7 cal adda anon paraghae omen were ise: AAA A Wig RRE gr oe EIA WnaiBitRrr ows abi sin ote Seats ee naetien mays grnierenen ton, Some yen Snr a ot. cone ANAS? Z 2 £4 +4 A Canada By FRANK GOLDSPINK WINNIPEG — In the supercharged atmosphere of a hotly-contested federal leadership race, delegates to the recent New Democratic Party convention signaled strongly that they believe the key to future electoral success lies in mobilizing inside and outside their party to defeat the Tory agenda and the sellout of Canada. This mood among delegates was reflected in every speech by leadership candidates and in much of the debate on resolutions which made it to the floor of a convention dominated by the leadership contest. “We’re here for Canada,” said newly- elected leader Audrey McLaughlin in her major address before the Dec. 2 vote. “We're here to win it back (by mobilizing) from Parliament to the picket line to the farm gate.” After winning by 1,316 votes to 1,072 over Dave Barrett on the fourth ballot, McLaughlin singled out the “vicious Goods and Services Tax” as an immediate target. Earlier, she had said NDP leadership in the fightback must include strengthening its alliance with organized labour and building “new partnerships” with peoples’ move- ments. She also pledged to fight in the next fed- eral election for annulling the Canada-U.S. trade deal. The “anti-Tory coalition” mindset of the delegates apparently reflects a_ strong undercurrent throughout the’ NDP for using the leadership change as a jumping- off point for policy renewal and inner-party redirection. The convention appeared to indicate that the inspiration for this mood (awakened during the months-long, Canada-wide string of leadership debates and campaign- ing) clearly comes from several sources: @ The growing determination to prevent ecological and nuclear destruction of the food chain, life and natural resources of the country and planet. @ Realization of the true threat to living standards, human rights and Canadian sovereignty from the trade deal, the Meech New NDP leader sets anti-Tory agenda Lake Accord, Via Rail cuts, the GST and the rest of the Tory agenda. @ The “rebirth” of people-power and “democratic socialism’ in the socialist countries of Europe, the example of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and the view that the example of social democratic par- ties in Canada and western Europe have helped spur on changes in the East. @ The desire for more grassroots control of the NDP. Third-place leadership candidate Steven Langdon summed these up best in his Fri- day night speech: “(Prime Minister Brian) Mulroney is creating two Canadas — the small minor- ity that his government pampers and listens to — and the rest of us who are overtaxed, lied to, and attacked. : “While the old Berlin Wall is falling, Mulroney is building a new wall in Canada, between the rich and the poor.” Langdon said he supported job action against the GST and a campaign to force the large corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes. . “To win this battle, though, we must be a party with a clear sense of direction and a strong sense of purpose. . . (With the leader- ship change), you have a truly effective chance to shape where the party goes. If you don’t take this chance, our party will con- tinue to be run by backroom strategists and the old elites.” Leadership candidate Howard McCurdy flatly told the convention that a break from the past was the only guarantee of an effec- tive fightback — given that all candidates had similar policies, the convention could send the clearest signal to Canadians by electing himself as a person of colour, or by electing a woman. Barrett’s strong contribution was to out- line a concise platform for public control of natural resources, opposition to the trade deal and militarization, heavy penalties on corporations for ‘pollution, stiff plant- closure legislation and funding for farm bail-outs, not bank bail-outs. Outgoing leader Ed Broadbent struck a PPWC, Local 10 Fraternal — and Christmas Greetings to all from the membership and executive of Season's Greetings for peace and social progress VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNGIL 8 e Pacific Tribune, December 18, 1989 AUDREY McLAUGHLIN ... wins on fourth ballot with support from wide cross- section of New Democrats. deep chord when he said: ““The Cold War is now over. We want national security put in a framework of common security for all, for our northern neighbour as well as for our ‘southern friends.” (Later in the convention, Langdon drew applause by his description of what he saw as “a revolution underway in Eastern Europe — a triumph of the peo- ple and supremacy of democracy, not a triumph of the market place and capital- ism.” For her part, McLaughlin was able to build her campaign from the movements most effective in forging extra-parliamentary action and unity against Mulroney — women, aboriginal peoples, peace groups, environmentalists, youth and centre-left parts of the trade union movement. They were the type of delegates who, regardless of their leadership favorite, spoke out strongly for effective action outside Par- liament in alliance with other movements and who set much of the tone for the con- vention. One of the results was a strong current of independence from the “establishment” on policy, and more critically on the leadership vote, particularly among trade unionists. Despite the stream of post-convention news reports outlining the various election manoeuvres, the backroom organizers, floor leaders and caucus directors were often left running to catch up with the rank- and-file. Some participants said afterward there was a strong perception among the rank- and-file that they controlled the outcome, for once, despite attempts by leadership (which was divided itself between the “‘old”’ Barrett and the “new” McLaughlin) to give the impression that it was able to anoint a new leader. The convention opened doors for unity and alliance building, and entrenching more progressive policies than pursued by Broadbent and his backers, but there is a challenge for the left and progressive labour forces in the NDP. The Left Caucus was a small and dispar- até group and there was no meeting of} labour delegates fromthe Action Caucus to! work out an approach at the convention. The danger signs included the marginali- zation of Quebec delegates in the Meech Lake debate, tensions and splits arising from the close and sometimes bitter leader- ship race, antagonisms felt toward trade unionists by activists from other move- ments (particularly noticeable between McLaughlin supporters and the trade union- ists supporting Barrett), western alienation (which also fuelled the Meech Lake debate) and a tendency not to recognize how the rapidly-changing situation in Europe will affect NDP policy on NATO and east-west relations. A weak compromise resolution from the. federal council on Meech Lake was firmly rejected by the convention in favour of a stronger statement demanding amend- ments to entrench aboriginal and women’s rights and federal spending powers, and giv- ing the Yukon and Northwest Territories the right to become provinces. Aboriginal MLA Elijah Harper of Manitoba gave a moving speech in favour of the stronger resolution. “We have waited over a century for our rights. We have given so much and we have lost control of our resources. But you are not able to take our dignity and we will continue to fight.” In the rest of the debate, not much more than lip service was paid to the French- Canadian nation (“We support Quebec, but. . .” was the most common remark), reinforcing the fears of the Quebec delegates who pleaded for adoption of the first resolu- tion which reflected the previous federal policy of entrenching the “distinct society” clause and then going for subsequent changes. Z Almost completely lost in the meantime was the proposal by former Quebec NDP leader Jean-Paul Harney that the fight for amendments should also include rejection of the “distinct society” clause and, instead, recognize Quebec’s rights as a nation.