NDP’s big convention dodges controversy
DELEGATES SPEND TIME DEBATING PROCEDURE RATHER THAN SOCIALISM
At the New Democratic Party’s convention this weekend, there was considerably more controversy about microphones than there was about the Leap manifesto or a trade war between the NDP governments of Alberta and British Columbia.
The gathering in Ottawa, the party’s last before the 2019 federal election, could’ve turned into a fighting match among delegates at the edges of the party, on pipelines, the word “socialism” and even support for a Venezuelan regime condemned by the party’s foreign affairs critic.
Instead the weekend was a study in how to avoid negative attention. The party formally adopted policy planks with broad support among members, including free post-secondary tuition and universal pharmacare. No resolutions that came to the floor were defeated. Neither Alberta Premier Rachel Notley nor B.C. Premier John Horgan were in the house. A current MP under investigation for harassment was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, the brand of leader Jagmeet Singh was visible, with “Love and Courage” T-shirts available, to boot. He won 91 per cent in a confidence vote. Easily the most energetic moments came Saturday afternoon as Singh delivered a rousing — though uncontroversial! — speech defending taxes, condemning inequality and promoting the NDP’s diversity and work to bring marginalized and racialized groups to the forefront.
Complaints that brought delegates to microphones were less often themed on quibbles with policy than on the availability of child care at the convention centre; the obstruction of someone’s view of the screens; the lineups at microphones; being even more respectful with each other, please; and questions like, “wait, what ballot are we using again?”
Even the most heated debate of the convention relied largely upon procedure.
As delegates debated what was the most moderate of several policy resolutions focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, several dozen delegates staged a protest Saturday night, complaining that the process to prioritize the resolution was undemocratic. The NDP’s youth wing and almost 30 riding associations had endorsed a version of the resolution that asked the party to support boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, the protesters said.
As part of a flurry of procedural arguments, delegates spent close to half an hour debating and voting on a motion to extend debate time by ... half an hour. That motion was defeated. Ultimately the membership opted not to add stronger language to the resolution.
The protesters, some chanting “Free Palestine,” were not the only delegates raising questions about the party’s direction but they were easily the most visible on the floor.
The socialist caucus distributed literature to delegates, including a “Turn Left” magazine that questioned Singh’s credentials, but a resolution asking to insert “socialism” back into the party’s constitution never came to the floor and there was no visible push for the NDP to support the Leap manifesto.
Proponents of the manifesto seek a renewableenergy-only future for Canada, ergo, no pipelines. That’s a problem for the NDP government in Alberta, whose support of the Trans Mountain pipeline is causing a rift with the NDP government in B.C.
But they also support other policies the party endorsed this weekend, including the decriminalization of all drugs. An organizer of a “Dare to Leap” event held in Ottawa just before the convention started was one of those who helped craft the wording of the drug decriminalization policy that the NDP adopted.
And under Singh the party seems to be abandoning the lean-towards-centre approach of previous leader Tom Mulcair. This is still a union-based party that — although it aimed to accommodate whatever pronouns delegates preferred — has members calling each other “sister,” “brother” and sometimes even “comrade.” The weekend saw senior partisans bringing up support for social justice movements including Black Lives Matter and Idle No More.
The question is whether the NDP can get its message out to those it believes will be most receptive, including people who haven’t seen themselves reflected in federal political parties before — and whether they can prevent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from stealing away votes from the left, as happened in the last federal election.
“We need to stake out our own positions and just be bold,” outgoing party president Marit Stiles said in an interview. “We are the party that’s representing, I think, a lot of people who just do not simply see themselves, or do not feel represented adequately by this government. There’s a lot of talk from the current government and there was an immense failure to act.”
Recent polls still put the NDP in third place federally: The latest tracking from Nanos, based on 1,000 responses, puts the party at 18.2 per cent of the vote (with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20).
A report from the outgoing party treasurer at the outset of the convention also showed how big a challenge fundraising continues to be. The NDP still takes in less than half of what the Liberals and Conservatives do, from fewer than half the number of donors according to the most recent Elections Canada data.
Here are some of the key policies the NDP passed at its convention this weekend:
DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION
The party decided to add the decriminalization of all drug possession to its policy book, in keeping with an idea floated by Jagmeet Singh during his leadership campaign. The provision was folded into a resolution focused on ending the opioid crisis.
PHARMACARE, DENTAL CARE AND MORE
As part of efforts to more broadly extend health care coverage, the NDP voted in resolutions adopting universal pharmacare and universal dental care policies. Other new additions include a national requirement for employers to provide paid sick leave and free access to menstrual products and contraceptive methods.
FREE UNIVERSITY TUITION
The NDP policy book’s section on post-secondary education will now include promises to increase federal transfers to provinces and territories, halt privatization of education, eliminate tuition and administration fees and reform student loans, including by creating debt relief and forgiveness programs.
STREET CHECKS AND CARDING
In one of the most keenly supported resolutions, if you judge by applause, New Democrats approved a policy to implement a federal ban on street checks and carding by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and work towards a definition and ban on racial profiling by federal policing agencies. They agreed an NDP government would work with police forces across the country to end the practice.
EMERGENCY RESOLUTION ON COLTEN BOUSHIE
The NDP adopted an emergency resolution after the acquittal of Gerald Stanley in the shooting death of young Indigenous man Colten Boushie. It calls on the federal government to amend the criminal code so that only challenges for cause can be used against prospective jurors, and that standasides and peremptory challenges be eliminated. It also demands the federal government call for an “immediate national inquiry” into the RCMP’s handling of the case.
QUEBEC AND THE CONSTITUTION
New Democrats agreed they would be open to reopening the Constitution. They recognize leaving Quebec out of the constitution in 1982 was “an historic mistake,” say they recognize “any serious effort” to recognize Quebec’s status as a nation and bring it into the constitutional framework and ensure constitutional reform is aimed at establishing a real nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples. They also approved a single tax return for Quebec, to be administered by the provincial government.
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
The most moderately worded motion of several that had been proposed to come to the convention floor was adopted. It condemns violations of United Nations resolutions and international laws, condemns U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and reaffirms the party’s support for a twostate solution.
SAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENT
The NDP passed a resolution that says U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies “continue to create a climate of genuine fear, lack of due process and threat to the safety and security of those seeking asylum in the U.S.”
ZERO-EMISSION CARS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The NDP want to mandate that all new vehicles produced or imported into Canada are zero-emission vehicles by 2040. They also agreed to make big emitters pay for pollution, and ensure their election platform includes a promise to grant Canadians “a legal right to a healthy and sustainable environment,” and enshrine into law the federal government’s responsibility to protect the environment as well as protection for whistleblowers.
INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
An NDP government would commit to executing the 94 Calls to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and implement Human Rights Tribunal rulings on First Nations child welfare, “including the reinstatement of adequate funding.” Delegates also agreed to pressure government to “correct the course” of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, including extending the timeline so all families who wish to testify can do so.
MORNEAU’S PENSION REFORMS
In what seems to be a direct hit to legislation proposed by Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, whose family company Morneau Shepell could benefit from it, the NDP are expressing their opposition to target pension plans. A resolution states the NDP will oppose legislation that allows Crown Corporations or federally regulated sectors to introduce plans for their employees.
ELECTORAL REFORM
With the requisite handwringing at the Liberals’ broken electoral reform promise, the NDP agreed to support a mixed-member proportional representation voting system for federal elections, and ensure the system “be given high profile in the NDP platform in the next federal election.”