Blast from the past - 2006 Dion Policy Channel interview

During the leadership race, way back in 2006, Dion was interviewed by Satya Das from Policy Channel in Edmonton, Alberta. Being at least two years old, the interview is a bit out-of-date and some policies have of course evolved in that time. But I thought it was worth re-posting because it provides an in-depth discussion of several policy areas.

In this bilingual interview, Das and Dion discuss Alberta, the environment, energy, the economy, the north, social justice, especially for Aboriginal people, the Kelowna Accord, international peace and security, and water management.

This interview was one of the major factors in my conversion to big-L Liberalism. I had a good impression of Dion previously, especially as environment minister, and was very glad when he won the leadership. This interview showed that he understands the complex interrelationship between the environment, social justice and the economy - his "three pillars." And also the impact of the environment on international issues, e.g. water security has a huge impact on the potential for violent conflict. I was also pleased with his emphasis on Aboriginal issues, especially education.

Taped in Edmonton during the 2006 Liberal leadership race. The interview is in three parts - parts 1 & 2 in English; partie 3 - en français. (Mouseover the video to select another video from the series.)



PART 1
In this 2006 interview, Dion discusses his experience in government, his vision for the future, "reconciling the people and the planet," Alberta, energy and the environment. "I'm ready right away to be a very good leader and partner for Albertans. Alberta is my country. I fought to keep Alberta as part of my country." Also discusses international issues - democracy, health, avoiding war and violent conflict, human rights. Emphasizes importance of water management around the world.

PART 2
Dion discusses the north, Aboriginal people, education for Aboriginal youth, the Kelowna Accord, the economy, his three-pillar approach, the sponsorship scandal.

PARTIE 3
Stéphane Dion discute la course au leadership libéral (2006); l'Alberta, l'environnement, l'économie; l'approche à trois piliers - prospérité économique, justice sociale et environnement durable; le cercle virtueux; sa vision pour l'avenir.

Stéphane Dion - PolicyChannel interview (English, français)

So with 2008 just around the corner, and a federal election likely to happen in the next few months, thought I'd share with you this great interview from Policy Channel in Edmonton, Alberta.

Satya Das interviewed Stéphane Dion during the 2006 Liberal leadership race in English et en français. Das and Dion discuss Alberta, the environment, energy, the economy, social justice, especially for Aboriginal people, international peace and security, and water management.

This interview was one of the major factors in my conversion to big-L Liberalism. I had a good impression of Dion previously, especially as environment minister, and was very glad when he won the leadership. This interview showed that he understands the interrelationship between the environment, social justice and the economy - his "three pillars." And also the impact of the environment on international issues, e.g. water security has a huge impact on the potential for violent conflict. I was also pleased with his emphasis on Aboriginal issues, especially education.

Taped in Edmonton during the 2006 Liberal leadership race. The interview is in three parts - parts 1 & 2 in English; partie 3 - en français. (Click the "menu" toggle button to select another video from the series.)



PART 1
Dion discusses his experience in government, his vision for the future, "reconciling the people and the planet," Alberta, energy and the environment. "I'm ready right away to be a very good leader and partner for Albertans. Alberta is my country. I fought to keep Alberta as part of my country." Also discusses international issues - democracy, health, avoiding war and violent conflict, human rights. Emphasizes importance of water management around the world.

PART 2
Dion discusses the north, Aboriginal people, education for Aboriginal youth, the Kelowna Accord, the economy, his three-pillar approach, the sponsorship scandal.

PARTIE 3
Stéphane Dion discute la course au leadership libéral (2006); l'Alberta, l'environnement, l'économie; l'approche à trois piliers - prospérité économique, justice sociale et environnement durable; le cercle virtueux; sa vision pour l'avenir.

Harper government indifferent to homelessness and poverty

Stéphane Dion reiterated his commitment to reducing poverty and homelessness in Victoria yesterday.

At a roundtable on homelessness, Dion learned that about 1,200 people in Victoria are "homeless or at risk." Dion said that the federal government should be involved in Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe's plan to find 1,550 housing units for the homeless in the next five years.

A Liberal government led by Stéphane Dion would work with other levels of government to find solutions to poverty and related social problems.

Dion confirmed that "The Liberals also plan to honour promises in the Kelowna Accord -- an agreement between the Liberal government of Paul Martin and aboriginal leaders two years ago -- to help aboriginal people living in poverty."

The Times-Colonist reported that "Dion also yesterday restated his party's support for supervised-injection sites as part of the fight against poverty and addiction. Dion said research shows the sites save lives and prevent the spread of disease."

Read the full story:

Dion endorses city strategy to fight homelessness
Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist (Victoria, BC)
Published: Friday, November 16, 2007

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion yesterday endorsed Victoria's strategy to fight homelessness and vowed that a government under his leadership would be a partner in the battle.

Dion, who held a morning round-table discussion on homelessness with civic leaders at the Victoria Foundation, admitted surprise that an estimated 1,200 people are homeless or at risk in Victoria.

"Incredible," he said.

But Dion said he was impressed to see the community united behind Mayor Alan Lowe's task force, which intends to find 1,550 housing units for the homeless over the next five years.

"When you have a plan, like the mayor has a plan ... the federal government must be part of the plan," he told the Times Colonist editorial board.

Dion criticized the current Conservative government for "doing nothing" about homelessness and poverty for the past two years. "The current government is indifferent," he said.

By contrast, he said, his party released a plan last week that would reduce the number of Canadians living below the poverty line by at least 30 per cent during the first five years of a federal Liberal government. The number of children in poverty would be cut in half, he said.

Under the plan, the Liberals would expand the child tax benefit, increase the guaranteed-income supplement for seniors, and change the tax rules so people aren't penalized when they move off welfare into the workforce.

The Liberals also plan to honour promises in the Kelowna Accord -- an agreement between the Liberal government of Paul Martin and aboriginal leaders two years ago -- to help aboriginal people living in poverty.

"Keep our feet to the fire, because we have made a commitment," Dion said. "It's not a commitment of decades; it's a commitment of five years. A mandate. If Canadians are giving us the mandate, they will be able to be part of this unprecedented effort to decrease poverty by a third."

Dion said the Liberals will reveal the cost of the plan during the next election campaign. "It's affordable," he said. "We don't need to raises taxes for that. It's a matter of political will. And when I see how much the communities are ready to act -- as the one that we see today in Victoria -- I'm very confident that we will succeed."

Dion also yesterday restated his party's support for supervised-injection sites as part of the fight against poverty and addiction. Dion said research shows the sites save lives and prevent the spread of disease.

Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca Liberal MP Keith Martin told reporters Victoria's integrated plan to deal with mental health, housing, detox and medical issues could be a model for other cities.

"We're utterly confident that here in Victoria, we will be able to build a plan that deals with downtown core urban issues that are affecting cities across our country," he said.
(Source: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=7a742e55-6ee3-4e1d-b137-eeab897a7c54&k=77917)

Our lunch with Stéphane, part 2 - social issues

Abdul-Rahim said...
F**k the tax cuts, let's tackle some of these social issues he talks to care about!

My response to Abdul-Rahim's comment was so long, I decided to make it a separate post.

Dion did talk quite a bit about tackling social programs, and I may not have addressed that very well in my summary. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to fix that, Abdul-Rahim.

Dion talked about addressing child poverty, early childhood education, seniors' poverty, the working poor, accessibility of postsecondary education. (Sorry I don't have all the details, but there'll be more info in the full text of the speech / discours.)

It was instructive that, even though this was a business crowd, the biggest round of applause came when he said, "A plan to fight poverty is urgent. It will be at the heart of a Liberal agenda."

In response to a question from the floor, Dion talked about reinstating the Kelowna Accord which the Harper govt trashed after years of ultimately successful negotiations between the federal (Liberal) govt, the provinces, the territories, First Nations, Métis and Inuit representatives.

He wants to top up Kelowna with "education, education, education" - enabling aboriginal youth to access postsecondary education (universities or trade colleges) immediately after graduating from high school. He said this is the best way to help them end the cycle of poverty.

A lot of the point of the tax cuts he's advocating is that they would help the lowest income people directly (the Tories actually raised the income tax rate for the lowest income group). And corporate tax cuts would be designed to increase job opportunities and innovation.

I expect that the emphasis was on the economy partly because of today's fall economic forecast coming from the govt. He has done some major speeches on social justice - here's one http://www.liberal.ca/story_12308_e.aspx (EN) and http://www.liberal.ca/story_12308_f.aspx (FR).

Also on the liberal.ca video page http://www.liberal.ca/video_e.aspx, scroll down to Halifax Town Hall (Aug 21), there are videos on a few related topics. I know he's said on other occasions that he would use the $5.5 billion that Harper is wasting on a GST cut to address child poverty instead - see this video http://www.liberal.ca/players/player_e.aspx?id=101 from March 2, 2007.

I wasn't able to get down all his responses to questions from the public and the media (I was taking pictures too), so I may still be missing some stuff. But the overall impression was of a very good integration of economic and social policy (and environmental policy of course) - the "liberal virtuous circle."

The next stop on his London tour was UWO where he was touring the biotron which "will allow scientists to study the effects of climate change and pollution on core samples of actual soil taken from various environments."

More on social issues . . . http://femmeverte.blogspot.com/2007/10/our-lunch-with-stphane-part-2-social.html