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217 Lakeshore Rd. E., Downtown Oakville 905-844-3530 www.swissinteriors.com y o u r c h o i c e . . . or Purchase a Bedroom Grouping from any Durham Collection to Qualify - Limited Time Only! WITH QUALIFYING PURCHASEFREE w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , S ep te m be r 1, 2 01 1 1 4 By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Community involvement and communica- tion are two key priorities for the Halton Liberals, says interim leader Bob Rae. These were some of the suggestions passed yon b Rae to members of the Halton Federal Liberal Association and the local Liberal affili- ation at St. Volodymyr's Cultural Centre last week. The Oakville stop was part of a cross- country tour to meet with local riding associa- tions prior this weeks Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa. It was a very constructive discussion. It was lively...really talking about how we (need) to reorganize the party and make it stronger, both in terms of the policies we need to work on as well as some of the organizational questions we need to deal with, said Rae. Rae has been working with local associations nationwide since the May election ended. Part of what were trying to do across the party is just really engage with people and get them involved. I think we've seen it in Oakville and Halton, said Rae. Weve got very lively Liberal organizations that are very much part of the community. Martyn Johns is a member of the Halton Federal Liberal Association and attended the meeting. He said it is essential for the associa- tion to focus on the riding itself and engage itself in the community. We have members helping out on the Terry Fox Run and being involved there. We were involved in last year, we had a big contin- gent who helped organize and volunteer at the Milton Ribfest, said Johns. I think (thats) a huge piece of rebuilding, they keep saying grassroots, but really its just rebuilding the brand. Increasing communication between the leadership and the membership was also dis- cussed, Rae said. The session also focused on jobs and economy, as the party needs to look hard on how to address those issues, he added. Even though the party suf- fered a large-scale drop in seats in Mays federal election, Rae said the mood of the Halton members last week was pretty optimistic. Obviously we didnt get the result in the last election that we wanted, but I think we realized how much work we've got to do and what thats going to take and its not going to be achieved in a year, said Rae. Its going to take a lot of work and its up to us now to build the base of the party from one part of Halton to the other, but well get there. Im quite confident we can get there. Johns said the party can improve its com- munication through technology to allow it to communicate quicker and much more effec- tively. What came out of that point is, and I agree with it 100 per cent, is that we need to utilize technology more to communicate to our rid- ing, and ultimately to us members, said Johns. It seems sometimes there is a discon- nect and that shouldnt happen in this day and age with the numerous ways to stay in touch with people. Local Liberals advise Rae to focus on grass roots Liberal interim leader Bob Rae