Blatchford's Column

The Naylor tweet, incidentally, is degrees worse that Blatchford's now infamous column, which in comparison seems merely stupid and insensitive. Her argument, as I read it, is that Mr. Layton's final  letter to Canadians was a political rather than personal document, and this therefore cheapens the occasion of his death.

But of course Mr Layton was a politician and, contrary to common belief, this is not a character flaw. For some, at least, it is a job. And in reality the letter shows Jack Layton fulfilling his duties as leader of the nation's official opposition right up to the very  end. Faced with his own eminent death, Layton systematically considered how news of it would play out in various corners of the public space, and tried his best to craft words that would send events in a slightly more positive direction. Hence his remarks specifically directed to other cancer patients,  to Quebecers, to fellow party members, and so forth. 

And of course the result is a political document, with all the flaws such things are heir to.  How could it not be?  The man didn't write it for kicks.  He was working at the time.

Everyone Hates Julian Fantino

Well, the cancellation of Christie Blatchford's speech at Waterloo has kicked up a mini-kerfuffle, with the University apologizing and Tory MPPs Randy Hillier and Toby Barrett vowing to stand beside the G&M journo when she makes her triumphant return (see an extract from their letter below)

Now, here's the interesting thing: Blatchford was touring behind her new book, Helpless, in which she among other things slags off CPoC candidate for Vaughan Julian Fantino for creating a two tiered justice system during the Caledonia native occupation, where First Nations lawbreakers were set free, and white protesters arrested for legal acts.

So does this mean that provincial Tories Hillier and Barrett support Blatchford's charges against the Conservative candidate for the federal riding of Vaughan?

Interesting that you should ask, because one of the twists and turns in the Caledonia saga involved criminal charges laid against Fantino of attempting to influence a municipal official --Fantino allegedly warned the Mayor of Caledonian and other local officials against supporting activist Gary McHale (now involved in the newly renamed group Against Fantino).

When these charges were dropped, MPP Barrett complained vociferously:

Toby here,

As you may know, we in the Ontario PC Caucus, and people from across Haldimand, have criticized the fact that the Crown has seen fit to drop charges against Julian Fantino.

In fact, this was only one in a series of complaints by Barrett--back in 2008, for example, he wrote of Fantino's failed attempts at intimidation.

Nor was Barrett's ill-feeling towards the then OPP chief an isolated case. As hinted at in the release above, Tim Hudak, head of the PCPO (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario) and the leader of the province's official opposition, spoke out on behalf of his party about the charges against Fantino:

What we have called for as a PC caucus is for a prosecutor from outside the province to take a look at the evidence and that way people in Caledonia and across our province know that it was done with objectivity.

There is even some suggestion that anti-Fantino emotions existed among federal Conservatives. MP. Diane Finley allegedly signed this anti-Fantino petition back in 2009 (although if you look here you'll see that attempts to confirm her signature failed)

Now, my own take on Caledonia is that Fantino was in tough and did the best he could in a difficult situation. With two excerpts from Helpless now having appeared in the NP (here and here), the worst examples of native law-breaking Blatch seems to have discovered are driving without a seat-belt and riding an ATV without the appropriate license. Not being a Conservative, however, that isn't my problem. If you are a Conservative, you probably hated Julian Fantino's guts...until about a month ago, when the Prime Minister appointed him to your team. And now your trying to pretend that everything is ice-cream.

The Tories "Controversial" Candidate For Vaughan

Conservatives Against Fantino rallies today outside of Julian's campaign HQ in Vaughan. They've managed to pick up a surprising amount of media coverage, and while some have criticized them for their lack of ties to either Vaughan or the CPoC (their leader, Gary McHale ran as an indy in Haldimand Norfolk, I believe, and lost badly), their allegations of Fantino's having established a two-tier justice system around Caledonia in the wake of the First Nations/non-aboriginal standoff there seems to have struck a chord with the Tory base.

In other words, we have a Tory candidate that alot of Tories dislike.

Whether Joe and Jane voter care is another story. I doubt they will, but certainly its clear that Mr. Fantino's campaign is off to something of a rough start.

In related news (related because she is clearly one of Julian Fantino's right-wing non-fans) the ARA managed to get three activists on stage before Christie Blatchford was to address a handful of geezers re her new book on the Caledonia Crisis, and prevent her from speaking.

Maybe not worth the candle, given the number of empty seats.

Dear Christie Blatchford

To understand the point of your latest column re Ruby Dhalla, I would have to have read it to the end. And after sentence #3 I knew that wasn't going to be possible.

And to the folks at the G&M, I can write a column people will actually read to the end for half whatever Christie charges you. Give me an email and I will send you my CV.