Liberal Candidate Opposes Quebec Motion

Well, it has finally happened. I'm a little surprised it has taken this long. With the Liberals in the midst of choosing a new leader, it appeared all eight candidates were smiling at Harpers motion to consider Quebec a nation, under a united Canada. I was wondering why someone did not step up quickly to oppose the motion, even if he did not support his beliefs, I felt someone would of opposed simply because the other seven had agreed.

Kennedy to oppose Quebecois-nation motion

OTTAWA -- Liberal leadership hopeful Gerard Kennedy has decided to buck the tide of political opinion, coming out against a parliamentary motion recognizing Quebecers as a nation within a united Canada.

The Canadian Press has learned that Kennedy will issue a statement Monday opposing the motion, just as the House of Commons prepares to debate the surprise resolution introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week.

In so doing, Kennedy will become the only Liberal leadership contender to reject the motion, which has been embraced with varying degrees of unease by his seven rival candidates, Harper's Conservatives, most Liberal MPs and the New Democrats. Even the separatist Bloc Quebecois has come on side.

CTV Article

Now my first question is, Smart move or should someone slap this guy with the dunce hat. Anyone believe this will propel his candidacy or sink him on the spot?

I like the fact he is willing to stand out amongst the crowd, but I'm curious if this is a move to simply stand out or if he truly believes this is a bad motion. On the short-term it may prove to be a good strategy, but in the long-term, I believe this will happen with Quebec which would leave Kennedy eating his words.

He currently only has 2% of the vote in Quebec, so he has nothing to lose there by this stance. And many Liberals have openly spoke out against this motion and disagree with Quebec receiving any special recognition.

So the question is, Smart move?



[edit on 27-11-2006 by chissler]

I'm going to go with smart move. Gerard Kennedy is mostly an unknown outside of Ontario.

It's a gamble, but being the only candidate to be against the motion could pay off for him in a big way. If it doesn't, he hasn't lost anything because there is no way he was going to win unless Rae, Ignatieff and Dion's campaign buses were involved in a horrible pile-up which killed all three of them.

With nothing to lose, what the hell.

I'm interested to see where his numbers go from here. I do not see him coming out on top, but his numbers could certainly come up. With the latest news of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong resigning, the door is wide open for criticism on this latest motion from Harper.

The first response of subtle applause from politicians left me unsure. Not very often the PM gets congratulated from all Canadian parties on anything.

After today, a few true colors were displayed. In & out of the Tory party.