Category: Politics/NDP

The new Speaker of the House of Commons will be elected on June 2 and, until today, the entrants in that race were all Conservative MPs. The declared candidates include MPs Andrew Scheer, Barry Devolin, Lee Richardson, Dean Allison, and Bruce Stanton. Two other Conservative MPs — Merv Tweed and Ed Holder — are considering taking a run at the job.

Today, though, the first opposition MP declared her intention to win the job. NDP MP Denise Savoie (left) is in the race. Savoie was the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole – a kind of assistant deputy speaker — in the last Parliament. Savoie, who was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba and now represents the riding of Victoria (BC), would be the most bilingual of the candidates at this point.

Here is the release from the NDP:

“I’m running for Speaker with a singular focus on raising the tone and quality of debate in Parliament, to restore the trust that Canadians deserve to have in their politicians and democratic institutions,” said Savoie.

As Assistant Deputy Speaker in the last Parliament Savoie launched a number of explicitly non-partisan initiatives aimed at fostering constructive and informed discussion on important topics, including workshops on climate change and the first all-party Parliamentary Arts Caucus.

“I’m asking my fellow MPs to imagine a Parliament that functions well – where debate is not focused on scoring points, but rather on creating better, more inclusive public policy,” said Savoie.

As a fluently bilingual Franco-Manitoban who has lived in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and now in British Columbia, Savoie brings a pan-Canadian perspective to the Speaker’s Chair.

MPs vote for the Speaker and the voting is done by secret ballot. The winner must get a majority — not a plurality — of votes and that first one that does so is the winner. In 2008, it took five ballots and about 5 hours of voting before Peter Milliken was declared the winner.

 

The Library of Parliament is busy putting together its pages for each new MP. Those pages include the occupation of the MP prior to being elected. The Library only has listed occupations for only about half of the new NDP MPs. Many of those MPs may list multiple occupations prior to their election. I went through those today and was struck, as you may be, of the great variety of professional backgrounds of the new members of that caucus. Here is the list of occupations for about 40 of the new NDP MPs. I'll update as the Library of Parliament catches up.

Activist, Activist, Actor, Agronomist, artistic diredtor, Assistant manager, Author, Coach, college instructor, Columnist, Communications adviser, Community activist, community activist, community activist, community activist, community development advisor, Community-development worker, Composer, Computer analyst, Consultant, Consultant, Correctional services officer, Criminologist, Director, Economist, Economist, Editor, educator, Employment consultant, engineer, environmentalist, Environmentalist, environmentalist, Environmentalist, Foreign-service officer, french teacher, gardener, guidance counsellor, horticulturist, industrial relations officer, information technology technician, Interpretive guide – museum, interpretive guide – museum, journalist, journalist, journalist, journalist, Journalist, labour relations officer, Labour representative, labour representative, Lawyer, Musician, musician, musician, policy analyst, printer, professor – community college, professor of political science, professor of sociology, Program coordinator, project manager, public relations officer, public servant, public servant, Public servant, radio host, research assistant, researcher, sales agent, security officer, security officer, singer, student, student, Student, student, Tax lawyer, teacher, Teacher, teacher, Teacher, teacher, translator, union officer, union organiser, volunteer worker, volunteer worker, writer, writer

There has been much commentary in the wake of Monday's election debating the permanence of the NDP's leap into Official Opposition status. I believe the NDP rise is a permanent one.

But there are many who believe that the NDP's new significance on the federal scene will be a flash in the pan and that a new Liberal leader could reasonably expect to lead his or her party back to Official Opposition status in the 2015 federal election. One of the arguments common to this way of thinking is a comparison to the experience of the Action démocratique du Canada in Quebec over the 2007 and 2008 provincial elections.

Going into the 2007 provincial election in Quebec, the ADQ had 4 MNAs but ended up winning 41 seats and supplanting the Parti Quebecois as the official opposition against Jean Charest's minority government. In 2008, Charest triumphed and the ADQ was reduced to just 7 seats and lost official party status.

There are some fundamental differences between the ADQ experience and the federal experience that, I think, disqualifies comparisons of the two parties.

• Jack Layton is not Mario Dumont. Layton has much more experience than Dumont did and, while I do not know the quality of the staff that advised Dumont through this period, Layton certainly has experienced, credible and street-smart advisors playing a senior role in his office and at the party.
• The NDP has seen its popular support and seat counts grow in every federal election since Layton assumed leadership of the party in 2003. It has done better in 2004, 2006, 2008 and, of course, in 2011. This was a result of a deliberate multi-election strategy that paid significant dividends. There is no evidence to show that any of its political opponents has, in all those elections, figured out a way to put a dent in this slow but steady advance. The ADQ 2007 results appear to be a definite flash-in-the-pan that caught that surprised that party and its leader.
• The ADQ entered the 2007 campaign with just 4 MNAs with any legislative experience. The NDP caucus for this Parliament has 35 members who were MPs in the 40th Parliament or previous Parliaments. That's two new MPs for every experienced MP. The ADQ had nearly 10 inexperienced MNA for every experienced one.
• Charest “pounced” on his inexperienced opposition by calling a snap election in 2008, just 21 months after the ADQ  had been Official Opposition. If Harper is true to his word on fixed elections, the NDP opposition will have four years to convince Canadians that is, in fact, the “government-in-waiting”. That time, to gain experience and for new MPs to learn on the job, will be invaluable and make it much more difficult for the Liberals to “spring back.”

A new poll came out Tuesday from Angus Reid that shows NDP support nationally at 30 per cent, behind the Conservatives at 35 per cent and well ahead of the Liberals at 22 per cent. And here are some excerpts from NDP Leader Jack Layton's speech this morning in Winnipeg:

Can you feel the winds of change blowing here in Manitoba?

Well you are not alone. Spring is here.  And I am feeling the winds of change all across this great country of ours.

They’re blowing in from BC, from Alberta and Saskatchewan, through Manitoba and Ontario. From Newfoundland and Labrador.  New Brunswick.  And Nova Scotia. From the great North of our country.

And my friends the winds of change are blowing strongly in Quebec.

Now, the old parties are spending the last week on the attack. Hoping to drown out the voices for change in Canada. Well, in the final days of this campaign, New Democrats will launch a few attacks of our own.

My friends, I will attack health care wait times. I will attack doctor shortages. I will attack seniors’ poverty ….

The Layton tour will finish the day in Edmonton where it not only hopes to defend the one seat it holds in Edmonton-Srathcona is hopeful of winning two others in that city.

 

Delivered by Jack Layton in Ottawa:

My friends, five years ago, Stephen Harper was elected on a promise that he’d do things differently.  He promised to work with others to fix what was wrong in Ottawa.

He said he’d make your life more affordable.  He made it more expensive.

He said he’d make your healthcare a priority.  He’s ignored it for five years.

He promised he’d finally clean up Liberal-style scandals.  Instead, just created new scandals of his own.

After five years, Stephen Harper has failed to fix what’s wrong in Ottawa.  In fact, he’s made it worse.

You’re working harder than ever.  Your household debt is at an all-time high.  Your retirement is less secure.  And nothing’s being done for you.

What does all this mean?

Ottawa is broken.  And it’s time for us to fix it.

It’s time to fix it for Janet, who I spoke with in Edmonton.  She’s caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s at home, and is drawing money from her hard-earned retirement fund just to get by.

It’s time to fix it for Tanya in Saskatoon who is no longer able to keep up with the cost of housing, daycare and groceries.  She’s working harder than ever but still relies on a food bank to feed her family.

It’s time to fix it for the hard-working employees of Electrolux, a company that took Mr. Harper’s corporate tax giveaway – and then announced they were shipping 1300 jobs from Canada to Memphis.

My friends, we’ve got to do better.

In this election, you can elect a Prime Minister you can count on.

A Prime Minister who will help your family get ahead.  Someone who will put aside political games and work with others to get things done.

I’m running to be that Prime Minister.

Because I want to bring some Canadian leadership to Ottawa.

The leadership I saw in my Dad.  He was a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, and he taught me the value of bringing people together, of seeing the good in everyone.  Of building a better country for our children and grandchildren.

My Dad and my Mom committed to leaving this country better off for their kids.

That’s a value I share.  It’s a value that so many Canadians share.

I’m joined today by my daughter Sarah and my granddaughter Beatrice.

And it’s my commitment to all our children and grandchildren that drives me each and every day.

That work starts in this election – one practical step at a time.

Here’s how:

First, I’ll give your family a break – not just the well-connected, like Mr. Harper has done.

Throughout this recession, you’ve worked hard to keep your family from falling behind.  You’re paying more for everyday essentials like home heating, gas and groceries.

And on top of it all, Stephen Harper made tougher for you and your family – raising sales taxes during some pretty tough times.

In this election, I will put forward concrete proposals to take the strain off your family budget and make everyday essentials less expensive.  And I’ll help those who have been completely left behind by Mr. Harper – seniors and children living in poverty.

Second, I’ll reward the job creators in our economy – not those shipping jobs overseas, as Mr. Harper has done.

New Democrats will give small businesses a boost, and target investments to those creating jobs right here at home.  I’ll stop the subsidies to the big polluters and invest that money to foster the new energy economy.

Third, I’ll focus on families that are simultaneously caring for their aging parents and working to build a future for their children – the ever-increasing sandwich generation.

New Democrats will take affordable steps to strengthen the pensions and retirement savings that Canadians rely on.  We’ll put forward a do-able plan to ensure families have access to child-care and education.  And we’ll give working families the flexibility to care for a sick or aging relative.

Finally, I will put forward practical solutions that will improve your front line health services.

I never thought I’d see the day where a Canadian hospital would have to use their coffee shop as an emergency room.  Well it’s happened.

Under Stephen Harper, we’ve seen hospital hallway medicine graduate to Tim Horton’s healthcare.

We need Canadian leadership on health care – right now.

The Prime Minister you elect on May 2 will negotiate the next health care accord with the provinces and territories.  With something as important as your family’s health at stake, I’ll be asking you – who do you trust to lead those discussions?  Who do you trust to improve your health care services?

When it comes to strengthening health care, I won’t stop until the job’s done.

My friends, I’m ready to serve as your Prime Minister.   And my team is ready too.

New Democrats have grown as the needs and priorities of Canadians have grown.  Today’s New Democrats are focused on middle-class families and ready to work for you – in parliament and in cabinet.

And so I’m asking Canadians to join with me to defeat Stephen Harper – regardless of who you’ve voted for in the past.

If you’ve voted Liberal before but have some doubt about the latest leader, Michael Ignatieff – you’re not alone.

Mr. Ignatieff’s words don’t match his actions.  And he’s betting you don’t notice.  He’s betting you don’t care.  Mr. Ignatieff, saying one thing after doing another is not Canadian leadership.

If you’ve voted Bloc in the past, I invite you to help me replace this Conservative government.

The last two elections have shown a vote for the Bloc can’t stop Stephen Harper from becoming Prime Minister.  It can’t stop him from implementing an agenda that most Quebecers are against.

This time, we have to do something different.  This time, it’s not enough to keep Stephen Harper from his majority.  This time we have to replace him.

I know that Canadians want someone in Ottawa who’ll work with others and get things done.

I’m proud of what New Democrats have been able to accomplish by working together.  These accomplishments are the cornerstone of the leadership I’m offering in this election.

I’m asking for a mandate to lead the next government.  And if that’s a minority Parliament, as Prime Minister you can count on me to reach out to all Members of Parliament who believe in building a better Canada.

Together we will provide an alternative to a Harper-led government.  Whether it’s on a case-by-case basis, as been done over the past 5 years or more stable arrangements, I will work with the mandate you give me.

This is a key difference between Stephen Harper and me.

Stephen Harper sees co-operation as a weakness.

I view it as a very Canadian strength.

And while Stephen Harper helped insiders and the well-connected through this recession.

I say now it’s your turn.

And so I’ll stop the divisive political games, and bring your Members of Parliament together to deliver results for you.

My friends, in this election we’re going to fix what’s broken in Ottawa.  And we’re going to do it the way that only New Democrats can – by defeating Conservatives right across Canada.

And I can tell you that I’m ready to take this fight direct to the Conservative heartland.  Starting tonight in Edmonton – where we’ve shown that only New Democrats are strong enough to defeat the Conservatives.

In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba – where only New Democrats defeat Conservatives.

And throughout Ontario and Atlantic Canada – there is a new alternative to Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

In Quebec we will invite those who have voted Bloc to stop Stephen Harper to vote for me to replace him.

Together, my friends, we can get down to work to build the Canada we want.

A Canada where we help each other through tough times, where families come first, where nobody is left behind.

We’re all in this together.

It’s time to roll up our sleeves to make it happen – because that’s Canadian leadership.

Thank you.

Over the next week or so, Jack Layton's NDP are essentially going to be called upon to give Stephen Harper's government another year in office. My bet is: They will. That makes me part of “Team 2012”, those who believe the next federal election will be in 2012 and not this spring. I was actually on the Team 2012 bus for a long time but I must confess the Speaker's contempt rulings and the Carson affair was enough to get me to signal that I ought to get off the 2012 bus at the next stop. Then we learned late today about some of things the Conservatives will put in their budget Tuesday including:

• A boost to the Guaranteed Income Supplement of $600 a year for single seniors and $840 a year for couples.
• The extension of the EcoEnergy tax credit to give homeowners an incentive to make homes more energy efficient.
• Forgiveness of student loans of new doctors and nurses if they work in rural and remote areas.
• $4 million to a Thunder Bay, Ont. research institute — and both Thunder Bay MPs happen to be NDP MPs
• A new initiative to help veterans find jobs in the construction industry — an initiative Jack Layton lobbied Flaherty for personally.

So I was asked tonight by a friend of mine a question I've been asked lots frequently in one form or another: What is your sense of the NDP willingness to have an election? 

 

And here's my answer:

My sense is that there are election hawks in all parties. But at the end of the day, this is the call the leaders have to make. It's my information that Harper, for example, doesn't want an election though many of his closest advisors want one.

Because this is the leader's call, I've focused my attention closely on NDP Leader Jack Layton over the last few months. Some in Layton's party, including some MPs, seem to be itching for a fight. But at the end of the day, it is Layton who has to make the final call and convince his caucus that his final call is the right move.

I think Layton will be able to say — with a great degree of truth — to his caucus and to his supporters that the NDP's frequent budget “asks” resulted in an EcoEnergy tax credit, a GIS bump, some money for new doctors and so on. Because they were the ones who asked for this stuff, the NDP can — again, with quite a bit of truth — turn to their supporters and say, “See? That's why you elect NDP MPs. Even though we are the smallest caucus in the Commons, we can deliver for our supporters. What did the Liberals get for their supporters? Nothing. And we voted against those corporate tax cuts before they could take root. The Liberals didn't even show up. And now, when we have a chance to do something for the environment and to do something for seniors, well, we think that's pretty good for a party with fewer than 40 MPs.”

My friend asked,  of course, about “willingness” to have an election and what I just wrote is the answer to a different question. So let me answer what I was asked: I think the NDP are quite willing to go to the polls. In meetings  with NDP operatives, they've laid out a credible plan to win more seats than they have now, even if they don't increase their popular vote that much. My hunch is that if they can boost their popular vote on e-day to anything above 20 per cent, they stand a very real chance of becoming the official opposition in a scenario where the Tories win a majority and the Liberal vote collapses. So they're willing. But will they go this week? I don't think so.

How about you? What's your sense?

 

NDP Leader Jack Layton today gave a speech to a conference organized by the Library of Parliament that studies Parliament's institutions. Here's some excerpts from that speech (I have bolded the two “asks” from the NDP):

Five years ago, when Stephen Harper was opposition leader, he knew there was something wrong with an unelected Senate.

He thought it was unfair—undemocratic. He called an appointed Senate “a relic of the 19th Century.” He didn’t like how, “the Prime Minister holds a virtually free hand in the selection of Senators.”

And he promised:  if he ever got the chance to be Prime Minister himself, he would not name appointed people to the Senate.

He insisted: anyone who sits in the Parliament of Canada must be elected by the people they represent.

That makes a lot of sense to me.

But Mr. Harper has turned his back on those democratic principles. Instead of solving the problem, he’s become part of the problem.

Stephen Harper now holds the all-time record for appointing the largest number of Senators in one day.

And who are his appointees? The Conservative Party faithful.

Spin doctors, fundraisers and insiders.

People like his former press secretary. His former Conservative party president. His former national campaign director through two elections. And let’s not forget: Several defeated Conservative candidates who were rejected by voters

Mr. Harper has broken his promise to do politics differently. Not only does he play the same old politics—he plays them better than anyone.

That’s why New Democrats think it’s time for a change.

And today, we’re offering a solution.

If it were up to us, we’d get rid of the unelected upper chamber tomorrow. We want it abolished.

Most Canadians wouldn’t miss it. Recent polling shows that only 18 per cent approve of the actions of the Senate.

But getting rid of the Senate isn't up to us alone. As part of a minority Parliament, we have to work together.

Today, I’m asking Stephen Harper to remember that time—not so long ago—when he opposed an unelected senate. I’m asking him again today if he was serious about what he said. Because it’s time to start down that path. It’s time to start stripping the Senate of some its worst, undemocratic properties.

Today, I’m asking Mr. Harper to start with two modest but vital first steps.

First, I’m asking Mr. Harper to stop appointing failed candidates and party insiders to the Senate. I’m asking him to reach out to Canadians by making that firm commitment.

Second, I’m asking him to work with me to make sure all senators are banned from fundraising for political parties.

No “sober second thought” can come from unelected appointees with such an obvious conflict of interest. It makes a joke of our democratic system, and it’s not fair to Canadians.