12.03.2007

Our Anniversary / Notre anniversaire

Some memories from the youth delegates. Certains souvenirs de les jeunes délégués...

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My favorite moment at a convention occured when Gerard Kennedy gave his speech rallying the troups to support our leader Stéphane Dion. We were all sad that our hard work hadn't left us on top but we were so proud of Gerard.

Nous avons tous marche avec Gerard à M. Dion. C'était un temp d'unité et inspiration pour moi.

I will never forget the hugs, the smiles and the friends I made during that walk.

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"I have two favourite convention moments. The first was Paul Martin's speech. It summed up what I thought was one of the most progressive, forward thinking governments, but was cut. Mr. Martin embarked on a very promising path - the Kelowna and Kyoto accords, a New Deal for cities, renewed federalism, same-sex marriage, a greater emphasis on Western Canada - and reminded us all that even though he was stepping down the responsibility rested on everyone else in the room to fulfill his governments mandate.

"The second, was Jean Chretien's speech. 'As you sit at home Mr. Harper, do not adjust your TV set. What you are seeing is real,' and 'Stephen. May I call you Steve, like your friend George Bush'."

- Zac Spicer
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"What I remember most from Convention are the people. After months of organization by phone, e-mail, and internet, Convention finally gave everyone the chance to work face-to-face. For me, this meant getting to meet wonderful people like Delia Greco (pictured here).

The moment that stands out most to me was the third ballot. Seeing Rae drop, and knowing that we stood a great chance of winning on the next
ballot, was a mix of elation and sadness. My great friend, Richard Zussman, had poured his heart into the Rae campaign and was now in the
unenviable position of having to deal with great disappointment and rally his troops at the same time. Nonetheless, he picked himself up, got organized, and worked hard right up to the last vote.

Once the forth ballot came in, we knew that a page had truly been turned in the history of the Liberal Party. We've had our bumps over the last year, but nothing great ever comes easy."

- Ian Anderson

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I spent a good 8 months working on Michael Ignatieff's campaign. From going to his events in the summer, to doing blog monitoring in the fall and organizing in Northern Ontario. I spent an entire week in Montreal getting there before the convention even started. I
think I worked harder that week than I have in anything I ever have. I really believed in Michael and did anything they asked, whether that meant unloading trucks, handing out t-shirts, talking to other delegates or taking part in rallies. It was kind of a frustrating week and I felt all my hard work was going unappreciated.


I still stuck it out because I really wanted Michael to win, even though I felt unnoticed. At the party after Michael lost, I was really disappointed. I went up to him to tell him I was proud to work for him. He told me that he wasn't good with names, but he recognized my face and that he knew I had been with him for a long time and that I worked really hard. I don't know if he really meant it, but after a long week of feeling unappreciated, the fact that Michael would make that kind of gesture with everything I'm sure he was feeling after losing the leadership race really made my convention.

- Justin Tetreault

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"My favourite convention moment was gathering youth delegates from all camps to put on MHF shirts and cheer for her as she finished casting her first ballot. I wasn't a Findlay delegate, but nobody deserved a packed post-vote scrum more than she. As she lead us down one escalator, my candidate was on the one beside me heading up. Without flinching, he smiled at me, reached out for my hand, and then gave me a pat on the back as he continued up one escalator and I continued down the other.

"Je ne savais pas qui allait gagner à la fin. J' était fatigués et avec beaucoup de stress. Cette semaine a été difficile et parfois je voulais arrêter tout et sortie le Palais. Mais à ce moment-là, j'ai rappelé une leçon très importante à mes parents m'ont appris...


"Winning isn't everything -it's being a team player that counts."

- Denise Brunsdon

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"What is it with political conventions and sushi? I love Japanese food as much as the next guy, but seven straight meals of rice, rolls, seaweed, spicy tuna and octopus? The sake wasn't bad, though...better than Red Bull! It got me through many a long night huddled over my laptop, tracking delegates.

Un gros merci au gentil bonhomme qui a inventé le Tide-to-Go. La sauce soja...mon ennemi mortel!"

- John Lennard

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11.08.2007

Conservatives and the death penalty

The Conservative government has decided to abandon Ronald Smith, a Canadian citizen, in his fight against a U.S. death sentence in the state of Montana. Though what he did was wrong, Mr. Smith deserves the support of the Canadian government, his most significant ally.

How does our treatment of Mr. Smith compare to our treatment of U.S. citizens in similar situations? Canadian law prohibits extradition of a U.S. citizen to an U.S. state in which they will face the death penalty. Why does the Conservative government apply a lesser standard to Canadians in the same position?

The reason is simple. The Conservative government wants to send a strong message to Canadians: if you commit a crime in the United States and you face the death penalty, don’t expect any help from Canada. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day was clear on this point: “We want to preserve public safety here in Canada and that is our position.”

While we may not have the final say on his fate, we do have the power and the responsibility to express Canada’s principles. Canadian foreign policy should be a reflection of Canadian domestic policy, not U.S. domestic policy. We don’t execute people, and we should fight to protect our citizens who face that fate, no matter what they’ve done.

Canadians deserve better. They deserve a government that will stand up for them, through thick and thin, because they are Canadian.

11.02.2007

Not okay



"This government, by stealth, is changing that long-standing policy to Canada to protect Canadians against the death-penalty abroad. You have a wholesale change of law to capital punishment without any debate whatsoever in Parliament." - Ujjal Dosanjh

10.18.2007

Persons Day / Journée de l'affaire « Personnes »

Merci à Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney et tous les autres féministes de la génération pour leur travail.



But let us never forget, as Mary Ellen Smith said, "The iron dropped into the souls of women in Canada when we heard that it took a man to decree that his mother was not a person."

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/famous5/053002_e.html
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/celebres5/053002_f.html

9.24.2007

A Party's party parting

The last summer student has officially gone back to school.

And although my heart is upset, my liver is relieved.



Looking back upon the summer, I have to say I’ve learned a lot from what I’ve done, from what I’ve seen, and from those with whom I did and saw those things.

I have learned that although St. John New Brunswick may be a beautiful city, one should not get a chance to find this out if driving from Halifax to Quebec City efficiently.

I have learned that Saskatchewan canola fields are a big deal if you haven’t grown up with them.

I have learned that North Bay and Montreal pubs share a common commitment to excellence in patron-oriented partying and laissez-faire dance floor policies that the rest of this country, sadly, lacks.

And I have learned that working for something you believe in, even if as seemingly inconsequential as a summer student program, is consequential. To spend a summer in Ottawa, with its unique opportunities, activities, and atmosphere, is an amazing experience. Moreover, to spend a summer growing and learning with an outstanding collection of earnest and dedicated Liberals will leave you with memories not to be forgotten.

To Elyse, Jay, Justin, Carlene, Dylan, Kelly, Meghan, Mary-Rose, Oz, Ian, and Colin, thank you.

And more importantly, to your fantastic bosses:

The Hon. Paul Martin, Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, Jamie Carroll, Andrew Telegdi, Hon. Mauril Bélanger, LRB, Senator Eggleton, Hon. Ken Dryden, Senator Hervieux-Payette, and Senator Jim Cowan,

UN GROS MERCI!

-db

9.12.2007

Quebec Elections on Monday, volunteer today!



We had a great time helping out last week, and e-day is sure to be even more exciting. Email dbrunsdon@liberal.ca to join in a caravan from Toronto, Ottawa, or anywhere inbetween.