Liberals to debate emergency motions on Ukraine, 'electoral fairness'

As is often the case at party conventions, tomorrow's plenary will also include two emergency resolutions – one, on the situation in Ukraine, and a second that calls for the restoration of "electoral fairness" in response to the government's bid to rewrite the rules at Elections Canada.

The full text:

163. Emergency Resolution on Ukraine WHEREAS we have observed a growing and progressively deadlier escalation of violence in Ukraine, with as many as 100 people killed in recent days; WHEREAS there is a clear and dangerous breakdown in the public order across Ukraine; WHEREAS a political paralysis has gripped the country for the past 3 months, with no evidence whatsoever that the Yanuvovych government is willing to make any changes to accommodate the growing number of protesters; WHEREAS President Yanukovych has now completely lost all credibility with a very significant segment of Ukraine’s citizens; BE IT RESOLVED  that the Liberal Party of Canada calls on the Government of Canada to work closely and forcefully with its allies and the international community to: Pressure the Government of Ukraine to hold new internationally supervised elections at the soonest possible date; And that, in the interim, it also takes action to do the following (if not already done): Impose personal sanctions, including freezing of assets on those in the Ukrainian Government responsible for the bloodshed in Euromaidan; Send high-level observers to Ukraine to monitor the situation on the ground; Provide expedited no-cost visas to Ukrainians whose lives are in danger. 164. Emergency Resolution: Restoring Electoral Fairness WHEREAS the right to vote is a basic democratic right of all Canadian citizens, guaranteed by theCanadianCharter of Rights and Freedoms,and no citizen should be unfairly burdened in the exercise of that right. WHEREAS, in 2009, the Fifth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples noted the significant shortcomings of Bill C-31 during the 2008 federal election[1]; WHEREAS, instead of correcting these problems, Bill C-23 will amend the Canada Elections Act by: Further restricting access to voting by disallowing vouching for voters, thereby preventing approximately 120,000 Canadians from voting; Threatening the independence of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, by making this position part of government rather than leaving it with Elections Canada, which is independently answerable to Parliament; Prohibiting the Chief Electoral Officer from communicating broadly with Canadians; Hampering investigations into election breaches, by failing to give the Commissioner the power to compel witnesses to answer questions or provide documents; BE IT RESOLVED that the next Liberal government of Canada, in consultation with Elections Canada, urgently enacts legislation to protect, strengthen and improve the electoral process by redressing the above concerns; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as per recommendations of the Chief Electoral Office to have all parties and individuals keep copies of records and contracts with telemarketing companies employed by them to provide access to Elections Canada as required.

The full list of priority resolutions – with links – courtesy of the official website:

Priority Resolutions 1. National Transportation Strategy 11. Equalizing On-Reserve Education 21. Acknowledging the Past in Order to Move Forward: A Resolution to Officially Reject The 1969 White Paper 31. Restoring Trust in Canada’s Democracy 50. National Energy Strategy 51. National Framework for Mental Health 61. Aboriginal Issues 71. Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Enhancements 100. Creating a Basic Annual Income to be Designed and Implemented for a Fair Economy 111. Resilient Communities in Canada’s North 113. National Action Plan on Dementia 123. Health Care 133. Respecting Aboriginal Rights 153. Funding for Health Care 159. Fracking 163. Emergency Resolution on Ukraine 164. Emergency Resolution: Restoring Electoral Fairness 165. Death with Dignity: Legalizing Medically-Assisted Death Priority resolutions coming from workshops 3. A National Strategy for a Universal Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Program to Support Canadian Families in Honouring the Rights of Children to Achieve their Full Potential 38. A New Deal on Health Care 10. Pensions: Old Age Security & Canada Pension Plan 97. Basic Income Supplement:Testing a Dignified Approach to Income Security for Working-age Canadians 36. Sustainable and Transformative Canadian Infrastructure Investment 5. New Jobs for New Times – Securing Canada’s Future Through Innovation 29. Implementing the Kelowna Accord 110. A Resolution for Action for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 33. A Social Covenant with Canadian Veterans 162. Affordable National Housing Strategy