Month: March 2005

The Conservative Party of Canada adopted nearly 100 policy resolutions over the weekend at its first-ever policy convention. I hope to post some of those soon. In the meantime, here’s an explanation of the process the party used to develop the resolutions that were voted on at last weekend’s convention.

[NOTE: The following was prepared and distributed by the Conservative Party of Canada.]

BACKGROUNDER

CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

The Conservative Party of Canada has achieved significant milestones in its first year. We have united two political parties, held a national leadership election, and fought an election campaign which resulted in a major increase in our Parliamentary seats, in the most closely fought federal election since 1972.

The party will hold a national convention in Montreal, March 17-19,2005. In advance of that event, the Party has initiated a comprehensive policy development process. This backgrounder describes the process leading to this convention.

Policy Foundations

The starting point for the policy process is the party's Policy Statement. This document was prepared in 2004 at the Leader's request by a caucus committee chaired by the Deputy Leader, Peter MacKay.

The Policy Statement consists of:

. Common points of agreement drawn from the policy statements of the two predecessor parties;

. A policy framework that represents the views of our national caucus, Members and Senators from across Canada; and

. Statements developed by members of the Conservative caucus during the previous Parliament.

This document was the starting point for the drafting of our platform document, Demanding Better, in last year's federal election.

While the Policy Statement was a sound statement of Conservative policies in accordance with the founding principles of the party, it did not address every area of public policy. Since it was based on past positions of our predecessor parties and caucuses, it needed to be improved and updated to take account of changing circumstances and the future directions of our party and the country for the next ten years.

For these reasons, the Policy Statement is the starting point for the policy process.

2The Policy Process

The policy process was designed to be dynamic, far-ranging and open to participation by all members ofthe party.

The policy development process proceeded in two streams-among Party members and at the national caucus level.

Members' Process

Participation was open to members of each ofthe party's 308 Electoral District Association (EDAs), either as part of an individual EDA, or in collaboration with other EDAs.

Participation was based on discussion and debate of the clauses contained in the Policy Statement and the creation of amendments to the Statement (additions, deletions, changes.)

Each of the 308 EDAs had the right to offer two amendments to the Policy Statement. Joint meetings (involving two or more EDAs) were able to propose two amendments per riding in attendance.

At each meeting, party members were requested to identify policy issues, propose amendments to the Policy Statement, and establish priorities for the submission of amendments to the Convention.

All EDA policy meetings were concluded by the end of January, 2004.

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National Caucus Process

Following the 2004 election the Leader asked Peter MacKay to chair a caucus policy process. As with the EDA process, the starting point was the 2004 Policy Statement, and the mandate was the same-to develop proposals for deletions, additions and amendments to the Policy Statement. Through a series of meetings involving all members of caucus, a total of 43 resolutions were developed and form part of the convention resolutions package.

3Convention Resolutions Package

The resolutions package released on March 7 contains 112 separate policy resolutions, 72 from the riding based process and 43 from the national caucus (Three resolutions combine suggestions from both ridings and caucus).

Determination of which resolutions are included in the package was made by the party's Policy Committee.

A total of 517 resolutions were submitted from ridings and regional meetings. These included 389 unique resolutions and 128 duplicates (the same resolution submitted by multiple ridings or given multiple points by regional meetings).

Each riding was allowed to submit two resolutions, and each regional meeting had a number of points equal to the number of ridings participating times two. Thus, a regional meeting representing six ridings could submit 12 resolutions with 1 point each, or 6 resolutions with 2 points, 4 resolutions with 3 points, or any similar combination.

The policy committee accepted, either in whole, in part, or by consolidating with other resolutions, all resolutions with more than 3 points behind them. Points are a combination of the number of ridings or the number of points awarded by regional meetings to each resolution. So, if similar resolutions were passed by three ridings, and a regional meeting gave a similar motion three of its available points, the combined resolution had six votes.

In addition to accepting all of the resolutions with three or more points behind them, a small number of resolutions with one or two points were accepted to make sure that there was a balance of region and a diversity of policy topics was addressed.

After a weekend of parties, a strong endorsement of their leader, and a newly minted policy platform which pushes them towards the political centre, Conservatives say their Liberal opponents can no longer paint them as the scary bogeyman of Canadian politics.

Liberals did that, of course, during the last federal election with considerable success. Tories, and Leader Stephen Harper particularly, were accused of having hidden agendas and that they would use the “notwishtanding clause” to override individual rights.

“The Liberals will continue to run on that,” Harper said during an exclusive interview on CTV’s Question Period. “They have nothing else to run on. They're not going to run on their record and they're certainly not going to run on all their broken promises.”

Deputy Leader Peter MacKay, also speaking on Question Period, echoed that statement. “We're less susceptible to accusations of not having policies or hidden agendas — all of that nonsense can be answered very quickly now.”

In fact, Harper says its the Liberals who have the hidden agenda now. Two weeks ago, at the Liberal policy convention, Liberal delegates voted in favour of adding new policies for the party that would legalize prostitution and would legalize marijuana. Prime Minister Paul Martin, though, said he would not legalize prostitution and the government is already in the midst of “decriminalizing” marijuana possession but has no plans to make it legal.

“Mr. Martin claims one thing and then his own party goes out and says it's for legalizing prostitution and for legalizing drugs,” Harper said.  “I think the problem with the hidden agenda is going to be Mr. Martin explaining why what his party says is different than what he always says.”

There’s lots more post-convention stuff here, much of it exclusive to CTV. Look for the video links down the right-hand side of the page you’ll be taken to and you can watch the entire interview with Harper; MacKay’s appearance on Canada AM and, of course, watch the piece I filed Sunday night for CTV National News.

 

Delegates to the Conservative Party policy convention just gave leader Stephen Harper a strong thumbs-up.

Asked if they favoured a leadership review and contest, delegates voted 16 per cent in favour and 84 per cent against.

Prime Minister Paul Martin, at a Liberal convention two weeks ago, was subject to the same question and delegates to the Liberal convention rejected a leadership review by a margin of 88 per cent.

 

I’ve blogged about the votes that Conservative delegates took on abortion and same-sex marriage. Those are two high-profile hot-button issues that are attracting a lot of interest, not only by media types (like me), but also by delegates. Many have told me that the sole reason they travelled here from all parts of the country was to vote on those issues.

But Conservatives are adopting policies today on a raft of other issues. This morning, it’s all policy stuff and there are nearly 100 policy resolutions, almost all of which are being passed by comfortable majorities. Some of these policy positions are long, running several paragraphs. I’ll try to present a more comprehensive list of policy positions adopted by the Tories later today as I have time.

Some of the topics that these policy positions touch on include: Firearms control, tax relief, export of freshwater, defence policy, transportation, border security, agriculture and supply management, and foreign aid.

 

Conservatives are divided on the issue of abortion regulation. Last night, in his speech, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper promised that a Conservative government would not introduce legislation regulating abortions. Today, in the party plenary, delegates backed him up — but just barely.

Delegates were asked to vote on this motion:

“A Conservative government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.”

Delegates voted in favour of that motion — that is to say: To do nothing to regulate abortion — by a score of 54 per cent to 43 per cent opposed.

 

Delegates to the this convention overwhelming approved policy resolution 92 or P-92. It reads:

“A Conservative Government will support legislation defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”

Leader Stephen Harper said in his speech last night  he would introduce legislation to achieve that effect if Conservatives form a government.

Electronic voting counters measured 74 % of delegates in favour of such a motion while 25 per cent were opposed.

The organizers flashed up a regional breakdown but it was up there too briefly for me to make notes. I was only able to note that 41.6 per cent of Quebec delegates voted against this motion but just 26.7 per cent of Ontario delegates voted against this motion.

Traditional political calculus in Canada holds that a party must win Ontario and/or Quebec to have any chance of forming a government.

Conservative MPs Belinda Stronach and Gerald Keddy — two of four MPs among the 90 plus member Tory caucus who support extending same-sex marriage rights — spoke to the plenary arguing that this issue was dividing Canadians and not uniting them. They suggested that Conservative electoral success is being hurt by adopting this position.

Craig Chandler, a delegate from the riding of Calgary Southeast, spoke in favour of the motion saying, “We are Conservatives.  We have have values. We have to communicate to Canadians that we have integrity. It’s right and wrong, not right and popular.”

 

I’m at the policy convention for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Delegates — there are about 2,300 of them I’m told — will be voting on a whole series of policy motions on everything from agriculture to same-sex marriage issues to transportation to defence.

The organizers are using an electronic voting system. One of the first questions asked of voters was: “What province are you from?”

Here’s the results:

1. Ontario delegates make up 33.3 per cent of all potential votes here.
2. British Columbia – 14.8 %
3. Quebec – 13.8 %
4. Alberta – 12.1 %
5. Saskatchewan – 7.4 %
6. Manitoba – 6.2 %
7. Nova Scotia – 4.7 %
8. New Brunswick – 3.7 %
9. Newfoundland and Labrador – 1.7 %
10. Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon – less than 1 %.

I’ll try to update during the day.

SOCIAL NOTE: Conservative MP Belinda Stronach, who represents an Ontario riding and whose family controls the Magna automotive parts manufacturing company, held the most popular party of the weekend. She set up shot at Hotel Gaudin here in Montreal and guests — easily 1,000 or more — were treated to a performance by Tom Cochrane. Food was pretty good, too.

 

 

A senior official with the PMO’s office says Richard Diamond, newly-elected president of the Young Liberals of Canada, is “the best young Liberal president in a generation.”  Diamond is likely to be in the middle of the news this weekend at the first-ever convention of the Conservative party of Canada.

Because it’s a new party, the Conservatives have not yet had a chance to establish a youth wing. Some Conservatives, particularly some under-30 Conservative MPs, are suggesting that youth wing, ghettoizes young people and makes them feel as if they are second-class citizens.

Diamond picked up on this tension today to poke some fun at political opponents, saying in a press release:

“The Young Liberals challenge the Conservative Party to take the muzzle
off their own youth. This weekend the party will debate a motion to form an
independent youth commission. Yet the Conservative Party leadership has made
it clear that they believe young people are to be seen and not heard,” said
Richard Diamond, President of the Young Liberals of Canada. “This kind of
attitude is typical of Stephen 'Mr. Muzzle' Harper's attempt to silence anyone
that might actually give voice to the truth of his party's extreme views.”
    To remind the Conservative Party of innovative 'new' ways that young
people like to communicate in this country, the Young Liberals have launched a
website on something called 'The Internet'. (“Mr. Muzzle” and his supporters
should check out 'The Internet' – it's all the rage with kids these days). The
new site – www.muzzlegate.ca – chronicles Stephen Harper's efforts to keep
opinions within his party well hidden from public view

Earlier this week, I reported on what was largely seen as a two-man race  [link to video on the right of the page you’ll be taken to] to become the first-ever president of the Conservative Party of Canada. As the Vancouver Sun’s Peter O’Neill first reported, the race features “a small-town Mennonite plumber [Don Plett] facing off against a gay, bilingual Montreal corporate lawyer [Brian Mitchell] in a highly symbolic battle over the presidency of Stephen Harper's Conservative party.”

Yesterday, The Toronto Star’s Tonda MacCharles, citing unnamed sources, reported that Susan McArthur, a bilingual Toronto businesswoman, may also be interested in the party presidency.

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper is officially neutral when it comes to this race.

The party president is elected by the party’s national council. The 3,000 or so delegates to this weekend’s Conservative convention will vote elect the national council.

 

The first-ever policy convention of the Conservative Party of Canada gets underway later this week in Montreal.

In the run-up to this event, there seems to be significant debate within the party about its direction.

The Conservative Party, of course, is new political party that grew out of the merger of the largely Western Canadian-based Canadian Alliance and the central Canadian based Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Although there are many exceptions to this broad generalization, the Canadian Alliance folks tend to be more socially conservative while those from the Progressive Conservative side tend to place less emphasis on social issues such as gay rights, abortion and euthanasia.

The National Citizens Coalition, a group for which Conservative Leader Stephen Harper once worked, is criticizing the party’s drift towards the political centre, a space once occupied to some degree of electoral success in the 1980s, by the Progressive Conservatives. The NCC has taken out some newspaper ads attacking Harper and its vice-president Gerry Nicholls had an op-ed piece published in the National Post in which he said:

To date, the Conservatives have done precious little to set themselves apart from the Liberals on basic issues like taxes, government spending and health care. And on some issues, like missile defence, they are just plain confusing.

Fortunately, there is time to set things right. For starters, delegates at next weekend's convention should ignore Big Tenters' pleas and come up with a truly conservative agenda — an agenda of principles, values and ideas that challenge Liberalism instead of aping it.

“Steer clear of Liberal Lite”, by Gerry Nicholls, National Citizens Coalition

Today, a relatively new ‘grassroots’ group called the Conservative Council issued a press release to say that the suggestions made by the National Citizens Coalition would result in the Conservatives being “doomed to the Opposition benches forever.”

“…the reality is that the Canadian electorate represents a much wider and diverse group than those who are politically engaged and sign up as fully paid members of the National Citizens Coalition, or even the Conservative Council.

The reality is this: the outcome of federal elections in Canada is always decided by that middle ground of voters who are ambivalent to most of the political process but very pragmatic in their views as to who will best lead the country to a better future.”

From “Bad Advice from the National Citizens Coalition”, by Rick Peterson, Conservative Council