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Post by phil on Dec 2, 2006 16:24:39 GMT -5
Stéphane Dion, 1782 votes, 37 %
Michael Ignatieff, 1660 votes, 34,5 %
Bob Rae, 1375 votes, 28,5 %
If Dion wins, the political cartoonists in Québec
will be the happiest men on earth today ... !
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Post by phil on Dec 2, 2006 18:13:17 GMT -5
LMAO !!!
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Post by phil on Dec 2, 2006 20:03:17 GMT -5
 No M. Dion. You don't suffer from paranoïa
People truly hate you ! |
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Post by phil on Dec 2, 2006 20:30:35 GMT -5
Stéphane Dion's victory really came out of nowhere !!
And just in time for maximum exposure
only a short time before the Maple Leafs' game
on Hockey Night in Canada !!
Even this morning, no one -me first- gave him a "Snow Ball in Hell" chance to be elected as leader of the Liberal party of Canada ...
Talk about a candidate who succeeded in being
at the right place at the right time !
Just to think that he finished third in the first round
only TWO votes higher than Gerard Kennedy !!
Two little votes that made all the difference ...
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 3, 2006 9:03:48 GMT -5
Stéphane Dion's victory really came out of nowhere !! And just in time for maximum exposure
only a short time before the Maple Leafs' game
on Hockey Night in Canada !!Even this morning, no one -me first- gave him a "Snow Ball in Hell" chance to be elected as leader of the Liberal party of Canada ... Ahem, I seem to remember predicting Dion would be on the final ballot. Though since I got the other half of the equation wrong, I guess you’re off the hook on buying that Figgy Duff disc. Too bad, I’m sure Fred’s would have given you a really good deal.  As for the result, though I’m obviously not a Liberal supporter, I actually think there’s some cause for hope there. No. 1, they passed on Ignatieff, whom I'm convinced would have been an off-the-fucking-rails disaster if he’d ever got the chance to be prime minister. Learned, immensely intelligent, but no sense of judgement whatsoever. Kind of the anti-PET, as opposed to Trudeau-lite. The other thing is this is one of those rare occasions when a revolt of youth and relative idealism actually prevails over the backroom party machinery. Regardless of party labels, I think that's healthy for the system. The Liberal brain trust was backing either Ignatieff or Rae. They didn’t want Dion (although in the end, about 70% of Bob Rae’s delegates actually went to him.) He’s the opposite of a natural politician. He campaigned, apparently earnestly, on sustainable development and social justice. He got his big surge of momentum on the convention floor by securing Gerard Kennedy and his youth vote. Not sure how he’ll do now that he’s won. He could turn out to be the Liberal Joe Clark – I’m kind of expecting that will be the Conservative line of attack on him. He’ll obviously have a hard go of it in Quebec... Politics in this country rarely goes exactly according to script, though. Whether he does it or not, I think he’s sharp enough to defy expectations. "And then there's a son of this city – Stéphane Dion.
A man with whom I have fundamental disagreements about how Canada should build and renew itself.
But also a man who is, if I may say so across the partisan divide, distinct from his principal opponents in being a committed Canadian and a man of principle and conviction.
And therefore almost certain not to be elected leader of the Liberal Party."
– Jack Layton, Sept. 10, 2006 [/color] Oops. ;D |
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Post by phil on Dec 3, 2006 9:06:55 GMT -5
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Post by phil on Dec 3, 2006 9:11:37 GMT -5
He’ll obviously have a hard go of it in Quebec...
You have NO idea ...
It's gonna be brutal ! ;D !
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 3, 2006 10:03:11 GMT -5
The thing is, the Liberals are barely registering a pulse in the francophone ridings of Quebec anyway. The Bloc got 66% of the vote in the Repentigny by-election a few days ago. The Liberals got 6%, finishing 4th behind the Cons and the NDP. You don’t have to work hard to find seats with similar numbers for the QLP in the general election last January. So I’m not sure Liberals had much to lose with Dion, at least in terms of the next election. Ignatieff or Rae might have been able to elicit some interest for them next time, but they’re obviously looking several elections down the line for any kind of serious comeback, if it ever happens. Dion’s credentials may even shore up their support with the type of Quebec federalist voters Harper was poaching from them last time.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 4, 2006 10:45:30 GMT -5
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Post by phil on Dec 6, 2006 0:08:07 GMT -5
Question of loyalty
New Liberal leader Dion deserves citizenship scrutiny
By EZRA LEVANT
Stephane Dion is the new leader of the Liberal Party. And he is a citizen of France.
Imagine the shrieks from the media if the Conservatives were to elect a leader who is a dual citizen of the U.S. He would be called a U.S. poodle at best or a spy at worst. Every time he opined on a subject, it would be scrutinized through the lens of Canada-U.S. relations. Everything from military spending to foreign treaties like Kyoto would be looked at through the question: Was the Prime Minister of Canada truly pursuing Canadian interests, or was his loyalty to his other homeland at play?
Even Michael Ignatieff, the second-place finisher in the Liberal contest, never took U.S. citizenship despite 30 years living there. It was chutzpah that Ignatieff, a de facto American, returned to Canada to lead us. But at least he had the sense to remain a Canadian, at least legally.
So what is Dion's excuse? The man wasn't born abroad, as was our other leading dual-citizen, Michaelle Jean. And at least Jean had the taste to renounce her French citizenship (after public outcry) upon acceding to the post of governor general. But Dion was born right here in Canada. Yet he is a dual citizen of France.
When it comes to making decisions about the war on terror, and Canada's role in Afghanistan, will Dion be unduly influenced by France, a country that has taken up the role of lawyer and arms dealer for every terrorist state in the world, even defending Saddam Hussein until the eve of his overthrow?
Perhaps, in Quebec, French citizenship is a sign of cosmopolitan worldliness. More likely, it is a symbol of an inferiority complex, where French colonials demonstrate they are much bigger and broader-minded than mere North Americans -- they are part of the mighty French empire.
Here's what Dion said about the matter, on a rare occasion that he was pressed: "Multiple identities should be seen as an asset, not a threat," he said.
"There is nothing wrong with multiple identities. The hearts of people are big enough to accept different identities. Canadian citizenship will give me my rights. Identity is the way I feel about the country." No talk of loyalty or obligation, not talk of duties.
Because Dion was never considered a serious challenger, his statements like this have escaped scrutiny by the media, and by the Conservatives. Now that this loyal citizen of France will be on the next ballot to lead Canada, expect many more such clangers to see the light of day.
*****
1) Who is this idiot ?
2) NDP's Jack Layton has miss a good occasion to SHUT UP !
3) If Dion had a U.K. passport, would anybody have brought this up ?
Just stupid ...
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 6, 2006 7:44:00 GMT -5
Phil – don't know what you're on about with 2), since Layton is never mentioned in the piece. As to the rest, yeah, Ezra's a bit of a wingnut. He was Stockwell Day's communications director during part of the really flaky period of the Canadian Alliance, about 5-6 years ago when they were all at one another's throats. He publishes the Western Standard now and you'll see him turn up as a talking head now and then on CBC, CTV, etc. Regarding Dion's dual citizenship, I've never seen this brought up before, but if it is true I think he should get rid of it. Not because there's anything wrong with dual Canadian-French citizenship – there isn't – or because there's any serious question of Dion's loyalties but because as Opposition Leader and potential prime minister you don't even want the appearance of conflicting allegiances. The same reason Michaëlle Jean renounced her's or for that matter, Paul Martin was forced to sever direct ties to CSL when he went into public life. |
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Post by phil on Dec 6, 2006 9:05:28 GMT -5
Phil – don't know what you're on about with 2),
Dion won't renounce French citizenship
Dec. 5, 2006. 06:35 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Stephane Dion defended his loyalty to Canada today amid questions about his dual Canadian-French citizenship.
Dion was born in Canada but his mother was born in France and Dion holds French citizenship as a result.
"I'm proud of who I am, and I am fully loyal to my country, and nobody will question that," Dion told reporters. I'm 100 per cent loyal to Canada and I believe I've more than demonstrated that in my life."
The same issue dogged Governor General Michaelle Jean, who also held a French passport through her husband. She eventually renounced French citizenship, saying it would feel strange to hold both while fulfilling her vice-regal duties.
Ezra Levant, a long-time conservative pundit and publisher of the Western Standard, criticized Dion in a column in the Calgary Sun for not doing the same.
"When it comes to making decisions about the war on terror, and Canada's role in Afghanistan, will Dion be unduly influenced by France, a country that has taken up the role of lawyer and arms dealer for every terrorist state in the world, even defending Saddam Hussein until the eve of his overthrow?" Levant wrote.
NDP Leader Jack Layton was not as critical, but said it would probably be a better idea to maintain one citizenship.
"I would prefer that a leader of a party hold only Canadian citizenship, because one represents many Canadians, and for me that means that it's better to remain the citizen of one country," Layton said.
"But for a person that isn't in a position of representing others, holding dual citizenship is fine with us."
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said it was "no problem" at all for Dion to hold dual citizenship, "because he's a modern man, he's not living in a previous century."
The question of dual citizenship is one that comes up periodically for public debate, most recently after a number of people with dual Lebanese-Canadian citizenship received Canadian citizenship to escape hostilities in the Middle East. Some of those people did not actually reside in Canada.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is also re-examining the issue of whether Canadian citizens can run for public office in foreign countries, as happened earlier this year with the Italian government.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 6, 2006 9:30:33 GMT -5
I was out of commission for most of yesterday and didn't catch any news, so once again, this is the first time I'm seeing this, Phil. I don't see any problem with Jack's comments, though.
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Post by phil on Dec 7, 2006 16:01:21 GMT -5
Same-sex marriage motion defeated by wide margin
Prime Minister Stephen Harper voted to revoke Canada's same-sex marriage law in the House of Commons Thursday.
Published: Thursday, December 07, 2006
OTTAWA — Parliamentarians today re-affirmed the legality of same-sex marriage in Canada by voting down a Conservative motion to re-open the controversial debate.
A total of 175 members of Parliament rejected a Tory motion “to call on government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex marriages”
The idea of re-visiting the issue was supported by 123 MPs.
The House of Commons was virtually empty on Wednesday when Conservative House leader Rob Nicholson introduced the motion and debate began. Nicholson even acknowledged, “some members may question why it’s necessary to engage this House on this matter.”
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion called the prospect of re-opening the gay-marriage issue “an attack against the charter.”
*********
Sad to see there are still 123 MPs
who refuse to understand
the meaning of EQUAL RIGHTS ... !!
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 8, 2006 7:19:58 GMT -5
Not so sure we've heard the last of this. Harper got what he wanted here on both counts – the vote fulfills the promise he made to social conservatives in the last election, while its defeat gets an issue which is a political liability for him in the areas of the country where he needs to grow off the agenda for the time being. The social conservative/evangelical lobby was almost too sanguine in accepting defeat yesterday. Everyone knows that the only real way to reverse this would be to use the notwithstanding clause. Harper claims that's a non-starter but does anyone doubt that if he'd been in power with a majority in 2005, he would have used it then?
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