Letter to the Editor published in Saturday's Globe and Mail:

Vancouver -- Bully for Rick Salutin for recognizing bombastic talk of "strong" leadership for the claptrap that it is (In Praise Of Weak Leadership - Sept. 26). One can argue whether it makes electoral sense, but anyone who pans populist policies and, instead, promotes a tough-to-sell environmental platform clearly has conviction on his side. I am more apt to trust a man of principled conviction than a strongman of convenience. Michael Watkins, September 27, 2008

Anything But Conservative / A Bas Les Conservateurs spotted in Vancouver-Kingsway. Go Danny Go!

ABC From Sea to Sea

Sources inside embattled Conservative Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz's own organization continue to paint a picture of an overly politicized environment, made more so by interference from the Prime Minister's Office.

On Saturday the Globe and Mail reported that Ontario health officials ordered hospitals and nursing homes under their jurisdiction to pull Maple Leaf meat products they suspected were tainted. But the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which reports to Ritz, didn't issue an alert for another three days and didn't make the public broadly aware for a full five days after Ontario health officials had already acted.

They found it unusual that Ritz and the PMO were in on the calls, which they described as very politicized. Sources within Ministry of Agriculture

The incubation period for listeriosis can be as long as seventy days; how many more cases will arise over the next two months, and how many of those might have been prevented had Ritz acted more quickly?

19 deaths later and Ritz, the Conservative member of parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster, hasn't been seen in public for a week, not since he was forced to make a public apology for trivializing through a bad pun the deaths of listeriosis victims.

Steve Rennie of the Canadian Press writes:

The sources spoke to The Canadian Press on the condition of anonymity. The Conservatives have relentlessly sought and punished anyone believed to have provided embarrassing information to journalists.

Ritz was too anxious to declare the outbreak as over, the sources said. At that time, 13 deaths had been linked to the recall of packaged meat from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto.

During virtually all of the teleconferences, the agriculture minister would ask the same questions:

“Can I say we’ve turned the corner on this?”

“Can we go out there and say the numbers aren’t changing?”

No, he was told by scientists and doctors, the listeria strain has an incubation period of up to 70 days and there could be more cases.

Ritz on the run

Unless Ritz pulls a McCain and suspends his campaign, he'll be under fire on Monday as opposition Ag critics Liberal Wayne Easter and NDP Tony Martin get to see if they can break Ritz during a televised debate on CPAC. Watch the Bologna fly starting at 8am PT / 11am ET.