The Youth For Anita team is pleased to invite you to join Anita at "Politics in the Pub" hosted by the Ottawa West-Nepean Federal Liberal Association.  We are very fortunate to host Liberal critic for Democratic Reform, Sccott Simms. You can find the Facebook event and all the other information  here!

 Date: Monday April 28th
Place: Royal Oak in Centrepoint 
Time: 7 pm
The topic of discussion will be Democratic Reform. As you probably know, this is a very timely topic!
The 'Fair Elections' Act has been met with significant opposition from experts on democracy, senior public officials and countless everyday people who care about the state of our democracy. This event will provide a good opportunity to learn about the contents of the bill - both good and bad.

 Two articles stand out to me on this subject. The first is Anita's excellent piece published in iPolitics, in which she draws on her international experience to comment on the proposals in the ''Fair Elections' Act:

 " Not only does Bill C-23 undermine the legitimacy of Canadian elections, it also has the potential to disfranchise hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens. This is taking voter suppression to a whole new level. At a time when voter turnout in elections is going down, making it harder to vote can only be motivated by partisan interests — not by any public good.

 Once, Canada led the world on open elections and transparent institutions. Canadians need to speak out now before we lose our voice forever" 

 -Anita Vandenbeld

 The second is an open letter, signed by hundreds of professors across the country:

 "Last month, more than 160 professors signed an open letter to express grave concerns about the damage to Canadian democracy that the “Fair Elections Act,” Bill C-23, would cause. Today, we the undersigned, an even larger group of professors who share a deep concern over this legislation, urge the government to withdraw the bill and draft truly fair election reforms based on meaningful consultations with opposition parties, non-partisan experts, Elections Canada and the public. There is no reason to depart from this laudable Canadian tradition for electoral reform."
I encourage you to read both articles, to enjoy your weekend and then share YOUR views on the subject with us at the upcoming "Politics in the Pub".  See you there!

Here's an 'oldiee but a goodie' of Anita with some of her youth supporters: