The Flip Flop Chronicles
OK, so I spent a couple of hours collating the stories that I have accumulated while scanning the news. I even surprised myself at the number of issues which the Liberal leader has clearly flip-flopped on.
Here are a few quotes on M. Dion’s conflicted positions that I have come up with so far. If you have quotes or clippings that can be sourced to reputable media, I will be glad to add them. Keep checking back soon as I add to the list:
- Afghanistan
- America
- Budget 2007
- Carbon Tax
- Crime Bills
- Democracy
- Early Election
- Emissions Targets
- GST Cuts
- Kyoto Protocol
- Nuclear Power
- Social Spending
- Sponsorship Scandal
- Support in Caucus
- Terror Legislation
“The newly minted Liberal leader said Wednesday that MPs are now united in wanting to improve the dangerous mission, putting more emphasis on diplomacy and development… Dion said Liberals are opposed to immediately withdrawing Canadian troops “with dishonour,” as he accused NDP Leader Jack Layton of wanting to do.
Although it was the previous Liberal government that committed Canada’s soldiers to the combat mission, Liberals were split last year when Harper held a snap vote on extending the mission to 2009. More than two dozen Liberal MPs, including then leadership front-runner Michael Ignatieff, supported the motion while the rest, including Dion, voted against it.
One leadership contender, Joe Volpe, called for immediate redeployment of Canadian soldiers out of the combat zone in Kandahar province to areas where they could concentrate on humanitarian aid and reconstruction - essentially the same position advocated by Layton. Another contender, Gerard Kennedy, now Dion’s election readiness adviser, called for eventual withdrawal if Canada’s NATO allies could not be persuaded to reconstitute the mission.
Ignatieff, now Dion’s deputy leader, was much less equivocal than his leader when asked if he could contemplate any circumstance in which Liberals would call for the withdrawal of Canadian troops. “I can’t see any,” Ignatieff told reporters.”
Liberals paper over split, call for hearings to rebalance Afghan mission; Canadian Press, Joan Bryden, Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:23 PM
“While [Mr. Harper] handed the Liberals a giltedged opportunity to divert attention from their troubles, there is every prospect a speech today by Stephane Dion on Afghanistan will repay the favour. Mr. Dion is likely to tell a Montreal audience the Liberal party will support an extension of the mission in Afghanistan until 2009, when the current mandate runs out — effectively taking the issue off the table should there be a general election.
However, while Mr. Dion voted in opposition to extending the mission last year, he has been under extreme pressure from members of his caucus to strike a compromise… A quarter of the Liberal caucus, including deputy leader Michael Ignatieff, voted with the Conservatives to extend the mission last May.
Tory sources were skeptical the Liberals would stick to the pro-mission position if Canadian Forces in Afghanistan are forced on the defensive, particularly given the key critic portfolios are held by noted doves, Denis Coderre (Defence) and Ujjal Dosanjh (Foreign Affairs).”
Note: How prophetic considering that is exactly what is happening now and conveniently in light of recent casualties – Admin, 4/20/07
New position on Afghanistan is a nod to his caucus and a gift to the Tories; John Ivison, National Post, Ottawa, Published: Thursday, February 22, 2007
“Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, who voted last May against extending Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, said Thursday that he now supports Canadian troops remaining there until 2009… ‘A Liberal government led by me will unequivocally commit to ending Canada’s mission in Kandahar in 2009 and we will inform NATO of this deadline right away to ensure they find a replacement for Canada,’ Dion said in a speech in Montreal.”
Dion supports Afghanistan mission only until 2009; CBC News (cbc.ca), Thursday, February 22, 2007 2:27 PM ET
“Dion’s comments seemed aimed at dispelling recent questions about his leadership and the unity of the Liberal caucus… During the Liberal leadership campaign, current deputy leader Michael Ignatieff supported extending the mission while Dion argued for limiting Canada’s involvement. Last month, Dion indicated his party was opposed to withdrawing Canadian troops ‘with dishonour.’ ‘With Mr. Harper, our enemies know very well there’s still ambiguity,’ he said.”
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion to pressure Harper on Afghanistan pullout; Canadian Press, Peter Rakobowchuk, Thursday Feb 22, 7:34 PM
From the Hansard, Wednesday, March 21, 2007. Liberals attack Defence Minister O’Connor over who ensures that Afghan detainees are being treated fairly. Here is an abbreviated account of the exchange:
Denis Corderre (Lib.): “Mr. Speaker, after months of misleading Canadians, the defence minister wants us to believe that he only recently learned how wrong his statements were on the role of the Red Cross in Afghanistan… How can the minister expect Canadians to believe his so-called distortion was not deliberate?”
Denis Corderre (Lib.): “Mr. Speaker, what we have here is an incompetent minister who misled Canadians… We have a general who is incapable of reading his notes… What we have here is a former arms dealer who is now in charge of decisions about what kind of military equipment our troops need, the kind he himself was trying to sell to the government. Why should we trust him?”
Hon. Stéphane Dion: “Mr. Speaker, there are few things that are more important for the honour of a country than its duty to protect human lives, including war detainees.”
Hon. Gordon O’Connor (Min. Defence): “Mr. Speaker, as I said in previous statements, my statements here in the House were made in good faith and based on the understanding that I had. I have taken action to ensure that our detainees are treated properly.”
Hon. Stéphane Dion: “Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has to see that his minister was negligent and incompetent with respect to a very serious issue… the protection of the human lives we are responsible for. The Prime Minister cannot keep his Minister of National Defence, not unless the Prime Minister is telling us that it is not important for Canada to protect the human lives”
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister): “Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has provided a clear explanation to the House of Commons. As the member knows, this government was at the time operating under an agreement signed by the previous government. We have since entered into a new arrangement with the Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission.
I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners. I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers.”
Note: This is a very appropriate observation since the Liberals have consistently sought to undermine the Conservative government for a mission they initiated. Never has there been questions about why our troops didn’t have better equipment to protect them. The Liberals wouldn’t dare ask that because they know that their defence cuts were responsible for “a decade of darkness” (says Rick Hillier). That comment from our Chief of Defence prompted Denis Corderre to call the general “a Conservative prop.” Currently, the Liberals are attacking Conservative government spending on new equipment to protect the lives of our troops as “an escalation in Afghanistan.” The implication is that trying to better protect our soldiers is tantamount to baiting the Taliban into increased attacks. That is loathsome!
“Dion stressed that, contrary to the Conservative government’s position to extend Canada’s combat mission in Kandahar province, the Liberals will insist that it end in February 2009.”
Dion shrugs off report of party grumblings; Irwin Block, The Montreal Gazette, Friday, April 13, 2007
“The Canadian military is heading into a quagmire in Afghanistan under the Conservative government, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion warned yesterday in comments intended to show the differences between the two parties on the military mission.
Mr. Dion offered his condolences to the families of the eight soldiers who died this week before launching a blistering critique of the Harper government’s refusal to guarantee when Canada will be out of Afghanistan.
‘We have to tell NATO that in February, 2009, our combat mission in Kandahar is finished,’ Mr. Dion said. ‘We face the risk of getting bogged down with the current Prime Minister, of getting bogged down in an incompetent manner. Imagine what they [the Conservatives] would do if they had a majority.’
Mr. Dion was speaking in Quebec where the party is trying to rebuild after the sponsorship scandal and where the Afghan war has less support than any place else in the country.
Four months into his new position, Mr. Dion is still struggling to fight off grumblings from Liberals who criticize his leadership abilities, and he needs to find an issue with which to attack the Conservative government.
Senior Liberals feel the Afghan mission could create a number of problems for the Conservatives in the months ahead, and that the Liberals need to have a clearly different position on the issue.
Mr. Dion said the choice between the Liberals and the Conservatives in the next election will be so radical that it is only to be expected that his supporters would express some nervousness at the possible outcome. Mr. Dion said the differences between the two parties will be stark.
‘We have a duty to succeed,’ Mr. Dion said when asked about the criticism of his leadership. “Liberals everywhere are mobilizing and working very hard”
Troops face quagmire, Dion says; Daniel LeBlanc, The Globe and Mail, April 13, 2007
Note: For perspective, here is what a qualified military expert had to say about M. Dion’s position:
“A defence analyst said politicians are playing a dangerous game by jousting over withdrawal deadlines, which could embolden Taliban militants into launching stepped-up attacks. ‘In my view, placing a definite withdrawal date would place the lives of our soldiers in danger,’ said Alex Morrison, president of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.
The affect on the Afghan people, who are deeply skeptical about the commitment of Canada and other NATO countries to face down the insurgent threat, also needs to be taken into account, he said. ‘If we withdraw before the Afghans are ready to run their own country and keep it secure, stable and peaceful then the Afghans will suffer more,’ said Morrison. ‘What we would be saying is, Listen, we haven’t finished the job, but we’re leaving anyway; we’re all right, but to hell with you.’”
MPs joust over Afghan mission deadlines; Times and Transcript, Tuesday April 17th, 2007; Appeared on page C1
- America
- Budget 2007
- Carbon Tax
- Crime Bills
- Democracy
- Early Election
- Emissions Targets
- GST Cuts
- Kyoto Protocol
- Nuclear Power
- Social Spending
- Sponsorship Scandal
- Support in Caucus
- Terror Legislation
