The Liberal party has not been doing well in Ottawa since they elected Stephan Dion as their leader. Many inside and outside the party of condemned the leader for being out of touch with the membership and the realities of Canadian national politics. Were he to have had things better in hand it is unlikely that the Liberal party would have lost two bi-elections in Quebec so badly and that is the main reason that the minority government of Stephan Harper has been able to survive this long.

Last week Joe Hueglin pointed out that appointing candidates for federal constituencies is just bad politics and bad for the democratic process. Voters feel that they are unimportant and opt out of the process. Joe is hardly alone in his concern for Canadian democracy below is what John Halonen from Oshawa had to say about the situation:

We now have leaders that view themselves as rulers and constituents or citizens of Canada no longer have input as to how they wish to represented.

Harper and now Dion are now placing candidates into positions of being elected to the House of Commons without the wishes of party members in the ridings.

The seriousness of such actions seems to have escaped Canadians in general and our press continues to avoid the subject. What we could have here is government where individual rights no longer exist, as the leaders place their henchmen into all positions that would normally be selected by the public at large. This happens in NO DEMOCRATIC country today and therefore it could be stated that Canada is no longer a Democracy.

There really is only one way today for citizens of Canada to escape these actions, deny those appointed entry into our Political structure. How? DO NOT VOTE for any Candidate placed into a riding Constituent by other than through riding nomination meetings.

The leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, former premier Lorne Calvert is really upset (CBC story) with the decision of NDP MLA Joan Beatty to accept Stephan Dion's appointment as the candidate for the vast Missinippi riding.

Remarkably, the Liberal riding association is unwilling to roll over on this one and when you consider who is involved you can understand the reason they have taken action. For several weeks prospective candidates including underdog David Orchard have been out in the huge riding which is about the size of Texas campaigning for the nomination. Today the riding association issued the following press release:

MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday, January 8, 2008

An emergency Liberal membership meeting for the Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River riding will be held:

Saturday, January, 12, 2008
10 a.m.
PA Inn, Salon A and B
Prince Albert SK

The objective of the meeting will be to set up a riding association executive and to set a nomination date to democratically elect a Liberal candidate for the Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River riding for the coming by-election March 17.

We do not intend to extinguish the spirit of the North, nor let the Indian Act mentality impose upon the citizens of the North a candidate and a process which is undemocratic and which insults us.

For further information contact:

Chief Marcel Head, Shoal Lake First Nation cell 306-768-7875 or tel 306-768-3551 (office)

Jimmy Durocher, former federal and provincial Liberal candidate and Past President of the Metis Association of Saskatchewan, cell 306-222-4144 or tel 306-653-0384 (office).

Both Head and Durocher are veterans of struggles with Ottawa, Indian Affairs and often what seems to them as the whole Canadian establishment and clearly from this notice it looks like they are spoiling for a fight.

What surprises me is that either the Liberal Party executive or Stephan Dion himself would not have realised the consequences of their appointment without consulting the local riding association. Perhaps it is no wonder the Liberal party is in the mess it is today as such action as this demonstrates a profound lack of wisdom and common sense.