Category: Federal Politics

Pipeline battle is a war of words.

by Peter Lowry

The escalating public relations war on pipeline naysayers has certainly won adherents. Just last evening, we were treated to Global’s regular 6:30 pm (EST) national news program coming to us from Calgary that was an unabashed commercial for the tar sands producers. And this morning we note that the Toronto Star editors have been visited by a coterie of Enbridge crusaders reassuring Ontario of their good intentions in reversing Enbridge Line 9 to send bitumen slurry through Toronto and across Southern Ontario. It is a clever quiver of words they use to carry their message.

The Enbridge experts have realized that Ontario motorists (most of us) are pissed about being gouged on the price of gasoline at the pumps. They tell the Star editors that the solution to this is to have Ontario and Quebec refineries use cheaper oil from bitumen. If the Toronto Star editors buy that story, they might also be interested in some swamp land you have for sale.

Up front, industry experts know that the eastern pipeline reversal plan is a way of getting bitumen slurry from the tar sands to Saint John, New Brunswick and Portland, Maine where it can be loaded into tankers. The slurry can then be shipped to countries that do not care about the increased damage to the environment in making synthetic oil out of the bitumen.

What these wonderful people from Enbridge seem to forget to mention is that Enbridge Pipeline 9 is an old pipeline that was designed to carry normal foreign crude to the refineries at Nanticoke and Sarnia from the east coast. To run bitumen slurry through the system, it has to be heated to higher temperatures and pushed through at a greater pressure. When we find the weak points in that pipeline, we will certainly hear about it—as well as smell it and live with it. Nobody can assure us of 100 per cent safety and reliability of the line.

These public relations people from Enbridge are about as subtle as a crutch. One of them is quoted by the Toronto Star as saying it is in the interest of Ontario drivers to keep the Montreal area refineries in business. One suspects that if they had to, the Montreal refineries could—at greater cost and much higher carbon emissions—process the bitumen from Alberta. They would certainly not want to pay world prices for it.

The good news is that some members of Toronto City Council have heard about this pipeline change. They also realize that it runs across the city. The fact that it crosses the two main water courses and could foul Toronto’s drinking water has also been noted. Maybe they will do something about this. The Toronto Star does not seem to be worried.

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Deborah Coyne: good try, goodbye.

by Peter Lowry

Maybe there is a bit of nostalgia in kicking Deborah Coyne off the leadership island but it is the time to do it. The Halifax debate today was the second last debate before voting starts for the federal Liberal leadership. It is time for more house cleaning. In this debate Deborah kept reminding us of the final days of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. It must have been the way she referred to her approach to ‘One Canada.’

Unlike ‘Dief the Chief’ of old, the Liberal Party does learn. It did a good job (we think) on this fourth debate. The only qualification is that we lost about 15 minutes of activity starting just before one pm and we have no way of knowing whether it was the Internet feed from Halifax or just our computer acting tired. What made no sense was that when we got back on Liberal.ca, the show wanted to restart at the beginning. Maybe by the time of the last of these shows, we will find a television channel we can get carrying it.

It also helped in the Halifax show that most of the candidates were on their toes and looking more like contenders. It is amazing to see how much MP Justin Trudeau has improved. He is inclusive and serious when he offers viewers the opportunity to share their hopes and dreams for Canada with his leadership. There were no gaffs on his part or unwarranted attacks by others.

Oh sure, MP Marc Garneau took a few friendly swipes at his friend Justin but you knew that the two were just trying to add to the show. His remarks about leadership not being an entry-level position were telling but hardly malicious. Marc has lost his previous stiffness during this campaign and he was certainly homey in identifying with the Halifax audience. He was just another sailor, home from the unfriendly seas.

Former MP Martha Hall Findlay has been in a tenuous position in the contest but she has come back well from her error in criticizing Justin’s wealth. She even had good comeback for Marc Garneau when he equated the countdown for the show to lift-off for space travel. She pointed out that she had something similar when having three babies. Her only error was in closing when she once again tried to go back to something earlier in the show. If she had better advisors (or listened to them) she would have been told firmly that this is a no-no in a debating situation. You should always move forward.

It was MP Joyce Murray who seemed off her form today. She did not handle the attacks on her cooperation with the NDP well and she seemed to be losing the argument by default. She was also fighting the next election against Stephen Harper instead of looking at the directions of the Liberal Party.

But well done Halifax. You did a great job!

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Liberals need to review, renew and change.

by Peter Lowry

Maybe federal Liberal Party members have been looking at the 21st Century from the wrong end of the telescope. Are they being fretful and small minded at a time of wide-open opportunity? Is this current contest just another foolish exercise in personality leadership? What is it that we are doing wrong?

One of the questions we have been asking contenders on their travels through Babel is how they describe a Liberal. Frankly, most have no idea. Martha Hall Findlay actually used the words ‘Liberals are good managers.’ At a time when they have an opportunity to meet and talk with Liberals about their party, these people have been routinely testing their election speeches damning Harper’s Conservatives. It is the only thing they know about. They have never been questioned on their liberalism.

To be honest, the public could care less about the polemics—the philosophy behind our political actions. Not many Canadians would be interested in the party’s idealism. They understand actions. You have to go directly to the hoped for results of your proposals.

Prime Minister Kim Campbell had it right in 1993 when the media claimed that she said an election was no time to discuss serious issues. That was not exactly what she said but the truth is that if you do try to discuss serious issues, you risk a great deal. Unless you frame the discussion very carefully, you have absolutely no idea how the media will handle it. Kim Campbell ended up that election without a seat in parliament for herself or for another 153 former Progressive Conservative MPs.

That was, in effect, the end of the Progressive Conservative Party. Within ten years the Canadian Alliance/Reform Party and the remaining Progressive Conservatives had united as the Conservative Party of Canada. They may have waved a Conservative banner but it was the same old wild-eyed Reformers.

You would think that when the Liberal Party came out of the 2011 federal election in third place, that it was time for review, renewal and change. You would think the party would learn something from the experience.

But it seems nothing has changed. MP Joyce Murray appears to be the only leadership contender to even think about where our party is going. Do the other contenders even think? Is MP Justin Trudeau really going to become leader of the Liberal Party without stopping to understand what liberalism is all about and how it applies in the 21st Century?

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Can the Roman Church discover democracy?

by Peter Lowry

Canadian Liberals are experimenting with universal suffrage in selecting the party’s next leader. You too can vote. You do not even have to be a Liberal Party member as long as you are not actively supporting some other political party. We have even heard of people resigning their membership in other parties to join the Liberals in voting. Just think what might happen if the Church of Rome went along with that method? The mind boggles.

Would it hold the promise of never again having the church trying to survive the cloying conservatism of another Pope Benedict? Not likely. Not with what Cardinal Collins of Toronto said to the media who came to see him leave for the Conclave of Cardinals to replace Benedict. He told them that the biggest challenge facing the church in Canada is ‘rampant individualism.’ And can you believe that Collins is one of 118 fusty old men who get to choose the most powerful church leader in the world?

As Canadians, we should get down on our knees and thank some God for all these rampant individualists among us. The ones who fail us and do the most damage are those who quietly leave the church of their childhood but still allow their children to be indoctrinated. They are continuing on a path of failure. It is like driving a car that has a rear view mirror larger than the windshield. There is only a wasted past for such a church.

The Roman Church relies on its numbers and a third world that is still trapped in ignorance. Some in the church see this as a time for an African Pope to be chosen. It is possible that some might appreciate a Pope from a country where women are still traded and treated as cattle. Why would you expect more from a church run by dried up old men with only faint memories of the joys of female companionship?

But then universal suffrage would have its own problems. The Liberal Party in Canada might have already come to the conclusion that it is not the perfect solution. We already have our rock star!

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Go left Justin Trudeau, go left.

by Peter Lowry

After a slow start in the federal Liberal leadership race, MP Justin Trudeau is only now starting to find traction with the left wing of his party. He has stopped shooting from the hip, telling people what he thinks they want to hear and feeding the Conservatives their attack ads. He is starting to have a more positive impact on public opinion polls. If he can just stay to the left side of the political divide, he will be the only choice for the Liberal Party leadership and for the country.

The polls tell the story. We are starting to see a gradual reversal in Conservative trends in Ontario. Polls show that with Justin Trudeau as leader, federal Liberals once again improve their position with women, while also attracting votes away from the New Democrats. These are key areas where votes have to come from.

The other source of new votes is from among the disaffected, the youth and the generation that lost contact with a party that lacked direction and consistency. There was no common thread between Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff. The name Liberal was not enough. Today, the name Liberal has no clear meaning to almost 40 per cent of Canadian voters. It has to be given meaning.

The Trudeau name can only gain Justin a moment’s attention. He has to make the most of the moment. He has to evoke recognition of what the name means to Canadians. History says the name evokes a tradition of individual rights. He has to exemplify that. It also evokes controversy. He has to always be ready to handle that too.

Leadership is fragile. The first task of any leader is to ensure his or her support. Justin has made the right moves by promising to return control over nominations to local party members. In this way, he has assured Liberal members that he will restore democracy to the party and that is the key to party support. He also needs to assure party members that they will have the say on the broad policy directions of the party.

What we are now seeing in the polls is a cautious but positive change and it is from the left. Justin is not competing for support from Harper and the Conservatives but from Mulcair and the New Democrats. That is where the votes are that can beat Harper. We should always remember that Liberals are the party that brought old age pensions and Medicare to Canada. And we are the party that fights for individual rights.

But the party has a long way to go to once again earn the trust of Canadians. Justin Trudeau has to have the fire and the youth and the drive to lead. We have to help him with the policies and the vision. Right wing Liberals can go join Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. We do not need them. We do not need their hypocrisy. We have to care about people first. We can be a real party. The challenges are great. We have a job to do.

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

The indomitable Eugene Whelan: 1924 – 2013.

by Peter Lowry

In the land around Windsor, Ontario there are giants. They have included leaders and liberals. The most unusual was Eugene Whelan.

Gene was a most uncommon example of the common man. He was a farmer who left an extra large footprint in the halls of Canada’s Parliament. He set a standard during 22 years as a Member of Parliament that few can match. There was much applause when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau recognized that Gene was the ideal Minister of Agriculture for Canada.

He never had much to say but when he spoke, you paid attention. He never worried too much about syntax or tense. His words were plain and easy to understand. He spoke up for the farmer and you learned much by listening. If you thought you knew a damn thing about marketing of farm products, you could always learn more from Gene.

He never minced words but you had to listen carefully because he never spoke loudly or worried too much about clear or proper pronunciation. His sentences were short. He used simple words. They were effective words. Sometimes they might not have been politically correct but you knew there was nothing mean spirited about him.

Those who knew Gene well shared much laughter with him over the years. His droll and quiet humour was a special pleasure. He enjoyed it most when the laugh could be on him.

You had to know him well to tell him what you thought of his stupid green Stetson but you could sure find the big guy in a crowd. And where he ever acquired a taste for crème de menthe, we never had the nerve to ask.

It was good to know Gene Whelan. He will be remembered.

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

The attack on Canada’s last Duchess.

by Peter Lowry

Browning’s Last Duchess was painted on a wall,

Looking as if she were alive, was the poet’s call.

Our lovely Duchess Kate is prisoner of the Brits,

Damned as a royal breeder, gives some Brits fits.

 

Writer Hilary Mantel, was she who did Kate in,

Imagine calling her a shop-window mannequin?

A double Booker Prize winner missed by a mile.

She tells us our Kate: has a perfect plastic smile.

 

The Brit tabloid papers have all been treated ill,

They stand accused of using the Duchess as fill.

Who will get the first picture of the baby bump?

Are Mantel’s books gonna be sent to the dump?

 

But why does Stephen Harper use the royals so?

Do Canadians really care which is best of show?

Does he think we care if she becomes a Queen?

Canada is its own country. Where has he been?

 

Canadians treat Kate with respect, but I relate,

This country has to elect its own head of state.

The Brits can have their royals and a nobility,

They are not needed in a land of opportunity!

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Martha Hall Findlay does Babel.

by Peter Lowry

Babel Liberals got 50 minutes with leadership contender, former MP Martha Hall Findlay yesterday. That was fair. If you had to choose between a dozen Babel Liberals and a chance to appear live on CTV2 and do a remote to CTV’s National News, you would also rush the local Liberals.

Have we ever told you that Martha Hall Findlay is smart, sophisticated and sexy?  We have met before. She has a dominant presence and is a glib and knowledgeable speaker. She is just not our kind of Liberal. She is right wing, likes oil-sands pipelines, dislikes farm marketing boards and she lost our favourite electoral district of Willowdale to the Conservatives in the last election. Martha can be a bit controversial.

Yet those few Liberals she met in Babel yesterday were impressed. She got her slip in the debate Saturday out of the way first and everyone was happy that she had apologized to MP Justin Trudeau for the unintentional insult. She did her set piece in a rush and even included a statement on why she is running for the leadership. It seems she wants to revitalize the Liberal Party and she feels this can happen best by her leading it.

Martha became a bit testy when challenged on her appointment to Willowdale riding. She did win it twice. And at no time did she say anything about the party leaders’ ability to appoint candidates in electoral districts. Other candidates are now making it very clear that they will return authority over nominations to the local Liberal Party associations.

There did not seem to be any reason to question Martha on her opinion about cooperating with the NDP. She might have reached across the table and strangled the questioner.

In Martha’s right-wing world, she seems to see the Liberal Party as the responsible managers of the economy and the guardians of Canada’s reputation around the world as peacekeepers and honest brokers. She also seems to see the party as firmly in the camp of free traders, building an economy based on supplying the world with Canada’s resources.

While small in numbers, the meeting with Babel Liberals will do her some good. There were more than a few second votes landed for her in the preferential balloting. And the Liberals she met can influence more votes than were present. This Liberal, not so much.

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Climbing aboard the Senate bandwagon.

by Peter Lowry

The news media love to discover an issue such as the Senate of Canada. Abolish or reform is the question. They feast on the issue.  They milk the story. It is their reason to be. It was no surprise therefore when political reporter Tom Clark made the Senate the lead story in his West Block show on Global Television yesterday.

But are Senator Brazeau’s problems enough reason to complain? Is Senator Duffy’s living arrangements reason to scold him? Or has Senator Wallin been travelling too much? Part of the problem is that Canadians have absolutely no idea what the Senate costs them or benefits them.

When Babel-on-the-Bay cast out the figure of $16 million the other day, that is the Senate’s own figures for salary and pre-authorized expenses. A couple readers insisted the total cost is well over $100 million for everything connected with the Senate but they had no answer as to what the value is that we receive.

On Tom Clark’s show, he must have been surprised when NDP ethics critic MP Charlie Angus backed away from abolishing the Senate. Angus has always been assumed to be a flat-out foe of the institution. Instead, he told Tom that the NDP stood firmly in favour of a referendum by Canadians. It was interesting later on the show when Liberal leadership contender MP Marc Garneau said a referendum was not necessary to fix the problems.

They are both very, very wrong. The Harper government is currently asking the Supreme Court to rule as to whether it is possible to set term limits or elect Senators without changing the Constitution. The Court has also been asked how we can go about abolishing the Senate. The Harper government also want the answers tomorrow.

This is not an opportunity for the Supreme Court to be creative. Canada’s constitution has been tied in knots for too long by a series of inept politicians trying to appease provincial governments. The one avenue that could possibly open things up would be a national referendum but the judges are unlikely to agree to piecemeal changes. While a national referendum would be a method to bypass the provinces, we would be colossally stupid to use that route just to change the Senate. Canada has more constitutional problems it needs to fix than that.

After almost 150 years, Canadians are entitled to an elected constitutional assembly that can address all our constitutional needs. This can be followed by another referendum to consider proposed changes. It will not be cheap. It will certainly not be easy. It is just what one of the finest countries in the world needs to be on a better path into the future.

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Martin Cauchon: You are off that island.

by Peter Lowry

Babel-on-the-Bay reluctantly kicked former Montreal MP Martin Cauchon off the leadership island yesterday. It was a toss-up between him and Deborah Coyne. Ms. Coyne got to stay because of her intelligence and knowledge of Canadian politics. She adds to the quality of discussion.

While only 50, Cauchon, a lawyer, comes across as being part of a former generation. He has disappointed many Liberals since he came into the race late promising to bring a more left-wing approach to his platform. Todate, he has said nothing that would cast him on the progressive side of the party.

With Martin Cauchon, Karen McCrimmon, David Bertschi and George Takach off the island, we can ignore their roles in the Mississauga, Ontario gathering of the candidates.

And, by the way, the Mississauga event was much better planned than the first two leadership presentations in Vancouver and Winnipeg. The only criticism that might be voiced is that it would be nice to have a professional ask the questions. Asking candidates to question other candidates does not work when they hog the microphone and never get around to the question.

One of the best dialogues was the three-way debate between former MP Martha Hall Findlay, MP Marc Garneau and MP Joyce Murray. They were talking about long-term stable federal support for cities with sharing of revenues such as gasoline taxes.

It was too bad that former MP Martha Hall Findlay stuck her foot in it later when she tried to make a point about Canada not being a class-conscious society and turned it into an insult directed at Justin Trudeau. Young Trudeau had every right to be annoyed.

And yet, there were some good lighter moments during the two hours. There was some friendly banter about lawyers. There was a wonderful shot of Trudeau putting his arm around Marc Garneau as though to say collegially: What do you think we should do to those guys?

The one image that started to emerge in this debate was that of Marc Garneau as the senior statesman and young Trudeau as his amiable sidekick. They made a joke of the supposed confrontation between the two of them. Yet Justin never did say what in his resume justifies his grabbing for the brass ring of leadership.

But give him credit. Trudeau has grown in these debates. He has learned. Did you listen to how firmly he promised reform of candidate selection for the party? It was the promise that many in the party have been waiting for

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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]