Touring Conservative hospitality suites
At least until the day when policy developed at conventions has any impact even remotely on campaign platforms, for many the most important part of most political convention is the…
Jeff Jedras
My day one video blog from Conservative Convention 2011
Here's my video blog from the first day on the 2011 Conservative convention, which I'm attending as a blogger. It includes cameos by Tony Clement and Jacques Demers, close-up shots…
Night One: #cpc11 live blog
6:30 pm: I have my blogger/media pass, I've navigated my way through the brand new Ottawa convention centre, I've paid $33.90 for WiFi (you're welcome, dear readers) and I'm settled…
I’ll be blogging from the Conservative convention in Ottawa
After starting the week in Las Vegas, during which time my Canucks forgot how to play hockey, I'm onboard a Via train at the moment on my way to Ottawa,…
Senate reform shouldn’t be a populist bandwagon of convenience
Following Stephen Harper’s appointment of several (more) failed Conservative candidates to the Senate, we’ve seen the usual outrage over the sheer contempt demonstrated by the moves. But for those who…
The Clarity Act and the NDP’s Sherbrooke Declaration are not the same thing
Much buzz on twitter and in politicaldom yesterday on the confusion around the NDP’s position on recognizing a sovereignty referendum vote by Quebecers. NDP policies on this issue have been…
Goldilocks and the Liberal constitutional amendments
The actual honest to goodness text of the much speculated Liberal constitutional amendments with respect to leadership timing were finally released to the membership last night via an e-mail from…
Constitutional amendments (Now with dates?)
(Scroll down for updated information)As mentioned, today was supposed to be the day Liberal members found out that constitutional amendments they'd be voting on as part of the extraordinary convention…
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,…
A curious start to Harper’s first majority government
I’m taking a brief break from Liberal navel-gazing to turn my attention to other affairs of state, namely yesterday’s cabinet shuffle and senate appointments by the “The Harper Government.”First, I…
On Alf, consultations and constitutional straitjackets
Tuesday evening I attended a pretty successful social event and informal renewal brainstorming session in Toronto with over 100 Liberal Party members ... and guess who came to dinner?The Edward…
I’m done with witch-hunts and fighting old battles
As an ardent and early supporter of Stephane Dion (still first in my heart) you could argue I should be sympathetic to this line of argument from journalist turned Liberal…
Ok, so what are we voting for exactly?
Liberal Party of Canada members received an e-mail from the national executive yesterday about the leadership timing/constitutional amendment drama that has absorbed the party and the membership since the election.…
Building liberalism beyond the Liberal Party
We’ve been necessarily focused on how to reform, restructure and renew the Liberal Party of Canada, as we should be, but to be successful at refreshing liberalism in Canada and…
A brief history of a long Liberal history of talking about reform
We've all been absorbed since the election with issues of Liberal Party reform, and over the last week I've made my own contributions to the debate:May 5, 2011: Renewing the…
Reforming the Liberal Party: Who are we, and why are we here?
In my Liberal reform posts so far I've focused on questions of leadership and questions of structure. These are important to building the party into an accountable and efficient vehicle,…
Members shouldn’t read about constitutional proposals in press leaks
While the decisions made by the Liberal national executive are often questionable, so often it's more the process than the decision that bothers me the most. That was quite evident…
Reforming the Liberal Party: At the top, part two
On Saturday, I described how a top-down mentality drives the Liberal Party, and why the party needs to be re-oriented to a structure devoted to putting riding associations first and…
Reforming the Liberal Party: At the top, part one
In my last reform post I touched on reforming the Liberal Party from a leadership perspective. Today, I'd like to touch on reforms from a party structure, procedure and philosophy…
Real change isn’t forced top-down
I'm working on a post in my ongoing Liberal Party reform series, and the theme today is how the mentality of the party is too top-down, instead of bottom-up. When…