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Moderator: Bonjour. Bienvenue au théâtre national
de la presse. Welcome to the National Press Theatre. The Minister of Natural
Resources, Herb Dhaliwal, is here to make a statement. So he will make a brief
statement and then we'll take questions. Can I please remind you to turn off
your cell phones. One question, one follow-up. This press conference is going
to last approximately half an hour.
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen and
friends, I want to thank you for joining me here today. To my family, my friends
who are with me today either in person or in their hearts, all understand just
how difficult my next few words will be.
I'm announcing today that I will not be a candidate in the next election and
I will not be a member of cabinet after December 12th. I'll be returning to
my business in Vancouver after the next election and will sit as a backbencher
until that time.
It is definitely a day of mixed emotions for me. I'm saddened about leaving
politics behind. I've made so many friends in Ottawa, even some in the media,
but I'm enthusiastic about returning to my business and spending more time with
my family.
I want to start by thanking my wonderful wife, Amrit, and my children, Andrea,
Justin and Jessica for their support and their understanding. You know in politics
it's not just the person that runs for office, it's the whole family that is
part of that process. And families of politicians do pay a high price. My three
kids have understood when I've missed events at their schools like my son's
hockey games or my daughter's basketball games or my youngest daughter Jessica's
events at school. I could not have gone into politics without their permission
and I would not have continued had my family said no to my running for office.
For all of their understanding and support, they deserve my greatest thanks.
I'm so proud of them and the amazing people that they have become and they've
been enriched by their experience here in Ottawa.
My career in politics wouldn't have started without my friends and supporters
from my riding. For those that voted for me and for those that helped me get
elected, I also want to give a special thanks. There are a number of staff that
have supported me right from day one - Sue in my office, Andrej and Melinda
who are still with me today. Their support has been wonderful. I've also had
the good fortune of having great support across this country.
I believe that I've accomplished those things that I set out to do when I
first became involved in politics. I have run three times now - one more time
than I thought I would run. And prior to the last election I made a decision
not to seek re-election and to retire from public life altogether. The Prime
Minister sat me down and changed my mind. He convinced me to run for a third
term. And in 2000 my family and I agreed that I should run one more time.
Now, after talking things over with my family, particularly the last weekend,
we have come to the conclusion that it's time for me to return to my business
and spend more time with my family.
I didn't come to politics as a career change because I loved what I was doing
in business. I came to make a difference. And in 1993 I took an active -- I
became an active backbencher and worked very hard. And one of the things I was
proud of as a backbencher is when I was at the Interparliamentary Union in Beijing
and I had an opportunity to speak on behalf of Canada for a resolution to adopt
a total ban of antipersonnel landmines that went through.
I was very proud to be appointed by the Prime Minister as Minister of National
Revenue. And, relying on my business experience, I pushed to establish the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency to create a single tax collection agency - the largest
structural change in government.
As Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, which all of you know I wanted so badly
to be cabinet minister of the Fisheries portfolio, I was confronted with the
Marshall decision, a housewarming gift for me shortly after I arrived at that
portfolio. But I think we took an incredibly difficult situation and did something.
We have made a positive difference in people's lives.
There's a great untold story there of how the people affected by the decision
are now better off. One of the chiefs directly involved has told me that people
now have hope in their communities because they now have a livelihood. The Marshall
file was perhaps one of the toughest files I dealt with but yet it was the most
rewarding because we improved the life of Aboriginal communities on the east
coast. And when I meet some of the chiefs today, one of them was in tears and
said, "You've helped to improve the life on our reserve." And one
chief said, "You know our young people, our people who are committing suicide,
our suicide rate has dropped in our community," because of the Marshall
decision, because of what we did where we spent $750 million to integrate the
Mi'kmaq people into the fisheries.
And in Natural Resources, a portfolio which I requested from the Prime Minister
and he said, "If you request it, you can't complain if you don't like it,"
I've played an active part in many crucial issues such as Kyoto ratification
and implementation and being able to mitigate the effects of ratification on
our resource sector while ensuring we could meet our international commitments
under Kyoto, as an accomplishment I was proud of to be a part of.
These accomplishments were a result of the team effort from the deputy ministers
I've had an opportunity to work with - Rob Wright, Wayne Waters, Pierre Harrison
and George Anderson - and of course the many talented and committed public servants
who have served along with them.
One of the greatest highlights of my career was the recent trip to India with
the Prime Minister, seeing the new Consul General offices opening in Chandigarh
and being with the Prime Minister at the Golden Temple. It was truly an amazing
moment in my career. Words really cannot express how proud I was to be able
to return to the country where I was born and to the holiest of shrines for
the Sikh people with the Prime Minister of my adopted country.
We are a blessed nation. We have abundant resources. We have a remarkable
spirit. We have limitless potential. For an immigrant child coming from a small,
dusty village to Canada at the age of six, not speaking a word of English, to
be able to return as a cabinet minister, well, it's an experience that was a
truly incredible Canadian experience.
If someone had asked me 20 years ago what I would be doing today, most certainly
I could not have said nor would I have thought I would have had the privilege
to serve my country for 10 years let alone be able to say that I actually had
an impact on the lives of my fellow Canadians. But that is exactly what has
happened and I'm immensely proud of this and grateful for the opportunity, grateful
to the people of Vancouver South--Burnaby for electing me three times, to the
Prime Minister for making me a member of his cabinet even though, as you all
are very aware of, I always spoke my mind even when it got me in trouble sometimes.
The Prime Minister's unwavering support over the last decade has been remarkable
and his contribution to strengthening the country is something legendary.
Thank you to my present staff and past staff members. They've worked long
hours. Many of them have followed me from portfolio to portfolio. They call
themselves a family and to them I offer my thanks.
And now it is time for a renewed leadership for our country. There is excitement
in the air and a feeling of renewal under Paul Martin. Paul will be the next
in the long line of outstanding Liberal leaders and prime ministers. He has
a great pool of talent to choose from for his cabinet. And Paul knows that I'll
always be available to assist in whatever manner he requires to assist the Liberal
Party, to continue to provide good government to Canadians.
I will most of the enumerable people I have come to know, to admire and to
have deep affection for. The toughest part about me leaving politics is the
people I've met here in Ottawa and the people I've met across the country. It's
always difficult because of the affection that you feel and of course moving
on but I knew I would not be here permanently but I would be here as a visitor
and now it's time to go back home.
So thank you. It has been a hell of a ride. As a friend of mine said when
this journey began, "Vive le Canada." Merci beaucoup. Thank you.
Moderator: Lina Dib, TVA.
Question: Mr. Dhaliwal, first on Friday John Manley, today
you. Are you making things easier for Paul Martin as he's trying to form a cabinet?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, this is very much a family and
personal decision for me. As I've said many times, any decision I've made in
politics it's been with my family. And this weekend it really crystalized because
we sat down as a family and looked at what our objectives were and we decided
that it's time for me to leave and move on, go back to my business and it very
much meshed with our family objectives that really we've been looking at. I
put my house up for sale a number of weeks ago and there was a whole plan for
us to move together as a family. And as some of you know, my wife has had some
health challenges and that of course it would be better for me to be with her
and support her and she needs me and our family needs to be together and we'll
be moving back to B.C. and this will be a good transition period for me to go
back and, you know, Paul Martin's got a great group of people in the caucus
and we have some tremendous talent and he'll have a great cabinet to move forward.
Question: So are you saying that it has nothing to do with
the fact that there was no place for you in his cabinet?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Absolutely had nothing to do with that
fact at all. It was very much a family decision and really, as some of you know,
I was not too enthused about running last time. And in fact, last time I was
recalling a conversation with my colleague, Pierre Pettigrew, when we sat together
in the House some years ago and I said to Pierre, "Pierre, probably two
terms, eight years, I'm going to be gone. What about you?" He said, "Well,
the maximum I'll be here is 10 years and I'll be gone." So I never anticipated
that I'd be here more than two terms and went beyond what I thought I would
be here because I always wanted to go back to my business. I loved what I was
doing in Vancouver and I loved the business world. And I'm looking forward to
getting back and I'm sure people in my office, my old business office in Vancouver
will be very happy to hear what I'm saying today.
Moderator: Craig Oliver, CTV.
Question: As a follow-up on that, did you meet with Mr. Martin
before you made this decision? Did he tell you that you would not be a choice
for him in terms of cabinet because less than two weeks ago you were talking
about your special sensitivities and seemed to be advertising yourself as available
to Martin. So one wonders sort of what happened.
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, first of all, I have met Mr. Martin.
I met him some six to eight months ago. We had dinner and at that time I informed
him that I was not interested in continuing in politics. I met with him a couple
of weeks ago and told him at the same time that I would be not running in the
next election. And it was this weekend where we finalized exactly the dates
and when. In politics unless you've made a final decision, you don't say exactly
what you're going to do because you want to keep the other options open. But
I had clearly decided that I was not going to seek election next time but you
want to work with the leader. You want to find out what their priorities in
terms of making sure we elect seats in British Columbia and what he would have
done in terms of cabinet there wasn't a discussion; I don't know. That's something
only he can tell you. But I can tell you clearly and very frankly that it would
not have made a difference in my decision not to seek re-election.
Question: (Inaudible) some of your departing Chrétien
ministers do that we're seeing here a rollback of the Chrétien agenda
on same sex, now maybe on Kyoto and on other things?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, I would be disappointed if we didn't
follow through our commitments on Kyoto. We've clearly made a commitment to
the rest of the world and if the Russians don't sign on, it doesn't mean we
don't have a problem in the environment and climate change. As far as a rollback,
you know the Prime Minister-designate hasn't formed his cabinet. He hasn't made
decisions. I think he'll support the agenda which is a Liberal agenda; it's
not just a Prime Minister Chrétien agenda. And you know I'm confident
that he'll support many of the important things like Kyoto and like some other
things. But really he's got to assess that as Prime Minister. He's got to assess
that with his cabinet and he'll make those decisions. But I think I would be
disappointed if we didn't carry out our responsibilities and obligations under
Kyoto.
Moderator: John Ward, CP.
Question: Mr. Dhaliwal, you're saying that Mr. Martin knows
you'll be available to help the Liberal Party if it's needed. Is that a suggestion
that there might be a comeback somewhere down the road?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, it's highly unlikely that I would
come back to politics but you know you can never predict the future. I'm 50
years old. I was elected when I was 40. I've been a Liberal all my life. I was
a great admirer of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and he inspired me to come into politics
because of our policies of multiculturalism and inclusion. And I've got to say,
you know, that Prime Minister Chrétien in terms of inclusion, he's not
only talked about it but he's taken action. Look at our appointment of the Governor
General, someone who was a refugee from China. Look at the appointment of Mobina
Jaffer, the first Muslim woman into the Senate. In a speech in 1990 during the
leadership he said he would also like to see people in Parliament with a middle
name Singh. He made it happen. And I think he's built a stronger country and
a more inclusive society. And I'm very proud of that. And one of my objectives
was to make sure that I inspire others to seek office and that our Parliament
reflects the diversity of this country. And as you'll see from candidates running
in the next election, I'm sure I've inspired a lot of other people to take part
in politics so that our Parliament can truly reflect the new face of Canada.
And just look at our Parliament now - 40 Members of Parliament born outside
of Canada serving. So I'm extremely happy with what's happening and I know that
I've helped politicize others to take an active role in politics that may not
have otherwise if I wasn't there.
Question: Would provincial politics in B.C. have any lure
for you?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: No, I'm not interested in B.C. politics.
I never ran for provincial politics. My interest was always federal and that's
why the first time I ran for office it was federal. So it's highly unlikely
that I would be back in politics. I loved what I was doing in business. I love
to build things. I love to create jobs and work with people and that's what
I'll go back to.
Moderator: Paul Wells, Macleans.
Question: You said you're willing to offer Martin any counsel
he needs. I'm inviting you to offer him some now. He's putting a cabinet together.
What advice would you give him about the relative virtues of fresh faces versus
experienced ministers?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, coming from the business world,
you always want to combine the two, of people who have experience and people
who have new enthusiasm, new ideas and combine that. And I go back to business
- people don't change all of their senior executives in one swoop because they
like to have the combination. But really this will be his decision. He's a very
experienced person. He's been in the business world. He's been around Parliament
since 1988 and we've got a great talent of people. One of the unique things
that I think hasn't happened in Parliament for a long time, we have a lot of
Members of Parliament that have been elected for a very long time, going back
to '88 and '93. Usually there's a big rollover every seven to nine years. But
in this case there's quite a few people who've been there for a long time so
he's got a choice of people who've been around Parliament for a very long time.
I think though, as I said, the political institution should reflect the face
of Canada and that the diversity of this country is important to continue to
build a more inclusive society and I hope his new cabinet reflects that and
I'm confident it will.
Moderator: Peter O'Neill, Vancouver Sun.
Question: I think there's a long history of conflict between
Ottawa and the B.C. government. Things have been fairly smooth since you became
political minister. Are you concerned now that the most senior federal minister
is David Anderson who's feuded with the provincial government over offshore,
are you concerned that there could be a deterioration in that relationship?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, first of all, when I became the
political minister, I said that British Columbians want us to work together.
There will always be differences between the provinces and the federal government;
that's the very nature of our federation. But I said we're going to move aside
the differences that we have and put those to one side and work on things that
we agree on. And that's where we started. And I have to give a lot of credit
to Premier Campbell. His position was exactly the same. He sent signals to his
ministers that we want to work with the federal government, it's very important.
And look what we've accomplished. The Convention Centre was a priority for Vancouver
and for British Columbia. And I said I'm committed to make sure I deliver on
that and we did. Olympic 2010, Winter Olympics, we worked together hand in hand.
And in fact, it was a good thing we did because we only won by two votes. The
fact that we had the federal government, the provincial government, the Prime
Minister, the Premier, all their campaigning helped us to win the bid for the
2010 Winter Olympics. And I think that cooperation, people saw that in British
Columbia that it's working, that the federal and provincial governments are
working together. I think that the Prime Minister-designate, Paul Martin, recognizes
how important that is and he'll send those messages to B.C. ministers that he
wants to continue that cooperation and I think that we've built a strong foundation
with the provincial government and that'll continue.
Question: This is sort of a follow-up to Craig's question
but you spoke only a couple of weeks ago about the fact that people in your
community talked to you about you being a hero, you were ready to serve, you're
ready to serve even as a backbencher and now you're telling us that you declared
to Mr. Martin months ago that you weren't going to run again. I'm just wondering
how do we square all that?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, I think I talked to a lot of people
in the last few days across the country and many were saddened and were crying
over the phone saying that it's a great loss to the community that I wasn't
there. And at the convention I had a lot of young people saying, "You know
you're a great role model for us and we look up to you. You're a hero."
And they wanted me to stay. But politics very much is a personal decision and
it was a family decision. And in the end, this last weekend when I sat down
with my kids and my son was saying on Friday, "Dad, it took me a whole
day to get a hold of you. I can't find you. I have to talk to three people just
to talk to you. It was a great day up in Seymour and you could see the mountains."
And it would have been nice to go up with my son to go ski. And I started to
think, I said, "You know when's the last time I went skiing with my son?"
It's been at least a couple of years. And I think it crystalized that I've served
for 10 years. I've tried to do my best as a Member of Parliament, as a minister.
I tried to follow my principles. I spoke up when others were silent. And it
was time for me to leave and get back to my family and my business. And I accomplished
the things I wanted to. I've politicized a group of people that weren't involved
in politics before. We dealt with the fiscal situation in this country which
was very important. We created a more inclusive Canada where people who felt
marginalised felt very centred and they saw themselves when they saw me in Parliament
and they saw me in the media.
And so I think I've done a fair amount and you know sometimes it's a tough
decision to do these things. And I always had in my plan not to continue to
serve but really the real decision was made on the weekend for me. And it was
based on my family decision and being in or out of cabinet did not factor in
at the end of the day. It was what was important for my family and myself and
really frankly and honestly that was the decision.
I think the media had read it wrong that I was trying to lobby for to be in
cabinet and I was saying if I wanted to lobby to be in cabinet I would have
phoned people that were key and close friends of mine, that are also close friends
of Paul Martin. And I wasn't on the phone calling people. I wasn't telling them
I want you to lobby for me. Because really my decision was a family decision
to leave politics and I think sometimes you say things and they get read wrong
by the media and they see it totally different because they're so focussed on
something totally different and sometimes we respond to media questions just
to respond to them and perhaps we should just say, "Well, it's something
I don't want to say." So it was probably something maybe I shouldn't have
commented at all. But it was read the wrong way by the media.
Moderator: Roger Smith, CTV.
Question: Mr. Dhaliwal, following up on Paul's question,
there's been a lot of talk that as few as a half a dozen current ministers will
remain in the Martin cabinet. How far can you go with change and dumping experienced
ministers before you create the impression of political vengeance, before you
run into the problems of inexperience and leaving yourself with some big egos
dissatisfied on the back benches?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, one of the things I think is important
is to reunite the party for the Liberals. And I've always said that I certainly
want to work towards that to make sure we're working and our goal should be
really winning the next election. And I've seen three leadership races that
I've been involved in, in '83 (sic) when the Prime Minister called me up and
said, "Herb, can you help me in my leadership campaign?" and I said,
"Why should I help you, Mr. Chrétien?" He said, "Because
the other guys are all status quo, they're for the status quo." And I said,
"Hold it, you've been there since '62. You are the status quo. Why should
I help you?" But he convinced me and I was involved with him then and now.
And I think they can be very divisive situations but at the end I think Liberals
will come together.
In terms of how much change can you put in, well, I think we're in a unique
situation is that there are a lot of people who've been around politics as backbenchers
and as committee chairs and active. So he's got a pool of very talented Members
of Parliament. Some of them have not been in cabinet but they have experience,
they've been around and they can do a good job.
As to how much change you can put in, it's very difficult to answer. It depends
on who's there. Obviously, it's always good to have a balance of experienced
people along with new people to move the government forward. But it's a decision
that Paul Martin will have to make and he'll have to live with whatever the
results will be. But he has a very experienced group of people that have been
around the political scene for a long time.
Question: One of the, you know, the buzz words we're hearing
all the time is that this won't be -- this will be the first Paul Martin government,
it's not the fourth Liberal government. They want to create this impression
of change. Do you buy into that? I mean do Canadians want that change so badly
that basically Martin has to distance himself from, you know, three Liberal
governments before him?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, first of all, let me say I'm very
proud of what we accomplished in the last 10 years. In fact, I think when history
looks back, they'll say for Canada these were the Golden Years. If you look
at when we came into politics in 1993, if you look at the fiscal situation of
this country and where we are today, it's day and night. And if you look at
Canadians, I remember campaigning in '93, Canadians were upset. They were upset
at politicians. They were upset at the mess we were in. And if you look at now
what Canadians feel, there's a huge amount of confidence in Canadians. They
feel very good about themselves. So I don't think anybody should distance themselves
from the record of the last 10 years. I'm very proud of our record and I think
it would be a mistake to try to distance yourself because I think we've got
a great record out there whether it's on our economic policies, all the statistics
you look at whether it's our standard of living increased by 29%, our debt-to-GDP
has dropped from 70% to 46%. Our interest rates are the lowest they've been
in 40 years. The Child Tax Benefit, the major social program that we put forward,
the money we've put into health care - really we're proud and we've accomplished
a lot more than anybody would have predicted because we took the tough decisions
and Paul Martin was part of those decisions that we took to get our fiscal house
in order. And on Canadian unity, people feel more united and confident as Canadians
than they ever have been before. So I think it would be a mistake to distance
ourselves from our record. We have an excellent record, a record I'm proud of.
And I'm proud of what we've accomplished as a team collectively. And Paul Martin
was very much a part of that. So I think we should be talking about the great
record we have out there.
Moderator: Steven Chase, Globe and Mail.
Question: Mr. Dhaliwal, I just wanted to follow up on last
November when Martin supporters took over your riding association. Have you
made peace with that? I wasn't clear on how that got resolved. Are you happy
with the way it was resolved in the end?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, it was an unfortunate thing. I
mean I was travelling in India at the time when it happened and I was, frankly,
quite upset about it particularly because Paul and I were good friends as well,
both -- we were family friends. Sheila Martin and Paul were both very good friends
of myself and Amrit and we continue to have the friendship. But we met. We had
dinner and we resolved that issue. There were some misunderstandings, some miscommunication.
And I think Paul himself recognized that it was -- things went wrong there and
we resolved that issue and put it behind us. And our friendship will continue
both between myself and Paul and of course Paul and Sheila who are great friends
of myself and Amrit. But that was an unfortunate and regrettable situation but
we met over dinner. We resolved it and we put it behind us.
Question: Just a follow-up question. In terms of you were
the first Indo-Canadian in cabinet. Do you think that Ujjal Dosanjh would make
a suitable replacement on the Martin team in cabinet?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, I think there'll be many Indo-Canadians
running in the next election. I think there'll be some good names coming out
of British Columbia and Ujjal Dosanjh may be one of them. I don't know what
his plans are. I've not talked to Mr. Dosanjh. But I think there'll be some
very capable people that come forward that have the ability. He certainly is
someone who's got experience in politics. I've known Mr. Dosanjh for more than
20 years; we were at university together. He's certainly a capable individual.
He served as Premier of the Province of British Columbia. But frankly I don't
know what his intentions are. If he runs, we would welcome him to be -- to join
the Liberal Party and run for the party. And certainly he'll make a great Member
of Parliament and if put into cabinet, he'll do a great job for Canada in cabinet
as well. But I know there are a lot of Indo-Canadians who will run. And I feel
very good about that because I think I helped to open the door for a whole generation
of Canadians that may not have participated in politics that will be there.
And that was one of my objectives for running.
Moderator: I know time is running. We have two more questions.
Is that okay? Maria McClintock, Sun Media.
Question: Mr. Dhaliwal, a couple of weeks ago, I'll just
refer back to I think Craig's question or Peter's question, you suggested that
there may be a backlash within your community if you didn't play a key role
in the Martin government. And I'm just wondering, now that you've decided to
leave politics, what impact do you think? Will there still be a backlash? Do
you still feel the same way?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, first of all, I never said there'd
be a backlash. I said there'd be disappointment. And I think there will be.
I think across the country there'll be many people, and we're getting e-mails
right now, people are saying, you know, they're disappointed that I'm not running
again and they're saddened by it but they understand this is a very personal
decision. And there will be a lot of disappointment of people who wanted me
to continue to run. They felt that I reflected their views on important issues,
that I'm willing to speak up whether it's on Iraq, whether it's on the antiterrorist
bill, where I said we needed to have a sunset clause, and whether it's on the
landing fee which I said it was a mistake on the government to put a landing
fee for new immigrants and they felt I spoke on behalf of them.
So yes, there'll be sadness and people will be disappointed and I wanted to
let them know that this was very much a personal decision for me and thank them
for all their support and encouragement over the years. Right across this country,
people from every part of the country - Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary
- all have urged me to run and I have a lot of friends that I've met across
this country - Newfoundland. And so I think they'll be saddened by my announcement
today but, you know, 10 years is a long time. Sometimes you say to yourself,
"Look, I don't want to be working 12 to 14 hours a day every day. I don't
want to be taking that flight back to Vancouver every week or every second week."
And it's time to move on. I worked very hard. I tried my best to do the best
job for my riding, for my province and for the country and it's been a great
privilege. It's been a great honour that I did this.
My grandfather left India in 1904, went to Russia, when to the U.S. and then
came to Canada. And in 1906 when he was in Canada, if somebody told him his
grandson would be serving in cabinet, he would have said, "You've been
drinking too much scotch the night before." So it was a great proud moment
for my family and for myself. And I remember when I was elected first, a gentleman
from Calgary phoned and he was in tears and he was an Indo-Canadian. He says,
"You know, I really feel part of Canada. I really feel Canadian that I
have someone elected to Parliament that I see myself in as well and reflects
my views." So it was a great honour and privilege to serve the country
and I know others will come forward to serve as well and I think the Indo-Canadian
community will continue to work hard for the Liberals and for Paul Martin.
Question: As a follow-up, you said you met with Mr. Martin
a couple of weeks ago. Can you clarify what he had to say about the makeup of
his new cabinet and did he indicate that you would not have a role in his government?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: No. When we met, I let him know that
I was not interested in running in the next election and how we should deal
with that and what the timing would be. He asked me if there's something else
I would like to do in government if I wasn't -- if I was going to leave politics
and I indicated no, that I was not interested in doing anything else or being
involved in some other posting, that I was only interested in going back to
my business. And then it was a question of what the timing would be and then
I called him and talked to him over the weekend and yesterday as well to let
them know that this week I've decided over the weekend to leave and wish him
the best and told him he has my full support and work with him to make sure
we win lots of seats in British Columbia.
Question: Did he offer you any (inaudible)?
Moderator: No, sorry, Maria, we're ---
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: I said I would not be interested in anything.
He asked me if I was interested. I said absolutely not.
Moderator: One last question. If you can please keep it short,
we're -- go ahead, David Vienneau.
Question: You recently -- you mentioned your criticisms of
the antiterrorism bill and how sometimes that got you in trouble but you must
have been heartened a few days ago when Reid Morton, a former head of CSIS,
came out and said perhaps we went a little too far as a government in that antiterrorism
law. Do you have any final advice for the new administration, for lack of a
better word, that's going to take over about whether or not it should revisit
that and perhaps reconsider the whole notion of a sunset clause because critics
have said once you lose rights it's very difficult to get them back?
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Well, this was a very tough issue for
me and you know freedoms of Canadians and freedoms and their rights are very
important for myself and it was a tough issue that I dealt with. I think you
know generally governments do overreact to situations that happen. I felt very
strongly that five years away from September 11th, we need to justify to Canadians
some parts of the antiterrorist bill. And that's why I spoke up and said we
need to have the sunset clause and make sure that we can justify to Canadians
why we're taking some of their rights away, why we're -- why some processes
of justice were not being followed in terms of having transparency and due process
and I was willing to speak up to the criticism of some. But I felt it was the
right thing to do even to the risk of being not in cabinet. But I clearly made
it known to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office that this was
very important to me and if it meant leaving cabinet, I was willing to do that
but I was not willing to be quiet about having the sunset clause which I thought
was the minimum we needed to assure Canadians that this will be reviewed and
that in order -- and sunset clause was very important from the review. The review
was much different. Sunset clause it means it expires and we have to go back
to Canadians and back to Parliament and show why we need to have restrictions
of fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians and I felt very strongly I was
very, very, I guess relieved, to have that in in the final act. I was very happy
that we did that. But you know it shows sometimes you do have to speak out otherwise
I don't think that change would have come about and it took someone in Parliament
to put focus on it and have the rest of the country start focussing on it and
the change happen. I was very happy I could contribute to that.
Moderator: Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.
Hon. Herb Dhaliwal: Thank you very much. And let me also
conclude by saying what a pleasure it's been working with many of you in the
media and I'll even miss a lot of you guys. So have a good Christmas and look
forward to seeing you around. Thank you very much.
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