Things that make me happy to be a New Democrat today

Nanos poll:



Conservative Party 35% (-1)
Liberal Party 30% (-1)
NDP 22% (+2)
BQ 7% (NC)
Green Party 6% (-1)
Undecided 18% (-1)

It's not so much the numbers themselves as it is the trend. According to Nanos polling (the same Nanos who projected the popular vote to within 0.1% in 2006), the NDP is on the rise. Notice the upward slope. I'm trying not to pay too much attention to polls in this election, because there are so many of them (and some of them are all over the place), but it's hard not to take the Nanos polls seriously.


Bill Blaikie:


Great piece written by Blaikie in the Globe today on the toxic environment in the HoC. Here is an excerpt:

I have always been proud of the role and the behavior of the NDP in the House of Commons. Sure, we have had the odd louder-than-appropriate voice in our corner of the House, and the odd unparliamentary incident, usually driven by rage at some form of government inaction. But my memory of my life in the NDP corner will primarily be one of trying to raise important issues while the Liberals and Conservatives, aided by the fatal attraction of the media, preferred to spend their parliamentary time debating who among them was the least corrupt.

He will be missed.


The Absent Liberals:

Hilarious that there is now a resource for Canadians to watch every vote from the last parliament where the Liberals enabled the Harper agenda. The votes where the Liberal benches are empty are my favourite. Like this one:



This is the best use of CPAC footage that I have seen in a while.


And of course, Jack Layton:



His leadership numbers are great (well above Stephane Dion's, of course) and he is in Hamilton today announcing New Democrat trade policies:

Renegotiating NAFTA chapter 6- which right now limits Canada’s control over our own energy resources;

and NAFTA chapter 11- which currently allows foreign investors to challenge Canada’s right to make laws to protect our interests.

Correcting NAFTA’s deeply flawed dispute resolution mechanisms.

Requiring strong labour and environmental standards in every trade deal Canada signs.

Exploring opportunities for a model fair-trade deal with the European Union.

Jack's performance in this election has been spectacular. He has a clear message on the issues that matter, he stands as a strong contrast to Stephen Harper, and he's been handling the crap that the Liberals throw at him like a champ. I'm a very proud New Democrat with Jack Layton as our leader.