A burning question

Erin raises one of the big questions about Stephane Dion which the Libs probably don't want to have to deal with anytime soon. Namely, is Dion anywhere near as progressive economically as his media image suggests?

The only grounds for optimism seem to be that Dion has said very little about economics and some good things about the environment. However, unless Dion says something different about economics, we have to assume that he accepts the right-wing orthodoxy of the governments in which he was a cabinet minister. Dion’s legacy as environment minister was a bunch of bogus voluntary programs.

There are significant grounds for pessimism. In the last three parliamentary votes on anti-scab legislation, Dion opposed it twice and did not vote once. During the Liberal leadership race, he sneered that “the NDP do not understand the market economy” and defended the “compassion” of Paul Martin’s 1995 budget cuts.

In addition to this track record which doesn't seem to have been substantively challenged, it's worth again mentioning Dion's apparent position against any federal involvement in areas which could possibly be construed as provincial jurisdiction - even where the provinces are perfectly happy to see Ottawa involved.

There's no doubt that Canada needs a strong progressive voice to oppose Harper's attempts to first starve the federal government, then tie it down to keep it from recovering. But barring a major change from his past positions, it looks far too likely that Dion's views are disturbingly close to PMS' on both counts. And if so, then Canadian voters may only have one choice willing to stand up for a federal government which looks to act for the good of the country, rather than looking for excuses not to.