Like I wrote this past weekend, I haven't drawn Stephane Dion many times. Yesterday I thought I'd practice by doing a few pencil sketches. He's pretty good for cartoonists -- he's got beady eyes, a Joe Clarkesque mushroom top full of hair, some defined eyebrows (unlike Bob Rae), a pretty good overbite, and a nice space between the bottom of his nose and his upper lip. He'll be fun to draw. Some cartoonists, namely Serge Chapleau of the Montreal's La Presse, is famous in Quebec for depicting Dion with rat like features, especially after the controversy he stirred after drawing up the Clarity act on the conditions leading to provincial secession.

Above is a cartoon I drew of Dion in 1996 shortly after he became Chretien's minister in charge of unity.

Here's one I drew in August 1997 illustrating on a letter exchange between Sovereigntist Bernard Landry and Stephane Dion. Note the backpack on Dion's shoulder. Dion was mocked for coming to Ottawa after years as a professor armed with his backpack.

It's funny how the final battle of the 2006 Liberal leadership convention came down to one between the two main professorial eggheads of the race. I drew the above cartoon back in early April. Some leadership conventions are difficult to predict but this one was a real roller coaster from the start of the first ballot to the end of the fourth. It is said that the King Maker of this race emerged after the second ballot when Gerard Kennedy pulled out and threw his support to Stephane Dion. Once the third ballot was tabulated Bob Rae was knocked off, pretty much finishing off what ever strength was left from the dwindling support held by Michael Ignatieff. 

What can I say about a Liberal leader who so far in my editorial cartooning career I've probably drawn maybe 5 times? In assessing all the Liberal leadership candidates back in this blog on September 29, here's what I had to say about Stephane Dion:

Stéphane Dion - They say Ken Dryden bores an audience to sleep when he stands up and makes a speech. What about Dion? Man, is he ever tiresome... and humourless. As annoying as Jean Chretien was with his choppy English at least he could be funny. Dion is just painful to listen to. I'm all for the Liberals alternating between anglophone and francophone leaders... and the party is due for a french speaking leader if tradition dictates... but pick one who can speak both languages elegantly, like Trudeau, or Ste. Laurent (I suppose).

True enough, the Liberals have kept their tradition by electing a francophone. While that shouldn't matter in our happy bilingual country, it's guaranteed to rub some anglophones the wrong way. "Here we go again", some will say, "yet another Quebecker is poised to be the next Prime Minister of Canada." That may very well bold well for party support in Quebec, but it's pretty predictable that english talk radio's about to broadcast the voices of many people tired of seeing short lived english Prime Ministers followed by long reigning eras headed by francophones. Not to mention, a francophone LIberal leader who seems to have made Jean Chretien the second happiest person coming out of this convention.

Hopefully Dion can steer and park the party in a clearer and definable left of centre position on issues where Canadian Liberals ought to be, at a midway point between the Conservatives and the NDP. It might make voting easier for Canadians. Problem is that there may no longer be any room left for a lot of those so called blue Liberals -- the people who pretty much handed the party consequative governments throughout the 90's. Stephen Harper's got to be pretty pleased with that prospect.

 

They were full of praise for Paul Martin Jr. tonight, those Liberals gathering in Montreal to pick his successor were. Eleven months of staying out of sight following his government's defeat to the Conservatives Paul Martin reappeared to say good-bye. With grace and eloquence he thanked Liberals, and paid tribute to his still bitter predecessor Jean Chretien, who was undoubtedly deliberately avoiding the love-in. What a grouch. It only proves that Paul Martin is a far better man. 

It's a bittersweet end to a political career that held so much promise for so many years. Martin cultivated respect and a powerful political machine as he turned the nation's treasury from a spiralling $38 billion deficit situation in 1993, to surplus in the early days of the new millenium. Years of his rather conservative fiscal measures could very well have empowered the Chretien government and its back to back majorities by appealing to those who thought the Mulroney government had effectively controlled spending and deficits. Boy, were we ever fooled.

When he finally got to become Prime Minister he proved to be a man of good intentions, prepared to reward Canadians for a decade of fiscal prudence. There were accords signed with natives, a national child care policy in place, and admirable efforts underway to help lift the poorest of the poor out of poverty. Unfortunately for Martin, the stink left over from Chretien and the sponsorship scandal fogged everything up, leaving Martin to preside over a governing party which had lost the trust of the electorate.

Paul Martin was fun to caricature and I've got a big gallery of editorial cartoons which chronicles his time in politics to show for it. I know he admires satire directed at himself, having sold several originals to him over the years. I never met him, but I got pretty close to him during the election. Once, while I was in Ottawa I paid a visit to his House of Commons office while he was Finance Minister to drop off an original. He wasn't there but his assistant allowed me and my wife to hang out in his office. So long Paul.

Last month I drew a cartoon which compared ex-MP Stan Keyes' appointment as President of the Canadian Payday Loan Association to Muhummad Yunnus, Nobel Peace Prize winner who pioneered microcredit loans to the world's most poverty stricken. A comment was left yesterday under my blog entry concerning the cartoon from someone going by the name... yep... Stan Keyes. I don't know if it is in fact from the ex Liberal Martinite cabinet minister, but it sure sounds like him:

Graeme MacKay does not know me. He has never taken the time to speak with me. He has broken the first rule of journalism and made assumptions. He has not done his homework on the Canadian Payday Loan Association. Graeme MacKay passes judgement, attacks then runs and hides. Pretty shameful.

I know he was pretty p-o'd after the cartoon ran. Complaints by Keyes were fired off to my boss, and he was offered the opportunity to defend Payday loans through an Spectator Op-Ed piece which has yet to be delivered and printed. Looking forward to reading it, Mr. Keyes!

In other news, local campaign scrutiny activist Joanna Chapman writes in that she's a fan of my cartoons (at the bottom of the entry.)

 

It always happens... I take off for a few days and a huge story drops begging for mass punditry and editorial cartoons. Just as I'm starting a long Thanksgiving weekend with my wife's family in the U.S. I hear the news that Stephen Harper drops a proposal before Parliament which would recognize Quebec as a nation within Canada. Then, the radio reception fades and I don't hear about the story until I'm on my way back home 5 days later. (The U.S. media took no notice of this Quebec as a nation news from what I heard).

So as Canada pondered its future in what I thought would become a new constitutional crisis I decided to shut out all access to the goings-on via the Internet and concentrate on personal issues: drinking beer, eating turkey, shopping for xmas gifts for the kids, dining out with my wife, attending a bowling birthday party for my 10 year old niece, going to see Borat with my brother inlaw, and capping everything off with more brown pops before heading home.

Much to my surprise was the speed in which things would be decided. All day today the motion has been debated, and despite a few exciting bits such as the resignation of a conservative cabinet minister, the proposal is to be voted on tonight, and it's expected to be supported by all parties, including the Liberals, and including the Bloc Quebecois. Getting those two to agree on something so divisive as the old "distinct society" issue is monumental. Pierre Trudeau ought to be rolling in his grave as the Toronto Star's Patrick Corrigan illustrated.

I guess this all came about after Gilles Duceppe put the motion before the house that declared "Quebec a nation" without the additional "within a united Canada" which was added by the Conservatives in their own motion. Am I right? If so, then that answered my question as to why this all of a sudden came about. Dolts calling into radio talk shows gave me the wrong impression Harper just pulled this one out of his a$$. (Actually, Harper's put a lot of thought into Canadian federalism than a lot of people know.) In fact, this recent 'Quebec as a Nation' thing was started by the Bloc Quebecois. The Bloc's motion was probably inspired by Michael Ignatieff's "Quebec is a nation" comments last month, designed to play a bit of cheap politics just on the eve of the Liberal's leadership vote.

If tonight's vote does in fact end this brief discussion on Canadian unity then I think Harper may have pulled off a brilliant political maneuvre as a simple response to the proposals raised by the Bloc Quebecois and Michael Ignatieff. I really don't think anyone has an appetite to debate a largely symbolic recognition of status proposal, not now anyway.

* * * Update, Nov. 29 * * *

A little late but at least I drew something reflecting the Quebec is a nation thing:

Now I'm just wondering what's going to happen the next time I take a couple of days off.