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 Stéphane Dion take part in this important series of live discussions.
The questions and Mr. Dion's answers appear at the bottom of this page.
(John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)
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As Tu Thanh Ha wrote in his profile of Mr. Dion, Straight shooter looks to lead, the leadership candidate who entered politics solely for his expertise on the national unity file is now accepted as a well-rounded, tier-one candidate. Observers praise his intelligence, his experience in government and his integrity.
Mr. Dion was born in 1955 in Quebec City. Before entering politics, he taught public administration and political science at the Université de Montréal and authored numerous books and articles.
He was first elected to the House of Commons in a 1996 by-election, and then re-elected in 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006.
The only Quebec candidate, the former federal environment minister is running on an environmental platform of making sustainable development central to Liberal Party politics.
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: Welcome, Mr. Dion, and thank you for coming on-line 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?
Stéphane Dion: Rasha, thank you for inviting me to participate in this on-line forum. The reason I should be elected is because of my vision, which is tackling the most important challenge of the century - the reconciliation of economic growth and environmental sustainability.
Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Where do you place the 10 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?
Stéphane Dion: All of the other candidates are very good seconds and my strategy is to show my sincere admiration for each of them.
Stephen Mayor, Canada: Mr. Dion, The environment has deservingly emerged as a central issue for Liberals and Canadians. How will you distinguish between Liberal environmental policies and those of the Green party, from whom some ideas (carbon tax) seem borrowed, and the NDP, who ride to Parliament on bicycles? Considering greenhouse gas emissions rose when you were environment minister, what would you do differently as our prime minister to ensure they are reduced so that we meet our Kyoto targets? Lastly, apart from Kyoto, how will you save our environment?
Stéphane Dion: Through my three-pillar approach, which is bringing together economic vitality, environmental sustainability and social justice. My action plan is to create a virtuous circle between the three pillars. Because I am proposing sound environmental policies, Canada will become more energy efficient and competitive in the new industrial revolution; double column the sustainable economy. Then we will have more capacity to improve social justice in Canada, and because of that Canadians will be more educated, healthier, better equipped and more confident as players in the economy. And in this way, you will have a virtuous circle between the three pillars.
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