Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 10:55 AM - 0 Comments

Romeo Saganash’s bill on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is here. For all intents and purposes, it amounts to two clauses, but the implications of those clauses open a large debate.

The Government of Canada must take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations as General Assembly Resolution 61/295 on September 13, 2007 and that is set out in the schedule to this Act.

At the end of the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2013, and at the end of each of the next four fiscal years, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development must prepare a report reviewing the progress made by the Government of Canada in ensuring that the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples during that fiscal year, and must cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament within 60 days after the end of that fiscal year or, if that House is not then sitting, on any of the first 15 days next thereafter that the House is sitting.

Mr. Saganash was involved in the drafting of the UN Declaration.

The Commons: Theresa Spence exits the stage

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 4:41 PM - 0 Comments

Danny Metatawabin, spokesman for the most influential woman in the country, took centre stage in her absence. Chief Theresa Spence was said to be under observation in a local hospital. Her protest—”hunger strike?” “fast?” “liquids-only diet?”—was now concluded, but she would not be here to mark the occasion.

There had been some delay in starting and there was some confusion about the seating arrangement, but now everyone had found a place at the table at the front of the National Press Theatre—Mr. Metatawabin, Manitoba elder Raymond Robinson, Saskatchewan Regional Chief Perry Bellegarde and Native Women’s Association of Canada president Michelle Audette, NDP MP Romeo Saganash and interim Liberal leader Bob Rae. Mr. Metatawabin was asked to speak first. He paused for a few seconds before beginning.

He offered a few words in his own language, acknowledged the Creator and Chief White Duck of the traditional Algonquin territory. “This is sage,” he said, holding up a bowl that he had placed in front of him. “But I’m not going to light it. It’s against fire regulations.” He smiled. “But it was a gesture … we had hoped to do a cleansing ceremony because I know media has been on our backs for the last six weeks now. And I know you mean well and I know at times the full story doesn’t get out there, to the Canadian public or even on the international stage. But what we have accomplished has gone international.”

He wore a brown leather vest and in his left hand he held an eagle feather.

“It is not only about Theresa Spence, it is not only about Raymond. And I’m passionate for protecting my treaty rights as well, but it wasn’t only for me. It was for the entire indigenous nations as well your future. Our future together. We must walk in harmony together. We must work together,” he said. “That was one of the messages that we always brought forth, since day one. All that we wanted was for the Prime Minister of Canada to invite the Governor General to meet with First Nations leadership. That’s all that we wanted.”

Merely that the elected head of government, the titular head of state and the elected representatives of some 600 communities meet for the purposes of beginning to fix the problems that have compounded over some 500 years of history. That’s all. Continue…

Romeo Saganash returns to the shadow cabinet

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 4:54 PM - 0 Comments

The New Democrats announced this morning that Romeo Saganash has been named the “Deputy Critic for Intergovernmental Aboriginal Affairs.”

The job seems established to focus on relations between the federal government and First Nations as separate governmental institutions and systems, “nation to nation” as the relationship is often described. And perhaps this raises a question about the ministerial portfolio of intergovernmental affairs itself: namely, should the intergovernmental affairs minister be newly tasked with acting as an envoy to First Nations?

At present, it is unclear—at least to me—what the intergovernmental affairs minister does, or is even supposed to do: see here, here and here for recent reference. The Prime Minister deals with the Premiers and various ministers deal with their counterparts at the provincial level. The precise necessity of an intergovernmental affairs minister to manage relations with other levels of government in that current context is debatable. (Presently in Ontario, for what it is worth, the premier is his own intergovernmental affairs minister.)

There was some questioning of Peter Penashue’s absence from last week’s meeting between the Prime Minister and First Nations given his background, but at the time I thought it would be more interesting to wonder if his portfolio might be a better reason to be involved. (Though the controversies around Mr. Penashue might not make him an ideal candidate to be thrust into the spotlight presently.) There are myriad governance and treaty issues between the federal government and First Nations. Granted, there is already an aboriginal affairs minister. But we have similarly acknowledged a diversity of issues on international affairs, dividing it up between foreign affairs, international trade and international cooperation. And so, if we are to have an intergovernmental affairs minister at all, he or she might be used to provide new focus to the “nation to nation” relationship and negotiations at a governmental level (and, for that matter, such a change might demonstrate the start of something of a new approach to the situation).

Romeo Saganash is back in the House

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 5:26 PM - 0 Comments

Three months ago, news broke that NDP MP Romeo Saganash had been removed from an Air Canada flight after he had been deemed too intoxicated to fly. Two hours later, Saganash announced that he would be seeking medical treatment for a dependence on alcohol.

Born in the remote community of Waswanipi, Quebec, Saganash was raised in the bush before being taken away from his family to attend a residential school. He would go on to receive his law degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal and become a prominent leader and negotiator with the Grand Council of the Cree, engaged in debates about sovereignty for Quebec, treaty rights and resource development, and in 2011 he was introduced as a star candidate for the NDP in Quebec. In the wake of Jack Layton’s death, Saganash stepped forward as a candidate for the party’s leadership.

“I am not looking at excuses, but I know that profound scars were left on me because of my time in residential school. I never shied away from that,” he wrote when he stepped away. “The death of my friend and mentor, Jack Layton, also greatly affected me. Like him, I needed a crutch. The leadership race wore me out, on top of taking me away from my children and my loved ones even more often. Life on Parliament Hill can be hectic and exciting, but it is also full of obstacles and pitfalls. Many of my colleagues can attest to this.”

He returned to work in his riding yesterday and was back on Parliament Hill today. Seated in his office, he answered questions about his childhood, life, his alcoholism, his treatment and how a kid from the bush got here—about the pain of residential schools and the mission of his political life. “I recall looking at my leader, straight in the eyes, when I told them I’ll seek help in order to come back well. And that is what I did,” he says. “And you also have this feeling that you’ve disappointed a whole bunch of people. Not only your immediate family, my children, but also my political family. I felt that I’d let down the NDP and my colleagues. I regretted that very much. And my voters, my electors, as well. All that comes into play in your mind when something like that happens. But I was prepared for the challenge. I said to myself that I’ve slayed other dragons before in my life and this one won’t be different.”

While he was away, the Idle No More movement took shape and made its presence felt and Saganash, a man steeped in these issues and debates, also talked about the protests, Theresa Spence, Shawn Atleo, the way forward and the possibility for progress. “A lot of people I hear discussing the aboriginal question or issue in this country say, well, it’s going to take a lot of time to fix the problem. Yeah, perhaps. Perhaps, allow me to say. But the fundamental thing that is required, and it’s a very basic thing, is the political will. Is there the political will to really fix the problem, once and for all, for the benefit of all Canadians? If that political will is there, the rest will come more easily. And that’s what I’m looking for.”

Part one of our conversation with Romeo Saganash can be read here. The conversation continues with part two here.

Q&A: Romeo Saganash (Part Two)

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 4:28 PM - 0 Comments

The second part of my conversation with Romeo Saganash. In this segment we talk about #IdleNoMore, Theresa Spence, Shawn Atleo, the blockades and the chance for progress. The first part of our conversation is here.

Obviously you’ve been preoccupied with other things, but have you had a chance to watch Idle No More? Have you talked to people? What’s your sense of what’s happened these last few weeks?

Well, anyone who thought that this would never happen must have been somewhere else, in a sense, because this was bound to happen. I know a lot of people tend to say that Idle No More is just an aboriginal thing, which is really not the case because a lot of things that we talk about should be of direct concern to all Canadians. Whether it’s the environment, navigable waters, you name it. The dismantling, and it’s not just me as an NDPer that is speaking, but the dismantling of the environment, the dismantling of the economy and natural resources in this country, the dismantling of human rights in this country, the government of the day is presently dismantling the very foundation of what Canada is. And obviously I have a problem with that.

So that is what I’m seeing. I haven’t been completely isolated, I’ve been following this and the people that talk to me, whether in my riding or Montreal or elsewhere here, all point to the same things. The hunting association in Val D’Or has the same preoccupations as the aboriginal peoples that are protesting in the streets. And in many regions, a lot of non-aboriginal people have joined those marches. We need to continue to fight something that is wrong here. And it’s not just about aboriginal rights or treaty rights, it’s about a lot of other things as well. Continue…

Q&A: Romeo Saganash (Part One)

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 2:43 PM - 0 Comments

NDP MP Romeo Saganash in a debate during the NDP leadership race in December 2011. (Fred Chartrand/CP)

After an incident aboard an Air Canada plane in October, NDP MP Romeo Saganash acknowledged that he had a dependence on alcohol and announced that he would be taking a leave to seek treatment. The former Cree leader and negotiator returned to work yesterday. I sat down with him in his Parliament Hill office this morning to talk about his fight against alcoholism, his experiences as a child in a residential school, #IdleNoMore, Theresa Spence and his role as an aboriginal in politics. This is part one of our conversation. Part two is here.

First of all, how are you doing?

Very well. I’m glad to be back. I missed a lot of things apparently. (laughs)

Yeah, just a couple things happened while you were away. How has the last month or so gone? I take it you went through a program or some kind of treatment, how did that go?

That went very well. I’m glad I did it. I told my leader that that was probably the best decision I ever took in my entire career. It taught me a lot of things. It taught me to work on myself and care about myself as well. And that’s important. I was just recalling with the previous reporter that I started out back in 1981 when the late Billy Diamond called upon me to work for the Grand Council of Cree, so I’ve been in this for a long time. And I guess throughout this period, at one point you forget about yourself.

Had it ever been suggested to you, had anyone ever said to you before this, that they thought you might have a problem?

No.

It never occurred to you, either?

Well, perhaps at times, yeah, but not really directly, no one has ever… I think the way that I looked at it over the years was that if it started affecting my job than there’s something wrong. But that never happened, so I just went on with things. And then this incident happened and I said to myself, well, okay, perhaps there might be a problem.

In that statement you released when you said you were going to take some time off, you talked about a few things, one of them being your residential school experience. Do you see that as the root of things? Is that where the trouble starts?

Well, I don’t necessarily want to blame what happened on anything else besides me. I’m the one at the end of the day that took decisions about many things, including alcohol. And I accept that responsibility and I admitted that responsibility and I went and sought help and treatment. But certainly one of the things that they try to teach or that you learn in treatment is that there’s a time when you have to look back on where you come from. And definitely one of the things that I thought about a lot is how my 10 years in a residential school affected who I am today, or tainted who I am today and the way I am today. Definitely. Most definitely. Ten years is a long time. Continue…

Romeo Saganash to return

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 5:02 PM - 0 Comments

The NDP MP, who took a leave in October to deal with an alcohol problem, will apparently return to work on January 14.

Newsmakers of the week

By Jaime Weinman, Emily Senger, Jonathon Gatehouse, Patricia Treble, Aaron Wherry, and Mika Rekai - Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 5:30 AM - 0 Comments

Johnny Nunez/GETTY IMAGES

Let them eat steak

The Alberta Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith took a grilling this week when she suggested this week that recalled meat from Alberta’s XL food plant be fed to “the hungry.” Millions of kilograms of recalled XL meat is being destroyed due to an E. coli outbreak. “What a waste,” Smith tweeted. “We all know thorough cooking kills E. coli,” she added, endorsing another tweet suggesting that the meat instead be fed to those in need. When her comments sparked outrage, Smith was forced to backtrack: she did not mean that poor people should eat tainted meat, but if the meat could actually be salvaged, even she would buy it. Twitter had little sympathy—some suggested she feed it to members of Wildrose instead.

Trading places?

As the NHL lockout drags on into its second month, all hockey fans are hurting. But there might be some good news for the longest-suffering among them—the members of “Leafs Nation.” Reports surfaced last week that Toronto and the Vancouver Canucks have worked out a deal that will see mercurial goalie Roberto Luongo and his massive contract land in Hogtown when play finally resumes. Both sides deny that any agreement has been finalized (technically they can’t make a trade during the labour dispute), but there’s plenty of smoke. And at the very least it gives Leafs fans something else to obsess over: whether they’re getting the guy who backstopped Team Canada to gold in 2010, or the one who couldn’t stop a beach ball last season.

TV is so déclassé

“Stop this bourgeois priggishness!” cried Conrad Black, baron of Crossharbour and scourge of the bourgeoisie. The man who brought on Black’s outburst was BBC host Jeremy Paxman, who sat down with him for a TV interview. After Paxman called him a “criminal,” Black angrily dismissed his fraud conviction and prison sentence as a product of the U.S. justice system—“The whole system is a fraudulent, fascistic conveyor belt”—and commended himself for not “smashing your face in.” During the same round of interviews, Black appeared with Sky News host Adam Boulton, derided his questions and asked at one point, “What’s your name again?” Black has no time to learn the names of bourgeois prigs.

‘I need help to overcome a medical problem’

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 22, 2012 at 5:14 PM - 0 Comments

A statement from NDP MP Romeo Saganash about the incident on board an Air Canada flight.

Both as a Member of Parliament and a member of the New Democrat caucus, it is my duty to follow a code of conduct in keeping with my role as a Member of Parliament and the confidence that my constituents placed in me when they elected me.

Last Friday, my behaviour caused an unfortunate incident that delayed an Air Canada flight between Montreal and Val-d’Or. I want to apologize to the other passengers and staff for what happened and for any inconvenience I caused them. I would also like to offer my sincere apologies to Air Canada and the Aéroports de Montréal.

Neither fatigue nor stress can justify what I did. I need help to overcome a medical problem, a dependence on alcohol, like far too many other Canadians.

I am not looking at excuses, but I know that profound scars were left on me because of my time in residential school. I never shied away from that. The death of my friend and mentor, Jack Layton, also greatly affected me. Like him, I needed a crutch. The leadership race wore me out, on top of taking me away from my children and my loved ones even more often.

Life on Parliament Hill can be hectic and exciting, but it is also full of obstacles and pitfalls. Many of my colleagues can attest to this.

I have asked my leader to give me leave so that I can take the necessary time to treat this illness. I am deeply grateful for his support and the support of all my colleagues in this difficult period of my life.

I would like to thank the citizens of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou for their constant support in this difficult period of my life and ask for their understanding. I can assure them that my office will continue to serve them and that my New Democrat colleagues will be available to help while I’m on sick leave.

My priority is to serve my constituents to the best of my abilities and it’s with deep humility that I say thank you and see you soon.

According to the NDP, Hélène Laverdière will assume Mr. Saganash’s critic responsibilities for international development, while Charlie Angus and Christine Moore will take over Mr. Saganash’s regional responsibilities.

‘I regret what happened and it won’t happen again’

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 22, 2012 at 3:32 PM - 0 Comments

The CBC reports that NDP MP Romeo Saganash was removed from an Air Canada flight on Friday after it was decided that he was too intoxicated to fly.

“It was Friday, it had been a long week, and we’re all stressed out at that time,” Saganash told CBC News on Parliament Hill on Monday. “I apologize.” ”This is the first time that it has happened in thirty years in the air. I regret what happened and it won’t happen again,” he said.

Getting food to the North

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 2:24 PM - 0 Comments

NDP MP Romeo Saganash and Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett say Nutrition North has failed, while John Duncan defends the program. Fred Hill and Michael Fitzgerald, who managed the previous Food Mail program, say Nutrition North is a poor substitute.

Though touted as a more efficient and market-driven approach with its streamlined (narrower) list of eligible foods scheduled to come into effect in October 2012, and with improved transparency and accountability, Nutrition North Canada seems to be perceived by most northerners as an unmitigated failure. Despite recent public protests throughout Nunavut and a barrage of criticism, including that of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who was treated so disrespectfully by Canadian ministers in May, the department has released no evidence that the promised reductions in food prices and improvements in quality have occurred, 15 months after it came into effect.

Six months before the new program was launched, the department abandoned its 21-year practice of conducting food price surveys in isolated northern communities and southern supply centres and publishing the cost of a healthy food basket. It therefore has no reliable independent evidence to contradict or support the public impression of program failure.

(In the link above, Mr. Duncan does claim some specific reductions in food prices.)

A scouting report on Team Mulcair

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments

Here again is the roster for Thomas Mulcair’s shadow cabinet. What to make of it? Here are several observations.

-First, the obviously big promotions go to Megan Leslie (who stays with environment, but becomes a deputy leader) and Nathan Cullen (who becomes House leader). Both are confident, impressive, fresh-faced MPs who are quick on their feet and under the age of 40 (Mr. Cullen’s 40th birthday is in July). Very interesting to see them put not just in prominent positions, but positions of leadership. Your premature, baseless, futile, wild-eyed “next leader of the NDP” speculation probably starts somewhere here.

-That’s a rather large number of people with titles: 78 out of a caucus of 102. Granted, the Conservative cabinet numbers 39 and the Prime Minister named another 28 parliamentary secretaries, so the sides are somewhat close to even. Put the two teams together and they represent just less than half of the House.

-The shadow ministers of finance, justice, human resources, transport, aboriginal affairs, public works, industry, immigration and the environment—nine of the top files—are women.

-All of the elected leadership candidates—Niki Ashton, Paul Dewar, Mr. Cullen, Robert Chisholm, Romeo Saganash and Peggy Nash—were placed in prominent spots. Of the 13 NDP MPs who endorsed Brian Topp, 10 of them—Charmaine Borg, Jean Crowder, Libby Davies, Chris Charlton, Yvon Godin, Francoise Boivin, Jinny Simms, Jasbir Sandhu, Kennedy Stewart and Alexandre Boulerice—were put in critic roles. Continue…

Saganash for Mulcair

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 12:18 PM - 0 Comments

Former leadership candidate Romeo Saganash now endorses Thomas Mulcair. (Mr. Saganash’s campaign manager previously endorsed Paul Dewar.)

This gives Mr. Mulcair 43 caucus endorsements.

The Dewar campaign poll

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, February 13, 2012 at 12:22 PM - 0 Comments

Paul Dewar’s campaign has released the results of an interactive voice response poll of 6,373 NDP members. The poll was conducted February 8 and 9, using the NDP membership list as of February 2. Respondents were provided with a list of candidates and asked for their first and second choices. For first choice, the results released for decided voters are as follows:

Thomas Mulcair 25.5%
Peggy Nash 16.8%
Paul Dewar 15.1%
Nathan Cullen 12.8%
Brian Topp 12.7%
Niki Ashton 9.5%
Martin Singh 4.1%
Romeo Saganash 3.6%

For second choice, the results released for decided voters are as follows:

Paul Dewar 21.2%
Peggy Nash 19.4%
Thomas Mulcair 16.7%
Nathan Cullen 14.4%
Brian Topp 12.4%
Niki Ashton 10.7%
Romeo Saganash 3.6%
Martin Singh 1.8%

In response, Raymond Guardia, campaign manager for Brian Topp, apparently sent the following note to his campaign staff today. Continue…

Saganash out

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7:08 PM - 0 Comments

Romeo Saganash will announce tomorrow morning that he is dropping out of the NDP leadership race. Joan Bryden explains why.

Sources say the Cree leader and northern Quebec MP decided to call it quits partly because of an illness in his family, which has caused him to miss a number of recent all-candidates debates.

Moreover, they acknowledge his low-key campaign has simply failed to catch fire with the more than 100,000 New Democrats who will be eligible to choose a successor to the late Jack Layton on March 24.

Saganash on taxes

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 11:15 AM - 0 Comments

Romeo Saganash proposes tax code reform.

About $152 billion gets redistributed currently. Much of that goes to incentives for corporations, deductions for the privileged, boutique credits for market segments, and loopholes for those with the best accountants. These expenditures skew the system away from progressive taxation – meant to help redistribute wealth to the less advantaged – toward regressive taxation that only increases the growing gap between the rich and poor … 

But most importantly, we can reduce inequality by raising the minimum standard deduction for everyone to the level of a living wage. That minimum deduction – called the “basic personal amount” on the form – is $10,527 this year. No one can live on that … Under my approach, the minimum threshold before any individual pays taxes could be raised well above $20,000. Each Canadian could earn a moderate living before paying any tax. The system would never again drive a hard-working person into poverty.

The measure of the race

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 8:53 PM - 0 Comments

As part of its latest filing with Elections Canada, the NDP has tabled fundraising data for its leadership race through Dec. 31, 2011. Alice Funke has the headline totals.

Q4$: Topp $157K | Mulcair $146K | Nash $108K | Dewar $94K | Cullen $86K | Singh $49K | Chisholm $35K | Saganash $17.5K | Ashton $10K

Contrib count to #ndpldr‘s: Mulcair 621 | Dewar 456 | Cullen 442 | Nash 347 | Topp 278 | Singh 110 | Saganash 87 | Chisholm  64 | Ashton 58

Glen McGregor has graphed the numbers between September and December to show the trend over the first few months of the campaign.

The Dewar campaign boasts that it is now up to 721 contributors. The Cullen campaign claimed last week to be over $135,000.

Live-blogging the NDP Halifax debate

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 12:49 PM - 0 Comments

2:16pm. Candidates get 90 seconds for closing statements. They should get five.

Mr. Mulcair name drops Alexa McDonough, Darrell Dexter and Robert Chisholm. He says the NDP must present a “credible” alternative, move “forwards not backwards” (and always twirling, twirling?) and “reach out to those who haven’t supported us in the past.”

Mr. Dewar quotes Tommy Douglas, says the party must “go to the next level” and “build up the grassroots” so that it can “take on the next 70 seats.” He pitches unity and harmony, to realize “Tommy’s dream” and form a government that champions taking “better care of each other.”

Ms. Nash asks “who is the person to bring all this together?” “We need someone with real world experience,” she says, detailing her work at the bargaining table, negotiating child care and same-sex benefits. Says the party needs “real world builder,” referencing the NDP’s success in Toronto and a “proven builder,” referencing her time as party president.

Mr. Topp describes himself as a “bilingual Quebecer who has worked across this country,” who worked closely with Jack Layton as the party built over the last seven years and who worked at the heart of a fiscally responsible NDP government that was reelected four times (he doesn’t say so, but he means Saskatchewan). He says New Democrats don’t have to be Liberals, that, as New Democrats, they can defeat Stephen Harper and, as New Democrats, they can get the job done.

And that’s that. Much better show than the first outing in Ottawa. More discussion to be had on finances, still a bit short on specifics and serious debates (picking on Mr. Cullen is a bit too easy), but this sets up an interesting two months. Continue…

NDP leadership debate in Toronto

By Mitchel Raphael - Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:00 AM - 0 Comments

All the NDP leadership candidates gathered in Toronto to a  packed house.

The candidates.

The crowd.

Continue…

Money where your mouth is

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 3:36 PM - 0 Comments

Glen McGregor finds that two leadership candidates—Thomas Mulcair and Romeo Saganash—haven’t donated to the NDP. Via Twitter, Brian Topp elaborates on his donation history.

Since some folks asked: I try to contribute to our party at both the federal and provincial level.

Since I have given more of my time to the federal party in recent years, I’ve given more of my contributions to the provincial level.

To be precise, since 2005 I’ve donated $8,292 to the Ontario NDP ($7,092 since 2007). These figures are published on Ont donations site.

It’s up to each candidate to speak to how they’ve worked in recent years to build our party. I’ve tried to do my share.

On marijuana

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 10:38 AM - 0 Comments

Six of the eight NDP leadership candidates respond to a survey on drug policy. All six seem to support some kind of decriminalization around marijuana and three (Niki Ashton, Peggy Nash and Romeo Saganash) seem open to pursuing a regulatory approach. Here is how Mr. Saganash explains his position.

A proposition in California suggested that it is time to look at full legalization, regulation and taxation. Medical authorities have recently made the same recommendation. This deserves serious study. Marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol, and unlike alcohol, it is non-addictive. The criminalization of marijuana creates ties to other crime, just as prohibition did with alcohol. Criminalization creates an enormous cost for the justice system, the penal system, and for society as a whole when we incarcerate tens of thousands of our young people. In the interim, decriminalization is the least we can do toward reducing the harm inflicted by our current legislation.

The NDP’s human shields of tedium

By Scott Feschuk - Monday, December 12, 2011 at 9:40 AM - 0 Comments

CP; Getty Images; Photo Illustration by Taylor Shute

The first debate of New Democratic Party leadership hopefuls, televised live on CPAC, answered a number of important questions: Ottawa? Broken. Conservatives? Out of touch. Production values? Can’t afford them.

The Republican presidential debates in the U.S. have featured expensive-looking video backdrops. The NDP opted for something much cheaper: humans. They shoehorned women and men behind the nine contenders to succeed Jack Layton. Presumably, party officials wanted to convey the multicultural appeal of the party—and they would have succeeded, too, had audience members not looked as though they were contestants on a reality show entitled Remain Grim-Faced or This Puppy Gets Stabbed.

Still, these human shields of tedium were easily the most fascinating element of an otherwise platitudinous affair. For instance, there was a moment when front-runner Brian Topp caught fire with a passionate call to action—but then one of the guys behind him started picking at his ear. (At his own ear, to be clear—not at Topp’s ear. Still: distracting.)

Continue…

Attawapiskat math (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 4:44 PM - 22 Comments

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan says “things don’t add up.”

Romeo Saganash has forwarded this blog post as a rebuttal to the Prime Minister’s math.

Meanwhile, during QP today, Nycole Turmel quibbled with the Prime Minister’s numbers of choice. Continue…

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 12:11 PM - 1 Comment

The long-gun registry split the NDP leadership contenders. Paul Dewar talked medical infrastructure. Nathan Cullen pitched energy policy. And Romeo Saganash explained how the NDP can grow.

Charlie Angus brought attention to Attawapiskat. Justin Trudeau quizzed Peter Kent, who spoke of treachery and dismissed himself. Rob Anders napped. Bob Rae was named parliamentarian of the year. Rob Merrifield and John Weston were dutiful partisans. Two New Democrats tried to sing along. Patrick Brown allowed that all MPs love Canada. Rick Dykstra segued. The NDP turned up new emails in the G8 Legacy Fund affair and Tony Clement pleaded his innocence. Jason Kenney brought props. And MPs debated disturbances in the House.

Continue…