Liberal Express goes bus-less

Michael Ignatieff is headed to Iqaluit to meet with locals in Nunavut, and understandably, the Liberal Express bus will not be joining them. Not to worry though, as Ignatieff already explained, the Liberal Express is much more than a bus; its about meeting Canadians all across the county, 10 provinces, 3 territories. As he has told us, time and time again, its about showing Canadians the "clear Liberal alternative", and welcoming them into he big red tent at the center of Canadian politics."

In other news, Liberal MP Bob Rae is holding a press conference in Ottawa to discuss the census and the recently released census documents. Ah, the census documents (and more of them here). They clearly show that StatsCan issued tons of warnings to the Government regarding why they shouldn't scrap the long form census. From the documents I have read, Tony Clement's assertion that StatsCan approved the scrapping of the long form has absolutely no truth to it. There is quite a bit of information to read over in these documents, and I haven't had time to read them all yet, but I am sure that there is more startling (or lack there of) revelations buried in them.

Following Bob Rae's statement, NDP Leader Jack Layton takes the stage to discuss aid to the areas in Saskatchewan affected by the recent flooding, but there is a good chance that the reporters will push the questions into the census direction.

And the Prime minister is out of service today; that is, he has no public engagements planned. He will be in Barrie tomorrow to help at a hockey tournament.

Proud to call him my Leader

I had a really enjoyable time meeting Michael Ignatieff today! The Conservatives like to say that he is an arrogant man, and while I didn't buy into that rumour before, I was still amazed by just how nice a guy he really is. Sure, the man is smart, but he is just a regular guy, like you and I. He talks, he smiles, he frowns, he laughs, he breathes. He even has a sense of humour.

I was so thoroughly impressed by this man, that I found myself soaking up every word he said, as if he were speaking to me personally. And for some of it, he was! He took the time to move though out the crowd and meet every person that was there. He even spoke to the protestors that were chanting, "Iggy, go home!" He responded by telling them, "I am home!"

While I didn't have an extended discussion with him like so many others did, I did shake his

hand. Twice to be exact. And both times he looked me straight in the eyes and spoke to me. He told me it was so nice to meet me, how happy we was to be there, and thanked me for coming out to see him. His handshake was firm, his eye contact unwavering, and his words were friendly.

He spoke to a variety of people, including a candidate for our Regional Council, a family with a baby, local business people, an elderly lady (who enthusiastically informed him that she would be voting Liberal), and even a young man just out of high school, too young to vote but extremely interested in politics, and passionately devoted to the Liberal Party.

When I saw Michael speaking to this young man, sincerely interested in the conversation, I realized something. I realized this tour is about more than vote; it's about meeting Canadians. From what I could tell, Michael was extremely impressed with this young man, and this young man was equally impressed with Michael.

Watching Michael interact with all these people, I realized that he is a different kind of Leader. He is a Leader that cares about all Canadians, he is a Leader that listens to everyones concerns, he is a Leader that has a lot to offer Canadians, he is a Leader meant to lead. A Leader to be the next Prime Minister of Canada.

Liveblogging the Liberal Express in Cambridge

Crossing my fingers!

To many people, the world of politics is boring all the time. But to the group of people that thoroughly enjoy politics, it is exciting and intense most of the time. So when a day comes a long when not a lot is supposed to happen, we take a deep breath and consider finally getting something done that doesn’t consider politics. For a career journalist, this may mean working on a piece regarding something other than politics. For a blogger who happens to have a job outside of journalism, this means getting some real work done. You know, work that actually pays.

Well today is one of those days. Not a whole lot is going on in Canadian politics. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon is holding a press conference on new sanctions against Iran, but that really is all there is as far as scheduled events. In my riding it is a little more exciting as the Liberal Express finally makes it to Cambridge, but in terms of nationwide impact, little is happening. I will of course be live blogging the event (which is only supposed to a whistle stop) starting at 1:15pm ET. I will attempt to setup a “Cover-it-Live” liveblog, but if that doesn’t work I will of course be using Twitter.

Tomorrow should be a much more interesting day as the Industry committee meets to discuss the long form census.

In terms of Leaders, Harper is unheard from, Ignatieff is in Guelph, Cambridge, and Kitchener today, and Layton is in Winnipeg.

As long as the day is as slow as the schedule is, I might actually get some work done. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Liberal Express Q&A was a good time

Well I just got home from listening to Michael Ignatieff in Brantford, and I must say that I was thoroughly impressed. I saw regular people get up to the microphone and ask him questions, and I saw him give truthful answers. What really impressed me was how he was much attention he gave to everyone. No matter the age, gender, race, political affiliation, or financial status, Michael answered everyones question.

From the opening speech, to the questions, to the closing remarks, Michael spoke very clear, and engaged the audience by mentioning many different aspects of life under the Conservative party, and what life could be like with a future Liberal government.

I will be seeing him again tomorrow in my hometown of Cambridge when he stops at the Cambridge Centre mall to meet people. Hopefully this time I will have a live blog set up with Cover it Live, but if not, Twitter works.

UPDATED: Slow day?

Well I don't want to say it is going to be a slow day today, because I've said that before and was clearly proven wrong. From my vantage point however, it certainly seems like not a lot will be going on.

The Industry committee will be meeting to discuss the controversial long form census, but the powers that be have deemed it "in camera." Which means no media coverage. I am assuming the Kady O'Malley of the CBC will be making the trip to the Hill just in case of the unlikely event that they change their minds. I will be following her closely and if the "in camera" status changes, I will be sure to post it here.

Apart from that, the Liberal Express is in Quebec still, and is actually holding an interactive townhall. However, due to the fact that is in Montreal, it will probably be french which means little or no coverage from me as I regrettably am not fluent in our other official language.

UPDATE: The committee meeting today was a very short, in camera meeting. Committee members aren't saying who is invited, however it is fairly safe to assume that Industry Minister Tony Clement and the former chief statistician will be invited. Also, a short correction notice: Kady O'Malley of the CBC is off today, so therefore wasn't able to bring us updates. Karina Roman filled in luckily.

Libs behind Cons in poll

According to the latest EKOS poll, the Conservatives are ahead of the Liberals by 7 percentage points. The poll suggests that 32.4% of Canadians would vote for the Conservative Party while 25.5% of Canadians would vote for the Liberal Party. The Conservatives were ahead in every region of the country except Quebec according to the poll. The poll was conducted from July 14 to 20. This poll isn't looking very promising for the goals of the Liberal Express. Perhaps by the next poll we will see a bit of an improvement on the Liberal part as a result of the Express visiting a little more of the country.

On the census front, the Liberals have begun slamming the Government for its decisions, with Ignatieff claiming that the government wants to "fly blind." Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale is accusing the Conservatives of throwing Statistics Canada into chaos, with the Chief Statistician resigning over the census scandal.

Yesterday I informed you that the RCMP had cleared MP Helena Guergis, stating that the issues forwarded to them by the PMO contained no substance. Well CBC is also reporting that her husband, former MP Rahim Jaffer has also been cleared as the RCMP found no evidence of any wrongdoing by either of them. The Ethics commissioner is still investigating, but if that report is anything like this RCMP report, PMO is going to have a lot of explaining to do. And some apologizing. According to a statement from PMO, their decision to remove Guergis from caucus still stands, and they do not regret it.

The force is weak with these ones

The NDP has responded to PMO Director of Communications Dimitri Soudas' statement about Jedi Knights residing in Canada with the following statement:

REALITY CHECK: Dimitri Soudas uses the Jedi defence

Dimitri Soudas created an instant internet classic with his line of defence on eliminating the Census long form:

"21,000 Canadians registered Jedi knight as a religion in the 2001 census.

Religion is asked every 10 years. We made the 40-page long form voluntary because government should not threaten prosecution or jail time to force Canadians to divulge unnecessary private and personal information. Canadians don't want the government at their doorstep at 10 o'clock at night while they may be doing something in their bedroom, like reading, because government wants to know how many bedrooms they have."

What do 21,000 Jedis have to do with the Long Form Census? Nothing. What does the long form census have to do with government officials showing up at 10 o'clock at night at Canadians' doors? Nothing. What does bedtime reading have to do with an accurate statistical portrait of our country's demographics? Nothing.

But there you have it: the spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Canada talking about Jedis.

The force is weak with these ones.

That last line a clear poke at the intelligence of not just Soudas, but the entire PMO, and seemingly Conservative party. Odd that the NDP are the only ones to have responded, although I suppose the NDP are often the first to respond to the Conservatives. Hard to tell if the Liberals will take the bait and go after the Cons for it, but so far nothing from them.

Its possible we won't hear from them for a few days as Ignatieff takes a much needed rest. The Liberal Express sits idle until Wednesday, when they start Quebec. Good luck.

"We're not the natural governing party"

Just found an amazing article in The Star about the Liberal Express, and what Ignatieff hopes to accomplish with it. I would like to share some particularly good quotes from the Leader himself, completely unscripted and off-the-cuff:

“We’re not the natural governing party, we have to earn it. The Conservatives won’t defeat themselves; we have to defeat them with a compelling alternative,” he says. “The alternative — we have to work for it, we have to earn it. We don’t pull policy out of a little policy shop in Ottawa. You’ve got to get a party engaged in policy. Because policy, it’s about belief, it’s about passion, it’s about conviction.”

“People underestimate my perseverance at their peril . . . I’m still here. And I’ve actually got more enthusiasm for what I’m doing now than ever. I really do.”

A real leader

With parliament out for the summer, MPs, Senators, and Party Leaders get to spend a few months away from Ottawa, doing whatever they please. MPs typically spend it in their constituency, hanging out with family and friends and holding the occasional fundraising for the party/future campaign. Senators, well who know what they do with their free time. But what about the Leaders, what are they up to?

Stephen Harper, Conservative: Well it has been quite a while since we last heard from the Prime Minister, but I think it's safe to assume he is not sitting in the House of Commons, pondering the future of the country like this PMO photo would have us believe. The latest official update on what the PM would be doing this summer: spend the summer at Harrington Lake, the Prime Ministers Official Country Residence.

Jack Layton, NDP: Who knows what this Leader is up to... we haven't heard from him in quite a while.

Elizabeth May, Green: Ms. May doing her usual promotions of green ideals. As she doesn't sit in the House, her summer schedule doesn't change much, unless there is an election of course.

Michael Ignatieff, Liberal: The Leader of the Official Opposition, unlike his counterpart in the Conservative Party, isn't spending anytime at his Official Residence (Stornoway), his constituency residence, or his private villa in Provence. Instead, Ignatieff will be travelling all across Canada by bus, called the Liberal Express. He has stops planned in every province, and every territory in the country, and he plans on meeting as many Canadians as possible. Virtually the entire trip is unscripted with people meeting him, asking him questions, and getting answers. Ignatieff will be listening to the country's opinions, concerns, and ideas, because that's what a good Leader does. They listen.

Liberal Express Update: Stuck on the side of the road

That's right folks! The nice shiny Liberal Express looks great!... on the side of the road that is! The bus blew it's transmission shortly after leaving Hawkesbury, en route to Cornwall. Local Liberal Party members came to the rescue, driving Leader Michael Ignatieff, his wife, and most journalists to the BBQ in Cornwall, where Ignatieff was expected to make a speech.

Other Liberal MPs, Senators, staffers, and Young Liberals weren't so lucky; they had to wait on the side of the road for a replacement bus, dubbed the Liberal Express 2 or LE2, to pick them up.

Let's hope that we can expect more dependability from a potential Liberal Government than we can from their bus!

PoliticsToday: Senate adjourns for the summer, Liberal Express departs Ottawa

New to Real Canadian Politics? Click here

A slow day for some, exciting for others. To begin, the Senate passed the 900-page budget implementation bill late last night, and Royal Assent was granted this morning. That being said, the Senate has joined their House counterparts by adjourning for the summer! Parliament is now officially out for the summer. Now that’s not to say our MPs and Senators won’t be working; just look at the Liberals!

The Liberal Party of Canada has launched the Liberal Express today. For the next 8 weeks Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and a team of several Liberal MPs, Senators, staffers, and Young Liberals will be touring the country by bus to meet and talk to as many Canadians as possible in an attempt to hopefully turn their poll numbers around. The party will be posting blog updates here, and you can also follow the CBC's Rosemary Barton (@RosieBarton) as she Tweets her experiences as she travels across the country with them. An interesting note; the Liberals are planning on stopping at every Tim Hortons along the way! As I type this they are making an unscheduled stop at one and they only just left!

The other parties are pretty quiet today, with the exception of the Conservative’s usual “just visiting” campaign against Ignatieff. They are referring to the Liberal Express as the “Just Visiting Express.”