A Liberal from Saskatchewan

I had a long chat with a Liberal from Saskatchewan. His major concern was the structure of the Liberal Party and making sure that the PTAs and Commissions should continue and be the true base of the Party.

He told me that the depth of Western alienation must not be underestimated. Ontario in general, and Toronto/Ottawa in particular, is seem as being smug, arrogant and distant from the concerns of Westerns. The truth of this impression doesn't really matter; what matters is that a single level Party headquartered in Ottawa will have a very hard time being taken seriously in Western Canada.

There may be efficiencies that can be made in the PTA and Commission structure. Back office work may be sensibly combined into a national body. That said, we cannot afford to ignore the PTAs and Commissions; we should invigorate them.