Liberal Leader Bob Rae is giving an important speech on social policy in Canada today at 2:30pm EST – and you’re invited to watch live.
But that’s not all. While you watch, you can join a live chat I’m hosting with two of my caucus colleagues, Aboriginal Affairs Critic Carolyn Bennett and Human Resources & Skills Development and Labour Critic Rodger Cuzner.
After his speech, Bob will take questions from the audience at the YWCA in Vancouver where he’s speaking – as well as from online viewers like you.
There’s no RSVP required, just click this link a little before 2:30pm EST and join us on Liberal.ca.
Bob Rae has a clear message that Liberals will fight for shared and sustainable prosperity and equality of opportunity for all Canadians.
At the heart of the liberal ideal is the belief in shared prosperity. Addressing social barriers, like poverty, mental illness and a lack of affordable housing, is crucial to ensuring that Canada has a strong, sustainable economy.
That’s why we will continue to make these issues an important part of the national discussion in the upcoming session of Parliament.
But keeping these issues front and centre means including you in the conversation, too.
Thank you.
Marc Garneau
House Leader
With abortion now back in the news, thanks to a backbench Tory MP, I think this piece of information should be on the front page:
“While [Stephen] Harper has not promised to raise pro-life or pro-family legislation he has promised to allow such legislation to be introduced by others and to permit free votes….” – Anti-abortion Web site LifeSite.net, March 22, 2004.
http://jeansansum.shawwebspace.ca/blog/post/quotes_by_and_about_stephen_ha_1/
With the reaction of the public on all of this, the Liberal party needs capitalize on the events as these are the issues that Canadians are concerned with. We also need to seriously consider MP and Senator pension reform as these will go along way in re-gaining trust with the country.
Alberta Liberal
It is important to communicate to Canadians the economic benefits of social programs. Poverty is synonymous with low consumer spending and low productivity. Lifting people out of poverty, and enabling them to achieve their potential, has economic benefits that far outweigh the cost of lifting them out of poverty.
Conservatives attack social spending as unsustainable; but the fact is that social programs stabilize and encourage Consumer Spending, and without social programs the economy will stagnate or contract. Despite the huge Conservative deficit, they have not been investing in areas that support Consumer Spending. Also, fabrication of acrimonious wedge issues, like spending cuts to OAS, undermine consumer confidence. The Conservatives cannot continue to blame the huge deficit, high unemployment, and declining consumer purchasing power on the 2008 recession. The Conservative economic policies have created a Liquidity Trap. “Universal Prosperity” is essential for a healthy economy, and the Conservative attack on social programs does not lead to “Universal Prosperity”.
Congratulations on webcasting these national “conversations” about policies. Hope to see more of them. I think the next one should be on the economy. As Bob rightly explained, policies are not stand alone ideas. What we do as a social policy always has economic ramification and vice versa.
I think the campaigning for the next election needs to start now. We need to start “framing” the discussion and not allow the Cons to do it. They are already in campaign mode with announcement that they make.
Attack ads are not necessarily very productive, however, refuting the Conservative perspective so that it is framed from a different perspective could be useful. We keep hearing that the Conservatives have adopted the economy as theirs. I happen to think that they are the worst stewards of the current economy because they are way too rigid in their way of thinking to move us from an industrial age model to another one that in part still needs to be defined. We need to start helping Canadians make a paradigm shift and take the thunder out of the Conservatives. I don’t trust any of the numbers that they put out there.
I am particularly concerned with the closing of Employment Insurance offices across Canada. Many people will simply give up applying for what is rightfully theirs if the system makes it so overwhelmingly difficult to get any benefits. Being unemployed is stressful enough as it is without adding the stress of no income while job searching. I think this is the time to use one of Stephen Harper’s past like quote “the unemployed want to be unemployed” (or something to that effect) should be used to show Canadians the hidden agenda of this man. The other side of the coin is that if people are not applying for unemployment insurance, the statistics are not skewed showing that their much touted “Economic Action Plan” is working. We need to start the election campaign while rebuilding. If not, the NDP will reframe the issues and the Liberal party will again be stuck trying to justify its existence.
Continue the great work that you are all doing.
I look forward to the next webcast. Isn’t technology marvellous. Bringing people from across the country to talk to each other. This is truly a nation building process that you are engaged in. I am humbled that I can witness and be part of it in a small way.
You have my full support.
Great speech, Mr. Rae but due to hearing impairment and no CC I missed most of it in spite of using head phones. I was hoping it would be repeated with CC?
Have already “live” linked Bob’s speech to my “Mary C. Kelly” FB page, so glad videocast will be available to share widely …Flagged it to my own FBFs located across North America & beyond (so also available to anyone following them)my comment, which I’m reprising here:
So fortunate to have just caught Bob’s very inspiring, thoughtful, pragmatic, & inclusive social policy speech to Vancouverites gathered at the YW-YMCA (where I stayed while in Vancouver in 1986 for Periodical Writers’ Association of Canada’s AGM) & over 3,000 Canadians from coast to coast to coast, like me, participating online — including Marc Garneau, Carolyn Bennett & Rodger Cudzon (sp.?) as LPC caucus moderators for running dialogue thru’out live speech & following Q&A session … The packed room of Canadians from all backgrounds, walks of life applauded Bob’s honesty & candour, as well as his ability to situate the personal within the political … Which is to say, how government policies — be they federal, provincial or municipal — have such a profound impact, for better or worse, on the daily lives & socio-economic prospects and realities confronting us all … Among topics addressed both in his talk & in Q&A session with those attending (live or online) were: mental illness, access to safe, appropriate affordable housing & homelessness crises, improving First Nations’ relationship with the federal government & Canadian society as a whole by acknowledging wrongs done & respecting Aboriginal Canadians’ own leadership and linchpin role in resolving present inequities arising out of longstanding discrimination, Harper’s pronouncement from on high at Davos World Economic Forum he’s going ahead with radically revamping OUR Old Age social security and pension programs — without consulting or considering how adversely this impacts current & future generations of Canadians, the role of publicly-funded daycare in ensuring single or two-parent families’ abilities to be “bread-winners” & contribute to our country’s GDP, productivity gains, & sustainable economic stability, and the Northern Gate pipeline controversy, among other priorities facing us all in the immediate and longer-term … Like so much else that gladdened my spirits for “tuning in”, let me reprise herewith (paraphrasing slightly, as jotted down note while he was speaking), “summary statement” Bob gave in responding to a question from an audience member concerned, if I recall correctly, about the “divide & conquer, them vs. us” command & control dictatorial direction Harper Conservatives imposing on OUR country. Since Bob’s response bespeaks such a fundamental truth with universal relevance — & speaks volumes about Bob himself: “Every relationship is based on recognition = “seeing” someone which, fundamentally, means respecting someone … And this recognition of someone starts within our hearts.” ;0)
– MCK, Toronto Centre constituent & LPC member
Bob Rae’s Ontario history of government (good or bad) should only
proove to be beneficial to our Liberal Party and I hope he rethinks
his position on running for the Liberal Leadership. Along with his experience and his knowledge HE will put the LIBERALS back in the running LIBERAL POLITICS..Please