A muddled Senate

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 7, 2011 at 2:16 PM - 15 Comments

Jeff Jedras notes Stephane Dion’s continued dissection of the Harper government’s Senate reforms, including the exclusion of federal parties from the proposed process. Meanwhile, an informal poll of academics in Alberta and British Columbia finds overwhelming opposition.

Professors contacted in the two provinces agreed by more than a 3-1 margin with the proposition that the reforms, aimed at ensuring senators are elected and limited to nine-year terms, are against their provinces’ interests. The legislation, being debated this week in the House of Commons, “scares me, to be honest,” said University of Calgary political scientist Tom Flanagan, a former senior Harper adviser.

John Geddes considers the massive questions left unanswered.

This is why we can’t have cooperative things

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM - 35 Comments

Chris Selley blames Stephane Dion for the continued toxicity of coalition governance.

Coalition-demonizers like Stephen Harper tend to take more heat in the media than coalition-boosters like Mr. Dion. And the demonizers deserve what they get. It’s appalling that Canadian politicians and their supporters, who know perfectly well how Parliament works and would happily support a coalition if it favoured their side, will go around talking of coups d’état, pretending as if Canadian voters directly elect their governments…

That said, Mr. Dion and his backers did plenty of harm themselves. His coalition was hamstrung by the explicit support of the Bloc Québécois, but its even more fundamental problem was that Mr. Dion had promised not to form a coalition. This isn’t a minor policy flip-flop. We’re talking about someone promising never to become prime minister under certain circumstances, and then reneging. A promise is not nullified because it would have been awkward not to make it.

A no-name race to replace Jack Layton

By Paul Wells - Friday, September 30, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 15 Comments

Jacques Boissinot/CP

These days, after question period, Thomas Mulcair gives a little nothing-has-changed statement, through teeth clenched into an approximation of a cheerful smile, before he comments to reporters on the issues of the day. What hasn’t changed is Mulcair’s indecision over whether he’ll run for the leadership of the New Democratic Party. He is widely assumed to be a candidate. He isn’t a candidate yet. He’ll get back to us.

So will Niki Ashton, Paul Dewar, Peter Julian, Robert Chisholm and maybe more. Decent people, maybe more than that. But not really names to set the heart pounding. “There’s no excitement about this race,” a veteran New Democrat told me. “People aren’t excited about this. But it makes sense that they wouldn’t be. Their guy just died.”

Indeed. Jack Layton is gone barely five weeks. The NDP leadership convention isn’t until March 23. There’s half a year between the party’s last leader and its next. The hesitation of potential candidates is natural. The breakthrough party of 2011 is heading into a world of uncertainty.

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‘It always gives you more than one opportunity to prevail’

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 1:28 PM - 4 Comments

Stephane Dion accepts the 2011 Couchiching Award for Leadership in Public Policy.

Reading Couchiching President Gwen Burrows’s good-news letter, the first thought that crossed my mind was how fortunate we are, in a democracy such as Canada, to be allowed to fight for our convictions, safe from any political system threat to our freedom and wellbeing.

How fortunate to be free to accept an award from an independent and non-partisan institution, an institution shaped by a diversity of people – Liberals like me, but also others – Conservatives, New Democrats, Greens…!  Men and women who might not have voted for me or supported my policies, but who give me credit for having fought for my ideas, my ideals and my fellow human beings. It is institutions like this that make Canada a better democracy.

Democracy.  That is the theme that underlies my address today.  You have been kind enough to say that I have showed leadership.  What I know for sure is that whatever leadership I might have shown was inspired by the democratic ideal, an ideal that pushed me to fight for a united Canada, a better Canada. 

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 7:51 PM - 4 Comments

Stephane Dion had questions for Nycole Turmel. Denis Lebel admitted a dalliance with the Bloc Quebecois. Pat Martin compared the hunt for sovereignists to the red-baiting days of yore. Canadians seemed mostly unmoved.

The Internet wouldn’t let Stephen Harper disappear and Brazil’s foreign minister reassured everyone that Mr. Harper’s visit to the bathroom was for “regular reasons.” Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard said Libya hadn’t reached stalemate, while the NDP signalled an end to its support for a military mission. Vic Toews mused of expanding the most-wanted list. Jason Kenney mused vaguely of terrorism and exchanged letters with Amnesty International (and invoked Stephane Dion as his inspiration). The Prime Minister’s Office warned Conservative MPs to be discreet. The Prime Minister attacked critics of free trade with Colombia and made a deal with Honduras.

Bruce Anderson consider the possibilities of economic hardship. Mike Crowley considered the past and future of the Liberal party. Andrew Steele championed door-knocking. Greg Fingas commended direct democracy. Jordan Michael Smith pondered the meaning of Michael Ignatieff. Alexander Ly and Andrew Webb explained the trouble with “lawful access” legislation. And Scott Clark and Peter DeVries explained why we don’t know how much the government is planning to spend.

‘Something intellectuals fantasize about but rarely do’

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:25 AM - 9 Comments

Jordan Michael Smith reviews the rise and fall of Michael Ignatieff.

This is a tale with many morals. But one clear takeaway from Michael Ignatieff’s attempt to storm the citadel of power in Canada is that makeovers, particularly by intellectuals trying to transform themselves into politicians, have limits. Once Ignatieff established himself as a cosmopolitan free thinker and intellectual entrepreneur, it was difficult for him ever to posture as an ordinary Canadian pol. Most intellectuals looking to enter politics presumably would not hamstring themselves by living outside their native country for nearly three decades and then return only to aim so soon for the top job. And perhaps only an intellectual would be detached enough to believe such a track record would not be an impediment to leading a country. But if Ignatieff’s palpable erudition provided an occasional warning sign for his ambitions, as seen in those Hamlet-like meditations on power, it also gave him a sense that he was not subject to the rules that govern more mundane careers.

One quibble: I’m not sure how many would have described Stephane Dion as a “politician waiting to happen” before he joined the Liberal government of the day.

Taking into account the failure of the last two Liberal leaders and the success of Stephen Harper and Jack Layton—both of whom, mind you, can claim some “intellectual” credentials—there is probably something to be said for the career politician. Not necessarily that the public consciously prefers the “career politician,” but that it simply takes time and experience to both figure out how to be a political leader and win the public’s trust.

The eternal power of the written word

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 3:40 PM - 83 Comments

Jason Kenney explains the inspiration for his exchange with Amnesty International.

“I’m of the view that if you’re in a political forum making unfounded and unfair criticisms of government policy, expect to be called on it. My model in this is Stéphane Dion’s letter writing campaign against Jacques Parizeau and the PQ. I think it was very instructive to see a minister point out flaws in his adversary’s arguments. I think that’s what democratic discourse is all about . . . If they want to have a debate on these issues, fine. Let’s have one. That means I get my say.”

Mr. Dion’s skills, meanwhile, are being put to use as the Liberals discover the game of modern political fundraising.

This weekend in Nycole Turmel

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, August 8, 2011 at 9:09 AM - 20 Comments

Elizabeth May defends the interim NDP leader. Stephane Dion has questions.

The Canadian unity issue: Turmel’s judgment has to be questioned. It is one thing to vote for the Bloc as a private individual without being a sovereignist; it is something else entirely to buy a membership in a party whose primary objective is to separate Quebec from Canada. Turmel says she was attracted to the Bloc’s social program. Did she, and does she still, believe that the Bloc’s social program is better than that of the NDP — a party that also runs candidates in Quebec?

She says she became a Bloc member because one of her friends was a Bloc MP, but what does friendship have to do with political affiliation? We all have friends with different allegiances: do we have to become card-carrying members of their parties to prove our friendship?

Mr. Dion also wants to know how many New Democrat MPs were, or still are, members of separatist parties and how many would vote for independence in a referendum held today.

Meanwhile, our own Emma Teitel argues in defence of changing one’s mind.

Why Jack Layton needed a human shield

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, July 11, 2011 at 9:50 AM - 0 Comments

Elizabeth May

Politicians with bad hips

At Toronto’s 31st annual Pride Parade it was all about party leaders in rickshaws. Green Leader Elizabeth May rode in one as she has in every parade since having a hip replaced in 2007. This time, NDP Leader Jack Layton, who still walks with a cane after hip surgery, was pulled in one covered in rainbow flags. His team was prepared for all the people who insist on spraying politicians with huge water guns—a nightmare for anyone with a BlackBerry. At one point Layton’s wife, MP Olivia Chow, took a water cannon shot in the back to protect him. Chow then opened a rainbow umbrella to deflect further H20 assaults from Layton’s left flank; a volunteer opened a huge orange umbrella to protect him on the right. May is waiting to have surgery on her other hip and says after that she will be able to walk in the Pride Parade. The Liberal MP presence was diminished this year. Interim leader Bob Rae and Carolyn Bennett were the only two elected Grit MPs. Rob Oliphant, who was defeated in the last election, was also in attendance. Rae’s wife, Arlene Perly Rae, demonstrated powerful arm strength as she tossed bead necklaces into the crowd. One shot accidentally hit a photographer and she quickly went over and apologized.

‘Screw the cottage’

There was much anger and campy commentary over Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s snub of all Pride festivities. (Ford said he always goes to his cottage for Canada Day weekend and would not be attending Pride.) Former Toronto mayors were well represented. David Miller and Barbara Hall marched and Mel Lastman sent a letter that was read at the Metropolitan Community Church service before the parade began. Ford mockers were out in force. One man dressed as Ford held a sign saying “Screw the cottage.” Many wore Ford masks. “More people wore them on their ass than their face, which sums it up,” noted Fab magazine associate editor Drew Rowsome.

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This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 8:47 PM - 0 Comments

Happy Canada Day from Stephen Harper and Prince William.

Charlie Angus won at filibustering. John Baird left his mark in Libya. Industry Canada made cuts. Stephane Dion dissected the Senate Reform Act. Michael Ignatieff reemerged. A filibuster deal was denied. The Samara shortlist was announced. Canada’s 150th birthday was considered. The Conservative party protested (too much?). And the newest Canadians pledged their allegiance to the Queen.

We kept reading the Afghan detainee documents. Kathleen Petty signed off. Matthew P. Harrington argued against Senate reform. Tom Hawthorn eulogized Frank Howard. Brian Topp championed the filibuster. Nick Taylor-Vaisey championed the filibustering House of Commons. Alex Himelfarb considered crime policy. JJ McCullough blamed the founding fathers. Kyle Crawford considered politics and professionalism. And Tabatha Southey questioned Internet surveillance.

Just say no, for various reasons

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 1:39 PM - 58 Comments

Stephane Dion explains why Alberta and British Columbia should rejected the Senate Reform Act.

This unbalanced distribution of Senate seats -a historical artifact -is a problem for the two western provinces and an anomaly of our federation; Stephen Harper’s reform would make the situation much worse. In the existing unelected Senate, this problem is mitigated by the fact that our senators play their constitutional role with moderation, letting the elected House of Commons have the final word most of the time. But in an elected Senate, with members able to invoke as much democratic legitimacy as their House counterparts -if not more, since they would represent provinces rather than ridings -the underrepresentation of British Columbia and Alberta would take its full scope and significance.

‘The likelihood was very high’

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 6:42 PM - 0 Comments

Stephane Dion, the Liberal MP on the ad hoc committee, offers his take on what he saw in the documents.

Canadian troops had always acted professionally, Dion said, but the government had failed to track the detainees it was transferring. When it finally did send inspectors to check on the detainees, the inspections were inadequate — at times even erratic, he said. ”They were not sufficient to really protect these hundreds of people,” Dion said.

Most concerning to him was the fact that Canadian officials kept transferring troops to Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security despite having concerns about its reputation for abuse. ”It is very troubling that there is a case — not many cases but one case — where an individual has been arrested by us and . . . transferred to NDS for future questioning,” Dion said. “I checked to find out what we may know of this individual and I found out . . . (that) the interrogation by the NDS, gave an allegation by this individual of abuse — that he has been slapped in the face many times and threatened to be killed. Elsewhere, we find out that the Canadian officials confirm that we do not check how the NDS do its questioning,” the former Liberal leader added.

Where are the documents? (III)

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 1:38 PM - 0 Comments

Documents related to the transfer of detainees in Afghanistan and the report of the panel of arbiters will be tabled in the House shortly after Question Period today. Ministers John Baird and Peter MacKay are then to deliver remarks to the media and reporters have been summoned to the Foreign Affairs building for a briefing at 4pm. Stephane Dion, the Liberal member of the parliamentary review committee, has his own media availability scheduled for 4pm as well.

Ahead of this afternoon’s disclosures, whatever they may be, Mr. Dion has already raised one concern with the process.

He added, however, that he is very concerned about how the government has already received the report from the panel, giving it ample time to prepare a communications plan. He said opposition MPs won’t see the report until several hours before it is publicly tabled in the Commons Wednesday afternoon. “It was not a report that was supposed to be the property of the government,” Mr. Dion said.

For the story of how we got to this point, including many of the documents already made publicly available, feel free to consult the Colvin Encyclopedia.

Stop heckling, start answering

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 10:40 AM - 33 Comments

From Question Period yesterday, Stephane Dion attempts to expand everyone’s mind on this matter of civility.

Mr. Speaker, I did not hear an answer to the question of the $127 million being cut in this budget compared to the previous budget. Can the minister answer the question? Common courtesy in this House also means getting answers. It is only natural for the opposition to protest if it does not get an answer. Can he give us an answer regarding the $127 million in cuts to aboriginal housing?

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan did not provide such an answer. And so it fell to government House leader Peter Van Loan to explain the Conservative side’s policy on ministerial explanation. Continue…

"To be 'open to Quebec' is to insist on a clear majority for secession"

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 12:12 PM - 34 Comments

Liberal MP Stephane Dion counsels Jack Layton.

In its opinion on the secession of Quebec, the Supreme Court of Canada mentioned the words “clear majority” at least 13 times, and also referred to “the strength of a majority.” However, the Court does not encourage us to try setting the threshold of this clear majority in advance: “it will be for the political actors to determine what constitutes ‘a clear majority on a clear question’ in the circumstances under which a future referendum vote may be taken.”

Still fighting for clarity

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, May 27, 2011 at 10:14 AM - 39 Comments

Stephane Dion takes aim at Jack Layton’s position on secession.

Dion said the top court would have said so if it meant a bare majority would be good enough to trigger secession negotiations. Instead the court insisted, 13 times, that a “clear majority” would be necessary. ”If (Layton thinks) 50 per cent plus one is a clear majority, what is an unclear majority?” Dion asked in an interview.

Dion said the debate has been framed as though accepting a bare majority result would be showing respect to Quebecers. But determining something as momentous as the fate of the country on the basis of one vote, is “not respecting Quebecers, not respecting their rights to be Canadians unless they clearly decide to stop being Canadians.” ”You are in the situation to decide the choice of a country (based on) the results of a judicial recount or the examination of rejected ballots. It would be an absurd, untenable position,” he added.

From the magazine

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 1:09 PM - 55 Comments

I spent last Sunday hanging around with Stephane Dion. Here is what that was like.

If you’re interested in a director’s cut, full of never-before-seen material, see below.

You can add this as a post-script to what I wrote the night of the 2008 election.

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Yes, Stéphane Dion is running again

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 25 Comments

Photograph by Roger Lemoyne

The office of the man who would have been prime minister is located in the corner of an L-shaped suburban strip mall in northwest Montreal, next to Planete Pizza. Twenty-nine months after he led the Liberal party to defeat in the 2008 election—27 months after he nearly led an audacious coalition into government—Stéphane Dion is simply the incumbent candidate for Saint-Laurent–Cartierville.

He sits at a desk below a large Liberal banner and a poster of Michael Ignatieff. He doesn’t want to talk about the past, but it’s unavoidable. “Well, we tried our best and it did not work, but I think we fought for what I was committed to as leader, to have a country that would bring together economic growth, social justice and environmental sustainability,” he says. “But what is great in democracy is that if it doesn’t work, you try again. And now I’m very committed to make Mr. Ignatieff the prime minister.”

So here he is. However resounding his defeat—however much he may now be defined by the caricature that was created by the campaign against him—Dion, now 55, is still trying to get a Liberal government elected, seeking for himself a seventh mandate.

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No need to RSVP

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 7:40 PM - 78 Comments

The networks have decided not to invite Elizabeth May to the leaders’ debates.

Ms. May was similarly not invited in 2008. At the time it was explained that three parties were prepared to boycott the debates if she was included, but Stephane Dion subsequently advocated on her behalf and the Bloc Quebecois said Gilles Duceppe would not avoid the debates if May was present. Jack Layton folded in short order and the Conservatives followed Mr. Layton. With none of the participants threatening to boycott proceedings, Ms. May was thus allowed to participate.

In this case, the broadcasters are said to have ”unanimously decided they wanted to invite the four parties that have representation in the House.”

Update 9:08pm... Michael Ignatieff says she belongs in the debates. The NDP says it has no objection to her inclusion. The Conservatives and Bloc say they’ll abide by the consortium’s decision.

The Commons: Stephen Harper, ever undaunted

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 6:34 PM - 222 Comments

The Scene. Mr. Harper’s government, as the government of Canada is now to be known, stands accused of various breaches. Of violating electoral law when it won office. Of withholding information demanded of it by Parliament. Of employing a minister who has misled Parliament. Of employing a minister who has misused government resources for his party’s gain. Of paying an exorbitant amount of money to disappear a woman who once held the title of “integrity commissioner.” And yes, of renaming the federal government in the Prime Minister’s own surname.

And so, of course, the government side this afternoon was as gleeful and aggressive as it has ever been. It roared and cheered and mocked and jeered. It laughed and lashed at its critics, it delighted in itself. It was loud and proud.

Mr. Harper sat and smiled and shared the odd chuckle. He reclined as best he could in his chair and fiddled with the cord of his desk’s earpiece. When he stood to answer the Liberal leader’s charges, he shrugged and sighed. If he was the least bit concerned, a tiny bit chastened, it was impossible to tell.

But, of course, he hardly ever appears daunted by such stuff. Indeed, if there is one thing that defines this Prime Minister it is his unrelenting undauntedness, his undaunting relentlessness. He is a man of the post-shame world. Continue…

Idea alert

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 3:50 PM - 29 Comments

Martin Goldfarb says the next election should include a televised debate between the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition.

The public wants to see Stephen Harper face off against Michael Ignatieff. The public needs this opportunity because it’s only through such a discussion that Canadians can discover the leaders’ inner reality. In our democracy, we need to give the key contenders the opportunity to position themselves, to define what they want you to think of them and the party they represent. What Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff say in the debate is reality TV. The whole country will be watching.

In 2008, before an election was called, Stephane Dion challenged Mr. Harper to a debate on the environment, but the offer was declined.

The House: 'Our democracy remains a work in progress'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 25, 2011 at 2:17 PM - 14 Comments

Eight years ago, Stephane Dion delivered a speech on the “state of Canadian democracy” and quibbled variously with certain popular laments and remedies. He concluded with a nod to what he saw as one of the primary problems.

Let us return to the very worrisome example of declining voter turnout, a trend which is affecting democracies whether their regime is presidential or parliamentary, whether their electoral system allows for proportional representation or not. In Canada, this decline has been found to be statistically verifiable only among young people, that is, voters born after 1970, in particular among less-educated youth: “On the contrary, turnout has remained fairly stable among those who were born before 1970.” The same phenomenon seems to be occurring in the United States…

What is it then with our ability – or inability – to connect with and interest young people? We would all like to know the answer, but allow me to venture one hypothesis. Samuel Huntington has written that democracy bears within itself an anti-establishment ethic. The more the values of deference and respect for authority lose their hold on people to the benefit of the democratic values of liberty and equality, the more people tend to mistrust those who govern them. I believe it is primarily this values dynamic that is at the source of the “democratic malaise.”

The distemper of our times

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 11:54 AM - 54 Comments

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews goes to Newfoundland and says opposition MPs from the province have said nothing about building a prison there. Liberal MP Scott Simms produces a letter from 2008 to show that this is untrue. Mr. Toews says that letter doesn’t count because it was sent when Stephane Dion was leader of the Liberal party and when Stockwell Day was the public safety minister.

“These letters date back to a previous leader of the Liberal Party of Canada to a previous Public Safety Minister,” Toews said. “If Mr. Simms disagrees with his current Leader’s position on law and order matters he should raise it with his leader.”

The godfather

By macleans.ca - Monday, January 24, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 4 Comments

FRED CHARTRAND/CP

If Canada’s natural governing party in its heyday had a godfather, it was Keith Davey, the former Toronto advertising executive who died this week at 84, after an extended battle with Alzheimer’s.

The ultimate backroom functionary whose strategic advice and organizational skills fuelled the reigns of two prime ministers—Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau—Davey virtually invented the modern Liberal party. He pioneered the creative applications of polling and the uses of electronic techniques to reinforce his intuitive wisdom that perception had become reality—a shift that signalled a fundamental reworking of the rules of engagement.

A big, hunched Eagle Scout in politics, Davey was the most widely liked presence in the cold capital city of Ottawa and bounced his enthusiasms off its icicled back. As the long-time national director of the Liberal party, he supplied the Rotarian energy that kept the political machine functioning at its best, under Trudeau, and its most useful, under Pearson. Pearson’s legislative achievements were unparallelled, but his hesitant electoral approach barely managed to eke out two slim minorities from the barely coherent John Diefenbaker.

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