Presentation- 7/7/07

This weekend I was fortunate enough to represent the young liberals at the National Women's Commission training day in Kirkland, Quebec. It was a great experience for me and I had a great time speaking with the female Quebec candidates about new media. During the presentation Mme. Krieber helped out by commenting on Blogs and facebook. She mentioned to the group of candidates to check out her favourite blogger, Jason Cherniak. J'étais vraiment heureuse quand beaucoup des candidates en mentioner qu'elles ont vu les ad Libérale, "Liberal vs. Conservative," Elles étaient vraiment fier du travail que nous, les jeunes libéraux, faisons chaque jour. It was a great experience for me and as a young woman in politics I am looking forward to working with this organization in the future.

Phonebank Marathon

Watch out Conservatives! The Young Liberals had a very successful evening of phonebanking yesterday for an upcoming event.

My Summer in Ottawa

For the past 3 weeks, I have had the opportunity to work on Parliament Hill as part of the Liberal Summer Internship Program and it has been amazing.

Being from Sault Ste. Marie and only having been to Ottawa for a few days at a time, I really didn't know what to expect of the city or the atmosphere on the Hill. I can honestly say that everybody I have met has been great and the experiences have been really fun.

During the past 2 summers, I had interned in Toronto at Queen's Park and while I really enjoyed my time there, Parliament Hill is a totally different atmosphere. One reason for that is because Queen's Park Liberals form the government, while Ottawa Liberals form the opposition. Because we are in opposition and there are fewer interns and fewer staffers, it feels more tight-knit and everyone genuinely has a good time together and from a work standpoint, it feels like everything that I do is important to winning the next election.

My time in Ottawa so far has been one great time after another. From socials at D'Arcy McGees, to parties at Stornoway, to my first Canada Day on the Hill, this has been a summer to remember. With 2 months left, I can't wait to see what else happens.

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Women's organizations cut staff in wake of Conservative funding guideline changes (EN) (FR). Je n'oublierai pas la prochaine fois que je...

Hamilton Youth "Take Back Canada"

The Hamilton Young Liberals started Canada Day by going to the heart of Tory country, the rural area's of our riding. We marched with our candidate, Arlene MacFarland Vanderbeek, in the Lynden Canada Day Parade. Expecting to find a frosty reception, we found the town lining the roads welcoming us to their community.

"Harper lied about income trusts," one resident told me. "I'm not going to get fooled again. You've got my vote next time around".

"We need to get serious about cleaning up the environment," another resident told me.

"We shouldn't be in Afghanistan anymore," another person said.

We finally knew that we had made an impact when a older gentleman yelled from the sides of the parade route, "Go Grits!".

Young Liberals of Canada - Toronto TakeBackCanada.ca launch!

Canada Day with Toronto's Chinese community and the youth of Canada's party with the Honourable Tony Ianno. Hundred's of TakeBackCanada.ca water bottles were handed out along with pins, stickers, Canadian flags and the facts on Harper!

NS Young Liberals Take Back Canada on the Halifax Waterfront

Amongst the crowds of tourists and native Haligonians, the Nova Scotia Young Liberals found great support for the takebackcanada.ca campaign. Within no time at all, people were seeking out the buttons and stickers, asking questions about the campaign's origins and how they could help give Harper the boot.

If ever there was doubt that Nova Scotians feel betrayed by Stephen Harper, it was wiped away today with the incredible support and interest for the Young Liberal initiative.

Below are some pictures. Enjoy!

Colin Hebb
President, Nova Scotia Young Liberals

Young Liberals Take Back Canada in Ottawa

The Take Back Canada campaign was a huge success in Ottawa this afternoon. A dozen Young Liberals took part and handed out water, pins, and flags. If you haven't seen the website yet, check it out at http://www.ylc-jlc.ca/takeback/

It’s a Canadian Day of Action


By: Cory Pike, Young Liberals of Canada President and Darcy Diachinsky Young Liberals of Canada Representative to the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission

The National Aboriginal Day of Action is not just a protest. It’s much more than that. And it’s not about anger, it’s not about resentment. It’s about fairness. It’s about hope. It’s about ensuring that our Aboriginal Peoples are able to take their rightful place as equals in our society.

The Canadian record on the treatment of our Aboriginal Peoples has been, and remains, dismal. Consider the horrors of children forcibly removed from their families and sent to residential schools; outlawing aspects of Aboriginal culture by our criminal law; or even denying Aboriginals the right to vote until 1960.

As a member of the G-8, Canada is considered an immensely successful nation. Yet, today, over 56% of Aboriginals live in poverty. Yet, today, Aboriginal Peoples don’t have access to adequate healthcare and education services. Yet, today, there are some places where Aboriginal Peoples don’t even have access to clean drinking water!

This is unacceptable for a G-8 country. This is unacceptable for Canada.

Nonetheless, after decades of neglect, of promises and promise-breaking, there was the Kelowna Accord. It was our first best hope of addressing all of the wrongs of the past and building a brighter future. The federal government, the provinces, and our Aboriginal organizations had all come together and broken the age-old barriers of discord and mistrust. The wellbeing of our Aboriginal Peoples was finally, once and for all, going to be addressed in a meaningful and tangible way.

Then, in a flash—it was gone. Jack Layton and Stephen Harper took it away.

Layton, because he cared more about getting a couple more seats in the House of Commons, forced an election before the Kelowna Accord had a chance to be implemented. Stephen Harper, because he has no real understanding for what the Kelowna Accord truly sought to achieve, cancelled it. He decided snuffing out a Liberal policy was more important than assessing it’s huge potential.

Well, enough is enough. It is time we fixed these problems. And it’s time to make sure the current Government knows we want them fixed. All Canadians deserve fairness, and that is what the Day of Action is all about. It is a National Day of Action, a Canadian Day of Action. And that is why the Young Liberals of Canada will be marching in support.


Cory Pike
President, Young Liberals of Canada

Darcy Diachinsky
Young Liberals of Canada Representative to the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission

For further information, contact: Cory Pike, Young Liberals of Canada President
cpike@liberal.ca

Captain Planet: He's Our Hero!

Our very own Stephane Dion was named one of the top 15 environmentally friendly politicians in the world today by the award-winning independent online environmental magazine Grist.

Congrats to Stephane. Check out this link to read more.