Breakfasting with Stéphane Dion and the Burnaby Board of Trade
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Karen Hamilton
September 28, 2008
This week, my search for all that is edible in Vancouver took me outside of the city proper: the Firefighter’s Hall by Metrotown Centre, to be precise. It was there that my public food quest melded for one day with my personal endeavour to learn more about the issues surrounding our country’s federal election.
I awoke at an ungodly hour on Tuesday morning to commute to an early bird breakfast hosted by the Burnaby Board of Trade. The keynote speaker was none other than Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, who commuted from much further away to talk about his party’s electoral platform. Prior to this event, my awareness of the Liberals’ attempts to unseat the Conservatives was limited to my husband’s disgruntled mumblings of an uncharismatic figurehead. Sadly, I’m probably better informed about the presidential fight in America than what’s going on within our own borders. So I was grateful for the chance to hear at least one Prime Ministerial candidate wax poetic on the campaign trail.
Breakfast began promptly at 7:30am but no one seemed to realize that it had. A buffet table had been laid out in the back corner without much ado, and only those salivating over the promise of a Deluxe Breakfast made a beeline for the spread. My back was to the action, perhaps foolishly expecting table service at an event with such an illustrious guest. Looks like a $40 admission only gets you self-service these days.
The buffet itself was so-so. A mountain of fruit; a basket of croissants; one tray each of bacon & sausages, scrambled eggs, and potato hash. Hardly a selection that warrants being called Deluxe, but quantity was plentiful and an enterprising diner could theoretically put away their $40 worth before the speeches began.
The meal at our table was accompanied with a serving of skepticism about the Liberals’ environmental focus. Some were doubtful that steps Canada takes towards conservation would make even a ripple against the waves of pollution that powers like China and the USA are making. Others (myself included) were of the mind that action is better than inaction, leadership better than inertia, and that no one benefits from a fatalistic worldview on climate change.
With this mixed bag of opinions aired and the breakfast plates cleared away, the chain of introductions commenced. A star-studded Liberal cast presided; while all were given a moment in the spotlight, most of the attention was directed at Burnaby-Douglas MP hopeful Bill Cunningham, who was seated prominently at the head table.
Dominic LeBlanc, MP for Beauséjour in francophone New Brunswick (and oh-so-coincidentally removed from BC political machinations) riled up the audience with anti-NDP and anti-Tory sentiments just before the arrival of Mr. Dion. It was chilling that the spin doctors could be this adept at selecting a fall guy to smear the other parties so that Dion wouldn’t have to. The Liberal leader then made his entrance with an entourage of staff, security, and paparazzi. He took some time to warm up the crowd and throw in his support for Cunningham before launching into his address.
While I quite enjoyed the inclusion of French in Dion’s opening remarks, a few listeners seemed to disconnect each time the presentation veered away from English. Happily for them, the bilingualism didn’t last for long, and only English was used during the exposition of issues as Dion’s speech progressed.
Much of it underlined the Liberal Green Shift plan. I’d heard much of it before. No taxing at the pump. Revenue neutrality. Cuts to income and corporate taxes. Rewards for actions the nation wants more of; penalties for actions the nation wants less of. Dion attempted to convey the common sense of it all. While the Liberal panderers in the crowd ate it all up, our table didn’t quite buy into the rhetoric.
As with many political essays, Dion’s speech was meant to stir passion for Liberal ideologies and result in more votes in the party’s general direction. At the very least, it made me take one morning out of my busy schedule to reflect on the state of the country and whether I wanted the same people in power for the next few years. Personally, I do want to see a change in who’s in charge…but after seeing the guy in the flesh, I’m not convinced that Dion is the one to take the reins. He certainly seems competent, intelligent, informed, and passionate. But influential? Charismatic? Capable of handling tête-à-têtes with major world powers? That, I’m not so sure. But judging by the fervent applause that punctuated every other sentence that escaped Dion’s lips, it seemed that my lukewarm reception of his keynote was in the minority.
What did perk up my ears was the idea of profitable sustainability. This, lumped with the BC-centric Green Gateway Strategy, envisions economically vibrant but environmentally sustainable trade relations with the Asia-Pacific region. My colleague, who believes that unsustainable development in China must be reined in to make environmental inroads on a global scale, lost his jaded expression for the first time during the talk. Other topics of importance to British Columbians were rattled off like a grocery checklist, as if to placate all the lobbyists in the room.
The morning ended with Burnaby Board of Trade CEO Darlene Gering, who presented Mr. Dion with a token of appreciation wrapped in the “party colours” of red and green. The Board of Trade continued with small housekeeping announcements while Mr. Dion vanished from the stage, with hardly a whiff of fanfare, into the maw of the media that waited just outside the doors.
Many thanks to @scales and @kk of Raincity Studios, who harnessed the grapevine that is Twitter to have me join them at their breakfast table. News of this breakfast would not have gotten on my radar otherwise.
Thanks also to the folks at Uva for keeping my tummy and liver happy while I sat at the bar and scribbled down this post =)
Categories: Events, Food, Going Green
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Thanks for this, Karen. I had seen this breakfast,but couldn’t quite justify handing over $40 to have a breakfast with him! I agree with you about knowing more about the US and UK elections than what is going on in my own backyard, so thanks again. A refreshing post ;o)
You say that you cannot envision Stephane Dion on the International stage with world leaders? Did you forget how Dion chaired the December 2005 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montréal, helping to extend the Kyoto accord beyond 2012. He reached consensus where a lessor man (Harper) would have walked away. Same with the unity issue in Quebec and the Clarity Act. Again Dion won. So don’t think only those who ooze testosterone and are bullies can make an impression on the International stage cause Harper sure failed at that role. Give me an educated geek anyday!!