Angry in the Great White North

Go through the accord.  It'll take about 45 seconds.  Who knew the right to vote on your choice of government could be dismissed with such a lightweight document?

But notice that there is something missing from the accord.

Nowhere is there mention that for Stephane Dion to usurp power, he would be required to renounce his French citizenship.

Remember that in December 2006, Stephane Dion promised he would consider renouncing his French citizenship:

Dual citizenship is a fairly common practice in Canada. According to the 2001 census, more than 691,300 people living in Canada hold dual citizenship. Former prime minister John Turner is among them, as he continues to hold citizenship with the United Kingdom.

But this practice was called into question when Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said he would keep his French citizenship, which he has because his mother was born in that country.

Ezra Levant, a conservative pundit and publisher of the Western Standard, led the charge, criticizing Dion's choice by saying the new Liberal leader could be unduly influenced by France, "a country that has taken up the role of lawyer and arms dealer for every terrorist state in the world."

But Dion says, "I'm proud of who I am, and I am fully loyal to my country." He has said that if it proves to be a problem for a significant number of Canadians, "I will do this sad thing then, to renounce my French citizenship that I received from my mother."

Now let's just say that with Stephane Dion making deals with the separatist Bloc Quebecois, and essentially giving them undefined veto power ("...upon its formation, the government will put in place a permanent consultation mechanism with the Bloc Québécois..."), the question concerning Stephane Dion's full loyalty to Canada is very much in question.

On the other hand, perhaps Gilles Duceppe would be offended if Stephane Dion renounced his French citizenship, and so Stephane Dion plans to keep it.

I mean, Stephane Dion has to be careful to not offend Gilles Duceppe.

In any case, Stephane Dion plans to be prime minister for only a few months, so who cares, right?  And it's not like Stephane Dion is getting elected to be prime minister, so again, that many Canadians would be nervous by his conflicted loyalties (indeed, particularly nervous under the current circumstances) is of no importance whatsoever.

What about his co-conspirators?  Jack Layton seems to have changed his mind:

NDP Leader Jack Layton says, "I would prefer that a leader of a party hold only Canadian citizenship, because one represents many Canadians, and for me that means that it's better to remain the citizen of one country."

That was then.  Today we hear nothing.  Back then NDP MP Peter Stoffer agreed with Jack Layton, and was at the same time more specific:

Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer: "I think [Dion] should just follow the lead of the Governor General. I don't think it's good that a possible prime minister hold dual citizenship. Say you're the prime minister of Canada and you hold French citizenship … France comes knocking at your door for a deal … you're perceived to be in a conflict of interest. A prime minister should always be clear of any perception of conflict of interest."

So, is Peter Stoffer still concerned about potential conflicts of interest?  Or is he too excited about taking power through the backdoor to worry about niceties like who is really going to be in charge, and what people said back then when the issue was first raised?