Nathan Cullen answers babblers' questions, February 16 2:30 PST/5:30 EST

The argument has been made that the NDP has to choose a leader from Quebec this time if it is to be able to consolidate its 2011 gains there in the next election.  What do you feel you have to offer as a leader that will compensate for the fact that you're from somewhere else?

Welcome Nathan.

You have said you would like to change Canada's relationship with the monarchy. Canada's First Nations treaties are with the Crown.

Would you kindly a) take the time to detail your thoughts on Canada's relationship with the monarchy and how you would change it and b) explain how this would affect First Nations and their treaty rights?

Thanks.

Sent by  Don Kossick in Saskatoon:

Canada has been negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement
under fairly secret deliberations.

We do know that there will be segments affecting local procurement
practices of City Governments, School Boards, Health Regions ect that will
not protect a priority to buy or contract locally or regionally. Also they
will not be allowed allowed to create future policy that would encourage a
public presence in key sectors such as water, transportation, local food
security initiatives, sustainable energy development etc.

How do you propose to turn  this around given how far the government of
Canada has gone in negotiating away fundamental Canadian rights?

Thanks,

Don Kossick
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

I would  like to thank Don Kossick of Saskatoon for his excellent question.  One of the main purposes of CETA, as most of us on the left surely realize, is to lock in provisions to prevent the cancellation of policies brought in by the Harper government over the next four years.  Once CETA is in place, it will serve in combination with NAFTA and other trade pacts to solidify the status quo.  The NDP will be powerless to change things even if they form a majority government next time around.  To cite one classic example of this danger, note the inability of Bob Rae's NDP government in Ontario to bring in a public auto insurance plan like Manitoba's, Saskatchewan's, and BC's.  Under the terms of NAFTA, the province would have had to pay astronomical punitive damages to American private insurance companies to compensate them for lost business.  The same will happen, for example, if some of our health care providers are privatized.  We'll never be able to get rid of the interlopers, exactly as Harper wants.  CETA is a time bomb, for this reason and the others that Mr. Kossick has articulated so well.  Strangely, however, we never hear much from the NDP about it.  Good thing we have the Council of Canadians to do the spadework and bitching for us.

Your rural proposals seem pretty tepid, western focused and mostly motherhood statements, (but at least you have made some effort to address issues that has been lacking from other candidates).  http://en.nathancullen.ca/security_for_food_and_farmers

How do you propose to get southern rural Canadians, in places outside the west, to abandon the Conservatives (and non-voting) and begin to move towards electing New Democrats?

What do you think about "supermajority" requirements for referendums?  Almost 58% of BC residents voted for BC-STV in the first referendum, yet it failed due to the 60% supermajority requirement.  Additionally, this notion has also come up in discussions about self-determination in Quebec, with the NDP accepting that 50%+1 is enough.  What do you think about supermajority requirements for referendums?  Are there any cases in which you see supermajority requirements as being necessary?