Another interesting release came through the Liberal pipe that I thought would prove valuable to our riding and the public in general. I’ve included it below and urge you all, yet again, to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments that you may have. I’ll do my very best to answer them in a timely fashion and forward them on to those parties who would benefit most from your insightful views on the subject.

As always, I hope this further educates you on the Liberal stance and how it affects you and the community as a whole.

–Rick Szostak

Liberals pledge to prevent abuse of prorogation

OTTAWA – Surrounded by members of the Liberal caucus in front of the House of Commons on the day when Parliament should have resumed, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced that the Liberal Party of Canada will seek changes to the House of Commons’ rules that would prevent the Prime Minister from using prorogation illegitimately.

“Twice in one year, Mr. Harper has abused his powers by shutting down Parliament to save his political skin,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “In appropriate circumstances, prorogation is a legitimate procedure, but we need new rules to prevent Mr. Harper – or any other Prime Minister – from using it to escape democratic scrutiny.”

“Today, we’re putting forward a concrete, practical proposal that will set out clear terms for how and when a Prime Minister can ask to prorogue,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “I pledge that a Liberal government will respect these rules and the role of Parliament in ensuring accountability to the people of Canada.”

To prevent future abuses of prorogation, the Liberal Party of Canada will seek to amend the Standing Orders of the House of Commons to:

• Require at least 10 days written notice from the Prime Minister of his intention to seek to prorogue, together with his specific reasons for doing so;
• Require the Prime Minister to bring the issue of prorogation before the House of Commons for a full debate;
• Prevent a request for prorogation within the first year after a Speech from the Throne, unless the House consents;
• Prevent a prorogation longer than one calendar month without the consent of the House;
• Prevent a request for prorogation if a matter of confidence has been scheduled in the House unless the House consents; and,
• Allow Parliamentary Committees to continue to function during the period when Parliament is prorogued until the start of the new session.

“Parliament should not prevent a Prime Minister from using prorogation in proper circumstances,” said Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale. “But the Prime Minister must be held to account for why he is using it, and the rules must be clear on when shutting down Parliament would be wrong.”

Liberals intend to submit their proposal to the House Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs for consideration by all parties, and will then bring forward amendments to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, in the form of legislation if necessary.

“Parliament doesn’t serve the Prime Minister – it serves Canadians,” said Mr. Ignatieff.  “That’s why Canadians need clear, binding conventions on the proper use of prorogation.”

The following is a press notice from Liberal Party of Canada and has been slated for immediate release.  As such, in addition to my supporting of the subject, I’ve added it here to my blog. I urge you all to invite your friends, family and associates to read it. Feel free to pass on your comments or questions to me and I will do my best to address them and, if it seems appropriate, forward them on to our friends in the Parliament. Remember, we work for you!

Read, be educated, be enlightened!

–Rick Szostak

Stephen Harper’s top twenty democratic abuses

In advance of today’s rallies organized by “Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament”, we thought we would remind Canadians of Stephen Harper’s top twenty abuses of democracy:

1. Shutting down Parliament – twice – to get out of political hot water and avoid democratic scrutiny.
2. Firing nuclear whistleblower Linda Keen for her warnings about the Chalk River nuclear reactor.
3. Refusing to renew the contract of RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy after he was critical of the government.
4. Shutting down the Military Police Complaints Commission before Richard Colvin was set to appear and failing to renew the contract of Commissioner Peter Tinsley.
5. Using a “dirty tricks manual” to grind Parliamentary committee business to a halt.
6. Withholding information from the Elections Commissioner, which necessitated a police raid on Conservative Party Headquarters.
7. Breaking his own fixed election date law to call the 2008 election.
8. Refusing to provide adequate funding and independence to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
9. Refusing to provide unredacted documents concerning the Afghan detainee scandal to Parliament after a motion ordering their disclosure was passed in the House of Commons.
10. Boycotting the Afghanistan committee by refusing to show up.
11. Attacking public servant Richard Colvin for doing his public duty to truthfully respond to questions from Parliament.
12. Trying to eliminate political party financing in the 2008 Fall Economic Statement in a bid deprive political opponents of funding.
13. Trying to eliminate political party financing in the 2008 Fall Economic Statement in a bid deprive political opponents of funding.
14. Scrapping the court challenges program that helped underfunded groups fight for constitutional rights.
15. Abandoning their promised Public Appointments Commission after their proposed watchdog, Conservative fundraiser Gwyn Morgan, was rejected.
16. Firing Canadian Wheat Board President Adrian Measner to undermine its independence.
17. Trying to amend Canada’s constitution to put term limits on Senate appointments and redistribute House of Commons seats – without first consulting the provinces.
18. Launching a lawsuit to hush-up the Cadman Affair into bribery allegations.
19. Refusing to disclose the time, date and location of Cabinet meetings.
20. Requiring media to be on a pre-approved list before they can ask the Prime Minister questions at press conferences.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all both a very happy holiday season and a successful and fulfilling new year in 2010.  This is a good time of year to count our blessings and yet also think about what we hope to accomplish in our lives in the next year.  I am looking forward very much to being able to spend a lot of time with those I love over the next weeks.  I have been lucky in life: great career, wonderful children, good friends and more.  I also truly believe that we are lucky to live in this country – I believe that we should work together in 2010 to leave an even healthier, more just, and more prosperous country to our children.  Again, I wish you all the best.

Greetings all;

First of all, I’d like to wish a Happy and Joyous Hanukkah to all who are celebrating this beautiful and festive tradition. Shalom L’Shanah Tovah L’chayim! (”To peace, life and a good new year” in Hebrew). Both I and the riding team wish you all a Happy Holiday and our warmest blessings as you celebrate this Festival of Lights!

Recently, our Election Readiness Management Team and I produced a newsletter to update our Liberal supporters and contributors on our efforts and progress with our pre-campaign readiness, some plans for the future and touching on some current issues. The newsletter was mailed to current and recent Liberal members but in order to keep everyone in the loop and abreast with our status, we have uploaded a copy to the website for you to download and read at your leisure. You can download it from this link (Newsletter-Fall2009-OnlineVersion.pdf).

A few important aspects of the newsletter include our need for donations and volunteers. Running a campaign, even in these pre-writ months, needs your support in anyway you can provide it. You may be amazed to find out how you can contribute to the effort and in the process help make a change for the better in our community. Under the “Take Action” header on this website, you can find out how to lend your support either financially or by donating your time. It need not be much, but you can be guaranteed it will make a difference.

In addition to your support, we urge you to read our newsletter and let us know any questions, concerns, comments or suggestions you may have. Both I and the management team would love to hear from and assist you in anyway we can. We are working for our community and to help us do that, your comments and contributions are vital and, as the newsletter states:

It is time for Liberals in Alberta to stand up and be counted!

Thank you for your continued and ongoing support and I look forward to hearing from you all!

Rick

Greetings all!

I have a video posted on YouTube of myself giving a speech on Ethics and Liberals in Alberta, as a guest speaker at the first annual celebration or the United Nations International Day of Older Persons by the Liberal Party of Canada in Alberta (LPCA) Seniors’ Commission.

The celebration was hosted on the 1st October 2009 at Delta South, in Edmonton. It was a great success and I think we really cast some light on a lot of issues and concerns that Liberals here in Alberta may have.

Do take a look at the videos (there are three of them, each about 10 minutes long) when you have a chance. Leave a comment and give it an honest rating – I would love to know what you think of it. You can access all of the videos by visiting my YouTube profile page at http://www.youtube.com/rickszostak.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Rick

Hello!

I’m Rick Szostak, the Liberal Party riding Candidate for Edmonton – Sherwood Park,  and welcome to my website and my new blog. Over the next coming weeks, as we near closer to the election, I will be posting regular updates to my blog including my views on current and upcoming issues, status updates on our Election Readiness and content that I feel to be worth mentioning.

I urge you to check back often for new content and information that could be vital to you and your community in the coming months. Although the running of a campaign takes both financial donations, volunteer hours and a solid campaign framework- we should not overlook the most important aspect: knowledge and education. I hope to be able to provide you with the latter two with the intent that you, as a voter or supporter, will be able to make a more educated decision about our current and possible future governments.

For those of you who wish to contribute time or money to the cause, please visit the “Take Action” links above. If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, criticism or anything else that is of concern- I urge you to contact us as soon as possible through the “Contact” link, also found above. We are a public institution and as such concerns, issues and your comments are what drive us to provide both you and your community with the services and support you should expect from a political party.

You can also find me on Twitter, at www.twitter.com/rickszostak; and on Facebook through this link.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to using this wonderful technology to its greatest effect!

Rick Szostak