Postmedia News reports, “Thousands of delegates (will) gather in Calgary later this month for (the federal Conservative party’s) biennial convention. …The convention comes as the governing Conservatives recently passed the mid-term mark of their majority mandate and have set their sights on the next election, in 2015. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will attend the June 27-29 Calgary convention and is expected to deliver a speech in which he takes stock of the past two years and outlines where he wants to bring the country in the future.”
The article highlights, “The Conservatives will be discussing multiple resolutions that could clip the wings of unions and limit their involvement in political activity. Moreover, some resolutions scheduled for debate would strike at the heart of the union movement’s tradition of mandatory dues. One proposal says the party should support ‘right to work legislation to allow optional union membership’ — a contentious change that is occurring in some states in the US. …Among those calling for change is Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre, who has been advocating to make union dues optional for members of the federal public service. …The country’s unions, however, say they may be facing a battle for their political rights and survival if the government makes major changes. For instance, they say optional union membership would effectively scrap ‘union security’ and eliminate the Rand Formula, a long-standing practice that requires employers to deduct union dues from the paycheques of workers whether they belong to a union or not.”
“The delegates are scheduled to debate dozens of policy resolutions such as reducing CBC funding, protecting gun owners, opposing euthanasia and sex-selection abortion, and giving citizens the right to use ‘reasonable force’ to protect themselves and their property. Other resolutions up for debate include: developing a plan to stop human trafficking; making public service pensions comparable to those in the private sector; eliminating parts of the Indian Act; requiring criminals convicted of multiple crimes to serve their sentences consecutively instead of concurrently; and tightening rules for registered charities.”
iPolitics adds, “Though there’s no guarantee the resolution will be voted on at their policy convention later this month in Calgary, the Conservatives are once again toying with the idea of ending supply management. A resolution put forward by four Alberta electoral district associations — Medicine Hat, Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, Calgary-Southeast, and Calgary Nose Hill — calls for an ‘orderly transition’ away from the system of tariffs, quotas, and price-setting for dairy, poultry, and egg farmers.”
And National Post columnist John Ivison comments, “The Conservatives are suddenly very jittery. They are behind in the polls and only one in six Canadians say they believe Stephen Harper’s account of the Mike Duffy Senate scandal. But this too shall pass. Parliament will soon break for the summer… Mr. Harper will have an opportunity to rally his troops at the Conservative convention in Calgary at the end of this month. …A Cabinet shuffle is coming, likely after the convention, and there may be surprises. …Once the shuffle is out of the way, Mr. Harper can concentrate on working up a Speech from the Throne that might convince voters the government is listening and hasn’t yet run out of steam.”
There will be an announcement very shortly on how Common Causes will organize an exciting intervention to counter Conservative messaging in Calgary.
For more, please read:
Federal Conservatives poised for major convention debate on union rights
Coming to the Conservative convention: a resolution to end supply management
Things look bad for the Tories, but there’s life yet in the Harper Conservatives
