https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-once-sloan-is-sorted-can-oto...
Jagmeet Singh
“President-elect Biden has been clear on his KXL position from the start. Justin Trudeau knew this, did nothing and let Albertans down.”
So the NDP is pro-Keystone XL.
'NDP Announces Plan to Cancel Up to $20 K in Student Loan Debt'
https://twitter.com/parismarx/status/1373309747227725838
"I thought this was cool until I read the fine print. You'd have to wait five years before getting the relief..."
More photo-op politrix.
The fine print on NDP policies often seems to turn the NDP into the Liberals. As far as student loan payments are concerned, why not just limit student loan repayments to something like 10% of income for people well over the poverty line?
This is what I received in an e-mail this morning. I know I am an old guy but I don't understand who this messaging is aimed at. One of South Africa's worst massacres where 69 black people got shot in the streets of Sharpeville has been reduced to some sort of newspeak. I hate the term racialized, it is just as bad as the equally gag worthy visible minority.
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was created in response to the killing of a group of 69 racialized and peaceful anti-apartheid protestors in South Africa in 1960. This day continues to remind us that there is still more work to be done.
PS: Did a quick search and discovered I must have confused the adjective that the NDP used to describe black protestors with a sociological concept. As I said newspeak.
In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such.[1] Racialization or ethnicization often arises out of the interaction of a group with a group that it dominates and ascribes a racial identity for the purpose of continued domination and social exclusion; over time, the racialized and ethnicized group develop the society enforced construct that races are real, different and unequal in ways that matter to economic, political and social life.[2] These processes have been common throughout the history of imperialism, nationalism, racial and ethnic hierarchies.[citation needed]
Just for context it should be remembered that many historians cite the Sharpeville massacre as the spark that caused both the ANC and PAC to form military wings.
That statement is cringe worthy. In addition to the misused "racialized", using "a group" in describing the number serves to diminish the number of deaths and the term peaceful is just over-justification for the outrage of this slaughter. It begs the question, were there other "groups" of protesters on the streets who were not peaceful or were pro-Apartheid?
I also cringed and like I said above wondered out loud who they were trying to reach with this drivel. I don't see it impressing anyone from any group of electors and given that they seem to be driven by polls rather than convention policy it seems really disconnected from most people's reality.
Which voters would the NDP think that kind of mealymouthed nonspeak would win over? It's not as though the sort of people who believe the Sharpeville Massacre was no big deal and had nothing to do with race would ever even consider voting NDP. Hell, people like that would think Bernier was a Trotskyist.
Why the NDP needs a new defence critic
https://yvesengler.com/2021/04/01/why-the-ndp-needs-a-new-defence-critic/
"What should be expected from a 'defence critic' for a left-wing political party? NDP members, activists and MPs shouldn't accept this..."
No. But they do.
'He's the Canadian Keir Starmer. Absolutely Pathetic'
https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1378339675929251840
"Just listened to Jagmeet Singh on CBC 'The House'. He was asked a question about Palestinian rights. His answer: I'm against anti-Semitism. He would not mention even the word Palestinians. He's the Canadian Keir Starmer. Absolutely pathetic."
The power of Apartheid Israel and its lobby has deeply penetrated Canadian politics and politicians, including the leader of the NDP. Nor is the lesson of Jeremy Corbyn and his political destruction lost on any of them. Canadians can no longer avert their eyes while this racist, fascist terror-state, its supporters and collaborators use their influence to bend our representatives to their will.
Palestine Solidarity: Why the NDP Convention Matters
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_w9EFGkIfQnaljwzQef-D0g
"At the upcoming NDP convention, important resolutions have been put forward regarding Palestinian rights. This has elicited external backlash from groups and individuals and pressure to suppress debate. This discussion will address the importance of giving members the opportunity to debate and adopt two widely endorsed pro-Palestinian resolutions.
One of the resolutions opposes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's anti-Palestinian working definition of antisemitism, a document designed to suppress discussion of Palestinian rights. The other calls on Canada to end economic ties to illegal Israeli settlements and suspend bilateral trade until Palestinian rights are upheld.
The NDP position on Palestine matters. The Trudeau government tried to block the International Criminal Court from investigating Israel's war crimes, regularly votes against widely supported UN resolutions upholding Palestinian rights and expanded a trade agreement that treats settlement in the occupied West Bank as part of Israel.
Please join us on Monday, April 5th at 7 pm (ET). Join Libby Davies, Svend Robinson, Zahia El-Masri, Hammam Farah and David Mivasair for a discussion on the importance of Palestine solidarity in the NDP."
CJPME's Favourite NDP Resolutions
https://twitter.com/CJPME/status/1379806951081705475
"...Which we encourage all NDP members to prioritize highly."
Update Thread: #NDPconvention2021
https://twitter.com/BrandonAmyot/status/1380515151573610501
"Following a vote from delegates, NDP has uploaded the results of the prioritization vote. This will be the list of resolutions that will be up for debate at NDP Convention 2021..."
NDP delegates need to stand up for what is right - not give in to Israel lobby
"...While today's prioritization and this resolution are important, this issue is bigger than the NDP convention. The IHRA lobby in Canada has also been clear about their intention to use the IHRA definition against progressives.
Time and again, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and its allies have shown their intent to use the IHRA definition to conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism to silence the necessary discourse around Israel's pervasive oppression of Palestinians.
We urge all NDP delegates today to highly prioritize the two resolutions which will bring our party's policy into alignment with its vision and values as an anti-racist and anti-colonial party."
2021 NDP Convention - CPAC
New Democrats are meeting virtually - follow CPAC for full coverage on April 9, 10 and 11.
I just read Robert Hackett's article, As we face a climate emergency, is it time to rethink the NDP? I've been asking the same question for a long time. It only took Tommy Douglas and company 28 years to realize the CCF was never going to win an election, which led to a re-thinking of the party and the emergence of the NDP.
Now, 60 years later, we face the same dismal conclusion. We aren't in line to win an election anytime soon. If we don't do a re-think of the party, we're doomed to become the poster child for Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.
This would be an opportunity to generate interest among those voters who have given up on electoral politics and those who are simply undecided. (While we're at it, can we please put to bed the strategy of trolling for Liberal votes. The only way to win over Liberal voters is to become Liberals.)
I'm not convinced we need to merge with the Greens to complete the transformation of the party. We can do this on our own. The question is, do New Democrats have the same courage that CCFers demonstrated when they put everything on the table to create a new political party? If not, I fear we will become the Social Credit party of the left. What sayeth the rabble?
Well said Geoff!
Apart from a few bright lights like Don Davies, Jenny Kwan, and Gord Johns on the Island in BC, what's happening to the NDP Canada-wide. I don't have anything against Singh, apart from the fact that he is not moving the dial, which is his job to do. It's like the NDP Leader in Ontario. Either produce a winning formula, or get out of the way, and let someone who really badly wants to win, lead.
With the multitude of fuck-ups in both the Ottawa and Ontario governments, the NDP once again is blowing golden opportunities to take power. What a frustrating waste of time!
Great article but also limiting:
What does it mean to "think politically"? Is it about winning elections, or is it about empowering diverse voices and enacting policies that meet the needs of the times?
There is a third option. Focus on the big picture presenting solutions that will materially benefit the 99% immediately and into the future. As an example.
Homeless people soak up tax dollars in emergency services. Even so it is detrimental to a city to gain a reputation of being a good place for the homeless because it would attract more homeless people. They are a blight on the urban landscape and not good for tourism. The majority aged out of foster care or have mental health issues and/or addictions so they are unlikely to leave the streets without major help. Realistically we are not going to provide them all with apartments. We need federally built public rooming houses across Canada.
That's just a very small no-brainer example. The point is address real-life problems with practical solutions instead of thinking about diversity. Rooming houses address the needs of diverse groups in dire situations and also addresses the needs of the more affluent community.
The NDP never became what it was envisioned to be. The unions jumped at the chance to control the CCF and no movement seeking change on specific issues could afford to align with only one party. That is not necessarily a shortcoming of the party but rather an inevitable result of the political system that it has operated in because it was specifically designed to reward the status quo and keep real change happening at a snails pace, if it has to happen at all. COVID has shown we have a totally dysfunctional system that is incapable of acting in a coordinated and focused fashion on a national level. No realignment of the chairs on this sinking ship will save us from the briny deep.
COVID has shown we have a totally dysfunctional system that is incapable of acting in a coordinated and focused fashion on a national level. No realignment of the chairs on this sinking ship will save us from the briny deep.
Yes exactly. There is no shortage of affordable solutions to all of the ills we face including climate change only it is very difficult to convince people that it is possible. We wouldn't even need to give up anything significant in terms of material well-being to end abject poverty for everyone in Canada.
But then what is the solution? How do we get government that will address these issues and more? It seems the problem is not the structures above us it is that people support them.
The best men we can find to lead North America are Trump/Biden and Trudeau/O'Toole. It boggles the mind. that any political party would put them forth as their best offer. It's no wonder people don't vote.
Quebec is so horrible I am forced to vote QS even though I am adamently opposed to their position on independence.
So really what do we do?
Seriously asking ourselves that very question seems to me an excellent place to start.
