New Ideas of the Old NDP
Since I did comment that people are focusing on the NDP name-change policy that will never happen, I have taken it upon myself to, as a favour to the NDP, raise awareness of some other worthwhile policies being debated this weekend at their convention.
Here are some of the highlights, obtained via the NDP mole:
3-67-09 Decriminalizing Recreation Drug Use
BE IT RESOLVED THAT in recognition that the criminalization of the production and use of recreational drugs is socially destructive, the New Democratic Party of Canada will use its political influence in every available forum to begin the process of decriminalizing the production and use of recreational drugs, beginning with the decriminalization of the production and use of marijuana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party of Canada recognizes that issues around drug use are best treated as public health issues.
Ottawa Centre (Riding of NDP MP, Paul Dewar)
This policy shows a rare amount of pragmatism on the part of the NDP. After all, increased recreational drug use among voters is more likely to increase NDP support than a name change ever would.
1-30-09 Democratic Management of Banks & Insurance Companies
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be added to Section 1.8 of the Policy booklet:
The New Democratic Party of Canada will actively campaign for nationalization of the big five Canadian banks and major insurance companies (including life, home and auto insurance firms), to be operated under public democratic control, with compensation to the former owners in the form of low-interest, long-term bonds; and that democratic management be exercised by an elected council of bank workers, consumers, small business folk, family farmers and the labour movement as a whole.
Thornhill
Nationalizing the banks isn't too shocking by NDP standards. But what I really like about this policy is that the banks would be run by an elected council that includes bank workers, consumers, family farmers, small business folk, and the labour movement. I think watching farmers and small business folk sitting around a table trying to run Canada's five major banks would make for one heck of a reality TV show.
1-31-09 Guaranteeing Domestic Supply and Management of Energy
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be added to Section 1.2 of the Policy
booklet:
The New Democratic Party of Canada will actively campaign for nationalization of the energy industry, under workers' and community control, to guarantee domestic supply and to furnish the basis to rebuild industry, and to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, especially in renewable energy and mass public transit.
Thornhill
I really think Linda Duncan should take the lead on this one...
5-34-09 Repealing the Clarity Act
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party of Canada actively campaign for repeal of the Clarity Act.
Davenport
What an insane idea from a wing nut NDP member that Jack Layton would never consider...what? Oh yeah...forgot about that...
7-26-09 Exploring Merger with Other Political Party
BE IT RESOLVED THAT if this reporting process indicates that the party members and riding associations are open to the possibility of such a merger, the federal party should initiate discussions with the Green Party of Canada to consider a merger of the two parties, possibly beginning with an agreement to work together in an electoral alliance or partnership in the next federal election.
New Brunswick Southwest
Well, now that Elizabeth May has picked Saanich to run in, the Dippers could help out by re-nominating Julian West.
6-29-09 Measures to Ensure News Organizations Serve Public Interest
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be added to Section 6.8:
Legislation ensuring that media are separated from the corporate world through a form of trust with primary responsibility to report and comment in the public interest.
Winnipeg North (Riding of NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis)
I don't know about you, but I believe it's in the public interest for the media to report and comment on these policies...
Here are some of the highlights, obtained via the NDP mole:
3-67-09 Decriminalizing Recreation Drug Use
BE IT RESOLVED THAT in recognition that the criminalization of the production and use of recreational drugs is socially destructive, the New Democratic Party of Canada will use its political influence in every available forum to begin the process of decriminalizing the production and use of recreational drugs, beginning with the decriminalization of the production and use of marijuana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party of Canada recognizes that issues around drug use are best treated as public health issues.
Ottawa Centre (Riding of NDP MP, Paul Dewar)
This policy shows a rare amount of pragmatism on the part of the NDP. After all, increased recreational drug use among voters is more likely to increase NDP support than a name change ever would.
1-30-09 Democratic Management of Banks & Insurance Companies
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be added to Section 1.8 of the Policy booklet:
The New Democratic Party of Canada will actively campaign for nationalization of the big five Canadian banks and major insurance companies (including life, home and auto insurance firms), to be operated under public democratic control, with compensation to the former owners in the form of low-interest, long-term bonds; and that democratic management be exercised by an elected council of bank workers, consumers, small business folk, family farmers and the labour movement as a whole.
Thornhill
Nationalizing the banks isn't too shocking by NDP standards. But what I really like about this policy is that the banks would be run by an elected council that includes bank workers, consumers, family farmers, small business folk, and the labour movement. I think watching farmers and small business folk sitting around a table trying to run Canada's five major banks would make for one heck of a reality TV show.
1-31-09 Guaranteeing Domestic Supply and Management of Energy
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be added to Section 1.2 of the Policy
booklet:
The New Democratic Party of Canada will actively campaign for nationalization of the energy industry, under workers' and community control, to guarantee domestic supply and to furnish the basis to rebuild industry, and to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, especially in renewable energy and mass public transit.
Thornhill
I really think Linda Duncan should take the lead on this one...
5-34-09 Repealing the Clarity Act
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the New Democratic Party of Canada actively campaign for repeal of the Clarity Act.
Davenport
What an insane idea from a wing nut NDP member that Jack Layton would never consider...what? Oh yeah...forgot about that...
7-26-09 Exploring Merger with Other Political Party
BE IT RESOLVED THAT if this reporting process indicates that the party members and riding associations are open to the possibility of such a merger, the federal party should initiate discussions with the Green Party of Canada to consider a merger of the two parties, possibly beginning with an agreement to work together in an electoral alliance or partnership in the next federal election.
New Brunswick Southwest
Well, now that Elizabeth May has picked Saanich to run in, the Dippers could help out by re-nominating Julian West.
6-29-09 Measures to Ensure News Organizations Serve Public Interest
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be added to Section 6.8:
Legislation ensuring that media are separated from the corporate world through a form of trust with primary responsibility to report and comment in the public interest.
Winnipeg North (Riding of NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis)
I don't know about you, but I believe it's in the public interest for the media to report and comment on these policies...
posted by calgarygrit at
9:32 p.m.
10 Comments:
These were the resolutions that came out after they were screened by Party brass????
I would give a kidney to see the ones who didn't make the cut...
By
Glen, at 11:20 p.m.
Bah, what NDP mole? The resolutions are available on the party website for everyone to read.
They won't all get debated, or passed, but you know we do put them out there just for your amusement, CG.
By the way, are you in favour of or opposed to InSite in Vancouver, Grit, because that's the kind of thing we're talking about here. Every single reasonable person who has looked at the drug situation in Vancouver has come to the conclusion that the war on drugs has been an utter failure.
Treating drug use as a public health issue is exactly what should be done, and I thought your Carolyn Bennett and a few other sensible Liberals were on the same wavelength there. I have a funny feeling you Liberals will wind up getting dragged kicking and screaming into the modern world on this one (like with same-sex marriage), and in the end will wind up having the gall to claim it was your idea all along.
I do like your idea for a reality show on high finance,though. Maybe we could start by putting all the money-grubbing number-crunching wall street evil geniuses up before Judge Judy and explain why they should get their bonuses when they threw the rest of the economy into a complete uproar.
The media ownership one is actually being considered seriously in a lot of quarters. The Tyee ran an interesting piece on the potential for community trusts as vehicles to publicly finance news gathering without government interference. Because lord knows, the current business model is drawing its death rattle breaths now, and no-one's dreamed up anything better. I love your blog (really), but as good as you are, you're no substitute for a full-time reasonably non-partisan news outlet, which I think we could both agree is a public good. Plus, you know, bloggers like you need to eat and pay the rent and stuff which makes that venue a fairly unreliable substitute for the MSM, worthwhile as it is for its own reasons.
Anyways, thanks for the advance rundown on the resolutions the opposition is going to try and cause trouble over. Really, if that's all you could find, I guess that crazy messy old thing called democracy might just catch on.
By
A reader, at 11:21 p.m.
Oh, and Glen: the party brass doesn't screen the resolutions before publication. They're all there. It's the policy committees at convention that priorize them, but even their rulings can be overturned by a motion from the floor.
I can understand how you might have been confused on that very strange concept, given your own apparent political lineage in the Seinfeld party (white cat edition). I'm sure the brass at Mouseland does their due diligence in getting their talking points together, but there would be holy hell to pay from the ridings if their resolutions did not make it into the book.
What they have done, and perhaps this is what got you confused (if indeed you were confused and not just making mischief), is that they've assembled all their previous policy into a book, and asked the ridings to specify whether their motions are intended for short-term action on issue X, or to amend section Y of the book. I'm sure a little reorganizing work may have gone into the resolutions from that perspective.
By
A reader, at 11:28 p.m.
A Reader - I'm just having fun. I wrote a legalized marijuana resolution that got debated at a Liberal policy convention a few years ago.
By
calgarygrit, at 11:59 p.m.
I can hardly wait to read the new Liberal policy book, when it is released next month (that's when it will be released right?). As much as I like a good comedy, I prefer tragedy.
By
Greg, at 8:33 a.m.
Holy crap! A national party that is open to actually debating public policy at a convention?? The horror!!
Unlike the Liberals who ran their prioritization process off a website that no one knew about, the NDP prioritizes resolutions at convention ... with delegate input.
Why don't we wait to see whether any of these things reach the floor? Let alone get adopted?
By
Unknown, at 9:04 a.m.
The NDP are prioritizing all the policies that Lavigne wants in a closed door session friday morning, before most of the delegates have arrived.
There is going to be a lot of pissed off people when they realize that the policies their riding association put forward were kaiboshed by the Brad Lavigne show.
By
Anonymous, at 9:44 a.m.
in recognition that the criminalization of the production and use of recreational drugs is socially destructive
Stopping people from making and taking recreational drugs is socially destructive? Did I miss a study?
nationalization of the energy industry, under workers' and community control, to guarantee domestic supply and to furnish the basis to rebuild industry, and to create hundreds of thousands of jobs,
Right, because if history has shown us anything about nationalizing the energy industry is that it's a huge job-maker!
the federal party should initiate discussions with the Green Party of Canada to consider a merger of the two parties
The Green Party is too far to the left for the NDP. :)
Ah but seriously - Green Party is already working with the Liberals. If the NDP started working with them, is there even a point to the Green Party? Why not just call it the anti-Conservative Party? Then they can all join!
Personally, I don't think socialism and environmentalist are compatible, even though they seem to be seen together all the time. Every pro-environmental policy I've ever heard puts the biggest proportional burden on the working classes. They're the ones that suffer the job losses. They're the ones that can't afford the higher prices for food, heat and transportation. Generally they're the ones incapable of taking advantage of credits for efficient appliances, environment-friendly home renovations and hybrid cars. In short, today's environmental movement is inconsistent with the major tenet of socialism: helping the working class.
By
Robert Vollman, at 10:16 a.m.
Glad you were having fun, Grit. I sort of took it that way anyhow, but can't let you get away with too much now ... ;-)
By
A reader, at 12:48 p.m.
Robert:
"Stopping people from making and taking recreational drugs is socially destructive? Did I miss a study?"
The so-called "war on drugs" is not stopping anyone from making and taking recreational drugs. It's driving up gun and property crime, poverty levels and general public health risks.
This is why the resolution talks about treating it as a public health issue.
Prohibition didn't stop drinking either, and the best ways of treating alcoholism do not involve shoot-outs with rum-runners over the border, even though that makes a better movie.
I realize the issue is being used for its partisan wedge value, and also reflects a philosophical difference of opinion about how to proceed, but really the onus is on you to provide the study that says the "war on drugs" has accomplished anything at all. Virtually all the research points in the opposite direction, in fact.
By
A reader, at 1:06 p.m.
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