Former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley will head the group, which includes:
- Derek Burney, Canada's former ambassador to Washington and former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney
- Respected broadcaster Pamela Wallin, who was Canadian consul general in New York
- Former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Jake Epp
- Paul Tellier, former Clerk of the Privy Council and former president and CEO of Canadian National Railway and Bombardier
Talk about an old boys club. Shades of the old Mulroney government.
Manley is a hawk as is Burney, who was brought in by Harper to be his transition guy in the first six months of his government.
Epp was seen as a potential Evangelical Christian candidate for Alliance/Conservative Party leadership!
Jake Epp's distinguished white-haired image flashes onto the evangelical political radar screen. At 61 (the same age as your humble scribe) he is seen as a bridge between the past and present, the Alliance and the Conservatives, the evangelical world and the rest of the body politic.
Epp and Manley are political pals.
The election of the Ontario Liberal Party in 2003 delayed action on the Epp report. The government of Dalton McGuinty appointed Epp to the Ontario Power Generation Review headed by John Manley to examine the future role of Ontario Power Generation (OPG)
As are Wallin and Manley;
In 2001, Wallin, along with then-Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley, was one of the organizers of the "Canada Loves New York" rally for Canadians to show their support after the September 11, 2001 attacks (Manley ran in the New York City Marathon in 2001, a contributing factor to organize the rally). In 2003, Wallin and Senator Jerry Grafstein were honored by the Canadian Society of New York for their ongoing commitment to strengthening the ties between Canada and the United States.
Chain Saw Tellier was responsible for gutting jobs at CN and Bombadier, and in leading the privatization of CN when he was appointed by Mulroney.
And while there are token Liberals on this committee lets not forget the NDP adage; Liberal Tory Same Old Story.
There is a Conservative specter haunting Canada and it is the ghost of Brian Mulroney.
We will now take wagers, will they recommend we stay till 2011, 2014, 2020, or 2050?
Manley remains tight lipped!
Who are the panel members and what have they said about Afghanistan?
John Manley
Lawyer with McCarthy Tétrault firm in Toronto. MP for Ottawa South 1988-2004. Cabinet minister 1993-2003 (Industry, Foreign Affairs, deputy prime minister with special responsibility for national security, then Finance). Ran for Liberal leadership in 2003, but withdrew and endorsed Paul Martin.
"Whenever we asked Afghans what they thought ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] or Canada should do, they did not hesitate to say we must stay. Without the presence of the international forces, chaos would surely ensue. ... We often seek to define Canada's role in the world. Well, for whatever reason, we have one in Afghanistan. Let's not abandon it too easily. But let's use our hard-earned influence to make sure the job is done."
- October, 2007, issue of Policy Options.
Derek Burney
Chairman of Global CanWest Communications. Former diplomat (ambassador to Korea, Japan and the United States). Chief of staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney 1987-93. Headed Mr. Harper's transition team in 2006.
"Until very recently, Canadians were essentially unaware of the reasons for our involvement in Afghanistan. The initial decision was taken in the immediate wake of 9/11, ostensibly as a commitment against global terrorism. But, when Canada accepted, almost by stealth, a much larger, more risky role more than a year ago to take charge of the multinational force in the volatile Kandahar region, there was little explanation, debate, or leadership at the time. Some suspected that it was meant primarily to help temper U.S. criticism of our decision not to engage in Iraq. Whatever the rationale, a leadership gap became more apparent. Not surprisingly, polls confirmed some confusion and growing apprehension about what we are doing in Afghanistan and why. Canadians may be proud of the role we used to play as blue-bereted peacekeepers but they seemed less certain and less proud of the more dangerous role we are taking on as peacemakers and nation builders."
- April 11, 2006, Arthur Kroeger College Awards Dinner, Ottawa.
Paul Tellier
Director of Alcan Inc. and BCE Inc. Trained as a lawyer. Joined federal civil service in the 1970s and rose to become Clerk of the Privy Council, the country's top civil servant, 1985-1991 under Mr. Mulroney. He left in 1992 when Mr. Mulroney appointed him president and CEO of CN Rail. In 2003, he took a three-year posting as president and CEO of Bombardier.
"Many Americans don't know that Canadian soldiers are fighting the war in Afghanistan, and are paying a dear price, some with their lives. Americans have a lot to learn about Canada, but the reverse is true as well."
- Sept. 28, 2006, keynote address at the second Annual CN Forum on Canada-U.S. Relations, Michigan State University.
Jake Epp
Chairman of the board of Ontario Power Generation and chairman of Health Partners International, a non-profit group providing medical aid in Afghanistan. The former school history teacher from Steinbach, Man., was a Conservative MP from 1972-1993. Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the short-lived Joe Clark government in 1979 and Health and Energy Minister under Mr. Mulroney.
"Most Afghan doctors don't have medicine at all and when they do, it is often low quality and perhaps not what the bottle indicates. When an Afghan hospital received an impressive shipment of assorted medicines from HPIC, a doctor commented to our staff that now he had medicine that actually works."
- Nov. 14, 2006, at Beyond Our Borders signing ceremony in Toronto.
Pamela Wallin
Chancellor of the University of Guelph. Former TV journalist (co-host of Canada AM, CTV Ottawa bureau chief, co-host of CBC Prime Time News, host of Pamela Wallin Live). Consul-General in New York 2002-2006.
"From the U.S. perspective, the inability of the UN to act left the U.S. with no option but to protect itself from the future possibilities of another terrorist attack, aided and abetted by a rogue government in Iraq. And agree or not, for Americans the reality is that this war began on September 11. It's part of a continuum that runs through to the routing of the Taliban from Afghanistan, and moves forward to the war in Iraq - just another step along the path to remove terrorist threats around the globe."
- April 28, 2003, to a joint meeting of The Empire Club of Canada and The Canadian Club of Toronto.
See:
Dog Bites Man
No Time Lines For Afghanistan Exit
Harper On Executive Power
Stephen Mulroney
Stephen Mulroney Brian Harper
Canada's Real Prime Minister
Not Your Daddies Conservative Party, well...
Mulroney's Ghost
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Jake Epp, Pamela Wallin, John Manley, Paul Tellier, Derek Burney, Afghanistan
