Amidst the thousands of words furiously typed, newsprint wasted, hot air spewed about the latest skirmish in the long-running Coderre-Cauchon war, rarely is the real tragedy given the attention it deserves.
In addition to blocking an open nomination meeting in Outremont and with it the candidacy of the riding’s former, long-serving Liberal MP, it has also been reported — briefly and without even the mildest of critiques — Denis Coderre has pressured four other sitting Liberal MPs in Montreal to resign before the next election.
While the irony is rich, the results are tragic.
To wit, two of the MPs cited, Raymonde Folco and Lize Zirac are women, which would be unremarkable were it not for the fact that both Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Coderre have said Mr. Cauchon will not be allowed to contest the nomination in Outremont because the riding is being held for — wait for it — a woman.
Worse still, rumour has it Coderre has further cited the need for “new blood” as his reason for strong-arming Folco and Zirac out of their jobs.
Granted, Folco has been an MP for about 12 years, which Mr. Coderre can personally attest is a long time to be a Member of Parliament, considering he too was elected in 1997.
But Zirac? Her name may be unfamiliar to many outside of LaSalle-Emard. That’s because she was first elected in — wait for it — 2008. Evidently, while she has been an MP for less than a year, Zirac (like Coderre’s Class of ’97 alum, Folco) has already grown old and tired.
However, Coderre’s plans for a more youthful, estrogen-rich Liberal Caucus also means, for Coderre at least, the MPs for Pierrefonds–Dollard and St. Laurent–Cartierville, Dr. Bernard Patry and the Honourable Stephane Dion, must go.
For a party that has seen its federal presence in Quebec reduced substantially in recent years, and polls currently indicating that presence won’t increase much any time soon, one would think the Liberals’ Quebec Lieutenant would want to keep those few MPs from Quebec who have a proven record of getting elected.
Not so, apparently.
What is particularly disturbing about Coderre’s thuggish strategy isn’t so much the zeal with which he is pursuing it, but the lack of oversight — of sober second thought — his boss, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, is bringing to it.
Ignatieff’s silence on these matters is at least disturbing and is at most shameful, especially when it comes to how Coderre has been allowed to treat a former Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Say what you will about Dion (it’s probably been said already), but surely he deserves better than this?
Surely, a man who has dedicated so much of his life to public service — to Canada and its unity; to the planet and its future — deserves more than a, “thank you very much, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Shame.
