Local Bloc, Tory weigh in on Dion’s win

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca



Don’t expect Stéphane Dion’s Liberals to add to the party’s 13 Quebec seats in the next election, according to the Bloc Québécois MP Meili Faille.

The Vaudreuil/Soulanges MP called Dion a “loner� within the Quebec wing of the party, because he lacked support from many of the province’s prominent Liberals in the leadership race.

“How are the (Quebec) Liberals going to react, because he was not their first choice?� she asked.

Faille, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004, described the former environment minister as “intelligent,� but wondered if he could unify the party.

“Now that they have a leader they will have to consolidate (on issues) in a short term,� she said. “If Dion doesn’t deliver, they (the Liberals) will have to sacrifice another election.�

Of the Liberals’ leadership choices, he was the most vulnerable in Quebec “because he’s so much tied to the (former prime minister Jean) Chrétien government,� she said. “For us it’s the old Liberals, so we know how to work with them. We know what they want for Quebec and we know that this is not what we want.

“I’m afraid we’re back to the old Chrétien era, so it’s a tough line for Quebec.�

However, Faille was hoping Dion would win because the Bloc knows where the

St. Laurent/Cartierville MP stands on

several issues.

“One person that I preferred in terms of political stability was Dion because his way of thinking is already known,� she said.

Faille said Dion has “very good objectives� for the international Kyoto agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the Liberals’ report cards on the environment “aren’t good.�

Conservative Senator and Minister of Public Works, Michael Fortier, congratulated Dion on his victory, but predicts he will have difficulty delivering.

“Unfortunately for him that was the easiest part of the job, winning the leadership,� said Fortier, who will run for the Conservatives in Vaudreuil/Soulanges in the next election.

He said Dion has to affirm his position on important issues, such as foreign affairs, crime and family. To date, he has been unclear of where he stands on several topics, he said.

“It’s easier to flip flop when you’re running in a leadership race . . . but now as leader of the Liberal party he’s going to have to have one view on all these topics and he won’t have the luxury of changing his mind,� Fortier said. “We’re still waiting to hear Mr. Dion on all these issues with real proposals.�

During the leadership campaign, Dion was criticized by Liberal competitors for his work on environmental issues as a member of former prime minister Paul Martin’s cabinet, Fortier said. “He talks about the environment as though he’s discovered the cure to counter greenhouse gases. We all know that’s not true,� he added. “He’s been unmasked and can’t be taken seriously on that topic.�