The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The first national Conservative convention held in Winnipeg since the founding of the new party, took place in early November shortly after the election. It was three days of busyness, discussions on policy, elections of officers, and, of course, fun times at various hospitality parties. We Manitobans had organized such conventions for the PC Party in the past, including the Clark/Mulroney one in the '80s that led to the leadership convention that ousted Clark from the top job. This one was different, as it was organized by the top Tories from Ottawa with the help of the Manitoba PCs and over 100 volunteers from our province. You had to be a federal party member to volunteer, and you were checked out security-wise before given a position as a registrar, counter, greeter or on security. My job was as a greeter and security person, and was there ever security. The convention had a full professional security staff that was everywhere and included Winnipeg police officers and plainclothes RCMP officers, especially when the Prime Minister and his wife arrived to say hello to the volunteers, and later when he gave his speech. The door a security guard and I were working at was where the PM entered, surrounded by security police, so we were very busy up until after he left the hall. We were also instructed to keep a number of hallways and meeting rooms off limits to those who did not belong there, including the media (which did not go over very well with them, especially since they were not allowed to attend the policy meetings). One RCMP officer told me this type of security is necessary these days because there are a lot of strange people out there. By the way, the Communist Party of Canada organized a demonstration outside the Convention Centre, but they were not allowed to approach delegates or bother MPs. One door I was greeting at had interviews by Don Newman's group for his CBC Newsworld show Politics. The government house leader was interviewed, and Susan Bonner, a commentator on the program, complained to Don about the security and restrictions on the media. Volunteers were treated very well, given free parking, free food, and access to all the building along with invites to the hospitality parties. Minister of Public Safety Peter van Loan invited all of us to his hospitality suite, passing out an invite card with his seven traffic safety rules: 1. Liberals Ð look all the ways before you pick a leader. 2. Elizabeth May Ð keep away from parked cars or any cars. 3. Jack Layton Ð ride your bike safely; obey all signs and signals, not just the left turn signs. All were designed to generate a fun time. A convention of this type is most interesting because of the people you meet. One was the husband of a cabinet minister from Ontario, whose job for the party was chairing a committee to target opposition ridings. He pointed out St. Boniface and several Ontario ridings that the Tories won, and told me they were 70 per cent successful. He also vowed to take back the Edmonton riding lost to the NDP, which should be a certainty after the coalition fiasco. I also had a discussion with Manitoba's new female Conservative MPs, both of whom are very interesting and enthusiastic, and the mother of one of Manitoba's cabinet ministers. We discussed the horrible fate of Phoenix Sinclair and the trial. She said the reports are too horrible to read and are a good reason to restore capital punishment in Canada. For those who have been following the trial of her parents, the lady certainly has a point. One other interesting person I had quite a conversation with was Mr. Shola Agboola, an African Canadian who is director of Youth and Mobilization at the African-Canadian Cultural Centre, and a Winnipeg Centre executive member of the Conservatives. He worked in the past election and told me that African immigrants are naturally Conservatives and the party must reach out to them. He made such a proposal at the convention, and was very interested when I informed him it was John Diefenbaker who promoted and supported the first black MP, Lincoln Alexander in Ontario. I wished him the best of luck in his quest. Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
