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A Conservative Confederation Caucus
Innisfil Enterprise
August 8, 2007
By Peter Van Loan, MP, York-Simcoe
Last week, the Conservative Members of
Parliament gathered for the summer Caucus,
this year in Charlottetown. It was a fitting
place - the cradle of Confederation.
In 1864, the Atlantic Colonies were to meet
there to discuss the idea of Maritime Union.
But John A. Macdonald and George Etienne
Cartier had been working on a proposal for a
broader union of the Colonies., to include
Canada East and Canada West (as Quebec and
Ontario were called at the time), as well as
the Atlantic Colonies.
Macdonald led a delegation to Charlottetown,
and this new idea of Confederation became
the focus of the conference.
I made sure I took some time out from our
meetings to visit Province House - the
current seat on the PEI Legislature, and the
home of the Confederation Conference.
When there, I watched the video documenting
how our country was born.
The first time I visited Province House
years ago, I had just days earlier visited
its American counterpart, Independence Hall
in Philadelphia. It is a study in contrasts.
The Americans have a video documenting the
high-minded speeches made and appeal to
noble principles that led to the Declaration
of Independence.
Our video is a bit different. There is no
record of the debates, discussions or
deliberations at the Charlottetown
Conference. (The meetings happened behind
closed doors, with the journalists kept out
- and the outcome worked well, as I reminded
journalist complaining that we held our
Caucus meetings in private). But we do know,
the Fathers of Confederation had lots of
luncheons, dinners, balls and social
gatherings - and all enjoyed the week of
social activity, aided by the shipload of
champagne John A. Macdonald brought with
him. Everyone had a great time and our
country was born!
Charlottetown was an ideal location for the
Conservative Caucus to meet. After all,
Confederation was very much a conservative
project. Macdonald and Cartier were the
driving force in crafting, articulating and
negotiating the idea and the ultimate
agreement.
At the Charlottetown Conference, 14 out of
the 23 delegates were Conservatives. At the
follow-up Quebec Conference, where the
resolutions outlining the structure of
Confederation were agreed, 21 of the 33
delegates were Conservatives.
In my address to Caucus as House Leader, I
made sure to remind our Caucus of this proud
aspect of our Party's heritage. We are the
Party of Confederation, who shepherded the
creation of Canada. It is a legacy we carry
with pride as we build policies for the
future.
After the Caucus, we did have a day to
travel the Island - defined today as the
home of Anne of Green Gables. A surprise
highlight was our visit to Avonlea Village -
a pioneer village type re-creation of PEI
life at Anne's time. It was more fun than I
expected, with a steady stream of
performances, music and other activities.
One was a re-enactment of the 1908 Queen's
County Fair. I participated in a competitive
activity - the manure toss! They said it was
the first time a real politician had ever
been in the manure toss, notwithstanding
their likely aptitude for the event!. I did
York-Simcoe proud, with a throw that earned
a tie for first place. Sadly, I lost the
poop-off that settled the tie!
Our Caucus meetings were a success. The team
is unified and proud of our results
delivering on priorities like helping
families make ends meet, making communities
safe by tackling crime, and strengthening
accountability in Government. We are doing
what we said we would do.
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