Dion, the linguistics professor

It's been a while for this blog, but in honour of the federal vote, this scribe has decided to plunge once again into the frigid waters of Fundy democracy.

The Liberal leader was in Saint John today, and besides giving a workman-like speech on the merits of the Green Shift, he poked fun at the linguistic absurdities of Canada's two official languages.

After mentioning carbon credits blahblahblah and his jet from Inuit Air, Dion noted the oddity that in French, you travel in a plane, while in English, you travel on one. He then wondered how anybody could ever travel on top of a jet.

It wasn't quite Chretien's pepper-on-a-plate, but it was refreshingly human, and a novel way of poking fun of his own challenges with the language of Churchill. And the crowd genuinely laughed.

Any bets not one of the scribes on the leader's tour picked this up?

let's bust this damned thing

Those of you with way too much knowledge of Canadian history would recognize the title of this post as a catchphrase from one of Laurier's more prominent Toronto financial supporters, who was prepared to rather abruptly put an end to the Laurier era simply because he was against the Liberal leader's support for reciprocity.

Of course, the Liberal turncoat/bagman had help in his campaign against one of the more successful Liberal administrations in history. A chief actor in this reversal of fortune was Conservative leader Robert Borden, who essentially entered into a non-compete agreement with Quebec nationalists in advance of the 1911 federal election. This entente with Henri Bourassa et al. was termed an unholy alliance, but proved to be quite effective politics. Laurier, one of the giants of Canadian history, was effectively torn to political shreds by opponents with little in common except a shared desire to see someone else in charge of the Canadian government.

Those of you who fret about the agreement between Stephane Dion and Elizabeth May might do well to remember who won the 1911 vote.

bravo! un vrai chef...

Stephane Dion, on the appointment of separatist Daniel Paille:

“I am well aware that there are talented people in the Parti Québécois and the Bloc Québécois, people with whom I have much in common...Nevertheless, I maintain that part of their talent and potential to contribute to their fellow citizens is negated by their separatist ideology. As far as I am concerned, you need to believe in a country if you are to contribute your utmost to it.”

Arguably, the most lucid remarks he's made since becoming Liberal leader. Kudos to his latest speechwriter.