It took one hour and a half for the word “poverty” to be spoken when all ten Liberal leadership hopefuls debated women’s issues in Vancouver last week, as a sideshow to the Liberal parliamentary caucus retreat.
Yet, if you are a lone female parent under 25, you and your family have a better than 90 per cent chance of falling below the low income cut-off line established by Statistics Canada, which itself is afraid to say poverty. If you are a woman on your own, over the age of 65, your expectation of being poor is high, despite claims that poverty for seniors has fallen as a result of the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Televised on CPAC, the question and answer format showcased the weakness of this race to date: there are too many candidates for a real debate to emerge on issues. The main candidate activity is lobbying and organizing to win delegate selection races which should be decided before October.Organized by the Liberal Women’s caucus, the debate moderator was Senator Marie Poulin (a candidate for the party presidency). Women’s caucus chair Belinda Stronach MP cannot conduct a public meeting in two languages.
Not that lacking French language competence has stopped Liberal candidates from running for the leadership. Of the field, apart from Stéphane Dion, whose English could be better, only Michael Ignatieff, and Bob Rae speak French with the near native fluency required to be the Liberal leader who wins back Quebec.
While the less bilingual stuck to English, unaccountably, the very personable Gerard Kennedy attempted, at length, to speak French, despite not understanding questions directed to him in French, and making himself incomprehensible when he tried to speak the language. Perhaps he thought no one in Vancouver would notice, and assumed the CPAC translators would cover for him. His faux French dooms his candidacy.
At this stage, only three candidates have a real chance: Dion, Rae and Ignatieff. Scott Brison is a talented, natural politician running to secure his place in his new party. Ken Dryden has appeal, and name recognition galore, but is the reflective sort, not the out-going personality of the political world. While he mulls it over, the debate has moved ahead two subjects.
Support for the three women candidates, MPs Carolyn Bennett and Hedy Fry, and Toronto lawyer Martha Hall Findlay does not register. The Liberal party is not ready for a woman leader as Sheila Copps found out when her second try at the job ended with her being pushed out of her riding by Paul Martin operatives.
Given his funding violations, and the problems the Liberals had with voters in the last election over corruption, Joe Volpe is an embarrassment.
In the women’s issues debate, Michael Ignatieff at least referred to the role of the federal government in income security, but his perspective was limited to the issue of the working poor, and his policy discussion to earned income tax credits, a form of wage subsidy made necessary because companies underpay workers. His social policy would legitimize the unacceptable practices of employers.
Bob Rae was able to point out that the NDP government he headed acted on employment and pay equity, but he did not follow up with any statements of substance about what needs to be done today. The reality of Canadian politics is that in the 1960s and 1970s the Liberals looked left and borrowed from the NDP. Since 1993, they have looked right and brought in neo-conservative policies. While winning more votes from women than men, the Liberals brought in policies than hurt women more than men.
In office, the Liberals broke all their Red Book promises about creating child-care spaces, cut transfers for post-secondary education and health care, abolished the national commitment to ensure that no one went without, and then cut back on social housing and unemployment insurance.Today in Vancouver homelessness is a national disgrace and the local authorities are responding by making it a crime.
No Liberal candidate has responded to the issues of our times with anything other than re-worked material from familiar sources.
The new brand is Liberal lite.
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