Saturday, March 31, 2007
NDP candidates are allready already selected
The president of the Quebec section of the NDP, Piper Huggins, the candidate of Terrebonne-Blainville, Michel Le Clair, the candidate of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Francis Chartrand, the candidate of Rivière-du-Nord, Simon Bernier, and the Quebec adviser of Jack Layton, Pierre Ducast
In order to be fine loan with a nearest release of the federal elections, the New democratic Party (NPD) carried out the nomination of the candidates of the area of Laurentides.
Last on February 24, on the NDP candidates demolished of the last election decided to represent itself in their county. In Terrebonne-Blainville, Michel Le Clair, in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Francis Chartrand, and in Rivière-du-Nord, Simon Bernier, will be the candidates.
“Why choose the NPD? Because we carry a voice which is not it by any other party”, declares Pierre Ducast, adviser of Jack Layton in Quebec and candidate in Hull-Aylmer.
It benefitted from its platform to do it parallel between the governments Harper and Bush. Mr. Ducast also recalled the changes of position on various files of the Liberal Party of Canada since it belongs to the opposition. “The liberals criticize files which they themselves set up whereas they formed the government”, it rises.
According to him, the Bloc Québécois does not have any more its place. Whereas he says himself democratic and progressist, the Bloc did not support the bill of the NDP as for establishing a strategy of fight to poverty while starting by fixing the federal minimum wage at 10 $, regrets it. “It is necessary to speak about social imbalance”, supports it.
“The Block can nothing make because if you do not have the wheel between the hands, you cannot go to good port”, increases Michel Le Clair.
To carry out a common nomination makes it possible to the candidates to show the philosophy of family of the political party. Moreover, one often sees a catch of joint position of the candidates on collective stakes.
The three candidates affirmed guaranteed the NDP values, beyond their will to present itself again.
Francis Chartrand has several projects in sight of which funds Community for the fight with poverty. “I was intervening at the Café de la Paix. I noted the number of young people who live in the street”, mentions it.
With nearly 80 members, the district of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles is one of most alive.
As for Michel Le Clair, it denounces the presidents of the banks and the oil companies which gain high wages. To work to provide the needs of its family and to pay taxes to be entitled to services, it is correct, but it does not include/understand this imbalance.
“If everyone rises and made its small effort, one can perhaps change the world in which one lives”, it concludes.
Given that the federal government made the advertisement of its budget on March 19, the NDP organizer, Charles Bussières, does not believe that the elections will be started before March 26, but believes that that could follow. “While officializing which will be the candidates, one will be able to start to lay down objectives for our local team”, explains he. “It is easier for the citizen to contact his candidate in order to determine the stakes of the countryside when he is known”, Pierre Ducast adds.
The organizer let know with the militants present that these candidates will need a moral, physical support and financier for the next countryside. “A vote to NDP, it is a vote for the community”, declares Charles Bussières.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Ordinary Canadians want a $10 federal minimum wage - Tuesday March 13, 2007
NDP says Federal Government must take the lead
TORONTO – Today, a new poll shows that up to three out of four Canadians believe that the minimum wage should be at least $10 an hour. According to NDP MP Peggy Nash (Parkdale – High Park), this is just one more indication that the federal government must take the lead when it comes to giving hardworking Canadians a living wage.
Nash currently has a bill before the House of Commons to reinstate a federal minimum wage at $10 an hour.
“The federal minimum wage was abandoned by the previous Liberal government over 10 years ago,” said Nash. “Now the current government has a clear choice: take the lead and provide a decent wage for working people or continue to take the wrong side, and discard the will of the vast majority of Canadians.”
The poll, conducted by Vector Poll, shows that 74% favoured raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour and was released today by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“This poll confirms that ordinary Canadians believe what we have been saying all along,” said Nash. “In a just society, no one working full time, for a full year should be living in poverty.”
NDP Leader Jack Layton has made raising the minimum wage and closing growing prosperity gap for working and middle-class Canadians a top NDP budget priority. Layton has called on the government to use the upcoming federal budget to help close the prosperity gap.
NDP Leader Jack Layton has made raising the minimum wage and closing growing prosperity gap for working and middle-class Canadians a top NDP budget priority. Layton has called on the government to use the upcoming federal budget to help close the prosperity gap.
Peggy Nash and her provincial counterpart, NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo, have made Parkdale – High Park ground zero in the fight for a $10 an hour minimum wage. DiNovo has introduced Bill 150 in the Ontario Legislature, hoping to raise the provincial rate.
“We have worked hard to put this issue on the map,” said Nash. “Now it is my hope that this poll will be one more powerful argument in favour of closing the prosperity gap by providing working people with a decent living wage.”
Monday, March 12, 2007
Growing prosperity gap must be closed in Budget ‘07 - Friday March 9, 2007
NDP releases Budget ’07 expectations
WINNIPEG – Following a meeting with the Finance Minster Jim Flaherty, NDP Finance Critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis released her party’s expectations for the upcoming Conservative budget: make life more affordable for regular Canadians. The NDP says the government must address the growing prosperity gap in Canada and have proposed the federal budget increase climate change spending, make real investment in education and must include meaningful assistance to Canada’s working and middle class.
NDP Leader Jack Layton says the prosperity gap in Canada is growing and it’s time for the Conservatives to close the gap.
“As CEO’s keep getting richer, working families are having a tough time making ends meet. Its time for fairness,” said Layton. “We are proposing investment in the issues and programs that really matter to ordinary Canadians.”
The NDP is calling on the Finance Minister to reinvigorate the Canadian economy with targeted investments in: education, aboriginal wellness, urban infrastructure and green and emerging technologies. New Democrats also urge the Finance Minister to make the most of the expected surplus dollars by investing it in the programs that really matter.
NDP Finance critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis wrote in her pre-budget letter to Minister Jim Flaherty:
“Hard-working Canadians are increasingly recognizing the existence of a prosperity gap in Canada. They don’t feel that they are benefiting from the economic growth they keep hearing about,” wrote Wasylycia-Leis. “And, they’re right – the numbers back them up. Not only is there a growing gap between the rich and the poor, there is also an alarming erosion of economic security for everyday middle class Canadians.”
Monday, March 05, 2007
Federal conservatives reject disability rights - Friday March 2, 2007
30 years of global leadership, 2 million Canadians abandoned
OTTAWA - In an open letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Alexa McDonough today challenged the federal Conservatives to declare their “clear and unequivocal commitment” to the rights of 2 million Canadians – part of the world’s 650 million people living with disabilities. The comments were made following the government refusal to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
According to McDonough, “this government has turned its back on 30 years of Canadian leadership championing the rights of people with disabilities internationally. How do we explain this betrayal to millions of Canadians who were counting on the Conservatives to speak in the international arena for their cause?”
“There is a pattern to the Conservatives. When they cut services, they act irresponsibly and recklessly. When it is something that will actually help people, it is denial, delay and dithering,” explained NDP Disabilities Issues Critic Peter Julian.
Over the past five years, successive Canadian governments have played a leading role drafting the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The signing ceremony for the Convention is to occur on March 30 in New York. However, the current Conservative government has so far refused to attend, claiming they must first “consult with provinces and territories on this important matter.”
McDonough thinks the Conservatives’ excuse is a red herring. “The signing ceremony on March 30 has no binding legal implications whatsoever. The federal, provincial and territorial governments can consult, as they should after signing and before the Convention is ratified. This is not about caring for the provinces; it is about not caring enough for people with disabilities.”
Many within the disability community seem to agree. In a press release last week, head of the Canadian Association for Community Living, Michael Bach said, “While we appreciate and support the need for ongoing consultations with Provincial and Territorial Governments in regard to ratification, we believe sufficient consultation has taken place during the development of this Convention to enable Canada to become signatory to the Convention.”
Persons with disabilities account for nearly 10 per cent of the world’s population and are one of its most marginalized groups.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
March Rewiew
Nomination of the NDP for several candidates of North Shore - L'Éveil - Saturday February 17, 2007
The New democratic party (NDP) invites its members and the citizens to be attended the nomination of the candidates who will be selected for various districts of North Shore for the next federal elections. This nomination with several candidates will take place on Saturday February 24, as of 2 p.m. 30, with the Saint-Eustache Inn.
Among the candidates present, Francis Chartrand will be again the representative of the NPD in the district of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. For Argenteuil-Papineau-Mirabel, the candidate will be Alexandre Laberge. Michel Le Clair will present himself in the county of Terrebonne-Blainville. Simon Bernier will try his chance in the district of Rivière-Nord, while Jeannie Hamel will be candidate in Montcalm.
“We want all that the voice of the NDP is well heard in the Lowones, while wishing a government which respects the protocol of Kyoto, which puts an end to the war in Afghanistan, to having deputies who can promote our areas on the federal scene and which are not muzzled on behalf of the chief of party”, declares Francis Chartrand.
The voters of the area of Lower Laurentians granted more than 25.000 votes to the NPD at the time of the last poll. What gives a certain weight to the New-democrats, according to Francis Chartrand. “We want to continue, says it, to make pressure on our deputies to denounce the atrocities of the war in Lebanon last summer, to make hear our voice on the environmental stakes, to intervene on increasing poverty in our area, in addition to defending the Canadian Fund of television, threatened of disappearance.”
Another subject of predilection of the NDP relates to the banks vis-a-vis the consumers. In 2005, Mr. Chartrand recalls, the Canadians carried out more than 700 million withdrawals and 400 million different transactions by using the automatic teller machines. These transactions made so that the Canadians had to spend approximately 420 million dollars of their pocket.
“The NPD thinks that the Canadians are made empty of their money to the last penny by the large banks and that they should not have to pay expenses when they deposit, withdraw or transfer their personal money by using a banking automatic teller machine”, to affirm the candidate of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.
The nomination of the candidates of the NDP will thus take place on Saturday February 24, as of 2 p.m. 30, with the Saint-Eustache Inn, located at the 40, Dubois street, in Saint-Eustache.
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