In the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethe-Missinipi-Churchill River, the local Liberal Party riding association is planning for a nomination contest:

Liberals in the riding of Desnethe-Missinipi-Churchill River could soon be nominating a new federal candidate, according to the president of the Saskatchewan Liberal Association.

"The way things are going in the government right now I think it's better that we nominate a candidate sooner rather than later," said Frank Proto. "I would favour before summer."

Proto said he has contacted the federal riding association's president Cheryl Maurice to determine the best time to hold an annual general meeting.

Is this just a pro forma meeting, being held to rubber stamp Stephane Dion's hand-selected nominee, Joan Beatty? Not at all. The race is wide open:

When asked if the controversy raised by Stephen Dion's appointment of Joan Beatty for the March byelection would put a damper the willingness of locals to run for the candidacy, Proto said: "I don't think so . . . the issue was an appointed candidate versus a nominated candidate . . . that was the only issue there."

Now recall that at the urging of Ralph Goodale, Stephane Dion cancelled the ongoing nomination race in this riding to appoint Joan Beatty as the candidate. Beatty had only just been elected an MLA a couple of months earlier, running for the NDP. Dion's decision was widely criticized, and was a contributing factor to the loss of this seat, which had been won (barely) by the Liberals in 2006.

After the by-election loss, Joan Beatty was talking like there was no question that she would be running again:

But even after her sizable loss, Liberal candidate Joan Beatty was already looking ahead to the next federal election.

"It just makes me more determined for the next time around," she said.

Well, it looks like Joan Beatty might not have a "next time". Now she has to go in front of the Liberal riding association and provide some sort of justification for why she should be allowed to run again. She'll have a lot of difficulty, I think:

• She's not lifelong Liberal.
• She failed to pull over the NDP vote during the by-election, which would have been the one saving grace for not being a Liberal.
• She couldn't hold on to the Liberal vote, wtih Conservative Rob CLarke winning 48% of the vote in the riding.
• She was unable to leverage her high profile in Saskatchewan politics, allowing it instead to mutate into notoriety.
• She was Stephane Dion's pick, with Ralph Goodale backing her. Really, that's not a thing to brag about in northern Saskatchewan.
• Bottom line: She was handed the riding, had her chance, and blew it, big time.

The fact that she won't be allowed to be the uncontested nominee to run again in a general election is in itself a damning indictment. An election is looming, or so say some Liberals. But despite this, this riding association is going to run a nomination contest rather than have Joan Beatty simply continue as the candidate.

What is particularly interesting is that Stephane Dion has not intervened. Even he has to realize that if nomination contest is allowed to start in this riding, it will have to be allowed to finish. There is no way that Stephane Dion can kill two nomination contests in rapid succession, especially if his first appointee failed to win the riding, and certainly not to re-appoint that same nominee!

I'm guessing that the riding association is proceeding with the approval of the Liberal Party leadership, which means that Joan Beatty has been cut loose to sink or swim.

One thing we'll probably never know is who in the Liberal Party made that decision, and whether Stephane Dion agreed with it, or was told to agree with it.

Search for more opinions from Canadian bloggers on these related keywords
 Joan Beatty  Rob Clarke  Sakatchewan  Desnethe-Missinipi-Churchill River  Liberal Party  Stephane Dion  Ralph Goodale 

Sphere presents related news articles and blog posts
Sphere It!