NDP Clearest Alternative, Globe & Mail Is Loathe To Admit

The G&M must be loathe to report stories like this. But the NDP are so much in the lead and seen as the party of clear change, that they have no choice. But, that doesn't stop them from trying to tilt the story in the Conservatives favour. Let's take a look at where the G&M has problems writing a news story:

Canadians will be asked to choose between political stability and renewal - G&M states here that we currently have political stability. Funny, since when do these mean political stability?:
- subverting democracy (Bill C-51, Bill C-377, Bill C-23 among many others, cheating in elections)
- racking up the most debt of a Canadian government ever,
- running a deficit for most of their time
- balancing a budget only by looting from the EI fund
- ignoring the urgent issue of Climate Change
- focusing our economy on the oil extraction industry to the great detriment to the manufacturing industry.
-  corruption and cronyism
- warmongering instead of peacekeeping
- and the list goes on.
A more accurate line would be:
Canadians will be asked to choose between gross fiscal mismanagement & the brink of fascism, and stability & democracy.


Pollster Nik Nanos said the NDP has staked out the clearest policy positions in opposition to the Conservative Party, while the Liberals have a more nuanced approach.
- Okay, these were probably Nik Nanos' words but using "nuanced" here is a nice way of saying that the Liberal policy positions are mainly just like the Conservatives, except for when they try to copy some of the NDP policies to try to steal their support. History shows that time and again, the Liberals, whose policies mirror (especially more recently) those of the Conservatives, always campaign on the left only to toss these left leaning policies to the wind if they win the election.

The NDP has been working hard to reassure Canadians its economic policies would be largely in line with those of the current government. The biggest change proposed by the NDP is to increase corporate taxes, although party officials said the planned rate, to be revealed in coming months, would be “reasonable.”
-  Actually, the NDP has been working hard to show Canadians that its economic policies would NOT be in line with those of the current government. The NDP plans to NOT waste money on more and bigger prisons (not needed as the crime rate has been steadily dropping), unnecessary/problematic/costly jets, corporate welfare, unaccountable missing $3.1 billion, and many other porky Conservative pies. NDP governments, on average, have a much better fiscal record than Conservatives.

Party officials said the NDP is looking for candidates with an economic background who could serve as ministers of finance or industry. The recent upswing in the polls could make that easier.
- It may well be that the NDP is looking for more candidates with economic backgrounds, but they already have a number of MPs with economic backgrounds. And unmentioned here is Erin Weir, who has been suggested as a potential Finance Minister.

While both parties want to replace the Conservatives, their partisans have been at one another’s throats. Last week, the Liberals suggested Mr. Mulcair’s flirtation with the Conservatives in 2007 undermined the NDP’s promises to clean up the environment.
- The G&M fails to mention that this has been debunked a number of times, including recently by some high-up Conservatives.
- And "undermined the NDP's promises to clean up the environment"? The facts on this story actually result in boosting the NDP's seriousness about cleaning up the environment. 


I'll leave you with a few choice comments made after the G&M news item (these are all in the top ten most liked comments, and from the G&M readers no less!):

Mr Leblanc's first paragraph is flawed, or the poll was flawed. The choice is not between "change" and "stability." It is between "change" and "no change." I certainly would neither call what our economy had gone through in the last year as anything approaching stability, nor would I call the government actions in domestic and foreign policy as stabilizing.



My wife and I are in the over 65 age group and for the first time ever will be voting NDP as we have seen never ending corruption with the Libs and Cons for way too many years. Many of our friends have also decided to vote NDP as it is clearly time to send a big message to all elected officials, the voters are fed up and will not take it anymore and you will be forced to understand this come the election.



choose between political stability and renewal,..........
Nope......It's choosing between getting a country back to sanity...or carrying on with the most corrupt, crooked, manipulative crew of PROVEN liars and cheats This country has ever been controlled by .....A government rife with contempt, disrespect.....There have never been so many from a political party involved in fraud, lies, election irregularities...legal proceedings, and criminal investigations...ever.....
Duffy, Wallin, Brazeau, Porter, Grestein, Stewart/Olsen, Wright, LeBreton, PMO staff
A LONG list of crooks......
It's about voting OUT crooks and taking the nation back from the brink of fascism!!


the first sentence claims there is a choice between change and political stability. Huh? If the government loses an election in Canada, that does not mean there is less stability.
By the Globe's definition of that term..I guess North Korea has the most political stability of all.

NDP Now Has A Stable Lead And Is In Minority Government Territory

3 new polls were released today (Environics, Forum, Ipsos Reid), all confirming that the NDP has a stable and comfortable lead over the other parties.

The Environics poll was in the field earlier and over a longer period (June 3-18), so it shows the older trend when the 3 parties were virtually tied. The other polls were more recently in the field, both ending June 23rd, and show a trend of the NDP being more in the lead.

The table below shows the NDP rise from April to now (comparing the April average to the average of the most recent 3 polls mentioned above).

Region	April	June (latest 3)	change
Atl	19%	26%	7%
QC	26%	38%	12%
ON	19%	30%	11%
MB&SK	16%	34%	18%
AB	23%	31%	8%
BC	21%	41%	20%

The NDP has benefited from the Alberta election of the NDP, the backlash to the Liberal party support of Bill C-51, as well as the growing realization Canadians have that Thomas Mulcair and the NDP are better prepared to take on the job of governing than Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party and now seem to be the best bet to knock out the Harper government. And, I would say that the policies and records of the parties are definitely having an effect here too.

3 key provinces where the NDP must do well are Quebec, Ontario and BC (the provinces with the most seats).

In Quebec, looking at the polls right after Gilles Duceppe took over the leadership of the Bloc, there was a bump for the Bloc, mainly at the expense of the NDP. But the most recent polls show the numbers resetting slightly, going back in favour of the NDP. I would say the NDP has a stable lead in Quebec and will most likely at least get about the same number of seats there as last election, if not more.

In BC, the NDP has continued to rise in the polls and now commands a very strong lead.

In Ontario, we still have pretty much a 3-way tie. The NDP support has come up 11% and stayed there. If the NDP can break into a significant lead in Ontario, like in Quebec and BC, they will definitely be in the running for a majority government in October.

The latest seat projections show a definite NDP minority.

An aggregate of the latest Ipsos Reid, Angus Reid and EKOS polls projects:
NDP 130 seats
Conservatives 119 seats
Liberals 86 seats
Bloc 2 seats
Green 1 seat

And Forum, from their latest poll ending June 23rd, projects:
NDP 149 seats
Conservatives 116 seats
Liberals 65 seats
Bloc 3 seats
Green 1 seat

If things stay about how they are now, we will see an NDP minority government. But, I think if the NDP make more gains in Ontario, we will see an NDP majority government.

A Sleeping Ontario Awakens

EKOS has released a 2nd poll that puts the NDP in the lead in the past couple of weeks. This solidifies things more, showing that it is not a fluke. (Actually, 8 recent polls have the NDP virtually tied with the Conservatives for the lead.)

Probably the most significant number in the latest poll is the position of the NDP in Ontario. It has been pretty obvious that the NDP are going to hold onto their seats in Quebec. And, they have remained steadily competitive in BC. The key now to the election lies in vote-rich Ontario. For the NDP to get enough seats to form the next government, they need to get a lot of seats in Ontario. But, the NDP has not done well yet in Ontario. Until now...

If you look at the latest and previous recent Ekos polls, you see the NDP has come from a distant 3rd to now being tied in first with the Conservatives in Ontario. The trend is up for the NDP in most of the provinces. But pulling into first place in Ontario means a lot more seats. And, a lot more seats for the NDP could spell an NDP majority government.

In the last election, the NDP reached about 27% support in Ontario. Currently, they are 4 points above this and the trend seems like their support will continue to rise in Ontario. I'm sure that besides the Harper government history, the federal Liberals supporting Bill C-51 (among many other Conservative policies/bills), and the Wynne government souring (looking even more conservative than the Harris PCs now) are giving a boost to the NDP. 

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next while in Ontario. I believe this is where the votes will decide between a Harper minority government and an NDP minority or majority government.

Poll Predicts A Comfortable Win For The NDP's Catherine Fife In Kitchener-Waterloo

In a Forum Research poll, conducted Tues. Sept. 4, 2012, support for the NDP was at 42%, while the Liberal and Conservative support had dropped to 26% each. In their previous poll early in August, the NDP and Liberals were at 30% and the Conservatives were at 34%.

Story from The Record.

This is good news as it keeps the Liberals from getting a majority (Which would allow them free-reign to bring in even worse Harper-Government-esque policies), sends a message to the PCs that their recent track record and ideals have failed with the people of Ontario, and that Andrea Horwath's NDP are on the right track.

UPDATE
Results of the election:
NDP 40%
Con 32%
Lib 24% 

Reasons to vote NDP in Ontario on Oct. 6, 2011

Here is what the NDP will do for the people of Ontario:

Economy, Taxation, Jobs
Rolling back corporate tax cuts.
History has shown that lowering corporate taxes does nothing to create jobs. In fact, often, what happens is the corporation uses the new money they have gained from the tax cut to line their pockets with money, give their CEOs huge raises, close local plants and set up shop in other countries where the cost of labour is lower. Over the past years of corporate tax cuts under the PC and Liberal governments, business investment in Ontario has actually dropped. Corporate tax cuts don't work! The Liberals and PCs plan to cut the corporate tax rates even further (from 11.5% down to 10%), costing the province another $2 billion per year. We can't afford this and it won't help anyone except the corporations. The NDP plan to roll back the rate to 14%, which is still lower than in most other North American regions. The revenue for the province from this will go a long way to pay for  services for the people of Ontario, help offset costs that the Mike Harris PC government downloaded to cities (thus helping municipal budgets), and to reduce the Ontario budget deficit.

Economic Stimulus/Job Creation
"New Democrats would deliver the most stimulus and job creation at the lowest fiscal cost by focusing on measures with the biggest bang per buck: direct public investment and targeted tax credits. By contrast, Liberals and Conservatives have prioritized slashing tax rates on corporate profits, the least effective way to stimulate the economy." (see
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2011/10/05/ontario-platform-stimulus/
for details)

The NDP will give tax credits to businesses that actually invest in their business in Ontario and to businesses that actually create jobs.

The NDP will lower small business taxes.

The NDP will buy Ontario products when comparable (within 10%) to the lowest bid for products for Ontario (this will help create jobs and put more money in the Ontario economy), and, they will work towards improving industry here (like processing our own lumber instead of shipping raw lumber to the USA - selling processed lumber will result in more money and more jobs in Ontario.)

Deficit/Budget
The NDP budget has been fully costed and independently verified. Their budget costs LESS than the plans of the other big parties, has a larger contingency fund (in case of difficult economic times), and doesn't waste $2 billion/year on corporate tax cuts. All the parties plan to balance their budget within the same time span, but the NDP plan is the most realistic and is actually the most fiscally conservative of all the budget plans.

Stop spending $1 million/day on consultants

Cap government CEO salaries.

Transportation, Municipalities
The NDP will return the provincial funding of public transit to municipalities -  50% of the operating cost of public transit to municipalities (which is much more than anything fare hikes would net) if the municipalities promise not to hike fares. This will a) go a long way to help municipal budgets, b) improve public transit, and c) help people better afford public transit.

Healthcare
Change the way healthcare services are prioritized in order to improve services to people and to reduce costs. Also, cap healthcare CEO's salaries (which are already close to $1 million!)

Reduce emergency room wait times.

Give seniors the support they need to live in their homes.

End ambulance fees.

Education/Students/Tuition
Ontario has the highest tuition fees in Canada. Since the Liberals have been the governing party in 2003, tuitions have gone up 30%. The Liberals plan on allowing SOME students a 30% rebate, but allow tuition to continue to increase. The Liberals promised to lower tuition fees in 2003 and 2007 down to the Canadian average, but didn't. The NDP plan to freeze tuitions at current rates as well as eliminate the provincial portion of the interest on student loans. (Differences here will be made up out of provincial funds, not on the backs of students or the institutions.)

Ban course fees in high schools

Reduce school reliance on parent fees and fundraising (by improving school funding)



Power, Environment
Freeze Transit fare for 4 years to encourage more public transit use (and less car use).

Return to funding 50% of the operation cost of public transit for municipalities so they can better afford to maintain and improve these services.

Offer up to $5,000 in home energy retrofit rebates

Phase out coal-fired electricity

Invest in cycling infrastructure

Make sure that polluters bear the costs of clean-up, not municipalities.

Invest in green energy.

Promote energy conservation.





Making life more affordable, Housing
The NDP will remove the HST from home heating and hydro, remove the HST from fuel, freeze transit fares and tuitions. They will also work on stopping price gouging at the gas stations.

Increase the minimum wage to $11/hour.

Bring in a new housing benefit to help low-income Ontarians better afford their rent

Build 50,000 new affordable housing units over 10 years

Create a new dental care program for low-income Ontarians


Rural Ontario
When the government purchases produce, they will look to buy Ontario produce first.

Increase shelf space for independently-produced Ontario wines at the LCBO

Encourage on-farm processing by relaxing municipal taxation and zoning

Establish a Rural School Stabilization Strategy

Forgive tuition fee debt for medical students who work in rural areas


Respect for Northern Ontario
Make it the law that resources that can be processed in Ontario won’t be shipped away

Take the HST off of electricity and home heating and start to take it off gasoline

More doctors for under-serviced communities and new family health care centres

Ensuring First Nations benefit from resource development and are empowered to play a full role in improving their communities


You can find more details at
http://ontariondp.com/en/policy

Isn't it time you voted for a party that is looking out for you, the people of Ontario, instead of the wealthy corporations? On Oct. 6th, you can - vote NDP for a better Ontario.

A message of support from Olivia Chow for Andrea Horwath

A message of support from Olivia Chow for Andrea Horwath - YouTube
NDP momentum is spreading. Don't let them tell you it can't be done. Put people first, vote NDP!

A message of support from Olivia Chow for Andrea Horwath

ON Election Fact Check: NDP spending least, PC spending most

In this new article, Tim Hudak claims that the NDP is a "big spending" party. Let's look at the facts.

Both the PCs and Liberals have committed to spending almost $2 billion dollars on another wave of corporate tax cuts. But the PCs go further by committing to a total of $5.565 billion in tax cuts.

The total cost of the PC platform is $5.995 billion - this is mainly tax cuts to corporations and wealthy, and many service cuts (and they're not saying what they will cut).
Meanwhile, the total cost of the NDP platform is only $3.352 billion - no corporate tax cuts - mainly contingency funds, discounts, and boosts for services that most people could use, and tax cuts only for businesses that actually create jobs.
   See: Fiscal Cost of Ontario Platforms here.


So, Hudak is very misleading to say the least as his party is the biggest spender and remains faithful to the term Looters In Suits - taking our money and giving it all away to the rich.

See the full costing of the NDP platform here.

Andrea Horwath the real winner of the debate

Horwath Wins Ontario Debate: MSM Miss the Boat | rabble.ca
Ethan Cox writes about what the MSM missed - that there was a large improvement of opinion regarding Andrea Horwath's performance in the debate by those who were interviewed before and after.
There appeared to be little change in opinion regarding the other 2 party leaders. But, 14% said they changed their mind about who they were going to vote for. This has the possibility to help push the NDP support over the 30% mark, at the same time lowering the support for the other parties, and putting the NDP neck and neck with the Liberals and PCs.
 
Excerpt from Ethan's post:

But that's only the beginning of the story. The second most compelling stat in the report (I'm coming to the first, don't worry), was the stunning number of Ontarians whose impression of Horwath improved. Let's go to the report again:

it was Andrea Horwath who made the biggest impression on Ontarians as 67% say they have an improved impression of her as a result of the debate, while just 10% say their impressions worsened, representing a net score of +57, effectively making her the real winner of the debate. By comparison, Jack Layton’s net improvement score in the English-language federal debate was +41 points, and +42 in the French-language debate. Three in ten (29%) have an improved impression of Dalton McGuinty, compared to a similar proportion (31%) who have a worsened impression, representing a net score of -2. Four in ten (37%) say that their impressions of Tim Hudak improved, while one in three (34%) say they worsened, a net score of +3.[emphasis mine]

Now that is a pretty stunning number, but Liberal and Conservative spin doctors would no doubt argue that people's impression of Horwath may have gone up, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll vote for her. After all, someone who hated her before might have had their impression softened, but still prefer another candidate.

So let's look at the most important piece of information in the poll, as far as I'm concerned. Back to the report we go:

With the NDP leader performing so well compared to expectations, it is interesting to note that one in ten (14%) viewers say they changed their mind about who they were going to vote for as a result of what they saw tonight, with the NDP appearing to be the biggest beneficiary among those who viewed the debates and reportedly switched their vote.

Horwath was also chosen as the leader with the best ideas and policies (35% +10), the most likeable leader (52% +8) and the most "visually attractive" (54% +12). On the issues, Horwath came out on top with viewers as the candidate they most trust on Healthcare (35%, +11) and came second on Taxes (24% +5) and Education (29%, +10).

So in summary, Horwath was the runaway winner of the debate, improving the opinion of 57% of viewers, and 14% of viewers will shift their vote as a result. So could one of the numerous pundits opining that no one won the debate, and that no one succeeded in moving voters, explain their position to me please?

Even taking into account margin of error and the fact that not all Ontarians watched the debate (although they'll certainly hear about it around the proverbial water-cooler) we're talking about a minimum of 5-8% shift from the other parties to the NDP. Transpose that onto the most recent poll results and you're looking at the NDP above 30% and in a three way dead heat with the Libs and Cons.

In other words, ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a ball game. So I wonder if journalists didn't bother to read the Ipsos report through, inexplicably failed to notice the huge shift to Horwath which the report writers underline on several occasions, or chose to run with the story that the debate was a wash because it fit better with their own narrative of the campaign?

In any case, barring the remote possibility that Ipsos produced a rogue poll, I expect to see a significant swing to the NDP in the polls over the next week. This will leave us with a thrilling three way race to the finish, in which Horwath has as much chance of snatching the Premier's chair as either of her opponents.

The NDP are back in Ontario, and that, coincidentally, is very good news for their federal cousins. It's going to be one hell of a finish. I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Latest Nanos poll: Conservatives and Liberals down, NDP up

Change between May 3, 2010 and June 3, 2010
Conservatives 35.6% (down 1.6)
Liberals 29.2% (down 4)
NDP 20.7% (up 4.5)

Of note:
Conservatives down 13 points in the Prairies and NDP up 10.1 points there.

Ontario:
Conservatives up 6.1
NDP up 2.4
Liberals down 9.2

Atlantic:
NDP up 8

BC:
Liberals down 10.9
Greens up 5.7

Fall election looking more likely

Parliament could shut down early, fall election likely | The Hill Times - Canada's Politics and Government Newsweekly
Government and opposition MPs are
targeting an early adjournment for Parliament's summer recess, with a
leading pollster and one of the most politically savvy NDP MPs saying a
fall election call is likely, possibly before the scheduled return in
September.

...

Toronto Mayoral race - initial words from Joe Pantalone

InsideToronto Article: Pantalone opposes privatization, pushes for vote for immigrants

War on cyclists in Toronto

NOW Magazine // Daily // The war on bikes
Excerpt:

Since rejoining the ranks of the civilized a couple of weeks back
(ie: those who bike ride to work) a few things have become painfully
obvious.

Antipathy
towards cyclists is at an all-time high in the city, at least it seems
to me after a couple years hiatus from the biking brigade.

Some of that
attitude has without a doubt been fuelled by the bike-hating bile being
spewed by mayoral wannabe Rocco Rossi.

The media’s negative editorializing on the
subject isn’t helping.

...

Why bike registration fees are wrong

» Bike fees: Misinformed, misguided and a step backwards for Toronto • Spacing Toronto • understanding the urban landscape
Excerpt:

From today’s Toronto Star:

Giorgio Mammoliti boldly announced Wednesday that if
elected mayor, he would introduce a $20-$30 registration fee for bikes.
“It’s an agenda that seems to be taking over so far in this election.
It’s all about the downtown core and the downtown agenda, and the
suburbs don’t want to continue to subsidize these pet projects,” he
said.

With all due respect, he’s got all his facts wrong.

Cyclists live and ride all across
the city, and there are major infrastructure projects happening in the
suburbs right now to help ensure that cyclists have a safe place to ride
in every part of Toronto.  In fact, the city (along with federal and
provincial funding) is spending $23 million in North York and
Scarborough to build bikeway trails – far more than is being spent
downtown.  (The downtown bikeway projects will cost an estimated
$330,000 this year.)

So his math is completely backwards.  Not only that,  but according
to the city’s own Cycling Survey (2009), utilitarian cycling is growing
faster in the suburbs than in the core. (download PDF report highlights)

...

Toronto - bike lanes divide mayoral candidates.

Bike lanes divide mayoral candidates - thestar.com
Let's see, one for bike lanes, one on the fence, and the rest against them.
Another reason I'll be voting for Joe.

Election - Me Too Please!

Heather Mallick, a regular at rabble.ca, has a great post this week: I Want My Election Now!

I too would like an election sooner than later as I am disgusted with Harper's gutting of Canada. And, I'm worried about the direction Harper is taking Canada, especially in terms of Americanization and foreign policy. We are now no longer a Peacekeeper nation but a Warmaking nation. That is not my Canada.

Although the MSM says that none of the parties wants, or should want an election now as none are doing well in the polls, I say hogwash! I think if an election is called, regardless of who calls it, that the evidence will then come out during the campaign to show how the Conservatives have been very bad for Canada, and how the Liberals have not been much better.

What choices are there then? Obvious: vote for the party with the policies and platform you most agree with. Vote NDP.