something to think about...
Today, the richest 400 American families own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans. - Bernie Sanders, US Senator
(Senator Bernie Sanders is the longest serving independent in congressional history.)
9.10.2011
The NDP newcomers... Hoang Mai
Member of Parliament for Brossard—La Prairie
In 1998 he joined an international law office which took him to work in Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong before returning to Montreal in 2001. Since 2002 he has been a notary in private practice.
Hoang studied science and economics before completing his Bachelor’s degree in law and a Master’s degree in international private law from the Université de Montréal. He then continued his training in international law in The Hague.
Hoang is the NDP Critic for National Revenue and First Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
To top it off, he is a big hockey fan! It should be no surprise he is a Habs fan, which of course gives him a leg up as far as I am concerned.
During the debate ordering a contract settlement on locked out Canada Post employees Hoang had this to say...
"...Allow me to restate the facts, although I believe that, after a number of days and hours of debate, they are already known. On June 3, postal workers began rotating strikes. Seven days later, on June 10, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers offered to end the strike if the corporation agreed to ensure that the current contract remained in effect during the negotiations, but Canada Post refused to do so. Four days later, on June 14, the Minister of Labour announced that it was unnecessary to introduce back-to-work legislation since the labour action consisted solely of rotating strikes.
Cheques were being delivered and people were nevertheless receiving their mail. The next day, on June 15, Canada Post decided to lock out all its employees and to shut down mail delivery service. On June 20, barely 5 days later, the Conservative government introduced a bill to impose a contract on Canada Post employees including a wage settlement below the level offered by management. In recent days, the government has been interfering by asserting that legislating Canada Post employees back to work is necessary for the economy. ..." - Open Parliament HansardHoang clearly identified the hammer the Conservative government was using against Canada Post employees. It will be interesting to watch Hoang Mai when Parliament returns. I have no doubt he will shine and impress both the media and Canadians.
You can follow Hoang Mai on Twitter @hoangmai_npd or on facebook here.
NDP Leadership will be Respectful
The NDP are off and running now. I am very pleased with the speed the party has taken to elect a new leader. The Leadership vote will be on March 24, 2012 here in Toronto. Its vital that the NDP have a new leader as soon as possible. It helps provide focus and will give Canadians a chance to get to know the new leader before the next election.
The entry fee should be enough to encourage serious candidates only, yet not outside the reach of those who could be serious challengers for the leadership. The cap on spending, $500,000 ought to ensure there will be no big debts left over at the end of all this.
I have not yet decided who I may support. I like many most of those people that have indicated they may run. Its going to be difficult, its going too be interesting. I also believe we will see a respectful leadership race. One that reflects the changes the NDP and Jack Layton told Canadians they wanted to bring to Ottawa.
The stakes are high. The winner will be one election away from becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. As a New Democrat, that has never happened before. There is so much on the line, yet I am confident that we as a party we choose well, fall in behind the new leader and focus on making Parliament work and winning the next election. That kind of determination and solidarity ought to scare the bee-jesus out of Harper and his Conservative colleagues.
The entry fee should be enough to encourage serious candidates only, yet not outside the reach of those who could be serious challengers for the leadership. The cap on spending, $500,000 ought to ensure there will be no big debts left over at the end of all this.
I have not yet decided who I may support. I like many most of those people that have indicated they may run. Its going to be difficult, its going too be interesting. I also believe we will see a respectful leadership race. One that reflects the changes the NDP and Jack Layton told Canadians they wanted to bring to Ottawa.
The stakes are high. The winner will be one election away from becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. As a New Democrat, that has never happened before. There is so much on the line, yet I am confident that we as a party we choose well, fall in behind the new leader and focus on making Parliament work and winning the next election. That kind of determination and solidarity ought to scare the bee-jesus out of Harper and his Conservative colleagues.
9.08.2011
Premier's office says "Start a Petition"
This is one of those stories that tells you what the election is really about...
The Ontario Liberal government has made a choice and it was not very humane. They have cut this young man off. No more money for a special diet he requires. They have done it to hundreds if not thousands of Ontario citizens that need this special help and have been receiving it until this spring.
I have seen it coming for awhile now. I work in a Non-Profit housing organization. We have a mix of market and non-market tenants. Most are non-market, meaning their housing is subsidized by the Ontario Government. Many are on ODSP. Over that last few months some of them have seen their diet allowance cut or slashed. It is creating a significant hardship on these people.
I was shocked to read that the Premier's constituency office suggested that Brandon start a petition. I was further shocked that the Premier's staff would not even call the Ministry to enquire on behalf of Brandon. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would see this is wrong and would try to fix it. The Premier and his staff have left it to the ODSP staff who seem bent on following in-adequate (perhaps immoral) regulations instead of doing the right thing.
Tim Hudak will likely be even less likely to correct this problem. I expected more from the Liberals as I am sure you did as well.
see also Accessibility News
What the Ontario government has done to Brandon Mc-Carthy is thoughtless, shameful and cruel. The 21-year-old Ottawa man has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease of the muscles that has him confined to a wheelchair with a host of other related ailments, including heart and respiratory problems. ...
...the Ministry of Community and Social Services decided - against the recommendations of its own panel of health professionals - that Brandon and other muscular dystrophy sufferers with weight-loss issues will no longer receive the allowance. Muscular Dystrophy Ontario and Nunavut says it has received numerous complaints from sufferers who have been cut off. - Ottawa Citizen, Sept 8, 2011
The Ontario Liberal government has made a choice and it was not very humane. They have cut this young man off. No more money for a special diet he requires. They have done it to hundreds if not thousands of Ontario citizens that need this special help and have been receiving it until this spring.
I have seen it coming for awhile now. I work in a Non-Profit housing organization. We have a mix of market and non-market tenants. Most are non-market, meaning their housing is subsidized by the Ontario Government. Many are on ODSP. Over that last few months some of them have seen their diet allowance cut or slashed. It is creating a significant hardship on these people.
I was shocked to read that the Premier's constituency office suggested that Brandon start a petition. I was further shocked that the Premier's staff would not even call the Ministry to enquire on behalf of Brandon. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would see this is wrong and would try to fix it. The Premier and his staff have left it to the ODSP staff who seem bent on following in-adequate (perhaps immoral) regulations instead of doing the right thing.
Tim Hudak will likely be even less likely to correct this problem. I expected more from the Liberals as I am sure you did as well.
see also Accessibility News
We can do it, Merger or no Merger
There is a lot of talk these days about a merger between the Liberals and New Democrats. I for one am not enthused with the idea. I am not a Liberal. I joined the NDP because they best expressed my values. I suspect many people joined the Liberals for the same reasons.
For years Liberals have been working at recruiting me to their party. They have come very close on many occasions using the argument that I can work to change things only if I am inside the big Red Tent.
Many people have been tempted to do this and some have fallen into the trap, (I use the term trap in the nicest way). George Baker comes to mind quickly. He was an MP from Newfoundland and Labrador who spoke out on union rights and social justice often. Getting to Ottawa was quicker for him as a Liberal in those days. And prominent NDP members have tried. Bob Rae who was literally cast out found it was his only hope and his connections to Jean Chretien made it a happier place for him. Glen Murray who made it to power in Winnipeg on the backs of the NDP machine to become Mayor was wooed by Paul Martin. He lost in that election. Having burned his NDP bridge, he came to Toronto and lucked into running in George Smitherman's constituency. He has affected very little since being elected as a Liberal.
My friend Ujjal Dosanjh choose to run as a Liberal. He became Health Minister for a brief time. He managed little during his time albeit short. He was tossed by the voters in the last election like many Liberals were. Ujjal I believe felt he could make a difference by joining the Liberals. As it turned out he either ran out of time or the big red machine was too stifling.
Finally my good friend and Senator Larry Campbell was enticed into the Senate by Paul Martin. He choose to sit with the Liberals as the NDP does not support the Senate. He said at the time that sitting as an independent Senator he would have little chance to effect change and he is right. Independents in the Senate often don't get told the agenda or get to be on committees.
Being New Democrat changed with Jack Layton. Jack Layton made many in the press gallery snicker when he said he was running to be Prime Minister. They knew he had to say that but what they couldn't get over was the fact that Jack really was running to be Prime Minister. He built the party, each election saw more New Democrats elected. Canadians warmed up too him. In the end he delivered. The NDP are now the official opposition. Some will say he was lucky, I respond that to be lucky you have to be good.
There is no need for the NDP to merge with the Liberals. I suspect it is something more urgent for Liberals than the NDP. We do share some values I will admit. We do support human rights. We do support government action in the economy and Public Health Care. That is likely where it ends. The Liberals support big tax cuts for the big corporate sector. They downloaded health care costs to provinces much in the same way Harris slashed funding and downloaded costs onto municipalities in Ontario.
All that said I support many Liberal MPs. I liked Warren Allmand, Carolyn Bennett, Ken Dryden, Francis Fox, Pierre Trudeau and many more. I suspect many of them could have been New Democrats had it been an option to govern in years past. Alas the Liberal Party is not the party of Trudeau any more. It is not the progressive party we saw in 1972-74 when they were a minority, where the NDP held the balance of power and actually saw legislation before it was tabled. So much was done in those two years. So much has been undone since then by both Liberal and Conservative governments.
Merger talks may or may happen. In the end we in the NDP need to forge ahead with the plan laid out by Jack Layton. We can convince Canadians we should be government. If along the way we convince Liberals to join us then great! We welcome you and your ideas. Progressive people have a real choice now. They can effect change. They have a realistic chance of forming a government. Some of this will be affected by our choice of leader. I have yet to decide who I might support. There will be some very good candidates running for the job.
When the leadership is determined, you can count on solidarity in the NDP. We will be focused on the goal of forming a progressive and responsive federal government. It has too happen.
Many people have been tempted to do this and some have fallen into the trap, (I use the term trap in the nicest way). George Baker comes to mind quickly. He was an MP from Newfoundland and Labrador who spoke out on union rights and social justice often. Getting to Ottawa was quicker for him as a Liberal in those days. And prominent NDP members have tried. Bob Rae who was literally cast out found it was his only hope and his connections to Jean Chretien made it a happier place for him. Glen Murray who made it to power in Winnipeg on the backs of the NDP machine to become Mayor was wooed by Paul Martin. He lost in that election. Having burned his NDP bridge, he came to Toronto and lucked into running in George Smitherman's constituency. He has affected very little since being elected as a Liberal.
My friend Ujjal Dosanjh choose to run as a Liberal. He became Health Minister for a brief time. He managed little during his time albeit short. He was tossed by the voters in the last election like many Liberals were. Ujjal I believe felt he could make a difference by joining the Liberals. As it turned out he either ran out of time or the big red machine was too stifling.
Finally my good friend and Senator Larry Campbell was enticed into the Senate by Paul Martin. He choose to sit with the Liberals as the NDP does not support the Senate. He said at the time that sitting as an independent Senator he would have little chance to effect change and he is right. Independents in the Senate often don't get told the agenda or get to be on committees.
Being New Democrat changed with Jack Layton. Jack Layton made many in the press gallery snicker when he said he was running to be Prime Minister. They knew he had to say that but what they couldn't get over was the fact that Jack really was running to be Prime Minister. He built the party, each election saw more New Democrats elected. Canadians warmed up too him. In the end he delivered. The NDP are now the official opposition. Some will say he was lucky, I respond that to be lucky you have to be good.
There is no need for the NDP to merge with the Liberals. I suspect it is something more urgent for Liberals than the NDP. We do share some values I will admit. We do support human rights. We do support government action in the economy and Public Health Care. That is likely where it ends. The Liberals support big tax cuts for the big corporate sector. They downloaded health care costs to provinces much in the same way Harris slashed funding and downloaded costs onto municipalities in Ontario.
All that said I support many Liberal MPs. I liked Warren Allmand, Carolyn Bennett, Ken Dryden, Francis Fox, Pierre Trudeau and many more. I suspect many of them could have been New Democrats had it been an option to govern in years past. Alas the Liberal Party is not the party of Trudeau any more. It is not the progressive party we saw in 1972-74 when they were a minority, where the NDP held the balance of power and actually saw legislation before it was tabled. So much was done in those two years. So much has been undone since then by both Liberal and Conservative governments.
Merger talks may or may happen. In the end we in the NDP need to forge ahead with the plan laid out by Jack Layton. We can convince Canadians we should be government. If along the way we convince Liberals to join us then great! We welcome you and your ideas. Progressive people have a real choice now. They can effect change. They have a realistic chance of forming a government. Some of this will be affected by our choice of leader. I have yet to decide who I might support. There will be some very good candidates running for the job.
When the leadership is determined, you can count on solidarity in the NDP. We will be focused on the goal of forming a progressive and responsive federal government. It has too happen.
8.30.2011
tears stop me at the oddest times
Thankfully Montreal Simon wiped them up for me here .
And I absolutely love the idea of planting a little tree to remember him.
Like this one near the ferry dock...
So on an icy cold day I can wrap it in a blanket, or hurry over with a watering can on a hot one. Or ring my bicycle bell as I ride by it, like we did at Jack's funeral.
And of course guard it with my life eh?
Oh little tree of hope. May you grow like our beautiful movement.
Until you touch the stars...
All of this stolen from my blogging buddy MOntreal Simon...
And I absolutely love the idea of planting a little tree to remember him.
Like this one near the ferry dock...
So on an icy cold day I can wrap it in a blanket, or hurry over with a watering can on a hot one. Or ring my bicycle bell as I ride by it, like we did at Jack's funeral.
And of course guard it with my life eh?
Oh little tree of hope. May you grow like our beautiful movement.
Until you touch the stars...
All of this stolen from my blogging buddy MOntreal Simon...
8.28.2011
8.27.2011
Full text of Stephen Lewis’s stirring eulogy for Jack Layton
Never in our collective lifetime have we seen such an outpouring, so much emotional intensity, from every corner of this country. There have been occasions, historically, when we’ve seen respect and admiration but never so much love, never such a shocked sense of personal loss.
Jack was so alive, so much fun, so engaged in daily life with so much gusto, so unpretentious, that it was hard while he lived to focus on how incredibly important that was to us, he was to us. Until he was so suddenly gone, cruelly gone, at the pinnacle of his career.
To hear so many Canadians speak so open-heartedly of love, to see young and old take chalk in hand to write without embarrassment of hope, or hang banners from overpasses to express their grief and loss. It’s astonishing.
Somehow Jack connected with Canadians in a way that vanquished the cynicism that erodes our political culture. He connected whether you knew him or didn’t know him, whether you were with him or against him.
"Never in our collective lifetime have we seen such an outpouring, so much emotional intensity, from every corner of this country. There have been occasions, historically, when we’ve seen respect and admiration but never so much love, never such a shocked sense of personal loss."
Jack simply radiated an authenticity and honesty and a commitment to his ideals that we know realize we’ve been thirsting for. He was so civil, so open, so accessible that he made politics seem so natural and good as breathing. There was no guile. That’s why everybody who knew Jack recognized that the public man and the private man were synonymous.
But it obviously goes much deeper than that. Jack, I think, tapped into a yearning, sometimes ephemeral, rarely articulated, a yearning that politics be conducted in a different way, and from that difference would emerge a better Canada.
That difference was by no means an end to rancour, an end to the abusive, vituperative practice of the political arts. The difference was also, and critically, one of policy – a fundamentally different way of viewing the future of Canada.
His remarkable letter made it absolutely clear. This was a testament written in the very throes of death that set out what Jack wanted for his caucus, for his party, for young people, for all Canadians.
Inevitably, we fastened on those last memorable lines about hope, optimism and love. But the letter was, at its heart, a manifesto for social democracy. And if there was one word that might sum up Jack Layton’s unabashed social democratic message, it would be generosity. He wanted, in the simplest and most visceral terms, a more generous Canada.
His letter embodies that generosity. In his very last hours of life he wanted to give encouragement to others suffering from cancer. He wanted to share a larger, bolder, more decent vision of what Canada should be for all its inhabitants.
He talks of social justice, health care, pensions, no one left behind, seniors, children, climate change, equality and again that defining phrase, “a more inclusive and generous Canada.” All of that is entirely consistent with Jack’s lifelong convictions. In those early days of municipal politics in Toronto Jack took on gay and lesbian rights, HIV and AIDS, housing for the homeless, the white ribbon campaign to fight violence against women and consecrate gender equality once and for all.
And of course a succession of environmental innovations, bike lanes, wind power, the Toronto atmospheric fund – and now Michael, his progressive and talented son, as councillor can carry the torch forward.
And then came his tenure as president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities, where he showed that growing deftness of political touch in uniting municipalities of all sizes and geographic locations, winning their recognition of the preeminence of cities and the invaluable pillar of the public sector. Jack made the leap to federal politics look easy.
The same deeply held principles of social democracy that made him a superb politician at the city level, as I know, transferred brilliantly to federal politics. And also, from the many wonderful conversations we had together, I know led him to a formidable commitment to internationalism.
He was fearless in his positions once embraced. Thus, when he argued for negotiations with the Taliban to bring the carnage in Afghanistan to an end he was ridiculed but stood firm. And now it’s conventional wisdom. I move to recall that Jack came to the New Democratic Party at the time of the imposition of the War Measures Act, when tanks rolled into the streets of Montreal and civil liberties were shredded, and when the NDP’s brave opposition brought us to our nadir in public opinion.
But his convictions and his courage were intertwined – yet another reason for celebrating Jack and for understanding the pain and sadness with which his death has been received.
Above all – and his letter makes this palpably clear – Jack understood that we are headed into even more perilous economic times. He wanted Canadians to have a choice between what he described as the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and an economy that would embrace equity, fairness, balance and creative generosity.
This was the essence of the manifesto. That’s why he insists that we’re a great country, but we can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice and opportunity. These were not rhetorical concepts to Jack. They were the very core of his social democratic philosophy. He was prepared to do ideological battle, but as all things with Jack there was nothing impulsive or ill-considered.
He would listen as he always listened – he was a great listener – he would synthesize thoughtfully as he always did, and he would choose a political route that was dignified, pragmatic and principled. He was so proud of his caucus and what they would do to advance the agenda of social democracy.
He cultivated and mentored every member of that caucus, and as the country will see, that will speak volumes in the days ahead.
The victory in Quebec – and I will be followed by a eulogist in the francophone language – the victory in Quebec was an affirmation of Jack’s singular personal appeal, reinforced by Quebec’s support for progressive values shared by so many Canadians. And his powerful belief and trust in youth to forge the grand transformation to a better world is by now legendary. Indeed, the reference to youth spawns a digression.
From time to time, Jack and I would meet in the corridors of my foundation, where his supernaturally competent daughter Sarah works, and we would invariably speak of our grandchildren. You cannot imagine – I guess you saw it in the video – the radiating joy that glowed from Jack as he talked of Sarah’s daughter, his granddaughter Beatrice, and when he said as he often said that he wanted to create a better world for Beatrice and all the other Beatrices to inherit, you instantly knew of one of his strongest and most compelling motivations.
He was a lovely, lovely man. Filled with laughter and affection and commitment. He was also mischievous and musical, possessed of normal imperfections but deeply deserving of the love you have all shown. His indelible romance with Olivia was beautiful to behold, and it sustained them both.
When my wife and I met with the family a few hours after Jack died, Olivia said, as she said in the video, that we must look forward to see what we all can accomplish together.
I loved Jack’s goodness and his ideals in equal measure. Watching all of you react so genuinely to his death, the thousands upon thousands who lined up for hours to say a last goodbye in Ottawa and Toronto, it’s clear that everyone recognized how rare and precious his character was.
We’re all shaken by grief but I believe we’re slowly being steadied by a new resolve and I see that resolve in words written in chalk and in a fresh determination on people’s faces. A resolve to honour Jack by bringing the politics of respect for all, respect for the Earth and respect for principle and generosity back to life.
My wife Michele reminded me of a perfect quote from the celebrated Indian novelist, activist and feminist Arundhati Roy. Jack doubtless knew it. He might have seen it as a mantra. “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing.”
Thank you Jack.
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