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Email: "UA Could be stolen right out from under Reform"

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BY LifeSiteNews.com The United Alternative initiative, which spawned the Canadian Alliance over the weekend, could be taken over by “the Machiavellian Ontario Tories,” according to John Ibbitson in a front page Globe and Mail story on Saturday. Indeed, Ontario Tories Tom Long and Tony Clement, often mentioned Mike Harris and the “Common Sense Revolution” in their frequent appearances as organizational leaders at the United Alternative meeting. Ibbitson suggests that Long may try for leadership of the Canadian Alliance and be backed in his bid by the Harris “campaign team” including “Alister Campbell, communications specialist, Paul Rhodes, master spin doctor, Mark Mullins, the economist, and Jaime Watt, advertising guru” and gay activist, all of whom took part in the birth of the Canadian Alliance. Ibbitson states “It is Tom Long, Tory Ontario’s philosopher king, they come to support. If they succeed, the United Alternative could be stolen right out from under Reform”. The take-over of the Canadian Alliance by the likes of such men would be a definite departure from Reform principles since these “backroom boys” are firmly in the libertarian camp, being fiscally conservative while pretending to avoid social issues because they are “divisive” but swinging to the left nonetheless. The Harris party machine has consistently discouraged its MPs from taking any meaningful action on any “controversial” social conservative issues since it has been in power. While instructing UA potential candidates during a candidate information session on Saturday, Long repeated four times that we will have “no stray comments” by candidates and said “Look around you, these are the people that you will hurt” (the other candidates). This could be interpreted to imply that UA candidates are being ordered to avoid open discussion and any comments on “controversial social issues”, a policy of the social leftist Harris Tories. At the Reform Assembly the striking difference between the way small-c conservatism is conceptualized for Ontario as compared to the rest of the provinces was highlighted.  During his speech to the UA assembly Tom Long mentioned “small-c conservatism” a number of times but only in the context of everything but social matters, although he did use the curious term"social responsibility” which could mean anything. During debates for provincial executive councillors, who will form the steering committee of the Canadian Alliance after it is ratified by the Reform membership in March, social conservative issues were discussed openly in most provincial meetings but stifled in the Ontario debates. According to UA delegates who spoke to LifeSite, there was open and frank discussion in most provincial executive council candidate meetings on both sides of the life and family issues. Discussion of such issues was welcome.  However in the Ontario meeting, discussion was shut down. A delegate asked each of the candidates to answer whether “they consider themselves to be social conservative”. Three specific issues were given as examples of what was generally meant by the question, which was further summarized as “what was their position on what are usually considered to be traditional values?” The first candidate called to respond, Sandra van der Veen, had difficulty answering the question and surprisingly asked for further clarification. When the questioner mentioned that one example would be the candidates stand on abortion, the entire question was immediately ruled out of order by the chairman who moved on to another question. Delegates were deprived of any information on the candidates’ stand on social issues. Often, throughout the UA convention and the Reform Assembly, mention was made of a possible “watering down” of Reform principles, in order to appeal to Ontario.  However, western Reformers were repeatedly assured that the principles were retained. Those principles have always been understood to include both fiscal conservatism and social conservatism, the underlying sentiments of which are supportive of life and family. Will Reform principles remain intact within the Canadian Alliance?  The answer will likely depend on how successful the party take-over by the social leftist Ontario PC’s will be.  Stockwell Day, Alberta’s social conservative provincial treasurer, and a likely Canadian Alliance leadership candidate, said during his keynote speech (arguably the best delivered over the weekend) that his “guarantee” for the upholding of Reform principles within the Canadian Alliance could be summed up in “two words - Preston Manning.” Preston Manning was the only potential leadership candidate who said anything in a speech over the weekend expressing support for social conservatism. The new Canadian Alliance policies and constitution should greatly impress all social and fiscal conservatives. The concern is that party leadership, management and candidates must contain a majority of individuals who personally agree with most of these principles to ensure that a watering down or suppression of discussion of the principles does not take place. That negative influence is seen as most likely to come from the money only ideologues of the Harris Tory political machine. The outcome of the Reform’s Canadian Alliance maneuver may soon be evident since speculation about a September election was strengthened by preparatory measures initiated last week by Elections Canada. Rumours will continue to fly tomorrow when a special meting of Liberal caucus commences with strategists John Rae and Gordon Ashworth, along with pollster Michael Marzolini, to talk about election readiness. http://www.lifesitenews.com/resources/ua-could-be-stolen-right-out-from-under-reform/

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