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The Liberal leadership race is approaching a crucial juncture, with the delegates for its Montreal convention being selected across the country over the weekend of Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

globeandmail.com invited all of the candidates to come on-line before that delegate-selection process.

We were pleased to have Bob Rae take part in this series of live on-line discussions.

The questions and Mr. Rae's answers are at the bottom of this page.

As Murray Campbell wrote in his Globe profile of the former Ontario NDP premier, A new day for Bob Rae: 'I am what I am' "his decision to re-enter the political world has sparked a thriving industry analyzing his motives: Is it boredom with private life? Is he seeking redemption?"

Mr. Rae's answer is simple: "I am what I am," he says. And he is a politician.

Mr. Rae served as Ontario's premier for five years and was elected eight times to federal and provincial parliaments.

In 2005, he was appointed as special advisor to the minister of public safety on the Air India bombing of 1985. His report was published in November of last year, leading to his further appointment as Independent Counsellor to the Prime Minister of Canada and Chair of the Air India Inquiry and review.

He is the author of two books and is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and senior fellow of Massey College.

Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.

Rasha Mourtada, globeandmail.com: Good morning, Mr. Rae, and thank you for joining us today to answer questions from globeandmail.com readers. Let's get started. What is the single most-important reason why you should be elected leader of the Liberal party and have a chance to become the Prime Minister of Canada?

Bob Rae: The No. 1 reason is that I am "job-ready" — ready to oppose and to beat a Prime Minister and a party that the majority of Canadians are uncomfortable with.

Canada's voice has gone missing under this Prime Minister, in Canada and abroad.

I can help renew the Liberal Party.

My experience includes leading the second-largest government in the country. My career in public service since then has prepared me for the political arena and for governing. And Canadians want an alternative to [Stephen] Harper.

My platform is pragmatic, based on core values that I know are important to Canadians from my years or experience in public life. And I am speaking to the nation's challenges and hopes, such as a commitment to creating sustainable prosperity and sharing opportunity. In addition, I am proposing specific initiatives around, for instance, strengthening health care with a catastrophic pharmaceuticals program. This is the kind of thing that speaks to what matters to Canadians, what affects them directly.

This race is about renewal. It is about sound ideas. And it is about judgment and experience in solving real problems.

Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Where do you place the eight candidates right now in terms of being front-runners, middle-of-the-pack or well-behind-the-rest? What's your strategy since it appears no one will win on the first ballot at the convention?

Bob Rae: First, it is for Liberals to decide. I am simply working hard, taking nothing for granted and talking to and hearing from a lot of party members about what they want to see in a renewed Canada and a Liberal government. Listening and making sure that people's real priorities are also my priorities — such as jobs, the environment, health or learning — is how you build trust.

Cynthia Nurse, St. Thomas, Ont.: Mr. Rae, what will you do if elected leader of the Liberal Party to support young people? I see many young people feeling a sense of hopelessness at this time, due to the lack of job security and the high costs of post-secondary education.

Bob Rae: As I found when I was conducting my review for the McGuinty government in Ontario on post-secondary education, the majority of new jobs require some form of post-secondary education. That said, post-secondary education, including university and college programs and apprenticeships, are pathways to opportunity for young people and to prosperity for Canada. That is why we have got to invest wisely in education and on a related area, research, and support post-secondary institutions and students. Our competitors abroad are doing this. I don't see the Harper government doing this at all. Its budget was devoid of anything on research. We have to enshrine accessibility and affordability as operating principles in our systems and we need to revamp the Canada Student Loans program. We need to institute systems of grants and loans that help with tuition and living expenses, starting with the least-well-off and moving upwards.

20 20, Canada: Please comment on Canadian sovereignty. What does that term mean to you? What threats to it do you perceive? And what measures would you propose?

Bob Rae: First off, sovereignty is not an absolute concept in today's world, but it has continuing importance. It's about Canada's ability to express its values in the world, to ensure the security of its citizens, and to protect its borders, boundaries and environment. The threats are many. They range from a lack of respect for our sovereignty by others (e.g. the growing issue of Arctic sovereignty), the threat to our fishery and our environment, and the external threats to our security. We also face a challenge from those within who don't take our independence seriously — so we have a task as Liberals to work on all fronts, to focus on the steps we can take to ensure Canada's foreign policy reflects our values, and the need to ensure our cultural integrity as well.

David Gehring, Ontario: Hello, Mr. Rae, and thanks for taking our questions. "Rae Days" are often cited as your heaviest baggage in this leadership campaign, but I see this as an opportunity for a candidate to learn from mistakes that less-experienced politicians have yet to make. So I am wondering how much you have learned from your tenure as premier of Ontario. How much importance do you place on debt-reduction and deficit-avoidance?

Bob Rae: I attach a lot of importance to fiscal discipline — we have developed a strong allergy as a country to deficits, and that's a good thing. It's an allergy I share. I worked closely with other premiers in the 90s on developing a common strategy on getting us back to fiscal health, and took a lot of heat for the work we had to do in Ontario to improve the budgetary situation after the full impact of the recession took hold. I suspect many people prefer "Rae Days" to Harris years. But there is no question my experience in Ontario has helped me understand the realities and choices of governing.

Steve Cheng, Toronto: Mr. Rae, what is your stand on environmental issues — especially on global warming, garbage and pollution?

Bob Rae: Climate change is probably the biggest environmental challenge, but it's not the only one. The key is to build the principle of sustainability into all our policies, to add that lens to decision-making, both in government and the private sector. It will take decisions on regulation, innovation, and a deeper spirit of cooperation between government and business and among all governments. Some of these decisions will not be easy or popular, but they are unavoidable. Kyoto was an important first step, but it has to be matched by real measures and real progress. I would set targets in the short term as well as the medium term, and make sure that there is greater accountability in measuring that performance. First, stop increasing emissions, then reduce them, and then make sure we are meeting our targets so that we can have greater credibility going forward.

I.R., Vancouver: Mr. Rae, you are a former leader of the Ontario NDP. Can a leadership contender who has failed to demonstrate loyalty to the party that he once led be entrusted to lead the Liberal Party? If yes, why?

Bob Rae: I parted company with the NDP many years ago — it's about issues, values, points of view. My sense is that most Canadians understand that people can have differences that ultimately require them to leave. Mr. Harper did it, Churchill did it, Mr. Trudeau did it as well. The issue of my ability to lead the Liberal Party will be determined by the delegates at an open convention. I have found Liberals to be open to my candidacy, interested in my stand on issues, and eager to participate in choosing the leader they feel will be most effective.

Gordon DiGiacomo, Greely, Ont.: Mr. Rae: Thank you for taking questions. My question has to do with federal-provincial relations. As prime minister, would you safeguard the rights, powers and prerogatives of the federal government? Would you support a kind of federalism that gives one province special powers that the others do not have? Thank you.

Bob Rae: It is a clear responsibility of the prime minister to uphold the Canadian Constitution, which sets out very clearly the roles and responsibilities of the provinces as well as the federal government. So the answer to the first question is "yes," with the understanding that in a federal constitution the provinces have rights as well, and that a good understanding of the dynamic of federalism is a good quality to have in a prime minister. Under the Canadian Constitution as it works today, not all provinces are exactly the same — the Constitution sets out some unique circumstances that pertain to some provinces and not others. But broadly speaking, we need to understand that while flexibility is important, so is consistency. In the absence of that, regional tensions can be exacerbated rather than the opposite.

Scott Deveau, globeandmail.com: Mr. Rae, the Conservative party director of political operations, Doug Finley, says in a strategy memo obtained by globeandmail.com: "I would most like to see Bob Rae as our opponent in the next election." How do you respond to that?

Bob Rae: My first reaction is profound skepticism. These guys haven't got much right over the years, so don't take this "inside view" very seriously at all. For all I know this memo was leaked for a reason — it could be a bad case of double-think or even triple-think. If it really is a considered view, I can only say I am used to being underestimated by these folks. Both Joe Clark and Frank Miller did the same thing.

Nicole Francis, Regina: Hello Mr. Rae: From the articles I've read about you in The Globe and Mail . . . I'm still not sure what your position is on Darfur? [Mr. Harper said today the UN must take a larger role in that war-ravaged region.]

Bob Rae: My view is that the UN has to respond vigorously to the humanitarian and political crisis in Darfur, and Canada should continue to press for that to happen. Our role in Afghanistan should not be seen as precluding our taking a role as part of an effective international mission. All signs point to a serious deterioration in this situation, and we should be speaking out more strongly about it.

Paul Wintemute: I hope that Bob Rae could indicate his position regarding the deployment of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan — especially after the comments of President Musharraf of Pakistan who correctly asserted that the Taliban has become the instrument of resistance for the Pashto tribes who form an unrepresented majority in the country. Is Canada committed to a war that supports a non-representative government in Kabul, drawn heavily from the former Northern Alliance, and is the presence of our soldiers as a result of American forces shifting to Iraq?

Bob Rae: I think the comments of both President Musharraf and President Karzai are instructive. This is clearly a far more complex situation than our government appears willing to admit. President Karzai said last week that we are only dealing with "the symptoms" of the problem and that poppy production had to be faced squarely if there was to be a chance of success.

It is also clear that the porous nature of the border with Pakistan, and this is a major regional issue, should put diplomatic and political solutions as high up in our agenda as the almost exclusively military approach being taken by the Harper government. I share Paul Martin's concern about the shape of the current approach, and don't think these concerns can be brushed aside as they have been by Prime Minister Harper.

Canadians want a mission that can succeed, and are coming to the conclusion that an approach that looks to military solutions will not be able to succeed. It is not for Canada to determine the makeup of the Afghan government. That is for the Afghan people to decide.

NATO's increased role in Afghanistan may well have something to do with the reduced American deployment of troops in that country. NATO clearly needs to work out a strategy that can work in the interests of peace and stability. That was the original Canadian intention in sending troops to Afghanistan, and we need to re-focus on that idea going forward.

Rasha Mourtada, globeandmail.com: Thank you, Mr. Rae, for taking the time to answer questions from globeandmail.com readers today. Any last thoughts you'd like to leave us with?

Bob Rae: I've enjoyed this experience. It is a good idea, and I was glad to do it. I encourage readers to go on the bobrae.ca website for further information, speeches, etc.

Rasha Mourtada, globeandmail.com: To our readers, we're sorry we could not get to the nearly 100 questions you submitted during the hour. Michael Ignatieff will join us today at 2 p.m. EDT.