NDP leadership Q&A - questions for Niki Ashton here on babble!

Do you feel that the NDP and the left in general have been trapped by the "jobs" discourse in campaigning? No politician wants to campaign against jobs, but many of these jobs (like coal and asbestos mining) are awful, dangerous to the people who work at them, and dangerous to the environment as a whole -- or, in the case of the Ontario workers who make arms for sale to Saudi Arabia, dangerous to human rights overseas. Furthermore, "it'll kill jobs" is a right-wing cudgel that has been used against essentially every progressive platform plank in history. By talking about jobs instead of more generally about prosperity, aren't we fighting on the right's terrain?

Please reflect upon Canada's participation in the destruction of Libya and the still continuing catastrophic consequences. 

What do you say to those who argue that your aren't doing enough to address the practical "bread and butter" concerns of the electorate, that you are a candidate who appeals to left activists but has no rapport with "ordinary" voters?  An example these people raise is the amount time you talk about things like "intersectionality".

Obviously, you've been repeatedly re-elected from a constituency in northern Manitoba where voters always put practical matters, such as getting through the winter alive, ahead of theoretical and ideological discourse, so what have you found most effective in connecting with the people who keep voting for you?

Hillary Clinton ignored the plight of rust belt workers who had been thrown on the scrap heap of capitalism. Now the world has Trump to contend with.

What is your plan to be inclusive of the victims of the changing economy. Further, what will you do to ensure that , as we transition to a renewable energy-based economy from a fossil fuel economy, displaced energy workers will not lose their homes and the means to support their families.

The NDP must not repeat the errors of the Dems in the U.S. who pretty much handed Trump the keys to the White House.

What is your position regarding the importance of balancing budgets and how that policy consideration relates to and is prioritized with other policy objectives?

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Niki. Many Albertans (particularly in southern Alberta) continue to suffer serious economic hardship due to the collapse of the oil industry. Much more needs to be done on a federal level in order to stimulate the growth of other industries - green energy, technology, arts & entertainment industries, etc... The Notley NDP government has done some work in this area, but is hampered by huge budgetary problems, and has not received much help from the federal Liberal government. Do you consider Alberta's needs to be of significant concern for your vision of the NDP? Would you target investment to help grow and diversify the Alberta economy in new directions?

In his book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" the economist Thomas Piketty concludes that economic inequality cannot be reversed without a progressive wealth tax. Would you consider creating a federal wealth tax?

My question relates to foreign policy and defence. If you are elected would you conduct an official criminal investigation into the Afghan Detainee scandal against all politicians, government and military personnel involved? Would you then prosecute all those that have committed war crimes or broke the Geneva Conventions?

Opps sorry wrong  thread

Thanks for answering questions.

How would you avoid the kind of disconnect we have seen between the leadership and membership of the party? What specific things would you consider to protect the grass-roots influence on policy both between and during elections?

Thanks for pointing that out, mark. I guess my question has been answered.

Has the date changed, or am I just in the wrong time zone?