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Conservatives say the payments from Liberal MPs' offices to Data Sciences, founded by a childhood friend of Trudeau, smacks of taxpayer-funded nepotism

Author of the article:

The Canadian Press

Stephanie Taylor

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OTTAWA Conservatives are plotting their next steps on how to probe payments the offices of Liberal MPs made to a company founded by a friend to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while the clock ticks down to a possible election that would bring any parliamentary investigation to a halt.

The partys push to get a parliamentary ethics committee to study why members had contracted Data Sciences Inc., and hear from its founder went nowhere after about five hours of debate on Monday.

Its important for Canadians to know, before we have an election, what their taxpayer money has been going to, Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said Tuesday.

The Globe and Mail reported last month that MPs expenditure reports showed most of the Liberal caucus had paid money through their office budgets to the company founded by Tom Pitfield. He is a close childhood friend of Trudeaus and also served as chief digital strategist for the Liberals in the 2015 and 2019 election campaigns.

Conservatives say the payments from Liberal MPs offices to Data Sciences smacks of nepotism funded by taxpayers. They also point out the Liberal Party of Canada has a relationship with the company, which had been hired to provide digital services and support for its voter database.

Trudeau has said his members use Data Sciences for constituency casework and there is a complete separation between political and parliamentary work.

We have always ensured that all rules are followed, he told the House of Commons June 23.

Messages sent to the Montreal-based office of Data Sciences did not get an immediate reply.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Party of Canada confirms it continues to work with the company on a wide variety of innovative digital engagement as it has during the past two election campaigns.

The Liberal Party of Canadas use of (voter database) Liberalist is not associated with the parliamentary work of Liberal MPs, and information from parliamentary offices isnt shared with the party, Braeden Caley said in an email Tuesday.

During Mondays debate, Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan, who is vice-chair of the committee, brushed off the Conservatives concerns as a witch hunt and a fake scandal.

She told the committee her office relies on the company for technical support and because its a Canadian firm, it can offer services in both French and English.

Barrett said Tuesday that the Conservatives are speaking with other opposition parties about other ways to push the issue forward.

They were supportive of getting some answers on this, he said.

He stopped short of saying Liberal MPs should no longer pay Pitfields company and believes the first priority is to get more details on the contract.

The House of Commons is on its summer break and is set to resume sitting September, but it is widely believed that Canadians will head to the polls before then.

The Conservative party used the Liberals ties to Data Sciences in a recent email seeking donations ahead of a possible federal vote, saying its leader Erin OToole will clean up the mess in Ottawa and is the only ethical choice for prime minister.

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Conservatives seek help from opposition parties after Liberals block ethics probe over company - National Post

It was five days before the Chesham and Amersham by-election when the Liberal Democrats decided to order some big blue bricks and a plastic orange mallet. They had spent the campaign in this Buckinghamshire constituency being surprised, again and again, by the palpable frustration of Conservative voters, who were wavering in their support for a party that many of them had supported for their entire adult lives. When theyknockedon the same doors in the last week of the campaign, they found that many of those Conservative voters were switching to the Liberal Democrats. Theywere tentatively confident they could win in this previously safe Conservative seat.

When the Liberal Democrats did win in Chesham and Amersham five days later, overturning a Conservative majority of more than 16,000, their leader, Ed Davey, duly celebrated by knocking down a blue wall of bricks with the orange mallet, in a clip that aired across TV news bulletins all day and was widely shared on social media.

[Hear more on the New Statesman podcast]

[See also:Nicola Sturgeon is nurturing a new generation of SNP talent to win independence]

It was incredibly cringe. We all knew that, says one senior Liberal Democrat. We all thought, this is awful, but its also brilliant. And it worked, right? Overnight, the blue wall was cemented in the political lexicon to name and amplify an idea that had barely been acknowledged before: that the Conservatives are vulnerable in a lot of their traditional, southern seats, and vulnerable in particular to the Liberal Democrats, who are second to them in 79 of those constituencies.

Chesham and Amersham wasa microcosm, Liberal Democrats believe, of the general election to come; the weaknesses of the Conservative campaign there revealeda wider Conservative complacency about its vote in the south. Liberal Democrats on the ground spoke of voters surprise at having politicians knock on their door at all, having gone years with no contact from a Conservative party that thought it could rely on their votes. One senior Liberal Democrat saidthat the Conservatives didnt have good data on their voters, and on polling day itself [Conservative campaigners] were knocking up our voters for us, not having realised their traditional voters had switched. When Theresa May arrived to join the Conservative campaign ahead of polling day, she was reportedly appalled.

[See also:The Brexiteers never took the Irish border seriously and it shows]

The Conservatives are, famously, pursuing a Red Wall strategy, having courted and now hoping to retain voters in Labours traditional heartlands. This has been in the expectation that their own traditional voters will stick with them and in 2019, they did.But the current Conservative government has little to offer these traditional Tories and much to repel them such as planning reforms, which were a major factor in the Chesham and Amersham contest. Theyre leaving their flank open and were coming in and having a big good go, Davey told me during the campaign in Amersham. Thats before you look at the underlying demographic shifts in these seats, the gradual post-Brexit realignment of British politics, and the Boris Johnson toxicity factor, which senior Liberal Democrats identify as one of the biggest current Conservative vulnerabilities among its traditional voters a factor they think was masked at the last election because of the similar unpopularity of Jeremy Corbyn.

There's no doubt that dislike of Johnson in the seat wasn't just an overnight thing," says a senior Liberal Democrat. "We were also getting the sense that they didn't like him before. But they voted Tory before because of Corbyn.

"He was toxic.Maybe former Labour people like him. Maybe former Brexit people do. But a lot of traditional Tories don't like him, they add. Those traditional voters are less keen on Johnsons entire approach to politics: the conduct of Brexit, the proroguing of parliament, or what they see as a wider culture of impunity in his top team, exemplified by the Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock scandals. It is a private worry of plenty of Conservative MPs too.

The question for the Liberal Democrats is, having identified the Conservatives weaknesses, whether they are likely to fix them by the time of a general election. Its too soon to tell, one of the partys MPs says, admitting that the party is dependent on the resources that the Conservatives decide to pile into its southern seats and how much it reorients towards its southern voters. That also depends on the Labour party. A strong pushback from Labour in the Red Wall would force the Conservatives to focus their energies there and not on the Blue Wall, helping the Liberal Democrats. But despite benefitting from Keir Starmers replacement of Corbyn as Labour leader, some Liberal Democrats are still worried that Labour is not a particularly strong opposition at the moment. One of the partys most senior figures is more confident, however: The Tories are going to have to fight on two fronts. That's their problem.

The Liberal Democrats have been bruised by recent elections and find themselves on a low ebb in Westminster, with only 12 MPs. But from that low base they find themselves unexpectedly well-placed to rebuild, and the strategy for doing so is unexpectedly self-evident. While the party has, historically, argued over its strategic position relative to the two main parties (a choice between equidistance or explicitly stating a preference for Labour), the current Conservative leader makes the choice simple: Johnson is seen as politically anathema to the Liberal Democrats, and, luckily for them, he is similarly repellent to their target voters. Davey has explicitly ruled out a coalition with Johnsons Conservatives.

The electoral arithmetic makes it even simpler. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have distinct areas of strength on the current electoral map, and will be facing Conservatives, and rarely each other, at the next general election. It wont be so simpleif there is a new Conservative leader or if the Liberal Democrats find themselves in pole position to target more Labour seats for the election after next.But that is not a Liberal Democrat concern for now, and nor is the worry among some activists that the strategy is too focused on middle-classsoutherners, with the party's MPs pointing to northern targets likeCheadle and Hazel Grove, and other areas of interest like Sheffield, Harrogate, York, Hull, as well as noting relative stability for the party in Scotland.

We have to start somewhere, is how one Liberal Democrat MP puts it. Another senior Liberal Democrat notes that traditional Tories vote are turned off by Johnson everywhere, not just in the south. There is, however, some private acknowledgement that the party needs to do better at articulating its own message, focusing on the crisis in care and the climate emergency.

But the Liberal Democrats are, overall, buoyed by their recent win in Chesham and Amersham and confident that the only way is up at the next election. Under Davey, the party has reversed the cuts to its campaigning team that took place in 2011, and reallocated resources to its ground game, going back to its campaigning roots as one senior Liberal Democrat puts it. It is by rebuilding from the ground up, with a rootedness in community activism and local government, as well as capitalising on current electoral dynamics, that the Liberal Democrats believe they can make a comeback. Chesham and Amersham was just the start, they believe.Davey still has the orange mallet in pride of place in his office.

[See also:How much austerity are the Conservatives prepared to impose?]

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What the Liberal Democrats are planning in the Blue Wall - New Statesman

Atlas Network CEO Brad Lips contends that the world now confronts a liberal democratic crisis

Atlas Network CEO Brad Lips' new book 'Liberalism and the Free Society in 2021' contends that, in the wake of an extraordinary health crisis, the world now confronts an extraordinary freedom crisis.

Arlington, Va., July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In July 2021, Atlas Network will celebrate its fortieth anniversary with the release of CEO Brad Lips Liberalism and the Free Society in 2021. The new book contends that, in the wake of an extraordinary health crisis, the world now confronts an extraordinary freedom crisis.

Lips explains, My big hypothesis is that a great deal of history will unfold in the 2020s, and the groups that make up the freedom movement are undervalued assets for revitalizing liberal democracy and ensuring a brighter future. The book takes a sober look at how the values of free societies are now being tested by lockdowns, cronyism, cancel culture, and more; and it finds hope in the capacities of a growing community of civil society organizations that aim for social change and policy reform in the direction of freedom.

For four decades, Atlas Network has played a leading role in growing a freedom movement of principled, non-partisan organizations. The independent partners of Atlas Network counter the arguments of left-wing socialists and right-wing populists, working instead to create a consensus around classical liberal ideas of individual liberty and limited government.

Liberalism and the Free Society in 2021 features findings from a new empirical study, the Global Index of Economic Mentality, which measures the extent to which the populations of different countries value private initiative, free competition, and personal responsibility over greater government intervention in the economy. The book also includes fascinating transcripts of wide-ranging interviews Lips held with thought-leaders in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. It is further enhanced by a photojournalism chapter, highlighting the concrete results in peoples lives that derive from policy reforms in the direction of economic freedom.

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In the final chapter, Lips presents A Path Forward, explaining how a broader consensus can be built around classical liberal principles by emphasizing inclusivity and equal justice.

Liberalism and the Free Society in 2021 is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon (print and e-book), and Target.

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New book Liberalism and the Free Society in 2021 examines the state of freedom worldwide - Yahoo Finance

In December 2020, after consulting faculty leaders,we welcomed Larry Smyrski as the Interim Dean of the School of Liberal Arts. Larry has been a great leader for the School, in the same spirit in which he has served for 28 years at HFC. You can read about Larrys distinguished background at the link above.

We are pleased to announce that Larry has agreed to continue as our Liberal Arts Dean through the end of 2021, and longer if needed.

Larry recently outlined his thoughts about our College, the School of Liberal Arts (SoLA), and his many roles. With his permission, we are sharing his thoughts with you.

I continue to learn about SoLA, its needs, and its potential. I am excited by ideas that faculty share to provide better education for students, to strengthen existing opportunities, and develop new ones. I am encouraged by peoples actions to move ideas from just ideas into practice, and by the support they receive from across the institution. I am impressed with the work to develop and strengthen relationships with other institutions, like the University of Michigan, that results in summer fellowships and research opportunities for students.

SoLA has programs that represent the College to the community, and the pandemic has been especially challenging for them. But I look at what Kevin Dewey, for example, was able to do to continue to provide music in virtual ways that helped lift peoples spirits, and I see the continuing potential we at the College have to make the world a little bit better.

Whether teaching or serving in an administrative role, a challenge is to make decisions (grading, projects to support or not) that can make people unhappy. As a teacher, I have to help students understand, think carefully, and communicate, and then critique them (and myself) through the grading process to improve. Students can find that painful. As interim dean, the decisions tend to impact more people, students and faculty and staff, and often (usually?) need to be made with imperfect information or options. The changing landscape of the pandemic and the resulting modifications to fall schedules exemplify this. Not every decision is made perfectly. I appreciate the support and constructive criticism people are willing to provide me.

As you can see, Larry is exactly the person we need leading our School of Liberal Arts, and serving our students and faculty at this time. It is a pleasure to work with Larry. We are grateful for his willingness to continue serving as Dean, especially because we know how much he misses the classroom his first love at the College. We hope all of you will have the opportunity to work with Larry, and to support him in this critical leadership role.

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Larry Smyrski will continue as Liberal Arts Dean at HFC - Dearborn Press and Guide

BEIJING, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Liberal Education Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: CLEU) ("China Liberal", the "Company", or "we"), an educational services provider in China, providing, among other services, smart campus solutions, today announced that the Company held an online-merge-offline ("OMO") teaching seminar with Beijing Foreign Studies University ("BFSU") to explore new models of teaching environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of OMO teaching, making it a mainstream trend since OMO teaching model leverages the advantages of the Internet and provides a full-scene, personalized teaching and learning experience to students, which can further optimize the teaching results.

During the seminar, the Company displayed its "OMO System" which was recently introduced to BFSU. The system is developed based on the Company's proprietary all-in-one AI-Space machine and specifically designed to meet the needs of BFSU.

AI-Space can be applied to various scenarios including command center, lecture hall, conference room, multi-functional exhibition hall, smart classroom, vehicle emergency, portable command, telemedicine, science and technology court, and smart home. The Company began to develop AI-Space in September 2019, following a thorough market research and demand analysis. AI-Space adopts the design concept of all-in-one, and integrates audio processor, seamless mixed video matrix unit, programmable central control unit, gigabit switch unit, cross-platform runtime, recording and broadcasting codec, video conference terminal and multi-party interactive MCU. It adopts a hot-swappable design, which is easy to operate, has powerful application functions and can be applied to a wide range of applicable scenarios, offering users integrated solutions.

Ms. Ngai Ngai Lam, Chairwoman and CEO of China Liberal, commented, "With the development of information technology such as big data and artificial intelligence, an intelligent education environment has become a new trend. We are very honored to see that our products are used by Beijing Foreign Studies University and we hope that they bring an excellent smart classroom experience to the students. In the future, we expect to continue expanding cooperation with universities, empower education with technology, realize the in-depth integration of information technology and education, and explore new teaching environment models."

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About China Liberal Education Holdings Limited

China Liberal, headquartered in Beijing, is an educational services provider in China. It provides a wide range of services, including those under Sino-foreign jointly managed academic programs; overseas study consulting services; technological consulting services for Chinese universities to improve their campus information and data management system and to optimize their teaching, operating and management environment, creating a "smart campus"; and tailored job readiness training to graduating students. For more information, visit the company's website at ir.chinaliberal.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, we or our representatives may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the information currently available to us. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance, including: our financial performance and projections; our growth in revenue and earnings; and our business prospects and opportunities. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "may," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "contemplates," "estimates," "believes," "plans," "projected," "predicts," "potential," or "hopes" or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including: our ability to change the direction of the Company; our ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; and the competitive environment of our business. These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking events discussed in this press release and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives, may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives might not occur.

Investor Relations Contact

China Liberal Education Holdings LimitedEmail:ir@chinaliberal.com

Ascent Investor Relations LLCMs. Tina XiaoEmail:tina.xiao@ascent-ir.com Tel: +1 917 609 0333

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SOURCE China Liberal Education Holdings Limited

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China Liberal Holds OMO Teaching Seminar with Beijing Foreign Studies University to Explore New Teaching Environment Models - Yahoo Finance