Highs and lows on the Canadian campaign trail

Give ’em hell, Elizabeth: Green Party leader Elizabeth May is setting off on a coast to coast whistlestop tour of Canada, the country’s first since John “Dief is the Chief” Diefenbaker. That means trains, not planes. Ms. May departs Vancouver for Nova Scotia on Sunday by VIA rail, with a host of stops from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz opened mouth, inserted foot. This is the Conservative Party’s third apology in the two-week-old campaign. You have to wonder what Minister Ritz was thinking a) as people were dying across the country during the tainted meat crisis, b) as the minister who is charged with “Providing information, research, technology, policies and programs for security of the food system, health of the environment and innovation for growth”, and c) as a member of Cabinet who knew that an election call was mere days away. By the way, no hint anywhere on Minister Ritz’s website of the apology he just made.

Vetting is for sissies, Canadian edition: LSD, cocaine, and marijuana prove too much for the NDP. If you’re keeping track (I’ve given up), the Liberal Party lost a candidate — a radio show host, interestingly enough — for his comments on the 1990 Oka crisis. The Conservatives ditched the Halifax candidate, reported to be on probation after being convicted of uttering threats in 2006; last year she faced another conviction, with an additional nine months of probation.

I’m still mystified by the Canadian penchant for releasing platforms after dropping writs. And adding up all of the parties’ campaign promises is an exercise that makes Santa Claus look like a piker. Of course, the Canadian citizen doesn’t come off looking too good either, as though we’re willing to trade our votes for cash.