Hebert's column
Read it if you haven't already - I'll give away the ending....
It's not a new development that this PM is failing in Quebec.
Even I noticed actions like him putting Brison in charge of answering all the questions wrt to the sponsorship scandal despite the fact that Mr. Brison can't speak french.
Martin's inner circle - the people who since the first of the sponsorship scandal fallout almost two years ago have been pulling all of Martin's strings - doesn't have anyone from the province of Quebec.
His selection of former Bloc founder Jean Lapierre as his Quebec lieutenant has been a disaster.
Time for the devil we don't know.
In this campaign, the Liberal leader has so far not backed his sincere passion for a united Canada with much substance. If he is to be believed, stern patriotic rhetoric of the kind he exhibited in last Friday's English-language debate coupled with punctual acts of generosity on the part of an affluent federal government will keep the federation on an even keel.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper has come to a different conclusion.
In a landmark speech in Quebec City on Tuesday, he vowed to sit down with the premiers to address the issue of the fiscal imbalance early on in the tenure of a Tory
government. His words did not fall on deaf ears in Quebec. Yesterday ADQ leader Mario Dumont said he would vote for Harper next month.
Charest himself broke his self-imposed election silence to commend the Conservative proposals. That is not a routine event.
In contrast with their colleagues from the other provinces, Quebec premiers rarely get involved in federal campaigns. The risks of needlessly dividing the federalist camp are usually too high.
But Charest knows he would be better off campaigning for his own re-election against the backdrop of a government that is open to changes to the federation than against
Martin's systematic rebuttals.
The premier is not about to forget that the federal Liberal leader started off his campaign in Quebec speaking as if the demise of the federalist provincial government was a foregone conclusion.
Like it or not, one of the unavoidable ballot questions on Jan. 23 will be which of the federal parties is best placed to secure the unity of Canada. Since 1993 and the implosion of the Progressive Conservative party, that answer had become devilishly simple.
From a Quebec federalist perspective, there was no serious alternative to the Liberals. But this week Charest signalled that is no longer the case.
It's not a new development that this PM is failing in Quebec.
Even I noticed actions like him putting Brison in charge of answering all the questions wrt to the sponsorship scandal despite the fact that Mr. Brison can't speak french.
Martin's inner circle - the people who since the first of the sponsorship scandal fallout almost two years ago have been pulling all of Martin's strings - doesn't have anyone from the province of Quebec.
His selection of former Bloc founder Jean Lapierre as his Quebec lieutenant has been a disaster.
Time for the devil we don't know.
