So, who all wants to talk about hockey? – Liveblogging Michael Ignatieff’s the Dryden/Garneau post-tactics scrum

Due to an unexpectedly cordial and uneventful Ethics committee meeting, ITQ is heading to the Foyer — yes, the Foyer, not the fourth floor hallway as originally scheduled — to wait for Michael Ignatieff to show up for today’s exercise in masochism as he meets with the media following the usual morning tactics meeting. Check back at 9:30ish for full coverage!
9:22:12 AM
You know what the best part is about hanging out in the Foyer on the Ignatieff stakeout? Gossiping with random colleagues and cabinet ministers about potential floor-crossers. Not that any of us seem to know much more than what was in the Toronto Star this morning, mind you, but since when has that stopped us from rampant speculation?

9:29:04 AM
Breaking news! It’s *not* Michael Ignatieff who will be joining us this morning, but Ken Dryden and Marc Garneau, who are looking just the tiniest bit apprehensive as they approach the map.

Bet y’all the networks will run this one live, so feel free to liveblog along in the comments. The more the merrier

9:30:14 AM
Ken Dryden starts with a hockey metaphor, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of ITQ’s hastily written headline, and reminds us that it’s not always about “last night’s game” — the question is where are they going, and where this government is going — and what impact it will have on Canada. That’s why he has no confidence in this government, and is pleased to be part of the morning tactics gang.

9:31:33 AM
Polls? Last night’s game, he tells Julie Van Dusen — a snapshot, and snapshots, he reminds us, can change “very dramatically”. It’s up to them to make sure they do.

9:32:30 AM
Fife walked into that one — he leads with the floorcrossing story, and asks if that’s just mischief from the Conservatives. “Yes,” Dryden replies. Well, that’s not much of a clip, is it?

9:34:27 AM
Garneau gets more questions about Quebec, but ITQ is momentarily distracted by the realization that the Liberals have sent out the party’s two most crowd-pleasing MPs, as far as pre-political history: the astronaut and the hockey star. It’s hard to see that as a coincidence, really.

9:35:42 AM
There’s always this moment in a scrum when a media throng becomes greater than the sum of its parts, and the din that greeted the most recent pause would suggest we’re about to hit that point. In response to a question from Julie Van Dusen — again — about whether the Liberals might want to rethink their approach as far as opposing without exception, Dryden goes off on a tangent about the environment, which includes a horse race metaphor, for those of you keeping track of sports references, but does seem to acknowledge that his party also has to present itself as a “government in waiting”. What does that mean as far as the strategy of voting against every confidence measure? That’s not for Dryden or Garneau to answer, the former reminds us — that’s for the leader. Oh, but it’s not something that has come up at the morning meeting.

9:39:34 AM
“Is his time up or not,” Julie demands – that’s what Ignatieff said in Sudbury, after all. “So you’ll still try to bring them down?” Dryden – who is looking more uncomfortable by the second, tries to fall back on the “that’s not for us to decide” line, and tells Julie that she knows that. “No I don’t,” she points out. “That’s why I’m asking!”

Unfortunately, she – and the rest of us – will have to wait for an answer, since he’s been hustled off by a minder.

Well, that wasn’t very clarifying at all. Sheesh.

9:45:49 AM
Update: A quick re-check of the original media advisory reveals that we were not, in fact, promised an appearance by Ignatieff — it simply advised us that “Liberal MPs” would be present, but ITQ didn’t read carefully enough, and got her hopes up. Sorry about that, y’all. (In her defence, he *is* a Liberal MP, but still.)