Howard Hampton's letter endorsing Thomas Mulcair
The
following is an open letter from former Leader of the Ontario New
Democratic Party Howard Hampton on behalf of NDP Deputy Leader Thomas
Mulcair.
Fellow New Democrats,
As we head into the final weeks of this leadership race, I'm impressed by the positive energy that's building behind Thomas Mulcair.
In just the last two weeks, Tom has not only received the endorsements of fellow leadership candidates Robert Chisholm and Romeo Saganash, but he's also picked up support from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) led by Sharleen Stewart, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) in Toronto and former NDP Premier of British Columbia Mike Harcourt.
In Quebec, some of the most prominent media sources in the province have come out in support of Tom's campaign.
That's what I call momentum!
Tom's positive
message about uniting progressives is clearly capturing the imaginations
of New Democrats from coast to coast to coast. It's that kind of
hopeful, optimistic leadership that our party needs if we're going to be
ready to take on Stephen Harper once this race is over.
That's one of the reasons why I'm so proud to be supporting Thomas Mulcair.
Since the first day of this leadership race, Tom has run a relentlessly positive campaign.
And that's so
important. We need to come out of this race united and ready to bring
people together to protect our common values.
Consider this:
Just five days
after we choose our next leader, our party's caucus will have to stand
up in the House of Commons and respond to Stephen Harper's latest
Conservative budget.
We'll have to stand up to Mr. Harper's plans to cut healthcare funding and public pensions.
And to do that, we'll have to stand together.
As Tom likes to
say, we've had nine great leadership candidates in this race, and in
parliament they'll make a great front bench. We should all be thrilled
with the calibre of the talent we have in our party.
So let's stay focused on making this a positive race.
Let's stay focused on the message of hope that our party offers to all Canadians.
And, together, let's take the next step.
Howard Hampton
Fmr. Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party
1 comment:
After some carefule sole searching (yes, I was at the supermarket looking for sole fish), I have decided to support Thomas Mulcair first on the ballot. I had originally supported Paul Dewar first. While his French language skills are improving, I found that his responses during the debates tended to be shallow. I don't know how well Mr. Dewar would be able to hold up in a debate against Stephen Harper. I do think that Mr. Mulcair has the knowledge and skills to battle Stephen Harper and his robocons.
On the Quebec file, I do hope that Mr. Mulcair (or any other NDP leader) will be more positive about promoting Canada and worry less about a 50% + 1 referendum victory. Also, Mr. Mulcair should be careful about promoting asymmetrical federalism for Quebec only as this will negate any gains that the NDP seek in the rest of Canada. It doesn't mean that a new arrangement with Quebec and the other provinces cannot be made. Federal-provincial relations are sensitve for many Canadians. I would suggest that the NDP be very careful about dealing with the national unity file. One false move, and Harper will win re-election.
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