The United States ambassador to Canada privately called into question the abilities of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff during the 2010 prorogation of Parliament, according to unclassified U.S. State Department documents released Thursday by WikiLeaks.
In a diplomatic cable sent to Washington on Jan. 5, 2010, Ambassador David Jacobson pointedly remarks on a “muted response” by the Liberals to then Prime Minister Stephen Harper's controversial shutdown of Parliament in December, 2009.
“The Liberals may be starting 2010 with a road map, but the party’s muted response to PM Harper’s late December prorogation of Parliament suggests a lack of energy and hands-on leadership – Ignatieff has reportedly not yet returned from vacation in France,” Mr. Jacobson wrote in the note. The cable was released Thursday as part of larger cache of diplomatic notes obtained by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
At the time the cable was written, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had taken the unusual constitutional measure of shutting down Parliament ahead of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. The move sparked a backlash in the press as well as social media spheres, where Mr. Harper was repeatedly accused of trying to block inquiries into the government’s handling of Afghan detainees. But Mr. Ignatieff’s European vacation was underscored and attacked by several columnists and commentators – an absence that was not lost on the U.S. embassy.
Indeed, years before pollsters revealed current disaffection with the Liberals, the U.S. embassy’s cables resembled a virtual catalogue of the party’s missteps: in-fighting in Quebec, lacklustre fundraising as well as repeated slips in the polls.
Following the 2009 Liberal convention, the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Terry Breese, drafted a memorandum based on his discussions with various attendees. One former Liberal official, who was identified only as a long-time staffer under former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, told Mr. Breese: “We’re stony broke, and if people up in Ottawa get carried away [and trigger an election], we’re in deep s--t.”
Other Liberal members “pointed to poor communications, lack of money, and outdated organization as evidence the party still needed significantly to ‘raise its game’ in order to win the next election ...” Mr. Breese wrote.
In October, 2009, Mr. Jacobson weighed in on the party’s poor chances in four by-elections, two of which were held in Quebec. “Combined with recent disunity in its Quebec wing, a November 9 shut-out will further hurt the Liberal ‘brand’ and Ignatieff’s leadership, and make it even harder for the Liberals credibly to press for an early election,” the ambassador wrote.
An official with the U.S. embassy in Ottawa said Thursday there were no immediate plans to comment on the cables.
Kate Purchase, a spokeswoman for the Liberal Party of Canada, said that the party would not address Mr. Jacobson’s comments. Ms. Purchase pointed out that during prorogation, Mr. Ignatieff convened 26 roundtables on a variety of topics ranging from health to governance.
Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
The United States ambassador to Canada was not the only person to question
Igy's leadership ability, suitability and his probability of a spectacular
failure.
Mr. Harper chose to Igy's worst feature, his "Parisian French Accent" that was
guaranteed to have almost anyone in Quebec reaching for their sick bag when he
spoke.
The Liberals really could not have chosen a worse person with a worse accent in
French than Iggy. It was a time bomb waiting to go off when Igy spoke in french.
Apart from that, anyone with half a brain could see that Igy is almost devoid of
passion and vision for Canada's future, there was and is, and will never be any
"Obama factor", that just happens to be found in Justine Trudeau except we will
have till wait till the next election to see if Justine believes he is ready for
that role.
What really makes Igy an abject failure is that he had trouble seeing his kids,
had trouble with access, and despite that experience, he has NOT lifted a little
finger for a Legal Presumption of Equal Parenting or a reform of family law not
to mention
our CORRUPT JUDICIARY, most of whom paid a fee to either the Conservatives or
the Liberals political funds immediately prior to their selection.
If you think that is bad than spare a thought for Jack Layton who just happens
to be the extreme feminist politician in Canada hell bent on promoting hatred
towards men.
Jack Layton is the epitome of evil to every father in Canada with his opposition
to Equal Parenting and his promotion of hatred towards men.
Canadian Fathers are in for a hell of reduction in legal rights will result in
Canada's concentration camps for men swelling their population of just fathers
who sought to have a relationship with their children.
Vote for Jack and your already pitiful legal rights will only get worse.
www.OttawaMensCentre.com