Angry in the Great White North

One of the interesting elements in the Blair Wilson story (see the allegations against Blair Wilson and Blair Wilson's resignation) is this tidbit:

B.C. Liberal organizer Mark Marissen, who also serves as co-chair of the Liberal's national campaign team, confirmed Sunday that he had received documents connected to the reported allegations.

"I passed them to what is called the green-light committee which is our body which deals with candidate approvals and all that sort of thing during elections,'' Marissen told The Canadian Press.

Marissen said the documents marked the first time he had been informed of the allegations.

The Green Light Committee is created at the provincial or territorial level to check nominees in each riding:

• A Green Light Committee will be set up for each Provincial or Territorial Association where contested nominations are expected;
• The Provincial or Territorial co-chairs should select a committee of 4 to 8 members (2 of which should be lawyers) with at least half being female members and members representing the broad Canadian demographic (i.e. First Nations, multicultural, persons with disability);
• Green Light Committee reports directly to the provincial or territorial co-chairs;
• Final Composition of the Green Light Committee will be approved by the National Co-chairs.

But as an incumbent, Blair Wilson would only have submitted a short form that listed anything that changed since he was first checked out. Essentially the Green Light Committee doesn't get involved with incumbents. Indeed, if within a province or territory there are no contested nominations (all incumbents are running again and they are all acclaimed by their riding associations) the formation of a Green Light Committee is optional.

So I'm not sure that the Green Light Committee can do much about Blair Wilson now.

Maybe Mark Marissen is wondering just what the heck the British Columbia Liberal Party Green Light Committee was doing when Blair Wilson slipped through. Maybe Marissen is waving the documentation that has been around for anyone to find, and wants an explanation of how this was allowed to happen.

It's Farhan Chak all over again. At least Farhan Chak didn't get himself elected and then put into the shadow cabinet. The Blair Wilson situation is a major embarrassment for the Liberal Party organization, more than for Stephane Dion personally. At some point, Stephane Dion has to trust that the people on the ground are doing their jobs, and that the MPs that come to Ottawa to represent constituents meet the minimum standard of ethical conduct and have a reasonably clean past.

Farhan Chak made it through that net, but was caught by people outside of the Liberal Party before there was an election. Blair Wilson made it through as well, but got himself elected. In both cases, however, Stephane Dion was deeply embarrassed. Under most circumstances these sorts of incidents can be shrugged off after a short time, but coupled with Stephane Dion's other ongoing problems, these things are amplified in effect. Efforts by Stephane Dion to reshape his public image from a hapless sad sack are set back each time something like this happens.

So I wonder if Mark Marissen is less interested in dealing with Blair Wilson, who is likely on a set path to a conclusion that can no longer be avoided, and instead is looking to have a frank discussion with the people running the Liberal Party at the provincial and riding levels and to shake them out of their complacency, using Blair Wilson as a prop.

With the Council of Presidents, a meeting of all 308 Liberal Party riding association presidents coming up in December, the Blair Wilson story might be a very uncomfortable topic of discussion.

Curiously, though, that could work in Stephane Dion's favour. If there was any thought to stage a concerted effort to dislodge Stephane Dion while at the council meeting, those considering such a move against Stephane Dion's unpopular leadership might find it difficult to enlist other fence-sitting presidents. The Blair Wilson and Farhan Chak incidents might give Stephane Dion the leverage he needs to silence his more vocal critics, reminding everyone at the meeting that not all the problems that have beset his leadership are his fault, and that the Liberal Party as a whole has to accept some responsibility.

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