Faytene Kryskow may, I am guessing, tell you that she doesn't have a close political relationship with Tory cabinet minister Stockwell Day.
But while she may not want to take a bullet for Day, she was at one time willing to be spat on in his place.
Earlier this year, when the press was giving heavy coverage to Marci McDonald's new book, Faytene Kryskow made a point of trying to clarify her ties to Day in a letter to the National Post newspaper.
The fuss began with columnist Don Martin quoting McDonald to the effect that Kryskow and some of her friends had met Day at his home:
Despite her excessive enthusiasm for the cause, the dynamic Kryskow is at home in Canadian political circles these days, having hosted a reception for 70 MPs after visiting Treasury Board President Stockwell Day in his B.C. home.
A few days later, Kryskow wrote a letter to the newspaper, stating that McDonald was incorrect.
She wrote, in part:
"This is a false statement. I never met with the Minister in his home nor have we had a meeting with the Minister since he became Treasury Board President...."
I don't have any evidence that would allow me to dismiss what she wrote to the paper as false. But there is something here that strikes me as a bit odd.
Faytene tends to use first names with people that she knows--friends, allies, coworkers__as most young people these days tend to do. Nothing wrong with that necessarily. Indeed, as I am blogging, I do sometimes refer to Faytene by first name, as I find it easier to spell than her last name. (Faytene seems not to object, as she has addressed me by my first name, which is also fine by me.)
But in her letter to the National Post, she is very careful, even using "the Minister"--capital M, in place of "Mr. Day".
I returned to the subject this week as I came across a nearly five year old online audio file of Faytene Kryskow, speaking at Embassy, a church in Oshawa, Ontario, on Sept. 2, 2005.
Faytene is speaking in the earliest days of her days as a national figure, and is very relaxed in her remarks. She is speaking, in a general way, of the need for Canada's Christians to "rise up", a regular topic of hers.
Towards the end of the sermon, she was talking about the importance of Christian youth speaking and acting so that politicians will consider their views as well. And then the Days are introduced...
At 45:06 of her talk, intending to make another point, she talks about meeting the "Days":
"I was at the One Heart gathering in Quebec City, and I was speaking to Valorie and Stockwell Day. Most of you here know who Stockwell Day is. And I'm sharing with Valorie [Stockwell Day's wife] and I was all like, encouraging her, 'Hey Valorie, we're just about to do this tour, we're going from Victoria, to Ottawa and we're meeting all these politicians, we're going to bring in the voice of the next generation before them, share with them that we want to see righteousness in our nation, and stand up for our nation, and we're going to be doing all these declarations and rallies and we're going to be doing church services..." And I was trying to encourage her, right. And, not that she wasn't encouraged by that, but there was something that was a lot heavier that was over her. And she looked at me and she had tears beginning to well up in the bottom of her eyelids, and she began to tell me, and I want to say this right up front too, well I'll just go ahead and do it, If you get offended, just talk to me after... She began to share with me about the day that Bill C-38 went through, which basically sanctified same sex marriage. And she said 'You know, on that day, if you would have been an MP, or the speaker of the House...and you were sitting in the House of Commons--4 1/2 hour drive from here, right?--If you were sitting in the House of Commons," she said, "This is what you would have seen", she said, "You would have looked up and you would have seen 60-80 per cent young people." ....
"....And she said that between the ages of 18 and 35 is the lowest [political] engagement rate in the nation. Of all the age groups that our political leaders are engaged with for our nation right now, we hear from our [i.e. Faytene's] age group that's the one that they hear from the least...."
"....And she said that of that 60-80 per cent in that gallery, at the moment that Bill C-38 went through third reading, which basically means that it got sent into law [after] going through the Senate. She said at the moment that that thing passed...that all these young people began to jump up and cheer and jubilate. And she said her heart just sunk, you know...."
[at 49.22...]
"....And as Valorie shared with me, she said that as they walked out of the Peace Tower that day, she said this young group of people were there and they were all--and she said as soon as her and Stockwell started walking past-- she said they [the group] began to hiss and they were all [whispering about Stockwell Day]...and just started hissing at them, and I don't know, like I just felt like, even when I heard them say that I was like...'God...' like even if I wasn't in the public gallery, which I wish I would have been, I I wish I would have been there to escort them out and at least take a little bit of the spits for them, you know, because here's a man and woman who have been standing as a voice [for righteousness]..."
[It is "spits", at 49:54]
I don't recall any reports that the pro-gay youths were that rude that day. But Faytene goes ahead and cites Valorie Day. Tories don't lie, or mislead, I guess.
(A bit of Tory worship here? I don't recall Faytene saying this about any Liberal, New Democrat...)
Valorie Day is not Stockwell Day. And whatever ties Faytene may have with Stockwell Day may, indeed be very different today than the ties she had with the then Opposition MP.
This isn't a smoking gun...but I am having a problem squaring when she was so passionate about the Days in 2005 with her formal talk about "the Minister" five years later.
I wonder if Faytene may have been a bit coy in the National Post. The specific details that McDonald cites may be incorrect, but could there be something there?
Hopefully the Days haven't disappointed Faytene in some way. If so, I hope that Mr. Day can get a volume discount on rain wear, should he need it.