Proper Vetting

I spotted him early and had no idea who he was. But it was clear he was miffed and not about to be placated. It was a few days ago at the Ignatieff event in London and I wondered if it would create some difficulty. The Liberal leader was still about 20 minutes away, and with the venue being packed, the man had to stand by the entrance.When Ignatieff arrived to fanfare, he shook hands with all those encountered on the way in. Approaching this particular gentleman, the Liberal leader held out his hand and thanked him for coming. The man refused to uncross his arms and said firmly, "You'll here from me." Ignatieff merely smiled and said "okay." As the town hall proceeded the man remained stoically in his spot for the duration and as soon as the time arrived for questions he proceeded directly to the microphone and secured the second question of the evening. It was a good one and needed to be raised. It referred to the Liberal failure in 2008 to support Bill C-201, a bill to end the reduction of Military and RCMP superannuation benefits once a veteran reached age 65. It was now clear that the individual himself was a veteran, upset with Liberals over the bill.The crowd grew still as Ignatieff began to respond. He thanked the man for his years of service to the country and for the sacrifices paid on behalf of all Canadians. That drew applause from an audience that appreciated the tone. He added that democracy in Ottawa can be a difficult exercise and that on C-201 the Liberals just got it wrong. "We messed up on 201," he continued, "but we'll get it right next time." It was a moment of frankness and sincerity that no one expected and the resulting applause revealed the audience's appreciation. When the event was concluded, Ignatieff went straight up to the veteran, who appeared somewhat satisfied and thankful for the authentic answer.Flash to the Halifax waterfront, where Jim Lowther of the Veterans Emergency Transition Team attempted to get into a Stephen Harper rally. Affirming he was non-political, the veteran's advocate added he stands with anyone who promises to help veterans who have been wounded in the service of their country. He had been trying for some time to gain a meeting with the PM but was consistently denied, and so he decided to attend the rally.The moment he and a friend tried to enter the venue they were turned away by security. Inside were Conservative politicians, staffers, and a group of hand-picked supporters. They never got to have Lowther join their ranks. The advocate himself was steamed, given the many failures to meet with the PM previously. Yet all was not lost. On Saturday, Jack Layton came to town and on Monday MIchael Ignatieff appeared. Both leaders had Lowther stand with them on stage and lent their respective voices to the ongoing struggle to provide support for veterans. As he and his friend stood on either side of the Liberal leader, they smiled as he spoke of his initiative to provide four years of free college or university education for current and future members of the Canadian Forces. "If you served your country, we think that helping you get a great post-secondary education is the least that a grateful country can do," Ignatieff stated.Part of the purpose of these blog posts is to draw the contrast between the various political approaches, and on this instance they couldn't be more stark. It's often true that those who have power seek to maintain it by denying access to those that might challenge them, while their opponents attempt to throw open the doors and windows of democracy in an effort to get in. But successively in the last few days, Harper's team denied access to students (London), students who were rallying non-politically to urge their peers to vote (Guelph), and now a veteran's advocate merely endeavouring to draw attention to returning soldiers in need (Halifax). These aren't just target groups, they represent individuals of important value within the Canadian context. When the PM blamed the incidents on "staffing," it revealed that this was a PM whose penchant for control engineered him right out of relevancy.This has clearly become a campaign of competing values, but in a modern democracy where citizens are pining for inclusion, and social media is providing powerful tools for pursuing it, the throwback to a phalanx of security types and party loyalists restricting voices in open debate represents a jarring dislocation, to which Ignatieff's open concept with no teleprompter represents the way of the future if Canada is to get its game back.