By GLORIA GALLOWAY
Thursday, September 15, 2005 Updated at 5:38 AM EDT
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is presiding over a house divided, with some supporters leaping to his defence and other party members lining up behind those who have called for his resignation.
One former Quebec candidate for the Progressive Conservatives was less than conciliatory yesterday in his response to the four current and former party members -- three of whom have been candidates -- who demanded in an open letter that Mr. Harper step down.
"Would you please leave the party as you are not acceptable or loyal," wrote David Bernstein, a retired lawyer.
"You are to blame for the fiasco in Quebec. It was people like you that supported Belinda [Stronach], now a Liberal! With friends like you, we do not need any enemies."
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Mr. Harper declined to comment on the controversy.
But Pierre Rémillard, one of the four authors of the controversial letter and the Conservative candidate in the Quebec riding of Jeanne-Le Ber, agreed the response has been mixed. He and the other dissenters have started a weblog to record the comments of party members.
"There are some MPs from Alberta who wrote to us, and some zealots, clearly, who said we are Liberals hiding in Conservative clothing," Mr. Rémillard said yesterday. "But I think the overwhelming majority of support we received clearly outclassed those negative e-mails that we got."
As a result, Mr. Rémillard said, he believes the movement to push out Mr. Harper is approaching. Some dissent has even been logged in Mr. Harper's province of Alberta.
When the letter surfaced, party officials responded by saying that the small number of signatories indicates that most of the party's Quebec candidates are satisfied.
Mr. Rémillard said a source inside the party has told him that 20 of the 75 people nominated by the Conservatives in Quebec are no longer running. He has asked Josée Verner, the party's Quebec lieutenant, for an accounting of who is still in the race and whether they support Mr. Harper.
"If she can't give a response, then we know they lied to Canadians yesterday," he said.
But Mr. Rémillard might have to fight with those in his own riding before he takes on the leader's office. Judith Seidman, the Conservative riding association president in Jeanne-Le Ber, said her organization was stunned by the letter that was signed by the candidate.
"The Electoral District Association of Jeanne-Le Ber does not support the behaviour of this candidate nor the process this candidate has undertaken," she said yesterday.
"He certainly never had the decency of consulting with us nor even informing us of what he was about to do. In fact we now await his resignation. Our EDA definitely supports our Leader Stephen Harper."And Richard Décarie, who lost his job as Mr. Harper's deputy chief of staff last Friday, said there has been no mass revolt by party members in Quebec.
Conservatives strongly endorsed Mr. Harper at its policy convention in Montreal last winter, said Mr. Décarie, adding that it would be impossible to elect a replacement before the next election which is expected in early spring.
Sources within the party had characterized Mr. Décarie's departure as being the result of philosophical differences between him and the leader. If that is the case, he appears to hold no grudges. As the man who helped organize Mr. Harper's leadership campaign in Quebec, he remains full of praise for Mr. Harper's abilities.
Mr. Décarie said he left his job in the opposition office because he had initially intended to stay just a short while to assist with developing the Quebec organization and ended up staying more than a year.
And, he said, his candidacy in Veudreuil-Soulanges, which ended at the same time as his employment, was an emergency measure he agreed to last spring when the party needed nominees to deal with a possible snap election call.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050915.wxtories15/BNStory/National/[/b]
Thursday, September 15, 2005 Updated at 5:38 AM EDT
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is presiding over a house divided, with some supporters leaping to his defence and other party members lining up behind those who have called for his resignation.
One former Quebec candidate for the Progressive Conservatives was less than conciliatory yesterday in his response to the four current and former party members -- three of whom have been candidates -- who demanded in an open letter that Mr. Harper step down.
"Would you please leave the party as you are not acceptable or loyal," wrote David Bernstein, a retired lawyer.
"You are to blame for the fiasco in Quebec. It was people like you that supported Belinda [Stronach], now a Liberal! With friends like you, we do not need any enemies."
Advertisements
click here
click here
click here
Mr. Harper declined to comment on the controversy.
But Pierre Rémillard, one of the four authors of the controversial letter and the Conservative candidate in the Quebec riding of Jeanne-Le Ber, agreed the response has been mixed. He and the other dissenters have started a weblog to record the comments of party members.
"There are some MPs from Alberta who wrote to us, and some zealots, clearly, who said we are Liberals hiding in Conservative clothing," Mr. Rémillard said yesterday. "But I think the overwhelming majority of support we received clearly outclassed those negative e-mails that we got."
As a result, Mr. Rémillard said, he believes the movement to push out Mr. Harper is approaching. Some dissent has even been logged in Mr. Harper's province of Alberta.
When the letter surfaced, party officials responded by saying that the small number of signatories indicates that most of the party's Quebec candidates are satisfied.
Mr. Rémillard said a source inside the party has told him that 20 of the 75 people nominated by the Conservatives in Quebec are no longer running. He has asked Josée Verner, the party's Quebec lieutenant, for an accounting of who is still in the race and whether they support Mr. Harper.
"If she can't give a response, then we know they lied to Canadians yesterday," he said.
But Mr. Rémillard might have to fight with those in his own riding before he takes on the leader's office. Judith Seidman, the Conservative riding association president in Jeanne-Le Ber, said her organization was stunned by the letter that was signed by the candidate.
"The Electoral District Association of Jeanne-Le Ber does not support the behaviour of this candidate nor the process this candidate has undertaken," she said yesterday.
"He certainly never had the decency of consulting with us nor even informing us of what he was about to do. In fact we now await his resignation. Our EDA definitely supports our Leader Stephen Harper."And Richard Décarie, who lost his job as Mr. Harper's deputy chief of staff last Friday, said there has been no mass revolt by party members in Quebec.
Conservatives strongly endorsed Mr. Harper at its policy convention in Montreal last winter, said Mr. Décarie, adding that it would be impossible to elect a replacement before the next election which is expected in early spring.
Sources within the party had characterized Mr. Décarie's departure as being the result of philosophical differences between him and the leader. If that is the case, he appears to hold no grudges. As the man who helped organize Mr. Harper's leadership campaign in Quebec, he remains full of praise for Mr. Harper's abilities.
Mr. Décarie said he left his job in the opposition office because he had initially intended to stay just a short while to assist with developing the Quebec organization and ended up staying more than a year.
And, he said, his candidacy in Veudreuil-Soulanges, which ended at the same time as his employment, was an emergency measure he agreed to last spring when the party needed nominees to deal with a possible snap election call.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050915.wxtories15/BNStory/National/[/b]
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