Pierre Poilievre’s website www.fightingforyou.ca is up- “inviting Canadians to email the Queen with concerns about a newly released videotape that shows Governor-General Designate, Micha�lle Jean, toasting independence with an FLQ member, and newly discovered comments quoted in a separatist book that Mr. Lafond wrote in 1993.”
(Is this Pierre kid finished high school yet? Damn, those Conservatives are starting them young…..)
Thanks Kate. Good for the vets. They are quite right to be outraged. This is the first blow of many to come, against the monarchy in this country. Wonder when we’ll start aligning ourselves even more with France? And what will happen in a constitutional crisis, which is imminent, given the Librano$ failure to accept the non-confidence motions in May?
I still want to know why Michaelle Jean acquired French citizenship. So far there are two versions from the PMO.
CP story, August 18, “G-G won’t lose French citizenship”:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/08/18/1178734-cp.html
‘Melanie Gruer, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Paul Martin, dismissed the concerns.
“The prime minister is aware she holds dual citizenship, and he understands that decision was made for personal reasons,” said Gruer.’
But Scott Reid of the PMO, when inteviewed on CFRA, Ottawa, August 10, by Pierre Bourque, said the reason Ms Jean took on French citizenship was to ensure that their adopted daughter, who is six, would also have French nationality. I would have thought the fact that Lafond, the husband/adoptive father, is French would have been enough–indeed the French Civil Code would seem to suggest that (details in earlier post).
I have seen no follow-up on Reid’s claim.
Now a spokesperson for the PM has just cited “personal reasons”. Are these the same as the one given by Mr Reid of the PMO? The PMO raised the issue in a specific fashion, and now fudged it. We are entitled to know the truth.
Mark
Ottawa
Is this the same Poilievre who was Levant’s communications director and is or was a member of the Alberta Separation Party?
Mark,
I often agree with you on many issues, but I think you’re barking up the wrong tree on Mme. Jean’s dual citizenship.
Many Canadian families, including my own, have members of their family who have dual citizenship. This is for many reasons. But in the vast majority of cases it does NOT reflect a lack of loyalty to Canada. Sometimes it is just a means to allow one’s child to maximize future employment opportunites as an adult.
Whether Mme. Jean has dual citizenship will have no significant bearing on her role as GG.
Just let it go. We all have better things to worry about.
Two Cents
Is that the same Robert McLelland who thinks it’s clever to post barefaced lies on other people’s site?
Two Cents: The issue is why the PMO (or Michaelle Jean) cannot give a straight and accurate explantion in such a simple matter. Which leads me to wonder why the hell not, and engenders general suspicion that something may be funny. As so often with the Liberals.
Mark
Ottawa
Robert:
You have Pierre right on the first account – he worked for Ezra. But he was never a member of the Alberta Separatist Party.
Peter
Kate,
Haven’t posted here for a while but today the headline at Bourque, MARTIN, TRUST ME, HARPER,OK.
really pressed a nerve, and all over the GG designate issue. Another example of how the press will use any excuse to slam Stephen Harper. What was he supposed to do? Call Martin a liar on CFRA? There’s no accounting for today’s so-called journalists!
Not to mention that Harper might be stuck with her and can’t be seen to be at loggerheads with the GG no matter what his personal feelings. Stephen Harper will ALWAYS take the high road. He is dignified and has integrity. It’s not that dumb broad’s fault the PM appointed her. But she and her separatist friends are probably having a real laugh about it over a couple dozen bottles of France’s best red.
I remember seeing Poilevre for the first time when he opened his campaign office in our town just before the last election. My first thought was, “This is who we picked to run against the sitting liberal?? He looks like he’s 18 years old!!, we don’t stand a chance!”
Nevertheless, he handily whupped the Defense Minister and has turned out to be an excellent MP. I’m proud to live in his riding. He has real libertarian leanings and is well spoken. Keep an eye on him.
Robert, do your homework. You have to be a resident of Alberta to be a member of the Separation Party of Alberta as it is a PROVINCIAL party, not a federal one.
But good try!
Well, Candace, Pierre actually is from Calgary, and lived there until 2002. But, anyways, Rhebner is right: he’s a great MP, quite smart, and extremely hard-working. I think he’s got a great future in the party.
Peter
The last paragraph of David Frum’s column, “A Master in the Art of Political Evasion”, in the Post August 19, reads: “If all the irresponsibility, all the slovenliness, all the mediocrity, all the arrogance, all the cynicism, all the hypocrisy, and all the deceit summed up in the Jean appointment add up to a good day, it is really impossible to imagine what would count as a bad one.”
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.23042,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
A bad day would be PM Martin’s announcing that his government (i.e. himself, it seems that no major decisions are made by Cabinet any more–the end of another constitutional convention) is withdrawing all Canadian troops from Afghanistan after twenty are killed by a Taliban/al Qaeda attack.
Mark
Ottawa
I’ve met Pierre several times at CPC functions. He’s a sharp, well-spoken kid who has a real future as an MP.
He’s also an excellent example of how the CPC is the political party in the House with the largest number of younger, more vibrant MPs. A sign of future success, I believe.
Just think how good he’ll be when he is old enough to shave.
Mrs. Thatcher said…”probably having a real laugh about it over a couple dozen bottles of France’s best red.”
No,no, not yet. That’ll happen when she’s got the keys to the wine cellar at Rideau hall…at OUR expense, not hers.
I am in awe of Mr. Pierre Poilievre. He never stops when he is on a roll!! When Pierre goes to bat for people he goes armed with facts and knowledge of his subject. Eg. – Pierre calls Dryden’s child indocternation plan a babysitting service. I found myself laughing my fool head off when he stepped up to the plate in QP and dead pan asked Dryden why the state felt it was necessary to have a ‘babysitting’ service when the parents who had the children should be taking care of them. Dryden started to answer and then stopped to correct Mr. Poilievre on the term ‘babysitting’. Mr. Poilievre has been after the Liberano’s about the collecting rent on a building some senator (Liberano, of course) has had access to for free from taxpayers. He had a face to face show down with the yellow Scottie Brison and got him on tape admitting that there was indeed a conflict of intrest. Scottie just cowered and tried to lie his way out, Pierre interupted him and informed him he was ‘on the record’ next; when are ‘you (Scottie) going to send your collection people over to get the money and give it back to taxpayers”? Scottie was way over his head…
Mr Poilievre is an EXCELLLENT M.P. – 9 or 90 years old -who would care? Never judge a book by it’s cover.
The MSM never covers debates in the HC so if a person really wants to know what M.P.s are like they have to tape CPAC during the day (when most people work) and watch it later. CPAC is very careful to try and edit the HC material in their ‘coverage’ to give it the proper Liberano spin; it goes without saying that the rest of MSM is guilty of fraud by omission.
Mr. Poilievre has proved once again that he is ‘right on top of things’ by giving people an oppertunity to speak up – maybe sending a letter to the Queen is not going to make her send in the Black Watch but it draws attention to the GG ‘choice’ by PMPM, conflict of intrest. England and France are not “Best Friends”. I sent her a letter from Mr. Poilievre’s website, I am proud to say and I also say ‘Thank-you Mr. Poilievre, for giving me the oppertunity’.
And what if Pierre P. was actually an Alberta separatist? What’s wrong with that? He’s not the Governor-General, you know. And he’s not even a Quebec separatist, so you can’t claim that there’s anything morally wrong with his position.
How would he be open to criticism in any way if he were an Alberta separatist? As an Albertan, he’s paid the piper. He’s entitled to call the tune. Any tune he likes. You have nothing to say about it.
Was Pierre Poilievre at the founding of the Alberta Independence Party?
http://www.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/01/21/altaindep_010121
Did he join the AIP?
I want to know and I think Pierre Poilievre’s constituents are entitled to know.
EBT: I assume yo`’re joking, right? Albertan separatism is as morally bankrupt as Quebec’s.
Peter