The Liberals now have a new leader with Michael Ignatieff's coronation, and past promises of reforms to the way our democracy functions will now have another opportunity to be fulfilled. It is a bit disappointing to the Cat the Ignatieff's team have so far failed to step forward with any inspirational vision concerning fixing the rot in Parliament.

In the meantime, Carole James, leader of the BC NDP, has assumed the mantle of electoral reform in that province, as this letter from her reveals (kudos to challengingthecommonplace blog for posting it):

Dear Chrystal Ocean,

As I wrote before, I think this crucial debate is too important to get mired in partisan politics, so I will not be commenting on STV prior to the referendum.

However, I am firmly committed to implementing STV if the referendum passes. And, if it does not pass, I remain committed to offering British Columbians the opportunity to vote on MMP.

Sincerely,

Carole James, Leader
Official Opposition

With Campbell's rightwing Liberal Party and the provincial Conservative Party conspicuously absent on the question of electoral reform, James has put her NDP squarely in the forefront of reform, promising another referendum on a modified proportional representation system if the BC STV referendum fails to achieve a 60% vote on Tuesday.

How about it, Michael?

Care to put before all Canadians a significant platform of electoral reform for our federal politics? A system with some form of proportional representation will do far more to reduce regional tensions and empower ordinary citizens than any number of speeches you might make to Calgarians.

Why not back real reform instead of simple lip service to the concept?
Canadians deserve to have their votes counted, and to have their votes made significant. Today's system (first past the post or FPTP) reeks of illegitimacy.

Their name means prestige and privilege; the best. It is a tough remit to live up to, but Elite model management has secured itself an unshakeable foothold in the modelling industry.

First, the statistics:

Elite is a 35-agency-strong network, managing over 800 models across 5 continents.

It has bases dotted all over the globe, including New York, Milan, Paris, Barcelona and Copenhagen.

It is responsible for the most influential model-scouting process in the business. The ‘Elite Model Look Contest’, launched in 1983, has found some of the most significant names in the industry, and in turn, has helped shape the look of successive generations of models. What Elite finds, the fashion world wants.

Elite’s list of clients includes Chanel, Dior, Versace, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton. With a client roster like this, there is no chance of an Elite model working under the radar.

A year’s contract with Elite is offered as the grand prize to contestants of ‘America’s Next Top Model’. It is a prize beyond monetary value in terms of what it can do for a new talent’s career, which is goes some way to explaining why the competition between the contestants has a tendency to get a little ugly.

Elite has also recently celebrated its 5 millionth booking – perhaps the most impressive statistic of all.

Elite has a stellar pedigree within the modelling community – a history based on its unflinching pursuit of excellence. But it still tempts the best of new modelling talent onto its books. Recent signings have included two of the hottest names in contemporary fashion: Ali Stephens and Coco Rocha.

The process of an agency can be best understood by the career trajectory of one of its brightest stars – and Coco Rocha is in danger of eclipsing them all.

Born in Canada in 1988, growing up, Rocha had no real handle on the world of fashion. It wasn’t until she was discovered by a modelling scout at an Irish dancing contest, that Rocha began to learn her own value in terms of high-fashion currency.

Signed with Elite, Rocha met with photographer Steven Meisel, which lead to a Vogue Italia cover in March 2008; the highest accolade the industry has to offer any new model. Elite’s expertise in nurturing young stars, coupled with the agency’s heady international presence within the fashion world, ensured that Coco’s rise within the ranks was unimpeded.

She racked up appearances on numerous catwalks for designers such as Prada, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga and Chanel. With such an impressive hit-list, anyone this much in demand must be doing something right.

Where Elite succeeded with Rocha was taking her from fashion girl to the fashion girl, and in doing so, they played to her rather unusual strengths. Securing her a spot in the Jean Paul Gaultier A/W 2007 show, Coco knocked everyone sideways with an unforgettable appearance. Gaultier found out about her dancing background and insisted she start and finish the show – an honour in itself. But she wasn’t to walk down the runway – she had to dance it. Her exuberant Irish dancing caused a sensation, with American Vogue dubbing it the ‘Coco Moment’.

Signing Rocha was a particularly smart move for Elite. Her popularity with fashion editors and photographers boiled down to her unflappable instinct when it came to interpreting stories for editorial shoots. Her intelligent approach to movement and an awareness of how the body creates lines and shapes on camera can be directly attributed to her dance education.

Normally, a model with dance training doesn’t do that well. His or her formal training with emphasis on good posture gets in the way of creating avant-garde shapes and just doesn’t translate on film that readily. But Coco had the best of both worlds, and together they worked in perfect harmony. Rocha had the modelling instinct, and that is what has kept her, and her agency, ahead of the pack.

Elite have surpassed their competitors by being bold enough to take risks on signing faces that do not necessarily fit the fashion mould. On paper, Coco Rocha was a potentially shaky investment. The disparity between dancing and modelling alone would have put many other agencies off that contract. But Rocha is a rare breed; a dancer whose skills add to, rather than impede, the modelling package.

Elite has risen to the top by focusing not on the good, but on the great. In aiming for the best, they have achieved a level of success unrivalled in the industry, and it was all done on instinct. Yes, industry know-how played its part too, but listening to an instinct, however wrong it may seem, is what has put this agency at the top of the game. Elite acted on that instinct when signing Rocha, and it is that very same instinct that is responsible for each and every of one of those 5 million bookings.

HELEN TOPE

Little bits of information are making their way past the restrictions imposed on the Harper government commission into the payments made by Karlheinz Schreiber to former PM Mulroney. The commission has a mandate which surprisingly limits it inquiries to the recently disclosed cash payments to our former prime minister in assorted hotel rooms.

Under no circumstances is it supposed to widen its inquiry into what happened to the payments allegedly made by Schreiber to various Canadians from the fees he was paid when Airbus sold planes to Canada.

But – like the proverbial little Dutch boy who tried to stem the leaking dyke by putting his finger in the fissure – driblets of information keep making their way from the Airbus fees into the discussion of exactly what Mulroney did to justify his $300,000 cash payments (Schreiber's amount) or $225,000 payments (Mulroney's number).

The Cat makes a fearless forecast: Karlheinz Schreiber will surprise the commission (and delight hordes of media types thirsting for the opening of the Airbus inquiry) by somehow placing into public view further evidence which tantalizingly suggests that the Airbus matter has not been finally resolved by the Mounties' investigation (an investigation which, by the way, did not turn up the cash payments in the hotel rooms to the former PM).

And then Karlheinz will sit back and wait for the public pressure to get to the bottom of the missing millions to swell yet again, perhaps resulting in a new inquiry.

And perhaps his disclosures, if he does make any and can make any, might lead the three opposition parties to legislate a new inquiry, designed to get to the bottom of Airbus in a full and frank way.

After all, everyone who is a stakeholder (Schreiber, Mulroney, Canadians whose faith in democracy need bolstering) has an interest in putting this to bed, after all possible facts and angles have been thoroughly explored.

Next week, if all goes well, more than 60% of British Columbians casting votes will vote to change the archaic, undemocratic and ridiculous first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system in that province, and will select a new form, the single transferable vote (STV).

If that happens, BC voters will usher in a new wave of democracy for Canadians, finally giving ordinary voters better choices. After an election or two in BC using the STV, Canadians in other provinces will push for a similar choice (perhaps STV, perhaps mixed proportional representation), and politicians in those provinces will be forced to allow a vote on a replacement for the ludicrous FPTP system.

And within a decade or two, most provinces will have adopted a voting system which gives the power of choice to the people, not to political party hacks.

And then the pressure to bring democracy into our federal votes will start mounting.

If you know any voters in BC, email them or phone them and ask them to vote for STV next week, and to in turn email or phone or twitter others that they know, to bring out the voters and make this sensible choice.

If you twitter, then start a Twitter for STV movement by twittering everyone you know and asking them to do the same. Let twitter power help pass the STV in BC!

Inappropriate for OPCCA to endorse a candidate in PC Leadership Race

From http://www.campuspc.ca/about_us.html

With students moving from riding to riding for school and work terms, their campus club can become the best way for them to maintain a connection to the Ontario PC Party. The Ontario Campus PCs is the organization that helps all of these clubs run by providing them with materials, speakers, and other assistance.

We organize specials events across the province ranging from catching a taping of the Royal Canadian Air Farce, which we did last November, meeting with MPPs and other special guests, Ontario Model Parliament, and just going for dinner and / or drinks with fellow PC Youth.

Joining also gives you a lot of say within the Ontario PC Party and the ability to participate in things such as developing its policies and election platforms. Many of the Campus PC clubs are joint clubs with the Conservative Party of Canada and joining OPCCA will also allow you to get more involved at the federal level if you wish to do so.

Whether you are a committed Progressive Conservative or just curious about politics, the Ontario Campus PCs is a great place for you and a great place to meet like minded people.

On May 3, the executive of the Ontario PC Campus Association decided to speak on behalf of every single one of their members by endorsing a candidate in this race. I think the decision was highly inappropriate and goes directly against the mandate of the organization. To me this is not about them endorsing Tim Hudak. Tim is a strong candidate who has appealed to many young Conservatives in this race.

My issue is that how can this organization now be seen as credible or neutral? If Christine Elliott, Randy Hillier or Frank Klees want to speak to a campus in Ontario, why would they go through the OPCCA when it has already declared a bias? Will they look to a friendly student individual student or simply go through one of the Profs? My fear is that other candidates will be less likely to deal with the OPCCA because of this endorsement and as a result their membership will be at a disadvantage because potentially they will not hear from all candidates in an equal and fair manner. As a result they have failed with their mandate.

I would also be curious to know what gives the executive the right to speak for everyone. What kind of polling could they produce to justify this endorsement? How many University or College clubs support this resolution? If the University of Windsor PC campus club for example was to back a different candidate what would it mean for the parent organization? Could individual clubs endorse their own candidate? This will cause a mess and will likely cause more harm to the OPCCA than help to the Hudak campaign.

The OPCCA has a mandate to promote our party and ideas to University and College campuses in Ontario. They should promote all candidates, our policies and ensure students get engaged in the leadership race. They should resist pressure from all candidates to take a position.

At this point, I don' think there is any point retracting the endorsement and I don't have a problem with Tim accepting it. Having said that, I think the OPCCA did their membership a disservice with this endorsement and I hope it does not result in students at various campuses having less of an opportunity to hear from all candidates.

I bring attention to an open letter to members of the OPCYA written by Brayden Akers that I think is the appropriate way for an organization affiliated with the Ontario PC Party to handle this leadership race. I hope the OPCYA takes this letter seriously and avoids making the same mistake that OPCCA made by expressing a bias in this race to the detriment of their organization.
-Darryl

OPCCA Endorses Tim Hudak for Leader of the Ontario PC Party

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION May 3, 2009


OPCCA ENDORSES TIM HUDAK FOR ONTARIO PC PARTY LEADER

OTTAWA, ON- At its last executive meeting on May 2nd, the Ontario PC Campus Association (OPCCA) endorsed Tim Hudak to be the next leader of the PC Party of Ontario.

While there are several notable candidates in the field, OPCCA believes that Tim Hudak is best positioned to provide unifying and dynamic leadership for the Ontario PC party, in order to be ready to fight Dalton McGuinty in the 2011 election.

“I am pleased to announce that OPCCA is endorsing Tim Hudak to be the next leader of our party. Tim Hudak, more than any other candidate, has reached out to the youth of the party in support of our organization and its initiatives.” said Eric Merkley, OPCCA President.

OPCCA also strongly believes in Tim Hudak’s vision for the party; to provide strong and principled small “c” conservatism as a clear alternative to McGuinty’s Liberals. Our party is at its best when it speaks to the hopes and aspirations of middle class families in Ontario, and OPCCA considers Tim Hudak as the best candidate to unite the Ontario PC party behind these shared values.

“Without a doubt, Tim Hudak is the best candidate suited to unite our party against Dalton McGuinty with a solid conservative vision.” added President Merkley. “Tim’s campaign is also on the forefront of online innovation, showing that he understands how to reach out to the next generation, which is essential for the long-term strength of our party.”

To learn more about Tim Hudak, visit www.timhudak.ca

************

Open letter to the OPCYA from President Brayden Akers

Due to the recent amount of emails and phone calls I have received about the Ontario PC Campus Association’s decision to endorse a leadership candidate and enquiring if the Ontario PC Youth Association will be taking a similar route and also endorsing a leadership candidate, there is a need to communicate with you, the members of the Ontario PC Youth Association, my current position on this issue.

At our next executive meeting, I will be discouraging the Ontario PC Youth Association Executive from endorsing any candidate for the Leadership of the Ontario PC Party. I have decided to take this stand for a variety of reasons, despite the obvious pressures on me and members organization’s executive.

I will remind the Ontario PC Youth Association’s Executive not to pretend or attempt to speak on behalf of its membership (which includes Members of its subsidiary organization, the Ontario PC Campus Association) due to the variety of opinions on this issue and the impossibility of unanimous position among the membership. I will also remind my executive the importance of this process to remain fair and democratic, and we as an executive should not dictate to our membership for whom they should vote for.

I also recognize the responsibility of all Associations of the Party (Ontario PC Youth Association, Ontario PC Business Club, Ontario PC Women’s Association and Ontario PC Campus Association) to work with whoever becomes leader of the PC Party of Ontario. Compromising our relationship with the next leader would be irresponsible to our membership.

I encourage all Young Progressive Conservatives of Ontario to become involved in any leadership campaign and this important process that will determine the future direction of our party. I have also encouraged all members of my executive to become involved in any leadership campaign and endorse leadership candidates as individuals.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Brayden Akers
President
Ontario PC Youth Association
opcya@ontariopc.net
613-668-2991

Video: Frank Klees speaks at Richmond Hill BBQ on May 3

Part I:



Part II:

Check out http://www.frankkleesblog.com

Team Klees has launched a new blog to keep supporters up to date with the events and news from the campaign. Please check it out at http://www.frankkleesblog.com
-Darryl