Two Prime Ministerial Wannabees Weigh In

In Today's Telegraph Journal, Federal Liberal leadership co-frontrunner Michael Ignatieff and Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton offer some thoughts on issues of leadership.

Ignatieff questioned Bernard Lord's deal making prowess, noting that a better deal for child care for New Brunswick was put on the table by former Prime Minister Paul Martin but not accepted. Nothing new here, of course, as it was apparent during "negotiations" that Lord's petulant insistence on dollars for the superfluous refurbishment of Point Lepreau would block the flow of child care funds from Ottawa to Fredericton. It is a moot point now anyway, as deals with other provinces such as the one that Ignatieff claims that Lord could have secured have been essentially reneged upon by the Harper government. But hey, who needs free public child care worth hundreds of dollars per month when you can get a taxable cheque for a hundred bucks anyway?

Not to let this meander into federal matters, but I do want to ensure my readers - all four of you - that the last snide comment is not intended to be pro-Liberal rhetoric. Public child care began popping up in the Chretien Red Books in the early 1990s and no action was ever taken. Sure, Martin's desperation had him signing cheques to the provinces, but it ought not to have taken fifteen years. It is a classic Canadian conundrum: is it better to believe the Liberals when they promise the moon and risk dejection upon the great likelihood that they will not fulfill the promise, or is it better to just accept the half-assed non-solution that the Conservatives are promising, safe in the knowledge that they will deliver on their inadequacies? Here is the conundrum in riddle form: Let's say that Paul Martin walks up to you on the street and offers you $100, but then Stephen Harper walks up to you and offers you $25. You may only choose one - which should you choose? The answer is that it doesn't matter. The value of Harper's offer is $25, as he will surely give it to you. The value of Martin's offer is also $25, because even though he is offering you $100, there is a 3 in 4 chance that he will turn around and run down the street before paying and you get nothing.

Back to New Brunswick and Ignatieff/Layton.

Layton was in Yvon Godin Country yesterday, celebrating the Fête nationale de l'Acadie. On the upcoming election, Layton noted the peculiarity of Lord's recent spending spree and offered an endrosement of Allison Brewer (naturally). Layton's positive comments on Brewer are no more surprising than Ignatieff's on Shawn Graham, so it's not really news. Interesting, though, was that Layton spoke about the need for an NDP voice in the legislature to hold the government to account and to represent the people: the province has missed Elizabeth Weir, etc. Frankly, any exposure that Brewer can get alongside Layton and Godin is tremendous for the NDP.