El-Khoury, Koutrakis praise former bank governor, downplaying bilingualism issue
After several weeks of deliberation over the future of the Liberal Party of Canada following the resignation of Justin Trudeau as leader, two Laval-area MPs have announced their decision to support Mark Carney’s bid to win the party’s leadership.
In interviews last week with The Laval News, Laval-Les Îles Liberal MP Fayçal El-Khoury and Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis confirmed their decision to support the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, whose chief rival for the leadership is former Liberal finance minister Chrystia Freeland.
‘Good economic vision’
“He is a great economist,” El-Khoury said, explaining why he decided to support Carney. “He is the right man. He has a good economic vision for the country, which is exactly what we need right now. If you look at his CV, he is the only man in the world who managed two major central banks. Which is unique.”
El-Khoury noted that during the 2008 global financial crisis, Carney provided key advice to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper. “So, he is very well known. He has made his mark,” he said.
Although there is a longstanding if unspoken tradition within the Liberal Party of Canada that the leadership should alternate between French- and English-speaking chiefs, some also believe the person who heads the party should always be bilingual.
Carney’s bilingualism
El-Khoury said he was impressed with Carney’s fluency in both languages, while admitting that Carney (who was born in Canada’s Northwest Territories and raised in Alberta) isn’t perfectly adept in French. “Of course, he’s not Victor Hugo,” he said, alluding to the 19th century French author. “But he manages properly. I’ve heard him speak and it is very good.”
Regarding some of the other candidates, El-Khoury said he would have supported a leadership bid by former Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Frank Baylis, whom he described as a very close friend. “But as far as I know, after discussing with many colleagues, he has no chance,” said El-Khoury.
Regarding Chrystia Freeland, he said, “With all due respect, she is a good colleague. But my problem, based on my consultation with my constituents in Laval-Les-Îles and other places also, is that as minister of finance, she was related to all decisions taken by Trudeau and she cannot separate herself from that.”
Carney was praised by Harper
Koutrakis explained why she also decided to support Mark Carney. Like El-Khoury, she noted that Stephen Harper had praised Carney’s work at the Bank of Canada as having helped soften the impact on the country from the 2008-2009 recession. As well, she pointed out that Carney was the only non-British governor the Bank of England had since its founding in the late 17th century.
“Having met him [Carney] and having had extensive conversations with him, I think he is the right leader and the right prime minister for Canada as we go through this very turbulent time,” said Koutrakis.
Regarding Carney’s linguistic proficiency, Koutrakis said she agreed that since Canada is an officially bilingual country, “the prime minister of Canada, and any federal party leader for that matter, should be bilingual.” She said she had heard Carney speak in French.
Koutrakis for Carney
“Although it may not be perfect, he is quite proficient in the French language, and I know that he is continuing in that regard,” said Koutrakis. “Obviously, he is an Anglophone. But I have every confidence that Mr. Carney will be able to master the language even better than he already speaks it.”
She said she had “full respect for all the candidates who put their names out there to be the leader.” However, with the economic threats the country is facing from its main trading partner (the U.S.), “I really believe that given Mr. Carney’s overall demeanor, experience, educational background and reputation globally, he is the right person to be able to sit across the table from President Trump and his team to renegotiate and make sure that Canada’s economy remains robust and healthy,” said Koutrakis.
