Next week I'll be headed to Ottawa for my first political convention, the Liberal Biennial Convention. While I've never been active in politics I decided after the last election to be a part of the process to help, in my small way, to get the Liberals moving forward again.
While not politically active I have always exercised my right to vote whether it's a municipal, provincial of federal election. Democracy and the right to vote is not something to take for granted, though many do. The alternative, as we've seen time and again around the world is scary.
I've travelled enough of the world to understand what it means to live in Canada. We have opportunities, access to medical care, food in abundance, shelter and a style of living that many parts of the world don't have.
About 20 years ago I did attend one Liberal function. It was membership drive for the party put on by the Paul Martin team. While I have a great respect for Paul Martin, the event I went to totally turned me off politics. But now at 47 I've decided to go to the convention and see what the party is made of and whether it can reinvent itself to become a party that will resonate with the public to help build our country further.
The process of becoming a delegate was educational. For the most part if you want to go to the convention and have followed the basic rules you'll get to go. That's good because we need more people involved. The organization process to become a delegate needs to be clearer though. I went into the process with little information at my disposal including crucial information I didn't know about.
What do I expect from the convention?
The convention will see the election of party officers, Young Liberals of Canada executives,
National Women's Liberal Commission executives, Aboriginal Peoples' Commission executives and Seniors' Liberal Commission executives. These are all important positions. However it is the election of party officers which will get the most attention and which will have an immediate and near term effect on the party.
I also believe that building the future of the party is critical so getting to know the candidates for the Young Liberals of Canada executives is important.
In looking over the program I see it's chalk full of events with hardly a moment to relax. That's good considering the brief amount of time everyone will be together. I'm looking forward to meeting new people, MP's I haven't met before and learning as much as possible.
What's important to me?
The list of issues that are important to me is a long but there are three key areas I feel are important and critical to all Canadians going forward.
1. The economy: While Canada has weathered the global storm better than most we are from safe. We need policies that will build on what we have today and for the future. To use a word that might seem overused, we need to innovate more. Innovation is keyword or buzz word that must mean more than talk. We need to innovate in technology, health care and other critical areas for our future.
2. Education: Canada is a leader in the field of education in some areas but basic education in elementary and high schools is suffering. It suffers from budget cuts, not enough teachers and perhaps a curriculum that needs updating. Post secondary education needs to be more accesible to students who want to go but can't because of funding limitations or caps on access. We also need more co-op schools. The University of Waterloo has one of the worlds leading co-op schools. We need more schools like this. We also need to produce more engineers. Without more engineers Canada could become a net importer of technology in the future. That can't be allowed to happen.
3. Heath Care costs and delivery: Access to health care is a privilege of citizenship in Canada and should remain so. However health care costs are eating away at our budgets and delivery of care in some areas is suffering. We don't want a U.S. style health care system in Canada. What we need is a comprehensive remake of our health care system. Many studies exist comparing various health care systems around the world. We need a roadmap of what needs to done and then execute the plan to make the necessary changes. This is not short term process. It must be well researched, planned and executed over many years. Our current system is not sustainable.
We need a new leader.
After the convention is over we'll have new national executives and leaders in place except the leader of the party who will take us into the next election. Selecting the next leader is critical to the party's future. Who will step up? Who will run? Who will we choose that will be able to not only converse with the public but resonate with them?
We need a strong leader, a younger leader. And by young I mean someone in their 40's or early 50's. They have to have enough experience but not be too old as to not connect with the younger voters. Whoever is selected must be able to articulate the platform of the party, be clear with the public and above all else must be able to resonate with the voters.
While the Conservative's won a majority in the last election it's important to note the percentage of votes each party received. The Conservatives received 39.62% of the vote, the NDP 30.63% and the Liberals 18.91%. A majority of Canadians did not vote for Conservative values so there's plenty of room for reversal of Liberal fortunes. But only if the party resonates with the voters. The Liberal Party lost its way, now it's time to find our way back.
I've heard that in effort to renew the party we might try U.S. style caucuses and primaries. It's an interesting concept and I'm willing to learn more. We need more Canadians engaged in the process. One advantage of this system could be more media exposure.
I'm looking forward to heading to our nations capital for the discourse of the party. See you there.
Note: If you're headed to the convention and are on Twitter you can follow this list I created of all of the candidates.
PS: I'll be at the Open Mic in Toronto where the National President candidates will be.