Guelph Library Premieres 8 Short Films About Guelph

Much of the action at the East End Library Branch's block party to celebrate Canada 150 was, naturally, outdoors, but there was something interesting happening inside too: Eight short films about Guelph by eight local filmmakers. Covering a wide variety of topics, the shorts each show a side of Guelph - known and unknown - that highlighted the reasons why the Royal City is the place that it is. 

More Guessing Games About Guelph and the Election

If you feel like you're being inundated with polls and surveys regarding your thoughts on the upcoming Federal Election, you're not alone. I wrote about a call we received at my house last month that offered numerous choices for the Liberal and NDP fields, as well as a singular potential Conservative candidate. I'm not sure what informs these surveys, how they come up with some of the names they offer, but a couple of new ones have floated to the surface courtesy of a new poll I answered last night. 

Lazy Sunday

The Mercury's Brad Needham posted this list on the paper's Guelph Votes blog Wednesday, and I loved it, so I felt like sharing.

Top 10 signs the election campaign, which started in Guelph on July 25, has gone on too long.

10. Prime Minister Stephen Harper almost made it to Guelph.
(Editor's Note: Remember: Wednesday, the PM did, in fact make it to Guelph)
9. NDP Leader Jack Layton has run out of Stephen Harper sweater jokes.
8. Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is actually starting to make sensee.
7. Karen Levenson of the Animal Alliance Environment Voters party has been talking about giving a voice to animals. Beverly Hills Chihuahua is the Number 1 movie in the country. Coincidence? I think not.
6. The kids riding bikes outside Green candidate Mike Nagy’s Gordon Street office are thinking about university.
5. Independent candidate John Turmel hasn’t been arrested in weeks.
4. The NDP’s Tom King is out of stories.
3. Even Liberal Frank Valeriote would admit that getting his law degree was easier than trying to explain the Green Shift.
2. Conservative Gloria Kovach has been spotted at some all-candidates debates.
1. Even the vandals are getting bored. Guelph’s election signs have never looked better.

Anyway, in actual news, while Mike Nagy managed to score the endorsement of the Guelph Mercury last week, Tom King managed to find some press in another paper... the New York Times. King was the subject of Saturday's Profile by Ian Austen, who talks to King about his life, career and political campaign. "Now Mr. King, 65, has set aside the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s microphones to make his first foray into electoral politics," it goes in the article. "His decision to run for a seat in the House of Commons in a campaign that ends Tuesday is, in an American context, about as predictable as Garrison Keillor abandoning Lake Wobegon for a shot at Congress."

Leaders take it to us, as Election comes to close

As the final weekend before the Election begins, the Royal City is getting some royal treatment again as leaders make a list ditch effort to score points.

It began today with Stephen Harper's very brief layover at Gloria Kovach's campaign office, in an appearance that was sandwiched between two others in London and Quebec. It came by long enough to greet voters, attack Dion and spark a small protest before he was on the road again.“It’s a choice between staying the course and moving forward, or throwing caution to the wind, embracing expensive schemes," said Harper. “Mr. Dion may be a professor, but he hasn’t had much luck teaching Canadians about the carbon tax.”

Tomorrow night, Jack Layton will pull into the Woolwich Arms for a pre-election push for Tom King called "Momentum: United for Change." This will be the first appearance of Layton in Guelph since an outdoor event with Naomi Klein way back on September 5th in Royal City Park. Politicos will remember that Layton was a frequent flyer in the riding during the by-election. He's scheduled to appear at the Wooly at 9 pm.

Let's Get Ready to Rebuttal!

As I'm sure you know, Tuesday was debate night in the Royal City. The combined forces of the Guelph Mercury and Rogers Television was what it took to bring together 9 out of 10 of the candidates running in Guelph, which begs the question: is Manuel Couto real? I mean is he a real person, or does he merely exist on our ballot every Federal election?

But the nine that did show created a lively evening of debate which was often more like an 8 on 1 with everyone else taking shots at the Conservatives and Stephen Harper, leaving Gloria Kovach to defend not just her own designs on the MP job, but the record of the Conservative government as well. Here's how the debate broke down:

John Turmel - At the University debate, J.T. closed with the 9/11 conspiracy theory version of our involvement in Afghanistan and that's how he started this one, before pretty much stuck to his guns about LETS and getting interest free credit from the Bank of Canada for the rest of the night. On taxes, he says that he doesn't mind paying them so long as they're going to something and not paying down the debt. Among his highlights Turmel proclaimed that he should decriminalize "all victimless crime" including gambling, smoking pot and prostitution saying that "Even shy and unattractive people have the right to get laid." Also, Turmel dropped some science on the crowd saying that pot should be legalized because it can kill cancer and regrow brain cells, and that humans aren't responsible for global warming because there's global warming on Mars too.

Drew Garvie - The Communist Party nominee came off cool, informed and collected, and handled a question about the human rights practices of "Communist China" with a lot of grace. Garvie hit hard at the Conservatives for cutting social programs and their support of the Afghan mission. He referenced Harper's infamous 1997 speech to Americans in Montreal several times as a reason why a Harper majority government will be dangerous to the country. "We need to think about what a functioning economy really is," he said adding that the Harper government has a very narrow focus in these terms: profit. I must add that Garvie had tremendous control of his party's platform in this debate; he was practiced, polished and professional. He really came out to play on this one, and looked good enough to play ball with the majors.

Karen Levenson - Although I don't think she's really impressed in her past debate appearances, Levenson seriously came out swinging in this one asking, "Who are the real extremists: those that are trying to save the world or those trying to destroy it?" She swung hard at every pitch and while she didn't always connect, she worked to gain ground. During a question about the economy, Levenson answered that there are limits to economic growth because the Earth is finite. During a question about support for safe injection sites, Levenson said that the roots of drug use are from the fact that many people in society don't see themselves as being counted. And when Gloria Kovach said that as a nurse and a mother, she supported universal healthcare, Levenson said that it was unconscionable for a nurse and a mother to support the heavily polluting tar sands. Levenson was solid from start to finish.

Philip Bender - The even-tempered Bender did what he does best, and put a harmless, congeal spin on the Libertarian point of view for the issues in this election. He tested the assertion that government can create jobs, challenged that protecting the environment comes from a lack of property rights, and reiterated his belief that our healthcare system is a monopoly that insulates us from proper improvements and innovation. In a question that mentioned Martin Luther King Jr., Bender used him as an example of Libertarian ideals since he incited great change without being part of a government and getting people to join him in "volunteer association." Bender did take a serious hit though when he joined Turmel in his assumption that the jury was still out, so to speak, about whether human activity was to blame for global warming.

Mike Nagy - The Green Party candidate came out in the lead and close enough stayed there through most of the debate, jocking for position with one other candidate. His opening remarks set the tone, "Canadians have always feared change, but have always embraced improvement." And then referencing the pro-environment turn of the other parties added, "There is only one Green Party." Nagy ably proved his dual points that his party has a complete platform and that economic and environmental concerns are irrevocably tied. He dodged Conservative charges that we need to stay the course in these difficult economic times by employing a Titantic metaphor and attacked Turmel and Bender when the implied that there's no human factor in global warming. The normally soft-spoken Nagy was on fire all night; he was scrappy, determined and extremely effective in making his points.

Gloria Kovach - As I said earlier, Kovach had in unenviable position to defend a government she hasn't been a part of but did so admirably. She hit out strong about the Liberals', and other parties', plan to "tax people to death," but it seemed to connect with the audience about as well as Bender's call to dismantle the Federal government as we know it. I think what did connect was her correlation of the recent the job loss at Woods over transportation costs and the idea of the Green Shift; it might make a few undecideds take pause. What continues to work in Kovach's favour is her standing in the community as a city councillor; people know her, people like her, so they can look past a lot of the boogeyman stuff about the Conservatives. She held her own, but to borrow a colloquialism from the American journalists, this wasn't a game changer for her.

Kornelis Klevering - If there was a game changer for anyone it was Marijuana Party candidate Brother Kase who made a strong argument for his election by turning his perceived candidacy around. "If you think I'm up here to advocate the case for smoking pot, you've got the wrong idea," he said. He attacked the half-hearted stand of decriminalization and talked about making Guelph a centre for hemp-based research and using the old Guelph correctional facility as a medicinal marijuana cultivation centre, since it was the appropriate security infrastructure in place. Brother Kase was very strong on all the issues brought up, from healthcare to Afghanistan, but at the same time, never lost sight of his own platform. I was impressed.

Tom King - Unfortunately, I think King was looking a little tired Tuesday, possibly the rigors of the long campaign. But his perfected, professorial tone came through loud and clear at times, especially when talking about soical justice issues. He went against the curve on the environmental question by suggesting that you can't divorce local from national concerns. He lashed out at the Conservatives and Liberals for allowing P3 healthcare to creep into the country and then hit the Liberals again for not standing up to the Conservatives in the last parliamentary session. On the question about China and human rights, he was strongest though saying, "Human rights should never be the price to be paid for trade," and then took a swipe at Kovach's mention of native issues saying that the Conservatives "couldn't find a reserve if I gave them a map." He wrapped by encouraging the crowd to "vote for what you want. Vote for what you believe."

Frank Valeriote - The Liberal candidate was also a standout in the debate not so much for anything he said, but the way he said it. Baited once by one of his colleagues, Valeriote politely refused rebuttal, showing strength and confidence in his message. He kept a local focus, tying Harper policies to their impact on Guelph. In his opening remarks he said that neither Canada or Guelph is better off now than it was two and a half years ago, and then he slammed Kovach by namedropping Brent Barr. Later he spoke strongly in favour of safe injection sites and the benefits of them and slighted the Conservatives saying that ideology prevents them from giving the idea their support. For the most part though he stuck to his guns and the Liberal playbook. He ignored the attacks on him and threwout a few of his own.

In the end, I don't think the debate probably had a radical impact on the numbers, but it certainly highlighted the possibility that the race truly is between Valeriote and Nagy.

Before I sign off, I noticed on the Guelph Mercury blog that David Graham, a noted Valeriote supported, was accused of asking the question about living in a riding to run there,of being politically motivated. Graham talked about it on his own blog, but I couldn't find the comment on the Merc blog again. Anyway, yeah - that was political. (Sorry Dave, you know you're my homeboy.) But no more political than when U of G Young Conservatives member Michael Sona asked the question about strategic voting, which was clearly a measure to get King and Nagy to attack Valeriote, who's previously made comments of looking to get co-operation between the left and centre-left parties to beat Harper.

Politics at a debate?! Who would have though?

Forum Interrupted

Cam Guthrie's bold experiment in political debating came to an abrupt end this week when his Civic Forum scheduled for... well, a lot of reasons actually. But most of those reasons have to do with the fact that people were ascribing ulterior motives to Guthrie's attempts to organize a debate of his own, being that he's a well-known Conservative supporter and presumptive nominee to replace Gloria Kovach should her seat open up on city council.

"Some people know my political past and thought there was some kind of angle, and that is completely false," he said in an interview with the Guelph Tribune on Thursday.

Now to be fair to Guthrie, he did do his best to diminsh critics' concerns about having any "angle" in putting on the debate, including replacing himself as moderator with U of G poli-sci Prof Tim Mau. But Frank Valeriote had already decided to pass, as noted in my Echo column this week, and it seems that Tom King was also saying, "Thanks but no thanks..." With only Kovach and Mike Nagy as confiirmed guests it was call the whole thing off time.

"I don't get it. It wasn't about me. I just thought, what a novel idea - instead of questions about policy, have questions about character. That's one of the things voters want to know about before they mark that X on voting day," Guthrie added in his Trib interview. Hm, I guess not.

Read my original posting about the Guthrie deabte here.

Answer Sheet

For the last four weeks in Echo, I've ran one issue-based question per week and the responses from the four major candidates. Now a month is a long time to think back to, and considering that I had to edit a few of the answers for length in fairness, I decided to dedicate today's blog to the full questionnaire.

1. What’s the best strategy for dealing with climate change?

Tom King - The NDP has a better way for Canada and a better plan for the environment. Our strategy will lower pollution by law. In fact, Jack Layton’s Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-377) is the only science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent, by placing an annual cap on the amount of carbon the big polluters can emit. Such a plan, advocated by the United Nations, the European Union, Senator Obama, Governor Schwarzenegger, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, will help ensure Canada reaches its pollution reduction targets in the short and long-term.

Gloria Kovach - It’s important to set clear targets for reductions on greenhouse gas emissions and not look at a tax grab and think that it’s going to reduce our carbon footprint. The Conservatives have implemented the first ever Canadian plan which forces big polluters to cut their emissions, focuses on carbon capture and targets to cut air pollution by half in the next 7 years. We have increased investment in public transit. Technology plays a key part in our plan. Developing green technologies will allow us to cut our emissions while turning Canada into a leader in this rapidly growing area.

Mike Nagy - As we have been saying for years now, the best strategy for dealing with climate change is ours. It is investing in energy efficiency and conservation first; taxing big polluters; honouring our Kyoto commitment; putting moratorium on new Tar Sands development; developing and invest in new low carbon energy sources' investing heavily in public transit including the rebuilding of Via Rail and Light Rail; giving financial incentives for new Green Collar industries and greening our auto sector. The strongest strategy is an innovative strategy. The strongest strategy is our strategy.

Frank Valeriote - The best strategy for dealing with climate change is the Green Shift. Only the Liberal plan keeps both cap-and-trade system a possibility and immediately implements a carbon tax regime that will place more money in the pockets of Canadians. Both plans are good but carbon trading takes 5-10 years to implement and usually requires national (provincial participation), time we do not have to loose.

Unlike the plan of other parties, the Green Shift will work immediately to bring greenhouse emissions down. Economists and environmentalists alike have praised the Green Shift as a bold and decisive strategy for tackling climate change.

It is the only plan that gives all the money it brings in back to the people and spur economic growth. The Auditor General will be asked to ensure that the government does not profit from it, so accountability will be ensured.

2. How do we combat the loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario?

Tom King - The NDP has a package of “Smart Incentives" that will help areas in the province hit hard by the manufacturing crisis. Changes to corporate taxation must be made to increase investment and strategies to encourage new environmental technologies. Our “Greener Communities Strategy” can create 313,000 new jobs by focusing on retrofitting existing infrastructure and saving businesses. The NDP’s “Green-Collar Jobs Plan” aids laid-off workers and their communities by retraining them for green-collar jobs – matching trends with future needs. We believe in a fair trade policy that places workers as the priority – not profits.

Gloria Kovach - We must ensure a strong economy and proactively work to build Canadian competitiveness both internationally and within our borders. In the short-term, we must retrain those who have lost their jobs so they can work elsewhere. In Ontario, a new federal-provincial program called the Community Development Trust supports “job training to create opportunities for workers in sectors facing labour shortages, community transition plans that foster economic development and create new jobs, and infrastructure development that stimulates economic diversification.”

Longer term, we must develop new technologies that will create new manufacturing opportunities. The Harper Government’s $1.3 billion Science & Technology Strategy is for this purpose. It includes a $250 million Automotive Innovation Fund to help make Canada a leader in "green" automotive technologies and greenhouse gas reduction.

Mike Nagy - We need integrated solutions. We have to increase and develop our base of skilled workers through education and immigration policies; promote local businesses in local markets; and go green because it is the biggest economic opportunity of this century. Education shouldn't be debt sentence, but a skill-developing, life experience that prepares Canadians for the world. The immense pool of skills that immigrants contribute to should be fostered, not systematically rejected. Local economies offer local solutions and secure and fair markets. We know green manufacturing of products for a green future not the grey past means opportunity, sustainability and quality.

Frank Valeriote - The short answer is to do the opposite of what the Conservative government has done. We cannot have a government telling investors not to invest in Ontario and then not offering immediate relief. Ontario has lost over 100,000 jobs. The conservatives provided Tax cuts; unfortunately, they are only part of the solution and not the solution.

Industry needs immediate relief along with a long term tax reduction to make Canada competitive. We will combat these job losses with the creation of a $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Prosperity Fund that will partner with industry. Further, the Green Shifts pledge to cut corporate and small business taxes by one per cent while creating an environment for next generation jobs in the green industry not only protects the current jobs but spurs creation of more in an ever growing field.

3. How will you work to create a better, more co-operative Parliament?

Tom King - New Democrats come to Ottawa to make Parliament work, to put Canada on a progressive path that will meet this century’s biggest challenges. We want to balance the books and pay down debt, but we also recognize our obligation to the future. In Parliament, New Democrats realize that we are not here to scandal-monger over the latest headline. We are here because this country is crying out for progressive solutions to the challenges of the century ahead. The NDP will not let Canadians be taken for granted. They deserve better than what Liberal and Conservative governments delivered.

Gloria Kovach - Like every Canadian, I see media reports and wonder what is happening in Ottawa. However, despite what we see in Question Period, the fact is that the Harper government has made great strides in 2 ½ years with a minority government for Canadians – such as improving our economy, passing improved crime legislation to ensure safer communities, healthcare advances and making us a more respected and responsible player on the international stage. Every elected official should ensure they represent their communities’ needs, be a strong voice and take the responsibility seriously and show up to vote.

Mike Nagy - Have you been to the House of Commons? It behaves deplorably. I've seen more constructive, sensitive and honourable behaviour at day cares. Canadians don't deserve this. The Green Party is the only party that can create a better, more co-operative Parliament. Why? Because we are the only ones without partisan baggage; because Canadians of all political stripes and colours like us whether or not they have voted for us before; because I want to set an example in Ottawa by fostering respect and co-operation, building consensus, and celebrating common ground.

Frank Valeriote - I will lead by example by being a courteous and respectful MP to both my colleagues on both sides of the floor and to Parliament itself. The amount of rancour going on during Question Period is embarrassing for all Canadians, but it can change if each and every MP pauses and remembers to behave in a civilized fashion before they speak. Glen Pearson and Bill Casey are excellent parliamentarians and their example is what all politicians should follow. I think if MPs make an individual, conscious decision to be more respectful to each other, then Parliament will become more co-operative.

4. Candidates choice: What issue, aside from the three above, do you consider a matter of importance for the city, the region and the country?

Tom King - I am extremely concerned about the growing number of people living in poverty. In a country such as ours, where there is an abundance of resources and riches, how can Canadians be poor? When the House of Commons voted to support Ed Broadbent’s motion calling for urgent action to end child poverty by 2000, many Canadians had a renewed sense of optimism. The Conservatives and Liberals made a commitment to the poor and vulnerable in our country but when it came time to take a principled stand, they chose Bay Street over Main Street.

Gloria Kovach - Building Canadian competitiveness and keeping the economy strong.
In just two and a half years our Conservative government has reduced the federal debt by $37 billion dollars, we have made many changes to personal taxes to aid in improving the fiscal health of Canadians including:
•Increasing the basic personal exemption, allowing you to earn more without paying taxes
•Tax credits for public transit, sports, textbooks, tools and apprentices
•Income tax eliminated on student scholarships and bursaries
•Introduced the most important savings vehicle since the RRSP, a savings account for up to $5,000 per year with a tax free exemption on interest or capitol gains.

Mike Nagy - Poverty. Martin Luther King wrote that "the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income." We are such a rich country with a beautiful history of democracy, justice and social responsibility. The fact that 15% of Canadians live in poverty, including children, is a national tragedy and utterly unacceptable. We have solutions to eradicate poverty, provide every Canadian with housing, introduce the guaranteed liveable income, ensure that education that isn't a debt sentence by forgiving 50 per cent of student loans upon graduation, and remove taxes from the people who earn the least.

Frank Valeriote - In my mind, the most important issue for Guelph and Canada as a whole is health care. The Liberal Party is committed that our health care system remains public and accessible to everyone, especially the least privileged. Our first priority in terms of health care is to reduce wait times. The Harper government has not moved forward on this issue, and the Canada Health Council and the Canadian Medical Association have both criticized this government for not meeting former Liberal targets on reducing wait times. This is unacceptable and the Liberal Party will change this in government.

I Got Mail

I saw on the news today that local politicians were chastising their federal candidates for not focusing more on local issues in their campaigns. Well, I can't say I disagree, and I take a share of guilt on that as much as anyone. Anyway, I got this today in the old e-mail and I thought I'd post it.

TOM KING HAS A NATIONAL HOME CARE PLAN
“Helping our seniors live in dignity”

(Guelph) – The New Democrat candidate in Guelph, Tom King, announced that as a Member of Parliament, he will work with Jack Layton to build a program to assist older Canadians to live in dignity in their homes.

King blasted the Prime Minister, saying “Stephen Harper has let down our older generation, the women and men of Guelph who built this nation. Mr. Harper voted in favour of the New Democrat’s Senior’s Charter in 2006, but instead of implementing it he made $50 billion in corporate tax cuts his priority.”

The New Democrat also pointed to the difficulties experienced by family care-givers, saying “a generation of Canadians is burning out, caring for their parents as well as their kids.”

“As a basic first step, working in close collaboration with the provinces,” said King, “we’ll create a national home care program, providing 100,000 more Canadian families with access to home care.”

“Canada’s senior citizens built this country, and we are all in their debt. It’s time for a Prime Minister who will repay that debt.”

It's a big issue that's only going to get bigger as the Baby Boomers grow older, I'm glad someone's mentioned. However, on the other hand, it does seem to be further evidence that this election seems to be about everything , and nothing, at the same time.

Follow-up:

In regards to yesterday's entry about the supposed "mounting evidence" that Frank Valeriote "staged a canvas" broadcast on the CPAC program Campaign Politics and Christian Conservative's warning to "fess up" and "come clean" because "the media has been sniffing around."

Well, goof that I am, I went straight to the source. I called CPAC today and talked to Jenn Thomlinson in their media office. She says that they've received no complaint or question about the validity of the segment and thus there is currently no investigation into it. Now I know CC's "preparing his letter," so I guess time will tell.

And incidentally, and anecdotally, as I was explaining this story to my mom and my sister today, they told me that when Gloria Kovach canvased our house a few weeks ago, she knew our names thanks to a list. And where would she get such a list? My sister's a Liberal Party supporter and both my mother and me are independents. Hm. Who would have a list of potential voters and where they live? It's almost like some group, let's call them.... Elections Canada, would keep that kind of information so that they can compile some kind of series of names who are people that voted in the last election... let's call it a voter's list.

Anyway, this concludes my interest in this issue. Unless, of course, it turns out that Frank Valeriote turns out to be the kind of ineffectual super-villain, like Egg Head or King Tut from the old Batman show, that CC seems to think he is.

Debate: the Next Generation

It was announced this week the date for the next, big debate. It'll be five days before the election on October 9th at Guelph Place, much like the canceled one that was originally to take place on Sept. 3rd, until the prospect of the full-blown election forced organizers to pull the plug.

But this promises to be different, according to debate organizer, and my fellow Mercury Community Editorial Board member, Cam Guthrie. He says he's sick with the old debate format and wants to shake it up with a little somethin', somethin'. So when Tom King, Gloria Kovach, Mike Nagy and Frank Valeriote take the stage a Guelph Place, here's what they'll be facing.

• Questions will be around leadership, vision and accountability. Not policies. You want policies - go to their websites.
• Asking identical questions to each candidate will allow Guelph to hear revealing answers to the same questions.
• No notes will be allowed on-stage.

There will only be one candidate on stage at a time. The other candidates will be in a secluded area where they cannot hear the questions or the answers. Each candidate has 30 minutes.

"Secluded area where they cannot hear the questions?" No notes on stage? This sounds a little game show-y to me, a little like Quiz Show or something, but I'm interested to see where it goes.

Guthrie is also asking the public to send in their questions to him, so that they might be posed to the candidates during the debate. E-mail him at cam@camguthrie.ca, but he requests that you "make sure your questions are about vision, accountability and leadership."

L2: Leftists United

The Guelph Mercury had an article Thursday about Frank Valeriote's recently articulated desire to unite the left, a la the Conservatives and uniting the right, at least in intention if not literally. He first made remarks about a union at the University of Guelph debate on Sept. 4th. "The right did it," he said. "I'm not sure why we can't do it. If we don't, we face a long time of a right government."

"If we don't somehow reach out to one another, we may indeed find ourselves on the outside looking in," Valeriote told the Mercury Wednesday. "I don't think any of us want to live with another three or four years of right, right-wing government. I'm not proposing a merger, but, if I'm blessed with getting elected, you can be darn sure I'll be reaching out to everyone in Parliament to find out what we have in common."

Amongst the other left-wing candidates, there was some disagreement on that point.

Tom King:
"I don't know what Frank is talking about, I consider (the Liberals) to be in the same bed as Stephen Harper. It's his way of opening the conversation to there are only two parties, the Liberals and the Tories, and everyone has to be hunkered down with the Liberals to keep the Tories out. [...] I'd be more than happy to take Frank's ideas to Ottawa," King said. "But I don't see the Liberals having the backbone for heavy lifting."

Mike Nagy:
"I'll work with every party once I'm in the House, but I need to be in the House. Greens draw from the whole spectrum."

It would be an interesting idea to see the left work as some kind of coalition should we come face-to-face with another minority government situation, but as the article points out, there's a lot of partisan rivalry between the Liberals and the NDP, and the NDP and the Greens. Even before Layton (initially) refused participation in the debates should Elizabeth May be there, the Green Party leader had a certain amount of bitterness towards Layton.

Back in the spring, May told me about Layton that "The strategy is ‘the enemy of my enemy,’” she said, "that when the Liberal Party is crushed and eliminated, than the NDP can replace them as the natural alternative to the Conservatives. It’s politically inspired and it doesn’t make sense ideologically"

Then again, there was a lot of bad blood between the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives... still is actually. Still, in the face of a potential Harper majority, is it an offer that the left can refuse?

NDP All-Star Cabaret

Friday's event in Royal City Park, a combination rally/fundraiser, would have been the perfect cap to a hard fought and successful campaign for the local NDP, but instead it might as well have been a kick-off to the Guelph election sequel currently scheduled to premiere Sunday.

But back in Guelph though, it was a rainy, sort of dreary kind of day. Nothing better to liven the spirits than some music, some dancing, some drumming, and some political rallying. The event was billing as "Four Great Canadians in Three Great Events," unfortunately though only three could come: Tom King, Jack Layton and Naomi Klein. The forth, Stephen Lewis, had a family emergency. As the others made there way to Royal City Park from the Bookshelf, the crowd was entertained by the Celtic-folk-stylings of Loretta Reed.

After four songs, a Native drum was set up in front of the stage. The five man drumming team included King, Layton, and emcee James Gordon. They began with a traditional song for travelers in honour of Lewis' ailing family member and the man that drowned in the Speed River a few nights earlier. King said that they'd play this more solemn song and then get into some more "kick ass songs."

The emcee for the evening's gathering was James Gordon, a local singer/songwriter, co-founder of the Wellington Water Watchers and noted King supporter. Gordon said that the rally was really more of an "inactive audio event" rather than a bunch of political speeches, but without too much fanfare, he turned the mic over to the guest speakers.

King was received very warmly by the crowd, elevating him to rock star status almost. He said that it's tough spending weeks campaigning in a by-election only to have to turn around for a general, but he said he's ready to go. He talked about getting rid of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America so that Canada won't be used by the US as "a resource mall." He called himself a realist and then talked about what some people say is impossible: "Nothing is stopping us from going to Ottawa as [the next] government. [...] We can control our destiny, right here in town." As he wrapped up King said, "vote early, vote often and evidently in this election, that's true."

Next up was Naomi Klein, who said that this was her first political rally that she appeared in as a speaker and she was drawn to the opportunity to support King as an "obsessive" fan of the Dead Dog Cafe. Klein called it a "national issue" for Guelph to send King to Ottawa, adding that "so much of what we're proud of is under siege." In particular, Klein talked about the Harper government's cut to the arts and how a lot of people in the arts are afraid to speak out lest they find their own funding taken. Klein also talked about the coming of a "Back to Basics" movement in that we, the citizens, are going to have to dig in to fight for the things we care about, like the recently formed Department of Culture based in Toronto.

Finally, that brings us to Layton, and I'm almost afraid to say that this may be the last be see of the NDP's moustached leader in our abode given that his attention will be drawn to the other 304 ridings in Canada if we're having that aforementioned general election. Layton seems to think so anyway, he said that "Mr. Harper intends to quit his job on Sunday morning, and for a moment we can be celebratory. [...] I'm going to be putting in my application shortly after he quits." Layton also said that he feels that a lot of people are being left behind, and that Canada runs the risk of electing a government beholden to the oil companies before everyone else. He added that if Harper is elected again then, "By golly, those champagne corks will be popping," in the board rooms of big oil. He wrapped up by saying that he wants to take the concerns of people around the kitchen table and see them take precedent to the issues being discussed around the board room table.

Poll: Guelph is a Green Machine

With 5 days to go until the by-election (or 7 more weeks till a general election), I got a press release from the Green Party saying that they've received poll results that say that say they're in second place Amongst Guelph voters. Like the much disputed Klr Vu poll, Frank Valeriote leads by a wide margin.

The poll breaks down thusly:

Frank Valeriote, Liberals - 38.4 per cent
Mike Nagy Green Party - 24.2 per cent
Gloria Kovach, Conservatives - 12.6 per cent
Tom King, NDP - 8.0 per cent
Undecided - 16.7 per cent

From the press release: "The Oraclepoll survey was conducted on September 1 and 2 with 300 electors who say they are certain to vote. The polls margin of error is +/-5.7%, 19 times out of 20. The Green Party achieved a long-cherished goal of having its first MP in Parliament last Saturday when independent MP Blair Wilson announced his move to the party."

These results are interesting indeed, and anecdotally I can believe it. I've seen Green signs in places I had never thought I'd see them. I will say that Oraclepoll doesn't seems as sketchy as Klr Vu, their website has a long list of clients.

Anyway, I believe wholeheartedly that Green's have got more momentum than ever. The trick will be whether or not they can maintain that momentum in the face of general election developments, but we'll see. Mike Nagy will be among his people tomorrow regardless, the students of the University of Guelph. The U of G is hosting a debate in Peter Clark Hall between 6 and 8 pm.

How Far We've Fallen

I looked at the front of the Guelph Mercury yesterday, and what did I see? Apparently taking blowtorches to election signs isn't enough anymore, but defacing property and cutting brake lines in cars is the new normal in an election that already has made the emotions of so many run high. Scott Tribe has many pictures of the damage on his blog, as well as a joint statement from Frank Valeriote, Tom King, Gloria Kovach and Mike Nagy:

"'What happened in the early hours today is a despicable and cowardly act that endangered innocent people’s lives,' said Valeriote. 'The cutting of the brake lines was intended to at the very least to severely injure people, who have chosen to participate in one of the most important processes this country has to offer to its citizens- they chose to exercise this right and have a political sign on their lawn. We live in a lawful and peaceful society where we have the freedom to express ourselves politically. No one should be subject to this kind of violence and intimidation,' Valeriote concluded.

"Frank Valeriote and Tom King spent most of the day visiting and consoling the owners of the houses that have been criminally vandalized. 'I join Frank Valeriote in condemning these vicious attacks in our community,' said Tom King. 'The vandalism to political signs and the targeting of private homes and property must stop immediately. This kind of activity has nothing to do with the NDP or the Liberals. We’re sad to see politics take such an ugly turn. We hope the police will find the criminals responsible and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.'

"'Greens totally disapprove of any acts of vandalism. Political motivated attacks on people’s homes and property insults the values that Canadians hold sacred regarding safe a free elections' said Mike Nagy.

"Gloria Kovach agreed with all the candidates stating 'This is an escalation in behaviour and his kind of activity has no place in Guelph especially when we all strive for free and fair process.'

"All the candidates denounce the criminal violence, and give their sympathies to the victims whose private property was damaged."

One of the homes vandalized belonged to Frank Maine, who was the Liberal MP of Guelph under Trudeau in the 70s and later went on to sit as a Guelph City Councillor. The picture above, the graffiti mentioning C-68, is referring to both Canada's gun control laws and the first version of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Valeriote called the vandalism "voter intimidation" and the fact the the only houses targeted were ones with Liberal lawn signs out front is proof of that. What's especially disconcerting is the added danger of the brake lines of cars being cut. U of G professor Matthew Hayday mentioned in his blog that he had friends who lived "a few doors away" from some of the vandalized homes, and that leaving that neighbourhood is all downhill. Can you imagine what would have happened had police not been on the ball like they have? How many would have/could have died? Or at least been seriously injured.

Over on David Graham's blog the claws came out. First with a man that indentifies himself as Tom Robinson, who added this little gem to the debate:

"I wish someone would blow up the Liberal office, those fucking criminals.
Liberal are biggest theives, degenerates and scumbags in the world.
Fuck the Liberals, those dirty, fucking commies."

Tough talk that can only come from blanket of anonymity that internet all-too easily provides. Is this really the level we want to stoop to? Is this the country you want? Is this the town you want to live in? This kind of action doesn't win favour with anyone. How many more Frank Valeriote supporters do you, the fly-by-night bandits, think you've converted? Because the truth of the matter is you've probably created more sympathy for him. If Valeriote's supports are being terrorized by a bunch of thugs with spray cans and wire cutters, than he must be doing something right.

There's also the conspiracy theorists. The graffiti said NDP, but who really thinks that the NDP was behind this? I've talked to Tom King on many occasions and nothing about him really says, "Cyrus from The Warriors" to me. The next option being brandied about is that the Conservatives are behind, but really... what's the point? It seems a little low brow for the Conservatives, no matter how desperate they want to win Guelph. Gloria Kovach has condemed these actions and I have no reason to doubt her sincerity.

The other, slightly more wacked out, theory is that the Liberals defaced their own signs and the property of their supporters. Somebody mentioned Karl Rove at the thought, well I don't think even Rove would stare in the face of probable, bodily harm in order to score points with the public. Even you have to admit, right-wing bloggers, that's pretty cynical. That's sitcom politics, like something Homer Simpson would come up with. Actually...

SCENE: Sprigfield City Hall. The stage is set for the debate for santitation commissioner. Homer stands alone on stage. ENTER: his opponent Ray Patterson (voiced by Steve Martin), Patterson comes into the hall winded...

Patterson: Sorry I'm late, (accusingly to Homer) somebody tampered with my brakes.
Homer: Well you should have been on time then.

This entire, unfortunate situation smacks of immaturity at best, terrorism at worst. That's not a word I use lightly, but clearly the point was to scare people for their political opinion. But I wonder, why were the Liberals targeted? They're not the ones in power. Is it because of the recent Klr Vu poll that says they're ahead amongst voters, and thus that Guelph will stay Liberal. If you don't like that thought, then get out and volunteer for the candidate you do think is worthy of your vote and Guelph's. And if you don't have something positive to contribute than just don't bother to do anything. I think we call that the rule of Bambi's mother.

Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to call Guelph Police Sergeant Paul Crowe at 519-824-1212, ext. 344, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Guelph: Liberal Forever?

Finally, we got some poll data yesterday. From a company called KlrVu Research, we get the following breakdown:

Frank Valeriote (Lib) - 37 %
Gloria Kovach (CPC) - 26 %
Mike Nagy (GPC)) - 19 %
Tom King (NDP) - 18 %

Here's what KlrVu has to say about the poll: "This poll was completed in two rounds on July 27th and August 13th, sampling over 3396 random residents of the Guelph constituency representing nearly nine percent of households with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 2%"

Almost 3,400 people. That's a pretty big sample size, especially when you... Wait. What was that? "It’s been pointed out in comments that this polling company is the same firm that was used by pro-life groups a month or so back to try and justify that a majority of Canadians opposed Henry Morgentaler’s receiving the Order of Canada, which was questionable to say the least, since only 7000+ respondents out of 157,115 called actually responded to this poll question." - from Scott's Diatribes.

Okay, but even if this is a Conservative leaning polling company, and they've cooked up an allegedly bogus poll, why put out Valeriote as the front-runner. The theory over at Blogging a Dead Horse seems to be that the Conservatives want to position this as a race between just them and the Liberals, and thus marginalizing the NDP's Tom King (And presumably Mike Nagy as well).

I'm not sure where the benefit is in that for the Conservatives. My own concerns are the fact that this is a poll from a company I've never heard of and whose only other poll is dubious at best. Basically, I don't think Valeriote should take the weekend off and kick up his heels secure in the knowledge that he has a 10-point lead. I agree with Scott's take and suggestion that "the Liberal team is to continue to work on the ground as if you’re 10 points down, not 10 points up."

In other news the final list of all of Guelph's by-election candidates was released this week. And your options are:

Libertarian Party of Canada - Philip Bender
New Democratic Party - Tom King
Marijuana Party - Kornelis Klevering
Conservative Party of Canada - Gloria Kovach
Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada - Karen Levenson
Green Party of Canada - Mike Nagy
Independent - John Turmel
Liberal Party of Canada - Frank Valeriote.

(Almost) All Candidates Meet Again

Today there was another all candidates meeting, this time at Action Read in the Park Mall on Quebec Street. Two notable things right off the bat: 1) this one had the first appearance of Karen Levenson, candidate for the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada, and 2) Gloria Kovach was again conspicuous by her absence (Although that was not unexpected *see Sunday's blog*).

I arrived at Action Read as an audience member was asking about the correlation between global warming and foreign policy. Mike Nagy responded that most wars are fought over a lack of resources and that we can look forward to more wars unless we learn to share. He also said that Canada should be dedicated to giving .07 per cent of the country's GDP to foreign aid.

Tom King agreed with Nagy on foreign aid, but added that we need to get the World Bank out of developing nations so that they stop interfering and dictating what those countries can do through restrictions.

Levenson said that the government does not have a good record on battling climate change and that even though Canada is one of the world's biggest polluters though that fact is unlikely to change under the Harper government.

Frank Valeriote dropped this one on the crowd, "We used to be global leaders and now we're global lagers." He took that chance to put in a plug for the Green Shift plan and the need to make an immediate commitment to battle the issue.

The next question was about housing and the parties' plans for helping people secure low-income accommodations. King, not one to be out-quipped, said that past promises about housing have been like sugar cubes in a cup of coffee: you see them and then watch them dissolve away. He went on to say that the NDP has always had a very strong commitment to this issue and will be aggressive in pursuing it.

We need to bring society to a level where the voiceless, people and animals, can have a voice, said Levenson. While Valeriote said that we need a commitment of millions of dollars from the Federal government and that his party's attempt to bring about that funding in the last Liberal Parliament was undercut by the Conservatives when they took office.

Speaking last, Nagy said that homelessness was a growing problem in Canada and that we need 40,000 low income housing spots immediately. He also said that he'd like to see more focus on the creation of co-op housing in this country as well.

Levenson got to speak first on the next issue, healthcare. She said that we need to start working to create a healthier society and that includes the elimination of air pollution citing a study that said this year 22,000 people will die from pollution-related respiratory illnesses. Levenson added that with more pollution-related illnesses in combination with the aging population could cripple our healthcare system.

Valeriote said that we need to fortify incentives to bring more doctors to the region and help foreign-trained doctors more easily secure the credentials to allow them to practice here. He added that we should also fund more spots in medical schools in order to get more Canadians trained and practicing right here.

At the other side of the table, Nagy echoed some of the previously made comments before going on to talk about the Green Party's plan to put more of an emphasis on preventative care. He also said that we need to promote the nobility of being a General Practitioner, rather than just going in to be a specialist for the money.

King finished by saying that there's a nationwide shortage of doctors and nurses that needs to be addressed and that while poaching foreign trained and putting them to work here certainly solves our problems, it leaves these doctors' countries without.

Next from the audience came a pertinent question about layoffs and job security in the region and the matter of retraining them. To which Valeriote says he endorses the support of retraining programs, but that the opportunity exists in Guelph to improve are local economy by commercializing environmental innovations coming out of the University of Guelph.

Along similar lines, Nagy said that he'd like to see the food processing industry open up more, rather than shipping local produce elsewhere only to have it end up back here after being turned into frozen vegetables and the like. (Interestingly, the local news today had a story about the fact that most Ontario peaches slated for canning are sent to US factories.)

King looked at the issue differently saying that we should look to preventing layoffs by changing our trade policies and focusing on changing corporate thinking. Levenson agreed saying that we want to keep our jobs while paying the cheap prices made possible by cheap labour in China and India. She added that we should also work harder to create new, Green jobs.

The next all-candidates meeting will be a debate at Reid Hall at 7 pm in the Village in the Arboretum.

Chow joins NDP parade through Guelph

The location: The Stone Store. The topic: Bill C-51. The special guest: Olivia Chow, a Member of Parliament from Toronto and the significant other of NDP leader Jack Layton. The objection to Bill C-51 hasn't been an engulfing hot topic like, say, the environment, but to a lot of people that like all natural foods, alternatives and supplements, it's very important indeed.

Chow says that Bill C-51 will make 75 per cent of the natural food and health products in the market right now illegal. "Bill C-51 is going to try and control everything so that only big pharmaceutical companies will be able to get their products approved. Small companies, like the one I'm in front of right now, will have a hard time surviving."

The Trinity-Spadina MP was highly critical of the Conservative government saying that their reasons for putting this bill through was in order to help out corporate donors in the pharmaceutical industry, while denouncing the Liberals for saying that their against parts of the Bill while noting that they intend to vote in favour of a second reading. The ideal solution, she says, is to push for an amending to law that creates a third category for Natural Health products.

"What is most important is when the House of Commons comes back on the 15th of September, we need a Member of Parliament, with a clear position and will take that position and say No to this Bill," added Chow. Three guesses as to who she thinks that MP should be.

"This is a store that I frequent for a number of items that would fall under the rubric of health products that would be affected by Bill C-51," said Tom King. "I just don't understand parts of that bill. I mean, we're smart boys and girls. I don't know if we need the government telling us what we have to do in every instance."

King went on to say that the bill will effectively put businesses like the Stone Store out of business. He said the bill was, "Part of Harper's mantra is to get government out of people's lives but he doesn't mind letting corporations in to control those lives and in many ways, Bill C-51 is exactly that."

But Chow reinforced that what needs to be done in order to protect the industry is create a third category and regulate it through act of law, because regulations can be changed on a whim of whatever government's in power. "It needs an act that will enshrine it in law that will protect it, regulate it so that it good for the country, good for ordinary Candians and good for the industry," she said.

The Art of the Matter

It came up when I was talking to some Liberals at Summer Fling Saturday: the recently announced intentions of the Conservative government to eliminate funding for Canadian artists to travel abroad and promote Canadian culture. The following is from a Canadian Press article dated Friday:

"Foreign Affairs officials confirmed Friday that PromArt will lose its $4.7-million budget next spring, effectively killing the program.

"They attempted to play down reports that claimed the decision was motivated by ideological differences with many of the recipients.

"'More than anything it's a budget decision,' said Anne Howland, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson.

"'The government is committed to a more disciplined approach to managing spending.'"

"But Howland didn't deny that the ideological leanings of some recipients did figure in the decision.

"'Certainly we felt some of the groups were not necessarily ones we thought Canadians would agree were the best choices to be representing them internationally,' she said."

The example cited was Toronto-based rock band Holy F#@%. This Juno-nominated band, along with other prize recipients, Howland said, demonstrate a trend that "Some of the groups we felt had little to do with our foreign policy, or how Canadians would want us to be perceived abroad."

This led to comparisons to the governments Bill C-10, which will give them the ability to decide whether or not a film or television project gets funding based on whether or not it meets certain standards of appropriateness or national interest.

Earlier this week, for my day job, I interviewed a band called Problèmes de Communication from Denmark, who were making a tour of Canada based on a similar grant from their government. They told me how it was just one example of how all levels of government help artists pay the bills and get their art to the masses both at home and broad.

It also reminded me of this of an article I wrote for The Ontarion this past spring. You can read the story here. It's about one of Jack Layton's visits to Guelph, which included a meetign with members of Guelph's artistic community.

Plans and Acquisitions

It`s been a busy week in press conferences for Tom King in matters both important and trivial. First, Wednesday morning's press gathering at City Hall tackled the matter of the NDP’s Green-Collar Jobs Strategy for Guelph and Southwestern Ontario. King was joined by Windsor MPs Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh) and Brian Masse (Windsor-West), as well as federal candidates, Malcolm Allen (Welland) and Ryan Dolby (Elgin-Middlesex-London).

“We cannot sustain continued job losses with no plan from either Harper or Dion to do something about it," said Comartin in a press release. "We need to talk about good paying, high quality sustainable jobs that are part of the new energy economy. Those are green-collar jobs.”

“High skills training will be needed to power the new energy economy," added King. "The University of Guelph is a world-class institution and Conestoga is a leading community college. We have the infrastructure and capacity in Guelph. Now we just need the political will to make it happen. And that’s what the green-collar jobs plan is all about. New clean, green opportunities for Guelph.”

The NDP green-collar job plan includes:
• grants and training spaces for green-collar jobs
• new training partnerships with Provincial and Territorial Governments and with First Nations
• new labour market tools to measure needs and gaps in the new energy sector, so that recruitment and certification match up with trends and future needs
• expanded national green building and retrofit programs, including specific programming for low-income households.

Today, the topic was the new, additional fees for cell-phone text messaging. Jack Layton returned to Guelph to make an announcement on the matter, coincidentally or not so coincidentally, on the same day that Bell Mobility implemented their new fees.

“Cell phone companies want to charge consumers 15 cents for each text message they receive, including spam. While the average CEO in Canada makes more on New Year’s Day than the average Canadian employee makes in a year,” said Layton in a press release. “It’s no wonder a record number of corporations want to hike up prices – the people ordering the price increases can afford them.”

Sure text messaging fees are an important issue to some people, and the Conservative government's response of business is as business does (also known as the never-faltering belief in the free market no matter how many people get screwed, see: Enron), but is it really that close to the top of the list, I wonder. Certainly Layton doesn't need an excuse to come to Guelph. He's been here so much I say let's make him an honorary citizen. Oh, and he's so right about that CEO thing.

Finally, let's everyone take this opportunity to acknowledge candidate number five: Karen Levenson of the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada. "This is an important election, and we believe this is an important riding," Levenson told the Guelph Mercury adding that she's pushing for Guelph-specific policies, in particular an anti-trapping bylaw for the city. "A little dog was killed in December of 2006 in a conibear trap while walking in an area used as an off-leash dog park in the city. There shouldn't be traps set within the city limits of Guelph."

"The Green party probably has the strongest stance in terms of the environment, but nobody is really talking about animals," Levenson added. "They are the voiceless and they need to be talked about."

Tom King: Working the Dayshift**

(**The Director's Cut)

If it's Thursday, it means a new "Guelph Beat" column in Echo. This week's subject is my candidate profile of NDP nominee Tom King. See the original article at Echo's website here, or find it on newsstands across the tri-cities for the next seven days. Below is the Director's Cut of the interview:

Tom King is standing outside his home, getting his picture taken by a Macleans photographer. Caught between a busy campaigning schedule and a healthy lunch of a sandwich and fruit, I sat with King at his kitchen table to talk shop. “I’m happy that we finally have a by–election at last,” he says between bites. And after a year a half of solid, “unofficial” campaigning, who could blame him.

On waiting for the writ: "When I ran for the nomination, we expected there to be an [general] election within three months," explains King. (Editor's Note: King was officially named the NDP candidate in March 2007-AAD) We expected that because there seemed to be no way that the Liberals could vote on some of the issues that the Conservatives were bringing down. "We were wrong," he adds with a laugh.

On campaigning: "We've been going door to door and going to activites for over a year now, so we've kicked it into higher gear, but not much higher. Sort of like on a long road trip.

This is King’s first go at elected office; the latest in a long line of odd jobs and careers that started with working as a stock boy at J.C. Penny at the age of 17 and went on to include selling shoes, working on a tramp steamer, being an ambulance driver, a photojournalist, a bank teller, even a door-to-door encyclopaedia salesman. “I know what the ‘McJobs’ of the world are like, I’ve done them,” he explains. “I [also] know what being poor is like and that there’s no romance in being poor.”

Lately, King is best known as renowned author, radio host and community activist. He’s a member of the Order of Canada, a Massey Lecturer and a University of Guelph professor. He says that he’s been a “political animal” for most his life (starting in the 60s after he got back to North America after three years in New Zealand) and that running for office now represents a change from doing “nightshift politics” to doing the “dayshift.” “You’re never sure how much a change you’ve actually make and the question I’ve always had is ‘Are there other areas I can get engaged in where I can be more effective?’”

Extra: Why NDP? King was unaffiliated before joining the NDP to run as their candidate. He says that he looked at all the major parties and he went through them one by one. King says he began by looking for a strong and principled leader, then looked for a party with the same general ideas as him. Things he was looking for: a good record on the environment, concerned about social issues, particularly public health, as well as a focus on jobs and the economy.

Conservatives - "Frankly, they weren't available to me," he says. "If their [environmental] program were a car it'd only have reverse as its transmission gear." He adds the Prime Minister Harper has not been keen on public institutions and has steered more towards P3s. King says that while P3s may have some role in certain sectors of the economy, they don't belong in healthcare and education.

Liberals - King says they've "made a lot of noise" about the environment and social programs, but "haven't voted those principles, and this last parliamentary year has been dispicable to be honest." What drives King's disappointment is the Liberal abstention in 43 important votes in the last year. "What does it say to young people when they scurry for cover whenever there's a hard issue to vote on."

"The two main parties struck me like Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, you open the doors and there's not much there."

Green - "I like the Green stand on the environment but I have no idea what they'd do if they got into power. I think they'd do the right thing, but you never know because you would have expected the Liberals to do the right thing." He added that party leader Elizabeth May bothers him because of the one-for-one deal she made with Stephane Dion, where a Liberal would not run for office in May's riding and a Green would not run in Dion's. King calls it a "deal made with the devil" (not the first though) and says that he can't understand how Green supporters can be okay with it.

NDP - King mentions Bill C-377, the Climate Change Accountability Act, as proof that the NDP are change while the others just talk change. (Learn more about C-377 here.) He also likes the party's commitment to the homeless, low income earners, seniors, public health and education.

One of the places where King is already effective is his role as a satirist. He says that having humour is an important character trait when dealing with politics. That and a “decent brain” along with a willingness to back anyone with a good idea, (and a willingness to fight anyone with a bad idea) King says, makes him a good candidate. “I’ve gotten to an age where I’m reasonably fearless,” he adds. “I want to do it because I think it should be done well.”

When King was asked by an Ottawa reporter about why he wanted to run, he said, “It was high time we elected someone to Parliament that’s trying to be funny,” (an old Will Rogers line) adding that “the poor guy looked at me and said, ‘That’s a joke, right?’” Great lines like that are characteristic of King’s wit, but it represents what he’s serious about: changing the tone in Parliament specifically and the people’s views of politics generally.

“We live in an era where politics has a dirty name, something that’s to be practiced in the shadows,” he says. “One of the things I believe in is that politicians cannot make the kinds of changes we need to make until you get the community energized and up and looking at politics as a community activity and making it fun again. ["My job as a politician is to get into the community and say, 'Hey guys! This isn't going to work unless you all come along for the ride, get involved, figure out what the issues are and add your voices to it.' Because in some cases, you'll come up with better ideas than the politicians will."] We can’t lead you anywhere unless you want to go.”

I then brought up the subject of sign vandalism. Just a couple of days earlier, it was reported that one of King's signs was rather blantantly vandalized. Kings seems to have taken it with good humour. "I drove by and someone had pasted a big American flag on my sign, and I thought, 'Okay, who did that?' And I thought, 'That's pretty funny.'" He then quoted another Will Rogers line, about his people greeting the Europeans on the shore when asked how good an American was he."

"It's political bullshit," King says. "What they're trying to do is call attention to the fact that I was born and raised in the US; I lived half my life in the US and half my life in Canada. I chose Canada for a number of reasons, and I don't plan on going anyplace." Unless it is to the US, where he still has dual citizenship, so that he can visit family there. "But to stick that up is to reduce politics to the kind of level of a demolishion derby. It really has the potential to take away from the real issues of the campaign. Is the real issue that King happens to be born in the States? I don't think so.

"As far as having my signs vandalized, the next day I came back and somebody put a Canadian flag on there," he adds with laugh. "As for who's doing it, I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to guess. It's Mickey Mouse. It's juevinille. So is kicking signs over. Are they vandalized by other political parties? Oh... maybe. Are they vandalized by the guys that roar out of the bar on Friday and Saturday night? Probably. Is it a part of the political season? I guess so, I wish it weren't."

And leadership hasn’t been a problem with King’s campaign. It’s been a source of some humour at just how often NDP leader Jack Layton rolls into the Royal City in order to support his party’s nominee. King says he’s been thrilled by that support and the backing of other prominent members of the party. “[Layton] went door-to-door with me last night, and that’s fairly unusual for a national leader, but he makes the time to do that. I think it says to the electorate that I have the respect of the NDP and the NDP caucus.”

King says he's followed Layton's career since he was a city councillor in Toronto and always believed him to be a principled man. "He's the kind of guy that will vote his principles before he votes his job and that's me." Both King and Layton hope to take this riding for the NDP for the first time. "You'll see as much of Jack as you'll see of me I think." (Editor's Note: To prove the point, Layton will be making another policy announcement tomorrow in Guelph -AAD)

As for his stand on the issues, King says that they’re not hard to figure out because he’s been articulating them for years. “The good thing is that if you want to know what I think about on any of these issues, you can go down and get a book of mine and look it up,” he explains “You don’t have to guess, you don’t have to believe my promises or what I say in speeches, I’ve actually put that into print and I’ve done that for years.”

To learn King's views on the environment, he recommends The Truth About Stories: The Massey Lectures.

But King says above all, he hears the call for a change in direction from the average citizen on the street. “I talk with people, sometimes desperate people, who all they want is a fair share of the wealth of the nation. So in some ways, I’ve listened to the voices that I’m going to hear as an MP.”

As for his own voice, King says he’s had over 20 years on the national stage to hone it and he’s ready to use to represent Guelph. “I think I have that voice and the willingness to use that voice. MPs are normally quiet," he adds. "Oddly enough, the last MP that we had, I never heard her say anything about anything. Seriously, I never heard her raise her voice about an issue having felt strongly about it."

He also told me a funny story about how his Mom's unorthodox job searching techniques helped him get his first job as a stock boy at J.C. Penny, but I'm afraid it loses a lot in the transcription. I'm sure if you ask nicely, he'll tell it to you.

Read Frank Valeriote's Director's Cut interview here and come back next Thursday's for the Director's Cut of my Mike Nagy interview.

Special Guests are coming to town!

Greetings all! I'm caught between shows in Stratford, so I need to be brief.

This the latest edition of the Special Guest pageant. Today's contestants are from all the parties as they host fellow politicians with varying degrees of star-wattage over the next couple of days.

Starting today with the NDP, Tom King held a press conference at City Hall with Windsor MPs, Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh) and Brian Masse (Windsor-West), along with his fellow federal candidates, Malcolm Allen (Welland) and Ryan Dolby (Elgin-Middlesex-London). The topic was Green-Collar job strategy in Ontario and the NDP's plans to address massive job losses in the manufacturing and auto sectors. (More on this tomorrow.)

Next up: the Liberals. And in a weird act of cosmic alignment, the Ontario Young Liberals are having their Summer Fling this weekend at the University of Guelph. (Now I'm not suggesting that it was purposeful since I presume these events are planned far in advance. But still, odd coincidence.) Amongst the speakers at Summer Fling are Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Karen Redman and Liz Sandals. Oh yeah, Frank Valeriote will be there too.

Not to be out done by bringing out party youth, the Green Party is having their own young people coming into town this weekend. And of course where the youth go, party leader Elizabeth May can't be far behind. She'll be here Monday for what I'm told is going to be the first of three visits during the campaign.

Finally, Gloria Kovach is calling out he who is probably the second biggest gun (so to speak) in her party: the Defence Minister, Peter MacKay. MacKay will be canvasing with Kovach tomorrow, so keep an eye out for them in your neighbourhood.

In Echo tomorrow, look for my profile of Tom King, followed up next week with Mike Nagy.