Brian Rice responds to APC Presidential Questionnaire February 7, 2014 Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn Email The Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission of the Liberal Party of Canada was pleased to receive a response to our Presidential Questionnaire from LPC Presidential candidate, Brian Rice. View his responses below: Q1: What is your knowledge and understanding of the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission of the Liberal Party of Canada? I have been privileged over the past couple of years to work closely with the Aboriginal People’s Commission here in BC and across the country. The leadership of the APC have been very patient with me as I have tried to learn about the issues facing Indigenous peoples across Canada. I have helped raise money for the APC, helped facilitate events, and tried to ensure that all of the ridings in BC are receptive to the help the APC offers in engaging Indigenous voters. Q2: Over the last two years there has been much rebuilding in the Liberal Party, this includes the APC. Do you support a revived and strong Indigenous wing in the party? If the LPC handed out a most improved organization award, the APC would certainly have been the recipient based on their work in the last 2 years. I think the work the APC has done, and will do, is vital to the future success of the Liberal Party across Canada, and I support their efforts 100%. Q3: Additionally, over the last two years the APC has worked hard to rebuild its structure and presence here in Canada (Turtle Island) amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous Liberals/non-Liberals. Would you support a sufficient budget for the APC in order to achieve its mandate of outreach, communication, enlisting Indigenous delegates at conventions, and future Indigenous Candidates to carry the Liberal banner? I think each of the four commissions have a role to play in helping us win elections. I want to see all four commissions to define their own success goals/targets – that are focused on activities that help us win elections – and present a plan to the National Board that describes how those targets will be met. The Party needs to support the plans from the commissions, and provide sufficient resources for those plans to be successful. Q4: Would you, as the next President of the Liberal Party of Canada, support the continued existence of the APC within the Party structure? Yes. I think we have done damage to our Party by continuously forcing the commissions to justify their existence. I would rather invest my energy, and that of the party, in facilitating the commissions successfully fulfilling their mandates than constantly questioning whether or not they should exist. Q5: Have you had any personal involvement with the Indigenous nations, communities, and peoples, as well as an understanding of the issues Indigenous peoples face? My personal experience with Indigenous nations, communities, and peoples is far more limited than I would like. I have accompanied Dr Bennett and other MPs on visits to Indigenous communities in BC, and participated in meetings with Chiefs, councillors and others from the community. I have attempted to learn as much as possible from these visits, and I have tried to learn as much as possible from the members of the APC who have taken the time to discuss these matters with me. There is no way that I can possibly fully understand the issues that Indigenous people in Canada face since I have not had to live through them. But I feel that I have at least a grasp on the issues with engaging Indigenous voters into the party, and a working understanding of the barriers to electoral success in Indigenous communities. I look forward to the leadership of the APC continuing to help me, and our party, understand these issues better so that we can effectively engage with Indigenous voters in a respectful and meaningful way. Q6: As the potential President of the Liberal Party of Canada, how do you see yourself working with the APC in relation to the Board of the Party as well as to the Leader and the Leaders’ office? I hope to continue the productive working relationship I have already developed with the APC to help ensure that they have an effective and meaningful voice at the National Board table. I hope that I will be able to help facilitate a good working relationship between all members of the Board and the Leader/Leader’s office. I believe that the National Board can provide valuable insight, advice and guidance for the Leader. I believe the commissions have an important role to play in helping the Board and the Leader understand the issues in their respective constituencies. Q7: Do you believe that the Liberal Party of Canada, when constructing policies relating to Indigenous peoples, should work with the APC in doing so, not to mention holding proper and appropriate consultations with Indigenous peoples? The role of the President does not directly impact on or the policy process, but yes, if the party is crafting Indigenous policy, then the Party should be consulting not only with the APC and Indigenous Liberal members, but with all Indigenous nations, communities, and peoples. Q8: How will you assist the APC in supporting current Indigenous organizations to address the current experiences of Indigenous women and girls, or specifically, the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women? Being from BC, and living in East Vancouver specifically, this is an issue that is personally deeply concerning for me. As I mentioned above, the role of the President is not directly related to policy, but I hope that I will be able to help the APC work with the Women’s Commission, caucus and the Leader to address this serious issue. One thing the President can focus directly on is ensuring that our party is as inclusive as possible, and have zero tolerance for discrimination in any form. I can’t directly impact how Indigenous women and girls are treated in Canada in general, but I certainly can have an impact on how they are treated in the Liberal Party of Canada. Q9: Can the APC count on your support for many of the ten (10) policies that have come forth, through consultation and public forums, from APC members and non-membered Indigenous peoples? The President should remain neutral on all matters of policy that are under consideration by the membership since the President serves as an ex-officio member of the National Policy and Platform Committee and needs to aid the National Policy Chair in ensuring a fair and unbiased process. That said, once a policy is passed the President has a responsibility to support NPeP in advocating for those policies on the Board, with caucus and the Leader. I commit to doing everything I can to help facilitate a fair policy process, and do my best to advocate for the policies our member pass at convention. Q10: How would you work to ensure greater participation among Indigenous people within the Liberal Party of Canada as well as in the general Canadian political process? I think we need to do more to be inclusive to everyone in Canada, regardless of ethno-cultural background, language or economic status. Our primary job as a political organization is to engage voters in a way that will lead them to vote for us. This means being as open and inclusive as possible at all levels of our party – particularly in our ridings. I believe the best way to ensure inclusivity in our party is through proper and effective training of our members and volunteers. The party needs to work with ridings and local commission clubs to set expectations and goals, and then provide resources and training to help ridings and clubs meet those goals. Central to this effort must be the creation of an open and inclusive culture in our party. I would ensure that our staff would work closely with our volunteers in the APC to ensure that the we create training materials on how to engage with Indigenous nations, communities and peoples in respectful and inclusive ways. I would make it a priority that this training material be part of a standard riding/club training package available to volunteers on Liberal University. I would also make it a priority to connect ridings/clubs with the APC to facilitate workshops and forums on engaging with Indigenous voters. Brian G. Rice www.bgrice.com Note 1: Additional posts from the Presidential candidates will be posted upon receipt; Note 2: This post does not constitute an endorsement of the candidate by the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission.