Rebecca Finch to carry Liberal banner in Dufferin - Caledon
By Bill Rea

Rebecca Finch accepted her nomination last Thursday as federal Liberal candidate in Dufferin - Caledon, to the applause of the assembled party faithful, including Senator Mac Harb.

Speculation persists on when the next federal election will be, but Dufferin - Caledon Liberals are now ready for the call with a candidate.

Local party faithful gathered in Mono Mills last Thursday night and lost little time nominating Etobicoke resident Rebecca Finch, 33, as their candidate. Her brief acceptance speech was followed by a pep talk from Senator Mac Harb, former MP from Ottawa Centre.

Although Finch doesn't live in the riding, she stressed much of her extended family does, and she has spent considerable time in the area over the years.

She has a degree in history and religion from Carleton University, as well as a post-graduate diploma in 3D animation from Sheridan College. She is currently president of multimedia at Squint Studios, a Toronto-based boutique post and design company. She's also editor of an on-line magazine called The Metaball.

Senator Mac Harb was the keynote speaker at last Thursday's nomination meeting.

This is her first venture into the world of being a candidate for office, although she said she's been increasingly involved with the Liberals for the last couple of years.

"I found out the riding was available and realized where it was," she remarked. "It's just where the process led me."

She also said she's comfortable carrying the Liberal message.

"My ideological leanings are centrist," she said. "There's no other option in Canada for me."

Finch was also confident this riding can be won by the Grits. "It's been Liberal before federally, therefore it will be Liberal again."

Betsy Hall, who was the Liberal candidate in Dufferin - Caledon in the fall provincial election, officially placed Finch's name in nomination.

"It's a tough road ahead," she told Finch as she nominated her, "but an interesting road."

The nomination was seconded by Dundalk resident Dennis Adair.

Finch used her remarks to outline the type of politician she hopes to be.

She commented it's hard to find a positive model of a politician in the public mind these days. She charged Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been saying whatever he wants about the leadership of Stephane Dion, but added Harper's not an attractive leader himself.

Finch added people don't expect much from their politicians any more. "It's time to change that," she declared.

She said her father was a minister, as are two of her cousins. In order to be a good minister, one must have good leadership skills and be a voice for the people they represent. They must also be able to put their own images aside, adding if they can't do that, they have no business being a minister. Politicians, she said, are responsible for the day-today good order of the people they represent. Finch said they must be a voice for those people, be able to listen and suggest, need to know how to solve problem and be able to defend their citizens. If they can't do that, she said they have no business being in politics. Finch said there are politicians who do perform in the best interests of their constituents, but their numbers are few. She said she wants to increase them.

Harb had plenty of words of praise for the new candidate.

"I honestly believe in what you see in this person here is good," he told the audience.

Finch had been a constituent of Harb's for a time when he was an MP, and she came to him seeking some assistance. "She gave me the game plan on how I could help," he recalled.

Later, after she had moved to Toronto, Harb said Finch wrote to him about a health issue that no one seemed very knowledgeable about (she later said it was regarding Gardasil vaccine). She later wrote to get his support in the issue over Bill C-10, which among other things, seeks to withhold public funding for films and art that could be deemed offensive. He said he had understood the bill had implications for trust funds, but he had been unaware of human rights connections.

He added this issue has taken on considerable life in Ottawa. He's been in public life for 22 years, but said he's never received so much input on one single issue. "It's one of the most dominant issues on Parliament Hill," he declared.

He added the bill is currently before the Senate, having passed through the House of Commons with no witnesses or questions, and with the support of all parties, and Harb said he's determined to make sure it doesn't get through.

"That's the kind of leadership this constituency deserves and that's the type of leadership that this young lady will provide," he said, referring to Finch.

He also stressed the need for the party membership to work for her election. He recalled when he first ran federally, it was in 1988, and he was up against Michael Cassidy (former leader of the Ontario NDP). Cassidy was regarded as a hard worker, "but a member of the wrong party," Harb commented.

But he had a small, dedicated group of party faithful backing him, and they were able to win by 762 votes a riding they had lost in the previous campaign by about 5,000 votes. He added they held the riding for four straight elections.

He also had some reasons to offer for voting Liberal, pointing out when the Grits came to power in 1993, the federal deficit was around $42 billion and the national debt was roughly $500 billion. Interest rates were around 10 per cent, and the unemployment rate was close to that mark too. He said confidence in public institutions was at an alltime low and the International Monetary Fund was ready to declare that Canada was almost bankrupt. The Grits made some tough decisions to straighten things out.

He agreed the party made mistakes toward the end of its mandate, and paid for them.

No one can turn around and say 'Liberal times are bad times,'" he remarked.

Harb fielded some questions, including some dealing with Senate reform. He stressed he had been an MP long enough to get a full pension.

"I'm not in it for the money," he remarked, adding he has no problem with Senate reform, although he said reform is needed too to the House of Commons.

But he also pointed out there are implications in reforming the Senate, and he said they were apparent with Bill C-10. The flaws in that legislation, he said, where caught by the house of "sober second thought."

An elected Senate is not the answer, he argued. He said 105 senators would each have about 500,00 constituents, while the average MP has roughly 100,000. That would mean senators would have more power than members of the House, but that would also mean more responsibility. And if they are to have more responsibility, it has to be determined who that will come from. As well, he pointed out such a system will mean more people looking for popular solutions, rather than correct ones.