I interviewed Anne McLellan at the 2012 biennial Liberal convention in Ottawa. McLellan is the former Minister of Public Safety for the Paul Martin government and she’s also a former Edmonton-area MP.
I asked McLellan about what the Liberal Party needs to do about renewal and I also asked her about Alberta politics.
Ottawa has been covered by a fresh blanket of snow this second week of January giving the nation’s capital an idyllic calm as delegates, press, and observers gather for the Liberal binennial convention.
The party was crushed in the last general election that saw the ascendance of the first majority Conservative government in 23 years. And for a party that has held government 4 out of 5 years of the past 100, the Liberals saw many of their own littered on the landscape — the most disasterous defeat of that party in its history.
Serious and sober discussions are expected as Grits assess party administration, party leadership, membership, fundraising, and policy.
There are also some old scores to settle that are already starting to surface as a contentious race for party president is underway that is already promising to reopen old wounds.
Policy is also going to be particularly challenging as a party looks not only to oppose the current administration, but to offer its own plan to the electorate. Will Liberals end up discussing policies that widely appeal to Canadians? Will we see the next grand Liberal vision for Canada emerge? Or will we see the old standbys discussed to reaffirm what has defined the party in the past? Will the Liberal policy primarily focus outward or internally on how the party conducts its own affairs?
The party is also assessing the monumental challenge of its own finances. To appeal to the electorate is a far-off challenge. First, the party must grow its own numbers and rescue its balance from the red. The process of politicking is one discussion the Liberals must have this weekend in order to ensure their survival. Liberals are looking to tap into US Democratic methods for fundraising and building winning membership networks.
The party is describing this weekend’s effort as one of rebuilding, renewal, and reboot, however, Liberal troubles run deep and are pervasive through every thread of its institution. The Liberals do face a challenge to avoid reducing its partisans to rehash old scores, to stay away from reusing ineffective tactics to raise money and increase membership and to resist recycling old policies that don’t appeal to an electorate that has changed since the days of Trudeau, Turner, Chretien and Martin.
When the snow of this weekend melts, will the Liberal Party see the first sprouts of its renewal, or will old and wasted remnants of days past remain as Canada’s former Natural Governing Party hunkers down for a long and cold winter?
A few news stories have been written about the Advanced Leadership Program exposed yesterday.
National Post
Postmedia Papers
QMI Papers
Huffington Post
Of note, the NDP and the Public Sector Alliance of Canada have responded to the story suggesting that the program is outrageous.
This is smart positioning by PSAC which is the union that represents the bureaucratic sector in Ottawa.
PSAC notes that some of their members will be receiving pink slips after the government reviews spending to cut the deficit. EX-level bureaucrats who traveled on the Advanced Leadership Program are not represented by PSAC.
The NDP is now active on this issue as well. They question the value of spending tens of thousands on training per senior bureaucrat. Their position is one of saving money on services to Canadians. Given a limited pool, the Advanced Leadership Program is superfluous.
The government’s only response has been to say that the program (like others) is under review.
Stephen Harper’s former Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie, has come out in defense of the program. Brodie suggests that the when the Conservatives came to power in 2006, many senior-level bureaucrats were set to retire with no plan on how to replace the mandarins. Like any other organization, Dr. Brodie asserts, the Government of Canada has senior staff that require training in executive management. While I have tremendous respect for Brodie, I must say that while we’re in deficit, we can’t have all that we want and now is the time to prioritize need. Further, $50,000 trips around the world for training is a tough sell to most Canadians. The Advanced Leadership Program seems to be a unwise use of tax dollars.
The story still has quite a bit of active interest from news/advocacy/political organizations today and I’m somewhat surprised that the government has not yet addressed this issue specifically.
