Ignatieff accuses Maclean's of 'Quebec-bashing'

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says there is no doubt in his mind that Maclean's magazine engaged in "Quebec-bashing" last week when it published an explosive cover story tarring Quebec as "the most corrupt province in Canada" -- and depicting the beloved Bonhomme Carnaval holding a suitcase stuffed with cash.

Questioned in Montreal today during the first of his weekly Open Mike town hall forums to be held throughout the fall, Ignatieff waded decisively into the fray, addressing the uproar caused in the province by the Toronto-based magazine's release. Acknowledging that we must always challenge corruption in public life, the Opposition Leader said that it is "everywhere in Canada" and that it is the basic "challenge of politics," rather than anything particular to Quebec. "It's up to Quebecers to resolve their problems," says Ignatieff, not up to other Canadians to "offer up cliches about Quebec" just to sell magazines.

Among the episodes listed in the Maclean's article as evidence, the sponsorship scandal also made its reappearance in the open forum, with more than one questioner pointing to it in asking Ignatieff how he intends to win back the confidence of Quebecers -- and another performing a rehearsed rendition of Feist's "1,2,3,4", with the lyrics rewritten to lampoon Liberal (and Conservative) corruption. Far from shying away from the challenge, however, Ignatieff seemed emboldened, even defiant. "I am incredibly proud to be a Liberal," he boomed, before going on to enumerate the party's contributions to Canadian life, from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to Medicare, to the Pension Plan, to the legalization of same-sex marriage. The Liberal Party, like any party, is full of fallible individuals, he conceded, who like all humans at times succumb to corruption. But to the suggestion that the party is itself corrupt, Ignatieff could not have offered the questioner a blunter rebuke: "You're dead wrong."

And so it went. Launching the session with a hearty "Good evening Montreal elites!" -- a jab at frequent Tory attack lines -- Ignatieff seemed visibly at ease among the standing-room crowd, come from a diversity of political and other backgrounds to partake in this unfiltered public forum. The once unsteady novice of a politician now seemed a confident and even impassioned orator at times, unafraid to disagree haughtily with his audience when necessary -- if always "respectfully" -- and far more detailed in outlining his proposed alternatives.

Accused of political opportunism by one questioner for supporting the Tories' parliamentary motion recognizing the "Quebec nation within a united Canada," Ignatieff countered that he had always seen Quebecers as possessing a "national identity."  The "freedom of belonging" to both Canada and Quebec - "and in whichever order one sees fit" -- is what constitutes the "genius of federation," argued Ignatieff, in contrast to the "tyranny" of the sovereignists who would force Quebecers to choose between the two identities harboured "in their hearts and souls." Rather than taking away from the Canadian identity, he said, the Quebec nation enriches it immensely, and he would like it to again take its seat at the heart of a Liberal government.

Throughout the 2-hour segment, Ignatieff was joined by NDG MP Marlene Jennings and Outremont star candidate Martin Cauchon, the former justice minister responsible for sheparding the same-sex marriage reforms into law, while a roster of notable candidates and MPs looked on from the front row.

For Montreal, Ignatieff's answers provide a glimpse of what could be expected under a future government. The Liberals would like to see Vancouver's Insite safe-injection sites replicated across the country - a notion briefly entertained by Quebec's Health Minister but never pursued. Public transit would be better funded as part of a larger green investment strategy, and social housing would get renewed attention, where active federal involvement would incentivize the construction of more units. And of course, the gun registry would be safeguarded. As for the shuttered compassion clubs, Ignatieff said Liberals would reintroduce Cauchon's bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, while Jennings added that the process for obtaining medical marijuana, already legalized under the Chretien government, would also be streamlined.

Ignatieff pursues his Open Mike tour next week with a stop in Winnipeg, to be followed by Toronto the week after.