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Blog of Adam Daifallah -- author, journalist, law student. Lover of politics, writing, golf, curling, fitness, fashion, bacon and maple products -- not necessarily (but probably) in that order. Partisan of the Anglosphere. Contact me via email at adam@daifallah.com. This summer I am joined by Keir Wilmut and Omar Soliman.
Friday, March 10, 2006
More on Vancouver
Danielle Smith, me and Adrienne Batra at the Liberty Fund closing dinner
The reason I went to Vancouver was to attend a colloquium of the Liberty Fund. This is an amazing organization founded by a wealthy philanthropist with an unwavering commitment to debating issues surrounding liberty and freedom. The Fund hosts more than 150 conferences each year and publishes scholarly books. I had not heard of the organization before, but am glad I do now. It was a privilege to be part of it.
Our conference brought together a group of 17 scholars, journalists, businessmen and political activists for three days of discussion of readings by Locke, Hayek and Schumpeter, readings which we had read beforehand. Heavy stuff, yes. But because of the conferees' backgrounds the debate hovered between the theoretic and the practical, and it was scintillating. I learned a lot.
I spent the early part of this week in Vancouver, visiting relatives and meeting up with a lot of old friends and acquaintances. There seems to be quite a bit of frustration about the Emerson appointment, especially the way it was handled. The people I spoke to felt that Emerson, should he run again next time, would bolt Vancouver Kingsway and instead try a more hospitable riding such as John Reynolds' old seat in West Vancouver or even Richmond. We'll see. I'm still not sure he's going to hang on.
Tuesday I spoke at a Fraser Institute lunch about the book and the election results. The audience was terrific, and asked some very good questions. I sold a few books too, which was great.
Before coming home, Wednesday I took the ferry over to Victoria to see an old friend and catch Question Period at the legislature. It was a pretty boring exchange, with the NDP seemingly trying to make hay off of the number of hacking attempts on BC government websites (each one of them was apparently stopped). It made no sense to me. But I was struck at how laid back and informal the BC leg was. After questions, Gordon Campbell just moseyed out of the chamber alone and walked to his office, alone. No staff or guards. Same thing with Finance Minister Carole Taylor. No media scrum even. It reminded me a of a city council atmosphere. But I guess I'm just used to Toronto and Ottawa.
And then I came back to the freezing cold of Quebec City. That's all.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 1:51 PM
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