A Party Built for Everyone
Part 1: John Lennard's Commitment to Multiculturalism
Let's face it: We can't build the Party unless we grow the Party, and we can't grow the Party unless we bring new people in. Our constant focus as Liberals – and especially as Young Liberals – needs to be to create an atmosphere in which everybody feels comfortable participating, and in which everyone feels they have an equal opportunity to thrive, succeed and have their voices heard.
The Liberal Party of Canada is the Party of the Charter, the Party of multiculturalism and the Party of diversity. We ought to be proud of our strong traditions, and proud of the fact that we reflect the cultural diversity of Canada itself. But we still have much more to do to ensure that our grassroots multiculturalism is reflected at all levels of the Party, from riding association executives to the Liberal Caucus, from campus club executives to the YLC national executive.
We need to re-establish our promise to one another – and our promise to Canadians -- Below are some of my ideas on how to make the Liberal Party more diverse and multicultural. I hope to hear some of your ideas as well.
Yours sincerely,
John Lennard
1. As Young Liberals, we need to fight to re-establish the multiculturalism committee within the Liberal Party of Canada. The multicultural committee was, and should be, an important liaison between the Party apparatus and cultural communities all over the country. This committee needs to focus not only on engaging more new Canadians into the political process, but making sure their voices are well-represented throughout the Party. In particular, the Multiculturalism Committee must seek out and encourage qualified visible minorities to run for local nominations.
2. As Young Liberals, we also need to establish a multicultural committee of our own. Made up of interested Liberal youth from across Canada, the multicultural committee will be mandated to come up with ways to better communicate the Young Liberal message to various cultural communities, and to engage these communities within our organization. But we must also keep in mind that communication is a two-way street: Just as young Canadians from all backgrounds need to hear our message of hope, opportunity and engagement, so, too, do we need to hear about their concerns, their interests and their priorities. The YLC Multiculturalism Committee will thus be tasked with providing “on-the-ground” feedback to the national executive on issues of importance to cultural communities.
3. As Young Liberals, we need to sit down with the Aboriginal Peoples Commission and come up with a real outreach and engagement strategy for Aboriginal, First Nations and Metis youth. We should also look at setting up an Aboriginal Youth mentorship program, similar to the one that exists already for women, that seeks to connect aboriginal Young Liberals with aboriginal Members, Senators and candidates.
4. As Young Liberals, we need to take a careful inventory of our activities and events to make sure they are accessible to everyone. The youth commission should give itself a report card every year – How many ethno-cultural events did we hold and / or fund? Are our events accessible to young people with dietary restrictions? Are we doing enough to make members of various communities feel welcome, including religious and cultural minorities? Are any of our activities geared towards young people who can't drink for whatever reason? The answers to these questions should, at the very least, provide a rough guide of where we're strong, where we need to improve, who we need to reach out to, and what our next steps should be.
Let us never forget that the Liberal Party of Canada, and the YLC in particular, ought to reflect the diversity of our country itself. This means that everyone ought to have a seat at the table.
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