Here, on the opportunity posed by the change in Canada's federal government - as well as the risks involved in letting the moment pass without an activist push for meaningful change.
For further reading...
- Nora Loreto makes much the same point with a particular focus on Canada's labour movement.
- Susan Delacourt notes that Justin Trudeau is going so far as to ask for public involvement in at least some areas - though the more important ones for activism may be those where he isn't willing to make a public appeal.
- And as I noted in this post, data on voter turnout is here for this year's election, and here for previous ones.
Greg, I read your column and you give the impression that you can't get over the failure of the Mulcair NDP. You also brush over the role that Jack Layton played in helping Harper come to power and then helping him win a majority. The Layton/Mulcair NDP was just fine with all that and, during the last campaign, followed the same course in diverting resources and effort in a futile bid to undermine Trudeau instead of attacking Harper. Your party had its say, it did its best (I suppose) and your soft support, roughly half the total at the outset of the campaign, walked out. So now, in what has all the appearances of very sour grapes, you're on a raging attack on Trudeau just as he's getting familiar with his new office.
ReplyDeleteOne other point, Mulcair's center-right, "small business" NDP really didn't give a damn about Canada's labour movement so it's a bit rich to go after Trudeau on that score.
I'm honestly not sure what column you read before commenting.
DeleteThe point was not to attack Trudeau, but to point out the need to hold him to his promises and to public expectations. And if you're taking the position that we should react to the election with an attitude of "Team Red is in government! All is well! Nothing to see here!", then I'll happily take the opposite side of that debate.