Whither Irwin Cotler?

Editorial

The announcement Monday of the new Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's shadow cabinet tips the hand of a few politicians. It is typical of party leaders to drop from cabinet (or, for the opposition, front-bench critic positions) those members who will not be seeking re-election.

This must be the reason behind the absence from the Liberals' new lineup of Irwin Cotler, surely one of the greatest minds in the House of Commons today or, frankly, ever. It's not as if, having received a drubbing in last year's election, the Liberals have such an embarrassment of riches that they can afford to leave figures like Cotler and former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh on the backbenches.

Cotler, the former federal justice minister, law professor, international law expert and human rights champion seems to have been appearing in the popular media more than usual lately. He has much to say of value about current events, of course, given the distortions taking place in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict over the meaning and scope of such international law concepts as war crimes and proportionality. There are few people in Canada or anywhere more versed in the nuance of international law to speak to these issues. And voices like Cotler's deserve to be heard all the more because reason and veracity have been so tragically lacking in the international discourse over the past weeks.

If Cotler is leaving politics, it is good news and bad. Parliament will be much the worse for his absence but the world will likely be better. Cotler changed the country in countless positive ways as minister of justice, but since his party was defeated in 2006, his talents have been underused. Though he may well deserve retirement, Cotler, who is 67, has far too much to offer to fade away. We expect – and hope – to hear an announcement in the coming weeks that he is to take an exciting new position, where his wisdom and fervent fire for justice will make the world better. But Parliament, lessened by his likely withdrawal, suffers not only for the loss of this great individual, but for the latest in a series of lessons that individuals of great promise and quality, stifled by the conditions of our party discipline and parliamentary shenanigans, is no place for the uniquely gifted and visionary.

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