Prince Edward Island

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - Efforts by the federal government to stimulate the country's slumping economy must accelerate programs already announced and invest in projects being started by the provinces, the Atlantic premiers said Monday.

"Rather than creating some new national program that may take a year for the dollars to start flowing, there's an opportunity now to be flexible and to dovetail into our existing programs and allow that accelerated investment immediately," said New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham.

Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham, left, and Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald, right, share a laugh at the start of a news conference during a meeting of Atlantic premiers in Summerside, P.E.I., on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

His comments came as three of the four Atlantic premiers wrapped up a one-day meeting in Summerside that focused on the state of the economy.

"Let's respond as quickly as we can," said Shawn Skinner, minister of innovation, trade and rural development for Newfoundland and Labrador.

"People need it. We need to restore confidence in our people, in our economies, and one of the best ways to do that is by governments investing in our infrastructure."

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams was unable to attend the meeting because of a snow and wind storm that lashed the region.

Michael Ignatieff, who enjoys the support of a majority of Grit MPs and senators, appears poised to become federal Liberal leader at a caucus meeting Wednesday when Stéphane Dion is expected to step down.

The prospect of a caucus vote installing Ontario MP Ignatieff in the top Liberal job emerged late Sunday after the party's national executive gave a rough reception to a last-minute proposal to give all party members a vote by a combination of phone and online ballots early next month.

No final decision was made but insiders said it appeared the proposal, supported by rival Bob Rae, will not fly.

Liberals are virtually unanimous that the leadership question must be settled quickly and well before a Jan. 27 budget vote that could plunge the country into another election or see the Harper Conservatives replaced by a coalition government.

If there is to be no nationwide vote by party members, a caucus vote is the only other option left to find a replacement for Dion, who is expected to resign Wednesday at the caucus meeting. Some Liberals speculated he may go as early as Monday.

Under the party constitution, as soon as the leader resigns, the national executive, in consultation with the caucus, can choose an interim leader.

Many Liberals now expect Ignatieff, a former Harvard professor, will be chosen Wednesday by caucus as interim leader - to be made permanent by a ratification vote at a previously scheduled May 2 leadership vote.

Ignatieff is also expected to get a boost Monday, picking up the support of the third leadership contender, New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc, who is expected to drop out of the race and endorse Ignatieff. But top insiders in LeBlanc's camp continued to insist late Sunday that no final decision has been made.

Contenders agree party needs new leader before Jan. 26

Despite arguments over the best way to replace Dion, there was a consensus that the Liberal party needs a new, permanent leader before Parliament resumes on Jan. 26.

"We need to find a leader of the party before the House comes back at the end of January," leadership candidate Bob Rae told CBC News earlier Sunday."

On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper persuaded Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean to suspend Parliament and ward off the possible demise of his minority Conservative government.

That move came after the Liberals and NDP agreed to form a coalition headed by Dion and aimed at ousting Harper's government, which the opposition accused of failing to propose an adequate plan to deal with the economic crisis. The Bloc Québécois is not an official member of the coalition, but has agreed to support it on matters of confidence.

"Mr. Dion has indicated that as soon as a new leader is chosen, he will step down, and I think the party is obviously considering ways in which the leadership race can be moved forward," Rae said.

Ignatieff echoed the sentiment on CTV's Question Period on Sunday.

"There's an emerging feeling in the caucus that, given the importance of this [Jan. 27 budget] vote in late January, it would be appropriate to have a permanent leader in place," he said. "The caucus is considering various options about how to do that."

Manley urges party to choose new leader before Christmas

In an opinion piece in Saturday's Globe and Mail, former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley said the Liberal caucus and party executive should move to choose a new leader before Christmas.

"As a Liberal, I believe the first step for my party is to replace Stéphane Dion as leader with someone whose first job is to rebuild the Liberal party, rather than leading a coalition with the NDP," Manley said.

Manley said the idea that the public would welcome Dion as prime minister after having rejected him during the Oct. 14 federal election "was delusional at best."

"Mr. Dion had seemed to accept responsibility for the defeat (although somewhat reluctantly), and should have left his post immediately" after the vote, wrote Manley, who is now a counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP.

"Furthermore, in agreeing to the terms of the coalition with the NDP and the Bloc, Mr. Dion bound his successor to a controversial arrangement without even consulting any of the candidates to succeed him in the process, leaving them no option but to endorse it or break with him as party leader."

Rae also said on Sunday that a closed-door decision by the Liberal caucus and party executives - both of which are top-heavy with Ignatieff supporters - wouldn't be the right way to choose a permanent leader.

"It can't simply be a small group of people behind closed doors," he said, adding it would be inappropriate.

Accelerated leadership race

Rae told CTV that an accelerated leadership race, including televised debates and a vote by rank-and-file members, could be organized with the goal of installing the winner "by the middle or third week of January."

If Dion should decide to step down before then, he said, it would be all right for the two bodies to select an interim leader to fill in while the process runs its course.

Last week, the Conservatives mounted a massive public relations campaign, including anti-Dion television and radio ads, contending that a leader whose party captured just 25 per cent of the vote in the Oct. 14 election doesn't have a legitimate mandate to govern.

Many Liberals acknowledge privately that Dion's continued presence as the public face of the party has complicated efforts to sell the idea of an alternative coalition government.

They point, as an example, to the embarrassing communications snafu last week in which Dion's team was an hour late delivering a videotape to broadcast outlets offering the Liberal response to a televised address by Harper.

More than 100 Conservative supporters gathered in Charlottetown Saturday to voice their approval of the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and to denounce efforts to defeat it in Parliament.

The Liberals and the NDP delivered a letter to Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean last week saying Harper had lost the confidence of the House of Commons and they were ready to form a coalition government to replace him. However, Harper succeeded in getting Jean to prorogue Parliament before a vote of no confidence could take place.

Malpeque MP and Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea spoke at the rally in front of Province House.

"It might look very appealing to the Wayne Easters of the world to steal the government," said Shea, referring to the most outspoken Liberal member of the P.E.I. caucus during the Parliamentary crisis.

"They must ask themselves: is it ethical as a Canadian to vest veto power over the country's decisions in a party that has no responsibility for Canada's progress?"

The Liberal-NDP coalition would require the support of the Bloc Québécois, which has said it would support a coalition government for 18 months.

A rally in support of a coalition government was held last Thursday night, organized by the P.E.I. Federation of Labour.

There have been rallies in support of both sides across the country, and more are expected before Jan. 27 when Parliament resumes to hear the new federal budget.

www.adamaffleck.com

Adam Affleck

Charlottetown Remax

The trees were thick with ice, electric poles were down across the province and hundreds of Islanders were left in the dark and cold, but Barb Mullally didn't blink an eye when she got the call for aid.
As a disaster management trainer and co-ordinator, last winter's ice storm was just the kind of emergency event Mullally has been trained to help handle.
She put in 14-hour days helping stranded Islanders as Maritime Electric crews worked to restore downed power lines. And with more than 300 damaged utility poles throughout central and western Prince Edward Island, it took the utility seven days to get the power restored.
And throughout, 20 trained disaster management volunteers for Canadian Red Cross on P.E.I. were there to hand out 800 blankets, set up 400 cots and help communities through the days of dark and cold.
"The devastation on the roads was unbelievable and the desperation," Mullally said.
"As a Canadian Red Cross volunteer when you're present, people say, ‘Oh you're here. Thank goodness!' It's that sigh of relief."
Still, Mullally said she couldn't believe how well some places coped with going days without heat or power in the dead of winter.
"People want to do it and look after themselves but don't necessarily have the knowledge and the know-how of what they need to do and that's where we come in."
The Red Cross helped establish and equip 11 comfort centres and helped with the logistics of securing and delivering nearly 1,000 meals and 600 cases of water.
As a result of the ice storm, Mullally said she believes more Islanders are prepared for unpredictable emergencies.
And that's just what the Canadian Red Cross hopes Islanders have learned by this weather event because storms, hurricanes, floods and other weather disasters are on the rise.
"Emergency events will get larger and longer, that's what the new intelligence on disaster management is telling us," said John Byrne, general manager for the local Canadian Red Cross.
That's why the Canadian Red Cross is starting now to try to promote being ready for anything this winter.
Byrne said everyone should have an emergency preparedness kit and a plan so they can deal with the first 72 hours of an unforeseen tragedy or disaster.
But even this is not enough if people are not being proactive, Byrne said.
He pointed to a number of worrying trends the Red Cross has discovered that are putting people at risk. A recent survey it conducted shows 37 per cent of people disable fire detectors that go off repeatedly, 23 per cent of people believe it's OK to leave a stove on with nobody home, and 17 per cent of people this winter plan to rely on stove or oven heat for warmth.
These are disasters waiting to happen, said Bill Lawlor, director of disaster management and international services for Canadian Red Cross Atlantic.
"I think there's often basic things like being aware of hazards that may be in your own household that will help prevent a tragedy," he said.
But for those that do end up dealing with a personal or weather-related disaster, Red Cross volunteers are ready and willing to help.
"For me to be part of this and gain some experience doing this is great and totally fulfilling," Mullally said. "We all help each other."

Emergency Kit:
Here are just some items you should have in an emergency kit in your home and vehicle to be prepared should disaster strike:
- Two litres of drinking water per person per day;
- Non-perishable canned and dried foods, can opener;
- Change of clothing and footwear per person;
- Copies of essential family documents;
- First aid supplies;
- Flashlights and extra batteries;
- Candle and holder;
- Cash;
- Useful tools such as a shovel, knife, pliers and screwdriver.
Source: www.redcross.ca

www.adamaffleck.com

Adam Affleck

Charlottetown Remax Realty

Gas prices continue to plummet on Prince Edward Island.
The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission announced the following petroleum pricing decisions, effective 12:01 a.m., Saturday:
- Gasoline prices will decrease by 2.5 cents per litre (cpl);
- Furnace and stove oil prices will decrease by 5.0 cpl;
- Diesel prices will decrease by 5.0 cpl.
There will be no changes to propane pricing at this time. Including taxes, pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline at self-serve outlets will now range from 73.1 cpl to 75.2 cpl.

www.adamaffleck.com

Adam Affleck

Charlottetown Remax Realty