Layton's changes would make prorogation much more democratic. But one cannot expect Harper --who wants an elected Senate but uses the time during prorogation to pack it with Conservative hacks-- to press for more democracy when it would actually make the system more democratic.
Layton calls for limits on powers to prorogue
CBC News
There should be limits on the ability of the prime minister to prorogue Parliament, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Wednesday.
He said his party will call for legislative changes that would require a majority vote of MPs for the prorogation of Parliament.
"This will inform the governor general of the will of the majority in the House of the people — that their work has been completed and they want to reset and prepare for the future," Layton said in Ottawa after a caucus meeting. "It shouldn't happen whenever the prime minister feels like it."
He also called for MPs to be brought back before the March 3 return date set by Prime Minister Stephen Harper when he prorogued Parliament.
The house was to have resumed sitting on Jan. 25, before Harper's move.
As with the Liberals, NDP MPs plan to be on Parliament Hill on Monday.
Showing posts with label Jack Layton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Layton. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
NDP slams parliament suspension..
While Harper may in part be trying to avoid criticism what is probably more important is to pack the Senate and get rid of parliamentary committees that bothered Harper. Harper considers parliament and parliamentary processes as some sort of barrier to be overcome or disbanded when he does not like what they are doing. Here is the champion of a party that wanted a triple E senate now packing it just as those terrible Liberals would do if they got a chance. So much for change and accountability.
NDP slams Parliament suspension
Posted By BRENDAN WEDLEY AND ANDREA HOUSTON, EXAMINER STAFF WRITERS
Two prominent local NDP members slammed the Conservative government for suspending Parliament until March 3.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to avoid criticism from the elected members of Parliament on not properly handling prisoners and violating the Geneva Convention, NDP riding association president Norm Slater said.
"When Jean Chretien prorogued Parliament in order to avoid criticism of the sponsorship scandal, Stephen Harper was the first one to criticize him," Slater said. "He's doing the same thing Jean Chretien did. I think the word hypocrisy comes to my mind."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government announced on Wednesday that Parliament would be shut down until March 3, with a budget presented the following day.
Parliament was originally scheduled to return on Jan. 25.
Proroguing Parliament allows the government to focus on the Vancouver Olympic Games, to fill the five vacant Senate seats to give the Conservatives a majority on Senate committees, and to disband Parliamentary committees, Peterborough Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro has said.
"We will effectively take a majority position in the senate in the coming weeks which will allow us to take... bills that have been blocked by the Liberal senators," he said.
Del Mastro said the proroguing of Parliament has nothing to do with the Afghan detainee issue.
MPs are elected to work, not to go home and to go on vacation, Slater said.
"For some reason (Harper) doesn't want to face Parliament and deal with the people who are elected to run the country. I guess he thinks he's the emperor or something," Slater said. "Democracy seems like a bother to him."
Local NDP candidate Dave Nickle said the Conservatives continuously contradict their election platform of being open and accountable with the Canadian people.
"But we are just getting more of the same," he said. "I don't think anybody who looks at the record of this government believes them."
Nickle said the Canadian people will view the decision to suspend Parliament "very cynically."
"I hope people really start to look beyond the fluff and look at the real workings of government," he said. "Whenever the going gets tough for this government, they take an extended holiday."
Peterborough Liberal candidate Betsy McGregor and local Liberal riding association president John Nichols couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff issued a statement after the announcement of the prorogation.
"The decision to prorogue is about one thing and one thing only -avoiding the scrutiny of Parliament at a time when this government is facing tough questions about their conduct in covering up the detainee scandal," Ignatieff stated. "By shutting down Parliament four times in just three years, Mr. Harper is showing that his first impulse when he is in trouble is to shut down Parliament."
The last time Harper asked Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament was in late 2008 when the Liberals and NDP agreed to try to form a coalition government.
bwedley@peterboroughexaminer.com
NDP slams Parliament suspension
Posted By BRENDAN WEDLEY AND ANDREA HOUSTON, EXAMINER STAFF WRITERS
Two prominent local NDP members slammed the Conservative government for suspending Parliament until March 3.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to avoid criticism from the elected members of Parliament on not properly handling prisoners and violating the Geneva Convention, NDP riding association president Norm Slater said.
"When Jean Chretien prorogued Parliament in order to avoid criticism of the sponsorship scandal, Stephen Harper was the first one to criticize him," Slater said. "He's doing the same thing Jean Chretien did. I think the word hypocrisy comes to my mind."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government announced on Wednesday that Parliament would be shut down until March 3, with a budget presented the following day.
Parliament was originally scheduled to return on Jan. 25.
Proroguing Parliament allows the government to focus on the Vancouver Olympic Games, to fill the five vacant Senate seats to give the Conservatives a majority on Senate committees, and to disband Parliamentary committees, Peterborough Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro has said.
"We will effectively take a majority position in the senate in the coming weeks which will allow us to take... bills that have been blocked by the Liberal senators," he said.
Del Mastro said the proroguing of Parliament has nothing to do with the Afghan detainee issue.
MPs are elected to work, not to go home and to go on vacation, Slater said.
"For some reason (Harper) doesn't want to face Parliament and deal with the people who are elected to run the country. I guess he thinks he's the emperor or something," Slater said. "Democracy seems like a bother to him."
Local NDP candidate Dave Nickle said the Conservatives continuously contradict their election platform of being open and accountable with the Canadian people.
"But we are just getting more of the same," he said. "I don't think anybody who looks at the record of this government believes them."
Nickle said the Canadian people will view the decision to suspend Parliament "very cynically."
"I hope people really start to look beyond the fluff and look at the real workings of government," he said. "Whenever the going gets tough for this government, they take an extended holiday."
Peterborough Liberal candidate Betsy McGregor and local Liberal riding association president John Nichols couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff issued a statement after the announcement of the prorogation.
"The decision to prorogue is about one thing and one thing only -avoiding the scrutiny of Parliament at a time when this government is facing tough questions about their conduct in covering up the detainee scandal," Ignatieff stated. "By shutting down Parliament four times in just three years, Mr. Harper is showing that his first impulse when he is in trouble is to shut down Parliament."
The last time Harper asked Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament was in late 2008 when the Liberals and NDP agreed to try to form a coalition government.
bwedley@peterboroughexaminer.com
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The NDP changes its tune and its colours.
Most politicians seem to be of the chameleon species no matter what their political stripes. The NDP certainly changed its tune once Ignatieff got serious about voting against the Conservatives. Of course now Ignatieff is quiet about that as well. Layton's opportunism does not seem to have hurt his poll numbers but then it has not helped them either. The NDP seems stuck in the doldrums. The only great leap forward in the NDP seems to be that of Gary Doer the former Manitoba premier, who is now busy defending Harper's environmental policy as Canadian ambassador to the US. This is from the Star.
Hébert: For Jack Layton, a year of playing chameleon
Chantal Hébert
For Jack Layton and the NDP, 2009 was a year of greater opportunism than opportunity.
Over a period when the opposition parties took more hits from the ruling Conservatives than they inflicted, his party turned out to be the most resilient.
Unlike Gilles Duceppe, Layton did not suffer the humiliation of losing a party fortress to the Conservatives in last month's by-elections. Unlike Michael Ignatieff, the NDP leader's own members are not questioning his competence these days, or at least not openly.
As a bonus, Green rival Elizabeth May was off the national radar for most of the year.
Layton had spent the bulk of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's first mandate on the sidelines but managed to carve out a more central role for his party in the second Conservative minority Parliament. That has translated into more presence in the media.
According to a year-end content analysis published last week by Influence Communication, Layton was the fourth most mentioned federal politician in the Canadian media this year, ahead of most of the Conservative cabinet. The Prime Minister, the leader of the official Opposition and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty took the top three spots.
Taken together though, none of the above adds up to an imminent rendezvous between the NDP and government or even the second-place role of official opposition in the House of Commons.
Two recent polls pegged NDP support nationally at around 16 per cent, within the margin of error of its score (18 per cent) in the last election. That suggests the New Democrats did not benefit in any lasting way from their greater visibility and/or from one of the worst Liberal falls on record.
So far, greater NDP relevance in Parliament is not translating into greater relevance with the voting public. And that may explain why, in 2009, the NDP got away with the political equivalent of murder on the issue of consistency.
First, there was the reversal – on a dime – of the party's long-standing policy of non-cooperation with the Conservatives on confidence issues.
In September, Layton latched on to adjustments to the EI regime as a reason to keep the Harper government in place even more quickly than he had dismissed the more substantial EI concessions of the previous Conservative budget in January.
Then in November, a third of the NDP caucus and half-a-dozen Liberals voted with the Conservatives against the long-gun registry. Ignatieff took a lot of flak for that, in particular in Quebec; Layton increased his share of the vote in a downtown Montreal riding.
Finally, there was the NDP decision to use the purview of the Commons to wage war on the economic policies of Ontario and British Columbia. By campaigning aggressively against provincial plans for a harmonized sales tax, Layton is hoping to ride the wave of populist discontent that attends their upcoming advent.
In the last election, a similar move against Stéphane Dion's carbon tax paid off for the NDP. But it also indisposed a large significant section of Canada's environmental community.
The HST crusade is at least as questionable for it sends a troubling message as to Layton's rather elastic vision of federalism, in which it is apparently okay for the federal government to intervene in, even put a spoke into, the fiscal policies of its provincial partners.
Looking back on 2009, one can only marvel at Layton's ability to surf on the contrary waves that came his way.
He truly seemed to bask in the eternal sunshine of a spotless policy mind.
Chantal Hébert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Hébert: For Jack Layton, a year of playing chameleon
Chantal Hébert
For Jack Layton and the NDP, 2009 was a year of greater opportunism than opportunity.
Over a period when the opposition parties took more hits from the ruling Conservatives than they inflicted, his party turned out to be the most resilient.
Unlike Gilles Duceppe, Layton did not suffer the humiliation of losing a party fortress to the Conservatives in last month's by-elections. Unlike Michael Ignatieff, the NDP leader's own members are not questioning his competence these days, or at least not openly.
As a bonus, Green rival Elizabeth May was off the national radar for most of the year.
Layton had spent the bulk of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's first mandate on the sidelines but managed to carve out a more central role for his party in the second Conservative minority Parliament. That has translated into more presence in the media.
According to a year-end content analysis published last week by Influence Communication, Layton was the fourth most mentioned federal politician in the Canadian media this year, ahead of most of the Conservative cabinet. The Prime Minister, the leader of the official Opposition and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty took the top three spots.
Taken together though, none of the above adds up to an imminent rendezvous between the NDP and government or even the second-place role of official opposition in the House of Commons.
Two recent polls pegged NDP support nationally at around 16 per cent, within the margin of error of its score (18 per cent) in the last election. That suggests the New Democrats did not benefit in any lasting way from their greater visibility and/or from one of the worst Liberal falls on record.
So far, greater NDP relevance in Parliament is not translating into greater relevance with the voting public. And that may explain why, in 2009, the NDP got away with the political equivalent of murder on the issue of consistency.
First, there was the reversal – on a dime – of the party's long-standing policy of non-cooperation with the Conservatives on confidence issues.
In September, Layton latched on to adjustments to the EI regime as a reason to keep the Harper government in place even more quickly than he had dismissed the more substantial EI concessions of the previous Conservative budget in January.
Then in November, a third of the NDP caucus and half-a-dozen Liberals voted with the Conservatives against the long-gun registry. Ignatieff took a lot of flak for that, in particular in Quebec; Layton increased his share of the vote in a downtown Montreal riding.
Finally, there was the NDP decision to use the purview of the Commons to wage war on the economic policies of Ontario and British Columbia. By campaigning aggressively against provincial plans for a harmonized sales tax, Layton is hoping to ride the wave of populist discontent that attends their upcoming advent.
In the last election, a similar move against Stéphane Dion's carbon tax paid off for the NDP. But it also indisposed a large significant section of Canada's environmental community.
The HST crusade is at least as questionable for it sends a troubling message as to Layton's rather elastic vision of federalism, in which it is apparently okay for the federal government to intervene in, even put a spoke into, the fiscal policies of its provincial partners.
Looking back on 2009, one can only marvel at Layton's ability to surf on the contrary waves that came his way.
He truly seemed to bask in the eternal sunshine of a spotless policy mind.
Chantal Hébert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Monday, October 5, 2009
NDP says no to harmonized sales tax.
Layton claims that he will have a hard time supporting Harper if he introduces an HST law but he does not come out squarely and say he would vote against it. Ignatieff claims that he will not support any confidence motion but we will wait and see. The BC Liberals support the HST!
NDP says no HST
By Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch
The harmonized sales tax is a $4-billion bribe being given to Ontario by the federal governnent, says the leader of the federal NDP. Jack Layton , speaking Saturday outside a local doughnut shop, said the HST tax grab should lie squarely on the shoulders of the Conservative government, who must pass the legislation in the House of Commons for it to become law on July 1, 2010. “I say to Stephen Harper you may try to run but you can’t hide,” said Layton on Saturday. “This is your tax. Eight per cent on about one-fifth of the things consumers of Northwestern Ontario are buying,, right down to your double-double and your donut.” Layton said that the tax will not bring more jobs to Thunder Bay, but in fact will do the opposite, reducing jobs because people will have less disposable income to spend. The Ontario government said it will offer $10.6 billion worth of tax relief, over three years, when HST goes in affect. Layton said that if the tax comes in July as planned, it will gobble up all the relief money. “We don’t think it’s right; we don’t think it is fair. What we should be doing is getting the infrastructure money going. (Ministers) could have transferred the gas tax last spring and we would have had all kinds of construction on the go.” Calling on Harper to transfer the gas tax in the next stimulus package, the longtime political leader said it’s not the first time the NDP have fought the implementation of an HST-style blended tax. Several years ago it was passed in Saskatchewan by the sitting Conservative government. It lasted until the next election, when the NDP were elected and had it repealed. In Nova Scotia, where the HST has been in effect for several years, the provincial NDP are doing their best to minimize the effect of the tax. “Premier Darrell Dexter, who has just become the Premier of Nova Scotia, is taking the tax off home heating fuel. So he’s undoing some of the damages to families that was done by that tax. It is a burden people can’t bear right now.” The HST wasn’t all that was on Layton’s mind during his whirlwind tour of Thunder Bay last weekend. A few weeks ago Layton met with Harper to discuss employment insurance. The Conservatives came out with an unusual billion-dollar budget proposal in September, which has never happened before, said Layton, whose party decided to back the government in a confidence motion recently brought forth by the Liberals, a move that prevented a forced election from being called. “We want that money flowing to families. If we get a billion dollars to tens of thousands of families across the country then by golly we don’t want to go to an election until people get that help.” But that partnership could be short-lived, he adding, saying that if Harper moves to make the sales tax a law he would have a tough time supporting the Conservatives in a House of Commons vote. The Liberals have already vowed not to support the Tories on any confidence motion.
NDP says no HST
By Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch
The harmonized sales tax is a $4-billion bribe being given to Ontario by the federal governnent, says the leader of the federal NDP. Jack Layton , speaking Saturday outside a local doughnut shop, said the HST tax grab should lie squarely on the shoulders of the Conservative government, who must pass the legislation in the House of Commons for it to become law on July 1, 2010. “I say to Stephen Harper you may try to run but you can’t hide,” said Layton on Saturday. “This is your tax. Eight per cent on about one-fifth of the things consumers of Northwestern Ontario are buying,, right down to your double-double and your donut.” Layton said that the tax will not bring more jobs to Thunder Bay, but in fact will do the opposite, reducing jobs because people will have less disposable income to spend. The Ontario government said it will offer $10.6 billion worth of tax relief, over three years, when HST goes in affect. Layton said that if the tax comes in July as planned, it will gobble up all the relief money. “We don’t think it’s right; we don’t think it is fair. What we should be doing is getting the infrastructure money going. (Ministers) could have transferred the gas tax last spring and we would have had all kinds of construction on the go.” Calling on Harper to transfer the gas tax in the next stimulus package, the longtime political leader said it’s not the first time the NDP have fought the implementation of an HST-style blended tax. Several years ago it was passed in Saskatchewan by the sitting Conservative government. It lasted until the next election, when the NDP were elected and had it repealed. In Nova Scotia, where the HST has been in effect for several years, the provincial NDP are doing their best to minimize the effect of the tax. “Premier Darrell Dexter, who has just become the Premier of Nova Scotia, is taking the tax off home heating fuel. So he’s undoing some of the damages to families that was done by that tax. It is a burden people can’t bear right now.” The HST wasn’t all that was on Layton’s mind during his whirlwind tour of Thunder Bay last weekend. A few weeks ago Layton met with Harper to discuss employment insurance. The Conservatives came out with an unusual billion-dollar budget proposal in September, which has never happened before, said Layton, whose party decided to back the government in a confidence motion recently brought forth by the Liberals, a move that prevented a forced election from being called. “We want that money flowing to families. If we get a billion dollars to tens of thousands of families across the country then by golly we don’t want to go to an election until people get that help.” But that partnership could be short-lived, he adding, saying that if Harper moves to make the sales tax a law he would have a tough time supporting the Conservatives in a House of Commons vote. The Liberals have already vowed not to support the Tories on any confidence motion.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
NDP to prop up Tories again!
First it was Dion and now it is Layton. While it makes some sense to support the bill that has the popular home improvement tax legislation in it Layton is becoming hostage to the Harper govt. He has promised not to bring it down until the EI bill comes into effect. Perhaps Harper can arrange to delay it while he slips the poison pill harmonised sales tax legislation through. Maybe the Liberals will support that one though since their Liberal counterparts in BC are involved!
NDP to prop up Tories again
By Heather Scoffield (CP) – 1 day ago
OTTAWA — The NDP is poised once again to save the Conservatives from facing an election any time soon.
Leader Jack Layton says his party will support a key budget bill that could come before the House of Commons for final reading as early as next week.
That support would ensure the minority Harper government survives a bit longer, since budget implementation bills are automatically confidence votes.
Bill C-51 contains the popular home renovation tax credit.
It also has measures to help first-time homeowners, money to alleviate debt in poor countries, relief for livestock owners, and $174.5 million for Nova Scotia for offshore petroleum.
The Liberals have said they will oppose the Conservatives on every vote, but they need the support of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to bring down the government.
"There's a lot of reasons to vote for these measures. When I said we would approach things on a case-by-case basis, this is exactly what I meant," Layton said Friday from Halifax.
Politicians are debating the bill in the House of Commons. No date has been set for third reading yet, but it could come by the end of next week.
The NDP has said it will prop up the government for as long as it takes to ensure the passage of a $1-billion bill to increase employment insurance benefits to long-tenured workers.
Layton's party kept the Conservatives in power on Thursday by abstaining from a Liberal non-confidence motion. But they have no qualms about supporting C-51.
"This one is a support outright because it includes measures we very much support. And it doesn't have in it a poison pill, which I'm very glad to see," Layton said.
He said he would also be inclined to support any Conservative bill that would give self-employed people access to maternity benefits.
But he would have a hard time with legislation that would sanction a harmonized sales tax in some provinces, or that would commit Canada to paying penalties for its softwood lumber exports.
"Our message to Stephen Harper is quite clear: don't provoke an election, let's get things done."
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NDP to prop up Tories again
By Heather Scoffield (CP) – 1 day ago
OTTAWA — The NDP is poised once again to save the Conservatives from facing an election any time soon.
Leader Jack Layton says his party will support a key budget bill that could come before the House of Commons for final reading as early as next week.
That support would ensure the minority Harper government survives a bit longer, since budget implementation bills are automatically confidence votes.
Bill C-51 contains the popular home renovation tax credit.
It also has measures to help first-time homeowners, money to alleviate debt in poor countries, relief for livestock owners, and $174.5 million for Nova Scotia for offshore petroleum.
The Liberals have said they will oppose the Conservatives on every vote, but they need the support of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to bring down the government.
"There's a lot of reasons to vote for these measures. When I said we would approach things on a case-by-case basis, this is exactly what I meant," Layton said Friday from Halifax.
Politicians are debating the bill in the House of Commons. No date has been set for third reading yet, but it could come by the end of next week.
The NDP has said it will prop up the government for as long as it takes to ensure the passage of a $1-billion bill to increase employment insurance benefits to long-tenured workers.
Layton's party kept the Conservatives in power on Thursday by abstaining from a Liberal non-confidence motion. But they have no qualms about supporting C-51.
"This one is a support outright because it includes measures we very much support. And it doesn't have in it a poison pill, which I'm very glad to see," Layton said.
He said he would also be inclined to support any Conservative bill that would give self-employed people access to maternity benefits.
But he would have a hard time with legislation that would sanction a harmonized sales tax in some provinces, or that would commit Canada to paying penalties for its softwood lumber exports.
"Our message to Stephen Harper is quite clear: don't provoke an election, let's get things done."
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Liberals to table non-confidence motion today (Sep. 28)
The NDP really cannot afford to prop up the Conservatives even to bring in some EI benefits. This is just a sop to buy the NDP off and nothing as strong as the NDP is supposed to stand for on EI reform. The Liberals will phrase the non-confidence motion to stick it to the NDP. Many of the rank and file NDP supporters will not be happy with this roll over and beg for an EI tid bit act by Layton. This is from the Time Colonist. Meanwhile Ignatieff has flip flopped on the Outremont flap and allowed Cauchon to run and this has cause Coderre to resign as Quebec Lieutenant for Ignatieff.
Liberals to table non-confidence motion today
By David Akin, Canwest News ServiceSeptember 28, 2009 8:14 AM
OTTAWA — The federal Liberal party will release the text Monday afternoon of its non-confidence motion that MPs will be expected to vote on Thursday.
The Liberals want to bring down Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government and force a general election but, to do that, MPs from all three opposition parties must vote in favour of the Liberal non-confidence motion. It appears, though, that the NDP will stand with the government Thursday.
Brad Lavigne, the NDP's national director, appeared on television shows Sunday saying his party's first priority is to see government legislation that would extend the maximum amount of time some people can receive employment insurance benefits approved by the Commons. That legislation, the government says, would help about 190,000 people who are nearing the end of their benefit period.
Ralph Goodale, the Liberal MP from Saskatchewan and his party's House leader, said the motion to be tabled Monday will be unambiguous.
"We want to play this straightforward, very straight-up," Goodale said.
The motion could be as simple as "Be it Resolved that this House has no confidence in the government."
Confidence motions, though, are typically a little longer than that, with a pre-amble that sets out the reasons why the party proposing the motion does not have confidence in the government.
"This government cannot be trusted in terms of its numbers," Liberal MP David McGuinty said Monday morning after meeting with party leader Michael Ignatieff and his closest advisers.
The Bloc Quebecois has already indicated it will vote with the Liberals and against the government on Thursday's vote.
The Liberals believe they can score some political points at the NDP's expense and the wording of their confidence motion is part of the strategy to do just that.
The preamble in the Liberal confidence motion could, for example, indict the government for failing to act on some issues that are core parts of the NDP's agenda, such as more robust employment insurance reform.
Ignatieff said last week he does not want to give the NDP anywhere to "hide."
The timing of the confidence motion is connected to the release Monday of the government's third quarterly update on its economic stimulus plan.
In exchange for Liberal support last spring of the budget, the Conservatives agreed to table quarterly updates on some of the objectives and benchmarks outlined in the budget. As part of that Liberal-Conservative agreement last spring, both sides agreed that the Liberals would have the chance to introduce this confidence motion three days after the government tables this third report.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Liberals to table non-confidence motion today
By David Akin, Canwest News ServiceSeptember 28, 2009 8:14 AM
OTTAWA — The federal Liberal party will release the text Monday afternoon of its non-confidence motion that MPs will be expected to vote on Thursday.
The Liberals want to bring down Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government and force a general election but, to do that, MPs from all three opposition parties must vote in favour of the Liberal non-confidence motion. It appears, though, that the NDP will stand with the government Thursday.
Brad Lavigne, the NDP's national director, appeared on television shows Sunday saying his party's first priority is to see government legislation that would extend the maximum amount of time some people can receive employment insurance benefits approved by the Commons. That legislation, the government says, would help about 190,000 people who are nearing the end of their benefit period.
Ralph Goodale, the Liberal MP from Saskatchewan and his party's House leader, said the motion to be tabled Monday will be unambiguous.
"We want to play this straightforward, very straight-up," Goodale said.
The motion could be as simple as "Be it Resolved that this House has no confidence in the government."
Confidence motions, though, are typically a little longer than that, with a pre-amble that sets out the reasons why the party proposing the motion does not have confidence in the government.
"This government cannot be trusted in terms of its numbers," Liberal MP David McGuinty said Monday morning after meeting with party leader Michael Ignatieff and his closest advisers.
The Bloc Quebecois has already indicated it will vote with the Liberals and against the government on Thursday's vote.
The Liberals believe they can score some political points at the NDP's expense and the wording of their confidence motion is part of the strategy to do just that.
The preamble in the Liberal confidence motion could, for example, indict the government for failing to act on some issues that are core parts of the NDP's agenda, such as more robust employment insurance reform.
Ignatieff said last week he does not want to give the NDP anywhere to "hide."
The timing of the confidence motion is connected to the release Monday of the government's third quarterly update on its economic stimulus plan.
In exchange for Liberal support last spring of the budget, the Conservatives agreed to table quarterly updates on some of the objectives and benchmarks outlined in the budget. As part of that Liberal-Conservative agreement last spring, both sides agreed that the Liberals would have the chance to introduce this confidence motion three days after the government tables this third report.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Layton delves into uncharted waters to keep Harper afloat.
While Layton and Duceppe were no doubt both wise to let the home renovation tax credit measure pass the EI changes are more controversial. Even this might be defensible but Layton also insists on keeping the Tory government in power until the EI changes become law which would take up to two months and would mean that the NDP could prop the Tories up when the Liberals present a non-confidence motion assuming they will do so. This would make a laughing stock of the NDP. The Conservatives have done nothing to sweeten the EI legislation to make it more in line with NDP policy. If the NDP is worried about their poll numbers now, they will have even more worries if they keep propping up a government they have been bad mouthing ever since it took power.
Layton delves into uncharted waters to keep Harper afloat
Steven Chase and Bill Curry
Ottawa — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
The future of Stephen Harper's minority government now apparently rests in the hands of Jack Layton's New Democrats, who have previously made a virtue of opposing Tory legislation.
As expected, Mr. Harper's Conservatives survived a parliamentary confidence vote on several budget measures Friday after both the Bloc Québécois and NDP voted in their favour – with the Liberals opposing.
But later that day, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe took to the microphone to make it clear that the Tories should not count on his party's support in future confidence votes.
Mr. Duceppe emphasized that while he continues to support a popular home renovation tax credit approved in yesterday's budget vote, he has no interest in propping up the Tories on a regular basis. He suggested the NDP would be the only party keeping Mr. Harper in office.
He said the Bloc would vote against the Conservatives in motions that test parliamentary support for Mr. Harper.
“If they ask if we have confidence in that government, the answer is clear: N-O, no.”
How long the Conservatives can continue to govern before facing another election apparently depends on how long Mr. Layton can justify propping them up. The Tories can survive as long as one rival supports them, or abstains, during confidence votes.
The NDP has shown scant enthusiasm for an election, which might cost it seats. It latched on to extensions to the Employment Insurance program unveiled by the Tories this week as a reason to delay a trip to the polls. The New Democrats say they're now prepared to keep the Conservatives in power until the EI changes become law, a process that could take roughly six to eight weeks to complete.
While Mr. Layton can rely on election fatigue among Canadians to buttress his position right now, he still faces the risk of a backlash from left-leaning supporters for backing the right-wing Conservatives.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff returns to the House of Commons after speaking to reporters in the wake of the minority Conservative government's budget motion passing with the support of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois on Sept. 18, 2009.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, whose party has pledged to defeat the Tories as soon as possible, is planning a no-confidence motion for early October. He needs both the Bloc's and the NDP's support to succeed, but was gleeful Friday at the prospect of political misfortune for his rivals if they keep backing the Conservatives.
“Jack and Gilles have gone up the hill, and we know how that little fairy tale ends,” Mr. Ignatieff joked Friday.
Mr. Layton played down concerns expressed by others in his party – NDP president Peggy Nash and caucus members such as Windsor-area MP Joe Comartin – that the Tory EI bill is inadequate and will leave out many unemployed, particularly former auto sector workers.
He said NDP supporters can live with the decision to back the Tories if it leads to improvements to EI. “Our supporters prefer that we work for them rather than having an election that no one wants.”
But Tories Friday showed no interest in amending Bill C-50, the new EI legislation, to address NDP concerns.
Mr. Layton was unfazed, saying he hopes to use private members' bills to make more changes to the EI program.
“It's true there are a lot of people who need help that this legislation will not give them, but we have 12 bills before the House of Commons to try and correct the issues with EI in order to help seasonal workers for example.”
Mr. Layton's plan to remedy NDP concerns about EI through private members' bills – legislation not sponsored by government – is a long shot. Only a handful of these ever become law because it often takes years for them to move through the system.
Mr. Duceppe said he cannot support the government's EI bill, which he says does nothing for Quebec's unemployed forestry workers. He also blocked efforts by the other parties to have the bill sent quickly to committee for study after a second reading vote.
He said the only reason the NDP is voting to avoid an election is because the party knows it will lose seats. “They are scared of having an election, period,” Mr. Duceppe said. “Look at the polls.”
Layton delves into uncharted waters to keep Harper afloat
Steven Chase and Bill Curry
Ottawa — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
The future of Stephen Harper's minority government now apparently rests in the hands of Jack Layton's New Democrats, who have previously made a virtue of opposing Tory legislation.
As expected, Mr. Harper's Conservatives survived a parliamentary confidence vote on several budget measures Friday after both the Bloc Québécois and NDP voted in their favour – with the Liberals opposing.
But later that day, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe took to the microphone to make it clear that the Tories should not count on his party's support in future confidence votes.
Mr. Duceppe emphasized that while he continues to support a popular home renovation tax credit approved in yesterday's budget vote, he has no interest in propping up the Tories on a regular basis. He suggested the NDP would be the only party keeping Mr. Harper in office.
He said the Bloc would vote against the Conservatives in motions that test parliamentary support for Mr. Harper.
“If they ask if we have confidence in that government, the answer is clear: N-O, no.”
How long the Conservatives can continue to govern before facing another election apparently depends on how long Mr. Layton can justify propping them up. The Tories can survive as long as one rival supports them, or abstains, during confidence votes.
The NDP has shown scant enthusiasm for an election, which might cost it seats. It latched on to extensions to the Employment Insurance program unveiled by the Tories this week as a reason to delay a trip to the polls. The New Democrats say they're now prepared to keep the Conservatives in power until the EI changes become law, a process that could take roughly six to eight weeks to complete.
While Mr. Layton can rely on election fatigue among Canadians to buttress his position right now, he still faces the risk of a backlash from left-leaning supporters for backing the right-wing Conservatives.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff returns to the House of Commons after speaking to reporters in the wake of the minority Conservative government's budget motion passing with the support of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois on Sept. 18, 2009.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, whose party has pledged to defeat the Tories as soon as possible, is planning a no-confidence motion for early October. He needs both the Bloc's and the NDP's support to succeed, but was gleeful Friday at the prospect of political misfortune for his rivals if they keep backing the Conservatives.
“Jack and Gilles have gone up the hill, and we know how that little fairy tale ends,” Mr. Ignatieff joked Friday.
Mr. Layton played down concerns expressed by others in his party – NDP president Peggy Nash and caucus members such as Windsor-area MP Joe Comartin – that the Tory EI bill is inadequate and will leave out many unemployed, particularly former auto sector workers.
He said NDP supporters can live with the decision to back the Tories if it leads to improvements to EI. “Our supporters prefer that we work for them rather than having an election that no one wants.”
But Tories Friday showed no interest in amending Bill C-50, the new EI legislation, to address NDP concerns.
Mr. Layton was unfazed, saying he hopes to use private members' bills to make more changes to the EI program.
“It's true there are a lot of people who need help that this legislation will not give them, but we have 12 bills before the House of Commons to try and correct the issues with EI in order to help seasonal workers for example.”
Mr. Layton's plan to remedy NDP concerns about EI through private members' bills – legislation not sponsored by government – is a long shot. Only a handful of these ever become law because it often takes years for them to move through the system.
Mr. Duceppe said he cannot support the government's EI bill, which he says does nothing for Quebec's unemployed forestry workers. He also blocked efforts by the other parties to have the bill sent quickly to committee for study after a second reading vote.
He said the only reason the NDP is voting to avoid an election is because the party knows it will lose seats. “They are scared of having an election, period,” Mr. Duceppe said. “Look at the polls.”
Monday, September 7, 2009
Layton wants concrete action on NDP policies as price of support for Harper
The rhetorical bleatings coming from the NDP sound as if it is the NDP that would just love the Conservatives to throw them a lifeline to avoid an election. However, it seems destined not to be. Although supporting Conservatives might possibly bleed off some NDP support and open them up to Liberal attacks, probably the Conservatives simply refuse to budge because they do not see it as in their own interests. The Conservative refrain will be that Canadians want parliament to work and that the opposition will simply not co-operate. Canadians do not want an election but the big bad opposition forced it upon them with all sorts of negative consequences. This prattle is not likely to generate a majority government. The Conservatives want the parliament to work but only upon their terms and the opposition can cave in or face an election. This time it seems we will be facing an election.
The Liberals have already unveiled their great policy slogan: We Can Do Better. Perhaps the Conservatives can do better than that----in creating a slogan of course. Be Happy Vote for Harper.
Layton wants 'concrete' action on NDP policies
PM to blame if election called, says NDP leader
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter Thu. Sep 3 - 6:52 PM
Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton offered the Harper government a lifeline Thursday and said it would be the prime minister’s fault if there’s an election this fall.
But a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed the NDP overture, setting the stage for Canadians to possibly head back to the polls a year after the last federal vote.
Mr. Layton said in Halifax that he wants to see action on NDP policies that were before the House of Commons in the spring, measures to help the unemployed, seniors, and consumers and small businesses gouged by credit card companies.
But the federal leader wasn’t specific on what he meant by action, other than that it must be “concrete.”
“I’m not making any backroom deals with the prime minister,” Mr. Layton said during a news conference at a downtown hotel.
“I’m simply suggesting that it’s time for him to show some leadership, to reach out, and make Parliament work.”
The Harper government is again teetering on the brink of defeat after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff declared this week his party will no longer keep the Conservatives alive.
Mr. Layton had taken delight in mocking the Liberals for propping up the government during spring confidence votes but talked Thursday about doing the same thing.
He said he wouldn’t see it as “propping up” the Conservatives.
“It’s a question of trying to get results for people. There’s nothing strange or behind the scenes involved here. It’s simply suggesting that the decision about whether there’s an election is the prime minister’s decision.”
Mr. Harper’s spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, suggested Mr. Layton wasn’t sincere in his offer to work with the government.
“Mr. Layton is very interested, and it’s clear to everybody, that he prefers working with Michael Ignatieff and the Bloc Quebecois rather than working in the interests of Canadians,” he said.
Mr. Harper, who spoke to reporters in Ontario prior to Mr. Layton’s appearance in Halifax, said he wasn’t interested in backroom deals. Mr. Harper said he is interested in useful, affordable ideas to help the economy.
He has said an election would interrupt the country’s economic recovery.
The minority Conservatives must look to the NDP or Bloc Quebecois to survive. Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe has said he’ll consider backing the government on a case-by-case basis.
The NDP, in debt and trailing in the polls, is believed by political insiders to be desperate to avoid an election this fall, but the Tory response to Mr. Layton’s overture Thursday suggests Canadians are likely to head to the polls before long.
Speaking after Mr. Layton’s news conference, Liberal MP Bob Rae said politics is a contact sport, like hockey, not ballet.
Mr. Rae accused the Tories of floating “bizarre” ideas and pooh-poohed the claim that an election would create instability, noting that elections are a normal part of democracy.
“There’s an effort here on the part of the Conservatives to create an atmosphere of total instability,” he said.
“Well, you know, we’re not a banana republic. We have votes. Mr. Harper’s not a generalissimo yet. He has to get used to living in a constitutional democracy.”
Mr. Rae said there is no reason an election need disrupt Mr. Harper’s plans to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Sept. 16 or to attend the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24.
The latest polls suggest an election now would result in another minority government — either for the Tories or the Liberals.
The surveys put the two parties in a dead heat, with the Liberals well ahead of the Tories in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec.
The Liberals have already unveiled their great policy slogan: We Can Do Better. Perhaps the Conservatives can do better than that----in creating a slogan of course. Be Happy Vote for Harper.
Layton wants 'concrete' action on NDP policies
PM to blame if election called, says NDP leader
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter Thu. Sep 3 - 6:52 PM
Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton offered the Harper government a lifeline Thursday and said it would be the prime minister’s fault if there’s an election this fall.
But a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed the NDP overture, setting the stage for Canadians to possibly head back to the polls a year after the last federal vote.
Mr. Layton said in Halifax that he wants to see action on NDP policies that were before the House of Commons in the spring, measures to help the unemployed, seniors, and consumers and small businesses gouged by credit card companies.
But the federal leader wasn’t specific on what he meant by action, other than that it must be “concrete.”
“I’m not making any backroom deals with the prime minister,” Mr. Layton said during a news conference at a downtown hotel.
“I’m simply suggesting that it’s time for him to show some leadership, to reach out, and make Parliament work.”
The Harper government is again teetering on the brink of defeat after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff declared this week his party will no longer keep the Conservatives alive.
Mr. Layton had taken delight in mocking the Liberals for propping up the government during spring confidence votes but talked Thursday about doing the same thing.
He said he wouldn’t see it as “propping up” the Conservatives.
“It’s a question of trying to get results for people. There’s nothing strange or behind the scenes involved here. It’s simply suggesting that the decision about whether there’s an election is the prime minister’s decision.”
Mr. Harper’s spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, suggested Mr. Layton wasn’t sincere in his offer to work with the government.
“Mr. Layton is very interested, and it’s clear to everybody, that he prefers working with Michael Ignatieff and the Bloc Quebecois rather than working in the interests of Canadians,” he said.
Mr. Harper, who spoke to reporters in Ontario prior to Mr. Layton’s appearance in Halifax, said he wasn’t interested in backroom deals. Mr. Harper said he is interested in useful, affordable ideas to help the economy.
He has said an election would interrupt the country’s economic recovery.
The minority Conservatives must look to the NDP or Bloc Quebecois to survive. Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe has said he’ll consider backing the government on a case-by-case basis.
The NDP, in debt and trailing in the polls, is believed by political insiders to be desperate to avoid an election this fall, but the Tory response to Mr. Layton’s overture Thursday suggests Canadians are likely to head to the polls before long.
Speaking after Mr. Layton’s news conference, Liberal MP Bob Rae said politics is a contact sport, like hockey, not ballet.
Mr. Rae accused the Tories of floating “bizarre” ideas and pooh-poohed the claim that an election would create instability, noting that elections are a normal part of democracy.
“There’s an effort here on the part of the Conservatives to create an atmosphere of total instability,” he said.
“Well, you know, we’re not a banana republic. We have votes. Mr. Harper’s not a generalissimo yet. He has to get used to living in a constitutional democracy.”
Mr. Rae said there is no reason an election need disrupt Mr. Harper’s plans to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Sept. 16 or to attend the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24.
The latest polls suggest an election now would result in another minority government — either for the Tories or the Liberals.
The surveys put the two parties in a dead heat, with the Liberals well ahead of the Tories in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Layton's Address to the NDP National Convention
This of course is a rah rah propagandistic speech but then it is meant to enthuse the party rank and file so this is not surprising. The press tends to portray the NDP as old hat and going nowhere but as Layton points out it has made several breakthroughs recently including winning federal seats in Quebec and Alberta and electing a provincial government in Nova Scotia. This is not exactly going nowhere even though the federal polls have not made any breakthrough for sure.
Layton is surely right that emphasis is often upon green shoots and signs that the economy is bottoming out or growth is actually slightly positive rather than the fact that unemployment is actually increasing and because of budget constraints the social safety net is being eroded while poverty is growing.
Jack Layton's address to the New Democrat National Convention
Sun 16 Aug 2009
Bonjour. Good morning.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting here in traditional Mi’kmaq territory. Please join me, on behalf of all New Democrats, in sending our condolences to the family of courageous Mi’kmaq activist Donald Marshall Jr., who died last week. Donald’s heroic struggle for the rights of his people brings to mind the long struggle for the residential-schools apology that took place in the House of Commons a year ago.
But an apology is never complete until action has been taken. And that hasn’t been done.
Let’s get it done.
Now friends, how about this convention?
I’ve got to tell ya, I’ve had so much fun here in Halifax this weekend, that I’ll be humming Farewell to Nova Scotia/your sea-bound coast for months to come. I get the feeling you’ve enjoyed yourselves too. How about a big thanks to everyone who put this great convention together!
I came here thinking about the faces of the many Canadians who told me that they feel abandoned by their government this summer. Too many Canadians need help and aren’t getting it.
And I also came here thinking of my beautiful new granddaughter, Beatrice.
We need to build a better world for the next generation. So I hope you’re leaving here, as I am, with a new vision of the kind of Canada that New Democrats want.
A Canada with a government whose priority is serving all Canadians. A government that works with us, not against us. A government on your side. Not one mired in the old thinking, but a government based on new thinking.
And a Canada whose government is helping to generate good jobs for our children, so that one in five young people wouldn’t be unemployed, as they are today. This summer I met students who told me they can’t afford to go back to school. Their debt loads are crushing. They haven’t got a job. They’re losing hope. Well, we can’t let that happen.
A member of our caucus told me about a widow whose husband worked at Abitibi Bowater. She was told that her pension was being terminated. She and her husband had worked their fingers to the bone, only to be cast aside after company executives decided to abandon the forest, the mill and her, all with the permission of a government that refused to help.
And she’s not alone. Seniors across this country told me they are worried about how they are going to make ends meet. We can’t let that happen in our Canada.
While Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff do their election dance, they’re letting people wait.
People needed help last spring, but they did nothing. People need help this summer, but Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff are still doing nothing. People will need help this fall, yet the only thing that they are talking about an election.
It’s their obsession. As for us, our obsession is to help people weather this crisis.
Last night, I was speaking with a delegate about the challenges that lie ahead for New Democrats. We talked about those who are quick to say: It can’t be done.
I love it when people tell me that.
It can’t be done.
You’ll never elect an MP in Quebec.
It can’t be done.
You’ll never grab a seat in Alberta.
It can’t be done.
You’ll never build a beachhead in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It simply can’t be done.
And my favourite these days: You’ll never elect an NDP government in Nova Scotia.
Tell that to Premier Darrell Dexter.
Or tell Premier Gary Doer that winning a third majority can’t be done. And what about a fourth?
When I hear that phrase I think of Tommy Douglas and of all the people who said to him when he began campaigning for Medicare during the Depression: it can’t be done.
Saskatchewan can’t afford it, they told him.
You’ll never balance the budget, they told him.
It can’t be done.
But Tommy and our whole movement saw that people were suffering without health care. They needed help. It was the right thing to do. And Tommy got it done.
Tommy did it by budgeting carefully. But most importantly, he set out a vision of a government that serves everyone, a government that sees people not as consumers, but as full participating citizens in our society.
As Canadians, new and old, we’re proud of our country. We’re proud of the way we treat each other, our open-heartedness, our generosity of spirit, the way we help each other out when disaster strikes.
Nobody has to tell a Canadian during a flood, Hey, can you help fill sandbags? Or in winter: Can you help shovel a sick neighbour’s walk. People just step up. I’ve seen it all across this country and so have you.
Yet we have a government that doesn’t seem to share these values. Mr. Harper’s greatest legacy will be the impoverishment of our social programs that we created to help people in times of need.
Mr. Harper believes that government should get out of the way, get rid of regulations and let the free market go to town. The Conservatives - and the Liberals - are true believers in this right-wing agenda. We’ve seen it. They rewarded greed. And they are leaving so many in need. And that’s why, now, during this recession, we need a government that’s working with us: a New Democratic government.
We believe that when people lose their job, they need access to Employment Insurance benefits. We believe in protecting workers’ pensions. And we believe that the bonuses given to pension-fund executives, whose funds lost money last year, should be given back
I met a woman in Oshawa who told us at a big public meeting -- and it wasn’t easy for her -- that she was laid off and used a part of her modest severance to cover her parents’ mortgage payment. They were trying to hold on to the family home because they’d both been laid off by GM. Her father was in tears as he took the check. He told her: “I was supposed to look after you.”
This has got to change, friends. It’s got to change.
We’re in the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s. But they are putting on the rose-coloured glasses again on Bay Street. They do that whenever there’s an upward tick on the TSX. Bank economists are saying, Wow, we’re in recovery. But at the same more and more people are being thrown out of work. This coming winter, thousands more of our family members, friends and neighbours are going to lose their jobs. Even the most optimistic economists say unemployment will keep rising until 2010. But, they say, that’s to be expected in any recovery. What kind of defeatist attitude is that?
And how is it that the CEOs who made the most reckless investments were given the most help in this recession?
So where was the help for the rest of Canadians? There are still hundreds of thousands of people getting the door slammed in their face when they try to get EI.
Poverty is growing even faster than the unemployment rate. And in this recession, as Roy Romanow has said, it’s going to be “much more difficult to climb out of poverty than it used to be.”
That’s because the social safety net we once had has been torn to shreds.
Ask yourself, What caused this recession? Was it the size of your paycheque? Was it your lack of education? Was it a refusal to leave your hometown to find work elsewhere?
No it wasn’t.
This recession was triggered by a carnival of greed among bankers and speculators and mortgage companies. In response, governments elsewhere took strong action on the economy. But not here. It took a poke with a very sharp stick to get Mr. Harper to agree to get moving on the economy.
This summer, I met people at community festivals, in municipal halls, seniors’ homes and church basements, in line-ups at Tim’s and, sadly, outside far too many plants that were shutting down.
Everyone I talked to wanted to know: where’s the help? It’s clear now my friends, that you can’t expect help from the Harper Conservatives. They thought Canada was on the right road before the recession.
And they were wrong. Do you think they’ve now got a vision of a sustainable economy?
Remember when Mr. Harper said he wanted Canada to become an energy superpower? Both he and Mr. Ignatieff want to accelerate tar sands development while sending jobs down the pipelines, toxics down the Athabasca River and acid rain into Saskatchewan. And leave us with an international black eye on climate change.
The world is preparing to gather in Copenhagen late this year to address climate change. Do you really trust what the Harper Conservatives will do for our planet in Copenhagen? I didn’t think so!
We know who you can have confidence in: Premier Darrell Dexter, who just brought in hard caps on carbon emissions. Exactly what is needed.
Here’s another question for you: Do you believe that the Harper Conservatives, or the Ignatieff Liberals for that matter, really will to end our combat role in Afghanistan in 2011?
I didn’t think so.
We want a government that favours diplomacy and development and peacekeeping. That’s why, from day one, we said this conflict cannot, and will not, be settled militarily. That’s why we say again today: support our troops and bring them home.
My fellow Canadians, it’s time to reject the old thinking of complacent Conservatives and Liberals. And it’s also time to cast aside the sterile game-playing that is keeping the Bloc Québécois alive and is gumming up Parliament. We have seen that movie too many times.
My fellow Canadians, it’s time for new thinking. We can’t leave it to the market alone to chart our future. That’s a task for all Canadians.
Can we do it?
Ask Premier Dexter and Premier Doer.
Ask the new Saskatchewan NDP leader, Dwain Lingenfelter
And ask the first woman leader of our party in Ontario, Andrea Horwath.
Ask our smart and dedicated caucus
Ask our new party president, Peggy Nash.
Ask the great candidates we are signing up from coast to coast to coast.
They’ll tell you.
Of course it can be done.
We will undo the legacy of neglect and inequality that the old thinking of the last three decades has left us.
We ask all Canadians to join us, to imagine the Canada we will build together.
In our Canada, the unemployed get the EI benefits and the training that they need.
In our Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Metis are full participants in the new economy.
In our Canada, new Canadians are given help to find good jobs and they don’t have to fear, when they travel abroad, that their passports will be seized and their government will deny their identity.
In our Canada, government protects citizens from the totally unfair practices of banks and credit-card companies.
In our Canada, the disabled are treated with dignity and respect.
In our Canada, families have access to affordable early-childhood education.
In our Canada, climate change is tackled with tough limits on polluters, and a new energy economy, with technologies built here, creating jobs here, and exported to the world.
That’s the Canada we want.
We want to shape an economy that is sustainable and just and creates good jobs.
Layton is surely right that emphasis is often upon green shoots and signs that the economy is bottoming out or growth is actually slightly positive rather than the fact that unemployment is actually increasing and because of budget constraints the social safety net is being eroded while poverty is growing.
Jack Layton's address to the New Democrat National Convention
Sun 16 Aug 2009
Bonjour. Good morning.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting here in traditional Mi’kmaq territory. Please join me, on behalf of all New Democrats, in sending our condolences to the family of courageous Mi’kmaq activist Donald Marshall Jr., who died last week. Donald’s heroic struggle for the rights of his people brings to mind the long struggle for the residential-schools apology that took place in the House of Commons a year ago.
But an apology is never complete until action has been taken. And that hasn’t been done.
Let’s get it done.
Now friends, how about this convention?
I’ve got to tell ya, I’ve had so much fun here in Halifax this weekend, that I’ll be humming Farewell to Nova Scotia/your sea-bound coast for months to come. I get the feeling you’ve enjoyed yourselves too. How about a big thanks to everyone who put this great convention together!
I came here thinking about the faces of the many Canadians who told me that they feel abandoned by their government this summer. Too many Canadians need help and aren’t getting it.
And I also came here thinking of my beautiful new granddaughter, Beatrice.
We need to build a better world for the next generation. So I hope you’re leaving here, as I am, with a new vision of the kind of Canada that New Democrats want.
A Canada with a government whose priority is serving all Canadians. A government that works with us, not against us. A government on your side. Not one mired in the old thinking, but a government based on new thinking.
And a Canada whose government is helping to generate good jobs for our children, so that one in five young people wouldn’t be unemployed, as they are today. This summer I met students who told me they can’t afford to go back to school. Their debt loads are crushing. They haven’t got a job. They’re losing hope. Well, we can’t let that happen.
A member of our caucus told me about a widow whose husband worked at Abitibi Bowater. She was told that her pension was being terminated. She and her husband had worked their fingers to the bone, only to be cast aside after company executives decided to abandon the forest, the mill and her, all with the permission of a government that refused to help.
And she’s not alone. Seniors across this country told me they are worried about how they are going to make ends meet. We can’t let that happen in our Canada.
While Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff do their election dance, they’re letting people wait.
People needed help last spring, but they did nothing. People need help this summer, but Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff are still doing nothing. People will need help this fall, yet the only thing that they are talking about an election.
It’s their obsession. As for us, our obsession is to help people weather this crisis.
Last night, I was speaking with a delegate about the challenges that lie ahead for New Democrats. We talked about those who are quick to say: It can’t be done.
I love it when people tell me that.
It can’t be done.
You’ll never elect an MP in Quebec.
It can’t be done.
You’ll never grab a seat in Alberta.
It can’t be done.
You’ll never build a beachhead in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It simply can’t be done.
And my favourite these days: You’ll never elect an NDP government in Nova Scotia.
Tell that to Premier Darrell Dexter.
Or tell Premier Gary Doer that winning a third majority can’t be done. And what about a fourth?
When I hear that phrase I think of Tommy Douglas and of all the people who said to him when he began campaigning for Medicare during the Depression: it can’t be done.
Saskatchewan can’t afford it, they told him.
You’ll never balance the budget, they told him.
It can’t be done.
But Tommy and our whole movement saw that people were suffering without health care. They needed help. It was the right thing to do. And Tommy got it done.
Tommy did it by budgeting carefully. But most importantly, he set out a vision of a government that serves everyone, a government that sees people not as consumers, but as full participating citizens in our society.
As Canadians, new and old, we’re proud of our country. We’re proud of the way we treat each other, our open-heartedness, our generosity of spirit, the way we help each other out when disaster strikes.
Nobody has to tell a Canadian during a flood, Hey, can you help fill sandbags? Or in winter: Can you help shovel a sick neighbour’s walk. People just step up. I’ve seen it all across this country and so have you.
Yet we have a government that doesn’t seem to share these values. Mr. Harper’s greatest legacy will be the impoverishment of our social programs that we created to help people in times of need.
Mr. Harper believes that government should get out of the way, get rid of regulations and let the free market go to town. The Conservatives - and the Liberals - are true believers in this right-wing agenda. We’ve seen it. They rewarded greed. And they are leaving so many in need. And that’s why, now, during this recession, we need a government that’s working with us: a New Democratic government.
We believe that when people lose their job, they need access to Employment Insurance benefits. We believe in protecting workers’ pensions. And we believe that the bonuses given to pension-fund executives, whose funds lost money last year, should be given back
I met a woman in Oshawa who told us at a big public meeting -- and it wasn’t easy for her -- that she was laid off and used a part of her modest severance to cover her parents’ mortgage payment. They were trying to hold on to the family home because they’d both been laid off by GM. Her father was in tears as he took the check. He told her: “I was supposed to look after you.”
This has got to change, friends. It’s got to change.
We’re in the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s. But they are putting on the rose-coloured glasses again on Bay Street. They do that whenever there’s an upward tick on the TSX. Bank economists are saying, Wow, we’re in recovery. But at the same more and more people are being thrown out of work. This coming winter, thousands more of our family members, friends and neighbours are going to lose their jobs. Even the most optimistic economists say unemployment will keep rising until 2010. But, they say, that’s to be expected in any recovery. What kind of defeatist attitude is that?
And how is it that the CEOs who made the most reckless investments were given the most help in this recession?
So where was the help for the rest of Canadians? There are still hundreds of thousands of people getting the door slammed in their face when they try to get EI.
Poverty is growing even faster than the unemployment rate. And in this recession, as Roy Romanow has said, it’s going to be “much more difficult to climb out of poverty than it used to be.”
That’s because the social safety net we once had has been torn to shreds.
Ask yourself, What caused this recession? Was it the size of your paycheque? Was it your lack of education? Was it a refusal to leave your hometown to find work elsewhere?
No it wasn’t.
This recession was triggered by a carnival of greed among bankers and speculators and mortgage companies. In response, governments elsewhere took strong action on the economy. But not here. It took a poke with a very sharp stick to get Mr. Harper to agree to get moving on the economy.
This summer, I met people at community festivals, in municipal halls, seniors’ homes and church basements, in line-ups at Tim’s and, sadly, outside far too many plants that were shutting down.
Everyone I talked to wanted to know: where’s the help? It’s clear now my friends, that you can’t expect help from the Harper Conservatives. They thought Canada was on the right road before the recession.
And they were wrong. Do you think they’ve now got a vision of a sustainable economy?
Remember when Mr. Harper said he wanted Canada to become an energy superpower? Both he and Mr. Ignatieff want to accelerate tar sands development while sending jobs down the pipelines, toxics down the Athabasca River and acid rain into Saskatchewan. And leave us with an international black eye on climate change.
The world is preparing to gather in Copenhagen late this year to address climate change. Do you really trust what the Harper Conservatives will do for our planet in Copenhagen? I didn’t think so!
We know who you can have confidence in: Premier Darrell Dexter, who just brought in hard caps on carbon emissions. Exactly what is needed.
Here’s another question for you: Do you believe that the Harper Conservatives, or the Ignatieff Liberals for that matter, really will to end our combat role in Afghanistan in 2011?
I didn’t think so.
We want a government that favours diplomacy and development and peacekeeping. That’s why, from day one, we said this conflict cannot, and will not, be settled militarily. That’s why we say again today: support our troops and bring them home.
My fellow Canadians, it’s time to reject the old thinking of complacent Conservatives and Liberals. And it’s also time to cast aside the sterile game-playing that is keeping the Bloc Québécois alive and is gumming up Parliament. We have seen that movie too many times.
My fellow Canadians, it’s time for new thinking. We can’t leave it to the market alone to chart our future. That’s a task for all Canadians.
Can we do it?
Ask Premier Dexter and Premier Doer.
Ask the new Saskatchewan NDP leader, Dwain Lingenfelter
And ask the first woman leader of our party in Ontario, Andrea Horwath.
Ask our smart and dedicated caucus
Ask our new party president, Peggy Nash.
Ask the great candidates we are signing up from coast to coast to coast.
They’ll tell you.
Of course it can be done.
We will undo the legacy of neglect and inequality that the old thinking of the last three decades has left us.
We ask all Canadians to join us, to imagine the Canada we will build together.
In our Canada, the unemployed get the EI benefits and the training that they need.
In our Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Metis are full participants in the new economy.
In our Canada, new Canadians are given help to find good jobs and they don’t have to fear, when they travel abroad, that their passports will be seized and their government will deny their identity.
In our Canada, government protects citizens from the totally unfair practices of banks and credit-card companies.
In our Canada, the disabled are treated with dignity and respect.
In our Canada, families have access to affordable early-childhood education.
In our Canada, climate change is tackled with tough limits on polluters, and a new energy economy, with technologies built here, creating jobs here, and exported to the world.
That’s the Canada we want.
We want to shape an economy that is sustainable and just and creates good jobs.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Jack Layton goes from kingmaker to bystander
This is from the Star.
One of the reasons for Layton's lacklustre performance is surely that the press for the most part treats Canada as it had just two parties, the Liberals and Conservatives. This is a way of framing discussion without any government control so that only two parties count and need to be funded by those who benefit most from the system. Of course in provincial politics the situation may be different as the NDP has had power in some provinces.
There is little coverage of the federal NDP, or the Green Party, although once in a while there will be some. Other parties such as the Christian Heritage Party, the Libertarian Party or the Communist Party (the CPC!) get virtual no press. They have little money for promoting their policies either.
Anyway if Layton failed to give birth to a coalition government at least he has become a grandpa. Meanwhile Ignatieff gave birth to a Conservative Liberal coalition that should have been aborted at the earliest stages.
Jack Layton goes from kingmaker to bystander TheStar.com - Canada - Jack Layton goes from kingmaker to bystander
Bubble has burst for NDP leader since coalition, and party has lost its momentum from 2008 vote
June 27, 2009 Richard J. BrennanOTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA – Jack Layton looked like a kingmaker when the Liberal-NDP coalition threatened to topple the Conservative government last fall, but eight months later he is struggling for attention.
By throwing in his lot with the Liberals, led then by Stéphane Dion, the NDP leader saw a chance for real power. However, his ambitions came crashing down when Governor General Michaëlle Jean agreed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's request to prorogue Parliament, sending MPs home.
Since his power play, Layton's party has lost the momentum it had during the 2008 election and his personal popularity has nosedived.
While part of the NDP's decline can be traced back to Layton's role in the failed coalition, it is the growing strength of the Liberals led by Michael Ignatieff that is really pushing the party to the margins.
When he was compared to the hapless Dion, Layton looked good but the changing Liberal dynamic has voters wondering what he stands for, other than opposing everything the Conservative government proposes.
It used to be that Harper treated Layton with obvious deference – considering him an ally in the fight to keep the Liberals on the ropes – but now Harper routinely attacks Layton, accusing the NDP of being irrelevant.
"The problem for the NDP is that the lowest-level game being played in this Parliament is by the NDP," Harper told the Commons last week. "The NDP does not seem to accept that the people of Canada re-elected this government, and this government wants to work with other parties. As long as the NDP decides it will oppose everything before it even knows what the proposals are, it will remain completely irrelevant to Canadians."
Pollster Nik Nanos said when the Liberals get wind in their sails, the New Democrats' numbers decline.
"The slow climb of the Liberals has in large part been at the expense of the New Democrats," he said. "When the focus is on Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper, Jack Layton basically gets pushed off the agenda and it is much more difficult for him to have profile."
During the 2008 election, Layton consistently placed second to Harper as the person who would make the best prime minister. NDP support at the time spiked at 22 per cent, compared with 15 per cent now.
"The election is a bit of a false indicator for Jack Layton, because a lot of that had to do with the weakness of Stéphane Dion," Nanos said.
A serious recession should be a time for the New Democrats to make political hay, but rather than picking one specific thing to go after the government for, they have chosen more of a shotgun approach, accusing the government in general terms of taking the country in the wrong direction.
While the shine may be off Layton's public image, he is not expected to be subjected to a leadership review at the party's national convention in Halifax, Aug. 14-16. With the possibility of an election this fall, he's likely to be given one more kick at the can in light of the party's numbers in the 2008 election.
One of the reasons for Layton's lacklustre performance is surely that the press for the most part treats Canada as it had just two parties, the Liberals and Conservatives. This is a way of framing discussion without any government control so that only two parties count and need to be funded by those who benefit most from the system. Of course in provincial politics the situation may be different as the NDP has had power in some provinces.
There is little coverage of the federal NDP, or the Green Party, although once in a while there will be some. Other parties such as the Christian Heritage Party, the Libertarian Party or the Communist Party (the CPC!) get virtual no press. They have little money for promoting their policies either.
Anyway if Layton failed to give birth to a coalition government at least he has become a grandpa. Meanwhile Ignatieff gave birth to a Conservative Liberal coalition that should have been aborted at the earliest stages.
Jack Layton goes from kingmaker to bystander TheStar.com - Canada - Jack Layton goes from kingmaker to bystander
Bubble has burst for NDP leader since coalition, and party has lost its momentum from 2008 vote
June 27, 2009 Richard J. BrennanOTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA – Jack Layton looked like a kingmaker when the Liberal-NDP coalition threatened to topple the Conservative government last fall, but eight months later he is struggling for attention.
By throwing in his lot with the Liberals, led then by Stéphane Dion, the NDP leader saw a chance for real power. However, his ambitions came crashing down when Governor General Michaëlle Jean agreed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's request to prorogue Parliament, sending MPs home.
Since his power play, Layton's party has lost the momentum it had during the 2008 election and his personal popularity has nosedived.
While part of the NDP's decline can be traced back to Layton's role in the failed coalition, it is the growing strength of the Liberals led by Michael Ignatieff that is really pushing the party to the margins.
When he was compared to the hapless Dion, Layton looked good but the changing Liberal dynamic has voters wondering what he stands for, other than opposing everything the Conservative government proposes.
It used to be that Harper treated Layton with obvious deference – considering him an ally in the fight to keep the Liberals on the ropes – but now Harper routinely attacks Layton, accusing the NDP of being irrelevant.
"The problem for the NDP is that the lowest-level game being played in this Parliament is by the NDP," Harper told the Commons last week. "The NDP does not seem to accept that the people of Canada re-elected this government, and this government wants to work with other parties. As long as the NDP decides it will oppose everything before it even knows what the proposals are, it will remain completely irrelevant to Canadians."
Pollster Nik Nanos said when the Liberals get wind in their sails, the New Democrats' numbers decline.
"The slow climb of the Liberals has in large part been at the expense of the New Democrats," he said. "When the focus is on Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper, Jack Layton basically gets pushed off the agenda and it is much more difficult for him to have profile."
During the 2008 election, Layton consistently placed second to Harper as the person who would make the best prime minister. NDP support at the time spiked at 22 per cent, compared with 15 per cent now.
"The election is a bit of a false indicator for Jack Layton, because a lot of that had to do with the weakness of Stéphane Dion," Nanos said.
A serious recession should be a time for the New Democrats to make political hay, but rather than picking one specific thing to go after the government for, they have chosen more of a shotgun approach, accusing the government in general terms of taking the country in the wrong direction.
While the shine may be off Layton's public image, he is not expected to be subjected to a leadership review at the party's national convention in Halifax, Aug. 14-16. With the possibility of an election this fall, he's likely to be given one more kick at the can in light of the party's numbers in the 2008 election.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Layton deflating
Certainly the NDP does not seem to be going anywhere in the polls and it is probably bleeding support to the Liberals. Ignatieff seems to be going up in the polls just by letting the Conservative government make its own errors and suffer from the economic downturn. I can't see all that much new or positive coming from Ignatieff. He has seemingly dropped completely the Green Shift for the Right Shift and even lends support for the oil sands. However let the NDP show any sign of trying to grab right voters by retreating on the environment and all hell breaks lose in the media.
Layton deflating
By Susan Riley, The Ottawa CitizenApril 24, 2009
Jack Layton returned from Easter break looking less tired, but no more happy. It has been a difficult, disappointing period for the energizer bunny of national politics. Nothing is going his way, no matter how hard he tries.
For some, it is Layton's personality: too intense, negative, humourless. But despite this, until recently, he has still registered in the polls as a competent leader, even among those who would never vote for him.
And he has his fans who appreciate his fearlessness in tackling powerful interests, his genuine concern for the disadvantaged, his resolute advocacy on health care, homelessness and pension reform -- ongoing concerns for many Canadians that happen to have fallen off official Ottawa's radar. (He has recently been touring the country, collecting stories of recession-related hardship that he plans to convey, forcefully, to the prime minister.)
Indeed, if the NDP was going to make a breakthrough you would think it would be now, when activist government has suddenly become fashionable. Instead, Layton finds himself outflanked by Stephen Harper, of all people, whose recent budget launched an unprecedented spending spree and deficits as far as the eye can see.
This leaves the NDP leader to sputter that the stimulus isn't enough, that more needs to be done immediately. To which there are two rejoinders. How much more can we afford? And, as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tartly noted: "I don't know why (Layton) would ask for a second stimulus package, when he voted against the first one."
Not for the first time, Layton fell into a trap of his own making when he decided to vote against the Harper stimulus budget before even reading it. He was trying to convey his utter lack of trust in the prime minister -- mistrust that was well-placed, after the government's ill-conceived and mischievous November economic statement. But Layton ended up looking irresponsible himself, leaving himself open to Flaherty's jibes.
Some date the flagging NDP momentum to the failure of the Christmas coalition -- a personal setback for Layton, too, who has never been closer to a cabinet seat. But his problems started before then.
Layton's decision to make common cause with Stephen Harper against their mutual enemy, the Liberals, in the previous Parliament may have done more than anything to confound his admirers and undermine his image. And it looks as if he is about to rekindle the friendship.
You can understand his dilemma: Liberals routinely steal votes from the NDP and, in the unpolished Stéphane Dion, Layton had an uniquely vulnerable target. But Dion was a different kind of Liberal -- progressive, green, high-minded and close to the NDP on social policies. It didn't sit well with prominent New Democrats that Layton's attacks on Dion were so much sharper than his pro-forma tut-tutting of Harper.
But Layton did attract Liberals who didn't like Dion -- indeed, NDP numbers soared to 20-per-cent territory before the former Liberal leader was dispatched. Now, ironically, under centre-right leader Michael Ignatieff, Liberals have eaten into that NDP surge and any hope for a progressive government, coalition or otherwise, is fading fast.
His uncertain footing in the polls and Ignatieff's rising fortunes appear to have Layton thinking twice about forcing an election. And, of course, Harper is in no position to tempt fate. So Layton has been, again, sending broad hints that he is ready to work with Conservatives on employment insurance reforms, enhanced protection for private sector pensions and regulation of credit card companies rather than rush to the polls.
And, again, Tories are pretending to listen. Flaherty has hinted that some oversight of credit companies (notorious for keeping interest rates sky-high while they drop everywhere else) is in the works.
We have seen this dynamic before. The Conservatives gave Layton a chance to rewrite their clean air act -- then ignored his recommendations. They have likewise ignored a recent NDP resolution, supported by all opposition parties, calling for major reforms to EI. Harper might throw minor changes Layton's way -- to shore up his own standing, too -- but you couldn't fit a Smart car on the common ground between the two.
Instead of trying to wrestle with this particular alligator, Layton should be working with progressive forces, wherever he finds them -- including within Bloc and Liberal caucuses. Instead, he has alienated potential allies (who are also political rivals, of course) with his partisan, repetitive hectoring. His fear-mongering over the carbon tax, in particular, has undermined years of enlightened NDP environmental advocacy and damaged his own reputation as a green reformer in municipal politics. Green Leader Elizabeth May isn't the only environmentalist who is profoundly disappointed in Layton.
Yet he has been vindicated on some issues, from negotiating with the Taliban, to greening the auto sector, to recognizing Quebecers as a people within Canada. It just isn't doing him any good.
Susan Riley writes on national politics.
E-mail sriley.work@gmail.com
Layton deflating
By Susan Riley, The Ottawa CitizenApril 24, 2009
Jack Layton returned from Easter break looking less tired, but no more happy. It has been a difficult, disappointing period for the energizer bunny of national politics. Nothing is going his way, no matter how hard he tries.
For some, it is Layton's personality: too intense, negative, humourless. But despite this, until recently, he has still registered in the polls as a competent leader, even among those who would never vote for him.
And he has his fans who appreciate his fearlessness in tackling powerful interests, his genuine concern for the disadvantaged, his resolute advocacy on health care, homelessness and pension reform -- ongoing concerns for many Canadians that happen to have fallen off official Ottawa's radar. (He has recently been touring the country, collecting stories of recession-related hardship that he plans to convey, forcefully, to the prime minister.)
Indeed, if the NDP was going to make a breakthrough you would think it would be now, when activist government has suddenly become fashionable. Instead, Layton finds himself outflanked by Stephen Harper, of all people, whose recent budget launched an unprecedented spending spree and deficits as far as the eye can see.
This leaves the NDP leader to sputter that the stimulus isn't enough, that more needs to be done immediately. To which there are two rejoinders. How much more can we afford? And, as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tartly noted: "I don't know why (Layton) would ask for a second stimulus package, when he voted against the first one."
Not for the first time, Layton fell into a trap of his own making when he decided to vote against the Harper stimulus budget before even reading it. He was trying to convey his utter lack of trust in the prime minister -- mistrust that was well-placed, after the government's ill-conceived and mischievous November economic statement. But Layton ended up looking irresponsible himself, leaving himself open to Flaherty's jibes.
Some date the flagging NDP momentum to the failure of the Christmas coalition -- a personal setback for Layton, too, who has never been closer to a cabinet seat. But his problems started before then.
Layton's decision to make common cause with Stephen Harper against their mutual enemy, the Liberals, in the previous Parliament may have done more than anything to confound his admirers and undermine his image. And it looks as if he is about to rekindle the friendship.
You can understand his dilemma: Liberals routinely steal votes from the NDP and, in the unpolished Stéphane Dion, Layton had an uniquely vulnerable target. But Dion was a different kind of Liberal -- progressive, green, high-minded and close to the NDP on social policies. It didn't sit well with prominent New Democrats that Layton's attacks on Dion were so much sharper than his pro-forma tut-tutting of Harper.
But Layton did attract Liberals who didn't like Dion -- indeed, NDP numbers soared to 20-per-cent territory before the former Liberal leader was dispatched. Now, ironically, under centre-right leader Michael Ignatieff, Liberals have eaten into that NDP surge and any hope for a progressive government, coalition or otherwise, is fading fast.
His uncertain footing in the polls and Ignatieff's rising fortunes appear to have Layton thinking twice about forcing an election. And, of course, Harper is in no position to tempt fate. So Layton has been, again, sending broad hints that he is ready to work with Conservatives on employment insurance reforms, enhanced protection for private sector pensions and regulation of credit card companies rather than rush to the polls.
And, again, Tories are pretending to listen. Flaherty has hinted that some oversight of credit companies (notorious for keeping interest rates sky-high while they drop everywhere else) is in the works.
We have seen this dynamic before. The Conservatives gave Layton a chance to rewrite their clean air act -- then ignored his recommendations. They have likewise ignored a recent NDP resolution, supported by all opposition parties, calling for major reforms to EI. Harper might throw minor changes Layton's way -- to shore up his own standing, too -- but you couldn't fit a Smart car on the common ground between the two.
Instead of trying to wrestle with this particular alligator, Layton should be working with progressive forces, wherever he finds them -- including within Bloc and Liberal caucuses. Instead, he has alienated potential allies (who are also political rivals, of course) with his partisan, repetitive hectoring. His fear-mongering over the carbon tax, in particular, has undermined years of enlightened NDP environmental advocacy and damaged his own reputation as a green reformer in municipal politics. Green Leader Elizabeth May isn't the only environmentalist who is profoundly disappointed in Layton.
Yet he has been vindicated on some issues, from negotiating with the Taliban, to greening the auto sector, to recognizing Quebecers as a people within Canada. It just isn't doing him any good.
Susan Riley writes on national politics.
E-mail sriley.work@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
May calls out Harper, Layton for boycott threats.
Layton is disappointing. His position seems to be identical to that of Harper. The same crapola that she is just a Liberal in disguise. If she were a Liberal why would she disguise it and why would she bother to run candidates against the Liberals in most ridings. May does seem to have good relations with the Liberals and has an agreement with them re running in her own riding but that does not add up to her being a Liberal. However, May should have criticized Dion as well since he said that if Harper withdrew because May was participating he would not debate either. Actually I think it would be great if there were a debate with no Harper. This would make him seem like an arrogant fool. As it is he shows his evasiveness by not answering the question as to whether he really said he would not debate if May were included.
May calls out Harper, Layton for boycott threats
Blasts leaders who 'secretly threatened' to skip debates
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 11:52 AM ET
CBC News
Green party Leader Elizabeth May plans to appeal to the CRTC over her exclusion from the leaders debates. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Green party Leader Elizabeth May sharply criticized Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton on Tuesday, demanding they publicly admit they threatened to boycott debates next month if she were to be included.
"I think we have to out the leaders who secretly threatened not to participate," May said in an interview with CBC News on Tuesday.
Her comments come a day after a consortium of television networks declined to let May participate in the nationally televised debates, saying three parties threatened to boycott but providing no more details.
The Green party will file a formal complaint with Canada's broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission on Tuesday, May said.
The party also started an online petition Tuesday demanding May be included in the debates.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe didn't threaten a boycott, but did express a preference for only the four major parties at the debate, and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has said he supported May's inclusion — but wouldn't attend the debate if Harper wasn't there.
"It looks like it's Mr. Layton and Mr. Harper," May said. "I think the Canadian public deserves an answer from each of them. Would they actually refuse to appear on a stage if I was there?"
In arguing against May's inclusion, the Tories and NDP cited a deal she struck with Dion, in which they agreed not to run candidates against each other in their respective Nova Scotia and Quebec ridings.
The NDP confirmed late Monday that Layton had said he wouldn't attend the debate were May allowed to participate.
"We said that if the Liberals were going to have two representatives, we would not accept the invitation," campaign spokesman Brad Lavigne said on Monday.
No comment from Harper
When asked by reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday whether he told the consortium he would pull out of the debate upon May's inclusion, Harper said :"I gather that the consortium has made a decision, and I have no further comment on that decision."
On Monday, Harper said letting May participate in the debates would in essence allow a "second Liberal candidate" to participate, which he said was unfair.
Harper said May would endorse the Liberal party before the campaign was over.
But May told reporters in Ottawa on Monday afternoon, that there's "absolutely no way" that she would turn her back on Green candidates running against Liberals and endorse Dion.
Harper was afraid the Greens would cut into his voter base, said May.
"Progressive Conservatives and former Reformers … are really disappointed and disillusioned that Mr. Harper has taken a party whose roots were in grassroots democracy and populism and turned it on its head into a top-down control machine that wants to run over everyone."
May also criticized the consortium for giving in to Harper and Layton's demands, saying it should have "called their bluff."
May calls out Harper, Layton for boycott threats
Blasts leaders who 'secretly threatened' to skip debates
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 11:52 AM ET
CBC News
Green party Leader Elizabeth May plans to appeal to the CRTC over her exclusion from the leaders debates. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Green party Leader Elizabeth May sharply criticized Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton on Tuesday, demanding they publicly admit they threatened to boycott debates next month if she were to be included.
"I think we have to out the leaders who secretly threatened not to participate," May said in an interview with CBC News on Tuesday.
Her comments come a day after a consortium of television networks declined to let May participate in the nationally televised debates, saying three parties threatened to boycott but providing no more details.
The Green party will file a formal complaint with Canada's broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission on Tuesday, May said.
The party also started an online petition Tuesday demanding May be included in the debates.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe didn't threaten a boycott, but did express a preference for only the four major parties at the debate, and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has said he supported May's inclusion — but wouldn't attend the debate if Harper wasn't there.
"It looks like it's Mr. Layton and Mr. Harper," May said. "I think the Canadian public deserves an answer from each of them. Would they actually refuse to appear on a stage if I was there?"
In arguing against May's inclusion, the Tories and NDP cited a deal she struck with Dion, in which they agreed not to run candidates against each other in their respective Nova Scotia and Quebec ridings.
The NDP confirmed late Monday that Layton had said he wouldn't attend the debate were May allowed to participate.
"We said that if the Liberals were going to have two representatives, we would not accept the invitation," campaign spokesman Brad Lavigne said on Monday.
No comment from Harper
When asked by reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday whether he told the consortium he would pull out of the debate upon May's inclusion, Harper said :"I gather that the consortium has made a decision, and I have no further comment on that decision."
On Monday, Harper said letting May participate in the debates would in essence allow a "second Liberal candidate" to participate, which he said was unfair.
Harper said May would endorse the Liberal party before the campaign was over.
But May told reporters in Ottawa on Monday afternoon, that there's "absolutely no way" that she would turn her back on Green candidates running against Liberals and endorse Dion.
Harper was afraid the Greens would cut into his voter base, said May.
"Progressive Conservatives and former Reformers … are really disappointed and disillusioned that Mr. Harper has taken a party whose roots were in grassroots democracy and populism and turned it on its head into a top-down control machine that wants to run over everyone."
May also criticized the consortium for giving in to Harper and Layton's demands, saying it should have "called their bluff."
Monday, September 8, 2008
May excluded from TV debates.
This is from ca.news Yahoo.
Layton is disappointing. He obviously does not want competition and is on the same side as Harper on this issue. However Layton does not have the courage to say anything not even to affirm or deny that he threatened to pull out of the debate. Duceppe at least denied that he would pull out.
The other four leaders don't want any green colours diluting their message apparently except for Dion. I remember one election that there was a separate debate with all the minor parties involved. They were far more interesting than the main parties in my opinion. However, you get to participate only if you have a minimal market share. I guess the Greens need to increase that a bit otherwise they won't get the free advertising provided by participating in the debates.
Green party's May excluded from TV debates; says it's unfair
By Sue Baliey
OTTAWA - Green party Leader Elizabeth May has been shut out of the televised election debates after every party but the Liberals shunned her inclusion.
TV network officials hinted that one or more of the other party leaders would otherwise pull out of the showcase election event, set for Ottawa on Oct. 1 and 2.
"The (network) consortium approached the parties to explore the possibility of including the Green party in all or part of the leaders' debates," spokesman Jason MacDonald said.
"However, three parties opposed its inclusion and it became clear that if the Green party were included, there would be no leaders' debates.
"In the interest of Canadians, the consortium has determined that it is better to broadcast the debates with the four major party leaders, rather than not at all."
The nationally televised event is run by Canada's private networks as an umbrella group that decides who takes part. The consortium includes CBC, Radio Canada, CTV, Global and TVA.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has said he would welcome the chance to debate May on TV.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday that May's inclusion would in essence allow a second Liberal candidate to participate.
He said May's platform is similar to Dion's and that she will ultimately endorse the Liberals.
"Elizabeth May is not an opponent of Stephane Dion," Harper said at a campaign event in Richmond, B.C.
"She is his candidate in (the Nova Scotia riding of) Central Nova, and I think it would be fundamentally unfair to have two candidates who are essentially running on the same platform in the debate."
May threatened to go to court over Monday's decision, accusing the TV networks of "old boy" tactics as she squarely blamed Harper for her exclusion.
"I think Mr. Harper's role was determinative," she said in an interview. "He was the only one making the (public) case that I was not allowed to participate.
"In the interest of fairness ... and a full and fair election, the Green party will seek the guidance of the Federal Court in terms of ... how manipulated the public airwaves can be by the objection of a prime minister who doesn't want to face me in the debate."
In the past, the courts and federal radio-television regulator have washed their hands of the matter, saying it's up to the broadcasters to decide who can participate in an event that can change the course of election campaigns.
The Green leader has stepped up pressure on the networks ever since an Independent MP joined the party, giving the Greens a temporary toehold in the House of Commons.
"I believe the consortium has been overly influenced by hints, and threats without actually having public statements on the record from any national party political leader that they would actually refuse to participate in the debates if I was included," May said.
NDP Leader Jack Layton was hustled away by handlers when reporters tried to clarify if he had threatened to pull out.
"I'm looking forward to debating the prime minister," was his only comment.
A statement from Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe stressed that he would attend the debates with or without May, although his preference is to limit participation to the four major parties represented in the Commons.
Most Canadians will find her exclusion "deeply anti-democratic, whether they plan to vote Green or not," May fumed. Especially galling, she said, is the fact Duceppe is allowed in even though voters outside Quebec can't vote for his party.
"They can vote for the Green party in all 306 ridings across Canada. They want to know where we stand."
She says Harper's bid to freeze her out has more to do with concern that the Greens could eat into Conservative support.
It's also the latest in a string of actions that suggest Harper's distaste for women's full equality and a dislike of feminists in particular, she charged.
Pollsters have repeatedly cited as a potential weakness the Conservative failure to sway female voters.
"I think it's because (Harper) removed from the mandate of Status of Women Canada achieving equality for women," May said.
"I think it's because he cancelled universal child care when it was within our grasp. I think it's because women look at him and realize that here is someone who really does have a deep antipathy for the aspirations of many Canadian women for full equality, full participation."
Layton is disappointing. He obviously does not want competition and is on the same side as Harper on this issue. However Layton does not have the courage to say anything not even to affirm or deny that he threatened to pull out of the debate. Duceppe at least denied that he would pull out.
The other four leaders don't want any green colours diluting their message apparently except for Dion. I remember one election that there was a separate debate with all the minor parties involved. They were far more interesting than the main parties in my opinion. However, you get to participate only if you have a minimal market share. I guess the Greens need to increase that a bit otherwise they won't get the free advertising provided by participating in the debates.
Green party's May excluded from TV debates; says it's unfair
By Sue Baliey
OTTAWA - Green party Leader Elizabeth May has been shut out of the televised election debates after every party but the Liberals shunned her inclusion.
TV network officials hinted that one or more of the other party leaders would otherwise pull out of the showcase election event, set for Ottawa on Oct. 1 and 2.
"The (network) consortium approached the parties to explore the possibility of including the Green party in all or part of the leaders' debates," spokesman Jason MacDonald said.
"However, three parties opposed its inclusion and it became clear that if the Green party were included, there would be no leaders' debates.
"In the interest of Canadians, the consortium has determined that it is better to broadcast the debates with the four major party leaders, rather than not at all."
The nationally televised event is run by Canada's private networks as an umbrella group that decides who takes part. The consortium includes CBC, Radio Canada, CTV, Global and TVA.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has said he would welcome the chance to debate May on TV.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday that May's inclusion would in essence allow a second Liberal candidate to participate.
He said May's platform is similar to Dion's and that she will ultimately endorse the Liberals.
"Elizabeth May is not an opponent of Stephane Dion," Harper said at a campaign event in Richmond, B.C.
"She is his candidate in (the Nova Scotia riding of) Central Nova, and I think it would be fundamentally unfair to have two candidates who are essentially running on the same platform in the debate."
May threatened to go to court over Monday's decision, accusing the TV networks of "old boy" tactics as she squarely blamed Harper for her exclusion.
"I think Mr. Harper's role was determinative," she said in an interview. "He was the only one making the (public) case that I was not allowed to participate.
"In the interest of fairness ... and a full and fair election, the Green party will seek the guidance of the Federal Court in terms of ... how manipulated the public airwaves can be by the objection of a prime minister who doesn't want to face me in the debate."
In the past, the courts and federal radio-television regulator have washed their hands of the matter, saying it's up to the broadcasters to decide who can participate in an event that can change the course of election campaigns.
The Green leader has stepped up pressure on the networks ever since an Independent MP joined the party, giving the Greens a temporary toehold in the House of Commons.
"I believe the consortium has been overly influenced by hints, and threats without actually having public statements on the record from any national party political leader that they would actually refuse to participate in the debates if I was included," May said.
NDP Leader Jack Layton was hustled away by handlers when reporters tried to clarify if he had threatened to pull out.
"I'm looking forward to debating the prime minister," was his only comment.
A statement from Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe stressed that he would attend the debates with or without May, although his preference is to limit participation to the four major parties represented in the Commons.
Most Canadians will find her exclusion "deeply anti-democratic, whether they plan to vote Green or not," May fumed. Especially galling, she said, is the fact Duceppe is allowed in even though voters outside Quebec can't vote for his party.
"They can vote for the Green party in all 306 ridings across Canada. They want to know where we stand."
She says Harper's bid to freeze her out has more to do with concern that the Greens could eat into Conservative support.
It's also the latest in a string of actions that suggest Harper's distaste for women's full equality and a dislike of feminists in particular, she charged.
Pollsters have repeatedly cited as a potential weakness the Conservative failure to sway female voters.
"I think it's because (Harper) removed from the mandate of Status of Women Canada achieving equality for women," May said.
"I think it's because he cancelled universal child care when it was within our grasp. I think it's because women look at him and realize that here is someone who really does have a deep antipathy for the aspirations of many Canadian women for full equality, full participation."
Friday, September 5, 2008
Layton Borrows from Obama's playbook
Layton should avoid Obama like the plague. Obama's rhetoric is fraudulent for the most part. His foreign policy is aggressive U.S. imperialism or "hegemonic" to use the more common politically correct terminology nowadays. Has Layton not listened to what Obama has to say on Afghanistan? While Layton wants Canadians out, Obama will put in many more Americans.
Layton should realise too that Bush is far down in the polls while Harper is enjoying a lead over the Liberals. Many Canadians need to be convinced to vote against Harper and are not interested in change the way Americans are. Many Canadians seem so engrossed in watching the bread and circuses in the U.S. that they are not paying much attention to what Harper has been doing.
Layton is probably right to concentrate on attacking Harper. I wonder if there will be much movement towards strategic voting to try to block a Harper majority? Of course we must wait and see what happens in the polls. Hopefully Conservative support will erode significantly. However, even if the present levels remain a majority is not likely.
Layton borrows from Obama's election playbook
By: Jessica McDiarmid
Updated: September 5 at 07:12 AM CDT
TORONTO -- The federal New Democratic Party signalled Thursday that it will borrow from Barack Obama's playbook in its efforts to oust Prime Minister Stephen Harper from power.
The party has never been in a better position to fight a federal election and is boasting the best slate of candidates it's had in a long time, said leader Jack Layton as he rallied supporters in Toronto just days before an election call anticipated for Sunday morning.
For the first time in history, the party has a full budget to wage battle against the Conservatives -- about $18.3 million, the maximum amount allowed by Elections Canada -- Layton said.
NDP strategists said the focus of their campaign will be solely on replacing Harper, as opposed to other elections when multiple opponents were targeted. During his 24-minute speech on Thursday, Layton completely avoided mentioning Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.
Echoing some of Obama's speeches, Layton said his party's campaign will centre on "hope" and "change."
"It's really a vision of hope, it's a vision about change," said Layton. "It's a vision that says we can actually make a different choice than we've been making in the past."
Layton said he listened closely to Obama's speeches and there are many parallels between the situations of the two countries. He claimed the Democrats' environmental policy is "identical" to the NDP's.
"I think we're picking up on some of the energy we're seeing in the United States as well, and I think that could be kind of exciting," said Layton.
Layton met with the chief architect of Obama's successful bid for the Democratic nomination in the United States and the NDP's strategy runs parallel to -- rather than imitating -- Obama's, said campaign spokesman Brad Lavigne.
"Because of the American election, a lot of people are tuning in, they're getting excited about the potential winds of change, and what we want to do is we kind of want to piggyback on that, those winds of change," Lavigne said.
Layton also used his speech to list off a host of issues that he would address if he controlled the government, including public transit, doctor and nurse shortages, the environment and the listeriosis outbreak.
Sources have told The Canadian Press that Harper will officially launch the federal election campaign Sunday with a visit to the Governor General at 9 a.m. ET.
The election is expected to be held on Oct. 14.
--
Layton should realise too that Bush is far down in the polls while Harper is enjoying a lead over the Liberals. Many Canadians need to be convinced to vote against Harper and are not interested in change the way Americans are. Many Canadians seem so engrossed in watching the bread and circuses in the U.S. that they are not paying much attention to what Harper has been doing.
Layton is probably right to concentrate on attacking Harper. I wonder if there will be much movement towards strategic voting to try to block a Harper majority? Of course we must wait and see what happens in the polls. Hopefully Conservative support will erode significantly. However, even if the present levels remain a majority is not likely.
Layton borrows from Obama's election playbook
By: Jessica McDiarmid
Updated: September 5 at 07:12 AM CDT
TORONTO -- The federal New Democratic Party signalled Thursday that it will borrow from Barack Obama's playbook in its efforts to oust Prime Minister Stephen Harper from power.
The party has never been in a better position to fight a federal election and is boasting the best slate of candidates it's had in a long time, said leader Jack Layton as he rallied supporters in Toronto just days before an election call anticipated for Sunday morning.
For the first time in history, the party has a full budget to wage battle against the Conservatives -- about $18.3 million, the maximum amount allowed by Elections Canada -- Layton said.
NDP strategists said the focus of their campaign will be solely on replacing Harper, as opposed to other elections when multiple opponents were targeted. During his 24-minute speech on Thursday, Layton completely avoided mentioning Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.
Echoing some of Obama's speeches, Layton said his party's campaign will centre on "hope" and "change."
"It's really a vision of hope, it's a vision about change," said Layton. "It's a vision that says we can actually make a different choice than we've been making in the past."
Layton said he listened closely to Obama's speeches and there are many parallels between the situations of the two countries. He claimed the Democrats' environmental policy is "identical" to the NDP's.
"I think we're picking up on some of the energy we're seeing in the United States as well, and I think that could be kind of exciting," said Layton.
Layton met with the chief architect of Obama's successful bid for the Democratic nomination in the United States and the NDP's strategy runs parallel to -- rather than imitating -- Obama's, said campaign spokesman Brad Lavigne.
"Because of the American election, a lot of people are tuning in, they're getting excited about the potential winds of change, and what we want to do is we kind of want to piggyback on that, those winds of change," Lavigne said.
Layton also used his speech to list off a host of issues that he would address if he controlled the government, including public transit, doctor and nurse shortages, the environment and the listeriosis outbreak.
Sources have told The Canadian Press that Harper will officially launch the federal election campaign Sunday with a visit to the Governor General at 9 a.m. ET.
The election is expected to be held on Oct. 14.
--
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Harper, Layton to hold talks amid election speculation.
The media continue the pretence that an election call is still speculation. The Conservatives are already running election ads to avoid the limits on expenditures during the campaign period. Why Layton bothers to meet with Harper is beyond me. As Duceppe said yesterday, Harper had already made up his mind to call an election. The meetings are just a thinly disguised fig leaf to make it look as if Harper had tried to work something out and avoid an election. He will not wait to meet with Dion since he wants to make the call before the scheduled by-elections.
Harper, Layton to hold talks amid election speculation
Last Updated: Saturday, August 30, 2008 8:57 AM ET
CBC News
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is meeting another opposition leader Saturday as the Conservative government continues to send signals that Canadians may be heading to the polls this fall.
The prime minister will meet with NDP Leader Jack Layton at Harper's official residence in Ottawa, a day after meeting there with Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe.
After talks with Harper on Friday, Duceppe said the Conservative minority could continue to work with various opposition parties to pass legislation, as it has over the last two years, but that Harper "absolutely" wants to call a snap election.
"Instead of making efforts to try finding solutions in the best interest of the population, he wants an election in the best interest of his party," Duceppe said.
Later in the day, senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office said it's probable Harper will seek to dissolve Parliament next week, sending the country to the ballot box on Oct. 14.
Harper, who earlier this month said Parliament is becoming increasingly dysfunction, said he wants to meet with all three opposition leaders to see whether they will support his government in the fall session.
The Liberals' Stephane Dion declined to hold talks at 24 Sussex Dr. around the same time as the two other opposition leaders, but said he'll be willing to meet Harper after the Sept. 8 byelections and before Parliament's scheduled resumption on Sept. 15
Harper, Layton to hold talks amid election speculation
Last Updated: Saturday, August 30, 2008 8:57 AM ET
CBC News
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is meeting another opposition leader Saturday as the Conservative government continues to send signals that Canadians may be heading to the polls this fall.
The prime minister will meet with NDP Leader Jack Layton at Harper's official residence in Ottawa, a day after meeting there with Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe.
After talks with Harper on Friday, Duceppe said the Conservative minority could continue to work with various opposition parties to pass legislation, as it has over the last two years, but that Harper "absolutely" wants to call a snap election.
"Instead of making efforts to try finding solutions in the best interest of the population, he wants an election in the best interest of his party," Duceppe said.
Later in the day, senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office said it's probable Harper will seek to dissolve Parliament next week, sending the country to the ballot box on Oct. 14.
Harper, who earlier this month said Parliament is becoming increasingly dysfunction, said he wants to meet with all three opposition leaders to see whether they will support his government in the fall session.
The Liberals' Stephane Dion declined to hold talks at 24 Sussex Dr. around the same time as the two other opposition leaders, but said he'll be willing to meet Harper after the Sept. 8 byelections and before Parliament's scheduled resumption on Sept. 15
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Layton Letter to Robert Ouellet
Actually Layton and Ouellet are in agreement about enlarging the scope of the system. Layton does not mention using other countries as models but there certainly are European models that could be emulated. However Ouellet picks the UK where a parallel private system has if anything created even more problems for the public system. Layton neglects to mention that one of the problems in the Canadian system is that the percentage of costs paid by the federal government has been declining causing considerable pressure on poorer provinces.
http://www.ndp.ca Created 2008-08-20 16:24
Jack Layton's letter to the new President of the CMA Robert Ouellet
Robert Ouellet, MDPresident, Canadian Medical Association1867 Alta Vista DriveOttawa, ON K1G 5W8
Dear Dr. Ouellet,
I would like to congratulate you on your recent election as president of the Canadian Medical Association.
As a strong advocate of our universally accessible public health care system, I am, however, disturbed at your reported comments concerning the need to completely “transform” health care in Canada to accommodate increased for-profit services.
Long wait-times, the shortage of medical professionals, and rising health costs, are problems that will not be solved by creating a parallel private healthcare system.
There are many challenges facing the healthcare system, but if I can borrow words from your latest speech to the CMA, “we can do it.” We need to start by addressing the shortage of physicians and nurses. By increasing opportunities for training and educating health professionals we can reduce wait times and improve access for all Canadians. We also need to make use of the increased benefits of technology, and introduce a comprehensive drug management plan. We need to share and build on best practices from across the country and help spur reform through innovation. These are just a few of the changes that will offer significant improvement to our public health care system, will continue quality care for ordinary Canadians and will preserve our universal not-for-profit health care system.
Public healthcare is still the best way to take care of the majority people for the least amount of money. Opening up the healthcare system to the corporate health care industry will only increase costs and decrease access. We hope that organizations like the CMA will work with us and groups like Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Canadian Health Coalition to improve our healthcare system.
The federal NDP team is determined to help implement health care solutions and deliver to Canadians the high quality and innovative health care services they deserve.
I look forward to working with you over the coming year in advancing these and other innovations within the public system.
Sincerely,Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)Leader, New Democratic Party of Canada
© 2008 New Democratic Party, all rights reserved. Authorized by the registered agent for Canada's NDP.http://www.ndp.ca/page/6702
http://www.ndp.ca Created 2008-08-20 16:24
Jack Layton's letter to the new President of the CMA Robert Ouellet
Robert Ouellet, MDPresident, Canadian Medical Association1867 Alta Vista DriveOttawa, ON K1G 5W8
Dear Dr. Ouellet,
I would like to congratulate you on your recent election as president of the Canadian Medical Association.
As a strong advocate of our universally accessible public health care system, I am, however, disturbed at your reported comments concerning the need to completely “transform” health care in Canada to accommodate increased for-profit services.
Long wait-times, the shortage of medical professionals, and rising health costs, are problems that will not be solved by creating a parallel private healthcare system.
There are many challenges facing the healthcare system, but if I can borrow words from your latest speech to the CMA, “we can do it.” We need to start by addressing the shortage of physicians and nurses. By increasing opportunities for training and educating health professionals we can reduce wait times and improve access for all Canadians. We also need to make use of the increased benefits of technology, and introduce a comprehensive drug management plan. We need to share and build on best practices from across the country and help spur reform through innovation. These are just a few of the changes that will offer significant improvement to our public health care system, will continue quality care for ordinary Canadians and will preserve our universal not-for-profit health care system.
Public healthcare is still the best way to take care of the majority people for the least amount of money. Opening up the healthcare system to the corporate health care industry will only increase costs and decrease access. We hope that organizations like the CMA will work with us and groups like Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Canadian Health Coalition to improve our healthcare system.
The federal NDP team is determined to help implement health care solutions and deliver to Canadians the high quality and innovative health care services they deserve.
I look forward to working with you over the coming year in advancing these and other innovations within the public system.
Sincerely,Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)Leader, New Democratic Party of Canada
© 2008 New Democratic Party, all rights reserved. Authorized by the registered agent for Canada's NDP.http://www.ndp.ca/page/6702
Monday, May 26, 2008
Green Leader blasts NDP on carbon tax stance.
This is from CTV.
I am not all that knowledgable about the details of this issue. However it seems reasonable that Layton should be concerned about the effects on the less well off of a carbon tax. Although the Liberals say the policy will be revenue neutral that does not settle the issue of what effects the tax may have on different income strata. I don't see why Layton does not demand that any carbon tax should also be coupled with a policy that offsets any negative effects the tax may have on lower income groups. Layton talks as if the cap and trade policy is an alternative to a carbon tax rather than a complementary policy that is also justified.
It sounds as if Elizabeth May is very supportive of the Liberals. Maybe if she gets elected she can sit on her hands and support the Conservatives too while screaming about how bad their environmental policies are.
Suzuki is a good propagandist and showperson for environmental issues but he is also a prima donna who does not like criticism of his views on the environment to put it mildly.
Green leader blasts NDP on carbon tax stance
Updated Sun. May. 25 2008 9:49 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
NDP Leader Jack Layton's opposition to a carbon tax shows he's more interested in hurting the Liberals than helping the environment, says Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
"We need to act on the climate crisis, and a carbon tax is a litmus test of whether a party is serious about it or not," May told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.
Layton's opposition to a carbon tax "is not part of the global social democratic approach," she said, adding his political rivalry with the Liberals may be driving policy.
The Green Party also advocates a carbon tax. The Liberals will soon unveil a proposal that would shift taxes off income and onto carbon, with the overall tax burden remaining unchanged. By putting a price on carbon, people will theoretically use less, thus helping reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.
Layton has taken some blows from environmentalists for his party's stance, including David Suzuki, perhaps the most prominent environmentalist in Canada.
"I'm really shocked with the NDP with this. I thought that they had a very progressive environmental outlook," Suzuki told Question Period on May 18.
Layton told Question Period that his party supports the pricing of carbon and that his party's policies are in line with many of those promoted by the David Suzuki Foundation.
The solution promoted by Layton involves "cap and trade" -- putting a strict limit on greenhouse gas emissions by what he called the "big polluters." Those polluters would pay if they exceed, and the revenues would be directed by the government to climate-friendly initiatives, he said.
"Things like helping weatherize homes right across the country, creating thousands and thousands of jobs for Canadians and reducing their bills and greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
The NDP would see more green cars built in Canada and invest in public transit and renewable energy, Layton said.
A cap-and-trade system would move more quickly than a carbon tax. Big oil and gas supports a carbon tax, while U.S. Democrat Barack Obama supports cap-and-trade, he said.
But environmentalist Stephen Hazell of the Sierra Club has said cap-and-trade systems take a long time to develop.
Tories oppose carbon tax
Conservative Environment Minister John Baird told Question Period on May 18 that his government will "force the big polluters, big corporate polluters" to pay for their emissions.
"(Liberal Leader Stephane) Dion wants to give some sort of unlimited licence to pollute and just simply allow big business to buy their way out of this problem," he said.
Layton said his party's policies were nothing like those of the Harper government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper "has his head stuck in the tar sands," he said.
May called cap-and-trade a "right-wing, free-market approach" -- although she conceded her party supported it on a sectoral basis.
Some have said a carbon tax could drive up home heating costs and adversely affect those least able to bear the additional cost.
Properly implemented, a carbon tax would protect the vulnerable by shifting taxes and providing income supplements to low-income households, May said.
High taxes on income and payroll don't give Canadians the financial flexibility to do things like increase the energy efficiency of their homes, she said.
"It needs to be explained, but I think Canadians are smart enough to understand the idea that we need to ensure that we reduce our use of fossil fuels, that the climate crisis is upon us, and this is not the only thing we need to do, but it is the foundation for a successful climate policy," May said.
Oil prices are high and likely to stay there in the near term. Some analysts think introducing a carbon tax now would be a politically risky move.
"Canadians are sick of politicians who don't tell them the truth," May said.
Some politicians "want to pander to prices at the pump while ignoring disappearing glaciers, persistent droughts and increased storm events," she said.
"We need to act on the climate crisis, and I'm disappointed that Mr. Layton is on the wrong side of this one."
I am not all that knowledgable about the details of this issue. However it seems reasonable that Layton should be concerned about the effects on the less well off of a carbon tax. Although the Liberals say the policy will be revenue neutral that does not settle the issue of what effects the tax may have on different income strata. I don't see why Layton does not demand that any carbon tax should also be coupled with a policy that offsets any negative effects the tax may have on lower income groups. Layton talks as if the cap and trade policy is an alternative to a carbon tax rather than a complementary policy that is also justified.
It sounds as if Elizabeth May is very supportive of the Liberals. Maybe if she gets elected she can sit on her hands and support the Conservatives too while screaming about how bad their environmental policies are.
Suzuki is a good propagandist and showperson for environmental issues but he is also a prima donna who does not like criticism of his views on the environment to put it mildly.
Green leader blasts NDP on carbon tax stance
Updated Sun. May. 25 2008 9:49 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
NDP Leader Jack Layton's opposition to a carbon tax shows he's more interested in hurting the Liberals than helping the environment, says Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
"We need to act on the climate crisis, and a carbon tax is a litmus test of whether a party is serious about it or not," May told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.
Layton's opposition to a carbon tax "is not part of the global social democratic approach," she said, adding his political rivalry with the Liberals may be driving policy.
The Green Party also advocates a carbon tax. The Liberals will soon unveil a proposal that would shift taxes off income and onto carbon, with the overall tax burden remaining unchanged. By putting a price on carbon, people will theoretically use less, thus helping reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.
Layton has taken some blows from environmentalists for his party's stance, including David Suzuki, perhaps the most prominent environmentalist in Canada.
"I'm really shocked with the NDP with this. I thought that they had a very progressive environmental outlook," Suzuki told Question Period on May 18.
Layton told Question Period that his party supports the pricing of carbon and that his party's policies are in line with many of those promoted by the David Suzuki Foundation.
The solution promoted by Layton involves "cap and trade" -- putting a strict limit on greenhouse gas emissions by what he called the "big polluters." Those polluters would pay if they exceed, and the revenues would be directed by the government to climate-friendly initiatives, he said.
"Things like helping weatherize homes right across the country, creating thousands and thousands of jobs for Canadians and reducing their bills and greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
The NDP would see more green cars built in Canada and invest in public transit and renewable energy, Layton said.
A cap-and-trade system would move more quickly than a carbon tax. Big oil and gas supports a carbon tax, while U.S. Democrat Barack Obama supports cap-and-trade, he said.
But environmentalist Stephen Hazell of the Sierra Club has said cap-and-trade systems take a long time to develop.
Tories oppose carbon tax
Conservative Environment Minister John Baird told Question Period on May 18 that his government will "force the big polluters, big corporate polluters" to pay for their emissions.
"(Liberal Leader Stephane) Dion wants to give some sort of unlimited licence to pollute and just simply allow big business to buy their way out of this problem," he said.
Layton said his party's policies were nothing like those of the Harper government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper "has his head stuck in the tar sands," he said.
May called cap-and-trade a "right-wing, free-market approach" -- although she conceded her party supported it on a sectoral basis.
Some have said a carbon tax could drive up home heating costs and adversely affect those least able to bear the additional cost.
Properly implemented, a carbon tax would protect the vulnerable by shifting taxes and providing income supplements to low-income households, May said.
High taxes on income and payroll don't give Canadians the financial flexibility to do things like increase the energy efficiency of their homes, she said.
"It needs to be explained, but I think Canadians are smart enough to understand the idea that we need to ensure that we reduce our use of fossil fuels, that the climate crisis is upon us, and this is not the only thing we need to do, but it is the foundation for a successful climate policy," May said.
Oil prices are high and likely to stay there in the near term. Some analysts think introducing a carbon tax now would be a politically risky move.
"Canadians are sick of politicians who don't tell them the truth," May said.
Some politicians "want to pander to prices at the pump while ignoring disappearing glaciers, persistent droughts and increased storm events," she said.
"We need to act on the climate crisis, and I'm disappointed that Mr. Layton is on the wrong side of this one."
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Layton: Carbon tax would hurt poor.
Layton is probably correct but then the solution could be to have policies that neutralise any effects on the less well, off not dumping the carbon tax. Many environmentally friendly policies will hurt the poor. Environmentalists are not always very sensitive to this so it is good that Layton should point out the effects on the poor. However, the cap and trade policy could also increase prices for products manufactured by companies involved and also hurt the poor who must use them. This is from the Star.
Carbon tax would hurt poor, NDP says TheStar.com - Canada - Carbon tax would hurt poor, NDP says
Layton criticizes Liberal plan for levy on fossil fuel, saying heating a house in Canada is a necessity
May 23, 2008 Joanna SmithOttawa Bureau
Ottawa–A carbon tax would place an unfair burden on low-income Canadians, Jack Layton said yesterday.
"Those advocating a carbon tax suggest that by making the costs for certain things more expensive, people will make different choices," Layton said.
"But Canada is a cold place and heating your home really isn't a choice."
The New Democratic Party leader was at a fundraiser for an Ottawa homeless shelter to talk about poverty but used the platform to criticize a Liberal climate change plan that has not even been introduced.
He also plugged his own global warming solution.
Layton said the most effective way to combat climate change would be a cap-and-trade system that penalizes industrial polluters whose emissions surpass a certain level.
He also supports a national program that would retrofit homes and buildings to make them more energy efficient.
"Instead of making it more expensive to heat your home while consuming the same amount of energy and emitting the same amount of pollution, I want to help make it more affordable to heat your home – by helping to make it more energy efficient and pollute less," he said.
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is expected to announce a climate change plan that would penalize activities that contribute to global warming. Dion maintains his scheme would be revenue neutral, with taxes it raises returned to Canadians in the form of lower personal and corporate income taxes. As well, the tax code would be tweaked to help low-income earners, Liberals say.
Layton told reporters after his speech that he recognizes that getting serious about fighting climate change might mean economic hardship, but he said any hard times should fall first to the biggest polluters.
Carbon tax would hurt poor, NDP says TheStar.com - Canada - Carbon tax would hurt poor, NDP says
Layton criticizes Liberal plan for levy on fossil fuel, saying heating a house in Canada is a necessity
May 23, 2008 Joanna SmithOttawa Bureau
Ottawa–A carbon tax would place an unfair burden on low-income Canadians, Jack Layton said yesterday.
"Those advocating a carbon tax suggest that by making the costs for certain things more expensive, people will make different choices," Layton said.
"But Canada is a cold place and heating your home really isn't a choice."
The New Democratic Party leader was at a fundraiser for an Ottawa homeless shelter to talk about poverty but used the platform to criticize a Liberal climate change plan that has not even been introduced.
He also plugged his own global warming solution.
Layton said the most effective way to combat climate change would be a cap-and-trade system that penalizes industrial polluters whose emissions surpass a certain level.
He also supports a national program that would retrofit homes and buildings to make them more energy efficient.
"Instead of making it more expensive to heat your home while consuming the same amount of energy and emitting the same amount of pollution, I want to help make it more affordable to heat your home – by helping to make it more energy efficient and pollute less," he said.
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is expected to announce a climate change plan that would penalize activities that contribute to global warming. Dion maintains his scheme would be revenue neutral, with taxes it raises returned to Canadians in the form of lower personal and corporate income taxes. As well, the tax code would be tweaked to help low-income earners, Liberals say.
Layton told reporters after his speech that he recognizes that getting serious about fighting climate change might mean economic hardship, but he said any hard times should fall first to the biggest polluters.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Layton admits party divided on next federal budget.
So Layton is busy trying to decide whether the NDP should submit to blackmail. I would think that it is not a good idea to let yourself be blackmailed! Of course it is a strange sort of blackmail. When you are blackmailed usually you have to pay someone else but in this case Harper is paying the NDP to vote for the budget. It is not blackmail but a bribe.
Doer is quite happy to accept the bribe since he can use the federal aid money but then Doer is not running for the federal NDP. Apparently he does not care that Harper stays in power as long as he pays off Gary Doer.
If the NDP props up the Conservatives it might as well forget about running federally. There is already a larger group of opposition wimps we can vote for, the Liberals.
This is from the CBC.
Layton admits party divided on next federal budget
Last Updated: Monday, January 14, 2008 | 7:47 PM ET
The Canadian Press
NDP Leader Jack Layton admits his party ranks are divided over whether to support the next federal budget to ensure $1 billion in promised economic aid flows to the provinces.
Layton has accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of resorting to political blackmail by tying the aid package to passage of the budget expected in February.
But some provincial NDP leaders, including Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, want to get their hands on the federal money as soon as possible.
Layton, who held a strategy session with the party's 10 provincial leaders Monday, acknowledges that they don't all see eye to eye on the issue.
But he says the federal party will have to make its decision on the coming budget based on its overall economic impact, not just on the aid offer for laid-off workers and ailing industries.
Layton says the party's precise budget strategy will be hammered out next week at a caucus retreat with his MPs.
Doer is quite happy to accept the bribe since he can use the federal aid money but then Doer is not running for the federal NDP. Apparently he does not care that Harper stays in power as long as he pays off Gary Doer.
If the NDP props up the Conservatives it might as well forget about running federally. There is already a larger group of opposition wimps we can vote for, the Liberals.
This is from the CBC.
Layton admits party divided on next federal budget
Last Updated: Monday, January 14, 2008 | 7:47 PM ET
The Canadian Press
NDP Leader Jack Layton admits his party ranks are divided over whether to support the next federal budget to ensure $1 billion in promised economic aid flows to the provinces.
Layton has accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of resorting to political blackmail by tying the aid package to passage of the budget expected in February.
But some provincial NDP leaders, including Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, want to get their hands on the federal money as soon as possible.
Layton, who held a strategy session with the party's 10 provincial leaders Monday, acknowledges that they don't all see eye to eye on the issue.
But he says the federal party will have to make its decision on the coming budget based on its overall economic impact, not just on the aid offer for laid-off workers and ailing industries.
Layton says the party's precise budget strategy will be hammered out next week at a caucus retreat with his MPs.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Dion, Layton rip Harper over Bali talks.
For a country that is supposedly concerned about the environment our government is down at the bottom of the pack. The only significant country that ranks lower than us is the US. Harper wants us to stay there. He sabotaged the Commonwealth environmental meeting and now he is setting up to do the same thing at Bali. Of course he will be a heroic figure at the next Bush sponsored talks.
Sunday » December 9 » 2007
Dion, Layton rip Harper over Bali talks
Mike Blanchfield
CanWest News Service
Sunday, December 09, 2007
OTTAWA -- The Harper government is deliberately sabotaging attempts to forge a new climate change agreement at the United Nations conference in Bali, Liberal opposition leader Stephane Dion charged Saturday.
Dion's criticism came after a leaked government document showed that Canada would stick firm to its position that binding emissions targets should apply to all countries, including major emitters such as China and India.
The document shows that the government is holding to the line that it staked out last month at the Commonwealth summit in Uganda that all countries should be brought on board at once on a new accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister John Baird say the government will not support any agreement that imposes targets on industrialized countries such as Canada, but lets other polluters off the hook.
In an interview with the CanWest News Service Saturday on the eve of his departure for Bali, Dion said the government's all or nothing approach is setting the stage for failure at the UN conference. He said there is nothing wrong with Canada accepting binding targets ahead of other countries.
"Canada should say, I am showing the example, I'm doing my part, do yours," said Dion.
"This is how you show leadership. What the government will do, it is no less than sabotage."
Dion said he will not try to conduct "parallel" negotiations because he does not formally represent Canada, but that he has a full slate of meetings already planned with those in attendance.
NDP leader Jack Layton also called on the Conservative government to "stop the blame game" and do more in Bali to find a solution.
"Liberal and Conservative governments have neglected the environment for far too long, leaving ordinary Canadians to suffer from their lack of action," Layton said Saturday in a statement.
"Today, I stand in solidarity with my community to demand Harper's Conservatives act now."
A one-paged document, obtained by the Climate Action Network, an international network of environmental advocates, lists nine factors that the federal government wants in a post-2012 agreement. The key factor calls or considerations for counties with "national circumstances" in order to not "unduly" burden the growth of any single country.
That language mirrors wording that Canada pushed the Commonwealth to adopt - over the objection of almost 50 other member countries that had been pushing for binding targets on industrialized countries.
"What we see in Bali now is the result of two years of a government that's reversed the position of Canada," said Dion.
In a letter published in the National Post on Friday, Baird said the government would accept absolute binding targets on emissions only if major emitters such as China and India are also on board.
"Eliminating emissions in one country but allowing them to skyrocket in another does nothing to reduce the global burden of harmful substances that contribute to climate change and pollute the air we breathe," wrote Baird, who arrives in Bali next week.
More than 180 countries are gathered in Bali to create a new plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Canada is to press for binding emission targets for all major emitters, including industrialized developed nations and poorer, developing nations, such as India and China - a stance that is strongly opposed by environmental groups.
"To be asking countries with hundreds of millions of people in poverty (to accept binding targets) is not a position that is going to move along things here in Bali," said Dale Marshall, representative of the David Suzuki Foundation, a member of the action network.
"It is going to derail everything."
On Friday, Canada placed near the bottom of the pack in a survey by the non-profit research group Germanwatch, which published its third annual Climate Change Performance Index.
It compared the climate protection performances of 56 industrialized countries and emerging economies, that together account for more than 90 per cent of global emissions.
In the rankings, Canada placed 53rd in 2007 for combating emissions. China ranked at 40th while the United States was second last in 55th place.
Ottawa Citizen
© CanWest News Service 2007
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Sunday » December 9 » 2007
Dion, Layton rip Harper over Bali talks
Mike Blanchfield
CanWest News Service
Sunday, December 09, 2007
OTTAWA -- The Harper government is deliberately sabotaging attempts to forge a new climate change agreement at the United Nations conference in Bali, Liberal opposition leader Stephane Dion charged Saturday.
Dion's criticism came after a leaked government document showed that Canada would stick firm to its position that binding emissions targets should apply to all countries, including major emitters such as China and India.
The document shows that the government is holding to the line that it staked out last month at the Commonwealth summit in Uganda that all countries should be brought on board at once on a new accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister John Baird say the government will not support any agreement that imposes targets on industrialized countries such as Canada, but lets other polluters off the hook.
In an interview with the CanWest News Service Saturday on the eve of his departure for Bali, Dion said the government's all or nothing approach is setting the stage for failure at the UN conference. He said there is nothing wrong with Canada accepting binding targets ahead of other countries.
"Canada should say, I am showing the example, I'm doing my part, do yours," said Dion.
"This is how you show leadership. What the government will do, it is no less than sabotage."
Dion said he will not try to conduct "parallel" negotiations because he does not formally represent Canada, but that he has a full slate of meetings already planned with those in attendance.
NDP leader Jack Layton also called on the Conservative government to "stop the blame game" and do more in Bali to find a solution.
"Liberal and Conservative governments have neglected the environment for far too long, leaving ordinary Canadians to suffer from their lack of action," Layton said Saturday in a statement.
"Today, I stand in solidarity with my community to demand Harper's Conservatives act now."
A one-paged document, obtained by the Climate Action Network, an international network of environmental advocates, lists nine factors that the federal government wants in a post-2012 agreement. The key factor calls or considerations for counties with "national circumstances" in order to not "unduly" burden the growth of any single country.
That language mirrors wording that Canada pushed the Commonwealth to adopt - over the objection of almost 50 other member countries that had been pushing for binding targets on industrialized countries.
"What we see in Bali now is the result of two years of a government that's reversed the position of Canada," said Dion.
In a letter published in the National Post on Friday, Baird said the government would accept absolute binding targets on emissions only if major emitters such as China and India are also on board.
"Eliminating emissions in one country but allowing them to skyrocket in another does nothing to reduce the global burden of harmful substances that contribute to climate change and pollute the air we breathe," wrote Baird, who arrives in Bali next week.
More than 180 countries are gathered in Bali to create a new plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Canada is to press for binding emission targets for all major emitters, including industrialized developed nations and poorer, developing nations, such as India and China - a stance that is strongly opposed by environmental groups.
"To be asking countries with hundreds of millions of people in poverty (to accept binding targets) is not a position that is going to move along things here in Bali," said Dale Marshall, representative of the David Suzuki Foundation, a member of the action network.
"It is going to derail everything."
On Friday, Canada placed near the bottom of the pack in a survey by the non-profit research group Germanwatch, which published its third annual Climate Change Performance Index.
It compared the climate protection performances of 56 industrialized countries and emerging economies, that together account for more than 90 per cent of global emissions.
In the rankings, Canada placed 53rd in 2007 for combating emissions. China ranked at 40th while the United States was second last in 55th place.
Ottawa Citizen
© CanWest News Service 2007
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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