This article appeared today in a Sudbury, Ontario newspaper.


Skierszkan helped elect St. Laurent in '53
SUPPORTER: Ignatieff greets 93-year-old Grit
Posted By DENIS ST. PIERRE, THE SUDBURY STAR
Posted 16 hours ago


Peter Skierszkan recalls with pride the first time he helped elect a Liberal prime minister.

"It was (Louis) St. Laurent ... in 1953. That was the first time I voted," Skierszkan said.

In the ensuing 56 years, the Latvian immigrant hasn't missed an election, always voting for the Liberal party that captivated him when he first set foot in the Canada.

"In my old country there was dictatorship; I didn't like dictatorship, of any kind," he said. "When I came to Canada, the government -- the Liberal government -- asked, 'what can you do?' They did not care what language you spoke or what religion you had or what country you were from. They treated you equally."

Skierszkan, who spent most of his working life at the former CIL acid plant in Sudbury, was recognized Tuesday by federal Liberals for his decades of support to the party.

The 93-year-old was singled out during a campaign-style rally attended by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and the party's national caucus of MPs and senators.

Following the rally, Ignatieff sought out Skierszkan for a brief chat and photo opportunity and presented the pensioner with a signed copy of his book,True Patriot Love.

Following the meeting, Skierszkan noted that while he has been a lifelong Liberal, he has openly opposed party policies or positions he could not countenance.

The latest is the country's participation in the war in Afghanistan.

"I have two grandsons in the army and I support the army," he said.

"But I'm against the Liberals supporting the Afghanistan war. We have no business being there. I don't agree with going to war to try to change people. People will change themselves."

Skierszkan did not say if he took Ignatieff to task Tuesday for the Liberals' support of Canada's role in Afghanistan.
Article ID# 1726160