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Maclean's, May 29, 2015
Peter MacKay and I would often rib each other. In 1998 he co-chaired my leadership campaign against Joe Clark; in 2003 I co-chaired his for what was then the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. We both admitted that I had done a better job... continued...  Toronto Star, Monday, November 2, 2009 ... There is only one surefire way to prevent a Harper majority. The Liberals and NDP should agree to not run candidates against each other in the next campaign. In each riding, the party whose candidate fared worst in the last election would pull its current candidate out, or refrain from nominating one. Both parties would win more seats, with the Liberals potentially forming a majority government. continued...
Thursday, June 4, 2009 In what's being called a tough, landmark decision the Federal Court of Canada today ordered the Harper government to fly Abousfian Abdelrazik home to Canada within 30 days — and if it hasn't arranged for a ticket for him within 15 days, the government is required to come before the court so it can "issue further orders" and make sure they do what they have been ordered to do. Judge Russell Zinn also says he found no evidence that Abdelrazik is a national security risk or has any connections with Al Quaida or other terrorist organizations. The full judgment and reasons for judgment — and it makes for good reading — is here. Although there is a chance that the government may appeal it, this decision by the Federal Court is a victory for Abousfian Abdelrazik and his family, all those who have supported him, and for all Canadians whose citizenship rights have been put in danger by the government's refusal to uphold them. It is also vindication for the small of group of people, among them former Trudeau Solicitor General Warren Allmand and David Orchard, who earlier this year, at the risk of ten years' imprisonment for aiding and abetting a terrorist, donated money for an airline ticket to fly Abousfian Abdelrazik home. They did the right thing, as the court has now confirmed! Two breaking news stories are below. Globe and Mail Update, Thursday, June, 4, 2009 Court orders Ottawa to allow Abdelrazik to return to Canada Federal Court judge issues landmark ruling that Harper government has breached constitutional rights on man trapped in Sudan. Canadian Press, Thursday, June 4, 2009 Court orders government to let Abdelrazik return
Globe and Mail,
Saturday, April 4, 2009 Abousfian Abdelrazik, a Canadian citizen, poses so grave a threat to Canada that he can't come back, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said yesterday, abruptly reversing the government's written promise of an emergency one-way travel document less than two hours before his flight home was to depart from Khartoum. ... "The only plausible explanation is that the decision was taken at the highest political levels," [Yavar] Hameed [Mr. Abdelrazik's lawyer] said. "They will do anything to keep him from coming home and telling his story." "The government is now in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," Liberal MP Irwin Cotler said. continued...
Globe and Mail, Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Stephen Lewis, a former UN special envoy, has joined more than 160 Canadians to purchase a flight home for Abousfian Abdelrazik... David Orchard [said] "I don't like torture and I don't like Canadian citizens being tortured and I don't like our government asking foreign governments to do the torturing." He said he was appalled at the "the hypocrisy of our government condemning Sudan for human-rights abuses and then approaching them and asking them to pick up a Canadian citizen." continued...
Toronto
Star editorial, Saturday, March 14, 2009 Is Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government prepared to criminalize empathy? If not, it shouldn't even consider bringing charges against the 115 Canadians and others who chipped in to buy a $996 plane ticket to bring Abousfian Abdelrazik home from Sudan. ... The contributors include former Liberal cabinet minister Warren Allmand and former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate David Orchard, plus university professors, lawyers, artists and others. continued...
Montreal Gazette, Saturday, March 14, 2009 ...the donors have done the right thing, making up in some small measure for the disgraceful behaviour of the Canadian government that seems to have thrown up every obstacle it could think of to block Abdelrazik's return to Canada. continued... Globe and Mail,
letter to the editor, Saturday, March 14, 2009 Winnipeg -- Bravo and a warm thank you to those who have donated funds for the return of Abousfian Abdelrazik, a much-maligned (tricked, unlawfully held, tortured) innocent Canadian stranded in Sudan (Canadians Defy Law In Bid To Bring Home One Of Their Own - front, March 13). continued...
Globe and Mail, Friday, March 13, 2009 ... Former Iraq hostages James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden and former Liberal solicitor-general Warren Allmand are among the donors. Saskatchewan farmer David Orchard, who has dabbled in Progressive Conservative and Liberal leadership politics, gave $400. continued... Toronto Star, Sunday, January 11, 2009 Judith Weisman, 78, is a Toronto psychotherapist. She grew up in "a very Zionist family" in Baltimore but "began to change when Israel supported the Vietnam War." ... She helped found Jews for a Just Peace; Jewish Women to End the Occupation (since renamed Women in Solidarity with Palestine); Not in Our Name; and an umbrella group, Independent Jewish Voices. ... Hers has been a long struggle, ignored by the media and shunned by "the organized Jewish community" that is solidly pro-Israel. But in recent years, she and other dissidents have been garnering support. In recent days, they've had much company. continued...
Canadian Press, Thursday, January 8, 2009 TORONTO — Prominent Canadians called on Ottawa to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in the face of Israel's "war crimes" as others planned to rally nationwide Thursday in support of Israelis who have been "paralyzed" for years by Hamas missile strikes. ...Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Anton Kuerti said the "servile" way Ottawa is supporting the U.S. position makes him "ashamed" to be a Canadian. "The unbelievable war crimes that Israel is committing in Gaza ... it makes me ashamed to be a Jew," Kuerti said at the Toronto news conference. "The servile way in which Canada is supporting the U.S. position - basically it's all Hamas's fault because of missiles that they throw over in desperation - I think this reluctance of Canada to use its influence makes me ashamed to be Canadian." continued...
Canwest News Service, Thursday, January 08, 2009 TORONTO - Physicist Ursula Franklin and
pianist Anton Kuerti were among a group of Jewish Canadians speaking out against
Israel Thursday morning. ... Franklin said Israel's actions were a "betrayal" of
a generation that attempted to learn from the consequences of the Holocaust.
Toronto Sun, Thursday, January 8, 2009 Prominent Jewish Canadians criticized Israel’s assault in Gaza today while B’nai Brith officials issued a security alert warning of threats of attacks against the Jewish community because of the two-week-old Israeli military action. ... Osgoode Hall Law School professor Michael Mandel said Canadians are being told Hamas are the aggressors. “It is the exact opposite,” he said. Judith Deutsch, president of Science for Peace, said the Israeli military action is a crime against the people of Gaza. “Israel has returned to openly committing war crimes,” Deutsch said. continued...
Prince Albert Daily Herald, Thursday, January 8, 2009 ..."The targets — the mosques, the schools — these things are absolutely unacceptable targets and I just felt that I had to speak out," he said. "We are seeing a heavily armed group attacking a largely defenceless refugee population," Orchard said ... "These are civilians that can't get out... it's like they are in a prison and now they are being bombed," he said. "I want the killing to stop and there needs to be a ceasefire yesterday." continued...
The Guardian, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state's legitimacy. But its merciless assault on Gaza has led him to devastating conclusions. continued... This article was also posted on Information Clearinghouse, a source for a good deal of information not often reported on in North America.
Toronto, Tuesday, January 6, 2009 Dear Editor.
Meadow Lake Progress, October 19, 2008 "Nationally, there was a split in the vote," [Orchard] said in an interview on Wednesday, October 15. "The Conservatives didn't get a majority, so that means people were out there voting for other parties, and different representation for Canada." ... Overall, Orchard said that he is happy with what he accomplished during the election, despite not winning the seat. "I was out there, I was interactive, I am glad that I got to meet with so many wonderful people," he said. "I wish (Rob) Clarke luck with this position and in the riding." continued...
The StarPhoenix, Thursday, October 16, 2008 David Orchard and his Liberal campaign team say something must be done to smooth the voting process for aboriginal and rural voters, many of whom were shut out at the polls Tuesday because they lacked proper identification, weren't enumerated or were told to vote at distant polling stations. continued...
Globe and Mail, Saturday, October 11, 2008 ... It is early evening, with military stripes of geese moving across the harvest moon that hangs over this field where two combines have been running well into the dark. But theirs aren't the only lights on the landscape. David Orchard, the Liberal candidate in Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River, is roaring down the back roads in his 1981 Oldsmobile, a high plume of dust billowing behind. He is chasing someone - not votes, but a half-ton carrying two men clad in hunter's orange. continued...
National Post online, Friday, May 23, 2008 If you’re ever on one of those TV reality shows in which success depends on the determination to persevere in the face of betrayals, setbacks, failures, dirty tricks and the unreliability of others, the guy you want on your side is David Orchard. continued...
The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) and Regina Leader-Post, Thursday, May 22, 2008 ... "When I made that decision to join the Liberals I did so in a serious way. There are good times and there are bad times. I'm a farmer, you have good years, you have bad years, but you won't get too far if you don't stick with things so that's what I've done," Orchard said in an interview. ... Senator David Smith, national co-chair of the Liberal campaign, said unusual circumstances, such as the timing of the byelection, led to Beatty's appointment and normal nominating procedures would be followed this time. "We wouldn't play favourites. It's a level playing field from our perspective," he said from Toronto. "What's that old song . . . accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, so let's move on. What happened happened." continued... Media release, Wednesday, May 21, 2008 "Following an extensive period of consultation across the riding, I have decided to put my name forward as a candidate for the Liberal Party nomination in the northern Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River. As part of the Liberal team, I will offer my energy and experience to work for an alternative vision for the riding and the country to that put forward by Stephen Harper’s government. If selected, I intend to speak for Metis, First Nations and non-aboriginal alike. Mine will be a fighting voice for everyone — the Meadow Lake farmer, the daycare worker in Sandy Bay, the student in Pinehouse, the trappers in Cumberland House, or the fishermen and women in Wollaston Lake. It is my hope to also be a voice for understanding across the cultural and racial divide in this far-flung riding, which covers over half of Saskatchewan." continued... Globe and Mail, Wednesday, March 19, 2008 ... The by-election loss was a blow for Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, but inside the party, it has also damaged the reputation of the senior Grit in the province, Ralph Goodale. It was Mr. Goodale who pressed Mr. Dion to cut short a nomination race in the riding to appoint Ms. Beatty. Mr. Dion overruled his own senior campaign managers, David Smith and Mark Marissen, to take Mr. Goodale's advice. continued...
Prince Albert Grand Council Tribune, November 2007 David Orchard, 57, a Saskatchewan farmer originally from Borden, along the South Saskatchewan River west of Saskatoon, is one of the best-known Canadians. He has been in the public spotlight for much of the past 20 years. Orchard is contesting the Liberal nomination for Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River, and wants to become its Member of Parliament. Orchard says that he wants to become the representative of Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River so that he will stem the Americanization of Canada by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. People in northern communities of the constituency are receiving him well, he said, and has sold a fair number of memberships. When the Tribune talked to him, he was in Canoe Lake enroute to Meadow Lake for a speaking engagement. continued...
Prince Albert Daily Herald, 26 November, 2007 To the Editor: This letter is in response to a newscast I heard today in reference to David Orchard and his announcement to run as a Liberal in the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding. I was upset by comments made by his opponent John Dorion who implied that David has no connections to the North and hasn’t a grasp of the issues of that place. He also went on to say that David isn’t qualified because of his lack of Cree language skills. I am a member of the Buffalo River Dene Nation. The riding in question is very large and Cree isn’t the only Native language spoken. I speak fluent Dene and would like to know if John can freely converse in that. David speaks French. There have been other MP’s who spoke only English and still represented the riding with skill. I think it's a shame that campaign should largely be about race and language. John also stated that David had no connection to the North. David is connected to the North by blood as he is my former brother in law and has a niece who is also a band member. I have a large family and many of us consider David's beliefs to be close to what we believe in. We accept him for what he is. David is known by many in the north for having taken part in the blockade of logging roads and clear cutting in Canoe Lake in which he was arrested and jailed with other protesters from surrounding northern communities. David understands that there is a thin line between responsible harvesting of resources and exploitation. David is a long time activist who has a passion for the important issues of the North and the political know-how to get things done in Ottawa. Our MP should be elected for his or her ability to represent the riding and not for race or lack of Native language skills. Terrie S. Bekattla
The Daily News (Halifax), Thursday, August 16, 2007 ... The defining moment in his political career — what should have marked the end of the beginning of his meteoric rise to power but became instead the beginning of the end of his hopes — was what then-foe, now-friend Jason Kenny called his deal with the devil at the 2003 Progressive Conservative party's leadership convention. That was when MacKay, for reasons that can only be described as crass, struck a secret backroom pact with his more progressive leadership rival, David Orchard. MacKay pledged to review the party's pro-North American Free Trade Pact policy he had previously supported, and promised, cross-his-heart, not to lead the party into a merger with the right-wing Canadian Alliance. In exchange, Orchard would throw his support behind MacKay and push him over the top in the final ballot of the leadership race. Orchard kept his part of the bargain. continued...
Western Producer, April 5, 2007 Before a standing-room crowd of more than 300 cheering supporters in a Saskatoon hotel ballroom last week, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion gave his audience exactly what they came to hear: a spirited defence of the Canadian Wheat Board's single desk and a stinging attack on the government of Stephen Harper. Standing in front of a backdrop depicting a golden wheat field under a bright blue prairie sky, the leader of the opposition vowed that his party will do everything in its power to derail the Conservatives from dismantling the single desk. continued...
The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Monday, April 1, 2007 "The wheat board is under assault — an assault more brutal than anything we’ve seen before," Dion said, backed by Liberal MPs Wayne Easter and Ralph Goodale and supporter and trade critic David Orchard. "Because of ideology, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is determined to kill the wheat board. That is his plan. That is his goal, and I think he must be stopped." continued... NB: This was a standing room only event with over 400 attending (rather than the 250 mentioned in the article). People travelled from all across the prairies to be present. The meeting was chaired by David Orchard.
The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Friday, December 8, 2006 If delivering support to the winning candidate means anything in politics, then David Orchard's star must surely be on the rise in the Liberal party. The longtime critic of free trade, two-time candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party and new Liberal can be credited for playing a significant role in Stephane Dion's rise to the Liberal leadership. continued...
Canadian Press (The Pembroke Daily Observer), December 2, 2006 MONTREAL. — He's the ghost who has haunted political conventions past. Few have seen him but everyone knows he's here. ... Chatting up a delegate after the policy, Orchard seemed more a soft-spoken banker than a blackberry-wielding organizational colossus. "I’m working hard to help elect Stephane Dion as the leader," Orchard said. continued...
Toronto Star, December 1, 2006 MONTREAL -- Could David Orchard end up deciding who gets to be the next Liberal leader? At first glance, the idea seems bizarre. But the Saskatchewan organic farmer and anti-free trade agitator -- who twice came close to capturing the Progressive Conservative crown -- has surfaced at the nail-biting Liberal leadership convention at the head of a band of 175 fiercely loyal delegates, most of whom are determined to support whatever candidate he chooses. continued... An out-of-the-blue swipe at David Orchard by a Globe and Mail columnist... and a letter taking issue:
Globe and Mail, August 17, 2006 OTTAWA -- David Orchard, once kingmaker for Peter MacKay's Progressive Conservative leadership bid, threw his organizational weight behind Liberal hopeful Stéphane Dion yesterday. continued...
The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Thursday, August 17, 2006 Dion says ... Orchard's support is symbolic of the campaign he's running. "It revolves around rural Canada and urban Canada, a farmer from Saskatchewan and a professor of university from Montreal, a big tent in the Liberal party," he said in an interview. continued...
Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette, Thursday, August 17, 2006 Orchard praised Dion's achievements as an ardent environmentalist and champion of the Kyoto accord; a firm supporter of the Canadian Wheat Board and supply-management agricultural programs; a renowned advocate of Canadian unity; and for his call for an immediate ceasefire during the Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. "When you add it all up I think that he is an effective leader who can stand against Stephen Harper," he said. continued...
National Post, Thursday, August 17, 2006 OTTAWA - If you had spent the last few years abroad -- maybe working for the BBC and teaching human rights at Harvard -- the Liberal leadership race might seem a bit like a soap opera you lost touch with long ago. ... The story took a further improbable twist yesterday when that most liberal of Liberals, Stephane Dion, announced that David Orchard, the Saskatchewan farmer and former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate, was backing his campaign. continued...
National Post, August 18, 2006 I read with amusement John Ivison's lively and mostly accurate piece. But in the accompanying "David Orchard File," the National Post included opposition to the World Trade Organization as part of an extensive catalogue of my sins. I have long been a defender of Canada as a multilateral trader, and as such an advocate of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its current designation as the WTO. Under the GATT/WTO, Canada both retains its sovereignty and had better trade access to the US market than under the Canada/US "free trade agreements," which are damaging our sovereignty and have brought us tariffs -- including on our wheat and soft wood, unless we pay one billion dollars not to have them -- and numerous other harassment. continued...
The
Melfort Journal, June 6, 2006 Liberal leadership contender Joe Volpe returned $27,000 in donations he received from some minor children. ...The Progressive Conservatives ceased to exist because Pete Mackay decided to ignore his deal with David Orchard and unite the right. ... [MacKay] is no longer earning the puny base salary of lowly backbench MP’s (for those who care: nearly $150,000 a year) but he also gets a substantial bonus (read: an extra $70,800 a year). Note to self: in order to earn a substantial raise and promotion, promise to do one thing and then do the exact opposite all the while pretending you only changed your mind about the issue after the initial promise was made. continued...
Winnipeg Free Press, Friday, June 2nd, 2006 What makes David run? The David in question is David Orchard, twice a candidate to lead the Progressive Conservative Party, a long-standing and informed critic of the North American free trade agreements, environmental advocate (he's engaged in organic farming in Saskatchewan) and a man given to unconventional thinking. To say who he is is also to say what makes him run, for he is animated by a kind of old-fashioned patriotism and concern for the future of Canada, which seems to discomfit the comfortable and others who seem to be sleep-walking their way through some of the real challenges facing the country. continued...
CTV.ca, Monday, March 27, 2006 OTTAWA -- Saskatchewan farmer and two-time Tory leadership hopeful David Orchard is thinking about leaping into the Liberal race. "What I'm really doing right now is taking calls. I certainly had not been considering it, but calls kept coming so I kept answering them and listening to what people have to say,'' Orchard said in an interview. "I'm not ruling anything in or anything out.'' Still, he expressed reservations over the short lead-up time to the convention. The cut-off for selling memberships to would-be supporters is late June. continued...
Toronto Star, Saturday, March 4, 2006 "If Monsanto Canada's herbicide-tolerant Roundup Ready alfalfa is introduced into Canada, 'it will be disastrous (for organic farmers),' Orchard says, 'because it would mean the end of farming organic alfalfa, just as the introduction of GM canola in 1996 has all but wiped out Canadian organic canola production.'" continued...
The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Former Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful David Orchard publicly backed the Liberals Tuesday, calling a Stephen Harper Conservative government a threat to national unity. "In triggering this election at this time, both Harper and (NDP Leader Jack) Layton were prepared to play with the fires of Quebec nationalism in order to increase their own positions," Orchard said. "It's a dangerous and a short-term effort that could hurt our country badly. I believe that there's only one party capable of holding our country together, and that's (the Liberals)." continued...
The Daily News (Halifax), Sunday, December 18, 2005 "...the Orchard episode still clouds MacKay's reputation with voters. He knows he suffers a credibility problem, and walks with an Achilles heel on the national stage." continued...
The StarPhoenix, Monday November 28, 2005 Two and a half years after the Progressive Conservative leadership race, the Conservative Party of Canada has yet to pay David Orchard more than $70,000. About $55,000 of that is owed to the Borden-area farmer from donations to his leadership campaign. continued...
Halifax
Chronicle-Herald, November 27, 2005 There's a rumour out there that Paul Martin is courting David Orchard to join the Liberals. It’s a delicious thought. continued...
Toronto Star, Saturday, November 12, 2005 Almost two years after the merger that created it, Canada's new Conservative party remains haunted by the circumstances of its creation. ... the Conservative merger seems to have produced an unusual level of bitterness. Two years after the fact, none of the dissidents I interviewed spoke of forgiving and forgetting. The feelings are as raw as they were in 2003 – perhaps rawer. continued... Winnipeg Fress Press, Friday, August 26th, 2005 Now that the secure access lie is outed, Canada's most dedicated and articulate FTA/NAFTA opponents are urging Canadians to abrogate it and return to trading with the U.S. under international trade law. continued... The Guardian (P.E.I.),
Thursday, July 21, 2005 The Conservative party has consistently underestimated the Liberals' ability to paint them as the bad guys, says a journalist described by the Toronto Star as the "ultimate insider"... Duffy said Peter MacKay, the deputy leader and Nova Scotia MP, looks great and is a natural politician, but... "The Liberals would tear him to pieces over this deal with David Orchard," making reference to his deal to merge the Progressive Conservative Party with the Canadian Alliance. continued... Vancouver Sun,
Thursday, June 23, 2005 ...Dealing first with Harper, who even in Conservative-minded B.C. has a lukewarm 38-per-cent approval rating -- behind the two other national leaders -- his image is quite okay. He doesn't need new eyeglasses or a different hairstyle. ...Instead of projecting an alternative vision of hope in response to Liberal pronouncements, Harper projects contempt. ...He also shows a mean-spiritedness in refusing to allow former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate David Orchard anywhere near the party, or refund $70,000 the PCs have owed Orchard since his leadership bid. continued... Vancouver Province,
June 5, 2005 As a youth, I was filled with anticipation and excitement at my first chance to be part of a major political process. It was in 2003, at the Progressive Conservative leadership convention in Toronto, which I attended as a Vancouver Quadra youth delegate. continued... Winnipeg Free Press,
June 3, 2005 ... The week before the evangelicals' nominations were reported, Ms Stronach switched to the Liberals, turning her erstwhile love interest, Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay, into an instant media darling deserving of enormous public sympathy. ... For Mr. Orchard, the bigger issue is that Mr. MacKay betrayed the Canadian people by denying them a second centrist, Big Tent, governing party. continued... The Daily News (Halifax),
May 20, 2005 New lows were reached this week with reactions to the year's biggest story so far: Belinda Stronach's defection to the Paul Martin Liberals. ... A name came to mind as I heard MacKay use the words "honour" and "betrayal." But David Orchard wasn't trash-talking when I contacted him on his farm in Saskatchewan. continued...
Winnipeg Free Press,
April 8, 2005 David Orchard, the bilingual fourth-generation Saskatchewan farmer who brought the second largest number of delegates to the Progressive Conservative Party's 2003 leadership convention, says the Conservative party is blackmailing him with $77,000 of his own money. continued... Hill Times
(Ottawa), March 28 – April 3, 2005 Denied a Conservative Party membership and refused entry as a "member-observer" at the federal Conservatives' recent policy convention in Montreal, David Orchard says he's still waiting for the party to hand over more than $70,000, excluding another $10,000 in legal costs and interest, he claims are owed to him as a result of his run for his unsuccessful leadership run for the former federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada two years ago. continued...
Toronto Star, Sunday, March 27, 2005 ... Despite media hype about the new merged party being more open and tolerant than expected, in fact the party is closed to progressive ideas that most Canadians value and that even traditional Tories endorsed. One indication is the party's decision to boot out David Orchard, even though Orchard recruited thousands of new party members during the 2003 Conservative leadership race and came into that convention with the second largest slate of delegates. continued...
The Edmonton Sun, Saturday, March 19, 2005 Orchard, who twice ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party, had a deal with MP Peter MacKay to prevent the merger of the PCs and the Canadian Alliance in 2003. The deal fell apart when MacKay agreed to merge the parties. A furious MacKay lashed out Thursday at Ottawa-area MP Scott Reid for bringing forward a constitutional amendment that would give larger ridings more delegates than smaller ridings at conventions. The idea was a deal-breaker when the parties were discussing merging. continued...
The Halifax Herald, Thursday, March 17, 2005 David Orchard ran for leader twice, but now he can't even get into the party convention. Mr. Orchard said he got word this week he was not welcome as a member-observer at the Conservative party's meeting in Montreal, which starts this evening. continued...
CanWest News Service, Thursday, March 17, 2005 (printed in the Edmonton
Journal, Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Montreal Gazette) OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives have banned David Orchard from attending the party's policy convention in Montreal for failing to have a valid membership. continued... (NB: This article contains some crucial factual errors.) MEDIA RELEASE, March 15, 2005 David Orchard, twice leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party, has had his member-observer status yanked by the Conservative Party leadership just before the convention. continued...
Listowel Banner (ON), March
9, 2005 "I would have voted for him," said Caitlin Bellamy, a student in Joe Simpson’s Gr. 12 politics class at Listowel District Secondary School, after a visit to the class by former Progressive Conservative party leadership candidate David Orchard, Feb. 28. "I like the idea that we (Canada) have to be strong for ourselves. I hope in the future his view comes into play." continued... Imprint (University of
Waterloo student paper), March
4, 2005 Like most Canadians, David Orchard doesn't want to see Canada become the fifty-first state. The prominent Canadian politician is currently touring southern Ontario and stopped at UW on Tuesday evening to speak to students and community members. continued... Chesterville Record, March 2, 2005
and AgriNews Interactive, March 2005,
Vol. 29, No. 3, March
2, 2005 CORNWALL — David Orchard, political maverick and would-be leader of the defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, plowed fertile ground in Cornwall on Sat., Feb. 26. continued...
Western News, (The Department of Communications and Public Affairs,
University of Western Ontario) Thursday, February 17, 2005 Canada risks being "absorbed" into the United States under current economic conditions and that’s why NAFTA must be reviewed, former federal PC Party leadership candidate David Orchard said last week. continued...
The Gazette (University of Western Ontario), Thursday, February 10, 2005
ZNET, Tuesday, December 14, 2004 David Orchard (www.davidorchard.com) and his colleagues created the "Campaign for Canada." He was co-founder in 1985 of Citizens Concerned About Free Trade and one of the most visible leaders of the fight against the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the 1980s and its extension to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the 1990s, on the grounds that these agreements would destroy Canadian sovereignty and the chance for Canada to develop differently from the United States... continued My Glendon (Glendon
College of York University, Toronto), 12 December, 2004 Saskatchewan organic farmer and dedicated environmentalist David Orchard addressed Glendon students at an open lecture on November 29th on the topic of "Canada in a Globalized World"... continued
National Post, Monday, November 29, 2004 The boyhood home of a Canadian prime minister whose life straddled the hardships of a farming youth in the Canadian Prairies and the intrigues of the Cold War... travelled the 65 kilometres from Regina's Wascana Centre, where it had been kept since 1967, to the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum just south of Moose Jaw. continue...
The Link (Concordia), Tuesday, November 23, 2004 David Orchard is a distinctive voice in the wilderness of Canada's political sphere. Although he ran for leadership of the Progressive Conservative party against Peter MacKay in 2003, his views on Canadian sovereignty are more aptly aligned with those on the left-wing of Canadian politics, and his opinion on international trade fall squarely in-line with many in the anti-globalization camp... continued Red Deer Advocate, November 10, 2004 David Orchard, a leadership candidate for the former federal Progressive Conservative Party, says since Canada signed the free trade agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it's actually gained less access to the lucrative American market... The full article The Chronicle Herald (Halifax), Saturday, October 23, 2004
"... This week, it started Monday, about halfway through question period, when Deputy Tory leader Peter MacKay stood to ask Prime Minister Paul Martin about a call from his office, back when he was finance minister, to lobby for funds for a Quebec company headed by hockey great (and Liberal fundraiser) Serge Savard. After the call, the company received $1.2 million from the sponsorship program. Mr. Brison gave Mr. MacKay his standard spiel and asked him to support the inquiry. CTV's "Question Period," Sunday, October 24, 2004 showed a clip of this exchange in its weekly section with Jane Taber who comments on "Who's Hot and Who's Not in Ottawa." You'll find it at www.ctv.ca/qperiod. Click on "Hot & Not." The Edmonton Journal, Sunday, June 20, 2004 "With no constitution, no convention, no policy input for members, they are setting out to devastate all the great national institutions. There will be no Canadian Wheat Board, no universal access to health care, environmental protection, the list goes on. And they'll likely be propped up by the Bloc, which doesn't even believe in a federal government. They've stolen our name, and with voters in a mood to throw the old rascals out, they seem to be turning to what they think are the PCs, a moderate party. They're not. It's a travesty. It's a very frustrating situation." continued The Globe and Mail, Saturday, Jun 5, 2004 The fact that Mr. Orchard bitterly opposes the new Conservative Leader won't surprise anybody; it has been almost exactly one year, after all, since he shook hands with fellow leadership contender Peter MacKay at a Progressive Conservative convention in Toronto and signed an agreement to prevent a merger with Mr. Harper's Canadian Alliance... continued The Leader-Post (Regina), Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Although the Conservative Party says its merged membership is on the same songsheet in Saskatchewan, some former Progressive Conservatives are singing a different tune... continued CTV News, Monday, May 24, 2004 "The modern 'truth squad' will follow Prime Minister Paul Martin in the weeks leading to election day. Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay will be keeping tabs and offering rebuttals on what Martin says on Monday. The StarPhoenix, Monday, April 5, 2004 Saskatchewan farmer David Orchard has struck a major blow against his Goliath, dodging a $200,000 lawsuit by the Conservative Party of Canada. The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Friday, April 2, 2004 David Orchard, the Saskatchewan farmer and former Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful, has vowed to provide a new federal party to people forsaken by the recent PC and Canadian Alliance merger. When that happens and whether it means a new party on the federal political landscape or resuscitation under the PC banner remains to be seen. Vancouver Sun, Tuesday, March 16, 2004 The man responsible for all but destroying Peter MacKay's political career looks not the tiniest bit remorseful. David Orchard continues to believe he was betrayed by Mr. MacKay. Mr. Orchard, of course, is the Progressive Conservative who at last May's leadership convention threw his support to the Nova Scotia MP in exchange for a promise the new leader would nix any merger with the Canadian Alliance. Mr. MacKay shortly thereafter reneged on the deal... continued
Canadian Press, Friday, December 5, 2003 David Orchard's lawsuit against the Progressive Conservative party over its proposal to merge with the Canadian Alliance has no merit, an Ontario judge ruled Friday. Edmonton Journal, October 26, 2003 SASKATOON - David Orchard world headquarters occupies a modest storefront next door to China Clipper Fish & Chips on a busy street just north of Saskatoon's attractive city centre. Just across 2nd Avenue sits the gleaming bone-white Modern Press building, a restored art deco gem that was once home to The Western Producer, the weekly bible of agriculture and farm life that still remains the largest-selling periodical of its stripe in Canada. Later on, the handsome edifice housed the North American operations of a French uranium corporation. In his own dogged way, Orchard, a fourth-generation farmer from nearby Borden. has proudly maintained the explosive heritage of the block...continued Ottawa Citizen, October 25, 2003 Following two bids for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservatives and a week of wall-to-wall media coverage in which he railed against the Canadian Alliance/Progressive Conservative unity deal, David Orchard is no better known than he was in 1985 when he founded Citizens Concerned About Free Trade. Scorned as a "tourist" in the PC party, the fourth-generation Saskatchewan farmer's best-selling book, The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance of American Expansionism, reveals instead a man who may be Canada's last radical tory...continued To order David's Book The Fight for Canada ...go to Winnipeg Free Press,
26 September, 2003 ...if the electorate's somewhat inexplicable attachment to Paul Martin holds through to the next election, uniting the right may become a marginal issue. But part of the reason for the parties revisiting union no doubt, lies in an inability to see beyond cherished illusions: some Conservative and many Alliance members and supporters still believe that all they require is to proclaim themselves a single party and all those electors who previously voted for the two will -- Presto! -- vote for the one....continued Western Producer,
21 August, 2003 OTTAWA BUREAU- The Progressive Conservative party must raise the profile of agricultural issues in Canadian politics and re-orient policy to support farmers in the domestic market, says the Saskatchewan farmer who ended up as kingmaker during the last PC leadership convention....continued National Post,
21 August, 2003 OTTAWA - In his first interview since striking a controversial backroom deal with Peter MacKay, David Orchard said yesterday he has been in weekly contact with the new Conservative leader since the May convention and he expects the party to follow through with running candidates in all 301 federal ridings...continued FINANCIAL POST,
18 June, 2003 In business, as in politics and other walks of life, there are two kinds of power. There is the official clout that flows from your office or rank, and the greater power that comes from the respect and influence you wield as a person. Power is really about strategy: understanding how much power you have in a given situation, and knowing when to use it...continued Maclean's,
16 June, 2003 I TRIED TO EXPERIENCE the recent Tory leadership convention with Dalton Camp, as it were, on my shoulder. Dalton, who died in 2002 at 81, embodied the history and conscience of the party, which created Canada and built many of its institutions. He ran endless campaigns, including the victories and defeats of John Diefenbaker, then engineered Dief's ouster, for the party's sake, knowing he'd never shake a rap for disloyalty. His was the party of Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark; it created what became the CBC in the 1930s and beat back free trade in 1911 -- though he also worked in Brian Mulroney's free-trade government of the 1980s. By then he was a superb journalist; he had given words so often to others that his own writing had the feel of a jailbreak. He had no use for the neo-cons who took over the Progressive Conservative party lately, nor they for him...continued Toronto Star (Metro),
15 June, 2003 I have long assumed that the unite-the-right movement was pretty much finished in Canada - ever since its leading advocate and spiritual leader, David Frum, took a high-level job in the Bush administration. Some political movements would find it awkward, if not downright embarrassing, to have their spiritual leader in the pay of a foreign government. Not, apparently, the unite-the-righters, many of whom seem like they'd be more at home in U.S. Republican circles- which helps explain why they often appear to be ducks out of water here in Canada...continued Globe and Mail,
June 12, 2003 Free trade is back in the news and the news isn't all cheery for those who consider NAFTA Western civilization's crowning achievement. David Orchard distinguished himself at the Tory leadership convention with his unToryish stance, notably his call for a NAFTA review. Free trade doesn't mean protectionism, he said, referring to the punitive U.S. tariffs and duties on Canadian softwood lumber and wheat...continued Winnipeg Free Press,
June 11, 2003 "A deal with the devil", fumed Calgary Alliance MP Jason Kenney. "Coalition with the socialists", declared Alliance leader Stephen Harper. And Tom d'Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, borrowed a phrase from the U.S. military hype for the Iraq War. "It's not shock and awe. It's shock and horror."...continued Winnipeg Free Press,
June 11, 2003 A perception that bedevils the federal Conservative party and the governing Ontario provincial party is the notion that "conservative" and "right-wing" are interchangeable political terms....continued Toronto Star,
June 8, 2003 With cries of "betrayal" hounding new Conservative Party Leader Peter MacKay all last week, you'd think he had just agreed to review the party's stand against cannibalism. Of course, MacKay is in trouble because he made a deal with rival David Orchard to review the party's position on free trade, to run candidates in all ridings and to make the environment a priority...continued Toronto Star,
June 8, 2003 OTTAWA-When David Orchard was a teenager, he had an experience that marked him for life. "U.S. Air Force jets came suddenly screaming out of the Saskatchewan sky, right over our barn," he writes in his book The Fight for Canada: Four Centuries of Resistance to American Expansionism. "At barely treetop level they came so fast and so loud as to be from another planet, scattering the livestock in panic. For months they came without warning. Later I learned they were conducting exercises and were on their way to bomb farmers in Vietnam - farmers struggling to raise their crops and livestock just as we were." That seed flowered into a persistent campaign that reached a peak last weekend, when Orchard used his power to anoint Peter MacKay as Tory leader...continued Moncton Times and Transcript,
June 06, 2003 OTTAWA. New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Senator Noel Kinsella brokered the controversial deal between Tory leadership candidates Peter MacKay and David Orchard that secured MacKay's victory. He still has the folded piece of paper where his tiny handwritten notes marked the beginning of a four-part deal. "It's just the job of an old Senator," he said in an interview in his office here yesterday, still looking disheveled after a weekend of deal-making...continued Globe and Mail,
6 June, 2003 I am bemused by the journalistic apoplexy over the deal between Conservative Party leadership winner Peter MacKay and anti-free-trade maverick David Orchard at last weekend's convention. It's at a level up to which pundits rarely reach: "stupid . . . foolish . . . shortsighted . . . desperate" (Roy MacGregor); the new leader will "lose his own soul" (John Ibbitson); he "flushed" his principles down the toilet, along with his party's chances (Chantal Hébert); showing "cynicism and ineptitude" (Richard Gwyn). Everyone referred in some terms to a "Faustian bargain" or "deal with the devil" in the person of David Orchard. You won't have an easy time finding comparable shock and awe on topics such as war and terror...continued Now Magazine,
5 June, 2003 IF YOU SLEPT THROUGH THAT TELEVISED late-Saturday-night (May 31) moment during the federal Progressive Conservatives' leadership convention when red-green Tory David Orchard threw his support to Nova Scotia MP Peter MacKay -- for a price -- you missed the official demise of American political ideology in Canada. It might as well have been the War of 1812. Canadians are finally repelling the Yanks, or more exactly their Republican party expression, and the proof is that the new Tory leader is honour-bound to forgo unity talks with the U.S.-centric Alliance party....continued Calgary Herald editorial,
4 June, 2003 But Orchard is right about this -- it's time to do a review of Canada's free trade agreements with the United States....continued Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal,
3 June, 2003 Some say the federal Tories are dead in the water now that Peter MacKay has won the leadership through a deal with party "maverick" David Orchard that had some delegates shouting "shame" and political opponents expressing glee. But we're not at all sure this "gentleman's agreement" is a bad thing....continued Wooing the new Tory kingmaker Once dismissed as a tourist in the federal Progressive Conservative party, David Orchard has graduated to potential kingmaker as he heads into the leadership convention in Toronto May 31...continued
Read Elmer Laird's article on David, as taken from
the January/February 2003 edition of the WHOLifE Journal...
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Former* organic farmer and nominee for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative party David Orchard spoke at Western yesterday. A self-described political orphan currently without a party, Orchard focused on the dangers of free trade and closer ties with the United States.... He warned against Canadians looking upon the U.S. as friends. "Superpowers don't have friends; they have interests"