Category Archives: NDP

First Nations, NDP

B.C. NDP Gov’t First to Implement UNDRIP

 

by Gary Porter

reconciliation-heroAfter decades of struggle by indigenous peoples world-wide, the United Nations adopted in 2007 a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).  It was adopted by 144 countries, with 11 abstentions and 4 countries voting against it — Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia. Since 2009 Australia and New Zealand reversed their positions and now support the Declaration.  In 2010, the United States and Canada did likewise, however lukewarm that endorsement may be.  It remains the world’s most comprehensive official statement of the rights of aboriginal peoples.

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NDP

NDP Flops into Fourth Place Minority Gov’t More Vulnerable to Resistance

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by Barry Weisleder

Canadians chose on October 21 to slap down Justin Trudeau and reduce his Liberal Party to minority government status with a million fewer votes than in 2015.  As a result, there may be another federal election in two years, or less.  The enlarged Tory caucus is bristling for a fight, although under-performing Andrew Scheer can already feel daggers at his back.

The labour-based New Democratic Party suffered heavy losses for the second federal election in a row.  It emerged with 20 fewer seats and 511,000 votes less than it won in 2015.  Yet it potentially holds the balance of power in Parliament.  Will it turn up the volume and stand independent of the Liberals?  Its working class base demands that the NDP agitate vigorously for No new pipelines, Nationalize the energy industry, Tax the rich, and provide Restitution to Indigenous peoples.  It ought to fight for head to toe medicare now, cancellation of student debt, proportional representation, an end to Canadian complicity with the U.S.-led war drive, and break with the bid to overthrow the elected government of Venezuela.  It should do what it can to cut the military, stop backing the Zionist apartheid regime, and halt the supply of armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

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Canada, en Français, Labour, NDP

For an NDP Government. No Coalition with the Liberal Party. For Independent Working Class Political Action. No to ‘Strategic Voting’ and Lesser-Evilism.

Statement of the NDP Socialist Caucus on October 17, 2019

For an NDP Government. No Coalition with the Liberal Party. For Independent Working Class Political Action. No to ‘Strategic Voting’ and Lesser-Evilism.

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As the October 21 federal election draws near, opinion polls and mainstream pundits point to the likelihood of a minority-led Parliament. Increasingly, there is talk of a coalition government. Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative Party, warns that the only way to stop a spend-thrift Liberal-NDP coalition is to vote Tory. The Tories threaten massive cuts to public services, and a deepening of the climate crisis. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is exposed as a corrupt law breaker, a promise betrayer, and a pipeline buyer. Both parties, plus the ‘neither left nor right’ Greens, the openly racist People’s Party, and the bourgeois nationalist Bloc Quebecois are all in the pocket of one or another segment of the business class.

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International, NDP

Independent Jewish Voices Canada condemns NDP removal of federal candidate for tweets criticizing Israel

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The federal New Democratic Party has removed noted Halifax activist Rana Zaman from the party’s candidacy in the Dartmouth-Cole Harbour riding, which she won on May 1 by a vote of party members. The ostensible reason for her removal is several tweets that Zaman made in August 2018 when Israeli forces were shooting thousands of unarmed Gazans during the “Great March of Return.”

Although Ms. Zaman’s tweets did contain comparisons to the Holocaust that Independent Jewish Voices Canada does not condone, her statement of apology, sent within less than 24 hours, acknowledged the inappropriateness of those comparisons and showed her commitment to learning from her Jewish allies.

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NDP

NB NDP told to “turn out the lights”

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by Chris Wannamaker

The New Brunswick NDP announced it will extend its efforts to attract candidates for the position of leader, after the original deadline to apply passed on July 24.

Three people expressed an interest, but none were approved by the party executive to run for the office.

Even so, party executive remains optimistic that a suitable individual can be found.

“The NDP is now in a position to actively recruit talented individuals for the role,” said Cyprien Okana, NB NDP president in a news release.

Former leader Jennifer Mackenzie resigned after she realized she could not avoid a leadership review in February. Under her leadership, the NDP lost the 2018 provincial election, gaining just five percent of the vote. MacKenzie declared she was a socialist and that she was in favour of nationalization in some cases, but did not elaborate publicly what she meant.

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