OTTAWA—The Liberals will be using Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's position on the war in Iraq as a weapon against the Bloc Québécois in the next election.
Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew said yesterday that Quebecers will be reminded that a vote for the Bloc would help elect the Conservatives, and that Harper supported sending Canadian soldiers to Iraq as part of the American-led invasion a year ago.
"People will have to decide whether to vote in a way that favours the (Conservatives), who would have taken us to war (when he was leader of the Canadian Alliance)," Pettigrew said.
"Even now, Stephen Harper is saying blithely that Canada should have gone to war."
Pettigrew said this would be a factor in the coming election campaign, expected in late spring or early fall.
Not sending troops "was a decision which helped the Liberal party a lot in Quebec," he said. "It was a courageous and daring decision. We will remind people of it."
When the war in Iraq was declared a year ago, the Liberals, the New Democrats and the Bloc supported the decision by former prime minister Jean Chrétien to keep Canada out of the war.
Chrétien's decision was extremely popular in Quebec, and former Quebec premier Bernard Landry said he had telephoned Chrétien to congratulate him.
SHAWINIGAN, Que. (CP) — Jean Chrétien spoke out in defence of his political legacy today but the retired prime minister who prided himself as a political streetfighter declined to throw any punches at foes who questioned his integrity.
[. . . .] "You know, attacks are a part of life for a politician and you fight back. I loved to fight back but now I'm not in politics anymore."
He said he didn't have to offer any explanations for the sponsorship program, which is under investigation by police and two public inquiries following revelations that up to $100 million was funnelled to Liberal-friendly ad firms.
[. . . .] "I've already said I've answered 200 times in the House of Commons. There were 200 questions on this so I've had a chance to say in English and French and maybe a few times in joual (French slang). What do you want? I answered those questions. I don't answer questions about current affairs anymore."
[. . . .] But the loudest cheers for Chrétien during a speech Thursday night came when he reminded his audience of 700 that it was the one-year anniversary of his decision not to join the American-led war in Iraq.
He cited the Iraq announcement as a "great day" for Canada.
"Because it was a chance for us to show we are an independent country, with its own convictions, principles and a policy that respects the international situation," he said. "We believe in the United Nations, we believe in peace in the world."
[. . . .] "Thank you very much. And vive Shawinigan!"
