As the NDP continues to place partisanship over progressive action on the environment, one of the main lines of attacks they have towards the Green Shift is that it is a "side project", while the NDP is pushing for more work on cap and trade systems (that Dion supports cap and trade is apparently willfully ignored by Dippers all too glad to do Harper's dirty work in attacking the Green Shift.) Lets take a look at some other Liberal "side projects":
(This was the best image I could find to sum up balanced budgets/surpluses, I also couldn't find a decent image for multiculturalism)The Green Shift represents a generational, political, economic, and social shift towards moving Canada further into the 21st century, and it is unfortunate for the greater progressive movement in this country that the NDP is marching lock-step with the most right-wing government Canada has ever had on the wrong side of history. While the NDP has often had a positive role in contributing to the Canadian policy debate, (most notably in health care, being ahead of the curve on LGBTQ rights, and other social issues) the Layton policy of making the NDP a partner in Canada turning its back on the future reflects poorly upton the proud history of the CCF/NDP.
2 comments:
I worked daily on the equal marriage fight and was involved with EGALE dating back to the 1980s. The Liberal Party talked a good game about equality for LGBTTQ2 communities but consistently forced the community to take them to court to win our basic human rights.
Yes the Charter was Trudeau's vision and I applaud HIM for his commitment to equality. Chretien? Martin? forget it.
The NDP has stood up and FOUGHT for the LGBTTQ2 community for decades. Chretien promised include protections for lesbians and gays under Canadian Human Rights and reneged once elected. When Chretien introduced the promised amendments to hate crimes legislation, the Liberal social conservative caucus voted with Reform and the legislation only passed thanks to Bloc and NDP. It was a free vote (like all Liberal legislation dealing with the human rights of LGBT and no Liberal Caucus member who voted against these basic rights was EVER disciplined).
The Chretien government also fought elderly lesbian and gay couples to try and deny them the pension rights they worked for all their lives. They tried to deny partnership benefits for live partners (Nesbitt/Egan) and for the surviving partners (Hislop).
Chretien also chose not to simply amend legislation to allow equal marriage but forced the community to go through the SCOC dog and pony show. Which again proved to this activist that the LPC is all talk and little action on progressive issues.
I haven't even talked about how they fought given spousal benefits to same-sex fed employees, how they did nothing to address the ongoing censorship of lesbian and gay material at the border (see Little Sister Bookstore),
So save me your revisionist history. I don't know if you are a member of the LGBTTQ2 community but if you are, I will just say that you either are too partisan to assess this history (aren't you the blogger apologist for Lib socon Paul Zsabo?) or to young to have experienced the repeated disappointments of Liberal governments on the LGBTTQ2 file.
Separate response to your Enviro arguments. Yes the NDP believes that their plan for reducing ghg emissions is better than the LPC plan.
1. it was Layton NOT Dion (even though Dion was Enviro minister) who actually put forward legislation that would require that the federal government be accountable when it comes to meeting real science-based targets (http://www.ndp.ca/page/6048) - a vote which the majority of the LPC abstained on.
2. the NDP cap and trade will have a hard cap on emissions for big industrial polluters - there is NO cap on ANY emissions in the Dion plan
3. the alleged revenue neutrality of the Dion plan has no way to raise funds for helping individuals or businesses transition to a greener econonmy unlike the NDP plan which will have money for rail infrastructure, transit, green home and business retrofits, etc through the sale of emissions credits
cap and trade and carbon pricing:
(http://www.ndp.ca/page/6448)
The NDP has a balanced plan to reduce green house emissions, while helping working Canadians and municipalities get on board with the greening economy.
In addition to the cap and trade plan, the NDP has a comprehensive environmental agenda: http://www.ndp.ca/greenagenda.
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