A couple of years ago, I expressed my disgust with partisan politics and proposed a model that is intended to break the connection between party discipline, insularity, and policy platforms. One of the first things Danielle Smith has proposed in the wake of the UCP being shut out in Edmonton
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A BCer in Toronto: Liberal Party of Canada presidential candidate interview: Anna Gainey
From February 20-23, federal Liberals will gather in Montreal, and one of their tasks will be to elect a new national executive. Last week, I published interviews with some of the table officer candidates. This week, I finish with the candidates for party president. Two contested elections will be held for
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Liberal Party of Canada presidential candidate Interview: Brian Rice
*I’m on my BlackBerry and for technical reasons can’t currently edit more than the top few paragraphs of this post. But below, the former LPC(BC) president should be David Merner, not David Bertschi.From February 20-23, federal Liberals will gather in Montreal, and one of their tasks will be to elect
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Brian Rice: The right person for President of the Liberal Party of Canada
Brian Rice – Political reformer par excellence For many reasons, I believe that Liberals should elect Brian Rice as the next President of the Liberal Party. He is a mover and shaker, a man of ideas, an adept politician in his own right, and a very hard worker. One very
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: My problems with Chong’s Reform Act and my own preferences for reform
Having finally gotten around to reading Michael Chong’smuch-ballyhooed Reform Act, which is being pushed by the media pundit class with a fervor that would make most partisans blush, I feel that, while well-intentioned, what the act proposes is flawed and suffers from a narrowness of view that has trouble looking
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Thought’s On Chong’s Reform Bill
Michael Chong’s Bill C-559 is a relatively short piece of work, but it has taken me a bit of time to go through it and start to understand the implications of the changes being proposed, mostly because it contains a series of small changes to much larger acts – in
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Parliamentarians and the yoke of party discipline
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a screening of Whipped, a documentary on party discipline by former BC legislature reporter Sean Holman. You can now stream the doc on the CPAC web site, and it’s well worth a look. While it’s focused on Victoria and BC
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Both hope and fear drove Liberal delegates in Ottawa
Looking back on my three days in Ottawa for the 2012 Liberal Party of Canada biennial convention it’s impossible to craft one clear narrative – did delegates embrace bold change or put their faith in the status quo – because the evidence is highly contradictory. And that, I suppose, is
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Kyle Harrietha’s speech to Liberals about membership
As I speak Kyle Harrietha, who I’m proud to support for Liberal membership secretary this weekend, is speaking to the nearly 3000 delegates at the Liberal biennial convention about his vision for membership and for the Liberal Party. Here’s his speech, which so far I have to say he’s knocking out
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Kyle Harrietha’s eight-page plan for Liberal membership
Before Christmas, when I wrote about why I was supporting Kyle Harrietha for Liberal membership secretary I spoke about his dedication to the Liberal cause, working for the party on the ground in Atlantic Canada and in Toronto, helping to rebuild a Liberal riding association in Northern Alberta, and working
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: 36 proposed Liberal constitutional amendments dissected and explained
Happy New Year to all; I hope you enjoyed the holidays. EspeciallyChristmas. I won’t say I’m resolving toblog more this year but I will try, and I’m sure I definitely will be in thenext few weeks as we head into the 2012 Liberal Biennial convention in Ottawa,beginning January 12th. I’m
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Primaries and mustaches
As promised earlier, I’ve written about the Liberal executive’s open primary leadership election proposal. You’ve got to go over to Macleans.ca to read it though; I’ll be occasionally writing for them on Liberal renewal and perhaps other exciting topic…
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: We need to make a Liberal membership worth having
I’m working on a piece about the Liberal executive’s open primary proposal that will hopefully run Friday, but rather than make it even longer I’d like to tackle some of the other reform proposals released today here and make a wider point about …
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: What I’m looking for in a Liberal Party of Canada president
A key part of the Liberal Party of Canada’s reform process will be electing the next national executive at the biennial convention in January, and I’m glad to see we have four capable candidates seeking the position of president: Sheila Copps, Mike…
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Apparently the Liberals are dead. Who knew?
Like clockwork, there’s been another rash of obituaries written proclaiming the death of the Liberal Party of Canada. And what they lack in actual data points and evidence, they attempt to make up for in determination.I particularly liked this passage …
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: There can be no shortcuts for the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party of Canada’s summer caucus meetings begin today in Ottawa, and I’ve already heard some rumblings and musings from those quarters that give me pause, and cause for concern. When I read comments about how the passing of Jack Layton and t…
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Liberals, we must commit to using this time for rebuilding
Well over 2000 Liberals spent a few hours Saturday afternoon taking part in an extraordinary convention via teleconference to make a few decisions about the path forward for our party. It was just one step in the road to renewal, but an important one a…
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Liberals: Let’s not wait until 2013 to pick our leader
I’ve been informed that my sub-amendment on leadership timing has been accepted and will be debated during the Liberal extraordinary convention tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who pledged their support to help get it onto the agenda.I’ll have a chance to …
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Liberals: I need your help changing the leadership selection timeline
(UPDATED: See bottom of post)If you’re a Liberal who was acclaimed as a delegate to the upcoming extraordinary convention to change/set the timing for the next leadership race and you’re not satisfied with the choices on offer (voting No and picking a …
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Why the interim leader shouldn’t run for permanent leader
There has been much debate in Liberal circles about the insistence by the national executive that the interim leader of the party agree to not run for the permanent leadership, and even more debate with the announcement by Bob Rae yesterday that he wil…
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