"The Liberals talk about a stable government but we don't know how bad the stable is going to smell." |
The increased popularity of the Green Party (a party I respect) no doubt poses a threat to the NDP at the ballot box, but at least in Atlantic Canada their poll numbers seem to have stagnated while the NDP's numbers have increased.
I ended my talk by calling for the NDP to be the party that must put forth bold, innovative, progressive policies in the upcoming federal election. We must be the party that:
- embraces the tenets of the Green New Deal;
- is truly committed to a national Pharmacare plan while guarding against the creeping privatization of our healthcare system;
- get fully behind a policy of basic income guarantees to address poverty and income inequality;
- gives First Nations the self-determination they deserve and where we can work on a government-to-government basis;
- ensure the one percent and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes and do not undermine our democracy through their power;
- promotes equality in this country whether it is for women, people of colour, Indigenous peoples, and the LBGTQ2 community; and
- stands up to neo-conservatives (alt-right) whether that is the Conservative Party of Canada or the crypto-fascist Republican cult under Donald Trump.