As people flooded out of the Performing Arts Centre on Sunday after hearing 
from Liberal leader 
Stephane Dion, it seemed to be the tall, lanky man‘s sincerity that stuck with them the most. But his heavy French accent, and at times, broken English, also resonated. “He‘s a very sincere fellow. He‘s very personable,” said Allan Gorham. “He‘s a shy sort of politician; he seems almost too sincere to be a politician.” Vernon resident Ray Lendvai echoed the sentiment. “The best thing about him is that he‘s very real,” he said. Still, Lendvai said some people may have difficulty understanding Dion‘s ideas because he has trouble expressing his views in English.
from Liberal leader 
Stephane Dion, it seemed to be the tall, lanky man‘s sincerity that stuck with them the most. But his heavy French accent, and at times, broken English, also resonated. “He‘s a very sincere fellow. He‘s very personable,” said Allan Gorham. “He‘s a shy sort of politician; he seems almost too sincere to be a politician.” Vernon resident Ray Lendvai echoed the sentiment. “The best thing about him is that he‘s very real,” he said. Still, Lendvai said some people may have difficulty understanding Dion‘s ideas because he has trouble expressing his views in English.While talking to reporters outside of the arts centre, Dion said he wasn‘t concerned that Western Canadians will penalize him for his French roots. “I‘m confident that Canadians will vote for the best leader wherever that leader has come from. I know Canadians will see me as a Canadian from coast to coast,” he said. Dion brought a shopping list of criticisms about Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government.
On the checklist was:
- A lack of funding to fight the mountain pine beetle
- Not being competitive enough in world markets
- Broken promises over income trusts
- Killing the Kelowna Accord
- Cutting the GST, rather than income tax
- Not taking climate change seriously
Dion compared Harper to George W. Bush and accused the Conservative Party of mimicking right-wing Republican Party politics. Between political pot shots, the Liberal leader also predicted Canada would swing to a two-party political battle between Liberals and Tories. “This prime minister pretends he‘s good for Main Street. In fact, he‘s good for Wall Street,” he said. Throughout his speech, Dion received measured applause from the crowd of about 100, mainly middle age and older audience members. When asked, Dion would not rule out a spring election, and told the crowd if elected, a Liberal government would not cut another one per cent from the GST, but would invest the $5 billion into childcare. Dion‘s visit was the first time in recent memory that a Liberal leader has visited Vernon. After the meeting, Dion told reporters he‘d like to visit much more often. When asked if he came to Vernon because he smelled blood after a series of Conservative gaffs, he smiled and said he‘s confident that more Liberals will be elected all over British Columbia. Dion also visited Kamloops and Kelowna on Sunday.
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