Policy Dictatorship at LPCQ: policy approved or not behind closed doors.

In the midst of all the excitement following the conseil général and in my long debrief yesterday, important information was lost in the shuffle.

People are very angry about LPCQ policy and the process used to determine what would be voted on last Saturday and what would not.

Most people by now have heard about the infamous "nation" resolution. Whether or not that is the right approach for the Liberal party in Quebec, the room was stacked by Iggy's group to be sure it passed and this group is backed also by much of the Quebec party executive. A few people got their way even at the expense of the majority, though the commission puts out lots of spin about renewal, consultation and transparency.

My point in this is not whether this is good or bad. Though, I see this as carrying too much risk for too little gain. Any appeal to soft nationalists will be lost to those who are adamant about not re-opening the constitution, and this is where it will be spun by our opponents the next time. To me, this shows a lack of true understanding about Quebec, which will be noted by "Joe Voter" and exploited especially by the Bloc Quebecois.

My point is that this resolution got there because of a small number of Liberals in Quebec insisted that Liberals support it, and because it made its way past the one person at the policy commission who has more than just a veto on ALL policy coming out of the Quebec wing of the party.

Yesterday, I wrote:

Also, since we are talking about process flaws, the process for choosing resolutions in Quebec at least is totally BAD (and I am being nice). At the end of the day, one person only, someone with a specific view of the world chooses which resolutions are voted on and which are not.

Resolutions passed at the Biennial Policy Convention ... last November were somehow "not eligible" even if they passed unanimously the last time. Most Liberals that I know (except for perhaps those who live in an ivory tower) are furious about this.

There is a very specific agenda here that is "trumping"
renewal in a bad way. Even if the renewal process appeared transparent and legitimate, it cannot work if so much power lies in the hands of one person. Kim Jung Il does not necessarily have anymore power in North Korea than this man does when it comes what can become policy and what cannot.

There is currently a backlash happening amongst many party members involved in policy because of the time and effort spent in 2005 prior to the biennial convention preparing policy resolutions, obtaining support and passing them through the processes outlined by the party's constitution. At the time, there were process flaws in that votes were held at "strategic" times and locations to ensure that only the resolutions that were supported by certain persons responsible for overseeing the process became priority resolutions. Process manipulation of this type was previously very common in party and it is our arrogance in thinking that nobody would notice that lost us the election that soon followed.

Because a couple "biggie policies" not supported by those at the top slipped through the cracks last time (because of movements within the Quebec section of the party), some very important decisions were made behind closed doors leading up to the vote last Saturday. The most important one, in spite of a "renewal process" was to "rule out" any previous resolution. This is even if the grassroots of the party were demanding that these same issues be considered again. This was ignored and Quebec Liberals are fuming.

The policy passed on Saturday reflects the preferences of a small group of individuals in Quebec who talk about fair and open process but who in reality have a need it seems to control the outcomes of everything they touch. This is rather than letting fair and equitable process lead the party to policy that is reflective of the membership and sustainable because the process used to get there has integrity. Good optics do not make for good policy. This will just hold us back at election time.

This is manipulative and not democracy and it is why the party is "broken" in Quebec. Are we going to risk the next election on the "same old same old"?