The NDP has become the party of the Academic Managerial Class. It has lost all relevance to the life of the working class, and its policies reflect the interests of Public Service Unions. This has been a long time coming, but its roots started when University Educated People started to feel that they could speak for the working class. I saw this 25 years ago, when I saw young upper middle class University Graduates campaigning for the NDP, speaking about issues they had no personal experience or understanding of. I also heard it from Union Members (Steel Workers, Pipe Fitters) when they complained about the Union Leadership being made up of University Graduates who have never picked up a wrench.
This is what I’m talking about Tara! I’m starting to feel like you’re prepping yourself to really go to bat for your readers. Summarizing the noteworthy actions of Singh and the NDP shows how absurd they (and the rest of government) are on their face. You and Gurney are spot on, but these are public domain facts nobody can deny. Low-hanging fruit, but a good place to start. It’s great that you’re not forgetting (or letting us forget) the vaccine mandate issues, but there’s a reason they’re being determinedly forgotten in the mainstream. The science behind the vaccines was rotten from the start, and it was documented from the beginning that none of them prevented transmission, and there’s no way Singh and Trudeau couldn’t have known that. And still they mandated. And then of course the Truckers and the Emergencies Act, and the studious ignoring of its illegality. You don’t have to go far to reveal the rather profound criminality. Dig deeper Tara!
The past 5 years in Canada and the US it's become increasingly clear that it's our institutions and governments against the people. Your piece captures that. I'm a little surprised (and impressed) at how direct you were.
My Alberta farmer grandfather, who voted for the United Farmers of Alberta (provincially), the CCF and then the NDP under Tommy Douglas, is rolling in his grave due to the spectacle of the Rolex watch ad guy - Jagmeet Singh - pretending to care about the working class. And for me, a whole history of reliably voting NDP (or occasionally Liberal when I lived in ridings where the NDP weren't a factor) is gone by the boards. The past four years have been a wake up call. Who knew the BC CDC would count serious adverse events due to C-19 vaccine by March 25/21 at 144 individuals, and magically count serious adverse events due to the vaccine by April 3/21 at a mere 26.
So, my longstanding trust and support of public health in this country also shattered. I guess I was naive to think public health was immune from corruption, maybe worse.
Singh's support for a vaccine that didn't prevent infection or stop transmission (as former CDC's Rochelle Wallensky told Wolf Blitzer on CNN on AUG 6/21) puts him in the willfully blind or clueless camp. Either way, politicians who are not connecting the dots don't deserve my vote.
Singh is the worst NDP leader in decades. I mean in his first election (2019) he lost 1/3 of the NDP's seat and yet was seen on TV on election night joyously celebrating like it was some sort of triumph. And since then they haven't made up any ground. I don't understand why his party didn't dump him years ago.
Singh is an opportunistic buffoon, but I'm affraid that to the core orange idealogue he'll still get their vote. As somone once said, an ideal leftie will vote for a fencepost with hair as long as it's wearing an NDP shirt.
I too am surprised at the level of directness in this latest post. But, I agree.
Unfortunately, I now live in the US.
My family homesteaded in Alberta and I grew up in Calgary so I reflexively have to be on my guard about my bias's.
I am by nature left of center, yet my personal confusion about the path that Canada is on began when so many of my left leaning friends refused to acknowledge Jean Chretian's abuse of the all the established norms.
Like the underhanded way he had parts of the UofBC campus declared constitution free so that he could arrange to have protestors arrested when Sudharto came to Canada. Or, when the RCMP raided the home of the BDC President who refused to give Chretien's criminal friend a special loan. Words fail me at this point. Little did I know back then that the cult like level of forgiveness I noted with my Liberal supporting friends would pale compare to what I am witnessing today first hand in the US.
Back then, I blamed Chretien and co. for whatever systematic shortcomings I perceived in Canada, except for the big one which of course is the uneven addressing of regional interests of which my personal attitude is "take no prisoner" for certain elements will never understand even after what happened during the truckers' COVID protest where the central government allowed it to slide until the commercial and corporate interests of central Canada threaten the status quo.
In fact, it was what happened during the trucker's protest that really opened my eyes to the reality of what is Canada, and how entrenched the world view that the Liberals and NDP are beholden to for the sake of their political lives and personal opportunities (like how many federal MPs have real estate properties in their personal portfolio even PP).
Singh is unbelievably a self serving weasel of a politician. During the height of the truckers' protest at the height of the disquiet, on his Facebook page, instead of addressing people's concerns about the invoking of the emergency act, he foisted, just like in the movie Dead Zone, a picture of his wife and new born baby.
So why am I posting because after living in the US for x years, I now believe a federal political system of 2+ more federal parties has more potential for constructive evolution than the US federal system which is hyper partisan. True, hyper partisanship always exists in every political system, but when there are more than two federal parties it seems that there is more of a chance for new ideas to reach the top as it is harder for the elites of a two party system to monopolize which again the geriatrics crowd in the US federal parties made manifest. Case in point, the US health care system is an albatross of a Byzantium system of profit insurance companies, and pharma-x's that exploit the US patent laws with ever greening. Despite the economic and human costs, both federal political parties are beholden to the aforementioned entities for campaign funds and nothing, not even the ACA has improved the situation in two generations. And, just as significant the 5th estate, the news media, is dominated by ads those same interests who have no interests other than profit.
On that note, I do have reservations of PP. Not, the person but of his evolution because I was there at the ground floor at the rising of Reform Party and they were and I am reading some of it today in some of PP's policy platforms highly reactionary. And, the Reform party were dominated by hyper partisanship (recall the refusal of some to recognize the awkwardness of the name they gave themselves i.e. CRAP).
I read that PP has strong libertarian views. So, if true, what support can Canadians expect with respect to the constant merging of sector entities. PP cities Milton Friedman as an inspirational source who was against interfering with market dynamics. Thus, behind closed doors how would PP champion dismantling the telecommunication cartel with his corporate backers (after all who are biggest participants of those play to pay dinners).
My father recently died, and he left me what in more ordinary times would've been enough to move back home, buy a house, and get re-established. But, when I investigated average home prices, I was shocked and consequently I am personally hostile to any politician who has any estate investment assets in their financial portfolio. And, PP apparently owns some rental property, and his friend Milton Friedman would have no problems with that. For sure, this housing problem is going to take at least one generation to take care as it took at least one generation to create but there is the question of trust.
I too have libertarian views. But, my years in the US have taught me while capitalism is probably the best economic model to preserve freedom, the "west" needs to evolve to a new type of representative democracy that promotes at the institutional level a meritocracy. Politics attracts people like Singh and Trudeau for the wrong reasons, and copious amounts of virtue signalling is no substitute for substance. I will give to Caesar's his due and say once upon a time, the federal Liberals helped the average Canadians more than hurt them. And in response, Canadians reciprocated by bestowing upon the federal system the tools needed where to paraphrase MLK jr where the content of one's character determines a person future more than the spelling of their last name. I do think that Canada is in a better position to politically evolve than the US.
Trudeau only real qualification for PM was his name. One should google for videos of him talking before he became PM. PP has a far more interesting background. Unfortunately, the path he is on, is the only one he could take given his sensibilities. And, as such, as much as I respect the person, and recognize that Trudeau and Singh are obstacles to the continue evolution of Canada, I do not trust laissez faire economics. I like the Canada that promoted affordable education and healthcare and I am angry that the federal Liberals chose to maintain their monopoly on the status quo than allowing the country to evolve to the next level which would require true regional expression of commercial interests which the US managed to do when they reformed their senate in the late 1800's.
What I witnessed during the truckers' protest is how all the corporate media interests painted both overtly and by innuendo that the root driver of the protests was ignorance typical of western Canada.
What good is having a decent education if one is forced to work part time and is never able to save money because of the ever rising cost of living. The Liberals implemented a carbon tax, and yet fail to see the contradiction of adding a 100% tariff on EV's from China. Chretian promised to eliminate the GST and instead embraced it when he was elected.
So, for me, Singh and Trudeau's failure is no surprised to me, but what the war in Ukraine is showing the world is that the current world order, via its modus operandum, has promoted across the board elites who are essentially corrupt and ignorant of history. I hope PP becomes PM, but it always happened that once somebody takes the purple, no matter how well meaning, they become beholden to the interests of the one demographic interests that will get them re-elected. My western Canadian cousins know exactly what I am talking about. It don't matter that PP is from Calgary. Could say more, but ,,,,
The NDP has become the party of the Academic Managerial Class. It has lost all relevance to the life of the working class, and its policies reflect the interests of Public Service Unions. This has been a long time coming, but its roots started when University Educated People started to feel that they could speak for the working class. I saw this 25 years ago, when I saw young upper middle class University Graduates campaigning for the NDP, speaking about issues they had no personal experience or understanding of. I also heard it from Union Members (Steel Workers, Pipe Fitters) when they complained about the Union Leadership being made up of University Graduates who have never picked up a wrench.
This is what I’m talking about Tara! I’m starting to feel like you’re prepping yourself to really go to bat for your readers. Summarizing the noteworthy actions of Singh and the NDP shows how absurd they (and the rest of government) are on their face. You and Gurney are spot on, but these are public domain facts nobody can deny. Low-hanging fruit, but a good place to start. It’s great that you’re not forgetting (or letting us forget) the vaccine mandate issues, but there’s a reason they’re being determinedly forgotten in the mainstream. The science behind the vaccines was rotten from the start, and it was documented from the beginning that none of them prevented transmission, and there’s no way Singh and Trudeau couldn’t have known that. And still they mandated. And then of course the Truckers and the Emergencies Act, and the studious ignoring of its illegality. You don’t have to go far to reveal the rather profound criminality. Dig deeper Tara!
The past 5 years in Canada and the US it's become increasingly clear that it's our institutions and governments against the people. Your piece captures that. I'm a little surprised (and impressed) at how direct you were.
My Alberta farmer grandfather, who voted for the United Farmers of Alberta (provincially), the CCF and then the NDP under Tommy Douglas, is rolling in his grave due to the spectacle of the Rolex watch ad guy - Jagmeet Singh - pretending to care about the working class. And for me, a whole history of reliably voting NDP (or occasionally Liberal when I lived in ridings where the NDP weren't a factor) is gone by the boards. The past four years have been a wake up call. Who knew the BC CDC would count serious adverse events due to C-19 vaccine by March 25/21 at 144 individuals, and magically count serious adverse events due to the vaccine by April 3/21 at a mere 26.
See:
https://unansweredquestions.ca/bc-centre-for-disease-control-access-to-information-bombshells/
So, my longstanding trust and support of public health in this country also shattered. I guess I was naive to think public health was immune from corruption, maybe worse.
Singh's support for a vaccine that didn't prevent infection or stop transmission (as former CDC's Rochelle Wallensky told Wolf Blitzer on CNN on AUG 6/21) puts him in the willfully blind or clueless camp. Either way, politicians who are not connecting the dots don't deserve my vote.
Singh is the worst NDP leader in decades. I mean in his first election (2019) he lost 1/3 of the NDP's seat and yet was seen on TV on election night joyously celebrating like it was some sort of triumph. And since then they haven't made up any ground. I don't understand why his party didn't dump him years ago.
Singh is an opportunistic buffoon, but I'm affraid that to the core orange idealogue he'll still get their vote. As somone once said, an ideal leftie will vote for a fencepost with hair as long as it's wearing an NDP shirt.
If Canadians vote for that guy, they deserve everything they're going to get.
That would be true if our electoral system wasn't completely useless. First past the post? I'm pretty sure most Canadians didn't vote for that guy.
Good and hard.
👍
I too am surprised at the level of directness in this latest post. But, I agree.
Unfortunately, I now live in the US.
My family homesteaded in Alberta and I grew up in Calgary so I reflexively have to be on my guard about my bias's.
I am by nature left of center, yet my personal confusion about the path that Canada is on began when so many of my left leaning friends refused to acknowledge Jean Chretian's abuse of the all the established norms.
Like the underhanded way he had parts of the UofBC campus declared constitution free so that he could arrange to have protestors arrested when Sudharto came to Canada. Or, when the RCMP raided the home of the BDC President who refused to give Chretien's criminal friend a special loan. Words fail me at this point. Little did I know back then that the cult like level of forgiveness I noted with my Liberal supporting friends would pale compare to what I am witnessing today first hand in the US.
Back then, I blamed Chretien and co. for whatever systematic shortcomings I perceived in Canada, except for the big one which of course is the uneven addressing of regional interests of which my personal attitude is "take no prisoner" for certain elements will never understand even after what happened during the truckers' COVID protest where the central government allowed it to slide until the commercial and corporate interests of central Canada threaten the status quo.
In fact, it was what happened during the trucker's protest that really opened my eyes to the reality of what is Canada, and how entrenched the world view that the Liberals and NDP are beholden to for the sake of their political lives and personal opportunities (like how many federal MPs have real estate properties in their personal portfolio even PP).
Singh is unbelievably a self serving weasel of a politician. During the height of the truckers' protest at the height of the disquiet, on his Facebook page, instead of addressing people's concerns about the invoking of the emergency act, he foisted, just like in the movie Dead Zone, a picture of his wife and new born baby.
So why am I posting because after living in the US for x years, I now believe a federal political system of 2+ more federal parties has more potential for constructive evolution than the US federal system which is hyper partisan. True, hyper partisanship always exists in every political system, but when there are more than two federal parties it seems that there is more of a chance for new ideas to reach the top as it is harder for the elites of a two party system to monopolize which again the geriatrics crowd in the US federal parties made manifest. Case in point, the US health care system is an albatross of a Byzantium system of profit insurance companies, and pharma-x's that exploit the US patent laws with ever greening. Despite the economic and human costs, both federal political parties are beholden to the aforementioned entities for campaign funds and nothing, not even the ACA has improved the situation in two generations. And, just as significant the 5th estate, the news media, is dominated by ads those same interests who have no interests other than profit.
On that note, I do have reservations of PP. Not, the person but of his evolution because I was there at the ground floor at the rising of Reform Party and they were and I am reading some of it today in some of PP's policy platforms highly reactionary. And, the Reform party were dominated by hyper partisanship (recall the refusal of some to recognize the awkwardness of the name they gave themselves i.e. CRAP).
I read that PP has strong libertarian views. So, if true, what support can Canadians expect with respect to the constant merging of sector entities. PP cities Milton Friedman as an inspirational source who was against interfering with market dynamics. Thus, behind closed doors how would PP champion dismantling the telecommunication cartel with his corporate backers (after all who are biggest participants of those play to pay dinners).
My father recently died, and he left me what in more ordinary times would've been enough to move back home, buy a house, and get re-established. But, when I investigated average home prices, I was shocked and consequently I am personally hostile to any politician who has any estate investment assets in their financial portfolio. And, PP apparently owns some rental property, and his friend Milton Friedman would have no problems with that. For sure, this housing problem is going to take at least one generation to take care as it took at least one generation to create but there is the question of trust.
I too have libertarian views. But, my years in the US have taught me while capitalism is probably the best economic model to preserve freedom, the "west" needs to evolve to a new type of representative democracy that promotes at the institutional level a meritocracy. Politics attracts people like Singh and Trudeau for the wrong reasons, and copious amounts of virtue signalling is no substitute for substance. I will give to Caesar's his due and say once upon a time, the federal Liberals helped the average Canadians more than hurt them. And in response, Canadians reciprocated by bestowing upon the federal system the tools needed where to paraphrase MLK jr where the content of one's character determines a person future more than the spelling of their last name. I do think that Canada is in a better position to politically evolve than the US.
Trudeau only real qualification for PM was his name. One should google for videos of him talking before he became PM. PP has a far more interesting background. Unfortunately, the path he is on, is the only one he could take given his sensibilities. And, as such, as much as I respect the person, and recognize that Trudeau and Singh are obstacles to the continue evolution of Canada, I do not trust laissez faire economics. I like the Canada that promoted affordable education and healthcare and I am angry that the federal Liberals chose to maintain their monopoly on the status quo than allowing the country to evolve to the next level which would require true regional expression of commercial interests which the US managed to do when they reformed their senate in the late 1800's.
What I witnessed during the truckers' protest is how all the corporate media interests painted both overtly and by innuendo that the root driver of the protests was ignorance typical of western Canada.
What good is having a decent education if one is forced to work part time and is never able to save money because of the ever rising cost of living. The Liberals implemented a carbon tax, and yet fail to see the contradiction of adding a 100% tariff on EV's from China. Chretian promised to eliminate the GST and instead embraced it when he was elected.
So, for me, Singh and Trudeau's failure is no surprised to me, but what the war in Ukraine is showing the world is that the current world order, via its modus operandum, has promoted across the board elites who are essentially corrupt and ignorant of history. I hope PP becomes PM, but it always happened that once somebody takes the purple, no matter how well meaning, they become beholden to the interests of the one demographic interests that will get them re-elected. My western Canadian cousins know exactly what I am talking about. It don't matter that PP is from Calgary. Could say more, but ,,,,