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Rebuilding the Liberal party

Steve Pinkus, Désirée Mcgraw and Rachel Bendayan, National Post, May 21, 2011

Getting involved:

Contact us directly to lean more and to find out how you can get involved.

Founders

Carolina Gallo La Flèche,
Westmount-Ville-Marie
Brett House,
Niagara West-Glanbrook
Kent Hovey-Smith,
Trinity-Spadina
Désirée McGraw,
Notre-Dame-De-Grâce-Lachine
Matthew Ramsden,
Ottawa Centre
Robert Valdmanis,
Westmount-Ville-Marie

Rebuilding the Liberal party

Steve Pinkus, Désirée Mcgraw and Rachel Bendayan, National Post, May 21, 2011

If you agree with the approach outlined by the article below and the proposals of Liberal Renaissance, please join us on Facebook

The Liberal Party of Canada is at a critical juncture. We are no longer the vaunted Red Machine that needs a little retooling and a few drops of oil in order to remain a national party -let alone Canada's "natural governing party." We received a strong message from Canadians on May 2: Bring us new ideas, new people and a new way of doing things, or fade into the sunset.

There are many of us who are committed to revitalizing the Liberal Party of Canada. We are business people, teachers, parents and activists. We have extensive experience organizing, raising money, formulating policy and campaigning for the party. We have been lobbying the party establishment for reform for many years -without much success.

Many of us were actively involved in the Liberal party's 2006 "Renewal Commission." With 32 taskforces chaired by prominent Canadian experts and cutting-edge thinkers, it produced enough forwardlooking policy advice to consume a small forest. Yet the results of this massive effort were shelved by party apparatchiks because what they sought was the appearance of party renewal -not the reality. We must not make this mistake again.

As the last two elections suggest, renewal can no longer be a window-dressing exercise; it must be real, broad and deep if we are to remain relevant to Canadians. For too long, leadership politics have eclipsed real renewal -with each new leader (five in the past decade alone) bringing his own group of people and ideas, treating the party like their own blank canvass. There is no doubt that a strong leader is essential, but their role is to represent -not replace -the aspirations and efforts of rankand-file members.

In the short term, the Liberal party needs someone who will keep us prominent in opposition while we get on with the longer-term task of rebuilding, culminating in the election of a leader who best reflects a renewed Liberal Party of Canada. During this critical period -one that may be prolonged if we are serious about reform -we need an interim leader whose primary role will be to represent the Liberal party in the House of Commons and stand in sharp contrast to both Stephen Harper and Jack Layton.

That person must be a strong communicator in both French and English, with plenty of experience in Parliament and in delivering the 30-second sound bite, all while expressing Liberal positions with passion, conviction, humour and intelligence. We are not endorsing any particular candidate; indeed, we should keep all of our options open. And so we cannot afford to preclude anyone who offers to serve just because he or she may have further aspirations of leadership one day. The matter of who ultimately leads our renewed party should be openly decided by rank-andfile members, not by backroom deals among party elites.

We need to settle on a strong interim leader so that the Liberal party can focus its considerable talents and energies on a more crucial task: genuine renewal that will allow us to engage and grow our membership, revamp our party structures and modernize our fund-raising mechanisms. To lead the process, the party should elect co-chairs drawn from both the Liberal caucus and party members -with a mandate to dig deep and consult widely. Ultimately, the group should report to the council of presidents, which is the broadest and most representative grassroots institution within the party.

The party needs to engage in an open policy process and produce a forward-looking platform that will once again capture the imaginations, respect and support of Canadians. As a result of the last election, Canadians are being forced to choose between two extremes. Why? As proud Liberals, we are confident there is an important place for a modern political party in Canada that can determines its social policy from the centre-left, and its fiscal policy from the centre-right. There is still a place in Canada for a single party that achieves a balance between social and fiscal responsibility while respecting environmental sustainability.

This is the moment to remake the Liberal Party of Canada for the 21st century. If there is to be a future for our party, we must first regain the confidence of our members and then of Canadians. This opportunity compels us to move past divisive leadership politics and come together around the real task at hand: rebuilding and revitalizing the Liberal Party of Canada.

Steve Pinkus is former vicepresident of the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec). Désirée McGraw is co-founder of Liberal Renaissance, and taskforce chair of the 2006 Liberal renewal commission. Rachel Bendayan is a member of the judicial commission of the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec).

If you agree with the approach outlined by the article below and the proposals of Liberal Renaissance, please join us on Facebook

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May 5, 2011

For the last several years Liberal Renaissance, a group of committed Liberal Party members, has been working to renew the party, focusing on the "3 Ps" of People, Policy and Party. Our work continues.

As you and your fellow Canadians contemplate the country's new political landscape following the election of May 2nd, the pillars of Renaissance's program are more important than ever and we invite you to join our conversation with renewed focus. Over the weeks and months to come, Liberal Renaissance will be seeking an affirmative path forward to re-energize our efforts and voice in our Party's approach, direction and place in Canada's future. We hope you will participate in this important discussion via our online presence and participation in any future events that we may post on this site.

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Dear Liberal Renaissance friends,

As you know, since its founding Liberal Renaissance has been working for party renewal based on three specific principles we call the “three Ps”:

1. People - Build a progressive coalition of like-minded Canadians who recognize that the Party must not simply regroup but reform, while creating a climate of inclusiveness and dynamism for a new generation of party members and Canadians in general.

2. Policy - Support genuine policy renewal processes that seek to achieve a truly compelling national vision and reflect liberal values and priorities while capturing, once again, the imagination, respect and confidence of Canadians.

3. Party - Encourage participation of Liberal members in all Party decisions, operations and structures through a fundamental and democratic reform of Party governance and organizational structures where ultimate accountability will rest with the membership.

We are very pleased that the Liberal Party has responded to the call for policy renewal.  Canada 150: Rising to the Challenge will be held in Montreal from March 26-28, gathering some of Canada's leading thinkers and doers to grapple with the big issues facing our country.

As part of Canada 150, Liberal Renaissance is writing a series of policy opinion pieces in the Toronto Star and La Presse. We will also hold an event during the Montreal conference, to gather attendees and others to stimulate the discussion and socialize among like-minded people who share the desire to make Canada even better.

Liberal Renaissance members are also working to ensure that Canada 150 has strong youth representation.

We encourage you to go to www.can150.ca to explore how you can participate.

Stay tuned for more information on all the above!

Sincerely,

Liberal Renaissance

April 28, 2009

The convention of the Liberal Party of Canada is coming up this week Vancouver between April 30th and May 3rd – delegates will debate and vote on new policy initiatives for the Liberal Party of Canada and will ratify the Leader.

Many are dismissing this convention, saying it will not be important for the Party and the country, that is just not so.

Liberal Renaissance believes this Convention represents the first steps towards genuine Party renewal, through the three “Ps”:

  • People - The party needs to recruit new members, expand the diversity of its membership and draw on the power of the grassroots.
  • Party - The backroom character of the party machine must end, and fundraising must be broadened and modernized.
  • Policy - The party needs to engage in an open policy process and produce a forward-looking platform that will once again capture the imaginations, respect and confidence of Canadians.

See you in Vancouver!

Sincerely,

Liberal Renaissance

April 25, 2009

Liberal Renaissance Libéral has written to all candidates for positions in the National Executive of the Liberal Party of Canada to seek their commitments on how, if elected, they will work for "root and branch" renewal of the Liberal Party under each of the 3Ps. We want to ensure that the Liberal Party remains the preeminent vehicle for progressive policy and social change in Canada. Canadidates have until 10:00am Eastern time on Tuesday, April 28 to respond. We will reproduce candidate responses as submitted in a clear format on our website, on Facebook and in hard copy for the 2009 Vancouver Convention. Non-responses will be indicated. We will publicize these resources extensively so that delegates and media can assess and compare candidate platforms in a meaningful way.

Questionnaire for Liberal Party of Canada National Executive Candidates

Candidate responses to questionnaire

February 5, 2009

Liberal Renaissance friends,

The convention of the Liberal Party of Canada will be held in Vancouver between April 30th and May 3rd – delegates will debate and vote on new policy initiatives for the Liberal Party of Canada and will ratify the Leader.

We want to be a strong force at the convention! Together, we can achieve our goals of revitalizing the party by empowering people; reforming Party governance structures; and fostering forward-looking policy development.

There are some important milestones coming up quickly:

  • February 6 – to become a delegate and to vote for candidates to become delegates, you must be a member of the Liberal Party by this Friday February 6. You can join by going to: https://www.liberal.ca/join_e.aspx
  • February 20 – to stand as a candidate to be a delegate, please apply by downloading the Delegate Application Form at http://www.liberal.ca/pdf/forms/2009_form_6_en-1.pdf . This form must be emailed to delegate@liberal.ca or faxed to your provincial or territorial association by February 20.
  • March 6th to March 10th- The election of delegates in each riding happens on one day of a "Super Weekend" held from March 6th to March 10th, 2009.

Remember, the Liberals you register as members (friends, family, coworkers) before February 6th are eligible to vote for you on “Super Weekend”. Make sure all those new Liberal members who promised to support you come out and vote for you so we can revitalize our Party!

Join us as a delegate in Vancouver!

Sincerely,

Liberal Renaissance

January 22, 2009

Thank you to all of you for your interest in Liberal Renaissance. We are delighted that there is so much support for rebuilding a united, inclusive and a successful Liberal Party for the twenty-first century.

There have been some very exciting developments in the last few days that reassure us that your message is being heard at the highest levels in the party. Our new Leader, Michael Ignatieff, has announced some promising renewal initiatives.

  • He has made a commitment to hold a “Kingston for the 21st century” policy conference within 100 days of the May convention (http://www.michaelignatieff.ca/blog/1993_rss).
  • On January 17th, he announced a special committee on party renewal, comprised of senior Party officials and members of caucus to assess precisely what needs to be done to renew the party. This committee will consider issues including how the leader is selected and what tools and processes should be in place to ensure grassroots policy development is connected to all levels of party decision-making (http://www.liberal.ca/story_15575_e.aspx).
  • And on January 18th, Michael Ignatieff unveiled a new Change Commission tasked with considering long-term strategic change of the Party by listening to the grassroots. While the renewal committee’s scope will be long term reform, the Change Commission has a mandate to produce results in time for the May convention (http://www.liberal.ca/story_15579_e.aspx).
  • You may also be aware of En Famille, an online discussion forum where all members are welcome (http://enfamille.liberal.ca/).

Renaissance Liberal applauds these initiatives. They begin to address our call for renewal that is not mere window dressing.

We‘re interested in hearing your thoughts about how the Renewal Committee and Change Commission can ensure that the Liberal Party hears and incorporates the views of the grassroots. In particular, we’re interested in your suggestions of specific actions to successfully implement each of the three “Ps” – People, Party and Policy – These pillars are the heart of Liberal Renaissance’s mission.

Here’s how you can get involved:

We hope you’ll keep our three pillars in mind:

People - The party needs to recruit new members, expand the diversity of its membership and draw on the power of the grassroots.

Party - The backroom character of the party machine must end, and fundraising must be broadened and modernized.

Policy - The party needs to engage in an open policy process and produce a forward-looking platform that will once again capture the imaginations, respect and confidence of Canadians.

This is a unique window. Let’s not squander this opportunity to build a party to inspire Canadians once again.

Liberal Renaissance