"Morally weak" -- the timeline

Peter MacKay and John Baird are attacking the Liberals in Question Period for describing the generals' committee testimony on Afghan detainees last week as "morally weak and legally flimsy."

Actually, that phrase belongs to the Star's Jim Travers, from his Saturday column.

For all its sound and fury, the counter-attack that politicians, bureaucrats and generals mounted this week was morally weak and legally flimsy. In struggling to sway public opinion, finely parsed denials skidded around the looming conclusion that Canada transferred prisoners into probable torture after being warned by the pre-eminent and most credible victims-of-violence organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross.

And then, on Sunday, from Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh, this utterance:

Well this committee is having an impact. I believe the situation now is the issue is not about who knew what and when. I think they all admit that they knew, and the
generals' defence, as someone said, was morally weak and legally flimsy,

and David Mulroney essentially said they knew, they were concerned.

 Knowing Jim as I do, I can assure you he's not happy when other get credit for his prose.

When he's 64

This ought to cheer up  Michael Ignatieff. Foreign Policy Magazine has released its list of the 100 top global thinkers today, and the Liberal leader makes the #64 spot. As well, Foreign Policy makes a bold prediction for his future:

64. Michael Ignatieff

for showing that not all academics are irrelevant.

Liberal Party leader | Canada

Poised to become Canadian prime minister next year, only five years after leaving Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Ignatieff is out to prove the relevance of academia -- and big ideas -- in politics. Ignatieff's writing on the sometime necessity of "violence … coercion, secrecy, deception, even violation of rights" to fight terrorism has made him a singular voice among Canadian liberals. His 2004 book, The Lesser Evil, made the case that targeted violence was necessary to prevent the possibility of falling victim to greater violence, but stressed that democratic states should not employ torture or be motivated by national pride or revenge. In 2006 he was elected to Canada's House of Commons and in 2008 became leader of the Liberal Party. As a politician, he's renewed his party's focus on human rights, the war in Afghanistan, and more recently, global climate change, which he defines in characteristically utilitarian fashion as "redistributing risk to the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world."

On loyalty in the public service

An important op-ed article in today's Ottawa Citizen, by Amir Attaran and Gar Pardy,  reminds us what duty means in public service. This paragraph, taken from a 1985 Supreme Court of Canada ruling, leaps out:

“The loyalty owed is to the Government of Canada, not the political party in power at any one time. A public servant need not vote for the governing party. Nor need he or she publicly espouse its policies. And indeed, in some circumstances a public servant may actively and publicly express opposition to the policies of a government. This would be appropriate if, for example, the Government were engaged in illegal acts, or if its policies jeopardized the life, health or safety of the public servant or others, or if the public servant’s criticism had no impact on his or her ability to perform effectively the duties of a public servant or on the public perception of that ability.”

Cabinet shuffle?

Don Martin of CanWest has posted a cabinet shuffle rumour on Twitter.

Semi-reliable source just told me there'll be a cabinet shuffle in December with Maxime Bernier returning. For what that's worth...

And Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, has written, apparently in response:

Wow -- am i moving?

***Update: A subsequent post by Minister Raitt says her post was nose-related, as opposed to news-related.

i should explain - having sinus headaches - feels like i am moving all the time!

The return of Tim Murphy?

TVO's Steve Paikin, who's also an author of significant political books (and a very nice writer), has done a blog post about why Tim Murphy, Paul Martin's former chief of staff, should run to fill George Smitherman's seat in the provincial legislature. Blog post here.

Here are  the salient bits.

 Murphy should run for that seat and here’s why:

 

·       It’s familiar territory. It’s pretty much the same turf he represented during his stint in the Ontario Legislature in the mid-1990s.

 

·       It’s a very safe Liberal seat. If he runs, he’ll win.

 

·       It’s a sure bet that Murphy will move right into cabinet, although certainly no one in the premier’s office will confirm that. With the loss of Gerard Kennedy to federal politics, Joe Cordiano to the private sector, and Michael Bryant (initially to Invest Toronto, and now with legal problems to resolve), the McGuinty government is suffering from a lack of heavy-hitters. Murphy’s addition would address that.

 

·       Finally, and we’re really getting ahead of ourselves here, if McGuinty wins re-election in 2011, then steps down a few years after that, Murphy would be ideally positioned to compete for the leadership of the party.

Deep divisions

A debate now under way in the House of Commons, as we speak,  is absolutely fascinating for what it reveals of the depth of animosity between Liberals and Conservatives on issues of tolerance/morality and the fight for the votes of the so-called cultural communities.

It all revolves around the recent wave of Conservative flyers, alleging connections between Liberals and anti-Semitism.  But the argument goes farther back, to what both sides see as over-the-top attacks on each other, dating back almost a decade, even longer. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney produced a long list of old grievances against Liberal rhetoric; the Liberals had their own history to recount.

 I'll post the link tomorrow, when it's part of the official House of Commons record, but for anyone wanting to understand the depth and history of Liberal-Conservative antagonism on this front, today's debate is required reading/viewing.

And turkeys can fly

This just in: A last minute invitation to celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving this evening with Mr. Ignatieff. Do you think this could be a hoax?

We get letters

Last night, Tuesday night, no fewer than seven people sent me this letter. Why didn't it get headlines or even a post here? It has something to do with answering a cynical, 21st-century political tactic with  a 19th-century political petition, but that's a longer conversation. In the meantime, here's the letter.

 Download Open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Israel - final

Quebec journalist goes Green

Jacques Rivard is the new deputy leader of the Green Party in Quebec. Here's the  announcement:

PRESS RELEASE

Novembre 24th, 2009

For Immediate Release

 

Jacques Rivard Named Deputy Leader of the Greens

 

MONTREAL -- Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May has chosen Jacques Rivard, former journalist at Radio-Canada, as her new Deputy Leader. Rivard joins Adriane Carr, also Deputy Leader of the Greens.

 

"I feel very fortunate to have someone like Jacques Rivard represent the interests of the Green Party of Canada,” said May. "For more than twenty years, Mr. Rivard has put the environment at the forefront of his career as a journalist with Radio-Canada. He cares deeply about the environment. This is why I asked Jacques to join our team."

 

Jacques Rivard considers this appointment as a natural progression of his interest and passion for the environment. "I became interested in environmental issues when I first moved to Montreal,” explains the new Deputy Leader. "Coming from Rivière-du-Loup, I noticed that pollution levels in Montreal were much higher than those I was used to in the lower Saint-Lawrence. I wanted to know why and how this affected air quality, water quality and people’s health. My inquisitive mind did the rest. For more than twenty years, as a journalist, the environment became my favourite subject. I am still as interested in environmental issues today, but I would like to work from a political angle this time."

 

Jacques Rivard has an impressive background. Besides having had a distinguished career with Radio-Canada, he also collaborated with CNN, in the United States, on environmental projects linked to the Arctic. He was a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, was a Nieman fellow and received a grant from the Rasmussen Foundation, which allows journalists who focus on the environment to study at Harvard University. For the past ten years, Mr. Rivard has been invited to Honduras, Mexico and France as a guest speaker on environmental issues.

 

"The appointment of Jacques Rivard will bring valuable experience to the Green Party of Canada,” said Adriane Carr, Deputy Leader of the Greens and candidate in Vancouver-Centre. "Quebec voters are crying out for a green option capable to truly promote their environmental interests at the House of Commons, and I believe Jacques Rivard is the right person to represent the Green Party of Canada in Quebec."

 

Jacques Rivard Bio : www.greenparty.ca/party/jacques-rivard

Krieber's new party?

Over at The Globe and Mail website today, Norman Spector is asking why we in the English media haven't paid more attention to the part of Janine Krieber's (now deleted) Facebook post, in which she muses about joining another party.

“I am starting a serious reflection. I will not give my voice to a party that will end up in the trashcan of history. I am looking around me, and certain things are attractive. Like a dedicated party that doesn't challenge its leader at every hiccup in the polls. A party where the rule would be the principle of pleasure, and not assassination. A party where work ethic and competence would be respected and where smiles would be real. Maybe I'm not dreaming.”

Spector seems to automatically believe that Krieber would go to the NDP. My colleague Chantal Hebert, at her blog, says it could be the Greens or NDP.

Well, contrary to his Spector's speculation, I  did actually read to the end of the translated post, and wondered more whether Krieber was thinking about the Green Party. (I stress this is my speculation alone -- I haven't talked to Mme. Krieber or anyone close to her since this news broke on Saturday.)

But here's the argument in favour of the Greens. Let's not forget that Dion had a pact of sorts with Elizabeth May in the 2008 election and the two have been on good terms for a long, long time -- before either of them led a political party.  If I recall correctly, Janine Krieber shared her husband's good relations with Elizabeth May.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least if   Krieber, looking for a new party, was  leaning toward the Greens. But I doubt she'd take many Liberals with her in any defection.

*** Update ** For people who enjoy conspiracy theories and/or coincidences, here's a notice of a press conference we just received.  Apparently Elizabeth May has a new deputy leader in Quebec; identity to be revealed tomorrow. Do I believe it is Mme. Krieber? No. But is it fun to speculate that it could be? Yes.

Announcing Green Party of Canada’s New Deputy Leader

 

The Green Party of Canada will be announcing their New Deputy Leader in Quebec. Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada and Deputy Leader, Adriane Carr will join the new Deputy Leader at the press conference.

 

Date : Tuesday, Novembre 24th 2009

Time : 9:30 am

Location :  Hotel Fairmont – Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Room Hochelaga 5, 900 Rene-Levesque West Blvd., Montreal, Quebec

 

The new Deputy Leader and Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada will be available for individual interviews following the press conference.