I like Paul Dewar, he answered my emails regarding Afghanistan in a timely fashion. Dawn Black is a loose cannon; you never know what she will say however it is always something interesting. I think she is good for the party.
NDP shadow cabinet predictions
Mon, 2008-11-17 23:45
#102
Mon, 2008-11-17 23:55
#103
"Jack Harris also got a very solid portfolio, though I don't know how relevant Public Safety is to his riding."
Is Public Safety relevant only to certain specific ridings and not others? Seems very relevant all across Canada since this department includes the RCMP and the Solicitor General and the Corrections system. Jack Harris is a lawyer - seems a good fit to me.
One thing to keep in mind is that Layton would have interviewed all the MPs about what areas they were most interested in - and in all likelihood this is something Jack Harris is personally interested in. What issues people are interested in are not just determined by geography.
Charlie Angus is the MP for Timmins-James Bay and is critic for "Digital Issues". i don't see anyone complaining that an MP for Timmins-James Bay is an odd fit for that portfolio.
Tue, 2008-11-18 00:07
#104
Dawn Black is a loose cannon;
... and DND already has enough of those.
Tue, 2008-11-18 00:35
#105
Dawn Black is a loose cannon;... and DND already has enough of those.
That may be true however looks like the NDP owns a few loose cannons now also.
Tue, 2008-11-18 01:00
#106
I don't like Dawn Black's loose cannon ways. She often comes off looking very poor on TV because she gets too worked up to even listen to the opposing arguments. She doesn't listen to the logic, she just fires back with emotion. The Afghanistan file should be political candy for the NDP, but the party drops the ball by coming across as simply "war bad, peace good" when they really could be tearing apart the Conservatives and Liberals on their flawed logic.
For example:
What ever happened to questions about our bs partner in Afghanistan (the horribly corrupt, cynical, and 1 million dead civil war complicit Afghan government)? Doesn't anyone remember what brought the Taliban to power in the first place? Or how about the fact that you could probably educate & "free" more Afghan women much more cost effectively by simply accepting more as refugees? Some aid and development sector, when they barely budge from Kabul. Or how about this lark that Canada will engage a Taliban sheltered by nuclear Pakistan? Give me a break. Even the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is a fiction. How else do you explain the 2 million or so "Afghan" refugees that won't return from Northern Pakistan. Let me guess, they're just on vacation, none have actually settled in with their fellow Pashtun after three decades on the other side of the border. Also, all this nonsense about patrolling the Afghan border is a cruel joke. Has anyone actually looked at any satellite photos of the thing? Download Google Earth, it's free, and look at the torturous topography of that thing and you'll see why the Russian gave up. NATO should just be happy the Taliban don't have someone to supply them with fire and forget missiles this time.
I wish the NDP would take this debate to a higher intellectual plane and debate less about what the "solution" should be and more about whether its worth staying there. That is the debate the NDP should be trying to win right now. Once Canadians are convinced its not worth staying, they won't really care how Canada leaves.
Tue, 2008-11-18 01:04
#107
Although LGBT issues are important, as are ethics, access to info and privacy issues, Bill Siksay's critic position seems like a demotion. It's not like he has any Cabinet portfolio to follow. That's really too bad.
I tend to agree, that was the one assignment that caused me some concern. Bill Siksay is a stellar MP and was gaining more profile in the last year or so, with lots of appearances on Mike Duffy Live and other media. I'm assuming he'll be the point person on the Mulroney/Schrieber enquiry, the in-and-out scandal, etc, but that doesn't really play to his strengths or his interests, IMHO.
I agree. Bill Siksay is one of the party's best media personalities, despite his unorthodox fashion sense. He argues clearly, cogently, doesn't get pushed around, and comes across as a really nice guy. I'm not sure if the position is fully a demotion yet as there is still the dropped ball of the Conservatives Accountability Act. If Broadbent were still in the House I'm sure we would have heard more about it.
Tue, 2008-11-18 07:22
#108
Maybe this is exactly what Siksay WANTED. Keep in mind that with a greatly expanded caucus - a lot of MPs are going to have to give up some of their critic roles to new MPs so that everyone has an area to criticize.
I think Sisksay is very lucky - all the areas he gets to criticize are really juicy interesting issues - GLBTQ issues, ethics, accountability, access to info. privacy - I'd love to have his job. Sure beats doing something really dull (to me) being the critic for small business and tourism.
Tue, 2008-11-18 07:24
#109
Left Turn
Libby apparently is no longer "deputy leader" she has the designation of "house leader".
Yeah, I'm not happy about that either. I guess the thinking goes that Mulcair needs a leg up because of his much reduced margin of victory, but I hope that's all it means, and not a marginalization of Libby's voice.
I think Jack wants to give Mulclair a high profile in the causus, in order to increase the profile of the party in Quebec. This despite the fact that Mulclair is one of the least progressive members of the caucus.
The other critic protfolio that irks me to no end is Dawn Black as Defence critic. Dawn Black did a horrible job as defence critic in the last parliament. Layton at least wants to bring Canadian troops home from afghanistan as long as the fighting continues, although he supports a subsequent return of Canadian troops to Afghanistan, in a peacekeeping role, when the fighting ends. However, Dawn Black has only ever talked about removing Canadian troops from the "counter-insurgency mission". This suggests that Dawn Black would be fine with Canadian troops moving to Kabul, while other countries continue the fighting in the south.
It is true that both positions are pro-war, and are both worse than the resolution passed at the 2006 NDP convention, which called for a withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, without mention of a subsequent peacekeeping mission. Yet Dawn Black's position is further to the right than Layton's position.
As a first step towards the adoption of a true anti-war position by the NDP, Layton should drop Dawn Black as the NDP's Defence critic. Someone like Bill Siksay might be a good replacement, as he has on more than one occasion spoken at Stopwar rallies, in favour of withdrawal from Afghanistan. Then, to go the full distance and adopt a true anti-war position, Layton should drop his call for a peacekeeping mission once the fighting ends, and call for self-determination for the Afghani people.
Tue, 2008-11-18 07:28
#110
I'm all for self-determination for the Afghan people. But what if what they WANT is for Taliban to be destroyed and for the Karzai gov't to stay in power and they are pleading for int'l help to put down the insurgency?
We cannot assume that the "afghan people" want Taliban back in power or that they want any foreign troops to leave. Maybe they do maybe they don't. They should have a nationakl referendum.
Tue, 2008-11-18 07:32
#111
Left Turn
Hi Stockholm,
There was a poll conducted earlier this year that said that something like 64% of the Afghani people want the foreign troops to leave. So I think it's fair to say that the Afghani people want the foreign troops to leave.
Tue, 2008-11-18 07:45
#112
You Canadian folks having fun counting Afghan votes? No offence Left Turn, but you'll never win this debate by citing fraudulent U.S. polls taken in occupied Afghanistan. Our business there is to leave - unconditionally. What the Afghans want and what they will do later is none of your affair. And as long as the Dawn Blacks of this world have their say in NDP policy contrary to convention decision, we will remain with no party in the House supporting that consistent and principled position.
Tue, 2008-11-18 10:03
#113
What the Afghans want and what they will do later is none of your affair. And as long as the Dawn Blacks of this world have their say in NDP policy contrary to convention decision, we will remain with no party in the House supporting that consistent and principled position.
It's just too bad U.S. hawks like Charlie Wilson and Zbignew Brzezinski, and their Saudi royal friends didn't follow your same basic rules for democracy when Talibanization of Pakistan and Afghanistan took place in the 1980s, isnt that right, unionist? We should have shipped a few APECkers off to central Asia then to declare English only.
Tue, 2008-11-18 11:10
#114
The current NDP "brain trust" would never give Bill Siksay a Defence critic area because he is supported and speaks the same language as the War Resistors and Stop the War activists. Heaven forbid the party should try to present an alternative to the discourse in the MSM. It seems the idiots in Ottawa are waiting for the Liberal party to fade away so they can take their rightful place as a REAL liberal government.
He is very articulate and despite being sent back to the closet by the Ottawa crowd he will take his critic portfolio and find the areas that need change and he will bring them forward. When he has managed to turn those issues into ones in the public consciousness he will be reassigned and the critic area given to someone the Ottawa crowd supports.
Tue, 2008-11-18 12:29
#115
According to the News Release I read, Libby and Mulcair are still both Deputy Leaders. I suspect any omission in the above list was a typo.
The typo may have been in the press release. Her new page lists her position as House Leader, not mentioning Deputy Leader.
Which is no surprise. The NDP does not normally have two Deputy Leaders. Mulcair's position as Deputy Leader is not new this year.
Tue, 2008-11-18 13:14
#116
"So I think it's fair to say that the Afghani people want the foreign troops to leave."
Do you think that includes all the Arabs and Pakistanis helping Taliban?
To me its not a question of "self-determination". All I care about is what's good for canada. I don't think we should spend one more red cent to lose one more life in this unwinnable war. I don't really care whether Afghans want us there or not - its not our problem.
Tue, 2008-11-18 13:45
#117
My earlier prediction about the NDP caucus being split amongst the two sides of the House of Commons was accurate.
According to the Parliamentary Web-site, thirdy NDP M.P.s are over on the 'Opposition' side of the House, while seven NDP M.P.'s are now in a 'rump' where the NDP caucaus sat during the last session:
(Front row) Pat Martin - Winnipeg Centre, Olivia Chow - Trinity-Spadina, Wayne Marsden - Hamilton East-Stoney Creek;
(Second row) John Rafferty - Thunder Bay-Rainy River, Megan Leslie - Halifax, Bruce Hyer - Thunder Bay-Superior North;
(Third row) Glenn Thibeault - Sudbury.
The two Independents, Andre Arthur and Bill Casey, are further back in that corner as well.
Tue, 2008-11-18 14:38
#118
The NDP's policy on Afghanistan is tortured at best. They've really let the supporters down on this one.
ETA: Where's Svend Robinson when we need him?
Tue, 2008-11-18 17:22
#119
remind
Thank you for writing and pointing out the omission. To clarify, Libby
will continue her duties as one of our deputy leaders and a correction
will be made to the press release announcing our new critics list. As an
added note, as House leader, Libby plays an important role in
representing the NDP Caucus in all of the negotiations of the
legislative priorities of Parliament .
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, Canada's New Democrats
___________________________________________________________
"watching the tide roll away"
Tue, 2008-11-18 18:16
#120
I was wondering what happened to Joe Comartin but then I remembered. Duh, silly me, he was running for Speaker.
Tue, 2008-11-18 19:32
#121
Wonder what Comartin gets tasked with now? Have the deputy speakers been chosen?
Tue, 2008-11-18 21:15
#122
Hey, I didn't do too bad with my predictions.
One thing to keep in mind is that Layton would have interviewed all the MPs about what areas they were most interested in
I second that. Sometimes people want a break from a high profile portfolio because they are exhausted. Also, there are more MPs meaning more people to do the same work load so some people are apt to be doing less.
"Digital Issues" is an area that the Americans had been pressuring us to harmonize on - and I don't know how accomodating Obama will be without his Crackberry.
I love how Libby Davies is critic for "Substance Abuse and Prostitution Issues"
I figured that these were two topics that LD had an interest in.
Although LGBT issues are important, as are ethics, access to info and
privacy issues, Bill Siksay's critic position seems like a demotion.
It's not like he has any Cabinet portfolio to follow. That's really too
bad.
Ethics is a bigger portfolio than it sounds i though I was thinking more Pat Martin and Joe Co on that. Access to Information and Privacy will be a load of work with a secretive Conservative government who is bent on taking away our civil liberties. Did you hear about the convention in Winnipeg where they were talking about getting rid of "hate speach" laws?
It seems to me that women are in some very powerful positions in the NDP caucus what with Libby Davies being House Leader and Justice Critic and Judy W-L being caucus chair and Health Critic. I also notice that Linda
Duncan has been catapulted to the very profile position of Environment
Critic.
You forgot Dawn Black as National Defense critic and Olivia Chow.
Libby is Justice Critic and her deputy Justice Critics is newbie Meghan Leslie. Judy W-L is Health Critic with no deputies.
I figured that Linda Duncan would start off as a deputy environment critic to be groomed for the full critic portfolio, because of her specialty in environmental law. She has newbie Bruce Hyer as her deputy environment critic.
Figured that Niki Ashton would have gotten something bigger.
Dawn Black has only ever talked about removing Canadian troops from the
"counter-insurgency mission". This suggests that Dawn Black would be
fine with Canadian troops moving to Kabul, while other countries
continue the fighting in the south.
If you listen to Jack closely, he has not ruled out a peace keeping mission under the UN. I see nothing wrong with Canada's military getting out of Combat and back into peace keeping and disaster relief. We should be protecting the people as the various factions sort it out - we should not be propping up anybody.
Tue, 2008-11-18 21:23
#123
You notice that Libby was given Justice along with the House Leader's role? My guess is that Justice reverts back to Comartin. It's *much* too labour-intensive a critic area (as in, lots and lots of legislation to put through the House and Committee) to do together with being House Leader, anyway. She'll have her hands full with that job alone.
Wed, 2008-11-19 01:30
#124
Malcolm
I wish the NDP would take this debate to a higher intellectual plane and debate less about what the "solution" should be and more about whether its worth staying there. That is the debate the NDP should be trying to win right now. Once Canadians are convinced its not worth staying, they won't really care how Canada leaves.
Although I dissent from the party's policy on this issue, I do think there are any number of solid arguments to support it. I find it unfortunate that the party so seldom makes them, preferring instead to stick to a knee-jerk recitation of (as another babbler put it) "war bad, peace good."
To my knowledge, there is only one NDP MP with a solid knowledge of military issues - but Jack still seems to carry a grudge.
Wed, 2008-11-19 04:46
#125
Left Turn
Dawn Black has only ever talked about removing Canadian troops from the
"counter-insurgency mission". This suggests that Dawn Black would be
fine with Canadian troops moving to Kabul, while other countries
continue the fighting in the south.
If you listen to Jack closely, he has not ruled out a peace keeping mission under the UN. I see nothing wrong with Canada's military getting out of Combat and back into peace keeping and disaster relief. We should be protecting the people as the various factions sort it out - we should not be propping up anybody.
The imression I get from Layton's speeches on Afghanistan is that he does not support Canadian troops being in Afghanistan in any capacity, while the fighting continues. I already pointed out that Layton wants Canadian forces to return in a peacekeeping role, once the fighting ends.
Dawn Black seems to suggest that Canadian troops can play a "peacekeeping role" while the US an other countries keep fighting the Taliban.
Clearly, I don't support either Dawn Black's position, or Layton's position. It's also clear, at least to me, that Jack Layton and Dawn Black do not have the same position on Afghanistan, despite both positions being inadequte.
Foreign troops should withdraw from Afghanistan, and the Afghanis should work things out for themselves. Peacekeeping is just imperialism-lite.
Wed, 2008-11-19 07:19
#126
Long thread - start a new one if you'd like to continue.
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