Wanted: a federalist strategy for Québec
The new Liberal ads in Quebec certainly don't seem to be going over very well. Apparently, the ads show two hockey teams - one Liberal, and one Bloc - and are designed to paint the BQ as a one-issue party, concerned only with sovereignty. And it also pokes fun at Gilles Duceppe's idea for a Québec hockey team. I haven't actually seen the ads, but the stills found on CTV certainly aren't very flattering - they look cheaply-made and juvenile. And the premise of the spot seems equally stupid to me - I can really imagine too many wavering Québec voters being bowled over by the ads and jumping to the Liberal ship. At any rate, the response to these ads is not going well for the Grits. And it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Over on Cyberpresse, there's an article that notes some anger at the ads coming from one Yvon Leduc, the director-general of the Ligue nationale d'improvisation (National Improvisation League), who argues that the Liberals have stolen the idea for the spots from him and some of his colleagues. I'm not sure if the story has made it into the English press yet but it certainly won't help matters. If anything, it'll give the BQ campaign more traction.I admit that I'm not really finding the Liberal strategy in Québec to be terribly convincing. Calling it a de facto referendum doesn't seem to me at all to be a good idea, because it's very likely that the BQ will get more than 50% of the vote regardless of the fearmongering. Paul Wells writes well on the subject over here. This, coupled with Paul Martin's unappetizing theories on assymetrical federalism rub me completely the wrong way and leave me believing that the current Liberal team has no idea how to fight Québec separatism and is terrified, preferring instead to fire randomly in all directions until something works. How comforting. That being said, I don't really see anyone nationally (except perhaps Bernard Lord) who has the moral authority or intellectual capacity to make and lead a strong case for the future of Québec within Canada. One of my greatest fears is that Québec will separate from this country - I've told my Québecois friends here at school that countless times. It's so frustrating to see Canada's federalists floundering about with misguided tactics and stupid television ads that will likely lose more votes than they gain.
Oh well. C'est la vie, I suppose. If anyone finds a good federalist strategy for Québec, let me know.
Two things:
1. The ads do not make fun of Gilles Duceppe's hockey gaffe from earlier in the campaign. They have nothing to do with hocley. They are a parody of something which is inexplicably popular on TV in French Canada - "l'impro" - basically a bunch of amateur actors doing competitive improvisation skits. I swear these shows are on twice a day, not just in Quebec either. They are a staple of French Canadian television and have been for years. And they're quite funny. I'm willin got bet that the ads were conceived, if not actually shot before Duceppe even made his hockey comment.
2. Any sentence that contains the words "intellectual capacity" and "Bernard Lord" without a punchline is completely out of whack.
Posted by
Mark |
7:07 PM
Liberal Tactic; Promise - get elected - Forget!
In 1974 the Liberal government entered into a 71 year land lease agreement with the Squamish Indian band.
Liberals promised to build an environment centre on the land leased near the Lions gate bridge on Vancouver’s north shore.
The Liberals, after paying millions in annual lease fees, have still not built the promised centre.
Annual lease fees started at $4 million in 1974 and have risen on a regular basis . Last Auditor General figures show income on a sub lease at $2.2 million and government lease payment of $28.8 million for a net loss of our federal monies of about $26.6 million.
The lease rate will soon be raised to a new higher value as per the lease agreement.
Is this the wise governance our Canada needs?
The site is the fourth most contaminated site in government hands and the clean - up may cost us millions more than the monies already lost.
This is only one of many similar unwise Liberal decisions wasting our tax dollars every day. I am told there are also vacant leased offices in the Ottawa, Hull Quebec areas.
These issues are only part of an incomplete list of 200 Liberal shortcomings.
Each item on the list of 200 scams or scandals is the result of a write up in the National Post, Ottawa Citizen or other respected news publication bound with the obligation to publish the truth or face legal prosecution by the courts.
http://bendgovernment.blogspot.com/
http://my.opera.com/T-G/
Posted by
TonyGuitar |
3:23 PM
Thanks for the highly-relevant comment, TonyGuitar. How useful this information about Liberal failings in Squamish is to a discussion about Quebec federalism.
Mark, perhaps I should clarify my words to an apparent jab at Duceppe, though perhaps not a purposeful one. And I've seen a new article that argues that the LNI knew that the rink used for their skits would be used for an LPC(Q) ad. At any rate, the fact remains that we still need a decent federalist strategy for Québec.
Posted by
Ian |
5:58 PM
The problem is that Jean Lapierre's Quebec strategy required Gilles Duceppe to become the PQ leader.
Posted by
Blogger |
3:08 PM
A double dog dare for the Liberals!
Posted by
Sara |
7:29 AM