Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion moved to shore up his weak points yesterday, promising Western Canadians he would not let the Canadian Wheat Board die, stressing the importance of rebuilding the party organization in Quebec and planning a speaking tour to make himself better known.
Homing in on a hot issue in a region where the Liberals are weakest, the new Opposition Leader promised that a Liberal government would revive the Wheat Board if it's dismantled by the Conservative government.
"If Prime Minister [Stephen]Harper succeeds in destroying the Canadian Wheat Board by trampling the spirit and the letter of the Canadian Wheat Board Act, through gag orders upon and firing of key wheat board officials, through tampering with voters lists -- I, as a prime minister, will reinstate the board," Mr. Dion said. He said farmers could then decide the board's future in a "fair vote."The Conservatives plan to strip the board of its monopoly over wheat and barley sales, although some farmers say it cannot operate effectively without its "single-desk" selling system is dismantled by allowing growers to sell directly to foreign companies.
The government has signalled that it will hold a plebiscite early next year among barley growers, who tend to be more opposed to the board's monopoly than wheat growers.
The new Liberal Leader also told his MPs yesterday that he intends to quickly work on two other weak points: making himself better known and rebuilding the party's deflated organization in Quebec.
Aides said Mr. Dion will embark on a speaking tour, but they have not yet worked out details, such as when it will start.
Mr. Dion attended a meeting of the party's Quebec caucus to discuss how to rebuild the organization in that province.
Liberal leaders usually appoint an MP as Quebec lieutenant, although sources said Mr. Dion is expected to return to an old tradition of putting one person in charge of policy and administration and another in charge of the organizational machine. Montreal MP Pablo Rodriguez is one person being considered for the posts, aides said.
Campbell Clark