Elect Bob Rae in Toronto Centre!

Interview with Bob Rae - video available
QUESTION PERIOD
Broadcast Date: Sunday, October 14, 2007
Network: CTV

CRAIG OLIVER: With his agreement to head a blue ribbon panel that will tell the Conservative government what to do about Afghanistan, many Liberals feel that John Manley, their former Deputy Prime Minister, has not done them any favours for the party and in fact may have helped the Prime Minister significantly. We're joined by Bob Rae who is the new foreign affairs critic for the Liberal party. Mr. Rae, has John Manley sabotaged his own party or has he done something in the national interest here?

BOB RAE (Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic): Well, maybe it's neither. I mean, you know, what he's, I think Mr. Manley has accepted a mandate from Mr. Harper together with a number of other individuals, including Pamela Wallin who's a former colleague of yours, Craig, and several other people who were associated with the Mulroney government, to present some ideas and views to Mr. Harper. That's Mr. Manley's choice. You know, he made his decision to do that for his own reasons. I'm sure Mr. Harper is hoping that somehow he can defang or depoliticize the issue of Afghanistan. I don't think, frankly, that's possible because the issue is much too alive for Canadians, it's much too important to Canadians to simply say we're going to let five individuals go off in a corner, and as you put it, tell us what to do. That isn't going to happen. Whatever the panel does, it will be part of a broader discussion. But the key issues for Canada about our future role after February 2009 about the need for us to recognize that there is no exclusively military solution to this conflict, the need for us to remain engaged in Afghanistan but not in a combat mission, these are issues that no government can avoid, whether it's Mr. Harper's government or a Liberal government in the future, whatever it may be, it simply can't be avoided. These questions have to be decided by government soon.

OLIVER: Some people are calling this a non-partisan panel. It looks as if the government is trying to put that kind of a cast on whatever they report, so won't it be difficult for you to your leader to throw out a recommendation if you don't like it in the eyes of Canadians if they see this as a non-partisan group?

RAE: I, first of all, it's a group that involves people who have been associated with more than one political party, that's true. But, you know, as I've said, you can't depoliticize this issue. We look forward to, you know, the advice of the panel. Anybody would look forward to the advice of the panel. There are people on there whose views you want to hear about. But that isn't going to stop the rest of us from having views as well from consulting with people, from, I visited Kabul a few months ago, I met with senior officials in the Afghan government. I met with senior people working, NGOs in the United Nations. It's possible for lots of people to meet and these issues are being debated in every single NATO capital, in Washington, in London, all over Europe these issues are being discussed and debated. You can't put it in a little box and pretend that it isn't going to be discussed. Of course it's going to be discussed, and that's the way it should be. And the government still has to make up its own mind as to what to do. Mr. Harper is not exactly famous for being a great listener. I wouldn't have put that among his very top characteristics. He's indicated his point of view very clearly, and I think Canadians are going to need to decide on which direction they want the government to go.

OLIVER: A lot of Liberals are saying things like et tu Manley. I'm sure you've heard from them, I've heard from them, that they're very angry at Manley from taking on this job and giving it that non-partisan cast and they believe undermining Dion to some degree in the process by perhaps removing an obstacle from Harper in the next federal election, by removing Afghanistan as an issue. So you're trying hard here not to criticize Mr. Manley.

RAE: No, I'm trying hard to do one thing quite simply, and that is to say this, Craig. This issue cannot be avoided. He cannot take it out of, if there is an election campaign, and neither you nor I know whether there will be one or not, but if there is an election campaign, do you think for a moment that people are not going to be discussing Afghanistan? Do you think for a moment that Prime Minister Harper is not going to have to tell people what his views are? He's indicated his views on several different occasions. They happen to be different points of view at different times, but he certainly can't avoid them. You can't depoliticize this issue. And Mr. Harper may have thought that he was tremendously clever, he may have thought that he's carried out a great coup, but I don't believe that he has. And Mr. Manley is free, as anybody is free, to serve Mr. Harper or whatever he wants to do. He's a private citizen. He can do that. But we in the Liberal party, those of us who are now electorally and politically engaged, have an obligation to present options to the people of Canada. That's what Mr. Dion is going to do, and that's what the rest of us are going to do whether it's in an election campaign or in parliament. And by the way, I'd still love to get into parliament and I'm waiting for that by-election to be called.

OLIVER: Mr. Rae, you've seen the numbers lately, the polling numbers showing that your party is 12 points now behind the Conservatives, that they're knocking on the door of a majority, that the Liberal numbers in Quebec are very bad. You're not one of those, are you, who believes you should be in a position to force the government into an election any time soon? Are you going to be cautioning Dion about an election right now?

RAE: Mr. Dion and I have a terrific relationship. We've had many conversations over the last several weeks on all matters political and non-political. He's been a tremendous source of support to me in my recent operation. And I think he's, Mr. Dion is a very sensible man. I think he knows what the deepest values and convictions of the Liberal party are. He's told Mr. Harper publicly what it is that the Liberal party is concerned about. The kinds of issues that we want to see addressed in the throne speech. I think Mr. Harper, if he has any qualities as a listener, will know what those are. And as for polls, Craig, I started out the election in 1990, and I was more than 20 points behind and we won by six points. So if you guys in the media are spooked by polls, I certainly am not. And my experience tells me that if you've got strong convictions and you know where the people's real opinions and real values are, and you have a feeling for what those are that, you know, life will take care of those things.

OLIVER: Mr. Rae, you're just back from heart surgery. I just want to say that all of us who know you and in many ways admire you over the years want to say we're glad to have you back and we're glad you're with us.

RAE: Well I'm great, well I'm glad to be here. The first thing about the heart surgery is they found it, and the second thing is once they found the heart they fixed the little problem that I had.

OLIVER: Thank you.

RAE: I feel much, much better now and thank you very much.

OLIVER: And we look forward to seeing you in parliament.

RAE: Me too.

OLIVER: Bye.

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