Dion - "I am a trustworthy person"

Lily-white Stephane Dion, the model of self-professed integrity, reiterates his plan to vote against the Throne Speech if a new session of Parliament is started in the fall (Election is possible, Dion warns).

This of course could force an election if the other two parties join him. If strict adherence to Kyoto becomes the pivotal issue, then I don't see how the NDP or Bloc could avoid this action and still maintain their own credibility.

Kaptain Kyoto assures us that we can trust him:

"I never broke my word in 11 years in politics," Mr. Dion said. "I am a trustworthy person ... I want to destroy the sense of cynicism that no politician will stick to his or her word. I always did it. I don't over-commit and when I'm committing, I will deliver. It's the message this whole caucus will carry."

Never mind that the previous (Liberal) government's record on greenhouse gas emissions under the stewardship of then Environment Minister Stephane Dion was abysmal.

As Dion continues his 'Yeah-but-you can-trust-me-now' tour, he assures Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that "he would respect offshore revenue deals with Nova Scotia and Newfoundland even though, as the New Democrats pointed out, he strongly opposed such agreements when he was a cabinet minister."


CNEWS reports that Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald is prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt (Dion forced to defend previous opposition to offshore deals for N.L. and N.S.) - H/T CBL.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams of course welcomes him with open arms since 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'; whatever he may have said or done in the past.


Of course, Stephane Dion is not the only politician who said one thing in the past and then appeared to change course when it was deemed politically expedient.

Stephen Harper himself once called Kyoto a 'socialist scheme' before having his apparent climate change conversion (although the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive concepts).

But Stephane Dion is trying to paint himself as some kind of guileless pillar of integrity; a politician who would never break his word.

That is an oxymoron in politics, and anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.

* * * *

Related: Actually, Dion should get with the program. There could be a backlash developing, which is causing current thinking to be a bit more flexible with Kyoto targets and objectives. Check out Terence Corcoran's Cool Summits.

Could Stephen Harper have been right all along?

* * * *

Wednesday Update: Newfoundland Premier leaves Liberal leader out on a limb.

Bring it on indeed!

Still catching up on goings-on from the last little while, but I have to agree with Steve Janke - Stephane Dion has no choice but to try to bring down the government.

He must vote against the throne speech. However, the other two parties have to be on board as well. He will need to win over their support. Are they ready to go to the polls?

Both the Globe and the National Post seem to be tired of hearing Dion's whining and threats as well.

The Post says to "Bring it on". I agree.

Show us what you're made of, Stephane!

* * * *

Wednesday Update: Follow the leader by Licia Corbella.

With friends like that...

Adam Radwanski has a strange way of complimenting Stephane Dion.

Stephen Harper will never, ever face weaker opposition than he has from Stephane Dion in the past seven months...

...Admittedly, he's still not exactly lighting any fires; the Liberals aren't moving up so much as the Tories are sinking...

Interesting comments too. The first one by 'Wet Back' is very thought-provoking.

And I like this bit from the second one:

And we have yet to hear Dion's costing out of fully implementing Kyoto.
And... the significance that will have on health, education, infrastructure budgets.
To name three.

Dion's silence has him at exactly the same place Martin was when he resigned.
Once Dion opens his mouth, down, down he goes.

Kept those columns coming, Adam!

Dion claims victory!

Stephane Dion is quite proud of himself for having thwarted the election plans of his arch rival:

"We have succeeded to make sure that Michael's the government's plan would fail."

I suppose we can infer from this that the Liberal Senate has decided to pass the budget.

* * * *

Update: Dion's victory party may be a bit premature.

Then again, maybe Dion should push for an election now anyway.

Testing the wind

I am still absorbing the full impact of yesterday's horror at Virginia Tech, so I won't even attempt a comment at this point, other than to say that I can't imagine what family and friends of the victims must be feeling.


So for now, I decided to check out the Nova Scotia dailies and see what local folks are saying about the new Red Green show. It would appear that the editors at the Halifax Daily News are scratching their heads just like the ROC.

However, Halifax's Chronicle Herald provided an interesting sampling of letters.

My favourite was the one by Marcel Falkenham of Halifax, who refers to the Green-Liberal discussion as the Watermelon Talks. Brilliant! It really was a seedy situation when you think about it.

I read the last letter (by Robert MacDonald) about 10 times and still can't figure out what he was trying to say. Translations are welcome.

In any case, if all those letters are indicative of the general population in Central Nova, it would seem that Peter MacKay can breathe easy. NDP candidate Louise Lorefice may have a good shot at second place.

Meanwhile, the Star reports that the outcome of the Watermelon Talks has disenchanted some of the green rind as well as the seedy red pulp. Perhaps it's time for Central Nova to send the whole stinking mess to the compost heap.

* * * *

Update: Liberal Outsider - An Actual Argument Against the Liberal Lapdogs...

Great post by ChuckerCanuk - Breaking News!! (Cherniak learns life lessons from the Gulf War.)

Dump Dion - Now or later?

With Stephane Dion apparently auditioning for a lead role in a remake of "Dumb and Dumber", the Liberal party appears to be on the brink of some kind of schism.

Pierre Bourque was on the Jeff Allan show this morning, discussing the Liberal feud that has erupted like an oozing pimple. Among some higher-up party strategists, it's not a matter of if, but rather when to dump Dion.

(Humorous side note: Jeff mentioned something to the effect that when Stephane Dion announced he was going to ensure that a third of his candidates were female, we didn't anticipate that some of those women would be from other parties!)

With election chatter continually increasing, one wonders if disenchanted Grit MP's and strategists will somehow conspire to engineer their own defeat - i.e. initiate some kind of situation that plummets the country into an election and thereby hasten the inevitable leadership confrontation and resolution.

Never a boring moment on the Hill.

* * * *

Update: Jason Cherniak talks about Liberal "nincompoops" and "senior wimps" and crybabies.

Ya just gotta sit back and smile.


Also please check out the Star's Linwood Barclay - Dion inspires others to acts of boneheadedness. (H/T Christian Conservative).

Interesting angle here at Angry in the Great White North - Steve asks if Gerard Kennedy knew about the Red Green deal when he was collecting donations from Central Nova on March 22.

Comuzzi Out (Breaking News)

Apparently Stephane Dion has little tolerance for dissension.

Liberal MP Joe Comuzzi got the boot (H/T to reader Brian in Calgary).

So Garth, what was that about a big tent where discussion and differing opinions are welcome?


Update: I tried asking Garth that question at his blog, but it seems that I have been banned! So much for discussion and free speech. I was responding to this statement:

If you want to be a leader whose orders are followed without question by those who know their place, are able to follow commands effortlessly, don’t talk to the media, can work as a team and never question you in public or cast doubt upon your leadership, get a dog.

I was wanting to ask Garth what Joe Comuzzi might say to that. Well, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, and expect that my comment is awaiting his approval. Yes, that must be it.

Update: My comment is finally on Garth's site. (1:49 pm)

So I guess I haven't been banned yet. I'll just have to try a bit harder. Interesting discussion there, but I hate feeding his ego with the traffic.

More at Political Staples. (Good point made here that Joe C. may have been used as an example for what could happen to dissenting Quebec MP's who are afraid to face their constituents if they vote against the goodies for their province. It could be political suicide for them (either way, I guess.)

* * * *

Thursday Update: David Akin relates Joe Comuzzi's press statement on the CTV Politics Blog:

...I love Canada and my region and if doing the right thing has consequences, I must accept them. However I will never, never put my gain in front of representing my constituents...

(The site appears to be down temporarily).

Dion Wants to increase your Hydro Bill

John Ivison's column in today's National Post mirrors my thoughts on Stephane Dion's "Green Investment Account" proposal (Dion's naivete on display).

His scheme is intended to make the polluters pay, but guess what? The buck stops at the person staring back at you in the mirror.

The new plan would mean polluting industries could see their top-line expenses grow by $2.5-billion a year if they miss their emission targets.

Canadians who scoff at pleas of poverty from the oil and gas industry may be less smug when they learn the electricity industry is already contemplating passing on the estimated $1-billion in annual extra costs to consumers.

"Sure we would," said Hans Konow, president of the Canadian Electricity Association. "This is added cost that would be passed through."

This will just end up being another behemoth Liberal boondoggle, designed to line the pockets of everyone except you and me. The irony is that it doesn't even necessarily guarantee results in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Jason Kenney calls this plan a 'lemon'.

The Liberal party sure picked one.

* * * *

More at Political Staples - Because there is only one payer.

No more strippers in Dion's platform

Susan Delacourt of the Star explains that while Harper's French is perceived to be better than Dion's English, Stephane is making progress:

Over the past few weeks, Dion has been actively using English more and has already shed some of his difficulties with pronunciation. When talking about his "three-pillar" political platform, for instance, it no longer comes out as "peelers," much to the disappointment of comedians and pundits who had fun with the nickname for strippers.

Dion is spending a lot of time with his English tutor:

"She's helping me to catch the music of the language, where to put the intonation. It's a complete mystery for me," Dion said. "What I understand is that you (English-speakers) have that by instinct more than by rules.

I can only speculate that the Dion household didn't worry too much about ensuring that little Stephane was encouraged to learn and speak English. The mother-tongue and the motherland were likely all that mattered.

However, if he is actually successful in his remedial homework, it may end up being a liability. His fractured English was the only thing preventing me from falling asleep during a speech.

Help! The Liberals are winning me over!!!

This may be enough for me to actually consider voting Liberal in the next Ontario election - "Dion Losing Law-and-Order Votes, Leading Liberal Says" (Globe).

Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant:

...Worse, Mr. Bryant states, the Liberals have "very little substance to offer by way of alternative, and certainly nothing new or effective. The typical federal Liberal approach to crime, in a word, is a boomer approach that is stuck in the summer of love."

As a result, Mr. Bryant argues, "Crime is for Liberals what the environment is for Conservatives."

If nothing else, I think Michael Bryant could have a great career as a political columnist if the Attorney-General thing doesn't work out.

* * * *

Wednesday Update: Harper Suddenly Discovers Ontario (Post)
Why PM, Premier Were Smiling (Star)

Dion's "Next Canadian PM" cross-country audition

The National Post's editorial board obviously believes that Stephane Dion's self-promoting cross-country tour is doomed to failure - "Stephane Dion's Sincerity Shtick":

The senior Liberals planning the trip say they want voters to get to know Mr. Dion one-on-one and in small groups, which is supposedly where Mr. Dion is most persuasive. That's the way he unexpectedly captured the top Liberal job, they explain. It is also the best way to demonstrate his "sincerity," which Liberals say is his greatest political asset.

Stephane Dion may indeed be sincere or "authentic" as my Liberal MP Karen Redman often describes him. He may actually believe that his pie-in-the-sky academic dreams can transform Canada into his vision of Progressive Utopia, and that we intellectually-inferior Canadians will eventually embrace this plan with unqualified support once we finally come to our senses.

But is 'sincerity' the sole qualification necessary for a great leader?

If an international crisis of some kind were suddenly to occur, who would you rather have defending our national interests, making split-second decisions and communicating with world leaders on complex issues that require both diplomacy and tenacity?


I'll take the 'bully' over Flipper anyday, thanks.

* * * *

Update: Is the mole back? Cherniak and Wells have some concerns (H/T Bourque)

And our own ChuckerCanuk is mentioned on Bourque as well tonight! Congrats Chucker!!!

Wednesday Update: Well poor Flipper has one friend, anyway. (Star)

But this Liberal MP is definitely not a Dion fan!

Air India Families Dealt 'Serious and damaging blow'

Kim Bolan has an exclusive interview with RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass in today's National Post. Bass states that last week's Opposition decision to vote down the extension of the two controversial parts of the Anti-Terrorism Act represented a "serious and damaging blow to the interests of the (Air India) families". Specifically, the RCMP had been preparing for the last three years to use the investigative hearings aspect of the provisions.

Bass said in an exclusive interview that he was disappointed with "the apparent lack of understanding of the importance of this legislation with respect to the Air India Investigation," especially given that investigative hearings were upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada.

(. . . )

Bass said the hearings would have allowed those reluctant to come forward the protection they needed to tell the truth about the biggest mass murder in Canadian history.

"The investigative hearing process offered the potential for individuals inclined to cooperate, but afraid of retribution, a vehicle to explain their cooperation within their community, by being able to explain that they had no choice but to testify truthfully," Bass said.

The Liberal party appears to be fairly successful so far in pulling off their little charade of outraged indignation and sanctimonious demands for apologies in order to divert attention.

The big question is - from what?

* * * *

Tuesday Update: Grit MP Marlene Jennings rips into Gary Bass (H/T to National Newswatch).

Greg Weston (RCMP Blame Game) - Perhaps the RCMP has something to hide?

The Strategy of Casting for Votes: Harper vs. Flipper

Spring election or not? That speculation is the latest buzz everywhere in blogs and MSM.

National Newswatch has their "Election Fever Meter" at set 91% today! They apparently base the chances of a spring election on related buzz and spin. Personally, I don't see the connection. Spin means speculation; not statistical probabilities in my opinion. But what do I know?

In any case, we have two eminent MSM pundits putting forth their case today that an election is less likely than ever - or at least it should be.

Don Martin playfully christens Stephane Dion "Flipper" based on his inability to demonstrate clear focus and position on policy and issues ("Liberals go from Dithers to Flipper"):

It was a lousy week for Mr. Dion, a pattern in danger of becoming a trend. Not once or twice, but three times in four days we saw Mr. Dion flip-flop on positions he'd taken during the leadership race or his party had supported last fall.

Martin goes on to list a whole host of flip-flops including his changing support on Afghanistan, his reversal on the anti-terror provisions extension and his inability to define exactly where he stands on carbon-tax policy.

I love this gem:

To be fair, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been known to change his mind. Just ask income trust investors.

Still, it takes considerable effort for one party leader to irritate Afghanistan peaceniks, infuriate law-and-order types and alienate energy producers in the space of a week.

That last line was a thing of beauty.

In any case, Martin doesn't feel that Harper necessarily should, nor will take advantage of this pathetic display of ineptitude:

But for Mr. Harper to unilaterally seek a spring vote would flip-flop on a scale dwarfing even Mr. Dion's regular mind changes.

The Sun's Licia Corbella appears to concur (PM should relax, enjoy view from the top):

The Angus Reid poll, released yesterday shows the Conservatives at 40% with the Liberals 14 points behind at 26%, even lower than they were in the last election.

In other words, Dion's post-leadership convention honeymoon was short-lived, likely because when he makes a decision he tends to waffle on it and when he is decisive, he makes the wrong one.

But the primary reason Harper is in no hurry to hit the hustings is that he knows the more Canadians see and hear Dion flip and flop the better Harper looks.

I agree. As tempting as it is to yank poor Flipper out of the water, it is far wiser to muster up some patience and play him for a while. Let him shake his head furiously and tangle himself in the line.

Then when he's totally exhausted himself, Harper can calmly reel him in.

* * * *

Monday Update: Chantel Hebert - "How soon will Dion move in for kill on Dion?"

Dry Run in Ontario

Licia Corbella nails it in this morning's Calgary Sun (A Storm Warning)- The current gas shortage in Ontario is a dress rehearsal for a terrorist attack on oil refineries and national transportation systems.

Corbella brilliantly weaves various themes of Liberal hypocrisy, wilful blindness, environmentalism and terror threat, to create a chilling picture emphasizing just how vulnerable we really are.



I also wonder if the fallout from the gas shortage had anything to do with Stephane Dion's recent epiphany regarding the anti-scab bill.

Changing the Channel

I have been negligent about environmental posting lately.

Lorrie Goldstein has been following this topic with a very balanced approach, and quite often with a great deal of humour.

Today's column, "Dion's Top Ten Kyoto Excuses", playfully suggests what might happen if Dion should become the next Prime Minister (gasp!), and have to follow Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez's private member's bill on fulfilling Kyoto obligations. Lorrie brilliantly explains how Dion would weasel out of the edit.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the Kyoto bill was probably one of Dion's dumber moves.

And he will regret his Pyrrhic victory sooner or later.

* * * *

Friday Update: Excellent column by Colby Cosh in the Post - Two Kinds of Revolutionaries.

A Glimmer of Hope

It seems that the Liberal leadership is now demonstrating a bit of common sense - at least regarding the Bloc's anti-scab bill.

Maybe there is still some hope for our country.

As the plot sickens

So much is happening in response to the Jonathan Kay article, it's hard to keep up.

Many thanks to reader Biff for the tip in the previous post regarding Kay's response to the Deal Deniers. I am presently trying to piece this altogether.

In addition, National Newswatch has just posted a Globe story, Leadership Losers Draw Liberal Salaries:

Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall Findlay are receiving salaries from the Liberal Party to help prepare for the coming election, but how much they earn is being kept secret.

The lack of transparency is causing concern among some Liberals and leading to speculation that private deals were made because Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Hall Findlay were the two leadership candidates who dropped off the ballot early and threw significant support behind Stéphane Dion. The secrecy is also driving speculation among some Liberals that Ms. Hall Findlay and Mr. Kennedy are earning big salaries.

This is all starting to unravel in a most curious manner of allegations countered with self-righteous indignation and denials.

Stay tuned. And please weigh in with your own perspective.

* * * *

Update: Dion responds to Kay.

Meanwhile, back at the polls...


OOPS! Now there's a LAWSUIT brewing!

Where's Dion?

In the previous post, Molarmauler asked me where Dion was. Stephane was conspicuously absent from Question Period this afternoon.

It's a fair question; especially in light of the fact that a very important vote is coming up shortly. He left his underlings to defend his stubborn position against extending the anti-terror laws in spite of advice from his own caucus, Liberal ex-ministers, the Liberal Senate, families of 9-11 victims and of Air India, and so on.

So I tracked him down. He was in Toronto busy campaigning. It's going to take a lot of work to build that Liberal majority government you see. But the main thing is to get back the power for the Liberals.

As long as he has his priorities straight, right?

* * * *

Update: Irwin Cotler will be abstaining from the vote.

Further Update: As anyone who has been following this story now knows, the sun has now set on Canadian security.

Steve Janke - The National Post says the Unspeakable - Stephane Dion sold out Canada's security for personal power.

More from Steve: Stephane Dion wins one - and will likely lose big. Steve gives a great analysis of possible outcomes for my two new heros, Tom Wappel and Irwin Cotler.

Also, ChuckerCanuk is a great read tonight. (Well, not just tonight, but this one is especially well done.)

9-11 Families speak out

Families of Canadians killed in the 9-11 terrorist attacks are adding their voices to those begging Stephane Dion to reconsider his position before today's vote (CNews), (CBC), (CTV)

Stephane's going to have a lot of people to answer to about this.

* * * *

Stephen Taylor provides some background: Held without charge? Some context.

Meanwhile, Stephane is already planning his MAJORITY GOVERNMENT!

Also please check out these Star stories (I hope the links work) - Tensions mount as anti-terrorism vote nears, and Liberals review legal options. Liberals are now demanding an apology from Pierre Poilievre!

When the sh*t hits the fan, throw it back even harder, I guess.

Playing Politics with Canadian Lives

The anti-terror laws die Thursday. Yesterday in the Commons, Stephen Harper offered a compromise, but Dion has stubbornly refused to consider it.

Unfortunately, this very important issue has spiraled out of control and become some sort of political showdown.

I hope to have an more extensive commentary later, but let's start with Don Martin's column, "Not all Liberals will enjoy the kill":

...Opposition parties argued yesterday that these emergency powers are too radical for rights sensitive Canadians, yet in the next breath insisted they merely duplicate measures available elsewhere in the Criminal Code...

(. . . )

And the Conservatives have signalled an unusual willingness to bend on the extension, offering to settle for a six-month extension with a promise to study changes to the law until the fall sitting.

Liberal MP Ralph Goodale, whose righteous indignation knows no blustery bounds, is having none of it. The way he argues it, the political atmosphere in Ottawa has been so poisoned that the Conservatives cannot be trusted to keep their word.

Gosh. If it wasn't so wretchedly costly and doomed to recreate another minority Parliament, an election could almost be justified to euthanize a House of Commons slowly spiralling into bickering paralysis.

He also suggests that MP Navdeep Bains should abstain from the vote, which is what I have been saying for the last few days, and which I suspect was what was partially behind Kim Bolan's weekend revelation:

"Liberal MP Navdeep Bains should be a tad squeamish as well. Mr. Bains was the MP Prime Minister Stephen Harper inferred had influenced the Liberal's position because his father-in-law might appear at an investigative hearing on the Air India bombing. As such, Mr. Bains is clearly in a conflict of interest and should abstain from voting."

I fault both sides for this impasse. More to follow.


Also please check out:

Paul Jackson - Grit Record Terror-ible.

Dr. Roy - Dion unwilling to compromise.

Jonathan Kay - National security vs. Liberal ethno-politics. Very interesting!

Excellent post by Sandy (Crux of the matter) - Alice & Liberal Friends in Wonderland.

Kim Bolan - Air India Probe Crippled if MPs Kill Key Part of Anti-Terror Law.

* * * *

Update - Personal Comment: I suppose the only thing I would like to add to this post is that I agree with the Blonde Conservative - It may indeed be time to pull the plug on this acrimonious session of Parliament and put us all out of our misery.

Things are not just at an impasse; they are moving in the direction of threatening the safety and economy of the country, by means of an unofficial coalition of opposition parties promoting an extreme left-wing agenda.

This Parliament is not getting things done for Canadians. All parties appear to be just out for themselves. The Conservatives seem most interested in preserving the integrity of the country, but I am getting fed up with the whole lot of them in Ottawa.

But what would we replace it with? More of the same?