In order to hold a leadership convention on such short notice, it was necessary to seek a constitutional amendment which would give the Executive authority to apply a time schedule and rules considered appropriate to the unusual circumstance when a federal general election is considered imminent. This possibility was not provided for when the constitution was adopted.
Prime Minister Paul Martin has made it clear that notwithstanding the necessity of investigating the scandal exposed by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser in her annual report, that he has no intention of delaying his plans for a Spring election which is expected to be called in early April for a vote sometime in May. Consequently it is absolutely essential to have the leadership question resolved before that time if CAP is to play any part in the election process.
As you will see in the rules that follow, the principle of one member, one vote, will be maintained and all paid-up members, as of March 12, will be allowed to attend the convention and vote in person or, if that is not possible, to vote by mail. So join now and play your part in the democratic process.
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Convention Will Pay Tribute to Founding Leader
The Friday evening reception and dinner will be in honour of CAP's founding leader, Hon. Paul Hellyer. It was his concern about the negative effects of neo-classical economics which led to the coalition of concerned Canadians who launched the party. Former supporters of five or six different parties got together in common purpose - to let Canadians know there is a better way.
CAP's founders were all disenchanted with Paul Martin's cut and slash method of balancing the books which had such disastrous effects on our health care system, universal access to post-secondary education, the environment, the arts, the armed forces, and just about every aspect of Canada's amazing post-World War II achievements. To see that progress all go down the drain was too much to accept. So they joined forces to fight for more excellent solutions that they know to be possible.
Paul Hellyer was well qualified for the role of leader. He first entered federal politics at age 25. After serving an apprenticeship of 8 years he was appointed to the cabinet of Rt. Hon. Louis St. Laurent just before the election of 1957, when the Liberals were defeated by John Diefenbaker. Hellyer spent the next two years working full time as president of his house building business which had been one of his passions from the days when veterans returning from overseas couldn't find places to live. Ironically, this was the issue which led to his resignation from the Trudeau cabinet many years later - a little more then a decade after being re-elected in a 1958 by-election.
The two issues at the top of Hellyer's agenda are Canadian independence and macro economics. The former has only become an issue in recent years since Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sold Canada down the river, first with the Free Trade Agreement and then NAFTA; and his successor, Jean Chrétien, carried on where he left off. Paul is convinced that only a complete reversal of policy will prevent Canada's ultimate annexation by the U.S.
Hellyer's life-long concern has been economics. He wants Canada to return to a system more like the one we had in the early post-war years when the Bank of Canada played a more active role on behalf of its shareholders, the people of Canada. Paul says there is no other solution to the myriad problems facing Canada and the world today.
Hellyer's experience has not been limited to public life. He was raised on a farm where his father pioneered the ginseng business in Canada. He studied aeronautics in California, served a couple of years in the armed forces, married in 1945 and graduated from the University of Toronto in May 1949, just a month before being elected to the House of Commons for the first time. Paul's extensive business experience includes manufacturing, retailing, house building, land development, journalism, tourism and publishing. In addition to extensive involvement in community affairs, he has been a long-time patron of the arts, partly as a result of studying voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Paul lives in Toronto with his wife Ellen. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Tickets for the Friday evening testimonial dinner are included in your registration package. For anyone not attending the convention, tickets will be available for $25.00 each but must be ordered in advance.
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Rules for Candidates for
Leadership of the Canadian Action Party
March 26th and 27th, 2004
1. Candidates must be qualified electors as defined in the Canada Elections Act.
2. Candidates must subscribe to the principles of the Canadian Action Party.
3. The deadline for nominations is Monday March 8th, 2004, at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
4. Candidates must be nominated and seconded by members and must be endorsed in writing by a minimum of twenty-five (25) members who are eligible to participate in the leadership vote.
5. Each nomination paper must be accompanied by a Leadership Nomination Fee of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in the form of a certified cheque or bond. This fee shall be returned to all candidates who receive more then five percent (5%) of the votes cast on the first ballot.
6. Candidates will be limited to total expenditures of not more then one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in respect of their leadership campaign and must agree to file a complete accounting of revenues and expenditures including a list of the names and addresses of the donors of all sums of two hundred dollars ($200) or greater, within 60 days of the end of the convention.
7. Candidates will not be permitted to buy block memberships. Only individuals who pay their own membership fee may join.
8. The cut-off date for memberships - both new and renewals - shall be Friday March 12, 2004 in order to allow time for processing and the mailing of ballots as required by the constitution.
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Dave Ruston