Blurring the line between NDP and Liberals
I sure hope the NDP starts coming out with a clear
platform for a national child care program.
It’s disgraceful the Tories have thought about
bringing up something on childcare first. But the candy on offer from
Stephen Harper is not a serious solution for working people. We need
services, a massive infrastructure accessible to parents, not tax cuts and
tax credits.
It was good the NDP was clear from the outset about
protecting equal marriage, but again, it was a response to Harper’s
promise he would put same sex marriages back into the closet.
We need Jack Layton to promote strong initiatives
that give voters a clear reason not to saddle up with the Liberals instead.
Money for post secondary education is long overdue,
so that’s been good to see. But we need to know more about health
care, and the NDP’s opposition to public-private partnerships, the
trend of privatization on crown corporations such as Canada Post.
Open the door for war resisters; drop increased
spending on the military; support the right for self-determination by
Aboriginal people and Quebec.
But what about Buzz Hargrove?
During the first week of election campaigning that
had to be the most alarming twist of events for organized labour. During
the CAW’s annual convention, Hargrove invited Paul Martin as a guest
speaker, and therefore the media, and gave Martin a nice leather union
jacket to wear.
It was a clear endorsement, a despicable but not all
that surprising move on the part of Hargrove who has been flirting with the
Liberals for years.
It poses a serious challenge to the NDP. Layton must
come up with promises on legislation that will protect the rights of
unionized workers.
We saw what happened in BC when teachers had to defy
back-to-work legislation to make even the smallest of gains. If the NDP
doesn’t step up on a position about defending a democratic bargaining
process and other protections of collective agreements, all unions will be
faced with the same problem.
If the NDP is the party of labour, then they should
go right to the heart of labour legislation and fight for serious
improvements. The Liberals could never match that – they are already
known as the party of big business.
Terry Theakston, Toronto