Sunday, November 16, 2008

Ooh a question en Francais

What would you do about the equality of women in our party.

Dom: Dion recriuted many women. Carolyn Bennett again. Maria Minna Diane Marleau doing a good job in women's caucus. We must continue to encourage women and work to promote.

Iggy: Dion had a good idea. Harper stole our lunch again. We must recruit encourage and assist female andidates

Our role in Israel and Palestine

Iggy: Israel has a right to be recognized. No possibility of peace and security. Must support the state of Israel

Dom: supports the rights of the state of Israel. Hamas and Hezbollah don't quite have the same rights. The long term security is found in a two state solution. Palestine has to accept that Israel has the right to exist.

Question on future participation in wars in failed states.

Dom: need and acceptance by govt of the country in question. Must still protect citizens in cases of genocide etc. Responsibility to protect doctrine. If we can't fo it nobody else will.

Iggy: was on that committee of doctrine to protect. Can't use troops for conquest invasion etc. We must not protect if we can't have the means for rules of engagement. More on the Pearson doctrine. Got to have the equipment and means to oppose. if we believe we can protect, than we have to have the military to do it. As a party we have to be committed to arm our military and back up our words. He was taken hostage. He was saved by a CDN soldier who said to his captives at gunpoint "we're gonna do this my way"

Question on improving vote turnout in rural Canada

Iggy: lose rural first, than suburban than urban. If we can't win rural, we can't win urban. Must speak to rural Cdns. Gotta listen at the farm gate. We're on wrong side of some issues. Gun control. Believes in it, but have to respect rights of independent licensed gun owners. Gotta get agricultur policy right. Lose rural first, lose urban next.

Dom: elected in a rural francophone riding. 6 traffic lights in his riding. When he was first elected there were two. Never can form national majority without getting into the small towns. EI must be fair. Must have broadband internet. Every rural Canadian MUST have access (big applause). Supported Martin and Chretiens agendas for supporting big cities. Shouldn't have to boil their drinking water. The closest subway to his riding is in Boston.

Question on party renewal. What is the president of an unheld riding's priority?

Dom: Find a good candidate. Raise money. Must get money into unheld ridings. Held have to help unheld. Elected members must help. Incuding Senators.

Iggy: Dom's answer is great. Pres wants to feel they're not alone. Must twin ridings. Got to have regional organizer. Got to have a regional fundraiser. Just can't feel they're alone. Have to have someone looking after them. Watch each other's back nobody must feel they've been left alone.

Question identify what attribute you like in your competitor.

Iggy: Loves Dom's sense of humour. Dom gets rural issues. Iggy ponts to empty chair and he admires his intellect, his family, his sense of humour and piano playing of Bob Rae.

Dom: all have enormous qualities. Likes Michaels sense of Canada's place in the world and human rights. Likes his ability in parliament. Impressive parliamentary debater. Bob has a great family. Loves John Rae. Bob wrote the platform with Dom. Bob knows Canada. Hired in First Nations dispute in New Brunswick. Cares about all of Canada.

Question on ethnic community. We are losing ground. How do we address this issue.

Dom: fundamental to his platform. Starts with respect. Used to just get instant Liberals. They have to sit at the front of the room and not at the back. Must benefit from their expertise. Family reunifications must be at the heart of our immigration platform. Must be expansionist.

Iggy: took new Canadians for granted. We have to deliber in the face of competition. Jason Kenney's at every event. We must be there to fight kenney. Can't assume they only want to talk about immigration. Speak to them as equals one by one. Don't lump them as a group. His dad came off a boat. Speak to them as individuals. Treat them with respect. Its about respect.

Question on work Apprentices. How can you help young Canadians that want this instead of conventional university.

Iggy: humber college is in his riding. His son wants to be an apprentice. We have to put as much emphasis as we do with university. Its important to this country. Look at unions that run programs. Need the EI system to help. All education must be classified equally.

Dom: there is a lack of trained apprentices. There is aack of college spaces. We need to use federal money to help provincial and businesses offer these jobs and training. EI has to help. Aging workforce. We have to invest in our young people.

3 comments:

Mark said...

Question - out of curiosity - what is a licensed independent gun owner?

Demosthenes said...

I assume it's a gun owner who's licensed, but not a member of either the military or law enforcement.

Odd that the Liberals (Iggy's crew at least) were so desperate to keep the media out. The questions and answers have been fairly benign, from the looks of it. Instead of the good press that would probably come from this, they got bad press from Rae and Ignatieff duking it out over media presence.

In any case, thanks for doing this.

Dave DeLoye said...

Funny that your blog should come up on my Google News Alerts for "Diane Marleau". It didn't come up too many other times over the course of her last two terms in office as my MP for Sudbury. Her absence from usefulness eventually caused her demise - the first time (other than one by-election) that a liberal DIDN'T get elected in the Sudbury riding.

Quite frankly, the defeat looked good on her and the liberal party.