自由党宣布当谷北区投票选出候选人 江邦固，董晗鹏将角逐谁代表自由党参加联邦大选

加拿大联邦自由党宣布将在本周四举行当河谷北（Don Valley North）选区 2019年提名投票会。该决定表明，该党将通过竞争性投票程序决定当河谷北区的自由党候选人，而不是通过直接任命。提名竞赛是一个健康的民主程序，反映了自由党欲通过与选民互动和发展根基来实现其对选民承诺之意愿。

The Liberal Party of Canada has called 2019 nomination meeting in Don Valley North for Thursday this week. The announcement indicates that the Party will choose the riding's Liberal candidate through a competitive voting process, rather than directly appointment. A nomination contest is a democratic process, reflecting the Liberal Party's commitment to supporting grassroots campaigns and engaging with Canadians.



当河谷北选区的联邦自由党议员谭耕于5月份宣布退选，自此一场自由党候选人提名战役在这一华人聚集的选区激烈展开，并将该选区的华裔候选人置于镁光灯下。目前，江邦固（右图），董晗鹏（左图）获得参赛资格。

The riding's Liberal MP Geng Tan announced in May that he is not seeking re-election. A hot contesting nomination battle has been unfolding in this riding concentrated with Chinese Canadians, putting three candidates of Chinese origin under the spotlight. Ms. Banggu Jiang and Han Dong have got the green light to compete in the nomination race.

今年7月，自由党宣布该选区进入“紧急选举”状态，此举引起自由党将在该选区指定候选人的猜疑。处于紧急选举状态的选区提名赛可不按自由党选举标准程序进行，而来自党部高层的这一决定被认为是为其“看中”的候选人轻易获得提名而铺平道路。2014年，在自由党宣布Trinity Spadina进入紧急选举状态后，其明星候选人亚当•沃恩（Adam Vaughan）获得该选区自由党候选人提名。当时退出提名赛的候选人之一Ryan Davey曾指控此提名过程其实就是“赤裸裸的任命”。

The Liberal Party of Canada declared the riding in a state of urgency in July, which sparked speculations that the Party would appoint a candidate. The declaration, which allows the Party's leadership to bypass the standard nomination procedure, would pave the way for the Party's preferred candidate to get nominated.  In 2014, the Liberals' star candidate Adam Vaughan became the nominee for Trinity Spadina riding after the Party declared the riding in a state of urgency. This nomination process has allegedly been a de facto appointment, alleged one of the candidates who quit the race.



《大中报》曾为证实自由党将在当河谷北任命候选人的猜测联系了联邦自由党总部。自由党总部的电邮既未否认也未承认这一传说。总部的电邮称：“许多才华横溢的社区领袖们都向党总部表示他们有意愿成为当谷北区的自由党国会议员候选人……。此次提名竞选将突出特鲁多总理的创造就业机会，强化中产阶层力量，改善安省居民生活的宗旨。”

Chinese News had contacted the Liberal Party of Canada seeking to verify the speculation over appointing the candidate in DVN. The Party neither denied nor confirmed the rumor in its email to Chinese News. "The Liberal Party of Canada is being approached by a variety of talented community leaders interested in becoming the Team Trudeau candidate in Don Valley North…Liberal candidates and campaigns will be highlighting Justin Trudeau's positive plan to create jobs, strengthen the middle class, and make life better for Ontario families," read the email.



在越来越多的党派候选人通过任命而非竞选获得提名的今天，当河谷北的投票选出候选人的决定显示出自由党为遵守民主原则而不随波逐流的精神。总部设在多伦多的萨马拉民主中心的新研究表明在过去五次联邦选举中，只有17％的候选人是通过竞争性提名赛而胜出，被指定候选人数高达2700人。而在该中心考察的3900个提名竞选中，70%以上只有一人参选。

However, the nomination meeting in DVN seems to buck a growing trend that party candidates get nominated through the appointment and without a contest. New research by the Toronto-based Samara Centre for Democracy reveals just 17% of candidates won a competitive nomination race in the past five federal elections. Parties directly appointed more than 2,700 candidates — and out of the 3,900 nomination contests monitored by the center, more than 70 percent saw just one person run, according to the report.

该研究还特别指出，党部指定的候选人往往很少是女性，少数族裔或土著居民。

In particular, the study suggests appointed candidates were less likely to be a woman, from visible-minority or Indigenous backgrounds.



任命候选人提名的做法不仅缺乏竞争性和透明度，同时对那些积极开展基层竞选活动的候选人也不公平。当时自由党遭到为了让沃恩获得提名而在竞选程序中弄虚作假的指控，这让特鲁多名声大打折扣。

The practice of Party directly appointing candidate lacks transparency and competitiveness.  It is also incredibly unfair for other candidates who are running an active grassroots campaign. The accusation of "stacking the deck" to get Vaughan nominated had left Trudeau's credibility under fire.

萨马拉的研究主管迈克尔•莫登表示，选民有权关注政党内部事宜。但他表示，大多数加拿大人几乎没有机会和可能了解党派提名的这一黑箱操作,这会给推进加国民主进程带来不良的严重后果。

Voters do have a stake in how the Party runs their internal affairs, said Michael Morden, the director of research at Samara. But he said most Canadians have little access to or ability to scrutinize the "black box" of party nominations, which has profound consequences for Canadian democracy. 

目前，在当谷北选区，几位候选人正在开展积极而成功的竞选活动，通过社交媒体和走访选民而带动这一多元文化选区的民主激情。许多选民对这一健康的选举程序赞赏不已。

Many residents in DVN are happy about the nomination meeting. Candidates have been running a very active and successful campaign by engaging voters in this multicultural community through social media and door-to-door canvassing. Voters are supportive of this healthy, democratic practice.