| National News Martin and Chretien travel different roads While PM's backers drum up support, ex-minister blitzes community events CAMPBELL CLARK 08/19/2002 The Globe and Mail TORONTO -- Jean Chretien and Paul Martin prepared the ground for this week's three-day meeting of Liberal MPs in different ways. While the Prime Minister was issuing his first show of strength -- a declaration of support from 94 MPs -- Mr. Martin was pressing the flesh. The former finance minister rushed from a corn roast for volunteers in his Montreal riding to a series of ethnic-community events in Toronto -- celebrations of the Pakistani and Indian independence days, a meeting with a Filipino community association and a festival at a Greek church. And Mr. Martin, who insists he's not working to oust Mr. Chretien but instead preparing for an eventual leadership race, did not blink when some of the 2,000 Pakistani Canadians assembled at the independence day celebration in Markham, Ont., greeted him by yelling, "Welcome, next PM." When he was introduced as a "visionary leader who could very well be the next prime minister of Canada," he wooed the crowd by saying "My Canada includes every one of the men and women in this fairground." The praise was effusive, but when some among the crowd stood up to applaud, the rest joined in a full standing ovation only when organizers urged them to "stand up" and chanted "Paul Martin." All the while, his supporters were handing out forms to request Liberal memberships, while speakers on the stage urged them to join. Mr. Martin donned a Jinnah cap -- the kind favoured by Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah -- and then left. He was off to celebrate Indian independence day in Scarborough. That event was organized by a community group at the urging of Mr. Martin's organizers so that he could also meet Indo-Canadians -- and not leave any suggestion of favouring natives of either of the rival countries. In all, Mr. Martin hit four events in five hours. But he made no comments about substantive policy issues, and brushed off suggestions from Mr. Chretien's supporters that he has failed to set forth any substantial policy vision to justify efforts to replace a sitting prime minister. "I have been doing a great deal of listening, but I've also been setting forth my views," he said, pointing to his calls for parliamentary reform and a new deal for cities. The difference in the tactics of the two rivals was a foreshadowing of the battle this week when most of the 170 Liberal MPs and 62 senators meet in Chicoutimi, Que. Mr. Chretien's camp will assert that those who are calling for him to quit are a fractious rump, delaying government business. Mr. Martin's will say that whatever support Mr. Chretien can muster in the caucus means little, because the people want him to go. "Chicoutimi will be a free-for-all," said Jim Karygiannis, the Scarborough MP who organized Mr. Martin's appearances yesterday. "I don't think we're going to be discussing issues. I don't think we're going to be looking into what will be happening and what this country needs. It will be a bloodbath." While Mr. Martin toured the Toronto area yesterday, Ontario MP Andrew Telegdi asked members of his Kitchener-Waterloo riding association to vote on whether they want a leadership race to replace Mr. Chretien. Mr. Telegdi has called on Mr. Chretien to resign and wanted his association members to answer the same question that will be posed to all party members in February's leadership review. The members voted 295 to nine in favour of a race for a new leader. "I think that demonstrates, that the more they try to circumvent the grassroots, the more the grassroots is responding." |
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