REBAGLIATI HOPES TO TAKE A RUN AT STOCKWELL DAY

Canadian snowboarder and Olympic gold medallist Ross Rebagliati plans
to beat a new opponent: Stockwell Day.

Rebagliati will seek the Liberal nomination on Monday in the
Okanagan-Coquihalla riding. If he wins the nomination, he will face
the Conservative's international trade minister.

No one else is seeking the Liberal nomination. "It was going to be an
election without an option, basically," Rebagliati said in an
interview. "I felt like there needed to be a choice for the
constituents."

Rebagliati, a Kelowna resident, said the Liberal party approached him
about running for the seat.

The snowboarding champ won the gold medal in 1998 but lost it briefly
because tests showed high levels of THC from marijuana; he regained
the medal on appeal because he said the THC came from second-hand pot
smoke.

He said he expects the issue will come up in the race. "I think the
issue has been dealt with, and I feel like I've been able to prove my
character over the years." He said his campaign platform will deal
with jobs, health care, child care, sports, a healthy lifestyle,
native issues, homelessness and the environment.