Politics

Peace Action at Liberal MP Andy Fillmore's Office

Moira Peters — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 15:15:37 +0000

Sa Mar 19

ville:

Halifax

Lieu:

MP Andy Filmore's office

Adresse:

1888 Brunswick Street

Coût:

free

Peace action/info picket March the 19th @ 2pm in front of Liberal MP Andy Fillmore's office @ 1888 Brunswick Street in Halifax.

This action was sparked by the Canadian Labour Congres

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NDP government: Real change for a change?

Bruce Wark — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:31:07 +0000

Darrell Dexter seemed to be enjoying himself Thursday as he addressed his newly expanded NDP caucus. "This frivolity has got to stop," the smiling premier-designate told caucus members who only moments before had been laughing, shaking hands and embracing as they celebrated Tuesday's election victory. Now they sat expectantly around the caucus table as party officials and journalists looked on from the sides of the crowded room. "We tried to make the table as big as we could," Dexter joked, a reference to the fact that the NDP had gained 11 seats for a total of 31, enough for a comfortable majority in the 52-seat legislature. The Liberals won 11 to become the official opposition while the governing Conservatives came third with only 10 seats.

Seven decades in the electoral wilderness

The first meeting of the new NDP caucus and the election which made it possible were historic for the province's social democratic party. According to historian Murray Beck, the Nova Scotia NDP's roots go back to 1938 when United Mine Workers union locals in Cape Breton voted to set up a provincial branch of the CCF or Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. The CCF elected its first member to the Nova Scotia legislature in a Cape Breton by-election in 1939. But it was nearly 40 years before the CCF/NDP won even four seats in a general election. (That happened in 1978.)

The party's big breakthrough came in the election of 1998 when the Liberals and NDP tied at 19 seats each. The Liberals continued to govern until the 1999 election produced a 30-seat Conservative majority with the Liberals and NDP again tied at 11 seats each. The NDP gained in the elections of 2003 and 2006, finally winning a majority government this week nearly 70 years after the first CCF member took his seat in the legislature.

NDP campaign promises

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Election taste test sans slogans

HBeaumont — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:19:02 +0000

Nova Scotians may need blindfolds to grasp provincial politics

Picture this: you’re blindfolded. A deep voice commands you to choose your favourite of three glasses of wine. Your anonymous tester places the first in your hand and you take a tentative sip. Immediately the taste of rural grapes tingles your tongue, but the drink has a distinct deficit of sugar. You pinch your nose and swallow.

A second glass enters your hand. It smells fresh, so you slurp it down. Uh oh. Maybe you shouldn’t have trusted its sweet aroma. You throw the glass down and gesture frantically for the third.

The musty scent of a more educated vine enters your nostrils. You down the wine while thinking it would pair wonderfully with Atlantic lobster from your local fishery.

“I’ll have another glass of that,” you say, reaching to untie the blindfold.

“You chose the Nova Scotia Liberals,” the voice booms.

“Uh oh,” you think again. “I’ve never voted Liberal in my life.”

Since it was called on May 4, the 2009 Nova Scotia election has forced voters to question their tastes. The Conservatives began the trend with an odd promise to spend liberally, while the Liberals and New Democrats followed with conservative spending strategies. Meanwhile the NDP have strayed from their socialist and environmental-leaning roots to a more right-winged approach.

Shifting party lines might be one reason Nova Scotians could see an NDP government when the sun rises tomorrow; the latest polls show Darrell Dexter poised to win a majority.

Does it matter if you’ve never voted Liberal? This is the election to challenge traditional loyalties; the three major parties have already challenged their own. So whether you’ve made up your mind or not, it couldn’t hurt to don a blindfold before marking your ballot today.

Below is an analysis (sans slogans) of the three main parties’ commitments to four major issues this election: health care, education, the environment and the economy. Some party priorities may surprise you.

Party A:

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New Red Scare: deficits and debt

Bruce Wark — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:20:56 +0000

Nova Scotia's Alternative Budget, Part II

Years ago, people feared the Red Menace --- that Reds or communists were coming to get them. Now, it's the fear of Red Ink --- that government deficits and debt will ruin us all. Dalhousie University economist Mathieu Dufour says that in the current provincial election campaign, the Conservatives, NDP and Liberals are all trying to fight the irrational fear of red ink by promising to balance the budget.

"All three of them believe that the way to win an election is to pander to the fear that has been created artificially," he says. "It doesn't really make any objective sense."

Dufour and the rest of the working group that drafted Nova Scotia's latest Alternative Budget argue it's more important to fight the recession by stimulating the economy, than it is to balance the provincial budget. Their Alternative Budget recommends spending nearly $436 million in the coming year improving social programs, alleviating poverty and funding such environmentally sustainable projects as rail line improvements and upgrades to the municipal transit system in Cape Breton.

Christine Saulnier who headed the Alternative Budget working group says it makes sense to fight the recession by putting money in the pockets of people who need it most and who will spend it immediately on goods and services. "We're looking at stimulating the economy," she says, "but we're doing it through social infrastructure, social programs and strengthening public services which is something we haven't been hearing much about."

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Taxing the rich, helping the poor

Bruce Wark — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:06:03 +0000

Nova Scotia's Alternative Budget, Part I

The Nova Scotia Alternative Budget advances a simple idea: The best way out of the current economic recession is increasing government spending to make everyone better off in the long run. The budget, released this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, advocates spending nearly $436 million in the coming year on a variety of social and environmental programs and projects --- everything from strengthening education and child care to upgrading rail lines. It also calls for big increases in welfare payments, abolition of tuition fees for community college students and a sharp reduction in university tuition fees.

"We believe this recession is giving us an opportunity to send the province on a different and fairer path," says Mathieu Dufour, the Dalhousie University economist who helped draft the Alternative Budget's spending priorities. He contrasts this budget with the one the Nova Scotia government brought down on Monday. "So, whereas the government is focused on repairing roads for example, we're more focused on having a greener economy and spending money on social programs."

Christine Saulnier, who chaired the Alternative Budget working group, says CCPA Nova Scotia has been publishing such budgets for the last nine years. They're designed to suggest other ways of looking at the provincial economy. This year participants tried to come up with an economic stimulus plan that would promote social and economic justice along with a healthier environment.

"When you look at the government's stimulus plan, you're looking at a billion dollars in highways," she says. "While there might be some need for improvements to highways and roads, we'd certainly like to see a better balance."

More help for the poor

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Meat-Eater's Guide to Nova Scotia Politics

Bruce Wark — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:07:16 +0000

Hundreds of NDP supporters savoured the aroma of medium-rare roast beef last night during the party’s annual leader’s levee at Pier 21 on the Halifax waterfront. “People with power have always eaten meat,” feminist-vegetarian theorist Carol J. Adams observes in her 1990 book, “The Sexual Politics of Meat.” Last night was an apt illustration. The NDP’s status as Nova Scotia’s official opposition carries the strong whiff of power, especially when Premier Rodney MacDonald’s minority Conservative government continues to fumble its way through the economic recession.

“There’s no question my friends that there’s an election in the air,” NDP leader Darrell Dexter told about 450 guests gathered in Kenneth C. Rowe Heritage Hall, the flag-festooned auditorium named in honour of an elderly business mogul. “Something else is in the air,” Dexter continued. “Change.”

Audience members who paid $52 each to attend the levee included core party supporters who have toiled for decades to elevate the NDP to its current status as Nova Scotia’s government-in-waiting. But there were also many newer recruits along with power-sniffing business suits anxious to shape NDP policies. They included agents from Nova Scotia Power, the privatized electricity company as well as reps from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, an outfit that lobbies on behalf of big home and auto insurance firms. The IBC has been courting the NDP lately hoping to persuade the Dexterites to abandon any thought of a public auto insurance system. (According to the official program, IBC contributed between $2,500 and $4,999 to become a “Gold” sponsor of last night’s levee.)

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Understanding Provincial Legislatures

afterfostercare — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:02:23 +0000

I wanted to speak about the possibility of publishing an article on how provincial legislatures are structured, and how to most effectively use them to advocate for any number of causes and for accountability of various individuals, organizations, and government staff and employees, as well as others in the community.

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