliken out of the picture, the Conservative Party of Canada believes it has a good shot of making eastern Ontario, including Kingston, completely blue.

Flanagan, presumably, seeks to spoil the plans of S. Harper and Co. by winning the nomination and then winning the seat.

Here's some excerpts from a piece Ian Elliot had in the Kingston Whig-Standard just before Milliken announced his retirement:

Local Liberals are tight-lipped about whether Peter Milliken's traditional summer barbecue for his supporters is going to be his last.

Milliken has called a news conference to follow the annual members-only barbecue at his house near Elginburg.

Milliken has not only never held a news conference after the annual garden party, but no Kingston reporter can recall him holding a news conference, ever. Even when he chooses to run for re-election, he makes his announcement with a written statement.

… Bittu George, a longtime party member and former city councillor, is often mentioned as a possible successor to Milliken, but he was similarly tight-lipped yesterday.

… [Milliken] said he did not enjoy the 2008 election campaign as much as he enjoyed past ones. In that election, he won by his lowest margin ever, both in the number of votes cast for him and percentage of all votes cast.

Milliken has won some of the most massively lopsided votes ever in the riding — sometimes while barely even bothering to campaign — but in 2008, Conservative hopeful Brian Abrams came within 4,000 votes of unseating him.

Abrams is standing again for the Tories, while Eric Walton is already on deck for the Greens and Daniel Beals is running for the NDP.

George wouldn't say if he is interested in being a candidate but did acknowledge that people have encouraged him to run.

Bill Flanagan, the dean of law at Queen's University is another name that is mentioned as a successor to Milliken, but he was equally reticent to confirm any of the rumours swirling around the Kingston political scene.

“I can only say that I'm looking forward to Saturday's barbecue and it will be about celebrating the achievements of Peter Milliken,” he said. “I'm expecting a great turnout and we're all just hoping it doesn't rain.”

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is in Beijing today where, among other things, he delivered a speech at the University of Tsinghua. An excerpt:

And as China continues to work toward fostering a harmonious society, Canada must remain engaged with China, as we have been in the past, on important issues of mutual concern.

We must be ready to speak plainly with one another about human rights, always understanding that neither of our countries has a flawless past or present, and always conscious of the vast differences in our respective histories, societies, and political cultures.

Canada can contribute more to the development of human rights in China and to strengthening the rule of law through this array of people-to-people interactions, than by megaphone diplomacy.

We should move forward together, to learn from each other in matters of rights, justice, civil service reform, and corporate social responsibility.

…. I’m in China to build relationships and build trust.

I’m in China to understand, to listen, and to learn.

I am here to engage China as a friend to Canada, and to speak frankly, as good friends do.

And I intend to be back frequently.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is in Toronto right now giving a speech to the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, the same group that Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke to last November:

Ignatieff's speech tonight included the following:

Let's be frank: some of our leaders say one thing about openness and transparency in opposition and another in power.

A year ago, the Prime Minister spoke to this Council. He said, and I quote:

“Our government does not tell journalists what to say or attempt to intimidate those with whom it disagrees. Instead, we believe strongly that Canadians' freedom is enhanced when journalists are free to pursue the truth, to shine light into dark corners, and to insist on the process of holding governments accountable.”

A few months later, he shut down Parliament.

His government has turned Access to Information into Denial of Information to the press and public alike.

He fought disclosure of documents relating to the Afghan detainee scandal until the Speaker ruled against him.

He leads the most secretive government in Canadian history.   

Last Monday, on World Press Freedom Day, a Conservative senator told groups that work for the rights of women in the poorest countries in the world to just “shut up”-that if they dare oppose the Conservative Party, they will be silenced.

The next day, 11 groups lost their funding.

We have to do politics differently. We will not follow Mr. Harper's example. We will not tell you one thing in opposition and another in government. We will not just talk about openness, we will practice it.