Today, Peggy Nash and Michele Landsberg jointly released a statement endorsing Peter Tabuns for leader of the Ontario NDP.

"When our party chooses a leader, we have to go way deeper than geography or symbolism. We have to search our hearts and consciences and find the one person who best exemplifies our party’s values - the one who can lead with clarity, intelligence and an unshakable commitment to the issues.

Leadership demands vigour and moral courage. Peter Tabuns’ mettle has been tested and has proven itself over and over: Remember when, as a city councillor, he fought to a standstill the privatization of hydro, when he promoted the retrofitting of office buildings long before energy-saving was popular, and when he proposed an "outrageous" smoking ban in restaurants and bars.

We believe that Peter has the experience, the vision and the energy to step into leadership right now to guide us through this frightening recession. Peter fully grasps the social democratic approach to our deepening economic crisis - it’s not pouring money into the pockets of bankers and contractors. It’s about creating and sustaining jobs in both public and private sectors. It’s about shifting our health care focus to the prevention of illness and societal unrest by ending poverty, healing the environment, creating housing for all and confronting the inequality and economic injustice that destabilizes our communities.

He’s the right leader; the one we can proudly back right now."

Peggy Nash and Michele Landsberg