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Letting Off Steam on the Rideau
Innisfil Enterprise
February 28, 2007
By Peter Van Loan, MP, York-Simcoe
Last Wednesday, the new Liberal Party leader
Stephane Dion closed the door to any efforts
to compromise on keeping the anti-terror
protections of the Criminal Code. These were
provisions introduced by the previous
Liberal Government in which he was a
Minister. What’s more, keeping the
protections (which needed renewal by law by
March 1) was supported by the Liberal Party
at committee, and in the Senate. The Liberal
Party was painfully divided over their
Leader’s new stand.
As was reported in the Quebec media, a group
of the more serious and moderate Liberal
frontbenchers, negotiated a compromise
extension with the Government, only to have
Dion again pull the carpet out from under
their feet. As one of the Liberal MPs told
La Presse, their Leader was being
unreasonably “rigid.”
As House Leader, I was involved in managing
the Anti-Terrorism motion through the House
of Commons, including negotiations and
preparations of several alternate strategies
for motions to keep the Anti-Terrorist
protections in place.
When Dion finally killed any prospect of
compromise, the House of Commons became
heated as Liberals tried to use an imagined
attack on one of their MPs as a way to rally
unity in a bitterly divided caucus.
In Question Period, it eventually fell to me
to try to lower the temperature – admittedly
not my usual role in debate. (Usually, it’s
my task to point out the hypocrisy of
Liberal attacks on the Government).
The tension in the air on the Hill was
palpable, as Liberals tried to redirect
their own anger away from their Leader and
Caucus colleagues and towards another
target. In my office, suddenly, the need to
work on compromise motions and procedures
evaporated. My staff were feeling pretty
burned out.
So I decided that we should quit work early
this night (8:30 p.m. – early for us!) – and
some of us headed out to the frozen Rideau
Canal for a skate.
Ottawa, as a city, has some wonderful
recreational opportunities, from parks and
trails to museums and art galleries. I
almost never get to enjoy them. There just
is no time. Since being elected almost three
years ago, it was only my second time
skating on the Rideau. And I like skating.
In fact, I build an ice rink at my home
every year.
On this night, the conditions could not have
been better. Usually icy cold and wind
swept, Ottawa this night was mild (if you
call -8C mild!). The plumes of smoke and
steam from the heating plants went straight
up into the air, as the flags on Parliament
Hill hung limp. There was no wind.
We arrived at the Canal beside the National
Congress Centre, the old train station that
has been the site of famous Constitutional
negotiations over the past half century. As
one looked down the Canal to the North, the
Parliament Buildings shone on the Hill, and
the Chateau Laurier looked like a fairytale
castle.
The skating was great as we headed down past
the University of Ottawa and under the
Pretoria Bridge. We were far from alone on
this beautiful night. Young couples shared
moments on the ice – some literally, after a
tumble made some tender loving care
necessary. Hockey player boyfriends coaxed
less experienced girlfriends to take a
chance and go faster.
Parents pushed strollers and sleighs with
infants getting a free ride – of course
prompting some to grumble that the children
should be in bed at that late hour.
The ice was good – but not entirely free of
the famous Rideau Canal pot holes, the
notorious source of many broken bones. On
the dark of night, I considered myself lucky
to hit only two – both unfortunately with my
left foot, which is still recovering from
last year’s Achilles tendon surgery.
We reached Lansdowne Park and it was time to
turn around and go back. I feigned a desire
to continue – but my out of shape hamstring
muscles welcomed the end in sight.
As we returned to our start point, we shed
the skates, and participated in the
obligatory ritual – Beaver Tails and hot
chocolate. It was a delightful end to a
surprise outing – all of which let the
over-acted melodrama of the House of Commons
that day, fade off in an air of unreality.
And for the first night in a long time up
here, braced by the fresh air and
invigorated by the exercise, I slept well
and awoke truly rested the next day. It was
a great reminder that what we are doing up
here may seem important, but there is a lot
more to really living.
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