New Tory riding association holds founding meeting

The Nipissing-Timiskaming Federal Conservative Association
has been formed.
Further details are included in the following news release issued Sunday night by the association:
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Nipissing-Timiskaming Conservatives Re-unite – Take Aim At Liberals

January 25, 2004
Conservatives from Nipissing and the Tri-Towns met in North Bay Sunday to hold the founding meeting of the Nipissing-Timiskaming Federal Conservative Association. The meeting, which marked the re-unification of local conservatives previously members of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party, follows the December 12, 2003, ratification of the merger of the two parties at the national level, creating a single national conservative party.

The meeting was also required as a result of recent riding boundary changes that see Tilden Lake, Temagami, Latchford, and the Tri-Towns combine with the former riding of Nipissing.

An executive board comprised of members from both former parties and former ridings was elected at the meeting, including Gordan Rennie as President, John Cameron as Secretary, and Dr. Dave McParland as Treasurer.

“For too long small-c conservatives have been left on the sidelines as the Alliance and PCs battled each other in a war of attrition while the Chrétien/Martin Liberals demonstrated contempt for the priorities and values of ordinary Canadians. All that will change now that we have a single, national Conservative Party focused on restoring ethics and responsibility in government”, said Rennie.

The local association currently has a membership of four-hundred – a number that is expected to grow as the party’s leadership race picks up momentum and as the party moves towards picking a candidate for the next election.

Rennie, a former Secretary and Treasurer of the Timiskaming Federal Liberals and 1997 campaign manager for Liberal MP Ben Serré, says the new party allows conservatives of all stripes to be heard. “The Chrétien/Martin Liberals always took small-c conservatives in the party for granted. But when they began to speak up on issues like the gun control fiasco or the definition of marriage, they were told to sit down and shut up”, said Rennie. “I encourage all conservative minded voters, whether Alliance, PC or Liberal to re-engage in the political process - follow the leadership race, get involved locally, and make your vote count.”