Home | Contacts | Classifieds | Archives | Media Kit | Email Us |
Despite a commitment made by former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion with the NDP to form a coalition that could bring down the Conservative government in January, opposition Liberals under the new leadership of Michael Ignatieff will only be voting against the Conservatives and proposing an alternative government if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't table a responsible budget, says Papineau Liberal MP Justin Trudeau.
"We're not going to say ahead of time what we're going to do based on a budget that we haven't yet seen — that wouldn't be responsible," Trudeau told a gathering of constituents who attended an open house held at his constituency office on Faillon Street in Villeray last Saturday.
The new Liberalism
"We find ourselves in a situation where we are on solid ground, we have a chief, but there is one weakness. And that is how we are going to get the message out to our members, how we're going to make them understand that even if we are not able to consult them directly on who is going to be our leader, we still need them to create a new Canadian Liberalism for the 21st century.
"There are enormous challenges that we will have to face as a country, as a community and as a planet in the coming years and it will be necessary for our membership to come to the table to participate with their ideas, their actions and through fundraising." He recalled how newly-elected president of the U.S. Barack Obama was able to win that nation's highest political office by raising small amounts at a time with the assistance of grassroots organizers.
Looking 50 years on
"That is something we too will have to create here in Canada," he said. "And it is by raising the awareness of our members that this will take place. Because the solutions Obama came up with are not just a matter of raising money, but of activating and motivating the members. And it's at that level that it's so important. The work we will be doing from now until the Liberal convention taking place in May, and which have a leadership component so that the members can accept Mr. Ignatieff, will also have two other stages."
Alluding to the coming convention, in which Trudeau will be one of the organizers, he suggested the Liberal Party is working on a long-term strategy to map out "the great debates of the 21st century … this great Liberal Party which straddles the centre — socially to the left, fiscally responsible on the right, where the great challenges and debates of the 21st century will be played out — and the solution will come forward to steward this great country through the next 50 years. These are the challenges we're going to be facing in this policy convention in Vancouver. That's the question we're going to ask …
Boosting citizen participation
Trudeau said a third theme to be explored at the convention will question "how do citizens participate in their democracy in the 21st century? How do we use all these new technologies — Internet, communications, abilities to mass-mobilize people and get them involved in the day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year operation of this great institution that is the Liberal Party of Canada? There is an awful lot to do and it's why it's so important to have rooms like this filled with people who believe in what the Liberal Party can provide for Canadians and believe in the ability of Canadians to be there for each others."
