A Bunch of Politicians & Media Gathered by a Van Under the Bridge in Cornwall Ontario – Liberals Protest Seaway International Bridge Crisis – March 25, 2010

Cornwall ON – Federal Liberal Candidate and Cornwall Ontario City Councilor Bernadette Clement held a press conference under the Seaway International Bridge in Cornwall Ontario Wednesday March 24.

She was joined by Liberal MP and Public Safety Critic Mark Holland and Aboriginal Affairs Critic Todd Russell who keeps getting me in trouble by calling our MP Guy Lauzon a pigeon which prompts me to pull out our high tech rendering of the MP pictured above.

Michael Ignatieff sent a message from Ottawa while Guy Lauzon suggested something, but as he’s busy telling our staff that if they work for us he won’t speak to them, which resulted in one less staffer here at The Cornwall Free News and this story being late;  we can’t tell you what he said.

As the one year mark draws on the drama that’s unfolded at this border crossing a few things have become apparent.

Politics is an interesting occupation.

There isn’t as much difference between political parties as you’d think especially once they get in power.

That most politicians’s care more about their jobs than those that vote for them thus giving them their jobs.

I’ve met and talked with an awful lot of politicians this past year.    I’ve truly been impressed by the quality and caliber of many of them as people.  Some I’ve supported and some I’ve maligned.

What I think disillusions myself and many other Canadians is when politician’s overtly act more political and that politicalness is more visible; as it’s been lately here in Canada.

The hyper drama seen in the last few weeks is almost as thick as the pounding of advertising for Canada’s Economic Action Plan that we’ve been inundated with.  It’s almost as though whomever is in charge of pampleting for the Harper government was given an ad budget.

You can’t watch CBC or almost any Canadian station without seeing one of the ads.  Same for some radio stations and of course every newspaper in Cornwall has ads for the Action plan except ours of course 🙂   It’s enough to put me off my evening episode of Coronation Street.

I would tend to wonder if more was spent on Ads for the Economic Action plan than actually spent on Economic Action?

So my question to you dear reader is does anyone really give a darn about the Seaway International Bridge Crisis?

The bridge is open.  I hear a deal is already done.   Is all the hubaloo helping?   I don’t see any rallies?  I don’t see any real public outrage.

I feel for the residents of Akwesasne.  I feel more for me though if I have to pop over the border at certain times of the day.

The Harper government has played hardball.   Mr. Harper seems to like that game; perhaps he was spanked a lot as a child or not enough….

I digress.  There was a press conference and there was some serious issue made about the lack of communication by the Harper government.   I was told that at a recent In Camera session in Cornwall City Council that one City Councilor stated that Mr. Harper’s office was upset at Cornwall siding with Akwesasne at the beginning of the crisis; that the reason Minister Toews; under guidance from the PM, refused to meet Mayor Kilger, was simply old school politics.

While I may think Mr. Harper is a thug; and despise most of his politics, I kinda cracked up at this notion and wish all parties involved would go on record and own it if it’s true.  And one of these days I’d like to have a bevvy with our PM and we could call each other names and talk hockey or something…

In the meanwhile I’ll present video footage from the press conference under the bridge.  It was a bright and sunny day, but the wind impacted sound quality.

Ms Clement Speaks!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hms2xFGC0N4

Mark Holland and one of my favorite MP’s Todd Russell speak

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10VhJAVT5wk

The Q&A

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TVAs5N0-_0

And if only we had alternatives like this….

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31FFTx6AKmU&feature=fvst

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