What Have You Done For Democracy Lately?

Freedom of Thought, Belief, Opinion, and Expression

Within the Canadian Constitution, under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is a list of fundamental rights guaranteed to be protected by the Canadian Government. That government receives its mandate from the people during general elections and through the Constitution of our country. The Canadian model of Responsible Government demands that a government may continue to govern only with the combined authority of the people who popularly elect it and in accordance to the nation’s Constitutional laws.

In the 2011 General Election, widespread abuse of our electoral system occurred. Countless allegations have been levied and excuses passed around. We may never know exactly what happened, where it happened, or who knowingly carried out the abuse of our electoral system and the rights of the people within it. It remains clear that abuses were carried out and illegally revoked the fundamental Canadian right of ‘freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression’, guaranteed protected under our Constitution.

Electoral Fraud in Canada

This was not a scandal or the complaint of sore-losers. We must be clear in what we are discussing. Making ‘Robocalls’ (automated phone calls made en mass to voters) is obnoxious, but not illegal. Using those calls to misdirect voters and prevent them from casting their vote is not a ‘dirty trick’, it is blatantly illegal in this country. Whether successful or not in the attempt, it remains an illegal act. Our Constitution guarantees freedom of opinion as well as the expression of it, which includes and begins at the ballot box. Beyond legal ramifications, it is decidedly un-Canadian to disrespect another citizen so much that you not only believe their freedom of thought and opinion is not equal to yours, but you actively campaign to ensure the expression of it is not included in the final tally on Election Day.

Caught Red-Handed?

We still do not have proof of who the specific law-breakers are. Like with anything else, the prime suspects are those who had the most to gain by suppressing the vote of their opponents. It is only common sense to suspect the governing Conservatives after their final realization of a majority government. We cannot assume as of yet that it was for certain that party. Nor can we presume that if members of the Conservative party did in fact actively, willingly, and happily participate in electoral fraud, that they received orders to do so from the top.

There is no proof that I have seen so far to link Prime Minister Stephen Harper or his immediate advisors to this illegal activity. I have long argued, though unenthusiastically, that his is the rightful government of this country. In 2011, the Conservative Party received an electoral mandate which presented them with enough support in the House of Commons to govern. No other party can currently claim to command the support of the House. If the truth ever does come out about the 2011 election, that may no longer be the case. But in Canada you are in fact innocent until proven guilty. As murky as it may stand right now, the Conservative government has received a mandate from the people and commands the confidence of the House.

The Death of Responsible Government in Canada

That is, however, only half of the equation. What this government and its Prime Minister willfully forget is that with office comes responsibility to all Canadians and a mandate to uphold the backbone of Canada – our Constitution. Guaranteed to the Canadian people, amongst other things, is the right to the ‘freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression’. A government that boasts of its mandate from the people but actively works against the protection of their guaranteed rights does not have the moral authority to govern. A government must uphold the will of the people in agreement with the Constitution, which protects Canadians and their rights. If an officer of the crown is seemingly ‘popularly’ elected but has achieved this feat by trampling the rights of the citizenry, then that person has received no mandate at all. And when any allegations are made by the population that suggest such behaviour has occurred, the elected government has an explicit duty to investigate, throw open its own doors, and take appropriate action against those who would subvert our democracy, no matter what political stripe they may bear.

The first and most important role of the Canadian government is to protect our democracy, its institutions, and the rights of its people within it. However, the current occupants of the government benches prefer to obfuscate, misdirect, and blatantly utter falsehoods in the House of Commons to muddy the waters. They do this in the hope that they will never be required to look inward and possibly find within their ranks those who have actively attempted to destroy the core principles of this country for their own brief and hollow political gain.

Stephen Harper and his government have called no public inquiry into illegal activities which his own former top advisors and many others find deeply troubling. Ian Brodie, Harper’s former Chief of Staff, has gone so far as to call it a possible “national effort at subterfuge”.

Harper’s ruling party has defamed their opposition who have responded with complete transparency. Yet the Conservatives still refuse to show any transparency themselves, despite being representatives of the Crown and the Canadian people.  Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada have refused to investigate the stripping of the right to expression from citizens of their own country, despite their explicit mandate as the government to do so.

Harper and the Conservatives may or may not have actively prevented citizens from voting in the last election. But they are completely guilty of abandoning their legal responsibility as members of the Government of Canada to investigate the trampling of the rights of Canadian citizens. They have put their own power above the power and rights of the people.

It is no wonder the words ‘Government of Canada’ have been removed from government letterhead in favour of the ‘Harper Government’. The government of Canada no longer exists, nor do the rights of citizens it once protected. In Harperland, the rights of citizens are diametrically opposed to the interests of their government. All that remains is Harper, his Conservative Party, and a now-malleable understanding of rights and freedoms within our borders.

The Candidates

Last month the federal NDP nominated Craig Scott, a professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. Scott’s areas of political interests include human rights issues, both around the world and here at home with our Aboriginal peoples, and ending discrimination in the housing sector.

This month, the federal Liberals nominated advertising executive and FLICK OFF founder Grant Gordon. Gordon’s firm, which he also founded, focuses on branding socially and environmentally responsible companies. His candidacy for the Liberal nomination made waves in the news because of the fresh, positive, and fun approach he brought to politics through an amusing call to action for voters. Gordon’s political interests include protecting the environment and the security of our pension system.

Both candidates reside in Riverdale and have had successful careers making a difference in Canada and beyond its borders.

Should Toronto-Danforth add up to 102 or 36?

If both candidates appear to be seemingly well-meaning people who have made a positive impact on society, what should voters in Toronto-Danforth base their choice of new representation on?

It’s no secret that in a parliament where a majority of seats belong to Conservatives, a single riding going Liberal or NDP will not tip the scales into some new political reality for Canadians. It’s also likely being argued by the NDP that returning that party to 102 seats will put a ‘progressive’ party one step closer to removing Conservatives from office in three years time.  The NDP, for those who don’t know, sat at 102 seats before a newly elected Quebec MP quickly tired of their party and its performance as the Official Opposition and turned to the third-place Liberals to make a more substantial impact on Canadian public life (which might tell you something about the effectiveness of the Opposition NDP). The NDP will also argue during this by-election that they have a proven track record of holding progressive positions and taking principled stands against federal Conservatives.

This, I must bluntly say, is utter garbage. In the last decade in federal politics the NDP has not only chosen political expediency over progressive policy time and time again but they have unforgivably done so hand-in-hand with their Conservative counterparts.

The Real NDP Record: May 2nd, 2011 – Present

The NDP candidate in Toronto-Danforth may have an academic record of studying about human rights issues and focusing on the shamefully appalling conditions many of our Aboriginal peoples face within our own borders. But his party has a very clear record of, at times where their party was most powerful (which despite their current seat total was in 2005, not now), chose to take the politically advantageous route over the one that would help those worst off. Toronto-Danforth remaining in NDP hands will only continue a pattern of valuing politics over progress at the expense of  the well-being of Canadians.

After the May 2nd election, NDP supporters everywhere congratulated themselves on their ‘historic’ victory (which I suppose to the NDP is what second place and having no power is called). They naturally ignored the fact that it was precisely their splitting of votes with Liberals in Ontario that handed Stephen Harper the first Conservative majority government since Mulroney won a second term in 1988.

And they may be right. Handing a majority to the most power-hungry and power-hoarding Prime Minister in Canadian history in order to get Official Opposition status in the House of Commons without being able to overturn any draconian legislation the new government might put into law is probably cause for celebration. I tend to disagree with them on this point.

They have since demonstrated that the pros outweigh the cons in the new power reality in the House by having their top members almost never present within its walls, despite their beloved former leader Jack Layton’s suggestion during the election that if you ‘don’t show up for work, you don’t get a promotion’. For those wondering, that promotion to Leader of the Official Opposition for whoever wins the NDP leadership comes with a $75, 516 bump in pay. In the NDP’s eyes, Official Opposition doesn’t mean you need to be officially present, it’s really more about getting to play shadow Cabinet and touring around the country to determine who will get to be leader of that shadow Cabinet.

I personally can’t recall a single issue the NDP have been front and centre on in defense of Canadians in the time they have held Official Opposition status. Yet Toronto-Danforth candidate Craig Scott has said, “What we have seen is that only the Official Opposition NDP can really stand up to Stephen Harper day after day.” I’m sorry, Mr. Scott, I simply cannot agree. And if the NDP aren’t going to do their job, perhaps they shouldn’t have it or ask for an increase in responsibilities.

The Real NDP Record: Minority Parliaments

None of this is new. If elected, Craig Scott will sit as a member of a Party that joined hands with Conservatives and voted down the Kelowna Accord and National Child Care. A party that helped install a minority and then majority Conservative government that cancelled Kyoto and thinks purchasing fighter jets ill-suited for our defense projects is more important than ensuring low-income seniors who have put a lifetime into this country are supported in what should be their golden years.

It is one thing to talk about being progressive, it is another entirely to actually be progressive and bring progressive change to this country. Tommy Douglas knew this and put country before party by working with Lester Pearson and his administration to help create, in relative terms, what was probably the most progressive period of policy reforms Canadians have ever seen at the federal level.

What does following in Layton’s footsteps mean?

Upon being nominated for the NDP in Toronto-Danforth, Craig Scott said, “Jack Layton left some big shoes to fill. I’m not planning to stand in his shoes, just follow in his footsteps.” But what does following in Jack Layton’s footsteps mean?

It means the Kelowna Accord, an agreement arranged by the federal government and Aboriginal leaders over 18 months with an historic price tag of financial support to Aboriginal communities to the tune of $5 billion, was worth less to the NDP and its leader than an increase of 10 members in their caucus on Parliament Hill. The loss of this deal to Aboriginal communities and the resulting Conservative government that was formed, were less important to the NDP than 10 new orange-sporting MPs. The NDP slogan of that campaign, ‘Getting Results for People’, was true, but mainly for ten specific people who became New Democrat MPs and not for those worst off in our country, specifically our Aboriginal peoples, as we have seen most recently in Attawapiskat.

It means a national childcare program that would assist Canadian families and single-parent households in particular with childcare options was less important than those same 10 New Democrat MPs joining their counterparts in the House of Commons. This despite the fact that increased childcare options at the provincial level have cut poverty levels in single-parent homes almost in half in the last decade. A decade that federal involvement has been absent in large part because the NDP chose 10 seats over a national childcare plan that would have helped pull millions of mostly single mothers out of poverty. But if pulling Aboriginals out of poverty is not more important than 10 seats, why should doing the same for women have been worth it?

This may seem hyperbolic, especially to NDP supporters, but there is one very important fact we must remember about the NDP teaming up with the Harper Conservatives to vote down Kelowna and National Childcare. The 2005 vote was the first time in Canadian Parliamentary history that a government was voted down on a motion of non-confidence that was not related to any legislation or policy put before the House. The 2005 Liberal government, on the verge of implementing the recently finalized Kelowna Accord, was voted down for the sake of it. And in the NDP’s case, for the sake of ten seats. There was no disagreement on a budget or a particularly contentious piece of legislation. The Conservatives and the NDP simply banded together to vote out a government that held seats they both wanted.

What Craig Scott Means to the NDP

To the NDP, electing Craig Scott, electing one more New Democrat to the House of Commons, is incredibly important  because of how strongly they feel another NDP voice in the House will impact its proceedings. Yet none of the party’s leadership candidates have been in the House regularly this past year to hold the government to account. The NDP want voters to believe that electing Craig Scott is of grave importance because of the value every single NDP voice brings to the House, despite the absence of some of their best known members.

In 2006, 10 more New Democrat MPs did not improve the lives of those worst off in Canada. In 2011, 66 more New Democrats getting elected to the House did not improve the lives of those worst off in Canada.

In 1958 the Liberal Party of Canada lost 54% of the seats it held in the previous election. It had already been reduced from its historic term in office to Official Opposition in the previous campaign. Yet by 1963, 29 new Liberal MPs helped remove a Tory government and replace it with Canada’s most progressive administration in history.

In 1984 Liberals faced a similar trouncing, losing 73% of the seats they had won only four years previous. But by 1993 they were back in government and took such progressive action as abiding by international diplomacy by staying out of Iraq, signing the Kyoto Accord and establishing Canada as a strong supporter of the environment, and legalizing gay marriage, a move since adopted by several states south of the border.

Election as an End versus Election as a Means to an End

What the NDP has never understood even after May 2nd, 2011, is that the election of an NDP MP is not a victory in and of itself. The victory comes after that MP contributes to legislation that improves the lives of Canadians. That is what Members of Parliament are elected to do, whether in opposition or government.

Liberals have always understood this. They have always understood that one member is one more member towards the threshold required to form government and truly impact the lives of Canadians, especially those worst off, for the better. The NDP believe in a politics that is self-satisfied with small gains for their party. Liberals believe in a politics that is transformative and progressive and are the only party with a true governing record to show for it.

In Toronto-Danforth you can vote for Craig Scott and be satisfied with another NDP member becoming a Member of Parliament, as the NDP themselves will be.

Or you can elect Grant Gordon and support a Liberal Party that is committed not to being satisfied with his or any member’s election unless it eventually contributes to the election of a progressive government in Canada once more. For Liberals, the end result is not election, it is progressive governance on behalf of the Canadian people. The NDP have failed to even provide progressive opposition or any real opposition at all since the 2011 election. Liberals have been rebuilding, adopting progressive new policies and holding Conservatives to account at every turn.

Who would you trust to stand up to Harper? A Liberal Party that has a record of instituting progressive policy? Or an NDP that proudly helped Harper kill progressive government in Canada and allowed it to be replaced it with slash and burn conservatism? To me the choice is clear. Records trump rhetoric every single time. Actions truly speak louder than words.

As I typed in the title of this post, I immediately thought about how I’d have to translate it into French. But that’s not the case because Mike Crawley’s Bold New Red campaign came to an end this Sunday and so did my role as his online communications volunteer.

Early Steps

My path to the role I played in Mike’s campaign actually begins almost a year ago and surprisingly as a result of a Public Finance course and an Ontario Young Liberal Annual General Meeting in Toronto. I had never been involved in the Ontario Young Liberals (OYL) or the Young Liberals of Canada (YLC/JLC) and had only once been part of a campaign team as a canvasser. I’d always been interested but never officially involved. But in February of last year my instructor for a finance course I took during my post-grad studies in Public Administration suggested we attend an AGM of an organization to find out how financial statements are delivered. I don’t remember how I heard about it but I knew the OYL was having their AGM a week after this suggestion. So I signed up and attended the AGM.

At the AGM, after taking a philosophical stand against gender parity in delegate selection, I was approached by the wonderful Chris Drew who suggested I speak to Tiffany Gooch about starting a campus club. Long story short, I did. I was so pumped about the AGM that I contacted a man who was running for the nomination in my home riding of Newmarket-Aurora. I hardly knew him, having only spoken to him a couple of times when he was the campaign manager for the previous candidate. I sat down with Kyle Peterson and told him I wanted to work on his campaign and outlined everything I wanted to do. For some reason he let me and I proceeded to figure out how to deliver.

I worked on Kyle’s campaign, being his aide as well as his social media and website administrator. From Kyle’s campaign I went on to work for Christina Bisanz, the provincial candidate in our riding last fall. I fulfilled the same online role but dropped being an aide as I split my time in the Ontario Liberal Party War Room as a media monitor.

#TeamCrawley

A few weeks after the victory for OLP and the loss locally, I was emailed by the campaign manager for Mike Crawley’s campaign. I had first heard of Mike in his op-ed in the Toronto Star and was thoroughly impressed. I felt then, and even more so now, that we share the same philosophy about public service, liberalism and the Liberal Party of Canada. My former candidate Kyle Peterson attended university with Mike and put me in touch with his campaign. It was several weeks before I heard anything and on the word of Kyle was given responsibility over the Facebook page.

My responsibilities grew quickly and by the end of the campaign I found myself as Mike’s online communicator (all social media, website, etc) and designing the graphic work for the convention literature, t-shirts, and swag bag. My only training in graphic work was messing around on my computer. During Mike’s campaign I spoke on my first national conference call and conducted my first social media campaign with a national reach. Mike and the team put their faith in me – a nobody. But because they did I had the greatest political experience of my life.

The People Behind the Campaign

I have never worked with better people. I have never been a part of a project before that made me feel that good about myself or what I was doing. I’ve never felt as good, as I did amongst these people, about what we were trying to achieve together and what it could mean for our party and by extension, our country.

The Crawley campaign was the most fun I have ever had in politics, hands down (after all, we had campaign branded tattoos – that I got to design – M&Ms and of course the remote controlled, inflatable Crawley sharks). Every member of the team was a joy to work with and made the entire experience feel like play and not work. And while there were times we all wanted to tear our hair out (translations and graphics were key culprits) we were always there for each other and got through rough patches. There is no better way to describe the team than family. Despite it being a national campaign and team members being all over the country and rarely in the same place, we created a bond that will not be broken. We made memories that will last a lifetime.

Mike Crawley

Our focus was on running a clean, positive, issue based campaign and to present a clear plan that could be implemented on Day 1 by a skilled and experienced political manager, Mike Crawley. Mike opened his campaign by calling into question sacred cows within the party. Then, through consultation with the membership during the extensive travel he took on over the campaign, he developed a clear, detailed, 12-page plan to fix the internal issues within the Liberal Party so that it could once again become an organization that people are drawn to.

Before I close I want to take a second to talk about Mike Crawley the man. Those who have met him have seen up close the type of person he is. But those who have worked with him have a much deeper understanding of who Mike is.

Drawn to him philosophically, I finally met him in person some time later after he had already sent me a personal email thanking me for the work I had done so far. Over Biennial weekend, in the moments I was around him, I felt at complete ease and as if I was in the company of a friend, not the former President of LPCO or the future President of LPC. That’s how Mike is – welcoming and warm.

I could share countless stories that convey how kind Mike is or why I was so dedicated to him and his campaign but one experience at Biennial sums it up for me. On the first night of the most important weekend of his political career, Mike hosted a hospitality suite at the Westin Hotel. The suite was packed from wall to wall with supporters, other candidates, and politicians including Justin Trudeau. Mike worked the room and I tried to stay out of the way as both a volunteer and a voting delegate already converted to Mike’s cause.

But in the middle of everything, Mike found me to say hello and took me aside to speak to me. He knew I had a job interview the day before and wanted to let me know he wanted to write me a reference letter. In the kickoff event of the biggest weekend of his political career, he checked in with a member of his political team about how he could assist in her job search. That is the kind of person Mike Crawley is and also the kind of person he attracts to work with him. I was surrounded by a team of people as dedicated to one another as they were to their candidate and their cause. And while we won the presidency, I think our greatest achievement was not in our victory but in how we went about achieving it and who we decided to do it with.

I will be forever grateful to Mike, Mat and Brian for bringing me onto this team and letting me have the experience of a lifetime. Merci.

Over the weekend I was a delegate at the 2012 Liberal Party of Canada Biennial Convention in Ottawa. Originally my interest was in a couple of policy resolutions and constitutional amendments but as time went on and the convention was growing closer, I became much more interested in the campaigns for office and the platforms of the candidates running. This shouldn’t be surprising after the work I did on Canadian Voter in the months before these internal campaigns really ramped up.

As many Liberals know, I began to first draft posts on the information I could find about the various candidates and organized them by internal electoral race.  Then, feeling there might be a use for a full-length guide to the candidates’ positions, I contacted all 21 of them with a series of questions about their candidacy. This is when I really began to get to know some of the movers and shakers in the party. At the same time I was getting to know other members of the party online through Facebook groups dedicated to the party. Then I attended Biennial and learned what it really means to know the Liberal Party.

The Membership

The media often paints the Party as this almost faceless organization constantly at war with itself and standing only for what is convenient or politically advantageous at the time. If you spend a weekend with its members you will quickly disagree with this portrait.

I was busy working on one of the presidential campaigns and did not have time to meet everyone I had engaged with online and wanted to very much meet in person. However, I did meet quite a few. Before I had even entered my room I met Shane Mackenzie outside of it. Shane was Sheila Copps’ social media guru and I immediately found it amusing that I, Mike Crawley’s online lead, ran into him before any other Liberals at the convention. I found Shane to be very welcoming and kind, particularly when he didn’t laugh at me for momentarily failing to know how to open my door.

I met Gary Martin, my tech nerd partner. Gary and I have spent a great deal of time discussing how to make riding associations more technologically savvy and finally met one another at the Crawley campaign party at the Metropolitain.

I met Charm Darby finally on the train home. I had wanted to really meet her because of her optimism about the party and all of her positive energy. I also met Adam Exton of the fabulous Barrie Young Liberals and am now even more excited that someone like him is active in this party.

And randomly, in the crowd gathered for the presidential debate, I found myself standing next to Max Naylor. We had spoken previously but never met and said very little to one another at the time. However, I think our encounter marked the beginning of a much, much longer conversation.

I also reacquainted myself with young Liberals and other party members I already knew and felt very happy to be around so many Liberal friends.

The Journalists

If I am to be honest I was far less star struck by the politicians than I was the journalists. The three I respect most, Susan Delacourt, Paul Wells and Kady O’Malley, I couldn’t even work up enough guts to speak to the entire weekend.

I was introduced to Don Martin At the Bold New Red Bash for the Crawley campaign on Friday by my very first candidate, Kyle Peterson. I once emailed Don correcting him on a factual error about a sentence he wrote on Alexander Mackenzie and Wilfrid Laurier. His response was hilarious and I’ve wanted to meet him since. He was just as amusing in person and I was glad to have met him.

At the same event I happened to be standing near the bar as Andrew Coyne was getting a drink for himself and a friend. I was introduced to him by Gary and let him know what role I was playing on Mike’s campaign. Andrew was incredibly kind and funny. When his friend disappeared and he was stuck with two drinks in his hand I joked that wasn’t a bad problem to have. He immediately started saying, ‘no, no, no!’ and I realized he thought I had said ‘You have a problem’, namely, drinking. He talked to all those who came up to him, especially the young Liberals, even those carrying the Coyne4Leader pins. Mr. Coyne was extremely down to earth and different than I had expected.

The Politicians

MPs, Senators, and candidates for internal positions were everywhere you turned. At various times I was crammed into elevators with the likes of Bonnie Crombie, Martha Hall Findlay, and Bob Rae. I frequently found myself standing next to people like Dominic LeBlanc, Gerard Kennedy or Justin Trudeau. At one point Bob Rae came up behind me in a doorway and patted my shoulders. But I didn’t focus very much on these people as for me one of the major purposes of the convention was meeting and evaluating the candidates for office.

The first candidate I ran into was Zach Paikin on the escalator. We had spoken by email and Facebook several times and never quite got around to a phone call (my fault). I ran into Zach after his electoral defeat and told him he campaigned well as we shared a hug.

I met Ron Hartling in the foyer one day of the convention and introduced myself after receiving a very kind email from him earlier in the week thanking me for my efforts on the delegate guide (the candidates have been very kind to me over it). Ron was amazingly down to earth and kind and I really appreciated the chance to meet him.

I met Charles Ward on a few occasions and was pleased he was involved in the race. I only had a chance to say hell to Sheila Copps on her way to the reading of the results but I met Alexandra Mendes in the voting line. I told her I was glad to finally meet her and we shared a wonderful hug.

I met Braeden Caley in the line as well and he said so many kind things to me there’s no real way to express my full thanks. I also ran into Daniel Lovell a number of times and was struck by his kindness and approachability.

I met Paul Summerville in the line as well and he commented on my Mike Crawley tattoo. When I told him I designed it he excitedly began to talk about the designs of his campaign shirts and said they were the best out there. Having designed the logo on the Crawley tees, I respectfully disagreed.

I met up with Maryanne Kampouris on several occasions and was even more proud to support her. We shared a long hug after she won National Policy Chair. I also ran into Imran Ahmed, Matt Certosimo, and Kyle Harrietha. Naturally I spoke with Mike Crawley throughout the weekend.

What I learned from each of these encounters is that while I had grown to know these candidates from reading up on them or even speaking with them while writing my guide, meeting them in person added a whole other layer to my affection for them. We had truly wonderful candidates and have elected a strong board.

All of these meetings left me feeling better about the future of the Party and its current state. People can say what they will of the Liberal Party, but it is best understood through its members.

I attended the recent Liberal Party of Canada Biennial Convention in Ottawa (as a delegate and a member of a campaign) and came away with a few lessons learned.

1. You can run an honourable campaign and still win.
2. Paul Wells is right. The team having the most fun has the best shot at winning.
3. When you form a really strong team they will be your friends for life.
4. The greatness of most people is amplified in person.
5. The perceived flaws of most people are diminished in person.
6. You don’t have to be enemies with those you are competing with. You can learn to respect them greatly in contest and become friends regardless of the outcome.
7. Your potential is your own to come short of, meet or exceed. If you simply ask to play a role you will usually get to.  If you simply act, you will often accomplish. You can determine the impact you will have.
8. Talent is important but kindness and respectfulness are most important of all. If you campaign that way, volunteers and voters alike will flock to you. If you work that way, candidates will fight over you.
9. Journalists are human beings, and often not just lively people, but kind ones too.
10. Relentless faith in the merit of your cause can and does pay off.

Maryanne with the Barrie Young Liberals

Maryanne Kampouris for National Policy Chair

When it comes to the race for LPC National Policy Chair there is only one candidate with the wealth of experience required of the position and that is Maryanne Kampouris.

While some of her fellow candidates have some experience in policy and others have some experience in policy within the Liberal Party, only Maryanne has served as VP Policy on a PTA. This experience at the highest level of the policy process within the Party is crucial to improvement of the policy process for all members. Maryanne, in her time as VP in Ontario, has already ushered in some of these needed improvements.

While Maryanne has implemented many great measures and has ideas for many more that she will implement if elected, the one that really caught my attention was her ‘Town Hall in a Box’. This would provide the means for EDAs to host most accessible and cost-efficient meetings, allowing for regular teleconferencing and Skyping in addition to face-to-face events. A major part of a strong National Board of Directors is having in place elected officials who will help enable the membership to be active and full members of the Party. The election of Maryanne Kampouris as NPC will strengthen the Party at large by making member-to-member and even member-to-official meetings more accessible, cost-efficient and frequent through programs such as a ‘Town Hall in a Box’.

The innovative successes Maryanne has had in the policy process within this Party were achieved because of her dedication to the membership and fierce loyalty to their perspective. Maryanne has a proven record championing members and has not rested in her attempt to make their experience in the Liberal Party more meaningful.

Beyond her experience, innovation and dedication to the members, when it comes down to it Maryanne simply understands the policy process – how it works and how it should work – and uses that knowledge to constantly bring about improvement benefiting the membership. This knowledge is made clear when you look at her endorsements. Normally I take little stock in endorsements but when those endorsements are about the process, the requirements of the position, and how a candidate more than qualifies for that position, I tend to pay attention.  Maryanne has a great deal of backing nationwide from the members of the party who manage the policy process in the Liberal Party of Canada. These policy heads know what is required of the position and have seen how Maryanne has delivered.

It is my pleasure to endorse Maryanne Kampouris for National Policy Chair of the Liberal Party of Canada.

For more information about Maryanne’s campaign, visit her website or Facebook page. To read about her plans as National Policy Chair, please see this delegate guide. To read why other Liberals are supporting her, visit these links: The Equivocator; Confessions of a Liberal Mind.

James Morton for Vice-President (English)

For the Liberal Party to be great once more, it must enable each of its members to not only act as full members within the Party, but to reach their true potential as members of the Party.

One candidate in the race for VP English has that focus at the heart of his platform. That candidate is James Morton. While James has pushed a number of great ideas in his campaign, the one that has really stuck with me is his desire to create a Liberal Party Membership Talent Bank that would draw out the expertise we already hold within our membership and utilize those skills to their full potential within the Party.

Our members are more talented than we have acknowledged in the past. They can and want to contribute more meaningfully and more often to the success of our Party. The membership needs to be a full partner within the Party and under James Morton’s plan that partnership will at last be realized.

The Liberal Party of Canada is only as strong as its members. I will be voting for James Morton so our membership can reach its full potential.