Jocelyn Coulon
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Jocelyn Coulon (born May 22, 1957) is a author, columnist, journalist, political analyst, and an international research expert in Quebec, Canada. He is well known as the author on various military and other international-related published works (books or columns). Coulon ran in a 2007 by-election for the Liberal Party of Canada in which he lost to the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Thomas Mulcair.
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[edit] Professional and educational background
Coulon went at the Université de Montreal and obtained a diploma in political sciences. Coulon later became a columnist and journalist for Montreal's newspaper Le Devoir and was in charged for the international news section. He worked as a journalist for nearly 15 years from 1985 to 1999 and later made political editorials at La Presse. [1]. He was also the director of a weekly revue called Aéromag for three years from 1981 to 1984.
Coulon had published during the 1990s and 2000s various books related to military and international issues including the state of Canada's military, the United States, the Iraq War, the United Nations, Africa, globalization and the Lebanon-Israel crisis.
Before his attempt at politics, he was also a researcher on various related international affairs but more specialized on military operations. He is currently the director of Francophone Network on Peace Operations of the Centre d'études et de recherches internationales de l'Université de Montréal and is a guess professor at the university's political sciences department. [1]
[edit] Politics
In 2007, Coulon entered federal politics when he was handpicked by Liberal leader Stéphane Dion to run as a Liberal candidate for the riding of Outremont in a by-election that was held on September 17, 2007. The seat was vacated by former Transportation Minister Jean Lapierre who pursued his career as a political analyst at TVA. Coulon faced former provincial Liberal Environment Minister Thomas Mulcair, now running for the NDP.
During his campaign, Coulon had criticized the Conservative government of Stephen Harper on the handling of the War in Afghanistan, accusing them of complying with the policy of US President George W. Bush.[2]
His nomination was heavily criticized by the B'nai Brith Canada Jewish group which accused him of being anti-American and anti-Israel based on its view of the Middle East issues including the Hamas-Israel-Lebanon conflict.[3] [4] The Quebec-Israel Committee however, stated that B'Nai Brith's statements were exaggerated and that Coulon had every right to be the Liberal candidate. These issues were thought to be important because the local Jewish community in Outremont makes up 10% of the riding demographics.
While Outremont was a Liberal stronghold since 1935 (except for the 1988 election), the NDP won their first Canadian House of Commons seat in the province of Quebec since 1990. Coulon received 28.5% of the vote while Mulcair finished with 48.6% of the vote. For the most part, the campaign was a tight race between the two candidates, however late polls pointed to an NDP victory, with visits from star party members Ken Dryden and Justin Trudeau unable to regain the Liberal lead.
A Dion aide blamed the Outremont by-election on several factors, including poor organization, lack of communications, and lack of a clear policy on Quebec, while former MP Jean Lapierre suggested that it was due to Dion's 14% approval rating in the province.[5] The Conservatives focused their attacks on the leadership skills of Dion, who had been campaigning in the riding. In addition, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported that unidentified "Dion loyalists" were accusing Michael Ignatieff supporters of undermining by-election efforts. [2] Though Ignatieff phoned up Dion to deny the allegations, the Globe and Mail suggested that the report had a negative impact on the Liberals' morale, citing the NDP's widening lead after the article's release.[6][7][8]
The by-election was seen as a crucial test for Dion's leadership, as the Liberals attempting to regaining popularity in Quebec since the loss during the 2006 federal elections. [9]
[edit] Published works
- En première ligne: Grandeurs et misères du systeme militaire (At first ligne: the lengths and miseries of the military system) (1991)
- La dernière croisade: La Guerre du Golfe et le role caché du Canada (The last crusade: The Gulf War and the hidden role of Canada) (1992)
- Les Casques Bleus' (Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping, and The New World Order) (1994) [10]
- L'Aggression, les États-Unis, l'Irak et le monde (The aggression, the United States, Irak and the world) (2004)
- Guide du Maintien de la paix (2005) (Guide for maintaining the world peace) (2004)
- Le moment unipolaire (The unipolar moment) (2005)
- La nouvelle FINUL: espoirs et dangers (The new UNIFIL:hopes and dangers) (2005)
- La morale au temps de la peste (The morale during the era of the pest) (2005)
- Guide du Maintien de la paix (2007) (Guide for maintaining the world peace) (2006)
- Les maux de l'Afrique' (Africa's Wounds) (2006)
- La naissance de deux géants (The birth of two giants) (2006)
- Le naufrage d'une illusion: Changer l'Irak pour mieux la reconstruire (The sinking of an illusion: Changing Irak for a better reconstruction) - one chapter in Réalités nationales et mondialisation (National realities and Globalization) (2007)
- Guide du Maintien de la paix (2008) (Guide for maintaining the world peace) (2007)
