‘POWER CAN NEVER COME AT THE COST OF PRINCIPLES’
How is the campaign going so far?
One of the key things we wanted to do in the campaign was to grow the party and to excite and inspire new people. It was my proposition that one of the key aspects of value that I could bring to the party and to the campaign was that ability to inspire people and bring people in. Most of our fundraising was from new members and we were able to sign up a host of new members from across the country, including significantly from Quebec.
Your platform is quite strong on anti-poverty measures but contains less specifically aimed at inequality. What would you do to address that?
There is policy we put forward towards poverty reduction focused around those who are the most unequal in society: seniors in poverty, the working poor and Canadians with disabilities. We also coupled that with the Better Work Agenda focusing on people who are in precarious work, as well as how we can build better work. We also want to end unpaid internships with no exceptions and to reinstate the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act to ensure there are high standards of labour rights protections for workers at the federal level — which would encourage more equity and fairness for workers.
What role do you see for universal programs by the federal government?
I am absolutely committed to not only maintaining universal, publicly delivered, one-tiered, social programs, but expanding them. As New Democrats, we already agree on universal daycare; we already agree on universal pharmacare and so the policies I put forward are ones that I can add my own personal angle or touch. I wanted to bring forward policy agendas — like in the crime agenda or in the criminal justice agenda — that are unique to my personal work experiences and life experiences.
Are you in favour of any of the current pipeline proposals?
I have said no to Energy East and Kinder Morgan and most recently Keystone XL.
Are there any circumstances under which you could support a pipeline?
For energy projects there are three criteria that I rely on in terms of informing my decisions: respect for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which entails that there must be prior informed consent from Indigenous communities on a project; any energy project that we invest in or allow has to comply with our climate change targets; local jobs and opportunities must be considered, as opposed to strictly focusing on exporting raw goods or raw petroleum.
If an Indigenous community was opposed to an energy project should they have an absolute veto right?
If we truly want a nation-to-nation relationship, then we can’t have projects on the land of another nation without that nation’s consent. It’s pretty fundamental, there really isn’t any way around that; it’s a real step toward reconciliation.
What went wrong for the NDP in the last election?
There was a great platform that was very progressive and included very meaningful advancements for society, but there was also something lacking between this objective platform and the campaign. The campaign lacked emotion and didn’t connect with people. I think that it didn’t feel like the party was progressive. The one concrete problem was the saying that the NDP would have a balanced budget. The problem with that message is that it has been used by conservatives to advocate cuts or austerity, very contrary to New Democratic values.
One of the big debates in the campaign is the eternal tug of war between power and principles. How do you balance this perpetual tension in the NDP?
There is no question that we need power to influence change, but for me there is no doubt that power can never come at the cost of principles.
There is an absolute way to pursue both your principles and the pursuit of power and that is what I have been committed to doing.
What is your strategy in Quebec and what has your experience been like campaigning there?
We have signed up more members than any other candidate in Quebec. We are going to grow in Quebec. We are going to reach out to people who never considered voting for NDP before and we will inspire them to vote for us. We will have new fertile ground in Montreal for ridings that are diverse that were not thought of as NDP ridings before. I am confident that the values that the New Democrats have and the ones that I will put forward are values that resonate with people in the province.
How important is it to have personality over policy in this election when facing Justin Trudeau?
You need both — there is no question about it. You need to have an ability to get your message out to people and that requires personality and to be able to convince people. People have to feel a certain trust and a certain affinity towards the person that is delivering the message. So I think we can’t ignore the reality that it is something really important and I can go toe-to-toe on personality with Trudeau.
Will you go back to Queen’s Park if your message doesn’t resonate with federal New Democrats?
I ran to win and we are running a campaign to win and my only plan is to be the federal leader and running for a federal seat.
“If we truly want a nation-to-nation relationship, then we can’t have projects on the land of another nation without that nation’s consent.” JAGMEET SINGH ON SEEKING CONSENT OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AS A CONDITION OF BUILDING PIPELINES