Gary Doer Canadian Ambassador to the US and former Manitoba premier to return to province

- Gary Doer is planning to leave his position as Canadian ambassador to the U.S. soon, but is leaving the exact date to the new Liberal government.

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When he resigned as premier of Manitoba, he did not say that the Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper had chosen him to be Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Given that Doer was a prominent NDP premier, the appointment was a surprise. Harper constantly warns his supporters about the dangers of the socialist NDP. However, as former NDP Manitoba MLA and leftist Cy Gonick claims, perhaps Doer "does not have a socialist bone in his body." No doubt Harper hoped that Doer's diplomatic skills in dealing with politicians of every political stripe and his leftist credentials would help him out in dealing with the new Democratic administration of Barack Obama in the United States.

In spite of his NDP background or perhaps because of it, Doer's efforts were appreciated by the Conservatives. He has served Harper for six years, a period longer than his last two predecessors together. He has worked tirelessly but unsuccessfully to move the Keystone XL pipeline project forward. He was able to negotiate an arrangement to facilitate border crossing, but the deal must still go through the U.S. Congress and Canadian parliament, the same is true of the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP). Trudeau Liberals are likely to support the agreement. Another former NDPer, Liberal Bob Rae, has been rumoured as a possible successor to Doer. Rae was once an NDP premier of Ontario.

It appears Doer will return to the province of Manitoba: "I've never sold my home in Winnipeg, Winnipeg's always been my home. I didn't sell my house, I didn't sell my cabin.I don't want to go into much more detail....I'll talk about the future when the future starts — which is not quite yet ... I loved being premier. It was an honour to be an ambassador. It's always an honour to represent Canada."

Doer's return to Manitoba no doubt will see some provincial NDP insiders planning to have him return to Manitoba politics and perhaps become premier again after the upcoming election next April. The present NDP government is quite unpopular and testing new bottoms in the polls. It trails the Conservative opposition by some 20 percentage points and is almost tied with the Liberals, who have 24 percent of the vote compared to 25 for the NDP in a September poll.

Doer served as Canadian Ambassador to the US since October 19, 2009. Doer had been 20th Premier of Manitoba from 1999 right up until 2009, when he resigned shortly before his appointment as ambassador. For Doer to run, the present leader and Prime Minister Greg Sellingerwould have to step down so there could be an early leadership convention. Sellinger survived a leadership challenge which created divisions within the party but those appear to be mainly patched up by now.

Are the Liberals radical monarchists?

     At the Federal Liberal convention that part members voted to retain ties with the monarchy but in a radical move also voted to legalize marijuana. In a move to encourage more people to be involved with the party the convention also passed a motion to a free category of membership. A motion to have U.S. style primaries was also rejected but narrowly.
  The motion to legalize marijuana was proposed by the Young Liberals of Canada. However, passing a resolution is one thing having it as part of the Liberal Platform come election time is quite another. Interim leader Bob Rae was coy about whether he supported legalization and whether it would be in the platform. He was also coy about whether he would be in the running for leader of the party.
    The rules now prohibit Rae from running. However those rules could be changed should the party executive decide it would be a good idea. Rae has been getting a lot of media coverage of late and sounds as if he is campaigning for leader even though he denies it. For much more on the convention see this National Post article.
 

Bob Rae hints at Liberal-NDP accord.

I doubt that Ignatieff is anxious to join an accord with the NDP. In any event the way the polls are drifting up for the Conservatives I doubt Ignatieff would be at all inclined to join with other opposition parties to defeat the government in the first place. Rae is just living in the past because the future does not look that great for the Liberals. I wonder what Ignatieff thinks of all this musing by Rae! Perhaps the NDP could form a coalition with the Conservatives after the next election if the Conservatives do not get a majority. This would be like the Liberal Democrat Conservative Coalition in the UK. This is from the GlobeandMail.

Bob Rae hints at Liberal-NDP accord
Bill Curry

Bob Rae says there’s no rule preventing the Liberals and the NDP from ganging up and toppling a newly elected Tory government: He’s done it before and now he’s hinting it may happen again.
In a brief memoir posted this week on his website, the former Ontario NDP leader and premier delivers a shot across the bow as he looks back 25 years to an agreement he negotiated with the Liberals at Queen’s Park.
“This week marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Liberal-NDP Accord in Ontario. The election in early May of 1985 had elected a minority Parliament, with the Conservatives at 50 [seats], the Liberals at 45 and the NDP at 25. The vote split was roughly 37/37/25 [per cent],” the Liberal MP writes.
“On the night of the election the commentators (and the Conservatives under Frank Miller) went to bed thinking it was a Conservative minority. That was the way it had been in 1975 and 1977 when Bill Davis had used the rivalry between the NDP and the Liberals to stay in power.
“My own thoughts were different. I went to bed disappointed that the provincial NDP (of which I was then the leader) had not gained more seats, but convinced that politics could not just go on as before.”
Mr. Rae’s musings about Liberals and New Democrats working together come as polling numbers show the federal Conservatives remain comfortably in first place but that the combined support for the Liberals and the NDP is greater than the support for the Tories.
Coalition talk is also in the air after Canadians watched the British Conservatives form a coalition government with the third-place Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats had also negotiated with the second-place Labour Party, which led critics to attack the failed proposal as a “coalition of losers.”
Conservatives here are already warning that there are signs the Liberals are making nice again with the NDP.
In his web post, Mr. Rae describes how he and then-Ontario Liberal leader David Peterson consulted their caucus members and constitutional experts to craft an accord between the two parties that allowed the Liberals to govern without fear of “Russian roulette” threats of snap confidence votes. In exchange, they adopted some NDP policies in what Mr. Rae describes as a “working partnership,” rather than a formal coalition.
The arrangement in 1985 has been raised often in recent years in light of the pressure on the Governor-General to sort out minority-Parliament issues in Ottawa. Constitutional experts point out that the 1985 example showed the Lieutenant-Governor in that case did choose to allow another party to form a government, rather that require another election, after the governing party faced defeat on a confidence vote.
In the final sentence, Mr. Rae delivers a thinly-veiled hint that his web post is more than a simple stroll down memory lane.
“In a Parliamentary system elections produce a Parliament, and Parliament makes a government. That was the lesson learned in 1985. Prattle about ‘winning a mandate’ with less than a majority in Parliament is just that – partisan spin, all sound and fury, signifying nothing. It is a lesson worth remembering.”

Liberals may demand product recall as Ignatieff cannot be sold to Canadians

It seems that the Liberals are just unable to find a product that they can successfully package and sell to a majority of Canadians. The tired old reliable old Harper who from time to time does a little dance or dons a new sweater seems to outsell the supposed great thinker and human rights prof. Ignatieff. Having recalled Dion since the Green Shift was seen as wildly too expensive for Canadian tastes the Liberals have now set their sights on repackaging the recycled NDP ex provincial premier Bob Rae. Maybe the party might try putting forth some new ideas instead of repackaging their products. This is from the Star.


Back to Liberal MPs plot early retirement for Ignatieff
Liberal MPs plot early retirement for Ignatieff


Angelo Persichilli


Last year at this time, the Liberals were trying to get rid of Stéphane Dion and put themselves in the hands of their saviour, Michael Ignatieff. After 12 months, they believe that Bob Rae, the former NDP premier of Ontario now turned Liberal, is the new saviour.

Last year the opportunity to reboot the party's fortunes came after Dion forced the Liberals to embrace the Bloc-supported coalition with the NDP. This year the spark might be Ignatieff's support for the HST. The question many ask is whether Ignatieff's leadership will last until the end of the year.

Since Pierre Trudeau, no Liberal leader has left on his own terms. John Turner was shown the door by the Chrétienites; Jean Chrétien was forced out by Martinites; we know what happened to Dion and now we see Ignatieff is on the same path.

Since last Tuesday's "special" caucus meeting called by the leader to tell MPs to support the controversial HST, doubts about Ignatieff's ability to lead the party are surfacing more frequently. Many MPs openly oppose the HST, and those who backed the party's stand, like Rae, express their support only in private. No one is defending the leader in public, in the caucus or with the media. Basically, Ignatieff is alone and the question of loyalty is becoming a huge obstacle to his leadership.

Contrary to the superficial unity Liberals show in the House, a revolt is brewing underneath.

Trudeau once said that MPs are nobodies 100 yards away from Parliament. Things, it would seem, are changing. In fact, it looks like the real politics are taking place away from the Hill, especially during after-hours meetings in Ottawa restaurants like Mamma Teresa, trendy Hy's or in the dimly lit corners of the Château Laurier. Lately, the topic has been the HST and Ignatieff's leadership. In fact, one of those after-hours meetings took place last Tuesday at the Château.

It all started after a gathering to mark the retirement of Liberal Senator Jerry Grafstein from the Hill. Among those present were Ignatieff and Rae.

After they had all feted the popular senator with great words of love and affection, some MPs – invited by Rae for a drink – moved "100 yards away from the Hill" into the Château Laurier. Here the façade of unity vanished, the true face of today's Liberal party materialized and the real work of politics, which no longer takes place on the Hill, was in full swing.

Glen Pearson, an MP from London and one of those present for the nightcap with Rae, said that in his opinion Ignatieff was losing the loyalty of the party and Rae was "the only one the party trusts." Carolyn Bennet, also present at the meeting, said that David McGuinty, Justin Trudeau and others are already planning their leadership runs and it was time for Rae to do something.

Then the conversation shifted to some concrete proposals. In particular, they told Rae that many MPs believe he should become "the deputy leader with authority to manage all the files in the House of Commons," basically a kind of CEO. They also said that Ignatieff shouldn't be asking questions in the House but travelling throughout Canada "attending functions."

Some also said that Ralph Goodale should be removed from his House responsibilities because, they said, he brings no added value to the party, no expertise, no financial wherewithal and doesn't deliver seats in his own province.

Rae also was critical of the performance of the leader but said he was not interested in a coup d'état. However, he added that his loyalty is solely to the Liberal party.

Ruby Dhalla said that loyalty is a two-way street and accused the party of not doing enough to nurture the next generation of leaders. During the conversation, it was suggested that a group of MPs should meet with chief of staff Peter Donolo and present some of these proposals as soon as possible.

This was not an isolated meeting between a few MPs – it's the dominant theme of discussion among almost all Liberal MPs uncertain about their future.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ignatieff were to reconsider his political future and go back to his beloved academic world before the end of the year.

Angelo Persichilli is the political editor of Corriere Canadese. His column appears Sunday.

Rae clears way for Ignatieff

Well the coronation is now almost complete and you can kiss the coalition goodbye. Unless Harper fills the budget up to the very brim with crap Ignatieff will gobble it all up while grumbling incessantly. We will now have the waiting game in which Ignatieff and the Liberal crew wait for high tide in the polls because before that the Canadian people will not want an election. Ignatieff is fortunate that Dion went gracefully along with Rae as well.


Rae clears way for Ignatieff to take over Liberal helm
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 2:30 PM ET
CBC News
Toronto MP Bob Rae said Tuesday he is dropping out of the Liberal leadership race, putting aside his ambitions for the "greater interest of the country."Liberal MP Bob Rae, shown arriving at his Toronto office on Monday before speaking to reporters about the leadership selection process. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)
The announcement, made at a press conference in Ottawa, paves the way for rival Michael Ignatieff to ascend to the party's top job, replacing Stéphane Dion.
Rae said Canada has been through "quite an extraordinary time" since he joined the race two months ago and it's essential the party have a permanent leader in place before the House of Commons resumes on Jan. 26.
"In these circumstances, I believe that the Liberal Party of Canada requires a new permanent leader to be in place before Parliament returns at the end of January. And it also required me to make some decisions," Rae said.
"I am not a candidate for the interim leadership, nor shall I pursue my candidacy for the party leadership at the Vancouver convention."
The veteran politician and former Ontario NDP premier offered his "full and unqualified support" to Ignatieff, saying he would prove himself a "formidable leader."
"I know Michael Ignatieff to be a person of wisdom and to be a person of generosity. He will make a great prime minister," said Rae.
Rae said the decision was "easy and obvious" and dismissed suggestions he was upset by his second failed bid for the federal Liberal leadership.
"It's just politics. It's not the end of the world here, folks," he told reporters.
No talks with Ignatieff before decision
Rae has been under increasing pressure from inside the party, particularly in the past 24 hours, to bow out of the contest.
The Liberals are eager to install a new leader before Parliament resumes in January as the minority Conservative government faces key confidence motions that could result in either a general election or a Liberal-NDP coalition's rise to power.
Rae's departure leaves Ignatieff as the sole contender for the Liberal leadership. The only other candidate — New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc — announced Monday he was ending his campaign and throwing his support behind Ignatieff.
By bowing out, Rae said he hoped to ensure Ignatieff was the undisputed and unanimous choice of the party, dispelling talk that the party is divided.
Rae noted that he had not spoken to Ignatieff before his press conference, eliminating suggestions he orchestrated a backroom deal with his friend and leadership rival.
The party executive must now determine how to install Ignatieff in a way that meets with the approval of most party members.
They had decided Monday to broaden the leadership selection process to about 800 members, rather than leave it in the hands of the caucus.
But the widened process did not appease Rae, who had been adamantly against having a select few choose the leader, instead pushing for all rank-and-file Liberals to have a voice in the decision.
Coalition in jeopardy?
With Ignatieff poised to take the helm of the party, there were some concerns that the Liberal-NDP coalition could collapse.
CBC's Rosemary Barton reported that some NDP MPs are privately expressing concern about Ignatieff's expected rise to become leader, worried it could mark the demise of the coalition.
While Rae was supportive of the coalition set up to topple Stephen Harper's government, Ignatieff has been lukewarm to the pact.
Over the weekend, he summarized his position as "coalition if necessary, but not necessarily coalition," echoing former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's fence-sitting position on conscription.
NDP MP Olivia Chow insisted that it doesn't matter who ascends to the top Liberal job.
"What's necessary is that Mr. Harper cannot be trusted. We have a very good plan," she told CBC News.
"I hope that all of the Liberal caucus after tomorrow's caucus meeting can join with us to go across the country and say that we have a plan, the plan works and we must make sure that this plan is implemented."
The creation of the coalition was triggered by widespread frustration among opposition parties over the government's fiscal update.
In late November, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered a mini-budget that proposed to ditch per-vote public funding of political parties and freeze public servants' right to strike for three years. It didn't include a stimulus package for the slumping economy.

Rae injects Liberals with a dose of grit.

This is from the Star.
The injection of Rae into the campaign is a sign that the Liberals may be giving up on Dion and trying to save the campaign by downplaying Dion and the Green Shift as well. This will make Dion look even less of a leader.







Rae injects Liberals with a dose of grit TheStar.com - Federal Election - Rae injects Liberals with a dose of grit


CP PHOTO
Liberal leader Stephane Dion is cheered on by Bob Rae during a campaign speech in Halifax, Sept. 16, 2008.
September 16, 2008 Richard BrennanOTTAWA BUREAU
HALIFAX — Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's flagging campaign finally appeared to gain steam Tuesday and his former leadership rival Bob Rae was supplying the energy.
The addition of the Toronto Centre Liberal MP to the leader's campaign has emboldened the chronically reserved Dion, whose attack on Conservative Leader Steven Harper showed a new sense of purpose.
"He can speak better English than me, but ... I can tell the truth in both official languages better than Stephen Harper," he told one of the most exuberant partisan crowds to date.
Dion has also started peppering his speeches with references to former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, still one of the most unpopular political leaders in Canadian history.
"This election presents Canadians with a stark choice about the future of our country, a stark choice between gimmicks to buy your vote and sound policies to help us face the slowdown of the economy," he said after earlier announcing a $900 million catastrophic drug program.
Acting like a warm up act, Rae, the former Ontario NDP premier known for his casual speaking style, roasted Harper, saying it's time to throw the wolf behind the sweater out of 24 Sussex once and for all.
"We have what called the Little Red Riding factor at work. And that is we look at Mr. Harper and we say instinctively, 'grandma what big teeth you have.' And there is no way we are going to let that wolf stay at Sussex Drive any longer than past Oct. 14," he said to the delight the crowd.
Rae said, in his lengthy political experience, "I have never seen a more secretive, a more right-wing, a more ideological, a more completely controlled party in government as the one that I have under Stephen Harper."
"He's got a terrible agenda in mind for Canadians and then he comes on with that blue sweater and says 'don't worry Canadians you can relax' ... (but) we know why you are calling this election, you are trying to dupe Canadians into giving you a majority."
By bringing in Rae, the Liberals are deliberately trying to turn the spotlight from the taciturn Dion to focus on the Liberal team. It wasn't lost on observers that Rae did not mention the Green Shift plan once during two length introductions.
Rae said Harper isn't to be trusted and pointed to the fact the Prime Minister broke his own fixed election date law.
"Last week he announced there was going to be a fixed date for the departure of our troops from Afghanistan (of 2011) and I'm looking at Mr. Harper and I am saying, buddy, if we can't believe you on the election why would we believe you on Afghanistan"
Rae saved some of his vitriol for the NDP and its leader Jack Layton, calling them pretenders to the throne who supported the Conservatives in killing the former minority Liberal government's plans for child care, the Kelowna Accord for natives, and infrastructure money for cities.
"Let me tell you something ... the Steven Harper government is the house that Jack built. And that's the house that's coming down," he said.

Rae predictis Liberal "success"in election.

This is from CTV.
Hmm! What else would we think that Rae would predict. "Rae predicts Liberal failure" Now that would be a surprise headline. Why can't Dion make the prediction of success? Is this a sign that Dion is really an honest politician? Why is "success"in the headline in scare quotes? The new NDP ad makes a neat play on Harper's theme of strong leadership. The NDP ad as with the earlier Conservative ads are taking advantage of the fact that they are paid for before the election has been called thus not counting as part of the expenses.

Rae predicts Liberal 'success' in election
Updated Sat. Sep. 6 2008 12:17 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Toronto Liberal MP Bob Rae says his party has a "great chance of being successful" in the looming election as a new NDP ad takes direct aim at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's leadership.
Rae made the comments to reporters on Saturday while marching in a community parade in his riding.
Harper is expected to call an election Sunday morning, with Canadians going to the polls on Oct. 14.
If that happens, Rae said he do whatever he can to help Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, whom he said is a "very tough cookie," to become prime minister.
A recent Strategic Counsel poll for CTV and the Globe and Mail gave top leadership marks to Harper, followed by NDP Leader Jack Layton. Dion came in third.
Despite that, Rae said Dion didn't have any weaknesses as leader.
In the new NDP ad released Saturday, the left-leaning party took aim at Harper's leadership.
The ad noted that Harper cut corporate taxes by $50 billion even though one in eight Canadian children lives in poverty.
Harper is "strong enough to ignore nearly five million Canadians who can't find a family doctor," a female announcer intones before linking oilsands development in Harper's home province of Alberta to environmental devastation.
"We need a new kind of strong," the announcer said.
"The 'new strong' is about fighting for what's right for you," Layton says in the ad.
While the NDP spent as much time attacking the Liberals in the last 2½ years as the Tory government, neither Dion nor the Liberals are mentioned in the ad.

Ignatieff rubs some Liberals the wrong way

This is from the National Post.
Is someone trying to stir up even more troubles among the Liberals.?Maybe there is a closet Rae supporter at the National Post! However, it is plausible to think that Ignatieff may rub some people the wrong way. Rae has more experience than Ignatieff though in screwing up. The NDP is still trying to recover in Ontario. Maybe Rae can destroy whatever is left of the Liberals after Dion leaves.


Saturday, May 17, 2008
Presented by

Ignatieff rubs some Liberals wrong way
John Ivison, National Post Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Chris Wattie/Reuters
OTTAWA -There are whispers spreading in the Liberal caucus that Michael Ignatieff is the man who will never be king.
In the event that party leader Stephane Dion loses an election, there seems to be growing skepticism that Mr. Ignatieff should be the man to replace him -- even among MPs who supported him at the leadership convention in Montreal two years ago.
Gauging the extent of this backlash is difficult. A number of MPs declined to comment and those who did refused to speak on the record. But it seems to be more widespread than the usual bicker, brattle and back-stabbing common to all parties.
The apparent disenchantment with Mr. Ignatieff on the part of a number of MPs I spoke with, coincides with the arrival in the Liberal caucus of Bob Rae -- and it is perhaps no coincidence that the stock of the deputy leader is falling as that of the former Ontario premier is rising.
"It comes down to basic political judgment and understanding," said one MP. "With Rae you're dealing with someone who does know politics. There is a depth to him that allows him to interact more naturally with caucus [than Mr. Ignatieff]," he said.
Another factor is the impression that, while Mr. Rae is rolling up his sleeves for Team Dion, Mr. Ignatieff is more concerned with the next leadership contest.
A number of Liberals said they were less than impressed with a fundraising dinner for Mr. Ignatieff at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto last month, which was described as a barely veiled leadership campaign launch. "Lots of rank and file Liberals really found that a bridge too far. Its presentation was too ostentatious, too presuming," said one Grit, referring to clips that showed Mr. Ignatieff as a journalist interviewing Pierre Trudeau. Some felt this was intended to convey that Mr. Ignatieff is Mr. Trudeau's true heir.
If the party were to look for a successor to Mr. Dion, it is assumed Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Rae would be the front-runners. Some might imagine Mr. Ignatieff, who came second at the leadership convention, might even have the edge. But that mis-reads the situation. The reality is that Mr. Ignatieff was not the second-most popular candidate -- those who ended up with Mr. Dion would most likely have supported Mr. Rae if Mr. Dion had not made it to the final two. "Most people who supported Stephane would have supported Bob," one MP said.
The sympathy shared by the Rae and Dion camps is evident: Mr. Dion has surrounded himself with former members of the Rae camp, such as national director Greg Fergus, and private secretary Johanne Senecal. Even Mr. Ignatieff's supporters are worried that, if Mr. Dion is forced to step down, he will all but hand the baton to Mr. Rae.
Despite the precariousness of his position in the event of another leadership contest, a number of Liberal MPs and insiders say Mr. Ignatieff has not been working hard to build bridges and alliances internally.
"He doesn't come to meetings and he doesn't engage in the lobby," one Liberal said. "People are noticing he's not participating. He's a much more polarizing figure than Bob."
The different style of the two men is equally clear in Question Period,
where Mr. Ignatieff habitually scowls across the floor at the government as he rises each day after Mr. Dion's leadoff questions.
Mr. Rae's performance is more polished. Faced with a typically aggressive response by Conservative House leader Peter Van Loan yesterday, Mr. Rae responded artfully, declaring: "Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely devastated. I am wounded and devastated," before going on to ask how the Minister of Foreign Affairs managed to spend $22,000 on a flight to Laos.
One MP who supported Mr. Ignatieff said it's premature to talk of him losing support to Mr. Rae. "There is always a honeymoon period -- and Bob Rae is still in it. Most people are more focused on our current situation," he said. A senior figure in the still-active Ignatieff camp said he was surprised to hear murmurings of discontent about the Liberal deputy leader. He said Mr. Ignatieff is helping pay down Mr. Dion's leadership debts through events such as a fund-raiser in Montreal last week. "He's working hard doing a lot of fund-raisers for candidates at the leaders' request," he said. "My sense is that things are coming together." Even so, the impression remains that, while Mr. Ignatieff professes loyalty to Mr. Dion, he has trouble hiding his ambition. It may be that it has o'er leapt itself and his best chance to be king is already behind him.
jivison@nationalpost.com
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

No breakup yet for Dion, Ignatieff

This is from the Star. Hebert gives some insights into the Quebec Liberal situation. I don't know where Hebert gets the information that Ignatieff is anxious to have the next campaign over with. I understood that it is Dion who wants an election and that Ignatieff and Rae are holding him back because the troops are not ready nor are Canadians ready to vote for the Liberals. With Rae on the front benches Dion's "star" will be barely visible. To demote Ignatieff would simply cause more unrest. The best thing for Dion is to go for an election and at least be able to hold his head high. Maybe Canadians will forgive him for being so wishy-washy and vote for him.





No breakup yet for Dion, Ignatieff


Mar 31, 2008 04:30 AM
Chantal Hébert

OTTAWA

By all accounts, the emergency meeting that Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion held with his demoralized Quebec team last week had an uncommon share of surrealistic moments.

Some of Dion's organizers were astounded by his repeated assertions that things were looking up for the party in Quebec.

A CROP poll published on the weekend put numbers on the disconnect between the leader's appreciation of the situation and the Quebec reality. It had the Liberals nine points behind the Conservatives province-wide and in dead heat with the NDP for a distant third place in francophone Quebec with satisfaction with the Harper government running at 55 per cent.

The most surrealistic moment of the meeting came when a Dion loyalist accused Michael Ignatieff of high treason and called on the leader to expel him from the caucus and the party.

While Dion nipped that suggestion in the bud, he has been urged to consider a variety of scenarios designed to clip the wings of his former leadership rival.

On that score, it is widely expected that Bob Rae's entry in the House of Commons today will translate into a de facto reduction of Ignatieff's profile.

Over the past year, Dion has also recurrently been under pressure to demote Ignatieff from his position as deputy leader. That pressure intensified over the course of last week's Quebec mutiny.

It has been a pattern since Dion became leader that whenever he is in trouble in Quebec, all fingers point to Ignatieff as the source of the mischief.

Given that the province's Liberals massively supported Ignatieff bid for the leadership, it has been easy and ultimately only too convenient to see a conspiracy under every Quebec rock that has tripped Dion along his uncertain way. Without Ignatieff's supporters there simply would not be much of a Quebec Liberal wing.

Given the dismal poll numbers, there is no doubt that the vast majority of Liberals in Quebec would rather go with someone other than Dion as their leader in the next federal election.

Some would actually go to extreme and absurd ends to try to get their wish. It would also be in Ignatieff's interest, in as much as he still wants the job, to have another shot at it sooner rather than later.

But none of his strategists think that could realistically happen before the next election. Moreover, it is hard to connect Ignatieff's presumed impatience to have the next campaign over with and the delaying tactics of the Quebec wing.

More than any Liberal constituency, it has gone out of its way to warn that a quick trip to the polls would result in a full-fledged disaster.

Still, in the wake of last week's events and in the climate of suspicion that presides over the party's affairs, only Dion's fear of a potential caucus revolt may be keeping Ignatieff in the deputy leader slot.

That is not a small consideration. There has been nothing in his performance since the leadership campaign in December 2006 to cost him his commanding caucus support.

In the circumstances, a public rebuke to Ignatieff could do for Dion what Jean Chrétien's public breakup with Paul Martin accomplished and bring his weakened leadership to a tipping point.

This is the day when Dion introduces a bolstered Liberal team to the Commons, but that also means there are a few more scorpions in the official opposition bottle.



Chantal Hébert's national affairs column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Even good news is bad news for Dion

Travers is wrong about Dion not making a case for not having an election now. Dion has been making the case for delaying the election for a long time saying typically that Canadians do not want an election now and that the Liberals will bring about an election at a time of their choosing. Rae merely adds a neat sound byte of rhetorical claptrap about strategic patience.
The kingmakers in the Liberal party and the press have long been upset that the wrong person won the leadership of the Liberal party. We have the same situation federally with the Liberals as the Conservatives have in Alberta with the difference being that Stelmach has won a recent election hands down so that any internal opposition has been reduced to silence. Dion would be well advised to tell Rae to stuff his strategic patience and demand a takedown of the Conservatives. Things are getting worse for Dion not better.

Even good news is bad news for Dion

Mar 20, 2008 04:30 AM
James Travers

OTTAWA - Bob Rae is just too good to be entirely true to Stéphane Dion. By-election ballots were hardly counted this week before the former Ontario NDP premier and Liberal leadership contender put the party's Montreal Mistake into perspective.

Even as he praised, Rae began burying Dion by capturing in two words a concept that for months tongue-tied the leader. Far from being short of guts or principles, Liberals are staying shrewdly focused on the next election by picking their best moment to defeat Conservatives. Liberals are, as Rae says succinctly, exercising "strategic patience."

Swallow that with a grain of salt. There's an element of Rae making a virtue of the party's necessity of delaying an election it isn't ready to fight or win.

But however imperfect the case, someone had to make it and it's symptomatic of Liberal problems that it took so long.

In Parliament, in editorials and on TV panels the party is being eviscerated by the jagged knife of dismissive humour. Laughingstock is a synonym for loser so Liberals must quickly make the case that what isn't funny is how Conservatives, even limited by a minority, are changing the country.

That's where the by-elections were supposed to help and, up to a point, will. Adding Rae and Martha Hall Findlay to Michael Ignatieff reinforces a team increasingly identified with those who lost the leadership. Each adds real-world experience and, in Rae's case, it gets the priceless knowledge that comes with winning an election and losing a government. Together they should offer an alternative to a vision Conservatives know isn't shared by two of three Canadians.

There are, however, two obstacles. After effectively endorsing Conservative management of the war, the economy and even the environment, Liberals have only flimsy platform planks. The other is that voters are queasy about government by committee and may ultimately opt for a leader firm in his beliefs instead of one leaning on lieutenants, no matter how strong.

That remains to be seen. Obvious now is that the benefits of Rae's return to Parliament after years at Queen's Park and beyond comes with fine print Dion needs to read slowly and understand clearly.

Like Ignatieff, Rae will provide edgy parliamentary pushback in a place where slurs and character assassination are the new norm. And, again like his old chum and leadership rival, Rae is quip-smart and camera-friendly. Liberals hope those vital partisan assets will lead to flattering comparisons with Conservatives. But Dion should worry that the inevitable compare-and-contrast exercise with his performance will be damning.

After some awkward post-leadership moments, Rae and Ignatieff have their ambition mostly in check. Still, just as politicians never say never, the political pecking order is rarely completely free of subtle positioning.

Liberal leadership tensions wouldn't be eased today even if this week's four by-elections handed Dion a triumph. Instead, and in spite of some breathless deadline reporting drawn more heavily from the east than the west, the Saskatchewan loss and the Vancouver nail-biter will now be remembered as disaster narrowly skirted. Worse for the leader, the Toronto contests were no-contests while the others are covered in his fingerprints.

Building a more robust team is in Dion's interest. What's not is being surrounded until the who-knows-when next election by a supporting cast that constantly reminds the party that it had a choice in Montreal and made a mistake.

James Travers' national affairs column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.





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Rehabilitated Rae adds depth to Dion's bench.

This is from the National Post.
A better headline would be: Rae adds deptht to Dion's opposition. This is appropriately ambiguous. Rae will add depth to Dion's opposition as a spokesperson opposing Harper. Rae will also serve along with Ignatieff to add depth to the opposition to Dion's leadership.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Rehabilitated Rae adds depth to Dion’s bench
Don Martin, National Post
Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Mark Blinch/Reuters
It could be third-life lucky for the politically reincarnated Bob Rae.

The former New Democrat MP, who authored the non-confidence motion to kill Prime Minister Joe Clark's government in 1979 and shocked Ontario by becoming a one-term wonder as premier in 1990, gets another chance to work on his legacy after being elected Monday night as a Liberal-leader-in-waiting.

Rehabilitated, if not reinvented as an elder statesman of the Canadian centre-left, Mr. Rae claimed a Toronto byelection seat Monday to set up a return engagement as MP in the House of Commons, where he entered politics a full generation ago.

When paired with the expected Toronto byelection victory of dynamo Martha Hall Findlay last night, his re-entry has abruptly deepened the Liberal gene pool and sharpened an Official Opposition attack squad with a strangely wobbly government in its sights.

But it's Mr. Rae who attracts gushy expectations that he will stabilize the caucus, add a dose of dignity to House haranguing and import a voice of calming experience to the front bench after he is sworn in on March 31.

Not bad for a man who was arguably saddled with one of the weakest governments in Ontario history at its worst possible recession-whacked moment in 1990.

His most positive legacy from that torturous five-year term seems to have been the introduction of casinos to the province. Imposing Rae Days -- unpaid leave forced on Ontario's public service as a cost-savings measure -- ranks as his albatross.

But that's more than a dozen years ago, and Mr. Rae's appointments to chair probes into post-secondary education and the Air India disaster while mediating in the Sri Lanka conflict have polished his résumé back to general respectability.

Mr. Rae insists he has returned to politics for honourable reasons after coming third in the 2006 Liberal leadership race. "You can't run and then beg off and say, ‘that was interesting'. I owed it to everybody to keep going," he told me, which sounds a bit like unfinished business.

The private concern for some, and the fervent hope for others, is that Bob Rae adds a hefty alpha male to a Liberal troop having second thoughts about Stéphane Dion's leadership and contemplating a do-over if the party bombs in the next election.

Think of potential Conservative successors to leader Stephen Harper and the mind blanks -- a wasteland of rival ambition that makes the Prime Minister very, very happy.

But the Liberals now boast at least half a dozen potential party leaders in their ranks or in the wings, including re-runs by Michael Ignatieff, Gerard Kennedy and, hopefully, Ms. Hall Findlay.

Now, having a bounty of replacements is not exactly what Mr. Dion craves as a measure of his bench strength.

But while the government is frantically calling in second stringers to rescue gobsmacked ministers (prime examples being B.C.'s James Moore deflecting Cadman affair shots and Calgary MP Jason Kenney now heading for Mexico to try to free imprisoned Brenda Martin), the Official Opposition will boast so much front-and-centre firepower that backbenchers fret they'll be squeezed out of the lineup.

Mr. Rae's potential to become a thorn in the government's side has not escaped the party's furrowed-brow attention. Conservative researchers are busily compiling a nasty dossier on his fiscal follies and policy shortcomings as premier that they will use to return fire whenever Mr. Rae unleashes in Question Period.

Of course, the best question is how long Mr. Rae will stand in this Parliament before a general election forces everyone on to the campaign trail.

Despite having his private caucus pleas to avoid a spring election leaked to the media, Mr. Rae insists he's neither an election hawk nor dove now. "I'm just an owl sitting in the tree looking around," he smirks.

"There's not a compelling desire for [an election], but I would say we're at the point where people would not be shocked and surprised whenever it comes," he adds.

If it comes this spring and the Liberals implode on the campaign trail, fresh leadership will be demanded and Bob Rae will be an automatic favourite to win.

But that's only a hypothetical in Mr. Dion's ugliest-scenario future. As of today, the new MP for Toronto Centre is a Rae of hope for an abstaining Official Opposition that often appears hopeless.

National Post

dmartin@nationalpost.com

Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Is Bob Rae finding his way?

The article answers the question itself with the list of big name business tycoons supporting Rae. Rae gave up any pretense of being anything but establishment left ages ago. What he learned from being NDP premier is that he should join the establishment party the Liberals.

Is Bob Rae finding his way?
Federal byelection will show how far he's come

Craig Offman, National Post
Published: Saturday, March 15, 2008


Bob Rae is ready to get out of the political shadows. He's a heavy favourite to win Monday's byelection in Toronto Centre.
Bob Rae? The future of Canadian politics? A few years ago, the mere suggestion would have prompted the capitalist establishment to pack their loafers and take up asylum in Palm Beach.

But not so fast. Quietly but steadily, the image of Ontario's one-time socialist scourge has softened, and so have his critics. For a socialist scourge, he has a surprising number of entrepreneurial friends.

Two years ago, Mr. Rae's campaign for the leadership of the federal Liberal party attracted some of the most prominent names in Canadian business: Jackman, Desmarais, Sharp, Rotman, Slaight, Sorbara, to name a few. And many of these blue-chip supporters remain convinced his dozen years out of politics are perhaps as important, if not more, than his controversial tenure as Ontario's premier.

"He's one of few Canadians who is an inspirational guy. He infuses you with a sense of national pride," said Gerald Sheff, the influential investment banker and Mr. Rae's occasional poker opponent. Mr. Sheff said he had already cast an absentee ballot for Mr. Rae, who is running for the seat of Toronto Centre in one of Monday's four federal by-elections.

Leading defence attorney Brian Greenspan, who was friendly with Mr. Rae at the University of Toronto in the frisky '60s, summed up what many have said about the former Toronto MPP and Ontario New Democrat leader: It would be difficult to vote for Mr. Rae had he remained in the NDP, even as a moderate. "But now that he's a Liberal, it's much easier to do."

In the weeks leading up to Monday's contest in Toronto Centre, a Liberal stronghold that extends from the moneyed mini-canyons of Rosedale through the abject housing projects of St. James Town to the old Hogtown charm of St. Lawrence Market, Mr. Rae has been campaigning as though he needs the votes.

At a senior citizens home, he played the role of trenches politician, working a room of 20 residents in his galoshes and red tie and then banging out a medley of old standbys on an electric piano.

The following day, he played the statesman when anti-war demonstrators began shouting down Liberal leader Stephane Dion, who was in town campaigning for his former rival. Mr. Rae defused the situation by offering them a chance at the microphone, managing an indirect swipe at the Conservative government in the process. "In the Liberal party we're not afraid of debates," he said. "We're not afraid of people with different ideas. It's a democracy."

At a nearby cafe, Mr. Rae analyzed his reincarnation. "I've known victory and defeat. I've known government and opposition and I think I understand the media biz a little bit," he said. "I've travelled around the world a bit and worked in the private sector. I think I am able to contribute a lot more to politics now than I would have been if I had stayed in the whole time."

After leaving Queen's Park in 1996, Mr. Rae began a successful career in the private sector while rebuilding his public persona. A partner at the white-shoe law firm of Goodmans, Mr. Rae was called on by various ministers to delve into all kinds of difficult issues, from the Air India bombing to the future of postsecondary education.

He also helped negotiate a ceasefire in Sri Lanka's civil war with the Tamil rebels. Many credit him for helping to save the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Described almost universally by friends as a man of unusually high intelligence, an amusing raconteur and, above all, good company, his well-placed allies insist Mr. Rae learned from his mistakes during his tumultuous time as Ontario premier in the '90s.

Several confidantes say he remains a little raw about the experience: how the left vilified him for being too capitalist while the right condemned him as a statist Marxist. The hard feelings work both ways: Many of those he left behind in the NDP are less than enthusiastic about his criticisms of the party. Several former NDP colleagues refused to discuss Mr. Rae when contacted for comment. "I have nothing to say about Bob Rae," one responded curtly.

When former NDP leader Donald C. MacDonald died this month, current leader Howard Hampton used the occasion to take a shot at Mr. Rae, telling The Canadian Press that "one of the biggest, deepest regrets" in Mr. Mac-Donald's life was his decision to give up his seat in the provincial legislature to Mr. Rae.

Many Liberals were equally uneasy about his quest to lead the party so soon after he had joined it. Although Mr. Rae's supporters stressed his experience, extracting clear views from the candidate on such issues as Afghanistan could be frustrating; interviewers praised his eloquence while trying to decipher what he had said.

Sounding like another, more famous born-again Bob, Mr. Rae does not like to be categorized. "I've never allowed myself to be defined by other people," he said. "I don't take seriously the people who pigeonhole you one way or the other, saying this is who you are and therefore you can't change."

He knew that jumping into the Liberal leadership race would bring a long-term commitment regardless of the outcome. "I knew full well when I did that it wasn't going to be a matter of, 'Well, I'm running for the leadership and if I don't win, I'm gone tomorrow.' You can't do that," he said. "You build a whole series of relationships and loyalties and friendships and you just can't walk away. Still, I knew that winning was a long shot."

After Mr. Dion won the nomination, he gave runner-up Michael Ignatieff the post of deputy leader. Mr. Rae, who did not have seat in the House of Commons, was offered the less glamorous role of co-chairman of the platform renewal committee. He later added the post of foreign affairs critic. Despite his short tenure in the party, his stature is such that Liberals predict his presence will add much-needed strength to their front benches. Mr. Dion clearly needs the help, even if Mr. Rae's polish tends to highlight Mr. Dion's lack of it.

Many believe Mr. Rae, who underwent heart surgery six months ago, would not go through all this upheaval if he did not still hold out hope of one day of being leader. He says he no longer has such aspirations. For now, at least.

"Yes, in the sense that there is no leadership race, and in the sense that Mr. Dion is the leader," Mr. Rae said.

"Nothing would make me happier than if Stephane Dion became the next prime minister, and for me to have a chance to work in his government. That is my objective."

Rae: Time to reassess goals of Afghan mission.

The goals of the Afghan mission are rarely discussed in any event. The goals are made in the US and our role is to share some of the burdens for those goals along with other NATO countries. Of course Rae would remove any reference to that relationship in any of his speeches. Just as he suggested the Conservatives were remiss in allowing a handbook to be published that made reference to the U.S. and Israel with respect to torture. He would have been sure that such passages were removed. Maybe we are fortunate Stockwell Day and not Bob Rae saw those secret papers re Arar that the US provided to show why Arar should be on the no-fly list. Stockwell Day at least had enough integrity not to be cowed into submisssion. Who knows what Rae might have said?
Anyway discussion of the goals of the Afghan mission will be framed in such a way that the underlying goals will not get discussed at all.
The morality and legality of our intervention starting with the Operation Enduring Freedom will not be discussed either. This will be cut off by simply referring to the fact that we are in Afghanistan as authorised by: the UN, NATO, and the Karzai govt. Well right and the US is in Iraq authorised by: the UN, and the Maliki govt. Does that then settle the morality and legality of the Iraq occupation?
What Rae is referring to are not goals at all but tactics or means to goals. Rae wants to use carrots rather than sticks because sticks involve casualties and this makes a harder sell for the mission and also does not seem to be working too well.

Time to reassess goals of Afghan mission: Rae
Updated Tue. Jan. 29 2008 8:30 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae says it's time to reassess Canada's goals in Afghanistan and come up with an exit strategy that reflects those outcomes.
Rae, who hopes to win a seat in the riding of Toronto Centre, spoke to CTV's Canada AM one day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he accepts the "broad recommendations" of John Manley's panel report on the future of Canada's role in Afghanistan.
Harper told an Ottawa news conference on Monday that his government accepts the report's recommendation that the mission be extended so long as the extension is conditional on more NATO support and equipment.
Rae said it's time to rethink the mission, then decide how long we should stay involved.
"What is the most realistic and effective way for Canada to stay and where do we have the greatest chance for success? In our view, an open-ended, never-ending military mission that focuses on counter-insurgency is not going to succeed and we have to create a mission that has a more realistic chance of success," Rae said.
The panel recommended that NATO find a 1,000-soldier battle group to assist Canada's 2,500 troops in Kandahar province -- one of the most insurgency-wracked parts of Afghanistan.
It also said Canada's soldiers should be supplied with helicopters and aerial drones.
Rae said he believes Canada should remain in Afghanistan for the next few years in some capacity, but not necessarily a military one.
"I think we really have to move away from this notion this is exclusively a military mission or that the only thing Canada is doing or should be doing is counterinsurgency and military activity of that kind," Rae said.
"We've got to take a step back and try to get an assessment of where this country of Afghanistan is going and how can we actually help to advance the cause of stability, which has to be our objective."
He acknowledged that the mission in Afghanistan is a tough one thanks to a complex political situation, a history of violence and the presence of the Taliban.
"It's a very difficult challenge and I think what the Liberal party has consistently said is we didn't go there with the promise we were going to stay there forever. This is not a forever mission," he said.
Rae said Canada should focus more on finding political solutions and increasing stability in Afghanistan, as well as working on development and diplomacy. He added that other NATO nations also need to step up and do their part so Canada can back away from its combat role.
On Monday, Harper said Canada's work in Afghanistan should be reviewed on progress towards benchmarks within two to three years' time.
Any extension of Canada's mission will need Liberal support in Parliament to pass. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion indicated a possible deal if some conditions are met, including rotating Canadians out of the volatile Kandahar region within the next three years.
"(Harper) should push for the principle of rotation," Dion told reporters. "If we don't have this principle, I don't see how this mission will work for the long haul."
But some Liberals, including defence critic Denis Coderre, suggested they would not risk an election on the issue.
"Personally, I wouldn't go to an election on Afghanistan," he said.
While a full response to the Manley report is weeks away, Harper said he would be leading a diplomatic effort to secure more support from NATO allies at a key meeting in Bucharest, Romania in April.
He thought the report would give him "tremendous ammunition" there -- and he gave a warning.
The government will introduce a motion this spring seeking support of the House of Commons for the mission, which is set to end in its current form on February 2009.

Bernier says document alleging US Israel torture was wrong.

Allies do not torture. They may use some of the same techniques that are called torture if used by countries such as Iran, Syria but both the US and Israel deny they practice torture and so it is not politically correct to use the term torture for these techniques. I am not sure what the proper terminology is for countries such as Saudi Arabia.
There is plenty of evidence for the use of torture in US prisons abroad and in Guantanamo. The Abu Ghraib incident was just one that got publicity. Here is a referenceUS not that it would do Bernier any good. There is also torture within the U.S. even captured on video. The situation may be somewhat improved in Israel since the late nineties but still exists. See the site Stop Torture in Israel.
Instead of criticizing outrageous behavior by allies Bernier and the Conservative govt. want to go along with the official line that the US and Israel do not torture.
What Bernier says did not surprise but I was a bit shocked by Rae even though I probably should not have been. Rae sees not censoring out the parts about the US and Israel in the first place was wrong and shows how inept the Conservatives are. Well we know what to expect from the Liberals if they are elected. Pre-emptive censorship.
Rae cites no evidence that the document equates torture in the US and Israel with that in Iran. Maybe it is just because they are both called torture and rightfully so.


Sunday » January 20 » 2008

Bernier says document alleging U.S., Israel torture 'wrong'

Helen Morris
Canwest News Service


Sunday, January 20, 2008


OTTAWA -- ForeignAffairs Minister Maxime Bernier lashed out Saturday at a controversial document identifying the U.S. and Israel as countries it suspects of practising torture, calling it "wrong" and demanding it be rewritten.

"I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department's torture awareness training," said Bernier in a statement.

"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten," said Bernier.

"The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the government's views or positions."

The Foreign Affairs document, which surfaced last week, was meant to instruct Canadian diplomats on how to recognize torture cases abroad. It defined such U.S. interrogation techniques as sleep deprivation and isolation as torture.

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae was not surprised to hear that the document was being revised.

"It's incomprehensible to me that a document would establish an equivalency between the United States and Iran on the subject of the treatment of prisoners," said Rae.

"It's too hard to understand how it (the document) could have gotten this far," said Rae.

"There's a real issue now around the competency of the Conservative government on foreign affairs issues."

Amnesty International had obtained the document as part of legal disclosure in its lawsuit that challenges the federal government's policy of transferring detainees captured by the Canadian Forces to Afghanistan's custody.

"We're obviously very disappointed when it comes to a serious issue like torture," said Alex Neve, the executive director of Amnesty International Canada on Saturday. "The overriding concern of the government should not be sparing our close allies embarrassment.

"I think we take a hit in doing this," said Neve. "I think many, when they first heard about the manual and saw that it did include countries like the United States and Israel, commended Canada for being accurate and objective."

The document also listed Guantanamo Bay, the controversial U.S. detention centre for suspected terrorists in Cuba, as a place where torture is likely practised.

Supporters of the only Canadian imprisoned there, Omar Khadr, said last week the document was proof he is being subjected to abuse and that the federal government should break its silence and petition the U.S. to transfer him to Canada.

With files from Mike Blanchfield

© CanWest News Service 2008








Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Bhutto's death could echo on Afghan mission: former diplomat

Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff seem to speak much of the time for Dion. Dion is notably quiet. Rae is hopeless in my opinion. The Liberals are actually fortunate they did not get Rae or Ignatieff as leader even though Dion is weak and not very effective. The best hope for the Liberals is that Harper is so bad that the public chooses the Liberals just to keep Harper out of power. Of course what we could get is another minority government.
Rae left the NDP for the Liberals. With this speech on Afghanistan he shows he could just as easily migrate to the Conservatives. Of course with people such as Manley already working for the Conservatives in effect I guess this should not be surprising. Even Bush is not as stupid as Rae. Bush will continue to support Musharraf. He understands that Musharraf cannot just crush the territories just like that. To even try this might be to plunge into civil war and/or be overthrown. Musharraf was bang on when he was irritated by Canadian claims he was not being tough enough on terrorism. THe Pakistan armed forces have suffered many casualties in battles with extremists in the territories and suffered many terrorist incidents. Compared to the Pakistanis. Canadians in Afghanistan have suffered only a few casualties.
What Canada and the US mean by stability is a regime able to control any forces opposed to US hegemony in the region. Iran is reasonably stable but that is not what they want!
The US is still calling for elections. This only makes sense in terms of US foreign policy but is ludicrous democratic terms. The main opposition parties are all
going to boycott the elections so if they were to go ahead Musharraf is guaranteed to win. Even Musharraf will probably realise that the lack of legitimacy would be so great it would be better to postpone the elections until later. Actually I may be wrong about this since I just heard that Bhutto's party has not made up its mind. Her party would probably get a huge sympathy vote and could come out very well.

Bhutto's death could echo on Afghan mission: former diplomat
Last Updated: Friday, December 28, 2007 | 11:36 AM ET
CBC News
The instability gripping Pakistan following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto could spill over to neighbouring Afghanistan, where Canadian soldiers are fighting Taliban insurgents, a former Canadian diplomat said.

Bhutto, twice Pakistan's prime minister, was killed Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally in the northern city of Rawalpindi, about 18 kilometres south of the capital Islamabad.

At least 20 other people also died in the attack, which Pakistan's interior minister has blamed on the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Louis Delvoie, a former Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan, said Thursday's violent attack will surely make the job of NATO soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan harder.

Western nations, including Canada, have called on Pakistan to take a more active role in preventing Taliban fighters from entering Afghanistan from its territory.

But Delvoie said Pakistan's embattled president, Pervez Musharraf, will now be focused on retaining power and internal stability instead of helping stop the flow of Taliban fighters, money and arms across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.



"There will be greater freedom of movement for the Taliban across the border, and it will mean in many ways that the NATO forces, including Canadian forces, will have to rely on their own military ability to beat the Taliban in Afghanistan," Delvoie told CBC News.

'Nightmare scenario'
Delvoie, a senior fellow at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., who met Bhutto several times in the early 1990s, put forth several bleak scenarios for Pakistan in the wake of Bhutto's assassination.

One included a potential coup by Islamist sympathizers within the officer core of the armed forces, supported by Islamist political parties.

"At that point, you would have the nightmare scenario of an Islamist military government with nuclear weapons," he said.

Delvoie said any such development would likely lead to direct conflict with Pakistan's nuclear-armed rival India, which placed its forces on a "high state of vigil" after Bhutto's assassination.

The two sides have fought each other in two wars in the last four decades and came perilously close to military conflict in 2002.

But Pakistan's military is cohesive and has been able to rule the country for more than half its existence amid numerous political crises, said Tariq Amin-Khan, a politics professor at Ryerson University.

"The situation is still very, very unstable," Amin-Khan told CBC News on Friday in a telephone interview from Karachi. "But I wouldn't be too worried about the nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of Islamists."

The U.S. Defence Department still listed Pakistan's nuclear arsenal as "under control," a spokesman for the Pentagon said Friday.

Musharraf 'ineffective' in curbing extremism: Rae
Federal Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said it's hardly a secret that the Taliban's military strength, education, funding and ideological lifeblood all come from northwestern Pakistan.

He said the international community must wake up and appreciate the implications of Bhutto's killing and the instability it has sparked in the region.

"This issue becomes even more acute and important for the world when we consider that Pakistan is a nuclear power," Rae told reporters Thursday.

"We now clearly have a government which, as well as being highly repressive, has also proved to been singularly ineffective in its own efforts to deal with extremism."

Rae said Canada must look beyond its military role in Afghanistan and join diplomatic efforts to make the region stable.

After Thursday's violence, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he is also concerned about the stability of the region and what it will mean to Canadian soldiers.

He said Canada is offering its support and co-operation to the Pakistani government in finding those who carried out the assassination and bringing them to justice.

Liberals welcome creation of Harper panel on Afghanistan

This is from the Liberal Party's website! A little while ago I thought that Stephane Dion said that Harper had to commit to quit the combat component of the mission in Feb. 2009 or else he would vote against the Throne Speech. Harper had to make clear his intentions now. Setting up this panel makes it crystal clear that Harper has no intention of revealing his intentions now regardless of what the Liberals say or do.
Imagine Rae welcomes the panel, a masterful stroke by Harper to sideline the Liberals and mock them. In placing Ignatieff and Rae in high positions Dion may be assuring his own shipwreck.

Creation of Panel Shouldn’t Stop Open Debate and Discussion in Parliament on Afghanistan
October 12, 2007
TORONTO - Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae today welcomed the Conservative Government’s creation of a panel to study Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

Mr. Rae also insisted that the creation of the panel should not stop the Harper Government from having an open discussion in the House of Commons about the Afghan mission.

“If the panel serves to encourage an open, public and thoughtful debate about the mission beyond 2009, we support it,” said Mr. Rae, who was appointed Foreign Affairs Critic by Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.

Mr. Rae was responding to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s announcement today creating a five-person panel to decide on the future of Canada’s presence in Afghanistan after the 2009 deadline.

Mr. Rae said there can be no reconstruction in Afghanistan without security, but Canada’s current combat mission cannot be expected to continue indefinitely.

“There needs to be an open and transparent discussion in NATO as well as in Canada,” he said.