OTTAWA—Three policy proposals were actively debated on the last day of the Liberal Biennial Convention on Sunday. The party took a stand in favour of legalizing marijuana and implementing a preferential balloting system, but rejected a proposal to abolish the monarchy.
Legalizing Marijuana
Voters supported the legalization and regulation of marijuana, stating that it would diminish gang-related criminal activity.
“Let’s get rid of organized crime,” said a delegate.
As the government, the Liberals would regulate the production and distribution of cannabis and sanction illegal traffickers.
Delegates speaking in favour noted that the government could make profits by legalizing marijuana as it could tax those who produce, distribute, and sell the drug.
Young Liberals of Canada president Samuel Lavoie told reporters the vote represented a “generational change happening in the party,” and that the youth wing was ready “to flex muscle when needed.”
Of the 1,446 members who voted, 77 percent were in favour.
Not Ready for a Canadian Head of State
A total of 1,230 party members voted on the motion to urge Parliament to create a committee for the study of severing ties with the British Crown and institute a head of state elected by popular vote. It was rejected by a majority of 67 percent.
MP Caroline Bennett, Aboriginal Affairs critic, said aboriginal communities needed to be consulted on the issue, which is of direct concern to them.
“The Aboriginal Commission has not been consulted on this. [Aboriginals] are traders with the Crown, and we should tread very carefully,” she said.
Matthew Naylor, a delegate from Vancouver-East, said that “nothing is more Canadian than our Crown.” He said the Crown played an important role in protecting individual rights throughout Canadian history, and in the democratic governance and development of Canada.
Those who were in favour of the motion made an appeal to patriate this last vestige of Britain that remains in the Canadian political identity.
“It is sad that Canadians cannot aspire to be the head of state of the country they love. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, I could never be the head of state of Canada, and that’s because I wasn’t born inside a certain family, because I was born to my parents,” said a young delegate.
Westmount-Ville-Marie MP Marc Garneau tried in vain to reassure the crowd that it was not a definite motion to abolish the monarchy, but rather to initiate a discussion.
“I support the idea of having a Canadian head of state, but what I am telling you is that it’s important to begin a debate. Our country has evolved. It is not a resolution that will tear us apart. It is a resolution that says the Liberals can discuss in a respectful manner,” he said.
Ending First-Past-the-Post
The motion in favour of implementing a preferential balloting system for all future federal elections was accepted. It had garnered much support from former Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion and Papineau MP Justin Trudeau, who tout it as a step toward a truly proportional representation of voting percentages translating into seats in Parliament.
A preferential system allows voters to rank the candidates according to their order of preference.
The winning candidate must receive an absolute majority of “first choice” votes; if at first count no candidate passes that threshold, the lowest rank candidate is eliminated and “second choice” votes on his ballot are allocated to the remaining candidates. This process of elimination and allocation occurs until a candidate obtains an absolute majority.
While Dion recognized that the system is not a perfect alternative to first-past-the-post, it allows candidates “to be more civilized in our politics,” saying that it would damage one’s candidacy to “run ugly attack ads” to hurt another candidate.
Doing so could polarize a segment of the electorate, making it less likely that they rank that candidate as runner-up to their first choice, he said.
The Liberal Party has allegedly suffered much from the Conservative Party’s consistent negative ads against its two past leaders, Dion and Michael Ignatieff.
“The advantage is that this system eliminates polarization,” Trudeau said in French.
“It encourages parties to be conciliatory,” added a delegate, saying it allows voters to express their thoughts when they are torn between different candidates.
While not necessarily disagreeing with the proposal, those who voiced disagreement mostly did so because the preferential balloting system falls short of the intended goal of true proportional representation.
