smalltalk°

To Nathan Cullen

Thank you, Nathan, for everything you stand for in working for Canadians. It’s been my pleasure to talk to so many people I know about your sincerity, optimism, and your determination to change politics. I hope to see you in parliament for a long, long time to come, fighting for Canadian values that make this country so great, standing with our students, , speaking up for the First Nations community and against the pipelines. It’s been a slice of a race. 

Here’s a thought I’d like some feedback on. I just read this article “Liberals Need CPR, not the NDP’s Dead Weight” by Zach Paikin, and this quote stood out to me: 

Liberals must recognize that the NDP is in fact a conservative party. It is a party that wishes to conserve our current incarnations of public health care, welfare, and pensions without offering any tangible solutions to the upcoming demographic crisis. It is a party that wishes to maintain Canada’s “traditional” international role as a peacekeeper, despite the fact that such a tactic is unlikely to function in the non-bipolar world that has been created following the demise of the Soviet Union.

And just like the Conservative party, the NDP appeals to the politics of fear in order to win votes — fear of Stephen Harper.

I actually have not formed any kind of solid opinion or argument yet and I’m trying to write two essays as I write this and class is about to start and blah blah, but you should tell me what you think. Is the NDP doing politics by inducing fear, and how valid/invalid is that argument? 

In other news, I’m becoming a lazy politics blogger. I apologize.

After fidgeting and fidgeting, I finally voted in the NDP leadership race.

Less than three weeks until the NDP election

…and I don’t have a clear idea of what my ballot will look like. I think Cullen - Nash are my first and second choices, but I’m not even sure about that. Followers, how about you?

Ugh, partisans

Brian Topp’s election campaign calls me incessantly; which is fine and dandy, if it wasn’t for their not-so-subtle attacks on Nathan Cullen for his ideas on collaborating with the other “left” parties, such as the Liberals, Greens, etc. I admit this idea has its own flaws, with uncertain details on how to make this a progressive choice, and not one that stalls the NDP into a kind-of-left-but-really-more-centre kind of limbo.

Maybe it’s really more the choice of words that I have a problem with; today, it was a pre-recorded message from Ed Broadbent saying “Brian is proud to be running for the NDP… we want to win as the NDP, and I’m sure you do, too”.

Well, no, Mr. Broadbent, I don’t. I’m not married to the name of being a New Democrat, as proud as I am of my membership. I’m married to progressive policies and inclusive democracy, and whatever party that I feel will take us there. If one day I wake up and I feel that the Conservatives will advance Canada, then they’ll have my vote.

Ditch partisanship. If one party or candidate has been getting your votes systematically, stop, think, and read, and get with the changes. 

Hello, Canadian Tumblrosphere.

I’m back with more NDP appeals!

This time, I’m just plain asking you to take some interest in the NDP leadership campaign that’s going on right now. The person who wins the election on March 24, 2012, will succeed the wonderful Jack Layton. Many Canadians are still unaware of this election, what it’s for, who’s running, and why it’s important.

This is especially important because we may potentially be choosing the new prime minister - and first NDP prime minister - of Canada, who will take over the Harper government in 2015. Stephen Harper and his little minions have been diligently using the absence of Mr. Layton, or a figure who can fill his shoes, to push their many horrifying agendas: Privatized prisons, the Ethical Oil fiasco, name-calling of the democratic citizens who oppose his party, quietly cutting back on essential social services,  testing the waters at delegitimizing gay marriages performed in Canada.

Of course, the lack of an opposition leader is second in the list of reasons allowing Harper this kind of momentum; the first and foremost is that the Conservatives have a majority government.

Personally, I’m afraid that many Canadians will see the New Democratic Party as a weak opposition who did nothing to stop the travesties of this majority government; and will not vote for them in the next election; and that, in 2015, the NDP will not get a chance at forming a progressive government.

But I’m still optimistic that the leader we choose as a party in March will speak for those who collectively oppose the Harper government. Please join the NDP.  It costs $25, or $5 or less if you’re under 26 years of age, or un(der)employed.

Here are some of the things about some of the candidates that may (or may not) be of interest to you:

• Peggy Nash, MP of High Park-Parkdale in Toronto, is advocating for a federal childcare system as one of her main platforms. She’s also pushing for an advancements in LGBT rights, and equality of women. 
• Nathan Cullen, MP of Smithers/Skeena-Bulkley Valley, has put forth an idea for a system in which the Liberals, Greens, and NDP will put forth one joint nomination in Conservative ridings, to stop the vote-splitting on the left resulting in a Conservative win (good god, I’m not very good at wording that).
• Brian Topp, president of the NDP, runs ACTRA, and is an avid supporter of the CBC. He’s proposed a new federal income tax bracket of 35% on incomes in excess of $250,000, which some critics say will cause him to lose the support of wealthier Canadians, should he come to lead the opposition to Harper.
• Thomas Mulcair, MP of Outremont, QC, has put forth extensive plans to cap the climate change pollution by expanding on the idea of “polluters pay”. He would also ensure 50% of all appointees to government boards are women, which he says will advance women’s equality in Canada.

These are just 4 out of 8 candidates. All 8 candidates jointly oppose the Pipelines, Bill C-10, and call for reconciliation over assimilation regarding First Nations, as well as making massive changes to - or scrapping altogether - the Indian Act of 1951 (first of all, why is it still called the “Indian” Act?). They also want to reform the changes and conditions the Harper government is imposing on immigrants, refugees and foreign workers. To put it really simply and probably inappropriately, they really hate Harper, and I hope that’s enough for some of you to take interest in this election. 

There’s another leadership debate happening tomorrow, Sunday January 29. You can find out more here, and watch it live too.

Apathy is the saddest thing happening in Canadian politics. Politics is personal, so take some goddamn interest.

PSA OUT.

ps - I don’t pretend to be a great expert on all candidates. If I’m wrong about something, or if you want to add something to this, or if you have a comment on how sad it is that this is what I do in my spare time, send me a message.

Hey Tumblr, know your alphabets:

There’s an election coming up. This one’s to choose the next leader to NDP, who’ll succeed the wonderful human being who went by the name of Jack Layton. Here are your candidates.

The election will be on March 24, 2012. You can vote by becoming a member of the New Democratic Party of Canada. You do that here. In Ontario, if you’re un(der) employed, or under 26 years of age, you can join for as little as $5 donation (if you’re in BC, it’s a dollar). You need to join by the cut-off date of February 18, 2012 in order to be eligible to vote.

You can vote online in advance starting in March, or mail in your ballot. You can attend the NDP Convention in Toronto to vote in person, or you can vote live online on March 24. More details are here.

I hope this is helpful. Even if you don’t consider yourself a New Democrat right now, if there’s a candidate that you’d like to see leading the official opposition against Stephen Harper, please join and spread the word.

If you live in Toronto, there’s a Leadership Debate happening on Wednesday, January 18. The event link is here.

And that was your PSA of the day.

Bonus: here’s a semi-adorable video I did with friends for Nathan Cullen, MP of Smithers, BC.