Happy spring, everyone!

In our May newsletter, we report on some important events that

recently took place: our AGM, with the election of a new board and

executive - including our new President, Leanne Bourassa - and the

LPC(Q) convention in Montreal.

We’re also including some information on the upcoming Winnipeg

convention, where some significant changes to the Liberal Party

constitution will be discussed and voted on, and an update on what our

MP, the Honourable Marc Garneau, has been up to in recent months.

I only had one response to my call for recollections of the election

campaign, so I’ll extend the invitation once more: if you write some-

thing short (100-300 words) about your election experiences, such as

a favourite memory, a funny story or other memorable moment, we’ll

publish it in the next newsletter!

Lastly, I’d like to invite you to consider joining the Communications

Committee! There’s always lots to do and we could use your help.

Plus, you’ll be given credit for any articles you write for the newsletter!

Best,

Margaret Sankey

Communications Chair

Notre-Dame-De-Grace—WestmouNtLiberaL assocatioN

may 2016, 9th eDitioN

IN THIS ISSUE

Message from the President 2

Annual General Meeting 3

Report on Marc’s Activities 4

Report on the LPC(Q) Biennial Convention in Montréal 6

The Upcoming 2016 Biennial Convention in Winnipeg 10

Memories of the Election Campaign 12

Get Involved 13

messaGe from the PresiDeNt

Since our historic victory in the October general election, it has been a busy

and exciting time of action and renewal for the Liberal Party of Canada. In

addition to proudly sharing our Member of Parliament with the rest of the

country as he takes on the role of Minister of Transport, the NDG-West-

mount Liberal Riding Association has also been in a phase of renewal. On

April 7th, we brought some new faces onto the Board of Directors and I now

have the honour and the challenge of trying to fill the shoes of our outgo-

ing president, Victor Drury. Victor will now be serving as VP English (male)

on the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) Board of Directors and we’ll be

working hard to keep our association thriving as it did under his leadership.

Thank you Victor and Marina Boulos-Winton and Margaret Guest, our valued

executive members who have decided to move on to new challenges.

Following the lead of our Prime Minister, the new executive of the NDG Westmount (and I would add Montreal

West) Riding Association, and I will be working to make our association more involved in the life of our community.

As we move to a more open party, I encourage everyone who has an idea of how we can better reach out to our

friends and neighbours to get in touch and share your initiatives. We will be inviting community organizations and

active citizens to let us know how the Liberal Party can support them and we look forward to hearing from you

throughout the summer.

Next up for our members is the Liberal Party of Canada Biennial convention in Winnipeg at the end of May. Our

association will have a great delegation and our policy team has been actively discussing the policy resolutions and

the proposed LPC Constitution. We’ll be sure to report back our news and stories from the convention, so stay

tuned!

Leanne

2

2016 aNNuaL GeNeraL meetiNG

At our AGM on April 7, 2016, we proudly welcomed our new board and executive teams and thanked outgoing

members for their excellent contributions. Marc Garneau spoke, we heard from PLC(Q) leadership candidates

Pierre Choquette and Linda Julien, and we selected delegates for the Montréal LPC(Q) conference.

President: Leanne B.

VP Female: Renate B.

VP Male: Kevin C.

VP Youth Female: Athina K.

VP Youth Male: William H.-B.

Secretary: Myrna L.

Policy Chair: Harry P.

The New Executive Committee

Election Preparedness Chair: Mary Ellen K.

Organization Chair: Fred H.

Membership Chair: Kent H.-S.

Fundraising Chair: Adam B.

Communications Chair: Margaret S.

Financial Agent: Danielle E.

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rePort oN marc’s activities

By Margaret Sankey and Toni Hakem

Since the election, Marc has taken on the responsibility for Trans-port Canada as the Minister of Transport. At the same time, he returns often to the riding to attend events and meet with con-stituents. He was invited to give a talk on the Liberal platform and planned spending for social housing and homelessness as a keynote speaker at the 3rd Annual National Conference on Ending Homelessness at the Hotel Bonaventure on November 1st. A week later, he attended Remembrance Day ceremonies in Montreal West, Westmount and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on Sun-day, November 8, 2015. He has a pretty busy schedule as the

Minister of Transport but as Member of Parliament for NDG-Westmount, his constituents are his top priority.

Soon after his swearing-in, Marc got busy working within Transport Canada to prepare a budget for the federal government: a complex undertaking that involves the input of hundreds of experts within Transport Canada and many professional public servants who develop the budget materials that Marc, together with his deputy ministers, submit to Cabinet.

On 25 February 2016, Marc tabled the report of the Review of the Canada Transportation Act in the House of Com-mons. This review was commissioned by the previous government and contains some 60 recommendations for the future of transportation, which will be carefully examined. Transportation is the backbone of our federation and the economy, and one of his challenges is to see how our transportation systems can be improved.

Federal cabinet ministers carry significant responsibilities not only with regard to maintaining the proper operation of their department and good relations with the provinces, territories and international agencies and neighbours, but with regard to implementing the promises made during the federal election as well. Ministers spend a consid-erable amount of time reading and studying to prepare for each days’ meetings and briefs within the department. The number of hours he has as free time has shrunk significantly!

The town of Lac Mégantic invited Marc to meet with citizens in a public town hall on rail safety. As a former astronaut, he believes there is never enough safety planning, preparation and contingency measures for each space flight. As he met with the citizens of Lac Mégantic, he felt acutely aware of the need for increased rail safety. Rail safety is a priority for communities across Canada and Marc is committed to improving rail safety in Canada.

4

rePort oN marc’s activities

His professional background and training have given him a unique set of skills to bring to the job of Minister of Transport. As an astronaut, he trained to prepare for a space shuttle mission. Also, as a former captain in the Canadian Navy, he has a good understanding of our maritime industry and blue water shipping industry. As an electrical engineer with a PhD from Imperial College in London, discussions related to the electrification of transportation and the infrastructure that these new vehicles willrequire is a subject that suits his academic back-ground. He is a science guy who is very interested in the new technology that is being delivered by the Bombardier C-Series jet, the development of new drone (or UAV) technology as well as so-called autonomous and connected vehicles.

5

rePort oN the LPc(Q) bieNNiaL coNveNtioN iN moNtréaL

By Margaret Sankey, Laurel Leduc, and Annalisa Harris

The 2016 Biennial Convention was held on April 29-30 at EVO Vieux-Montréal.

Opening Celebrations

Delegates began to register for the convention on the Friday evening and

attended the Opening Celebrations with the Honourable Bill Morneau,

Finance Minister. The ceremonies were opened by the Buffalo Hat Singers and

Michael Loft, members of the Mohawk Community from Kahnawake. Then

Mr. Morneau was introduced by Marc Miller, MP Ville Marie-Le Sud Ouest-Île

des Soeurs and Chair of the Quebec Caucus in the Canadian Parliament.

The Co-Presidents of the Convention were Anthony Housefather, MP - Mount Royal and Chair of the House of

Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, and Claude Thibault, Liberal representative from

Abitibi-Témiscamingue. They acted as MCs on Saturday as well.

Review of the election and Q&A – LPC(Q) leadership

After the welcoming remarks and adoption of several constitutional amendments, key LPC(Q) election organizers

took the podium to talk about what they felt were the keys to our success, such as the technology behind Liberal-

ist, the services provided by the national (prepared websites, graphic layouts, key communications information),

and the candidates who stayed on-message and disciplined even when difficult times arose for them, particularly

in hard-to-win ridings.

People from the floor were invited to make suggestions to improve our chances of winning the next election. A

second election is a lot harder to win than a first! One person pointed out

(twice!) that finances are a difficult issue in many ridings that are not as for-

tunate as NDG-Westmount.

During the Q&A time for the LPC(Q) leadership, Renate Betts stood up and

pointed out the ongoing issue of the lack of diversity within the leadership of

the organization with respect to both visible minorities and Anglophones.

PM’s speech

Peter Schiefke, MP Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (Youth) introduced the

Prime Minister. The Right Honourable Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, applauded the volunteers who

wholeheartedly supported the campaign. The PM acknowledged the 40 seats out of 78 that were won in Que-

6

rePort oN the LPc(Q) bieNNiaL coNveNtioN iN moNtréaL

bec.

This new government is historic for Quebec,

since our voice will now be heard within the

government more clearly than it has been for

a generation.

Throughout the next election, starting now,

our goal is to get out and talk to the people in

those 38 ridings that did not vote Liberal, to

bring home the vote in 2019. Volunteers are

the networkers of their neighbourhoods.

The PM said that Canada has made its mark on

an international scale and we are once again

being recognized as a contributing force. In

other words, WE’RE BACK!

Question and answer period with Québec MPs

This session was moderated by Marc Miller. When the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was

introduced, everyone in attendance stood up and cheered. While every MP on stage had a chance to speak, it was

Mr. Dion who garnished the most questions from the audience on international affairs and Canada’s involvement in

other countries. He ended up commenting that the number of questions on those topics was remarkable. It was

true. The audience was also very pleased to hear him say that he was working to make sure Bombardier was seen

throughout Canada as a Canadian company, not just something that benefits Quebec.

Pablo Rodriguez, MP – Honoré-Mercier, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communi-

ties, commented on the commitment by the Liberal government to upgrade infrastructure in Quebec, which will

improve mobility in communities in our province.

Mélanie Joly fielded a few questions on the CBC (such as a comment on the number of Conservatives on its board)

and exporting our cultural production. The importance of the CBC was reflected in the decision to restore funding

to the public broadcaster.

There were also questions on public safety, climate change, women’s rights, and more.

The stage was packed with more Quebec MPs than had been seen in over 25 years. Marc Garneau sent his regrets,

as he was unfortunately very sick that day with a bad cold.

7

rePort oN the LPc(Q) bieNNiaL coNveNtioN iN moNtréaL

Session on the proposed changes to the National LPC constitution

This talk was led by Anna Gainey (LPC President), Leanne Bourassa (LPC

National Membership Secretary and our new EDA President), and Élise

Bartlett, Legal Advisor to the National Board. They explained the rea-

soning behind the proposal to remove membership fees, have one con-

stitution for the entire country, win the election by getting people in-

volved who are not members, and make the constitution more flexible

so that our policies can keep up with technological and other changes.

The constitutional proposals will be voted on at the LPC Biennial

Convention in Winnipeg May 26-28, 2016.

Women’s Commission session

Ministers Mélanie Joly and Marie-Claude Bibeau spoke to delegates about their respective mandates. Minister

Bibeau spoke about the importance of women’s leadership on the world stage. The empowerment of women and

girls is a focus of Canada at the United Nations. The Minister of International Development and La Francophonie

said that women and girls need to be provided with a full continuum of health

care options including access to safe abortions. Minister Bibeau affirmed that

she was proud to be a feminist. She told the delegates that we should not

hesitate to call ourselves feminists. This got a resounding applause.

Minister Joly outlined how she is bringing a digital approach to Canada’s

cultural policy. The Minister is in the process of consulting with Canadians on

how they would like to see Canada’s policy with regards to arts and culture

renewed. She used the example of Netflix. Currently, Canadian content regu-

lations do not apply to the popular service, unlike with traditional media. We

need to re-evaluate how we can have a vibrant arts scene in Canada in the

21st century.

Renate Betts stated that Canadians of all ages have a common cultural refer-

ence because of the Heritage Minutes. She asked if the government intended

to produce more Heritage Minutes that would reflect Canadian diversity. Melanie Joly responded positively. She

told Renate that the government will be producing Heritage Minutes to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Link to participate in consultations:

www.canada.ca/en/services/culture/consultations/index.html

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rePort oN the LPc(Q) bieNNiaL coNveNtioN iN moNtréaL

Multiculturalism Commission

This meeting focused mainly on the struggles of visible minorities and immigrants in Canada, with an emphasis on

how we can better support one another inside and outside of the Party. Mention was also made of the need for a

National LPC Multiculturalism Commission.

Election of the new Board of the LPC(Q)

Linda Julien withdrew her candidacy for the LPC(Q)

presidency during the course of the convention,

leaving Pierre Choquette as the only contender for

President. In support of Me Julien, a number of the

members running under her slate withdrew from the

race, giving members from Choquette’s team, such

as our former NDG-Westmount Riding Association

President, Victor Drury, now VP Anglophone (Male),

a seat on the board by acclamation. As there was no

candidate for Youth Male East on the slate, a request

was made for volunteers from the convention floor.

Gabriel Cyr stepped up and was granted the position

by acclamation.

Several key positions such as Policy, Treasurer, and Legal Council had to be voted on. Those candidates each had

one minute to state why they would be the better choice. At the end of the day when all the votes were tallied,

every position was filled with a member from Team Choquette. Our VP Youth Male, William Harvey-Blouin, was also

on the stage in his role as YLC(Q) VP Operations. To see the list of the new members of the Board of the LPC(Q),

here is the link to their webpage: https://quebec.liberal.ca/en/board-of-directors/.

9

the uPcomiNG 2016 LiberaL Party bieNNiaL coNveNtioN iN WiNNiPeG

The NDG-Westmount Riding Association recently hosted an information

session on the proposed new Liberal Party constitution and invited del-

egates from all Montreal ridings who will be attending the Winnipeg con-

vention, taking place May 26 - 29. It was held at Le Manoir on Thursday,

May 19, 2016. Lawyer Simon Potter led the session and went through the

proposal, highlighting aspects of interest and answering questions.

To summarize, the new constitution centralizes control, giving almost unlimited power to the National Board, in the

aim of allowing it to respond quickly to the kinds of issues that often arise rapidly in today’s world: media reports,

Twitter, other fast-changing situations where it’s not feasible to wait six months or two years for the next meeting

to make policy changes.

Another important aspect is the move to eliminate membership as

we know it: any person may register as a Registered Liberal, provided

they meet the requirements set out by the National Board, and there

will be no fee for registration. It also opens up conventions to any

Registered Liberal who wants to attend, eliminating delegate selec-

tion. All of this is to eliminate barriers to participation.

There will be a Permanent Appeals Committee to hear disputes aris-

ing out of the constitution.

The positions on the National Board, in terms of titles and number, will not change significantly. Once this proposal

is accepted, some things will change right away (certain other positions will be eliminated, new bylaws will have to

be adopted immediately), but most things at the EDA level will not change until January 1, 2017.

Here are some of the other items that may be on the agenda for the Winnipeg Biennial Convention:

Opening Ceremonies

Commission Biennial Meetings: Young Liberal of Canada, National Women’s Liberal Commission, Aboriginal Peo-

ples’ Commission, Seniors’ Liberal Commission

Welcome Party at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Candidate presentations for the commissions and for the LPC National Board

10

the uPcomiNG 2016 LiberaL Party bieNNiaL coNveNtioN iN WiNNiPeG

There will be a huge variety of workshops, grouped according to the following categories:

Real Change at Work: Rights and Equality, Investing in Infrastructure, Leadership on the World Stage, the 2015

Platform, An Inclusive Canada, Canada’s Plan for the Middle Class, Protecting the Environment While Growing the

Economy, etc.

Policy: Economic Growth, Innovation and Agriculture, Education, Justice and Democratic Reform, Environment

and Energy, Health, etc.

Volunteer Training: Social Media Best Practices,

Campaign Data and Liberalist, How to Build an Email

Program, Campaign Data Analysis, Fundraising, etc.

Organization Sessions: How Four Million Conversa-

tions Led to Four Years of Real Change, The Campaign

for Young Voters, Learning from 2015: Campaign

Debrief, Campaigning in Rural and Remote

Communities, etc.

Keynote Speech on Women and Politics

Policy Resolutions Plenary – 1.5 hours long

Voting on policy resolutions submitted by each of the provincial associations

Constitutional Amendment Plenary – 1. 5 hours long, preceded by a question and answer workshop on the pro-

posed new Liberal Constitution. Passing the new constitution will require 2/3 of the delegate votes.

Voting Results and Closing Ceremonies

Farewell Party at the Fort Garry Hotel

11

The NDG Westmount Federal Liberal Association extends its most sincere

condolences to long time Westmount volunteer Mr. Gilles Daigneault, who

lost his beloved wife Pierrette Métras Daigneault on May 1st, 2016.

memories of the eLectioN camPaiGN

By Nevine Rashed

I had the privilege to attend fundraising events for Liberal party in December

2014 and I donated as well. Then, I worked on Marc Garneau's campaign last

summer. My role included making phone calls reminding voters to be proac-

tive and telling them why they should choose our candidate. I also did door-

to-door visits in assigned areas. I am very proud to have supported the Liberal

Party.

It is worth mentioning that I have been working as an interpreter for Service

Canada on the Syrian refugee project. We have successfully reached the quota

that the Liberals promised when they came to office and reached the number

of 25,000 in March. It was an enriching, fulfilling job that made me more proud

of being a Canadian and above all, a Liberal.

Looking forward to more and more successes for the Liberal Party and I hope to be channeled to offer my expertise

whenever needed.

12

Thank You...Viviane Agia, Leanne Bourassa, Toni Hakem, Annalisa Harris, Samuel Lafontaine,

Laurel Leduc, Margaret Sankey, and Jessenia Zelaya

Our team

Executive CommitteePresident: Leanne B.

VP Female: Renate B.VP Male: Kevin C.

VP Youth Female: Athina K.VP Youth Male: William H.-B.

Secretary: Myrna L.Policy Chair: Harry P.

Election Preparedness Chair: Mary Ellen K.Organization Chair: Fred H.

Membership Chair: Kent H.-S.Fundraising Chair: Adam B.

Communications Chair: Margaret S.Financial Agent: Danielle E.

M.P.: Marc Garneau

Contact us!

Emailndgwestmount@gmail.com

Twitter @NDGWestmount

Websitewww.NDGWestmount.liberal.ca

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NDGWestmount

Get iNvoLveD 13