The Hill Times, April 20, 2009

Does Anyone Know Where Jack’s Been?

Since the collapse of the coalition idea, NDP Leader Jack Layton has basically limited his political activities to mourning the death of his dream.

By Angelo Persichilli

TORONTO—Does anyone know where Jack Layton’s been? While federal Liberals and Conservatives are elbowing for positioning in the next federal election, it appears the NDP leader has fallen off the federal political radar screen. Since the collapse of his initiative of a centre-left coalition with the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois, Layton has basically limited his political activities to mourning the death of his dream.

There’s no doubt that the manoeuvering for the creative and daring coalition didn’t just start after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s controversial presentation in November of the economic update. That event was the spark that provided life to an initiative Layton was already working on.

There is also no doubt that putting together a political coalition with federalists and separatists showed Layton’s skills in negotiations and diplomacy. He skillfully preyed on the ambition and/or desperation of the about-to-be-finished Liberal leader like Stéphane Dion and the overconfidence of Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe who incidentally escaped from a political near-death-experience and tried to deliver a final blow to Prime Minister Stephen Harper knowing that Dion and Layton would never be contenders in Quebec.

The trio thus became the darlings among Quebec voters but they completely misread the reaction of the rest of the country.

Moreover, Dion, blinded by his ambitions, didn’t realize that the pieces of his leadership in the Liberal Party were kept together by a glow that had nothing to do with his crazy ambitions.

So this combined potpourri of creativity, desperation, and combined leaders’ ambitions was saved by the decision of Governor General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue Parliament. It was a decision that definitely saved Harper’s government whose leadership would have been in danger had he lost 24 Sussex Dr. residence, but also saved Canada from a political chaos during the worst recession since the Great Depression of the Thirties.

At the end of the day, along with most Canadians, the winners have been Harper, new Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, and the Liberals who were finally able to get rid of a leader elected two years earlier during two weeks of collective craziness in Montreal.

The losers have been Dion, who had nothing to lose at that point anyway, and Layton.

The problem for Layton is that he put all his eggs into one basket, without taking into consideration the possibility of a failure of the project and he didn’t have a ‘plan B.’

This became painfully clear after the Gov.-Gen. Jean decided to prorogue Parliament into the new year.

Layton didn’t read the signals coming from the new leader of the Liberal Party who had no appetite for the coalition and was clearly taking the party in a different direction.

Layton had to know that the only influential Liberal still pushing for the coalition was Bob Rae, but when Rae decided to give up and support Ignatieff, Layton had to understand the coalition was over.

Unfortunately, he kept promoting it and, in January, he made the last strategically deadly mistake: he announced to vote against Flaherty’s upcoming budget before reading it.

Let’s face it: the NDP has always voted against Conservative budgets, but Canadians didn’t like this behaviour for two reasons.

First, it’s a matter of correctness and respect for the institutions. If you decide before you read it, people can interpret the action as a lack of respect for the institution.

Second, we were, and still are, in the middle of a deep recession and Canadians want more cooperation from our political leaders. Furthermore, there is always the possibility that the government might do something that you might like.

In fact, the budget presented by Flaherty, was considered by many as the most socialist budget ever presented by a Canadian government.

Even Rae, in a story on the National Post, joked that Harper went even beyond his budget when he was the NDP premier of Ontario.

Of course, you can find many things you don’t like in every budget and you can always resort to the magic words used by the oppositions like “too little, too late,” or “we want more,” or “the budget doesn’t do enough for my neighbour Pasquale.”

But at that point, Layton was in a corner. He kept opposing the government, but was unable to articulate an alternative. In a time of crisis, it’s not enough to remind people what the problems are; they know them, they want solutions instead.

The Liberals, meanwhile, kept criticizing the budget saying that “this is not our budget,” at the same time while recognizing that there was “something good” in it and supported it.

This tactic will not help them in the future because, eventually, they have to come up with something alternative to the Harper’s budget, but nonetheless their position helped them to gain time and to put their house in order, so to speak.

In the meantime the government, with the help of the Liberals, is working hard to help Canadians to go through these difficult times with the NDP present only through an empty rhetoric in the House.

That’s why the NDP and Layton have become irrelevant and their absence in the daily news is the first concerning symptom. And, more concerning than Layton’s absence, is the fact that nobody notices it.

I hope the leader of the NDP has used this Parliamentary break to prepare a strategy that goes beyond the rhetoric of criticism. Canadians know the problems, they have had enough of political games and they want solutions.

news@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

Dear Jack Layton,

My name is Gabe.  I’ve lived in Toronto-Danforth for 21 years.  I haven’t been a voter very long.  But every time I’ve voted in a federal election, I’ve voted for you. 

But this time, you’ve lost my support.  You take my vote for granted.  You insult me and my neighbours by asking for our votes, and then lie to us when we ask if you’re going to be here in Toronto-Danforth to debate the local issues.

On October 5th, I called your campaign office.  I asked your staff if you were going to be at the debate.  I asked your staff if I was finally going to get the chance to hear you speak to me about the issues that you purport to fight for.  Well, they lied to me.  They told me you were going to debate.  They told me you cared about the local issues, and that you cared about local voters. 

So why are you in BC?  You didn’t think I’d find this, did you?  It’s an article from the Comox (BC) Valley Record.  It says, in plain language, that while you’re supposed to be in Toronto-Danforth at a debate that was scheduled at a time that you said was convenient for you, you’re going to be speaking to a crowd of Vancouver Island residents.  The article says it’s your second time in that riding since August.  How many times have you been in Toronto-Danforth since August??  Well, your campaign office says ONCE.  Once.  It’s shameful – but then again, they could be lying to me about that too.

I can’t believe the arrogance.  I can’t believe the disrespect.  You tried to pull a fast one on your constituents, Jack, and we’ve had enough.  Between now and October 14th, Mr. Layton, you’ve got one hell of a lot of explaining to do.

Respectfully,

Gabe.

On September 13^th, Jack Layton, the absentee MP for Toronto-Danforth, addressed a rally of supporters at the CNE grounds in downtown Toronto. In Trinity-Spadina. Not in Toronto-Danforth.

He had a few special guests who took the opportunity to remind CBC and CTV news that it was Jack joining with Stephen Harper that brought down the Liberal government, and that reversed the progressive, prosperous course our country was on:

My name is Gabe. I’ve lived in the riding of Toronto-Danforth my entire life. Toronto-Danforth is known across the country for its strong community. It’s the Danforth, East York, Chinatown East, Little India and the Gerrard Street Bazaar, Leslieville, Greektown, and Riverdale – we’re a riding of communities.

For as long as I could vote in federal elections, I’ve only ever voted NDP. But this election’s different. Like so many of you, I’m tired of the kind of representation that our Member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth, Jack Layton, has been giving us. I’m tired of the political calculations (bringing down the Martin government, and bringing in Stephen Harper), the empty rhetoric, and the promises that Jack has never had the opportunity to break. I’m tired of Jack Layton – of his unwillingness to debate local issues in Toronto-Danforth, and of his undemocratic attempts to prevent the Green Party from debating nationally.

For the community of communities that is Toronto-Danforth, I believe that Local Matters. And while Jack is off travelling the country on his airplane, Andrew Lang and the Liberals are in our community, knocking on doors, meeting neighbours, working to build a richer Toronto-Danforth, a fairer Toronto-Danforth, and a greener Toronto-Danforth. But all we see of Jack in Toronto-Danforth are his lawn-signs, and news-clips of his empty speeches to NDP rallies hundreds of kilometres of away.

This is a site for all of us who deserve strong local representation. It’s a site for all of us who deserve a local advocate who knows our community, and who lives in our community. It’s a site for all of us who wonder, every day: Where’s Jack??