NDP left wing radicals
It appears that, in Canadian politics at least, extremist sentiment and radical policies are now the order of the day. This may soon cross over from the realm of speculation into reality during the upcoming NDP national convention scheduled for April 9 to 11. Among the possible resolutions being tabled are the destruction of the Canadian armed forces, the abolition of the monarchy, the removal of all statues of John A. MacDonald from public places and the removal of Canada from NATO.
What? Are they serious? Perhaps we all missed something. All of these proposals are ridiculously radical, but the reason they are being put forth may be explainable. The NDP is not doing well. The Liberals have scooped their traditional left wing position out from under them. They have serious debts and they really aren’t the party of working people any more. In fact, a lot of people consider them nothing more than an adjunct of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Where does that leave them? With only one place to go: into super radical left wing land. With these latest proposals that appears to be exactly where they are headed. Abolish the military? The military is essential, for rapid deployment of public service if for nothing else. The examples they point to in backing this idea are Costa Rica and Iceland, countries so small that comparing them to Canada is ridiculous.
Get rid of the monarchy? That may be chic but Canadians don’t have a burning desire to do it. John A. MacDonald statues torn down? That’s already becoming an old and tedious trend not justified by the real story of our first prime minister’s accomplishments and his historical importance. NATO? We need to be in it folks for mutual protection and many other reasons.
The NDP need to reassess their place in Canada and start speaking out for the average working class Canadian again who are, at the moment, struggling like the country they are citizens of. If they don’t they may find themselves like many other parties in the graveyard of political dreams: Absurd and irrelevant.
One sidenote: it remains to be seen if these proposals make it to the floor, but if they do it will be interesting to see how our own NDP MP Alistair MacGregor reacts to them. This kind of extremist radicalism is something he might well think twice about supporting.
Perry Foster
Duncan