Ignatieff Makes the Right Move

Liberal leader eating Stephen Harper's populist lunch

In politics there are big triumphs and there are small triumphs.

Today's passage of the Conservative party's federal budget is hardly a triumph. As Tasha Kheiridddin notes, many conservative-minded Canadians feel betrayed about the deficit the government has run up.

But Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff emerged with a small triumph today, as he allowed six Liberal MPs from Newfoundland to vote against the budget -- and against the official party line -- without the threat of reprisal.

"I decided to permit them in the budget vote tonight a one-time vote of protest to signal their displeasure and my displeasure at these unilateral actions which in my view weaken our federation, cause strains in our federation at a time when Canadians should be pulling together," Ignatieff announced.

It's a far cry from the fate that befell then-Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey, who voted against the 2007 federal budget and was ejected from caucus for voting his conscience.

Reportedly, the part may not have been done with Casey even after that. In the 2008 federal election Casey was forced to fight an election campaign against a Conservative candidate who had access to funds raised in the riding by the Tories while Casey was still with the party. The Conservatives reportedly even accused Casey of embezzling funds from the party.

There's a stark, unflattering distinction between these two approaches. One party, the Liberals, not characteristically known for allowing its MPs to deviate from the party line -- Not even Dr Carolyn Bennet, who was forced to vote in favour of a Hepatitis C compensation package that fell far short of meeting the needs of tainted blood victims -- and another party that was expected to marry populist traditions with traditional party discipline.

Both are moving away from what Canadians have come to expect of them -- one for its betterment, the other to its detriment.

Ignatieff has, in one fell swoop, dispelled mounting rumours that he is a control freak. Harper could have done this long ago, but his party's continuing treatment of Bill Casey simply will not allow that particular spectre to disappear.

The political momentum in Canada is clearly turning, and for good reason: Michael Ignatieff is making good decisions, and his opponents are suffering from a combination of poor fortune and poor decisions.




Other bloggers writing about this topic:

Jerad Gallinger - "Iggy, Danny, And a Battle Delayed"

Far and Wide - "The Appropriate Response"

...And Sometimes You Reap What You Sow

Harper's chickens set to come home to roost

There's a saying in life, as in politics: be careful how you treat people on your way up, because you'll meet them again on your way down.

That is something that Stephen Harper should keep in mind today, as Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP Bill Casey has announced he will vote no-confidence in the government on its economic update a week from today.

"At this time of economic crisis, Stephen Harper has failed Canadians as prime minister," Casey announced. "Rather than providing leadership and a badly needed economic stimulus package, Mr. Harper and his finance minister, Jim Flaherty, opted instead to play partisan politics and, for some reason, attack unions and women’s rights."

While coming off as little more than typical fickle rhetoric, Casey's announcement at least comes from someone with a little credibility on the topic.

In June of last year, Casey voted against the Conservative budget due to its perceived reneging on the Atlantic Accord.

In other words, Casey has voted against this government before -- while he was still a member of it. Furthermore, as an independent MP, Casey doesn't receive any government subsidies.

While the opposition parties move to defend their entitlements, Casey can at least argue that he's simply voting on the virtue of the economic update.

But it's also hard to overlook the vengeful undertones of in Casey's move. After being booted from the Conservative caucus for nothing more than voting in what Casey no doubt legitimately believed was in the best interests of his constituents, it would be hard to fault Casey for wanting to get even with Stephen Harper -- especially considering that Casey's vote will almost certainly not be the deciding factor in the government's downfall.

"Every day I have people, especially single mothers, on unemployment who are looking to upgrade their skills or their education, but I haven’t been able to help them," Casey said. "This economic statement does nothing to help them. It does nothing to help people who have lost jobs, either."

Casey's decision to vote against the Harper government should give Stephen Harper ample reason to think twice before turfing his MPs for voting their conscience.

Bill Casey's Reelection a Message to Harper

But did he receive it?

When Bill Casey voted against the 2007 federal budget, he knew he was taking a risk.

“After the vote I hid for a month," Casey recalls. "I did not know what the reaction would be. A month after, it became very clear they were behind me and they’ve been behind me ever since. This vote is certainly confirmation of that.”

In fact, Casey, the recently reelected independent MP for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, believes his constituents sent a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper when they reelected him by such an overwhelming margin.

“I feel they sent a message,” Casey reflected. “They want their members of Parliament to be able to stand up on the issues that affect their riding and not be put in the position I was. They want their MPs to represent the people to Ottawa not Ottawa to the people. The question will be, will anyone hear that message and will they listen?”

“This is a win for the people. And a win for every voter,” Casey added. “The people of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley have sent a great, strong message to a lot of people in Ottawa.”

That message is actually quite simple, and that message shouldn't be incomprehensible to a one-time protege of Reform party founder Preston Manning: people expect their elected representatives to represent them. When the interests and needs of their constituents conflict with the demands of their party, people will expect their elected representatives to be standing with them.

Stephen Harper can't always expect to crack the whip of party discipline and get away with it, even when the very survival of the government is at stake.

Harper will need to make room for legitimate dissent within his government. When one looks at the losses that piled up over the Bill Casey affair -- the loss of a government MP, the loss of the Stanfield family loyalty, and the damage to any populist credibility the party ever had -- it would have been better to allow Casey to make a principled stand on the budget than to be too ham fisted with his government.

Supporters of the Harper government should be hoping he got the message.

Will Bill Casey Be Vindicated in Cumberland-Colchester?

Independent Casey may have an edge in election

During the first few weeks of the 2008 federal election, it's become apparent that Cumberland-Colchester MP Bill Casey may have his work truly cut out for him.

Elected as a Conservative MP during the 2006 election, Casey was kicked out of the Tory caucus for voting against the 2007/08 budget.

Even though the Premier of Nova Scotia, Rodney MacDonald, eventually accepted a compromise on the issue of Equalization and the Atlantic Accord, Casey could not. He legitimately believed he was voting in the best interests of his constituents.

Even as the Conservatives parachuted Joel Bernard, a former provincial MLA in New Brunswick and policy advisor to Stockwell Day to run against Casey and the NDP nominated potential star candidate Brad Pye and has supported him heavily, Casey has drawn new supporters, including an endorsement from Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

The Green party even declined to run a candidate against Casey.

Yet, stripped of Conservative party resources and support, Casey faces a very solitary political climate. He even has to contend against funds raised during his tenure with the Conservative party -- funds that would have been raised for a preposed 2008 Bill Casey Tory campaign.

Yet even as he finds himself cast adrift in the shifting seas of political fortune, Casey has recieved hope from two unlikely sources.

First, from a unique poll conducted by the Fair Trade Community Cafe in Truro Nova Scotia. In a highly unscientific (yet fascinating) "tip poll", in which patrons declared their support for the candidates in their riding by depositing their servers' tip in a marked jar.

Casey came out on top in the poll with a total of $46.70. Pye came in second with a haul of $31.68. A Green Party candidate (yet unnamed) was favoured by $22.25. Bernard was bequeathed $20.23, and Liberal candidate Tracy Parsons earned $15.17.

It's hard to put solid political stock in such an implicitly unscientific poll.

It's easier to put solid political stock into the endorsement of numerous Nova Scotia provincial cabinet ministers: Education Minister Karen Casey (relationship undetermined), Transportation Minister Murray Scott and Service Minister Jamie Muir have stood behind Casey, even as their Premier clearly pulls for the federal Tories.

As the election progresses, it seems that Casey has support amongst his constituents, and friends in high places.

Even with all the disadvantages that tend to pile up against independent candidates, Bill Casey just may retain his riding in Cumberland-Colchester.

Harper Risking Legacy of Stanfield Loyalty Over Bill Casey

Beth Stanfield may not support federal Conservatives in next election

Depending upon who you asked, dark, foreboding clouds have been gathering over Prime Minister Stephen Harper's head for the duration of his tenure as Prime Minister.

Many comentators (conveniently from the Liberal party) have spent a good deal of time speaking about the "control freak" Stephen Harper, who's been courting disaster by gagging his cabinet ministers and caucus while iron-fistedly dictating his government's agenda.

Many of them took the expulsion of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit MP Bill Casey as a sign of this. Casey, representing a Nova Scotian riding, voted against his own government's budget over complaints regarding the Atlantic Accords.

Now that Nova Scotian premier Rodney MacDonald has struck a deal on the equalization front, many apparently expected that Stephen Harper would allow Casey back into caucus.

No dice.

Casey may not have done himself any favours when he accused Harper of breaking the trust of Nova Scotians despite the deal.

On the other hand, the Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Conservative riding association endorsed Casey as their candidate for the next election.

That won't be happening.

"[Casey] will not be a candidate," said Conservative party spokesman Ryan Sparrow. "With his budget vote, Bill Casey joined with [Liberal Leader] Stephane Dion in voting non confidence in the Conservative government and his Conservative colleagues. He made his choice."

Casey will run as an independent in the next election.

Yet, Harper's stance regarding Casey is risking more than simply Casey's riding. It's also risking the stalwart Conservative party loyalty of the Stanfield family.

Robert Stanfield, former premier of Nova Scotia, formerly led the Conservative party, serving as leader between 1967 and 1975. In 1974, he came within a hair's breadth of defeating sitting Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and was actually officially declared the Prime Minister prior to a recount that delivered a narrow minority government to the Liberals.

Among Stanfield's political qualities was his party loyalty (perhaps second only to his stridently non-partisan approach to the Prime Minister's office and the business of government). To Robert Stanfield, it has been said, there was only one Conservative party in Canada. He believed in complete unity, across both federal and provincial politics.

He was also one of the fabled "Dalton's boys."

Beth Stanfield, however, is prepared to do what her husband would have considered unthinkable, and break ranks with the federal Conservative party. However, she certainly hasn't done so lightly.

"It's a hard place to be right now," said Stanfield. "I've been such a party person. I have always worked for the Conservative Party."

Ironically, Stephen Harper presided over the dedication of the Halifax International Airport as the Robert Stanfield International Airport. Now, he's risked the loyalty of family of the most dedicated supporter the Conservative party has ever known.

This certainly doesn't look good on the "new" Conservative party, one born of both the Burkean theory of conservative politics and the Manningian populist model favoured by the Reform party.

While Casey certainly did vote no-confidence in his own government (this must be remembered), the party members in Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit have spoken. They want Casey as their candidate. They obviously believe in the man, and agreed with his stance regarding the Atlantic Accords (even if other politicians have turned out to be more moderate on the issue).

Harper would be justified in perhaps keeping Casey on a shorter leash, but keeping him out of the party caucus is difficult to justify in the new, more popultist Conservative party.

Then again, once the bond of trust between a candidate and his party is broken, the party certainly isn't obligated to extend trust where cause for that trust simply isn't present.

But these are two very serious prerogatives -- that of the party leadership, and that of its riding association -- that the Conservative party must try to juggle in this situation. Not an enviable task.

If Stephen Harper wants to insist that Casey not be allowed to run as a Conservative party candidate, he's certainly empowered to do so, and perhaps even justified. But if he does, he'll simply have to accept the consequences.

The legacy of the Stanfield party loyalty is a very steep price to pay.