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At Issue
Jack Layton and the "New" Democrats: When Will Be Their Time?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Some of you might have tuned in this past weekend when the new Democratic Party held its policy conference. On the agenda was the name change, which was partly born in this part of the country. The Windsor ridings certainly were instrumental in trying to get the NDP to change its name or you simply drop the "new ". So for whatever name means, I guess we'll have to wait quite a long time before our NDP friends take the "new "off.
You know it's time for the NDP. I really don't know why they aren't more successful with the policies they have. You might say that Canadian voting intentions are maybe based a bit on history, a bit on culture, and maybe in Québec to bit on language. I suppose that disqualifies the NDP from getting the votes they need to become a major force in Canadian politics. Needless to say, the NDP has provided many policy initiatives through the years that are worthy. I suppose the difficult part for them is not necessarily getting the credit and not getting the votes either.
As many of you know I really have nothing to do with politics. However you cannot be a commentator in this world and not have an interest in following what our political parties do. For instance is there really any difference between the Liberal and Conservative party in Canada? I think you can draw your distinctions, for instance the Conservatives are more conservative in all things except the things they need to be liberal in. Our Liberal friends are very liberal until it comes to times where they want to be conservative. So there are subtle differences but in the big picture that's not saying much.
I have a good conservative Christian acquaintance that related to me that if Jesus were back on Earth at this time he would be an NDPer! I had to laugh at that because I'm sure Jesus if he was back on Earth at this time wouldn't want to be involved in politics. However I think the point that my friend was making was that the NDP policies are compassionate and when it comes to economics it makes simple sense for the common man.
You know we are talking in semantics here. Some of you might say what difference does it really make? As hard as this might be for many of you to believe I do think it makes a difference. I'll give you one distinct example.
In 1990 when the NDP government was elected in Ontario there was a lot of gnashing of teeth. And the NDP in Ontario at that time was certainly not seen as the right pedigree for many in political circles. They also won a huge majority on I think about 37% of the vote. I think even Premier Bob Rae was surprised. However, he went to work and tried to run this province in the most difficult recession Ontario has seen until present day.
Simply put the recession killed. The NDP at that time were thought of as a big spending party and after they got in office had no money to spend. It didn't matter that they warned the entire electorate about the alternatives because in 1995 they threw them out and elected Mike Harris and we all know what happened next. Needless to say the NDP government of Bob Rae had many innovative ideas.
The social contract was one that which the government of the day gave workers days off without pay. The alternative was firing workers, which Mike Harris did when he got in office. There were also many other examples in agriculture, forestry and labor relations, which broke new ground and did things differently. At the end of the day it wasn't successful but you could argue the NDP had some different ideas and ones worth trying.
In 2009 it might be time again. NDP leader Jack Layton is a smart dynamic leader, a man I've met on a couple of occasions. However his challenge is to get Canadians to change long-standing voting patterns, which is not easy. New progressive and far-reaching appealing policies would go a long way to changing that. Giving Canadians more Jack Layton would surely help too. Whether they be the "new Democrats "or the even newer "Democrats "something tells me their chances might be brightening in 2009. When Parliament opens this fall we'll see if Jack Layton can hatch a plan that works.
Philip Shaw, farms 830 acres near Dresden, Ontario. He holds a Masters of Agricultural Economics and Business Degree from the University of Guelph and is a well-known commentator on agricultural issues in print, on radio and over satellite in Canada and the United States. In the Chatham-Kent Times, Phil will use his frank and forthright writing style to address political and economic issues from the local to the international stage. He is a keen observer of political life at all levels, reads widely and has travelled the world to gather fodder for his column. See what's At Issue this week.
