Dion moves planning meeting

As we reported in the Star last week, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion got a pretty rough ride at last Monday's meeting of the priorities and planning committee of caucus. Almost every former leadership candidate, including heavyweights Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, are now in favour of bringing the government down before summer. Yes, that would mean a mid-July election. Some of my colleagues and I discussed this last night on CBC Newsworld's Politics panel.

There is a confidence vote scheduled for Monday night. That means that Dion would have had to go through another barrage at Monday's P&P. So he's moved the meeting to Tuesday, we hear. That probably won't end the calls for an election, however. Some caucus members were agitating for a meeting tomorrow, as well, but Dion is resisting those calls too.

We will keep you posted if anything changes.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, as Liberals do debate pulling the plug, Conservatives have unleashed a wave of attack ads on Dion's carbon-tax-shift proposal. The website is here.

Comments

[knb]

Susan, do you happen to know when the next confidence motion comes up and when the next Lib opposition day is?

[Wascally wabbit]

Hm! On the Newman Politics front, Ms. Delacourt was looking more than usually sleek in Red - winning the diet battle with Ms. Zerbisias are you, Ms. D?
As for M. Dion and his battle - whoever has any influence on him should jump in with both feet right now..
If his caucus all have their feet pointing the same direction, he should lead from the rear and get this over with...
Release whatever he has of a Red book - including his Carbon Tax / other solutions for the Environment - and let's get Harper and Co. dumped already!

[Jason Cherniak]

I was for an election a month and a half ago, but I think we've missed our opportunity. Now is the time to sell the Green Shift so that people understand it when the fall comes.

[knb]

I suspect that is how it will go Jason, but I'd rather not give Harper the time to re-group.

[Jean-Louis Tanguay]

Stéphane Dion is very determined to wait for the right(ripe) time to let Canadians dump Harper the King, when they will be ostensibly fed up with the guy : polls will tell when. Hopefully next Fall.

Until then, Dion will show he is tough as a nail, as when he resisted calls from his colleagues NOT to propose the Clarity Act, a so-called political suicide in Québec. Well, 6 out of 10 Québécers eventually approved it.... and separatists will never forgive him! No more one-sided question is possible at a referendum!

The gravity of issues facing Canada ultimately justifies his position : environment, economy and social issies MUST NOT be left to the whims of a control-freak right wing
reformist leader like Harper.

Let's hope that Canadians, specially environment lovers, will come on side with Dion before it's too late... and put aside their partisan interests, like NDP and Green Party members.
One way or another, they will then show their true colors!

Finally, Ms Delacourt, warm congratulations for your articles on Harper-the-control-freak.

[Observant]

Okay, let's follow Dion's leadership and continue abstaining on budget votes this week. Harper is expected to prorogue Parliament until late October-early November. Bringing down the government then, will mean an election in January'09, only some 8 months shy of the mandated October 19, 2009. Is this good political strategy. I wonder?

Dion is betting his leadership on convincing Canadians this summer that his Green Tax Shift Plan. He believes Canadians will be receptive to his message delivered personally with the help of the friendly media and possibly his own set of tv-radio ads.

I think Dion should be given the chance to state his case to Canadian people this summer, and explain the benefits of his Carbon-Income Tax Shift Plan.

[Ron Gaudet]

Ms Delacourt -- as a journalist, aren't you the least bit uneasy over how much the Liberal supporters just love you, your articles, your style of dress - don't you think that maybe you are just a bit too close to being one of their PR people for the comfort of any good journalist?

[Glen Garnett]

It's hard to know when just the right time is to enact the biggest tax scheme since world war II. It makes it even more difficult to justify when average world temperatures have been decreasing for the last ten years. But Stephan's smart, so they say, so he'll figure it out.

[Glenn]

Well said Ron Gaudet. I thought I was being directed to a journalistically, independent viewpoint from one of Canada's leading national newspapers, the TorStar. Turns out it was a Liberal love-in fest. I never gave much credence to the theory of Canada's MSM being pro-liberal left and anti-conservative until now. Thanks for the reality check.

[Sara-Anne Peterson]

I think Ms. Delacourt is simply expressing herself and her honest beliefs.

I find it hard to ignore the weather that is happening in the US and I think they will too. It's hard to deny the dangers of global weather change as you watch your house sink under the waters.

There will be some complexity to the Liberals carbon tax initiatives and everyone should try very hard to understand them and to THINK.

[Glen Garnett]

No problem with having honest beliefs Sara-Anne, but you need to do a little research on global warming. Here's a hint for some of the key words you can use: Maurice Strong, UN, anti capitalist scheme, and what the heck throw in that pip-squeak communist David Suzuki as well. You need to open your eyes and realize this is a political money grab and has nothing to do with global warming, which has been cycling thus for at least the last 700 000 years.

[Edgar King]

Dion Carbon Tax.....
I thought Dion was trying hard to improve his leadership skills...
Guess that went down the tube a long time ago.
It appears that he now wants to be the Erkel of the Liberal party

Hi election slogan should be...I didn"t do it....lol
Or was it I didn't do that............
He is the clown of the liberal party...
i wonder does he also have shares in the Toronto star...