Mr. Dion has to make up his mind about Bill C-257, and then he has to sell
that decision to the caucus and the country. Managing this challenge will tell
us a lot about how, and how well, this Liberal leader leads.
Today, in the National Post, former Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees and AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come challenged MPs to defeat the Bill. In the last vote, the NDP and the BQ supported, the Conservatives opposed, leaving the Liberals holding the balance of power. Last time, most Liberals supported the Bill. Will the Liberal leader ensure that his Caucus stands up and supports First Nations? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
1 comment:
Wasn't aware of the FN angle to this debate, but very interesting. With the recent CN rail strike still fresh in people's memories, it would be politically very dangerous for the Liberals to support this legislation.
I have not yet seen an objective economic or "social justice" argument as to why this legislation makes sense. Sure it helps strengthen the hands of unions in labour negotiations...but at the expense of potentially allowing vital industries to be crippled, thus significantly impacting the Canadian economy? Sounds more like an "eye for an eye" (or maybe three or four eyes for an eye) than any notion of justice I am familiar with.
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