Liberal leadership candidates define positions in 1st debate

Nine candidates vying for the leadership of the Liberal Party participated in the first of five debates before a sold-out crowd of supportersin Vancouver on Sunday.

The nine candidatesrunning for the party's top jobare MPs Marc Garneau, Joyce Murray and Justin Trudeau, former MPs Martin Cauchon and Martha Hall Findlay, lawyers David Bertschi, Deborah Coyne and George Takach, and Karen McCrimmon, a retired Lieutenant Colonel.

The debate kicked-off with opening statements from each candidate. Lawyer George Takachdescribed himself as the son of Hungarian refugees and said he was in favour of a digital bill of rights and putting an endto the "wastefulprohibition on marijuana."

Deborah Coyne laid out her vision for "one Canada for all Canadians," while former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon said he will "roll up his sleeves"to rebuild the partybecauseCanadiansare looking for"a real alternative."

Lawyer David Bertschi saidhe knocked on 30,000 doors when he ran and lost for the Liberals in Ottawa-Orleans in 2011 but ran out of time when he began to tell Liberal supporters why he is running for the party's top job.

Quebec MP and former astronaut Marc Garneau said there is no doubt that this leadership contest has to be about "ideas" and told Canadians they must challenge the candidates to do so.

Vancouver MP Joyce Murray said her priorities are to rebuild the party and ensure that Stephen Harper's Conservatives don't win the next federal election but also ran out of time.

Frontrunner Justin Trudeau said he learned a thing or two by running in the Montreal riding of Papineau, namely that Canada'smiddle class is suffering and that Canadians are unsure that their kids will have more opportunities in the future than they hadthemselves.

Karen McCrimmon, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, talked about leadership. She said Canadians want a party they can trust and the party can do that by acting on what they say. "I served Canadians before and am offering to serve you once again," said McCrimmon.

Former MP Martha Hall Findlay, who ran for the Liberal leadership in 2006, said the party can't keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting the same results. There is "no silver bullet," Findlay said.

Ending aboriginal poverty

Opening statements were followed by a question-and-answer session. Randy Boissonnault, the moderator, asked the candidates what theywould propose to improve the relationship and close the gap in living standards experienced by Aboriginal people.

Garneau said the Idle No More movement is sending a very clear message to government, that it's not listening. "We have to begin to listen, Paul Martin tried to do that with the Kelowna accord. Stephen Harper threw it in the garbage. But in 2008, [Harper] said we will have a new beginning. There has not been a new beginning." Garneau said if elected Liberal leader, he would sit down and consult with First Nations.

Both Coyne and Findlay said they would eliminate the Indian Act, with Findlay making the point that both the Opposition New Democratsand Conservatives are to blame for where things stand today.

Electoral cooperation

The candidates tookquestions fromsupporters in the crowd in groups of three. The questions ranged from electoral cooperation tosocio-economic issuesand the environment.

Coyne, Cauchon and Findlay were asked how the Liberals could cooperate with the Greens and NDP in 2015 an idea put forward by Murray to avoid splitting the vote. The Vancouver MP believes in one-time cooperation with the Greens and NDP in the ridings where Conservatives won with under 50 per cent of the vote in the last federal election.

NDP MP Nathan Cullen took a lot ofheat for running on a similar proposalwhile running forthe leadership of the New Democrats last year.

Coyne and Findlay made it clear theywould only run Liberal candidates in the next federal election while Cauchon left the door open saying "let the people decide."

A testy exchange came when McCrimmon, Trudeau, and Murray were asked whether they would commit to replacing the first-past-the-post electoral system with one that provides better representation of the voting preferences of Canadians.

Trudeau said apreferential voting system, which the party adopted in the lastbiennial convention, would "change the tone" of politics. Murray saidshe remains committed to changing the current system by wayof electoral cooperation an idea the Quebec MP challenged.

According to Trudeau, Murray's electoral cooperation planwould blur the lines between the values extolled by Liberals and theNDP. The Quebec MPaddedhe wasn't ready to giveup his Liberal values.Murray fired back saying, "if you want to replace Stephen Harper, where's your plan?"

McCrimmon said she would give Canadians the choice by way of petition.

The environment

Garneau, Bertschi andTakachwere asked for their vision on long-termsustainable energy for Canadians and their strategy for transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The candidates used humour to get their points across.

"I've been around theplanet earth 450 times, I have had a good look at it," said Garneau to which Bertschi replied, "while Marc was flying around the world, I had my feet firmly planted on this ground."

Takach played along saying, "with all due respect to Marc, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that climate change is a fundamental challenge... and whether your feet are on the ground or you are going around space, the Liberal Party is going to address this."

Garneau added that Canadians want elected officialsto focus on renewable energies and they know "disincentives" to pollute must be put in place. Bertschi said there has to be "economic incentives" for companies to invest, create and process the technology in Canada. According to Takach, sustainable policies like rapid transit will put the party "in good step".

Carbon tax

Coyne, Trudeau, and Takach were asked what they thought was the most effective way to put a price on carbon a politically charged subject as Liberals well know.

That's because theConservativeshave been relentless in alleging thatthe NDP plans to introduce a carbon taxsomething NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has vehemently denied.

And, while the Tories ran attack ads in 2008against then-Liberal leader Stephane Dion's carbon tax plan,that did not stop Coyne from coming out in favour of a carbon tax.

"The best step that I see isand environmentalist agree, industry agrees, the European Union agreesit's a price on carbon.It is acarbon tax," Coyne said.

The lawyer explained that the money collected from the consumption taxwould go back to the provinces and it would be offset with credits for those businesses that would be adversely affected particularlyat the beginning.

Trudeaustated, as he has done before, that he isin favour ofputting a price on carbon, although hewas not prepared to say what shape that would take just yet.

"We're going to figure out the best way forward, not to polarize politics... but to build a better country that is sustainable in its environmental approach," said Trudeau, speaking to reporters after the debate.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, told CBC News that Trudeau did what he needed to do today whichwas "not to trip up."

"He started off ahead and I think he ends up ahead," said Bricker.

The Liberal leadership race will travel to Winnipeg for a second debate on Saturday, Feb. 2 and end when a newleader is chosen onApril 14 in Ottawa.

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