Stéphane Dion visits North Bay

Ontario’s Young Liberals (OYL) welcome Dion to 'Summer Fling'.

It was a liberal day for North Bay as the city played host to various Liberal MP’s and the Leader of the Federal Liberal Party, Stéphane Dion. Dion toured North Bay’s waterfront and Farmers’ Market before attending a discussion with Ontario’s Young Liberals (OYL).

The OYL is an active political youth organization serving as the official youth wing of the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) and the Ontario Liberal Party. They had the opportunity to ask Federal Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion questions about the things he would do if his party were voted in during the next election.

“There were a lot of question about a lot of topics. They want to be sure that Canada will stay a country which is open to social justice, environmental stability and play the role of peacekeeper in the world. They have a lot of concerns about what the current government is doing,” Dion explained.

“They want to make a difference between the United States and Canada. The United States are our friends but it’s not a model and they have a lot of concerns about what Mr. Harper is doing about that,” he added.

Dion said that it is very important to meet with young liberals, as their input has been very influential over the years.

“They (OYL) decided that they wouldn’t be a part of the ballistic missile defence. They are making a lot of pressure for us to increase our role regarding the help for the poor countries and also investing for post-secondary education. So, it’s always very important for a leader to listen very carefully to what the youth of the party has to say,” Dion said.

A Federal cabinet shake up

With an upcoming cabinet shuffle expected next week, Dion says that the Prime Minister has a big puzzle on his hands. According to Dion, the first minister the opposition has requested to resign is Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence. Dion also explained that certain Conservative Ministers have censored key aspects of the Maher Arar inquiry allowing Canadians to know that CSIS was aware that there was a danger of torture for Arar.

“Who are these ministers? Why is the Prime Minister not giving out their names? Because if we knew their names would they expect that they would not be a part of the shuffle,” Dion questioned.

“So the list of the ministers that are a source of concern is very, very big,” he added.

Everybody knows Anthony

Dion said that he enjoyed his tour of North Bay and that he has had only a warm reception from people on such a warm day.

“What is striking for me, so I am so impressed, is how much everybody knows Anthony and Anthony knows everybody,” he said about Anthony Rota, Nipissing-Timiskaming MP.

“When I will have to consider my caucus after we hope Canadians will give us their support to be the government I will have the opposite problem as Mr. Harper,” he said about the abundance of skilled and qualified Liberals.

Although Dion says he is not sure when the next Federal election will be he has reassured all Liberals that his party will be ready when the time comes.