Most likely this guy will be the next leader of Canada........
'I speak for those who say Quebec is a nation, but Canada is my country,'' Michael Ignatieff said in his opening remarks.
Bob Rae distanced himself from the resolution saying, 'Quebec . . . is a province of prosperity, it's a province that has led the Canadian economy,'' Rae said.
Stephane Dion invoked his long experience representing Quebec at the federal level for the Liberals.
Ignatieff targeted over early terror writings
Updated Sat. Oct. 21 2006 11:27 PM ET
CTV.ca News
A focus on Quebec's place in Canada got supplanted by some hard shots at front-runner Michael Ignatieff during the latest Liberal leadership debate.
Ignatieff said Saturday that Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be the foundation of Liberal justice policy, including the so-called war on terror.
Bob Rae, running in second place in delegate support, brought up a newspaper commentary article in which Ignatieff argued for the use of some draconian tactics in the fight against terror.
"In the New York Times several years ago, he talked about the issue of evil," Rae said, interrupted by boos from Ignatieff supporters.
"He said to fight evil, we sometimes have to do evil," Rae said, including indefinite detentions, coercive questioning and targeted killings. "To me, this has nothing to do with the Charter of Rights," he said.
Ignatieff said his mother's fiance died under torture in Buchenwald, one of the Nazi death camps, "so you can be pretty much assured I am against torture."
He proclaimed himself to oppose a missile shield as protection against strategic dangers.
His supporters say while the article raises the question of using unsavoury techniques, Ignatieff himself never endorsed them.
In his closing remarks, Stephane Dion, running fourth in first-ballot delegate support, also launched an attack on Ignatieff - although he didn't spare Rae either.
He accused Rae, a former NDP premier of Ontario, of having presided over one of the worst economic records of a provincial government in Canadian history.
For Ignatieff, Dion said: "He has to answer, we need an answer. And I'm asking of those who support him to demand an answer ... don't criticize Bob, he did his job today."
Dion also said Ignatieff "egged Bush on" with respects to Iraq and wanted the U.S. to use military force to create a Palestinian state. Ignatieff's supporters booed him - an act Dion called un-Liberal.
Afterwards, Ignatieff told reporters: "I have nothing to hide. I'm extremely proud of what I've written. I'm a proud Canadian and a proud defender of international human rights. Always have been, always will be."
Quebec
Before the debate started, the Quebec wing of the federal Liberal Party passed a motion that recognized Quebec's status as a nation.
"I speak for those who say Quebec is a nation, but Canada is my country,'' Ignatieff said.
He has previously stated that to be his position on Quebec.
"I have no particular problem with the formulation of the words 'Quebec is a nation'," Rae said. "Where I part company with some is the extent of the constitution, whether we should be reo-opening the constitution at this point in time."
Sociologically, Quebec is a nation, said Dion -- the only Quebecer and francophone in the race. However, he added the real issues of Quebec's place in Canada could get lost in "symbolic questions."
The Liberals' convention will be held in Montreal between Nov. 28 and Dec. 3.
Official results from the Liberal Party show Ignatieff with 30 per cent of first-ballot support from elected delegates.
Rae has 20 per cent support, former Ontario cabinet minister Gerard Kennedy has 17 per cent, while Dion has 16 per cent support.
However, Ignatieff is believed to hold a significant edge in support from the 800 unelected delegates such as MPs and senators.
As a result, many observers think Ignatieff will take 33 to 35 per cent of the first-ballot vote.
Analysis
Scott Reid, a former top staffer in the PMO of Paul Martin, said Dion's remarks shows he's prepared to throw a punch and take a run at his opponents.
"But I thought that the rest of the debate confirmed that Ignatieff had the room, has a firm base of support in the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party," he told CTV Newsnet, adding, "I thought it was a pretty damned boring debate."
Peter Donolo, one-time director of communications in the PMO of Jean Chretien, said he listened to it in French and found it to be lively.
"I think what was really interesting here was you had two candidates, Mr. Rae and Mr. Dion, trying to position themselves as the alternative to Mr. Ignatieff," he said. "I think Mr. Kennedy was very much at a disadvantage at getting his points across because of his lack of ease in French."
Rae tried to position himself as a progressive voice, able to reach out to NDP, Green and Bloc Quebecois supporters, Donolo said.
"I think Mr. Dion has a much different strength ... He spoke glowingly of the Liberal record. ... Plus he held Mr. Rae and Mr. Ignatieff in contrast to that as Johnny-come-latelys ...," he said.
Reid said Ignatieff, while looking more comfortable, never really lit up the room. He posed this question: "You have to wonder, how long can you go through these kinds of debates where neither Dion or Rae really smack him hard and take over the thing, or how long can he go without really lighting up a room."
Because Ignatieff is a polarizing figure among Liberals, his move to capture another 15 to 20 per cent support will be much more difficult than achieving front-runner status to this point, Donolo said.
With a report from CTV's David Akin
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