[lg policy] Canada: NDP debate highlights French-language abilities

[Harold Schiffman]

NDP debate highlights French-language abilities

The Canadian Press

Date: Sunday Feb. 12, 2012 8:10 PM ET

QUEBEC — The NDP leadership candidates had their French-language
skills put to the test at a leadership debate Sunday in Quebec, where
the party is hoping to regain the momentum that led to its official
opposition status. There were few heated exchanges in the debate,
aside from a few notable jabs by party strategist Brian Topp to fellow
leadership candidates Paul Dewar and Martin Singh.

Topp himself acknowledged the cordial tone of the debate, held before
about 250 people in a Quebec City hall. "If there's one thing we
learned from the Liberals, it's that we shouldn't have a civil war in
our party," Topp told reporters afterward. "We try to not be too mean
to each other."

While the focus of the debate was Canada's role in the world, there
weren't many clear disagreements over foreign policy as some of the
candidates struggled to express themselves in French. French skills
are expected to be an important factor in the leadership race, with
the party losing ground in opinion polls in Quebec since grabbing 59
seats in last May's election.

The leadership debate was the first to take place in French, with only
a brief segment in English during the 90-minute session. NDP deputy
leader Thomas Mulcair and former party president Brian Topp appeared
most comfortable, while Ottawa MP Paul Dewar had trouble at times.

Dewar faced questions from Topp over his decision to appoint fellow
NDP MP Charlie Angus, another anglophone, as deputy leader of his
campaign. Toronto MP Peggy Nash also took aim at Dewar over the issue,
stressing the party should recognize the support it received from
Quebec in the last election.

"It is for him to determine whether (the appointment of Angus) is
respectful to Quebec, but I think the diversity of our country is very
important," she told reporters afterward. Dewar shot back at Topp
saying he doesn't even have a seat in the House of Commons, and
questioned what he would do if he lost in a by-election.

Mulcair, meanwhile, played up his Quebec ties right from the start,
recalling his experience as a cabinet minister in the provincial
Liberal government before making the jump to federal politics. With
Romeo Saganash dropping out on Friday, there are now seven candidates
in the running to succeed Jack Layton.

The other candidates are British Columbia MP Nathan Cullen,
businessman Martin Singh, and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, the youngest
candidate in the race, who has a solid grasp of French. Speaking with
reporters, Topp acknowledged the NDP could do more in Quebec, saying
the party should have taken a stronger stance when the Conservative
government appointed an auditor general who can't speak French.

Topp said the new leader will have to work hard to prove to Quebecers
they made the right choice in the last election. "We will have three
years to do the job of four years," he said. "It's tough, but that's
the consequence of losing your leader." This was the third of six
debates before a March convention in Toronto, where the party will
select Layton's permanent successor.

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120212/ndp-foreign-policy-debate-120212/#ixzz1mGunHz5a



-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents.
Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal,
and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message.
 A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well.  (H. Schiffman,
Moderator)

For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to
https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/
listinfo/lgpolicy-list
*******************************************

_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list