Phil Fontaine Liberal Leader?

[Chippewa]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/liberals-could-turn-to-first-nations-for-leader-124904229.html

I guess the Liberals not only want to sink the party deeper into a craphole, but it also seems like an act of despiration from the Liberal Party.

First Nations have went on the record and accused Fontaine of being a Card Carrying Liberal, but he refuted reports and accussations that he had any party involvement. A few First Nations leaders I spoke to said that "Phil, had been promised a seat in the senate for his deal on Residential School Payment". The problem is, the Liberals aren't in power, and they seem to want to rack up the loosly 2 million First Nations votes just sitting around.

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"With Parliament set to break for the summer, it's time for the Liberal party to start thinking about the future.

After such a drop in the polls in the last election, the Grits need a major makeover if they want to win back all those supporters they lost. They need to reinvent themselves, or "rebrand" themselves, to borrow a PR term.

If it were up to me, I know exactly what I'd do to fix things. I'd go and find a new leader. And I wouldn't find just any leader, but an aboriginal leader.

There's nothing like an aboriginal person to shake up the political landscape. Anyone remember Elijah Harper and the Meech Lake Accord? Since this is a nation forged on land that was once all indigenous territory, it only stands to reason we need more brown people in the house.

So here are my top three picks for leader of the Liberal party.

Phil Fontaine is the former long-time leader of the Assembly of First Nations and the most obvious choice as an aboriginal Liberal party leader.

Fontaine has earned respect both in the aboriginal community and with mainstream Canadians, so he would appeal to both groups. He's known to be "Liberal friendly" and he's done some memorable things in his long political career which has stretched over several decades; such as his involvement with Harper (Elijah, not Stephen) in killing the Meech Lake Accord, as well as the National Residential School apology and settlement.

He was awarded the Order of Manitoba in 2004.

I've met Fontaine a few times, and he's got the charisma it takes to be a national leader. That's why some people call him "the Silver Fox." He also has the experience to take on the job.

Thomas King is known by most people as a gifted novelist, and for his long-running CBC Radio show The Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour that ran in the late 1990s. King was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2004.

But King is more than just a creative spirit. He's also got an interest in a career as a public servant.

King was an NDP candidate in the Guelph riding back in 2007. He didn't win the seat, but hopefully it isn't the last we'll see of him. Like many politicians, it may take several tries for him to get elected.

But if King were chosen Liberal leader, his inventiveness would come in handy, and definitely help bring the Liberal party back to its former grandeur.

Sophia Rabliauskas is my final pick for Liberal party leader. If you haven't heard of her, you are missing out.

Rabliauskas is a member of Poplar River First Nation, and an environmental activist. She is best known for working with other community leaders to secure two million acres of pristine land in the heart of the boreal forest, and develop a management plan for that land.

She won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2007 for her efforts, as well as the Order of Manitoba in 2008.

She is a spokeswoman for Pimachiowin Aki -- The Land That Gives Life. It's a group committed to safeguarding a chunk of land about the size of Denmark and working to have it designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization. Rabliauskas has something every leader should have -- integrity. She's the closest thing we have these days to our traditional leaders of the past. She has a passion for her people, and is driven to protect the land for future generations.

Of course, if there were more aboriginal women like Rabliauskas -- and just more women in politics in general -- things would be a lot different.

And maybe electing an aboriginal Liberal leader could eventually lead to electing an aboriginal prime minister. Over the years that's been a tantalizing prospect, one I hope to see become a reality one day.

Colleen Simard is a Winnipeg writer."

Edited July 14, 2011 by Chippewa

[TimG]

And maybe electing an aboriginal Liberal leader could eventually lead to electing an aboriginal prime minister. Over the years that's been a tantalizing prospect, one I hope to see become a reality one day.

We don't want any Prime Ministers who think they are citizens of a different "nation". PMs should be Canadian first and put the interest of Canada ahead of any other loyalties they may have. Edited July 14, 2011 by TimG

[Smallc]

God no...please, no.

[Wild Bill]

We don't want any Prime Ministers who think they are citizens of a different "nation". PMs should be Canadian first and put the interest of Canada ahead of any other loyalties they may have.

Good point, Tim. It may not be fair to any aboriginal candidate who may consider himself Canadian first and foremost but the native activists have made such an issue about native sovereignty that I would expect it to be an albatross around the neck of any aboriginal candidate for mainstream Canada. I expect I'm like most mainstream Canadians. I have no problem with my MP or Prime Minister being aboriginal but if he doesn't consider himself to be a Canadian first then I want no part of him.

[fellowtraveller]

Aside from that, Fontaine is a repulsive conniving hack who enjoys the life of privilege he enjoys and wants to perpetuate for himsself and his cronies. If the future of First Nations in Canada is in his hands,they are utterly screwed.

If a First Nations person were to be Liberal leader, my choice would be Matthew Coon Come, who is none of what Fontaine has become. He was run off the national First Nations political scene for calling out the cronyism and corruption.

My idea for helping First Nations get a seat at the Big Table: the Minister of DIAND should be appointed by the PM and should be First Nations.

[Remiel]

Good point, Tim. It may not be fair to any aboriginal candidate who may consider himself Canadian first and foremost but the native activists have made such an issue about native sovereignty that I would expect it to be an albatross around the neck of any aboriginal candidate for mainstream Canada. I expect I'm like most mainstream Canadians. I have no problem with my MP or Prime Minister being aboriginal but if he doesn't consider himself to be a Canadian first then I want no part of him.

To be effective, I almost think such a leader would need to feign ignorance of the tension there is for some people between Canadian and Aboriginal. Like, if someone were to ask, "Do you consider yourself Canadian or Aboriginal first? " then they would have to answer "I do not understand what you mean: I am Canadian and I am Aboriginal and I am a Man/Woman and Catholic/Protestant," because it would be equally foolish for such a candidate to be treated like he has an albatross around their neck in aboriginal communities. All you have to do is look at the hatchet job done on Dion for his dual citizenship that he inherited from his mother and you can see what a minefield it is if it becomes an "issue".

[Newfoundlander]

Shawn Atleo.

[jacee]

I think it's an intriguing suggestion, and that's all it is at this point, a suggestion from one columnist.

Ultimately party polling will tell the tale of whether it can fly with the population.

Could be the people are just fed up enough to welcome such an apparent major change, but he would remain fully under the power of the party.

[Smallc]

Shawn Atleo.

A much better choice.

[Newfoundlander]

A much better choice.

I thought so too! I don't know his age but I can't imagine he's very old, and from what we've seen over the last few days he's not afraid to be bold. Having an Aboriginal as leader of a federal party, and possibly Prime Minister, could be a great thing, it'd be quite similar to Barrack Obama in the States.

[CPCFTW]

I thought so too! I don't know his age but I can't imagine he's very old, and from what we've seen over the last few days he's not afraid to be bold. Having an Aboriginal as leader of a federal party, and possibly Prime Minister, could be a great thing, it'd be quite similar to Barrack Obama in the States.

How has Barrack Obama been a great thing?

He's charismatic as hell but that's about it.

[TimG]

Shawn Atleo.

I would wait to see if he can turn his big idea on the Indian Act into something concrete. Right now he is all style, no substance.

[Newfoundlander]

How has Barrack Obama been a great thing?

He's charismatic as hell but that's about it.

I'm not saying Obama's term as President has been great, I'm saying that having an Aboriginal Prime Minister in Canada for the first time would be very similar to the United States having their first African American President.

I would wait to see if he can turn his big idea on the Indian Act into something concrete. Right now he is all style, no substance.

Agree, I'd like to hear more about his ideas.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Newfoundlander

[August1991]

Stephen Harper defeated Paul Martin, Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff. For the first time in Canadian history, consecutive federal Liberal leaders did not become PM. Before Dion, the previous federal Liberal leader never to become PM was Edward Blake in the 1870s. And now the federal Liberals have another: Michael Ignatieff.

If I were a Liberal, I would think very seriously about this.

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Phil Fontaine as federal Liberal leader? The federal Liberals do not need a magic bullet/leader to bring them to power. The mere suggestion that Phil Fontaine would be a good federal Liberal leader shows me two things:

1. Typical Liberal supporters are clueless. They are still looking for a golden bullet/leader to bring them back to power.

2. Some so-called leaders in Canada's aboriginal community are clueless. They don't understand what is about to happen.

[August1991]

I'm not saying Obama's term as President has been great, I'm saying that having an Aboriginal Prime Minister in Canada for the first time would be very similar to the United States having their first African American President.

That's racism (identity politics) Liberal style.

Sorry Newfoundlander, the federal Liberals face a problem far graver than their leader.

I happen to think that the Liberals can form a majority government in Ottawa but to do it, they will have to change the way they finance their party and change the way they poll, understand their voters.

If the Liberals simply change their leader, they'll go down to defeat as Dion and Ignatieff did.

[Oleg Bach]

No more liberals..why feed a failed monster? Liberalism was Canada's try at socialism and social engineering. NO more please...at least with conservatives we can deal with the devil we know. With so-called liberals they are all over the map and much to fleeting a party to really stand for anything other than the old hippy adage..."if it feels good do it" - WHERE is that lubricated knot hole in that old oak tree - baby - don't start without me>

[jacee]

I think Canadians might be ready for this. Most people understand that there are now Supreme Court rulings in favour of Aboriginal people that our governments are dragging their feet in implementing because they change the way we do business in Canada. Most people want to avoid future Ipperwash and Caledonia debacles. Right wing sabre rattling by Harper and Hudak won't achieve that. An Aboriginal party leader might send a signal that a new era is beginning, and Fontaine has worked within the Liberal party line, perhaps moreso than his people wished at times.

Edited July 14, 2011 by jacee

[Newfoundlander]

That's racism (identity politics) Liberal style.

Sorry Newfoundlander, the federal Liberals face a problem far graver than their leader.

I happen to think that the Liberals can form a majority government in Ottawa but to do it, they will have to change the way they finance their party and change the way they poll, understand their voters.

If the Liberals simply change their leader, they'll go down to defeat as Dion and Ignatieff did.

First off how is that racism "Liberal style"?

As well I know the party face "a problem far graver than their leader", what exactly did I say that would make you think I didn't?

[August1991]

First off how is that racism "Liberal style"?

Leader? Pick an aboriginal. Woman. Francophone. Anglophone. Catholic. Protestant.

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The federal Liberal Party has to change. It has to know who in Canada will possibly vote Liberal.

Bob Rae is wasting his time travelling across Canada. That's not the problem.

[Newfoundlander]

Leader? Pick an aboriginal. Woman. Francophone. Anglophone. Catholic. Protestant.

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The federal Liberal Party has to change. It has to know who in Canada will possibly vote Liberal.

Bob Rae is wasting his time travelling across Canada. That's not the problem.

I'm not saying they have to pick a leader of a particular, sex, religion, ethnic group or whatever, I was just pointing out the name of a potential candidate.

[August1991]

I'm not saying they have to pick a leader of a particular, sex, religion, ethnic group or whatever, I was just pointing out the name of a potential candidate.

And I'm saying that Bob Rae is wasting his time travelling across Canada.

The NDP and Liberals just don't get it. You want to stay connected? Read blogs.

Edited July 14, 2011 by August1991

[Newfoundlander]

And I'm saying that Bob Rae is wasting his time travelling across Canada.

You Liberals just don't get it.

And I'm not a Liberal so I couldn't care less if Bob Rae travels across the country.

[August1991]

Anand d I'm not a Liberal so I couldn't care less if Bob Rae travels across the country.

I happen to think that you're a Joey Smallwood/Trudeau Liberal who now wonders whether Newfoundland made the right choice.

It's a good question.

If Stephen Harper's Conservatives take/exercise power, what of Newfoundland? Heck, ignore Harper, what of Newfoundland in general?

Edited July 14, 2011 by August1991

[Remiel]

And I'm saying that Bob Rae is wasting his time travelling across Canada.

The NDP and Liberals just don't get it. You want to stay connected? Read blogs.

Don't be dense. Ask Jason Kenney if he thinks the Conservatives won by reading blogs.

[August1991]

Don't be dense. Ask Jason Kenney if he thinks the Conservatives won by reading blogs.

Remiel, you explain my argument better.