Braeden Caley - On Politics

Support our Youth

2009-04-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Because strong youth influence makes a stronger party.

Support the YLC Amendment to One-Member One-Vote
(la vidéo en français arrive bientôt)

The YLC and "One-Member One-Vote" - NEWS

2009-04-04T18:02:00.003-07:00

Yesterday the National Executive of the Young Liberals of Canada unanimously passed an amendment proposal to the One-Member One-Vote proposal initiated by the LPC National Executive.

Passed at convention, this amendment would ensure the proposed "One-Member One-Vote" leadership-selection method would continue a decades-long legacy of a strong Youth Commission within the Liberal Party of Canada.

Of each riding's 100 points in the new OMOV system, a minimum of 25 points would be dedicated to the votes of members aged 25 and below. In ridings where youth constitute more than 25% of the votes cast, the points will be allocated without distinction for youth to ensure full representation.

It should be noted that at the 2006 Convention this amendment passed on the convention floor, while OMOV as a whole fell short of the two-thirds support it required.

At this convention, the YLC OMOV amendment will only need 50%+1 support to pass, while the OMOV proposal as a whole will require a two-thirds majority.

It was tremendous to see such strong unity on the YLC that this amendment is necessary! Reform is critical in this party, especially when it comes our method of leadership selection, but let's not destroy the underpinning foundations of the Youth Commission, one of our party's strongest assets, as we go about achieving that reform.

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In my opinion - If the YLC OMOV amendment passes again this year, and OMOV passes as well, the Liberal Party of Canada will have achieved a broader system of leadership selection that is wildly more democratic, eliminates the cost barriers that prevent so many youth from going to a leadership convention, and still protects the strong voice for youth that the Liberal Party always made a proud part of it's heritage.

And even if you don't support OMOV, I hope you'll realize that this amendment deserves your support so that if OMOV does pass (and I hope it does) we do not lose ALL of the YLC's historic representation in the Liberal's leadership selection.

Here below is the entire package that the YLC National Executive voted on. Kudos to Scott Pickup for putting together the amendment!

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Preamble: “One Member, One Vote” Constitutional Package

History:

The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) has historically recognized the under-representation of young people in the political process, which manifests itself in the establishment of the Young Liberals of Canada (YLC) Commission. The Young Liberals are the heart of the Party; its strength, its energy, and its manpower. Approximately, one third, or 33% of all delegate spots are reserved for youth delegates under the current leadership system of LPC.

Problem:

At the upcoming 2009 Leadership and Biennial Convention in Vancouver, there is a constitutional amendment being presented by the National Executive of the Liberal Party to reform the leadership selection method. The proposed change is a one member one vote (OMOV) system. Under the new system, each riding would be allocated 100 points which would be distributed by percentage of the vote per leadership candidate (i.e. if Candidate X gets 50% of the votes in a riding, he will be allocated 50 points). As the amendment currently stands, there is no provision to account for the under-representation of youth in the Party. This proposal is problematic for both the Young Liberals organization and the Liberal Party as a whole.

While some may argue that this defeats the whole purpose of OMOV, we argue that OMOV defeats the purpose of having YLC to preserve and protect the youth voice in LPC—a voice that continues to be heard, respected, and fights for what matters most to young, progressive Liberals. We owe this to all Young Liberals of the past, present, and future. Young Liberals of yesterday and today have worked and fought hard for our commission and the presence we have in LPC and we owe nothing less to those of tomorrow so that they may have a home in the Party, just as we have had for years and years.

Solution:

The YLC is proposing an amendment to the amendment to allot a minimum of 25 points to youth voters in each federal riding in order to maintain our representation in LPC. This amendment would translate to having separate youth ballot boxes at a leadership vote in every riding, and the votes would be tallied separately and given a minimum of 25/100 points in that riding. However, if the percentage of youth exceeds 25%, the larger number will be counted.

Proposed LPC amendment:

(a) Delete section 56 and replace it with the following:

(1) The Leadership Vote is a direct vote of all members of the Party who have a right to vote on the Leadership Vote weighted equally for each electoral district in Canada and counted in accordance with this Section.

(2) Every member of the Party who ordinarily lives in Canada has the right to vote on the Leadership Vote, if that member has –

(a) been a member of the Party for the 41 days immediately preceding the day of the Leadership Vote;

(b) paid the registration fee (if any) for the Leadership Vote established by the National Executive;

(3) At least 27 days before the day of the Leadership Vote, the National Executive must publish on the public website of the Party the registration procedures for the Leadership Vote.

(4) Each member of the Party who has a right to vote on the Leadership Vote may vote by a preferential ballot on which the voter indicates their preference for leadership contestants. A ballot is not spoiled because the voter has not indicated a preference for all leadership contestants.

(5) The ballots must be counted, under the direction of the Chief Electoral Officer appointed under Subsection 56(6), in accordance with the following procedure (that is illustrated in Appendix B):

(a) Each electoral district is allocated 100 points.

(b) On the first count:

(i) for each electoral district, the first preference votes recorded in favour of leadership contestants on the ballots cast by the members of the Party who live in that electoral district are counted and then the 100 points allocated to the electoral district are allocated to each leadership contestant on the basis of the ratio the number of the first preference votes received by that leadership contestant bears to the total number of votes counted;

(ii) the total number of points allocated to each leadership contestant from all electoral districts in Canada are added to produce a total for the “national count”.

(c) On the second count, the leadership contestant who received the least points on the first national count is eliminated and that leadership contestant’s first count ballots are distributed in each electoral district among the remaining leadership contestants according to the second preferences indicated and counted according to the procedure set out in Subparagraph 56(a)(i) as if they were first preference votes.

(d) On each subsequent count, the leadership contestant who received the least votes in the preceding count is eliminated, and that leadership contestant’s ballots are distributed among the remaining leadership contestants according to the next preferences indicated.

(e) The first leadership contestant to receive more than 50% of the points allocated on any national count is selected as the Leader.

(6) The Leadership Vote Committee and the National Executive must jointly appoint a Chief Electoral Officer who will be responsible to make all arrangements necessary for the conduct of the balloting on the Leadership Vote and adjudicate all disputes over accreditation and the right to vote on the Leadership Vote.

(7) The Chief Electoral Officer appointed under Subsection 56(6) must act independently of the National Executive and each of the leadership contestants.

Proposed YLC amendment to the LPC amendment

Under section 56(5)(a) of the proposed LPC amendment, add the following:

(i) No less than 25 of the 100 points shall be allocated to members aged 25 or less.

Motion – YLC National Executive Meeting, April 3^rd, 2009.

Be it resolved that the YLC National executive adopt the proposed amendment as outlined above to be presented to the Constitutional Plenary at the 2009 Leadership and Biennial Convention of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Moved by: Scott Pickup, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Representative

Seconded by: Samuel Lavoie, VP Policy

Sam Lavoie - Young Liberal leadership

2009-04-03T01:14:00.001-07:00

www.SamLavoie.ca

Ujjal Dosanjh - Tackling Gang Violence

2009-03-19T17:08:00.001-07:00

Coming together for Y.oung L.iberal C.hange | Tous ensemble pour le Changement chez les Jeunes Libéraux

2009-03-10T00:06:00.003-07:00

In the last few months, our campaign has been blessed with a lot of support from BC to Newfoundland, in all provinces and territories. I want to thank everyone for their faith in me and their help at this critical time in our party's history.

What has brought together so many Young Liberals from different backgrounds and different regions is the fact that we are truly like-minded. We are like-minded in our passion for our country, like-minded in our unwavering commitment to this party and like-minded in our belief that the Young Liberals of Canada can and must spearhead the change that will bring about the new Liberal era. My supporters and I hope you will join us on this exciting journey towards Young Liberal Change.

-Sam Lavoie, Candidate for President of the Young Liberals of Canada

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Au cours des derniers mois, notre campagne a eu la chance de recueillir plusieurs appuis importants, de la Colombie-Britannique jusqu’à Terre-Neuve en passant par toutes les autres provinces et territoires. Ce -qui a uni autant de Jeunes Libéraux provenant de diverses régions et cultures, c’est définitivement ce que nous partageons ensemble. Nous partageons cette immense fierté à l’égard de notre pays. Nous partageons cet engagement complet auprès de notre parti. Nous partageons surtout cette conviction inébranlable, à savoir que les Jeunes Libéraux de Canada peuvent (et doivent) être les chefs de file dans la mise en place des changements qui lanceront la nouvelle ère libérale. Mon équipe et moi espérons que vous allez nous rejoindre dans cette excitante aventure nous menant enfin vers le changement pour les Jeunes Libéraux.

-Sam Lavoie, Candidat à la Présidence des Jeunes Libéraux du Canada

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SUPPORTING SAM LAVOIE FOR YLC PRESIDENT:
APPUIS À SAM LAVOIE POUR LA PRÉSIDENCE DES JLC:

Braeden Caley
President, Young Liberals of Canada in BC
Vice President (Communications), Young Liberals of Canada
Candidate for YLC VP (Communications)

Elyse Banham
Vice President (Organization), Young Liberals of Canada
Candidate for YLC VP (Organization)

Andrew Block
National Youth Campaign Chair, Michael Ignatieff Leadership Campaign
Candidate for YLC VP (Finance)

Timothy Smith
Founder and Past President, MacEwan Young Liberals
Candidate for YLC VP (Policy)

Richard Diamond
Past President, Young Liberals of Canada

Kyle Olsen
President, Alberta Young Liberals

Zach Jeffries
President, Saskatchewan Young Liberal Organization

Clinton Unka,
President, Western Arctic (Nunavut) Young Liberals

Nathan Barnes
President, Newfoundland and Labrador Young Liberals

Keith White
Past President, Newfoundland and Labrador Young Liberals

Timothy Cullen
President, Prince Edward Island Young Liberals

Conal Slobodin
President, Yukon Young Liberals

Jessie Chahal
Vice President (External), Young Liberals of Canada

Scott Pickup
Past National Director of the Young Liberals of Canada
Constitution and Legal Affairs Representative, Young Liberals of Canada

Victoria Jones
Women's Commission Representative, Young Liberals of Canada

Auvniet Tehara
Multiculturalism Representative, Young Liberals of Canada

Melissa Cotton
Policy Representative, Young Liberals of Canada

Louis-Phillippe Champagne
Vice-président Organisation, Jeunes Libéraux du Canada (Québec)

Leon H. Moubayed
Vice-présidente jeunes comté de Saint-Lambert

Jacquie Alderton
Executive Vice President, Ontario Young Liberals

Josh Hutchinson
Vice President (Membership), Young Liberals of Canada in BC
President, University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Milton Chan
Past Vice President (Policy), Young Liberals of Canada
Former National Youth Co-Chair, Michael Ignatieff Leadership Campaign

Robyn Cassidy
Former Executive Vice President, Ontario Young Liberals

Magda Drobnicki
Past Student Director, Ontario Young Liberals

Kyle Schembri
Vice President (Communications), Young Liberals of Canada in BC

Monika Drobnicki
President, University of Western Ontario Young Liberals

Alex Crombie
Vice President (Federal), Ontario Young Liberals

Mark Ungar
Communications Director, Ontario Young Liberals

David Valentin
Student Director, Ontario Young Liberals

Jonny Wypych
Southwest Region Coordinator, Ontario Young Liberals

Sam Smitiuch
Recruitment Director, Ontario Young Liberals

Christina Cindric
Toronto Region Coordinator, Ontario Young Liberals

Wesley Cohen
President, York Centre Young Liberals

Marilla McCargar
Former Student Director, Ontario Young Liberals

Taleen Balian
Central Region Coordinator, Ontario Young Liberals

Mike Frisinia
South Central Region Coordinator, Ontario Young Liberals

Danielle Takacs
VP Young Women - Ontario Women's Liberal Commission

Inder Sapal
Vice President (Organization), Alberta Young Liberals

Sean Sutherland
Vice President (Membership), Alberta Young Liberals

Oz Jungic
President, SFU Young Liberals of Canada
Past Provinicial Youth Director, Young Liberals of Canada in BC

Mycroft Schwartz
Past President, University of Victoria Young Liberals of Canada
Former Executive Vice President, Young Liberals of Canada in BC

Gia Samangio
President, Guelph University Young Liberals

Pia Marin
Riding Director, Ontario Young Liberals

Mandy Van Waes
Past Southwest Region Coordinator, Ontario Young Liberals

Kyle Mitchell
Youth Campaign Coordinator, Guelph Ontario

Mark Shouldice
Leading Young Liberal, Guelph Ontario

Eric Pegolo
Leading Young Liberal, Guelph Ontario

Iggy Rodriguez
Executive Vice President, University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Bryce Dudley
Communications Chair, Alberta Young Liberals

Adrian Le
President-elect, University of Calgary Young Liberals

Jamie Lall
President, University of Calgary Young Liberals

Salem Al-Amad
Vice President, MacEwan Young Liberals

Abed Harb
Secretary, Liberal Party of Canada in Alberta

Jessica Talbot
Vice-présidente jeunes comté de Mégantic-L'Érable

Delia Greco
Former Vice President (Provincial), Ontario Young Liberals

Firaz Khan
President, Calgary East Liberal Association (Age 23!)

Jeremiah Kopp
Director of Finance, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

James Houston
Vice President, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Bronwyn Lawton
President, Manitoba Young Liberals (Provincial)

Erik Nosaluk
Director of Communications, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Graham Podolecki
Director of Internal Affairs, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Larisa Opar
Director of Membership, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Nicole Timko
Provincial Liaison, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Dilpreet Bhattal
Director of Policy, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Jonathon Theissen
Director of Rural Affairs, Young Liberals of Canada in Manitoba

Chris Snow
Vice President, Newfoundland and Labrador Young Liberals

Jamie Steeves
Treasurer, Newfoundland and Labrador Young Liberals

Matthew Moulton
President, Memorial University Young Liberals

Nic Reid
Past President, Memorial University Young Liberals

Sasa Pudar
Vice-President (Communications), University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Nav Dhillon
Vice-President (Finance), University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Jay Shah
Secretary, Young Liberals of Canada in British Columbia
Vice-President (Membership), University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Greg Moy
Vice-President (Policy), University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Bill Wu
Vice-President (Organization), University of British Columbia Young Liberals

Clayton Bell
Vice-President (External), University of British Columbia Young Liberals

AND MANY MORE!!!
ET BEAUCOUP PLUS!!!

JOIN US!
JOIGNEZ-VOUS À NOUS!

Not a citizen, but prouder than ever to call myself a friend

2009-01-19T21:15:00.003-08:00

For me, a remarkable string of campaign trips started because of a casual conversation - a conversation between good friends about how a certain aspiring American leader was offering and in many ways exemplifying so much of what we sought from our own politics. I never thought I'd meet that man, talk to him, and certainly not travel tens of thousands of miles to campaign for him, repeatedly(!) - but in 2008, I did - and the experiences I had along the way, and the cherished memories I hold from them, will stay with me forever.

Years before he would eventually become President of the United States, Barack Obama began to fascinate us. He inspired many in 2004, with his call for an end to the steep divisions that have - for far, far too long - defined politics not only in the United States, but throughout much of the world. He demanded unity, and he demanded better from his fellow citizens and leaders.

As a candidate for President, his demands began to resonate more strongly with my friends and I. His story was so compelling, his promise so exciting, and his courage so necessary for a troubled and violent world that we quite simply decided we had to be a part of ensuring Barack Obama and his ideals could win.

In a spur of the moment decision, we packed three carloads full of enthusiastic Canadians and campaigned for the final push in the Washington Caucuses, way back in February of 2008. We phoned relentlessly, that first night. We made posters, we folded pamphlets, prepared walk packs, set up caucus station leaders' packs and had an absolute blast. We were in Snohomish County, on the edge of Everett. I thought, going down to work on this brief campaign, that it would be a first and last quick foray into the inner machinations of a one-of-a-kind Presidential campaign, but what we discovered when we won that on Saturday Caucus in February - the day Barack won his first state after 'Super Tuesday,' - was that this was not so much a campaign as a movement. Excited, inspired, and motivated by how easy it could be to help bring about such important change, we then became some of that's movement's most active footsoldiers.

I campaigned in Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia. We took some big groups and some small ones - all inspired young Canadians (with the exception of Kaila Ann from Snohomish!!!) from across the full spectrum of Canadian political affiliations - and some who had never been involved in any sort of politics ever before.

Texas was bittersweet: The Obama campaign had found itself again after a string of small victories. It had field offices speckled everywhere throughout key counties, and the magic that I had heard so many stories about from the small state openers of Iowa and New Hampshire had transplanted itself into the State where "everything is bigger." We had loads of fun campaigning over vast rural territory. I was chased on numerous occasions by dogs of all sizes while on our targeted walk routes, and even once got ran out of a farmyard by a young goat! Must have been a Republican goat...

It was in Texas that I first met Barack Obama, in Carrollton, and took the brief moments in which I held his laser-like eye contact to encourage him to remain firm in his opposition to the War in Iraq. In Texas I also met Dean Fluker, the Obama staffer-extraordinaire from Iowa who until that point I had only worked with over the phone. He led us in many of the states we went to, and no one went to greater lengths to empower, include, and involve us in this historic campaign. He always inspired the greatest possible level of drive, effort, and commitment. But for all that was special about it and the people we met there, Texas was a challenge.

Every state was a challenge, but some more than others. When it comes to voting problems, everything was indeed, again, "bigger in Texas!" The now-mythic Obama machine was not yet so mighty everywhere, and around Mansfield for instance, our voters were easily pushed around and their votes suppressed by those with vested interests in their voices not being heard. The caucuses that Glyn and I were responsible for, in largely rural Mansfield, Texas, were planned to start at 7:15pm that critical Tuesday night, but they were delayed until past midnight, an occurrence that repeated itself throughout that whole county, where our other volunteers were stationed. Thousands of voters in those predominantly African-American communities were turned away that night, or forced to return home to care for their young families before having the chance to caucus. Not all inspiration is arrived at through positive experiences, and many of us were even more motivated to realize Barack's vision and goals by this negative twist than we had been ever before - and so onward we went.

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Pennsylvania for some of us was a chance to work and lead within the famed Obama youth movement. I was assigned to campaign at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy-League institution in the heart of Philadelphia, the cradle of American Independence and the place where Barack had freshly given his historic speech on race. It was here that I think I might have learned the most - about how to campaign effectively on a campus, and how to use every tool imaginable to engage and connect politically with fellow youth on our own terms and in our own ways.

There were a number of people there, at UPenn, who exemplified how well Americans in all of these different states welcomed us bright-eyed eager Canadians into their everyday lives for this critical campaign. Troy Stevenson got us all set up; Cori Allen, Harrison Kreisberg, Cameron Monagle, and Jordan Harp showed us the ropes of how things worked in the Philly office; Ash Bhumbla got us oriented on a campus he loved; and Michael Feliu, Nathan Miller, and Michael Stratton campus-campaigned the hell out of us in that final weekend!

I'll never forget the angry mob of seniors we had to contend with at the CNN Rick Sanchez event, all the energy drinks I consumed dorm-knocking in the "Quad," or, for example, when we met at midnight for a flyer-drop blitz (a task later repeated on a much smaller scale in Virginia)! The crew at UPenn demonstrated how keeping a campaign fun, edgy, well-organized and creative can pay dividends even against great adversity: Barack won at UPenn with more than 70% of the vote despite a rally with Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton held on campus the night before Primary day - mere hours before voting began.

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North Carolina was a return to familiar campaign faces and a hybrid of both campus-campaigning (at UNCC) and the neighbourhood-to-neighbour

hood get-out-the-vote drives that our particular group of Canadians (and Kaila Ann!) were getting so especially good at. On our first night in Charlotte, we went dorm-knocking with Kal Penn, who lent his speaking talents, unique history of involvement, and celebrity buzz from the very recent release of 'Harold and Kumar 2' to a night of probably rare political excitement and engagement in those UNCC dorms.

After that exciting start, it was mostly a matter of doing campus campaigning early in the morning, then heading out into key neighbourhoods in the afternoon and most of the evening, and finally back to the office long into the wee hours as we prepared our activities for the next day and helped other districts' teams do the same.

Glyn and Robin had arrived there when I was still in Pennsylvania, and had got us set up with campaign vans to use. And boy did we ever use them, culminating in a 14 hour marathon Primary Day on May 6th in which we must have criss-crossed the country 3 or 4 times!

To kick off the morning though, we had facility managers at UNCC steal all of our election day materials and "chum" (Obama memorabilia used to keep voters from leaving their lines) and run off in a golf cart as the sun rose over the leafy southern campus. It was quite the scene, to put it nicely! We gave chase for about 20 minutes snaking in and around the brick buildings before finally losing track of them, but the police were able to track down both the offending facility staff and our materials only about ten minutes after that. Another bizarre story from a campaign full of unexpected twists and turns.

In North Carolina, finally, Barack Obama won again - and did so rather impressively. It was a turning point - a milestone at which point Obama went from being a shaky, challenged frontrunner for the nomination to a clear leader in the race. Everyone knew it would be hard to stop him then, but our little crew wasn't going to take any chances!

Robin was on to Kentucky, and I was on to Oregon with a crew second in size only to our first foray into nearby Washington. Oregon was a whole different style - ten hour days instead of twenty, a decent enough amount of time to explore Portland, and a record-setting 70,000 person rally around which so many of the week's activities were focused. Oregon had a mail-in ballot, so instead of just one election day, every day counted, but the intensity was taken down a notch. Interestingly, we were even allowed to collect citizens' mail-in ballots on behalf of the campaign who would then deposit them - a procedure that allowed us to pretend to cast a few ballots of our own back at the central Obama Campaign Office's collection station. And Hannah in Portland was another tremendously awesome Field Organizer to work with!

The change of pace in Oregon was a welcome one. We had a chance to talk a lot more with citizens throughout Portland, learn more about what was driving their voting decisions, and hear more of their stories, histories, ideas, and ideals. We also had the chance to meet Barack (again, in my case!), acting on a last minute tip from one of his staff of when to be at his hotel one morning, the Portland Benson.

Like North Carolina, Oregon was a clear and decisive win for Barack, and then the nomination was all but his - On June 3rd, less than two weeks later, Barack Obama was indeed the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

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The end of the primaries meant a four month hiatus from the Obama campaign. Within that time period, an entire Canadian general election campaign started and concluded, and not with the result that progressive Canadians had been hoping for.

It was refreshing therefore to get back in the Obama campaign's saddle shortly after Canadian election day. First on Glyn's advice and then after seeing how truly close the polls were in this definitive battleground state, we chose Virginia to campaign in for the final week of the General election campaign.

The state had not gone "Democratic blue" since 1968 - so the effort was certainly a long shot - but Barack's movement and its unprecedented engagement of new and youthful volunteers was redrawing the American electoral map. However, John McCain and the Republicans had their old Bush coalition and a number of skeptical independents to rely on, and only a few points separated Obama and McCain for the vast majority of the campaign's final thirty days.

Virginia, in the end, was one of just a handful of states that would decide the election, and we wanted to do everything we could to help Virginia decide in favour of Barack.

For Virginia we had a 6-person crew that packed into a 5-person Dodge SUV crossover throughout the hotly contested battleground of west Fairfax Country. It was Glyn Lewis, Katie Skinner, Wei Li, Oz Jungic, Ben Lee and myself - working out of Oakton and Centreville, towns largely consisting of Republican holdouts in an area of Virginia that was otherwise trending Democratic for the first time in decades.

Located just half an hour and across the Potomac River from the White House and the Lincoln Memorial (which we visited twice), this battleground campaign was set amongst geography, landmarks and history which once again demonstrated to us the enormity of what Barack Obama was seeking to achieve, and how far this nation had come. We had only a few days to do whatever more we could to turn his campaign into a Presidency, and in Virginia's case, this meant doors, doors, and more doors!

It was a particularly interesting place. There was a higher level of ethnic diversity here (not overwhelmingly African-American or overwhelmingly Caucasian, as had been the case in different parts of previous states), and more voters seemed to remain undecided very close to election day. But as in every other state, the engagement of citizens was astoundingly high, and many voters had hearts and minds open to persuasion in what were increasingly tough times for themselves and their families. The generational divide seemed more pronounced, as well. It was common to have voters on our lists who were our age, and supporting Barack Obama, but whose parents would not let us remind them to vote because they were supporting John McCain!

I will never, ever forget speaking to a young Asian American family in a cul-de-sac south of Centreville. I spent about five minutes having a discussion with the father, who had always voted Republican and was until then planning to do so once again. The whole time we were speaking, his son stood leaning against his leg listening attentively but silently - he could not have been more than five or six years old. As soon as I had said goodbye and began to walk away, the son stomped his foot firmly and said "DAD! How could you NOT vote for Barack Obama!?!?"

There were tons of inspiring moments from our few days on Virginia's doorsteps, but we also had the opportunity to take a break for one of the campaign's most historically-important events. As if after all this traveling the candidate himself had somehow decided to catch up with us, Barack Obama chose to hold his final rally of the historic election campaign in Manassas Virginia, just about a 15 minute drive south of some of the precincts we were working in. There we joined almost 100,000 fellow Obama supporters for his final address of the campaign, and got 'fired up and ready to go' for the election day that would come just hours later - for us, with a midnight flier drop that would keep us occupied until nearly 4:00am.

Then at 7:00pm on Tuesday, after another crazy day of getting out the vote - my sixth Obama election day - there was nothing left we could do. It was all in CNN's hands now, I joked at the time. As we drove to Alexandria to watch the results with some of the volunteers and organizers we had worked with, we (I) once again got ourselves lost driving in the heavy rain, and so we stopped at a roadside Chili's restaurant to watch the returns together. We anxiously made each other shut off our phones so we would all get the news together and all at once.

Virginia was tight, and at first Barack was behind rather badly, but then the results from Fairfax County - our home for that last ditch effort - began to roll in strongly. With just 45 seconds to go before Barack Obama was declared the President Elect of the United States of America, he was declared the winner of the race in battleground Virginia. We hugged, we cried, we phoned our families, and then we... raced back to the car to get to Alexandria in time for Barack's victory speech!

Once that was also concluded, it was off to the spontaneous festivities outside the White House and in the streets of Washington DC. An unbelievable end to a remarkable adventure, and an enormously new beginning at hand. The streets of DC that night were alive with cheers of "hope" and "change," and our decked-out Obama rental car ended the night by leading a crowd of two hundred revelers down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol Building, with people on the hood, the trunk, and hanging out the windows as horns sounded relentlessly throughout the city in celebration.

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The next day, our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial. We were all so incredibly exhausted, but it is hard to find the words necessary to express just how uplifting and inspiring it was to stand where Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream speech," and to stand there the morning after the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

So much of the dream had then been realized, and it had been accomplished by volunteers and organizers willing to sacrifice their time and energy to bring about a new era of hope, equality, and meaningful change. Many said it, but in that spot, at that time, we *felt* it: "Yes, We Did!"

And what a journey it was. As we set about trying to elect Barack Obama as President, Americans of all ages and backgrounds opened up their hearts, their homes, and their doors to us, and in doing so showed us the true meaning of what it means to be good neighbours.

Thank you - We won't ever forget it.

After a year spent living through some of his campaign's greatest trials and triumphs, I will be ecstatic and thrilled to see Barack Obama inaugurated today as the 44th President of the United States.

I may not be a citizen, but now I am prouder than ever to call myself a friend.

BIG SCREEN, BIG CHANGE! Obama's Inauguration Watch Party, at the Rio Theatre via satellite!

2009-01-18T04:10:00.003-08:00

BIG SCREEN, BIG CHANGE!

Join *Canadians for Obama* and *Democrats Abroad* for:

OBAMA'S INAUGURATION ON THE BIG SCREEN!
At Vancouver's **Rio Theatre**, at Broadway & Commercial
1660 Broadway East, right at Skytrain!
Free of charge!

Tuesday January 20th, Inauguration Day
***Doors open at 7:30AM, main Inaugural event programming begins via satellite at 8:00AM***Concessions will be open

You do NOT want to miss this - a day of history being made: new beginnings, new hope, a new US President - Barack Obama.

Join your fellow Obama fans Tuesday morning to witness it all, free of charge, at Vancouver's famous Rio Theatre!

Bring your best Obama gear, shirts, signs, home-made posters, and enthusiasm!

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, SEE YOU THERE!

For more information, contact:

Braeden Caley
Co-Founder, Canadians for Obama
604.809.9951 - braeden.caley@gmail.com

Support Bob Rae on Facebook!

2008-12-07T14:40:00.002-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-Rae/8034824801

NO

2008-12-03T15:58:00.001-08:00

Last month, Americans told their leaders "Yes We Can." In Canada, our own imperative first step is that we give to our government a clear, resounding "NO!"

The Coalition: "Cooler than the Power Rangers"

2008-12-03T05:40:00.002-08:00

lol

Online Fundraiser and Rally! Donate $10, Respond to Harper's Financing Cuts!

2008-11-27T01:46:00.002-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49564823024

Visit this facebook link to participate in an online fundraiser, a grassroots Liberal response to Harper's cuts to parties' public financing. Donate $10 to the Liberal Party of Canada today!

Rae the most electable, especially in Ontario

2008-11-22T22:46:00.005-08:00

RAE POLLED CONSISTENTLY HIGHER AMONGST THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ESPECIALLY IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

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Polls may not mean a lot at the beginning of leadership races, when name-recognition and pundit picks reign supreme, but in their advanced stages - past the membership cutoffs, and near or after the Delegate Selection Meetings, it's fair to say that polls begin to show a clear picture of what the public wants.

If the last leadership race, which was certainly also portrayed in the media as a horserace between Mr. Rae and Ignatieff, is any indication, this clear picture of just 2 years ago was of a public that consistently expressed higher support for Bob Rae.

The Conservatives too must have had strong evidence of reason to fear Bob. They gushed in detail about how *they* had successfully pushed him out of the Liberal race, and Garth Turner (who was in the Conservative caucus at the time) recalled that Bob was far and away the candidate who Stephen Harper feared most.

Check out the below quotes and clippings, all from unique/different polls and stories:

BOB RAE: THE MOST ELECTABLE

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"26 per cent of respondents said they would vote Liberal or consider voting Liberal if Rae were at the party's helm, compared with 23 per cent for former cabinet minister Stephane Dion and 21 per cent for Ignatieff."
"In Ontario, Rae has an even wider lead over the perceived front-runner, with 11 per cent more voters saying they would vote Liberal or consider voting Liberal if he were leader than if Ignatieff won."

-GLOBE AND MAIL - 7 Sept. 2006 - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060907.wLeadership0907/BNStory/Front

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"Among Canadians, Bob Rae is the preferred choice over Michael Ignatieff to win the Liberal leadership race..."

"The 1,211 Canadians polled between Oct. 10-12 gave Rae 26 per cent of the public vote while Ignatieff received 21 per cent. Former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy and Quebec MP Stephane Dion both received 12 per cent of the vote..."

""Bob Rae, despite a lot of difficulty and baggage that he carries having been premier in Ontario, is connecting to ordinary Canadians better than Michael Ignatieff," Antonia Maioni, director of McGill's Institute for the Study of Canada, told CTV Newsnet."

-CTV NEWS - 14 Oct. 2006 -
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061014/b_rae_061014/20061014?hub=Politics

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"As the nine-month Liberal leadership marathon entered its final days, a new poll suggested the party would fare best in an election with Bob Rae at the helm..."

"He appeared to have pull even among Ontarians, who've apparently forgotten or forgiven his rocky tenure as NDP premier..."

"Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said they would vote Liberal or consider doing so if Rae was the leader, compared with 34 per cent for Stephane Dion, 33 per cent for front-runner Michael Ignatieff and 31 per cent for Gerard Kennedy..."

"Among Ontario respondents, 46 per cent said they would or would consider voting Liberal with Rae as leader, compared to 45 per cent for Kennedy, 40 per cent for Dion and 38 per cent for Ignatieff..."

"Among respondents who voted Liberal last time, Rae was preferred over Harper by a margin of 54 per cent to 29 per cent. But an Ignatieff-Harper match was a toss up: 39 per cent of Liberals preferred Ignatieff, 38 per cent preferred Harper."

-CTV NEWS - 17 Nov. 2006 -
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061117/liberal_poll_061117/20061117?hub%3DCanada

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"A new national poll suggests Canadians of every federalist party persuasion believe that Bob Rae is a more electable option as Liberal leader than top rival Michael Ignatieff..."

"The Nov. 24-26 Decima Research survey found that Rae's perceived winnability topped Ignatieff's by a significant margin in every region of the country except Quebec..."

"In a final-ballot showdown between front-runner Ignatieff and Rae, they were asked who they felt had the best chance to win for the Liberals in the next election. Under this scenario, 37 per cent chose Rae and 25 per cent picked Ignatieff..."

"Decima CEO Bruce Anderson says the poll suggests Rae's winnability factor is perceived to be higher among all age groups, men and women, urban and rural voters, and everywhere but Quebec..."

-CTV NEWS - 30 Nov. 2006 -
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061130/rae_electable_061130/20061130/

*****************************************

AND THE CONSERVATIVES DID EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO TRY TO STOP BOB RAE FROM BEING HARPER'S OPPONENT:

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"During my time with the Harper Party, it was an open secret that PMSH (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) was most fearful of a Rae victory, which is why Conservative operatives like MP James Moore engaged in anti-Bob dirty tricks at the Liberals' leadership convention in Montreal. Rae was considered the potential Bill Clinton of the Canadian political scene, able to be everything Mr. Harper cannot be, namely human. Mr. Harper, himself, was hoping for an Ignatieff win."

- GARTH TURNER'S BLOG, 23 July 2007, http://www.garth.ca/weblog/2007/07/23/bob/

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A gaggle of beaming Conservative operatives waited mere minutes after Bob Rae was knocked out of the Liberal leadership race before boasting about the role they played in the former Ontario premier's defeat.
Just seconds after Rae was knocked out, a prominent Tory MP wandering the convention floor pulled out a handful of buttons mocking Rae and winked mischievously.

"There's a reason we handed out so many of these,'' said B.C. MP James Moore, pointing to buttons that ridiculed Rae's track record as Ontario premier.

"They (Liberals) don't know how to play poker ... The NDP is also feeling happy right now.''

In recent months some leading Tories admitted privately that Rae was the Liberal candidate they feared the most.

Their admissions became public the instant Rae was eliminated from the race.

One Tory operative described how a handful of government supporters proliferated at Liberal parties throughout Montreal on Friday evening and handed out anti-Rae buttons...
...One Conservative aide took pride in pointing out that his party fabricated an internal party memo suggesting their troops were most afraid of Michael Ignatieff -- and most anxious to face Rae.

The ersatz memo was leaked to a pair of English- and French-language newspapers and ran under headlines that cast it as a behind-the-scenes peek at Tory strategy.

The name of Tory campaign chair Doug Finley, the supposed author of the memo, was stamped on the document as an afterthought.

The Tories then made arrangements to get the memo leaked through a third party to English and French newspapers, Tory sources said.

-CTV NEWS - 2 Dec. 2006 -
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061202/liberals_tories_061202/20061202/

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Bloggers chat with Bob Rae on innovative conference call

2008-11-20T11:12:00.003-08:00

Thanks to the more than 25 bloggers in total who joined Bob on an innovative conference call today!

Bob joined us for over half an hour from an airport payphone in Windsor to start the dialogue with Libloggers participating from all across Canada.

A whole variety of great questions were asked and answered, on important issues such as Party reform, Canada's auto industry, the Liberal position on climate change, how best to grow our party in rural areas and the West, and many more.

The conference call integrated your traditional run-of-the-mill conference call with the internet using 'calliflower,' new online software that allows participants to engage each other online as the call goes on, and to 'raise their hand' to join the active phone conversation with their questions.

This is just one part of the many new ways Bob's campaign will be your campaign too. It will be open, engaging, and innovative - and focused on always putting your views, and your vision, at the forefront of our national debate and dialogue.

It's high time that Liberal members are engaged regularly and meaningfully by our party's leadership, and on that front, Bob's committed and READY to roll.

Cheers and thanks to all of you who joined up,

-Braeden

WEB VIDEO: Bob Rae for Prime Minister

2008-11-13T01:07:00.001-08:00

Watched by nearly 1000 people in just 4 days! Keep getting the word out. Go Bob Go!

BOUNCE video - STOP STEPHEN HARPER!

2008-10-13T11:54:00.001-07:00

FEATURING BABA BRINKMAN!
Video Cut and Footage, John Poliquin
Backgrounds, Braeden Caley

SHARE! SHARE! SHARE!
Together, we can stop Steve.

VIDEO: "Nearly 800 Students" for Dion at UBC

2008-09-26T15:25:00.001-07:00

"NEARLY 800 STUDENTS" at UBC for DION!!!

2008-09-26T00:25:00.003-07:00

http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=4345

See the article below! I have never been prouder of the Young Liberals in BC!

"NEARLY 800 STUDENTS" at UBC for DION!!! My own crowd estimate was 780.

This was magical folks, spread the word! Pollsters can't reach these people! Meanwhile, I'm told the PM himself had only 400 people for a "major" rally in Surrey at the exact same time. Long story short, we owned him - but guess which one the conservative media spent more time covering!

The Press and the Pundits clearly love Harper, but I have a feeling the electorate will want to start seeing other people on October 14th, namely STEPHANE DION!!!!!

MIA TAGHIZADEH, JOSH HUTCHINSON, and ALL the volunteers (you folks rock): we pulled this out unimaginably well - it's an honour to campaign with you, and let's keep the momentum building!

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http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=4345

DION DESCENDS ON UBC

by Kalyeena Makortoff
News Staff

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

It was a Tuesday afternoon and students were gathered outside of Hebb Theater en masse. Music was playing. The megaphones were out. This may have been a campus spectacle typically ignored by passers by, but it was the 23rd, and Liberal leader Stephane Dion was soon to arrive.

The visit was scheduled as a town hall-style meeting: an opportu¬nity for students to question, or challenge the liberal leader and platform. And for over an hour, the nearly 800 students in Hebb Theatre did just that, question¬ing Dion on climate change, Af-ghanistan, education, and a host of other issues. No topic was off limits—something noted by Dion and the other Liberal speakers, who contrasted Dion’s open sessions with Stephen Harper’s heavily planned and scripted campaign events to date.

The Liberal leader and his entourage were met by a crowd mixed with Liberal partisans, and ambivalent undecided students. In an attempt to give a university twist to the event, between speakers Liberal shot¬glasses were handed out to students who answered Liberal-party trivia questions correctly.

Justice Critic Dominic LeBlanc, former BC Premier Ujjal Dosanjh, and Associate Finance Critic Martha Hall Findlay opened the event with the usual party attacks on Stephen Harper. But as has been increasingly the case this campaign, some of the hardest attacks by the Liberals were saved for Jack Layton and the NDP.

LeBlanc, in an attempt to cater to the university audience, repeatedly poked fun at the recent resignations of NDP candidates in BC, saying “their candidates have gone up in smoke” and that the candidates “have gone to pot.” The com¬ments were met by disapproval from the audience, and later, a student asked Dion if the jokes about marijuana were truly nec¬essary when the Liberals had, in her words, a strong platform.

In another attempt to discredit their political rivals, Findlay blamed Jack Layton for the loss of national childcare and the Kelowna Accord.

“Where the hell is Jack Layton’s credibility on this?” Findlay asked the crowd, and claimed that Stephen Harper’s government was a “house that Jack built.”

But then it was time to introduce the Liberal leader—a surprisingly difficult task, as when Findlay described Dion as “a man like Lester B. Pearson,” the audience erupted in laughter rather than applause.

Nonetheless, the Liberal leader’s entrance was greeted with a loud ovation from stu¬dents. Dion began a short stump speech with criticism of Harper’s recent anti-crime proposals, calling it the “most costly plan in this election…at 2.2 billion dollars,” and jokingly talked about Harper’s proposal to jailing petty offenders and minors.
“If you want to know the truth, Stephen Harper’s social housing policy is to build more jails,” he said.

This cursory speech left room for a relatively lengthy question period. And throughout the hour-long session, the recently released Liberal platform, en¬titled: “Richer, Fairer, Greener: Action Plan for the 21st Century” was given it’s fair share of the limelight.

Students who approached the microphone commented on the platform; most of them a fairly friendly group, who asked Dion to elaborate on his policies on a host of student-centred issues.

Vena Sharla, a 4th year po¬litical science/sociology student respected Dion’s acceptance of unplanned questions, “I was really impressed that he talked to students and answered all their questions…it’s really important to be accountable to people in Canada and he did that.”

Halfway through the talk, students were given a moment of levity as the infamous UBC alum Nardwuar, “the human serviette,” tried to ask Dion if he had ever been in a game show. Dion deflected Nardwuar’s ques¬tion by speaking about a book he co-wrote on bureacracies, but was furthered questioned if he would play the “hip-flip,” a game he has previously played with Paul Martin and Jack Layton. Dion’s refusal to participate was met with derision by the crowd, which began chanting “hip-flip” en masse. Unimpressed, Ujjal Dosanjh asked for the next speaker.

Policies on the war in Af¬ghanistan were not touched on until the second to last question. Dion responded to the query by explaining Harper’s planned 2011 pull-out from combat, and comparing it to the Prime Minister’s original open-ended committment to Afghanistan. According to Dion, the switch showed that Harper “told Canadians one thing and NATO another.” Unsatisfied audience members called out “why are we there,” and “Afghani blood” before the next speaker stepped to the microphone.

As the meeting died down, on the request of one student, the attendees in Hebb Theatre sang “O Canada,” giving a patriotic end to Dion’s visit.

Reactions to Dion’s town-hall meeting varied. Student Alex Bueller said, “I haven’t heard much about the Liberal party…they spent more time criticizing the other parties then defend¬ing their own platform,” but added that he had a more positive impression of Dion than he had coming in, a sentiment shared by many who attended the event.

“I think it was great that he came and took the time to come to campus,” said Tyson Grat¬ton, a 3rd year political science student. “I would’ve gone to all the leaders’ if they had come to campus. I would’ve liked to listen to them speak and listen to them answer questions. And I wish the other leaders would come down here and talk and answer questions.”

Others left the event unim¬pressed. Jeremy Wood, a 4th year history student said “I feel like with every question he changed the subject. He didn’t really address…the hard-hitting ques¬tions. He went in circles around everything…especially with the oil sands and taxing them is not nearly enough, especially this time.”

For BC Young Liberals Presi¬dent Braeden Cayley, who orga¬nized the event, the day, which ended with Dion and supporters mingling at Mahony & Sons, was an unqualified success.

“We had to turn 150 people away at the door…it was a great event.”

DROP THE WRIT! LET'S GO GRITS!

2008-09-06T22:35:00.003-07:00

Best of luck to all of you across the country ahead of this coming historic day.

Young Liberals in BC got an early start today by showing up in great numbers for West Vancouver candidate Ian Sutherland's nomination meeting, before heading to Burnaby Douglas candidate Bill Cunningham's Volunteer Kickoff.

Above is a photo of youth from the first event.

Have fun out there!

-Braeden

CHANGE FOR CANADA

2008-09-03T15:49:00.001-07:00

Here's a sign I drew up for my facebook profile, and which has been popularly shared around for others to post to their profile as well. Get it out there!

Happy electioneering,

-Braeden

The Day the Liberals got their Hope Back

2008-06-20T01:42:00.001-07:00

There was something tangibly different about politics in Canada yesterday.

People were actually talking about it in coffee shops, on the bus, and on the street corners.

The people I kept overhearing were abuzz because a politician did something very different, yesterday morning.

He announced a bold, ambitious, controversial policy to confront a major and urgent national challenge - the climate change crisis - despite being told by all the cynics and most of the pundits that doing so would be impossible, unpopular, or just too risky for his campaign.

He, Stéphane Dion, went and did it any way - challenging conventional wisdom and the polls to demand that not just the Government of Canada, but also the people of Canada, come together to fight climate change seriously and immediately.

This is not politics as usual. The same cynics, the same partisan opponents, and many of the same pundits will still say that Dion's tough "Green Shift" plan will cost him too dearly in political terms to ever allow him the chance to implement it.

Liberals everywhere yesterday began to realize just how wrong those cynics are. The Green Shift announcement was a clear example of the kind of Leader that Stéphane Dion truly is, and a clear demonstration of the kind of Prime Minister that he will become.

The greatest Liberal Prime Ministers are not revered, and did not win their elections, because they played it safe. They played for national dreams and common Canadian aspirations, and they played for the simple idea that Canada holds boundless potential for all of its remarkably diverse citizens when we are inspired enough to work together united and as one. Sometimes, if not most times, achieving those dreams, goals, and aspirations required the courage to take major risks in order to the right thing. The greatest Liberal Prime Ministers and governments have refused to accept that playing it safe is more important than fighting for what we believe in, and refused to back down when critics labeled "good policy" as "bad politics."

Even in recent decades, this pattern has been evident. Implementing he Charter of Rights and Freedoms was far from politically "safe." Eliminating the deficit was far from politically "safe." Signing the Kyoto Accord was far from politically "safe," and certainly instituting same-sex marriage was far from being politically "safe" as well. They all became reality despite the cynics' claims and critics' partisan jeers.

Sure, the Liberals built a tremendous political machine around all of these ideals over the years, a machine that sometimes detracted and distracted from the party's original and most defining principles, but yesterday Stéphane Dion showed he feels we can and must once again be true to them by taking risks for the change we want and need.

Liberals felt proud yesterday from coast to coast and for great reason. We watched a bold announcement from a leader who consulted thousands of us first, and began a process that will surely prove to all Canadians that he has the courage and resolve to be the next great Liberal Prime Minister.

I'm sure many Canadians shared my hope yesterday that the day he accepts that new office will come very soon, and I know that this renewed sense of determination and the hope that Liberals now feel will ensure he gets there.

Keep at 'em, Stéphane!

http://www.thegreenshift.ca/default_e.aspx

Raymond Chan on Reasonable Acommodation

2007-11-08T15:47:00.001-08:00

Raymond Chan - On diversity, integration, and improving Canadian multiculturalism.

- A short editorial broadcast on Vancouver's top-rated CKNW network at 12:05pm, October 22 2007.

Raymond Chan is the Member of Parliament for Richmond and former Minister of State for Multiculturalism.

What went wrong

2007-09-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

In my humble, distantly-removed opinion, there are a number of serious flaws with how the Quebec byelection campaigns were run. Some of these flaws are serious problems that remain with regards to our party as a whole, while others are specific to these Quebec campaigns.

FRAMING

The framing of these Quebec contests should have been an absolutely critical component of any Liberal strategy heading in to them, and instead framing as a strategic objective seems to have been either ignored or completely mishandled. How in the world did we allow these byelections to be a hyped-up mini-referendum on Stephane Dion's Leadership?

We have had over a year and a half of Conservative broken promises, deception, and reduced accountability. It would seem to me that in Outremont, where unelected Senator and Cabinet Minister Michael Fortier happens to live, we could easily have targeted Fortier as a living personification of those Conservative broken promises and Harper's blatant lack of trustworthiness. If framing a debate in Quebec around accountability was deemed to be risky in any respect, we easily could have focused strongly and clearly on either our strong climate change message or our principled and realistic Afghanistan position, or both. It seems that any clarity, focus, or framing at all would have been a substantial improvement.

While these byelections were clearly major theatres of action in the big-picture strategies of both the Conservatives and the NDP, it is not clear to me how we as Liberals had incorporated them in to our own.

ON THE GROUND ORGANIZATION

There have been numerous credible reports of a lacklustre, confused, and disorganized campaign structure at the riding level. Across the country and especially in Quebec, we are typically and historically known for an ability to muster up a "big red machine" of voter identification, persuasion, and delivery on (and certainly in the lead-up to) Election Day. The fact that the NDP, with barely a skeleton of a traditional voter and volunteer base, was able to out-do the LPC on the ground should be a major wake-up call to Liberals everywhere, including the OLO, LPC Office, and the various LPC Provincial-Territorial Associations. Nothing can be arrogantly presumed safe about our support base. Every vote must be respected, fought for, and earned, and our various party offices must be working hard to ensure ridings and commissions have all the tools they need to effectively set up those critical local-level teams and machines.

FEDERALISM POLICY

Liberals in Quebec seem so timid of late to offend nationalist sentiments amongst the province's political and media elite, never mind confront them. This opens up a dangerous void to be filled by our opponents, all of whom support strong and separate Quebec nationalism to varying degrees. Whether it be through asymmetrical federalism, the fiscal imbalance, the two nations doctrine, or limits on the federal government's spending power, these nationalists continue to put the squeeze on traditional Trudeau Liberal positions of fair and equal federalism based on individual rights, collective responsibility, national bilingualism and meaningful multiculturalism. We used to win big in Quebec when we confronted nationalist myths with real substantive alternatives based on a Liberal pan-Canadian ideal and perspective. We tend to lose with leaders and policies that concede that ground to our more nationalist opponents. In Quebec we should always aim to fight first on the same bread-and-butter issues that matter to Canadians from coast to coast to coast, but if our opponents want to talk about federalism, let's talk about the amazing twenty-first century Canada that our party and its leaders have built and how it's working so well for Quebec, instead of timidly showing voters a clouded mirror of our opponents' own ill-founded myths and objectives.

LIBERAL UNITY

Last but by no means least, the value of firm and meaningful party unity to our cause cannot be understated. Neither can the danger of irresponsibly or deliberately letting it slip away. Our party has had (and continues to struggle with) a seemingly widespread problem of competitive party cliques and petty factions. They sometimes match up with former leadership campaign teams, but not always. These cliques are, often to the extreme detriment of the party, the most persistent actors in our most damaging internal party conflicts. Loyalty in a political party should lie first with the ideals the party exists to promote, and then certainly and critically with the people you fight with to promote them. That order is important though, and the interests of the party as a whole should play large in the political decisions we make within it. Unless we set those priorities straight, squabbles over personality politics will continue to detract from time that could be spent defeating Conservatives, New Democrats, Bloquistes, and their ideas. A party plagued with internal mutual suspicion is not one that will find broad success any time soon.

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While the bit on Federalism policy pertains rather exclusively to Quebec, I think these categories serve to highlight a few areas where our party could work much harder and smarter in our quest to earn the trust of the Canadian people once again. Had they been more deeply considered in advance of these byelections, I think we would have had a much better chance of winning and performing more strongly across the board.

Liberal Outremont

2007-09-17T02:15:00.000-07:00

Best of luck to the Liberal Team in Outremont today. You've had your opponents' best efforts thrown at you daily for weeks and months now, but thankfully, across the country we know for certain that Quebec Liberals are some of our very best as well.

Paint it red!

"Civic Nation" Rejected

2007-09-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

This article is fascinating. Finally, a federalist backlash! It's good to see some federalist backbone amongst the membership of the PLQ, because as some of the members quoted in this article suggest, it seemed like the PLQ was on its way to becoming a timid and pale imitation of its opponents. It is refreshing and exciting to see that its membership might prevent that from happening. See the article below:

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from the Gazette/Canwest:

Quebec Liberals reject "civic nation" definition

Kevin Dougherty, Montreal Gazette

Sunday, September 16, 2007

MONTREAL - Delegates to a weekend meeting of the Quebec Liberal Party balked Saturday at a proposal to designate Quebec a "civic cohesive nation," saying it was divisive.

"We are a federalist party," said Yun Bun Korn, rejecting the approach.

"I don't see much on federalism," added Donald Cote, another delegate. "This could be a manifesto of the Parti Qubecois."

The proposal was presented by one of three Liberal Party task forces, which will tour the province in coming weeks to prepare for a full party convention next March.

It calls Quebec a "civil, open and confident" nation where French is the common language but anglophones, allophones and aboriginals would "participate in our society."

Newcomers to the province would have the duty to learn French, the document says.

Premier Jean Charest attended some of the sessions Saturday but did not speak.

As expected, there was no open questioning of Charest's leadership at the meeting, despite the fact that Liberals are trailing both the PQ and Action democratique du Quebec.

"There is no leadership crisis," party president Marc-Andre Blanchard said.

"He is very aggressive, he's inspired and he is inspiring."

The party's task force is also seeking to have Quebec work out bilateral arrangements with the federal government, restore the province's veto over constitutional changes, and change the constitution to give the province a say in the naming of Supreme Court of Canada judges and senators.

Delegate Gerard Deschenes said the proposed definition of the Quebec nation was "identical to that (former Parti Quebecois leader) Bernard Landry and (president of the Conseil de la souverainete) Gerald Larose."

Deschenes said the Liberals were entering the territory of the PQ and Mario Dumont's Action democratique du Quebec.

"There is nothing to be gained," he said suggesting the Liberals should focus instead on how Quebec can live within Canada's federal system.

"We are playing with fire," he warned.

Marc Tanguay, who chairs the task force, called the debate "lively" and said his intention was to have a debate on the ideas presented.

"We don't agree on everything," Tanguay said. "As a member of the Quebec Liberal Party I am proud."

A recurring theme was that Quebecers not born in the province don't feel quite at home in Quebec.

More than one delegate said they don't like being labelled as immigrants and some said they immigrated to Canada.

Victor-Manuel Hernandez said he has been living in Quebec for 12 years and is still called an immigrant.

"I am a Quebecer," he said, speaking in French.

Yasmine Alloul said she was born in Quebec. Her parents came from Morocco and she in a Muslim.

"What do we mean by a Quebec identity?" she asked. "Which of our values are different from the rest of Canada?"

---

Montreal Gazette

kdougherty@thegazette.canwest.com

Canada Day Message from Raymond Chan

2007-06-28T13:32:00.001-07:00

Check this out and subscribe to Raymond's new YouTube channel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/RaymondChanMP

http://www.facebook.com/person.php?id=2352922863