NDP’s draft gag order could stifle party dissent
B.C.’s governing New Democratic Party has crafted new rules that could prevent some members and officials from publicly criticizing the decisions of Premier John Horgan’s government.
A draft of an internal NDP code of conduct, obtained by Postmedia News, shows it would require members of the party’s provincial executive and committees to sign non-disclosure agreements that forbid them from publicly disagreeing with party or government policies.
“Individuals agree that they shall, in all public statements (either written or verbal), promote the positions taken by the party through its duly constituted bodies and shall refrain from public criticisms of the party, its positions, or its elected officials,” says the code of conduct. Any criticisms should be expressed only through internal channels, it says.
The document also says all matters dealt with in party meetings are confidential and not to be discussed publicly.
The code is a draft, but could go before the NDP’s provincial council for a vote next month. It would apply to the provincial executive — which includes table officers and two representatives from each region of the province — and the NDP’s nine committees where members meet to discuss issues such as the environment, agriculture, women’s rights, youth, pride, people living with disabilities and Aboriginal representation.
Signed agreements could effectively act as gag orders for NDP members who disagree with the Horgan government’s decisions to approve the Site C dam, give tax breaks to the LNG Canada project and campaign in favour of proportional representation.
NDP officials argue the intention is not to silence people from speaking their minds, but instead to formalize what has been an implied obligation in the NDP constitution that people who represent the party — especially on social media — do not criticize it or break with its positions in an official capacity.
“Individuals will still be individuals,” said NDP communications director Glen Sanford.
“It’s that they are more informed about the consequences of their decisions and they have more autonomy to make choices about their bodies.
“Parents told us in surveys that they were concerned their children would make poor sexual health choices if they were vaccinated against HPV, but children know that this is only one type of sexually transmissible infection, among others like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis,” she said.
The proportion of girls in grades 7 through 12 who reported having had intercourse steadily decreased. It dropped to 18.3 per cent in 2013, from 21.3 per cent in 2003. The proportion engaging in intercourse before the age of 14 dropped to 10.2 per cent, from 14.3 in 2003.
The study concludes that girls were “significantly less likely to report ever having sex after the introduction of the HPV vaccination.”
Ogilvie said the study confirms what research around the world is showing.
She acknowledges the study is based on a survey and does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between HPV vaccination and sexual behaviours. The study does, however, show there has been a trend toward safer sex practices starting before the HPV vaccine was introduced.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. Most infections clear up on their own. But some strains of HPV can cause precancerous lesions that can lead to cervical and other reproductive tract cancers, anal cancer and oral cancer.
In 2013, about 69 per cent of girls received the vaccinations, slightly more than the proportion who got it earlier, but not yet close to the goal of 90 per cent envisioned by public health experts. Public coverage of vaccination for boys is also available in B.C., and in future studies based on the youth survey experts will look at data from boys.
There are various vaccines that protect against two HPV strains that cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers. Gardasil-9 also reduces the risk of other types of HPV that cause genital warts and other cancers besides cervical.