Twenty four years ago Brian Mulroney, newly elected Prime Minister, had this to say to the Toronto Star about 155 Tamils who came to Newfoundland in a boat: “My government will do anything but allow refugees in lifeboats to be turned aimlessly around in the ocean and turned away from our shores… To think that, [...]
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Send Them Back an Old, and Awful, Refrain
Published on 16. Aug, 2010 in Blog
Canadians have been caught up in the drama of the arrival of a small boat with 500 people aboard. They have travelled for several months on the Pacific Ocean, turned away in Thailand, Australia, and given the cold shoulder everywhere else until they reached the western shore of Vancouver Island, escorted by the Canadian navy. [...]
Kenya’s Constitutional Referendum – an important moment
Published on 06. Aug, 2010 in Blog
The strong endorsement by the people of a new Kenyan constitution is an important moment in the history of this great, and troubled country. When Kenya came close to a flat out civil war in the winter of 2008, it came as a surprise those who had not been watching. But problems have been seething [...]
Hiroshima Memorial Day August 2010 Statement by Hon. Bob Rae on behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada
Published on 06. Aug, 2010 in Statements
Today in Hiroshima Japan and around the world we pause to reflect on the terrible power in humanity’s hands – the capacity to destroy life on the planet on a scale previously unimagineable. The atom bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortened the Second World War. But they also changed the way we think about [...]
On the Premier’s Conference
Published on 05. Aug, 2010 in Uncategorized
The Premiers should be congratulated for taking on issues of real depth and substance. Under this year’s chairmanship of Manitoba Premier Greg Sellinger the discussions about aboriginal health and education point the way to a national summit that will make critical decisions. I had the chance to speak at a reception during the Assembly of [...]
Why the Census Matters and What We Can Do About It
Published on 04. Aug, 2010 in Blog
No doubt there are many Canadians whose eyes glaze over at our homegrown census scandal. What could be duller, and less consequential, than an argument about statistics ? But it matters. And Canada’s international reputation is at stake. Governments have been counting stuff for a long time, and what has distinguished liberal democratic governments in [...]
Why Afghanistan Is Not Vietnam
Published on 04. Aug, 2010 in Media
*Toronto Star* The death last week of a French humanitarian worker in North Africa at the hands of Al Qaeda reminds us that the battle against extremists is not a conventional war. The 10-year NATO, UN and Canadian effort in Afghanistan has been extraordinarily difficult. The release of thousands of documents showing the strength of [...]
G8/G20 Summits
Published on 12. Jul, 2010 in Statements
“The police have a difficult job to do, and were asked by the Harper government to carry out a tough assignment: to provide security to a summit meeting attended by the leaders of twenty countries and thousands of delegates. People who are upset about particular issues surrounding the demonstrations, protests, police, and other actions on [...]
Pride Statement
Published on 02. Jul, 2010 in Statements
I shall be participating in Pride events this week, including the parade on Sunday. The celebration of diversity and sexual identity is a great achievement for Canada. As the member of parliament for Toronto Centre I am proud to represent a constituency that is at the heart of the LGBTQ community. I deeply regret the [...]
June 23, 1985, twenty five years later
Published on 23. Jun, 2010 in Blog
“Time flies/Suns rise and shadows fall /Let it pass by/ Love reigns forever over all.” These are the words found at the Air India memorial sites in both Ireland and Canada. June 23 is now a day of remembrance across Canada for all victims of terror. I was almost one myself. Eleven years before the [...]
Why Jack Layton has to fire Libby Davies
Published on 16. Jun, 2010 in Blog
Someone just posted me on facebook saying Libby Davies is entitled to free speech, and, besides, the Israelis are treating the Palestinians worse than the Nazis treated the Jews. Libby Davies can be seen on YouTube saying she thinks that chanting ‘long live the intifada’ “sounds good” and saying (not once but twice) that Israel [...]
The Accord 25 Years Later
Published on 26. May, 2010 in Blog
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Liberal-NDP Accord in Ontario. The election in early May of 1985 had elected a minority parliament, with the Conservatives at 50, the Liberals at 45 and the NDP at 25. The vote split was roughly 37/37/25. On the night of the election the commentators [...]
Thoughts on Haiti
Published on 09. Apr, 2010 in Blog
Haiti is a small country, taking up the western third of the island of Hispaniola, its geography a backwards “C”, with the capital Port au Prince at the lower west coast of the country. It is a desperately poor country, a population of 9 million, and a GDP of only 12 billion dollars – the total budget of the national government last year was just under a billion dollars. Its total external debt was about 1.4 billion.
Haiti Journal
Published on 07. Apr, 2010 in Blog
Getting off the plane greeted by the sound of a band playing, eventually the line clears and they are wearing Digicel baseball caps and t-shirts, a banjo, guitar, drum and accordeon. Driving from the airport the rubble is everywhere, houses collapsed, but life is back on the streets, cars, motorcycles, people selling shoes, clothes, vegetables, fruit. There are as many as 1.3 million displaced and homeless, 300 thousand estimated dead, the numbers almost impossible to absorb in a country of 9 million people, about a third of them in the region around Port Au Prince itself, where the earthquake did most damage.
A Trio of Pragmatists
Published on 24. Mar, 2010 in Blog
The thing to remember about great leaders is they have colleagues and followers. Successful leaders are neither narcissists nor prophets – great dissenters and commentators are not leaders either. Leadership is about vision, persuasion, and being able to get enough done to adjust the vision and add supporters. It requires courage and determination as well as an ability to listen, to feel the changing pulse. Intellect is required, but so is emotion. Real eloquence and persuasiveness make connecting possible. Failure to implement means followers will drift away.
