Hot: Prioritization of rural and non-Liberal ridings as targets of OYL outreach initiatives
The Conservative bastion that is the riding of Whitby-Oshawa received considerable attention throughout the weekend – now incumbent President of the Ontario Young Liberals, Kevin Leung, spiritedly proposed expansion of the “Liberal fortress” to include the Whitby-Oshawa electoral district, as well as the northern township of Sudbury. Both Leung and the newly elected Riding Director, Parker Mackay, have proposed the latter districts as sites for the much-anticipated OYL Summer Fling as a means of augmenting the tenuous Liberal presence therein.
Hot: Opportunities for dialogue with accomplished Liberal MPPs/MPs
The weekend was peppered with guest appearances by a host of renowned Liberal MPs and MPPs: Dr. Helena Jaczek, a physician, businesswoman, and current MPP for Oak-Ridges-Markham, addressed the gendered obstacles that inhibit Canadian women from pursuing elected office. Jaczek further provided a handful of insider tips for aspiring young politicians at Saturday’s Central Regional Meeting.
Moreover, Young Liberals availed themselves of question periods with Chris Bentley, MPP for London West; Bob Delaney, MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville; and John McCallum, MP for Markham-Unionville.
Hot: The competence and vision of OYL United and ReNEW OYL presidential candidates
Although admittedly a partisan of the OYL United slate, I could not help but applaud both United’s Kevin Leung and ReNEW’s Veena Bhullar throughout the course of the presidential debate. Both candidates arrived at the AGM with a sound experiential foundation in student politics: Leung a former member of the York University Young Liberals, outgoing OYL Communications Director, and pioneer of the Communications Committee informally known as “Comms Comms”; Bhullar the socially conscious founder of the Etobicoke North Young Liberals and former OYL Toronto Coordinator. Each highlighted the necessity of prudent fiscal management and community outreach to electoral districts in which the Liberal presence is meagre. As a means of achieving the objectives of financial accountability and transparency, Veena proposed regular financial updates to the executive board on the part of the OYL treasurer. Moreover, Bhullar touted the virtues of diversity within the OYL executive as a means of facilitating community outreach.
Whitby-Oshawa’s own Kevin Leung repeatedly recalled the prime objectives of the OYL United campaign that are “accountability, accessibility, affordability,” and touched upon the need to facilitate the establishment of Young Liberal student clubs and youth organizations province-wide.
Members of the Whitby Oshawa Young Liberals
Not: Disorganization at the polls
Poor organization at the polls resulted in long, winding line-ups, frustrated electors, and voting times bordering on the 1.5 hour mark. So as to reduce waiting times and perhaps augment voter turnout, delegates ought to have been organized alphabetically, with voting taking place in a variety of halls in the Delta according to the surname of the elector. Moreover, the use of single ballots for each position contested (each of which required authorization by a poll clerk) contributed to unnecessarily lengthy wait times – why not devise one ballot featuring all candidates to simplify the voting process?
Not: Unfriendly rivalry between United and ReNEW partisans
While I am pleased to convey that I did not bear witness to incidents of physical confrontation between supporters of opposing slates, I became aware of the exchange of unpleasant and needlessly critical remarks between partisans on social media networks throughout the course of candidate speeches. While I concede that the process of contesting elections is adversarial in nature, Young Liberals of all bents would be wise to recall the words of President Kevin Leung, who characterized the political relationship between United and ReNEW supporters as one of “sibling rivalry.” We are all proponents of the same brand whose political visions are underpinned by common Liberal values. As such, what many conceived as unfriendly competition between supporters of opposing slates ought to be supplanted in next year’s races by a friendly rivalry guided by the objective of “moving forward together.”
By Diba Somani
W.O.Y.L. Members with M.P.P. Helena Jaczek
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