Local Liberals onboard the Dion Express

With talk of a federal election coming our way sooner than later, local Liberals are stepping up to stand in line behind the new leader Stephane Dion. Many of the locals claim that the new leader exemplifies many of the qualities of the people of this riding, dedicated to the environment and a person who thinks carefully about the issues before he acts.

Across the northwest they put current MP Nathan Cullen on notice that he’s in Ottawa on borrowed votes and they fully expect that those votes will return to the Liberals under their new leader.

Local party members will no doubt start jockeying for position for the local nomination meeting to come, if as they expect there is a Liberal renaissance in the Northwest then gaining the nomination for Skeena-Bulkley Valley may very well be the ticket to Parliament Hill. It will be interesting to see who they settle on when the time comes to select a candidate; nothing brings out the numbers more than a solid chance at being part of a national government.

The Liberal love in was catalogued for us in the Wednesday edition of the Daily News.

City’s Liberals expect great things from leader Dion

By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The selection of Stephane Dion as Liberal leader is good news for the region, say local Liberals.
Dion, who was supported widely by delegates from Skeena-Bulkley Valley at the recent leadership convention, is a strong environmentalist and nationalist who spent eight years successfully bringing different levels of Canadian society together as intergovernmental affairs minister.

“For the riding, I think it’s very, very positive,” said Rhoda Witherly, who attended the convention as a Dion delegate. “He has a very clear view of what kinds of things he wants to see done. He thinks very carefully about issues before he leaps forward on them, and he’s very committed on the environmental side.

“Because our whole riding has such a base in resource extraction ... that’s really positive for us — it means when we do have developments go ahead, they’re going to go ahead on a real sound environmental basis and I think the rules will be very clear from the outset.”

As Northerners, it’s Dion’s practicality and straightforwardness that may resonate with voters. For those in Skeena-Bulkley Valley, rarely ones to vote for a party that may form government, it may be his outsider status that appeals.

“If Skeena riding tends to be contrarian, Dion would be contrarian,” said Gordon Stamp-Vincent, Skeena-Bulkley Valley Liberal candidate in the last election.

“He was certainly not the favourite child for coming to the fore as leader of the Liberal party.
“But I think people see a genuine integrity and ethics that they didn’t always see and that was what drew me right off the bat. He’s what I call a quintessential Canadian — soft-spoken and polite, but firm. I think that’s really refreshing.”

The election of Dion as party leader is also a return of the party into the to the hands of grassroots members, he said.

“I think the Liberals were punished, and I was the front man here,” said Stamp-Vincent. “It was a message that was delivered and heard I think loud and clear by members of the Liberal party."

“You saw that with two kind-of Liberal establishment favourites (front-runners Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae) not making it — the grassroots membership spoke and said ‘no, it’s time for a change.’”

What Dion also brings is a balanced approach, not only focusing on the traditional liberal pillars of social and fiscal responsibility but placing those in the context of an environmental foundation.
“We have to decide if we want to put in a government that is actually going to have the environment on its agenda,” said Bruce Martindale, Skeena-Bulkley Valley Liberal Riding Association president. “As a riding, we have an opportunity to participate and put somebody into government who will be part of this solution, and it’s a long-term solution. We’re talking about changing the way Canada does business in the world.”

The approach contrasts sharply with both the only-business Conservatives and the only-social New Democrats, he said.

“It’s going to be very difficult for primary industry towns and small communities to be environmentally responsible given the economic constraints and lack of funding,” said Martindale. “Those are the kinds of things that Dion is already speaking about. In our area and the rural areas, we need to have different solutions than in urban areas. It’s going to have to happen at the household level for that to happen.

“Has my MP been talking about that? Not that I’m aware of. Can he do anything about it? I guess when he’s in opposition and there’s a Liberal government, he can support them.”
The party locally says it is putting Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen on notice that the votes he ‘borrowed’ last election won’t be left to him next time.

“Nathan contacted the Liberals and asked them to loan him their votes (last election) because the Liberals couldn’t win this riding,” said Maatje Piket, organization chair Skeena-Bulkley Valley Liberal riding association. “It’s too easy for him and his party to criticize the Liberal record when they actually have no record of their own. There is much to be proud of in the Liberal record and no government is without its flaws.

“Me personally, I’ll say that we intend to earn those votes back with interest.”
Dion, a long-time academic who taught at the University of Montreal, served as a minister for nine years under Jean Chretien and Paul Martin. As intergovernmental affairs minister, he helped broker the Kelowna Accord and the national child care agreement with the provinces. During his short period as environment minister his plans were widely lauded, including most recently by Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

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