East Ottawa Star
Published: Friday, July 24, 2009

Every issue is a local issue

At last count, three folks are seeking the local federal Liberal nomination in Ottawa-Orléans for the chance to unseat two-time Conservative MP Royal Galipeau in the next federal election.

For what it’s worth, my money is on a 40 per cent chance of a fall election and a 60 per cent likelihood of a March 2010 election right after Canada win’s the Olympic mens’ hockey gold and the Liberals vote non-confidence in the next budget.

Most readers will know that I ran under the federal Conservative banner in 2004 in our community and garnered 41 per cent of the vote but fell two per cent short of my Liberal opponent and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. In other words, my bias is not hidden from anyone.

That being said, the three Liberal hopefuls (Innes Ward Coun. Rainer Bloess, businesswoman Judith Cane and lawyer David Bertschi) are making local political life interesting this summer as they pound the pavement and work their respective networks to sell the memberships necessary to win a nomination meeting, likely to take place shortly before or after Labour Day.

And if I can offer some advice to them, which I know our MP has learned in spades, every issue is local. Whether it is federal, provincial or a city issue, as an MP you need to be able to deal with these concerns and build bridges to your colleagues and officials within other levels of government so you can help your constituents ASAP.

Another challenge for our Liberal wannabes (not a pejorative term, just vernacular) that they must need address is the balance between their local desires and the platform of their party, whenever Michael Ignatieff decides to tell us what the federal Liberal Party stands for. It will be all fine, dandy and defensible to champion local arts funding or economic development or public health issues during the campaign, but they also have to square with the party’s national plan and key messages.

The other question that the eventual Liberal contender (along with our present MP, to be fair) will have to address is their influence if they are not in government. If the Liberals re-take our riding but fail to form government, how will a Liberal MP make things happen for our community? Likewise, if Mr. Galipeau is re-elected but the Conservatives are relegated to the role of Official Opposition, how will he continue to serve us without the levers of power that come with government such as funding, influence on key national decisions, etc.?

This should be the litmus test question for voters who are not blindly partisan. Of course the flippant and easy answer for any politician is to say, “I will be elected and be a member of the government” but this is at best a 50/50 proposition. Only the candidate (or candidates) – regardless of party – who can tell you how they will serve the riding from either side of the House of Commons are deserving of serious consideration.  

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Comments can be sent to Walter Robinson at orleansouttakes@transcontinental.ca.