NDP #15

Wilf Day wrote:

It has to be agreed behind the scenes first.

An NDP government could do just and get behind the scenes agreements especially if in 2015 there are provincial NDP governments in BC, Manitoba and Nova Scotia and right-wing governments left only in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Given the right political landscape in 2015, the NDP might find itself in the position of being able to make some long-term progressive structural changes via constitutional reform.

Time for the party to distance itself from the Gary Doer legacy?

Quote:

Doer appeared to be bucking the trend in an interview with the Calgary Herald, wearing the hat of a big-league resource promoter in pointing out that a recent poll shows 60 per cent of Americans support approving TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline project.

"The public is supporting it," the ambassador said. "Energy security was not part of the debate, it was just . . . labour and Obama's party and environmentalists," he told the newspaper, touting the success of Canadian leaders like Redford in selling the pipeline's merits.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/07/12/pol-list-politicians-st...

Trudeau at the Stampede, 1978

Best-dressed couple at the Stampede - ever - Will and Kate, 2011

clambake wrote:

Time for the party to distance itself from the Gary Doer legacy?

Insufficent. I recommend exorcism. Perhaps for both the party and Doer.

And yes, the "Angry Tom" meme is sounding increasingly silly. For all I know he's frothing and chewing carpets in private, but he's demonstrated tremendous and unexpected tact in public.

JeffWells wrote:

janfromthebruce wrote:

Kinsella is doing "psychological projection" - now there is one angry dude - always threatening to sue someone or another!

 WHO'S angry?

And worse!

Quote:

So, Dipper folk, we are therefore enemies. As with Conservatives, I will do my level best to step on your throat. I will hit you, over and over. I will rip your face off, if you give me half a chance.

http://warrenkinsella.com/2012/05/we-get-letters-3/

 

Double Post, but to make my point, WHO'S angry? Projecting? That's an understatement!

Meanwhile Mulcair is getting some pretty good reviews from the Calgary media.

From the Calgary Herald:

Quote:

The problem is that conservatives sense Mulcair actually means what he says, and as prime minister he would do something about it.

The PCs have always allowed their economic development goals to be overruled, and even overrun, by market forces.

When another upgrader project dies, they say international capital has once again dictated that refining must be done closer to markets.

Mulcair, though, is a New Democrat of the hardline variety.

He would likely use government to shape — or deny — market forces.

And that policy could be directed at the oil industry in ways we haven’t seen in more than 30 years.

To Alberta conservatives and industry types, this is the point where Thomas Mulcair really does start to look like Lenin.

But he’s a smart one, this fellow, and he’ll pose a tough question to Alberta PCs: Do you really want your industry to benefit Canada or do you just want to talk about it?

And even the Calgary Sun:

Quote:

He comes in with quite the wind at his back.

He’s not flinching.

NDP boss Thomas Mulcair is doing well in the national polls and then a bigshot stateside says Enbridge’s lousy handling of a pipeline spill in Michigan reminds her of the Keystone Kops.

Enbridge, as in those behind the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat B.C., shipping from the oilsands to Asia.

As in a pipeline idea Mulcair hates.

It’s no wonder the man oozes confidence in his standard-issue cowboy duds and look-you-straight-in-the-eye answers.

Lou Arab wrote:

Meanwhile Mulcair is getting some pretty good reviews from the Calgary media.

From the Calgary Herald:

Quote:

The problem is that conservatives sense Mulcair actually means what he says, and as prime minister he would do something about it.

The PCs have always allowed their economic development goals to be overruled, and even overrun, by market forces.

When another upgrader project dies, they say international capital has once again dictated that refining must be done closer to markets.

Mulcair, though, is a New Democrat of the hardline variety.

He would likely use government to shape — or deny — market forces.

And that policy could be directed at the oil industry in ways we haven’t seen in more than 30 years.

To Alberta conservatives and industry types, this is the point where Thomas Mulcair really does start to look like Lenin.

But he’s a smart one, this fellow, and he’ll pose a tough question to Alberta PCs: Do you really want your industry to benefit Canada or do you just want to talk about it?

 

And even the Calgary Sun:

Quote:

He comes in with quite the wind at his back.

He’s not flinching.

NDP boss Thomas Mulcair is doing well in the national polls and then a bigshot stateside says Enbridge’s lousy handling of a pipeline spill in Michigan reminds her of the Keystone Kops.

Enbridge, as in those behind the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat B.C., shipping from the oilsands to Asia.

As in a pipeline idea Mulcair hates.

It’s no wonder the man oozes confidence in his standard-issue cowboy duds and look-you-straight-in-the-eye answers.

Based on this coverage, I hope Mulcair makes a point of visiting Calgary and Southern Alberta more often. The chattering class clearly love his scrappy style.

I want to share with you guys, about our nunavut grocery food prices are super expensive than southern canada is cheapest comparison. When you go shop and take cart makes full enough food cost $113 (plus dog food) in Ottawa and Iqaluit - $400 and far north has nearly 1,000 dollar, its 900 dollar with dog food!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that why we have feeding my family on fb group. I hope NDP gonna make reducing food prices and cost of living!!!

Ippurigako:

Thanks for that information. I simply do not understand how the Feds think people can live in the North with that kind of pricing. We simply must come up with a means to deal with it. The north is essential to our national soverignty. I am guessing the answer is going to be actual cash dollars in had subsidies to the people who live in the north (not tax breaks or susbsidies to the businesses), so that they can afford to live. This is clearly in the interests of ALL Canadians.

Tom Mulcir in good form;

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/07/20/checking-in-on-the-leader-of-the-opposition/

NDP gives up: convention cyber attacker remains a mystery

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/08/08/pol-ndp-voting-attack.html

While I apprecaiate that the party may not want to spend the money to pursue this further I am a little surprised that the police also seem content to let it drop.

Althought the attacks did not ultimately frustrate or pervert the voting the certaily did delay it for many hours. As such they clearly constitute mischief under s. 430 of the Criminal Code.

An organized attack on the integrity of the voting system designe dto select the leader of the Opposition is certainly something that should concern the police.

I know nothing about the bargaining process, but I know that the explosion in size [and diversity] of the CEP 232 local has not surprisingly been quite the internal process.

Brian Glennie wrote:

Okay, but if you are a federal employee of the NDP, the party that went to the wall in defending the rights of Canadian postal workers and Air Canada employees, you've had your wages frozen for the last year and half. The optics seem strange, that's all.

Looks rather austere, innit?

KenS wrote:

Wages are not frozen.

They most certainly are. The old CBA is still in effect except, of course, for the scheduled raises part. 

KenS wrote:

 These days huge swaths of workers bargain with contracts long expired.

And how well do you imagine the negotiations are going? These employers are denying their workers the right to bargain collectively.

KenS wrote:

 In many cases, it has become routine to not START talking until after the contract has expired.

Again, that's simply the employer gaining the upper hand. You can tell me that's the new normal, KenS, but that doesn't make it acceptable and I'm a bit alarmed that the NDP are in step with these kinds of predatory management tactics.

janfromthebruce wrote:

Also and as an afterthought, don't assume that only management might drag it's feet to get the supposed "upper hand" in bargaining but there may be reasons why a union may perhaps also feel they may benefit by letting the "clock" run out of time.

Jan, the clock ran out on their cba quite a while ago and, as a result, federal NDP workers, and there are hundreds of them, have had their wages frozen for the last 18 months.The price of rent and child care along with everything else is going up... Payroll deductions such as EI contributions have increased. Do you really believe the workers opted to take this route? What advantage could they possibly hope to gain?  

Management here also comes to the table with nothing other than the money it gets from the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, where the NDP has two of seven members. To the extent that budget doesn't increase, salaries and benefits don't get to either.