I got a broadcast from the Liberal Party earlier today announcing En famille, a "Liberals-only online community forum which is designed to allow all members across Canada to collaborate, participate in policy debates and generally interact with each other (similar to delegates at a Party convention)." According to the letter, the immediate purpose of En famille is to solicit ideas on how to best handle the economic crisis in the wake of recent Conservative blunders. Any member of the Liberal Party of Canada can participate. En famille supplements Forum Liberalis, another Liberal-sponsored online forum that is open to all regardless of party affiliation.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive this message because I think -- or at least I hope -- that it signals the beginning of the party's rebirth, and it does so in a ground-up, inclusive fashion. I have long been a supporter of Michael Ignatieff and I agree with his position that hearty policy debate is exactly what the party needs right now. Combined with his commitment to hold a Kingston-style policy conference after the leadership convention in May, I think En famille is a step firmly in the right direction.
One Comment
1 John Moysiuk
Posted January 6, 2009 at 6:03 pmPermalink
Re: ideas on economy measures-- Invest in Infrastructure in a big way-Public Transit-Via Rail-Go-Train-Bridges=Municipal Streets-Sewers-toronto still has combined storm and sewer drains-Replace aging water lines before they burst. Invest in applied research and development, both in Universities and commercial firms. Provide an emphasis on education-provide grants to gifted students that othrwise would not be able to attend post secondary education. Initiate Government programs to clean up the environment, such as polluted rivers and lakes. Set specific goals and targets and hire the unemployed where possible. Stay out of foreign military conflicts - do not get involved in the ethno-racist war in Israel-there is no military solution there-48 years of conflict. The U.N. needs to establish a Peacekeeping Force there to control the senseless killing on both sides.
Both the extremist Zionists and the extremist Muslims are unwilling to truly seek peace. Bring in more regulation of the financial industry-without regulation, human nature unfortunately is tempted to try to get away with breaking the so-called rules-we see what has happened in the U.S.
Reduce the pension contributions of taxpayers towards the pensions of M.P.'s. Why should they be contributing $4 for every $1 contributed by the M.P.? $2 for every $1 would be more acceptable, especially when tied to Inflation.