The Proletariat Congress

Once again, the NDP are the champion of the average Canadian.

Cell phone carriers Telus and Bell are going to be, next month charging their users for every incoming text message, spam or not.  Each of these messages will cost 15-cents.  The problem with this is that the person receiving has no control over the messages that he or she will receive and the person sending it likely already has a plan to cover it or they don’t mind stomaching the cost of sending a single message.

By this logic, spammers will already be paying for a plan and it would likely cover the process of sending an unlimited number of messages.  The receiver doesn’t want spam.  We hate it in our mail, we hate it in our blogs, we hate it in our email.  We hate it period.  So why should we have to pay for this?  I’ll tell you why; some poor CEO is only able to afford one luxury vacation this year instead of two.

Fortunately for Canadians, despite our very closed market, we do have two options, Rogers (the least of the three evils) and my preferred carrier Virgin (who I am currently with an enjoying an incredible cell phone plan because they don’t feel the need to gauge me at every turn).

Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that we as Canadians are being just plain fucked over because the Conservatives don’t want to open up the market to foreign competition, which would drastically reduce our dependence on these large oligopolies.

Even if we don’t open our market, we as consumers deserve protection from unscrupulous corporations out to make an easy buck.

Even if you don’t fundamentally agree with the NDP on most issues, I believe this is one time when you will want to.  Do yourself a favour and visit the link at the top of this entry.  Click on the nice picture.  You know you want to.

Many of us at one time or another in our lives have thought of writing to our MP or Congressman or Senator.  We have likely had a topic that was of great concern to us and we wished to see this topic raised during parliamentary season.  So, in an attempt to be politically active, we write a letter and more often than not we get a reply, though that reply is generic and meaningless.  It is a rare treat to get a politician who will answer your question.

I wish to highlight a case example at this time of what a good response from a politician should look like.

A while back I wrote a letter expressing concern over Bill C-484 to the NDP, the party I vote for and a party I feel represents me as a Canadian, even if my local MP is a Liberal.  I explained how I felt about the bill and how it didn’t truly respect my rights as a woman.

I wrote it back in May.  Today I opened my inbox and I was greeted with a pleasant surprise; I had a response back from the NDP.  I was expecting it to be a generic response at the time but when I clicked on it, I found that it answers my question and provides me with more details about what the party is doing to ensure that the bill isn’t passed.

I have attached the email in question to this post because I want to share it with everyone who has ever felt that there is no one who will listen to your legitimate concerns.  There are politicians who will listen and will take the time to heed your concerns.

Thank you, Mr Layton.  It’s a shame that more Canadians don’t see you as a real leader.

Thank you for writing concerning Bill C-484, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence).

Please know that I am receiving many letters and emails from others who also agree that C-484 must be stopped. Let me assure you that my NDP caucus colleagues and I stand firm in support of women’s right to choose. We are united in our opposition to Bill C-484 and when it is returned to Parliament for a final vote, the NDP caucus will vote against it.

Speaking in opposition to Bill C-484 in the House of Commons, New Democrat Members of Parliament articulated that such a measure would open the door to restricting a women’s right to choose and therefore must not become law.  A “fetal homicide” law would completely sidestep the issue of domestic abuse and do nothing to protect pregnant women from violence before it happens. It would also do nothing to protect women who are abused shortly after giving birth. Foremost, the government has an obligation to make sure that women’s rights are protected by addressing the systemic problem of domestic violence.

NDP MPs also stressed that effective measures to stop violence against women, particularly pregnant women, and children must be undertaken. These include investments in: programmes to end violence against women, affordable housing, regulated child care, improvements to maternity and parental leave and the legislation for proactive pay equity.

As you may know, the NDP is the only federal party which has publicly declared support for a women’s right to choose. The NDP has consistently stood for universal access to abortion services for women and believe that reproductive freedoms must be guaranteed for all Canadian women, regardless of income or where they live.

Finally, we are proud of the efforts of Irene Mathyssen (NDP critic for the status of women) and Judy Wasylycia-Leis (NDP caucus chair) in launching our comprehensive action plan for equality in Canada. We have also challenged the leaders of all other parties to join us in addressing issues affecting women. Key issues addressed in our proposal include: equal pay for equal work, child care, workplace flexibility, affordable housing, women in politics, human trafficking, discrimination, violence, parental and maternity benefits, and much more. For complete details, we encourage you to visit: http://www.ndp.ca/fairnessforwomen.

Again, we appreciate the opportunity to explain our position on this important matter. Feel free to pass along this email to anyone who may be interested. All the best.

Sincerely,
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, New Democratic Party of Canada

While I normally refrain from writing about personal matters in my blog, I’m going to take this opportunity to write about my newest decision.  As of today, I’m taking a more active approach to politics in my country.  I’ve become a member of the NDP (New Democratic Party of Canada).  For those of you who aren’t Canadian, the NDP are the socialist party, that exists at both the provincial and federal levels.

I was particularly interested in doing this for a while but only decided today because of the upcoming provincial elections that will be happening in October here in Ontario, in which two of the hot button issues is faith-based school funding and electorial reform, which would see the current FPTP (first-past-the-post) possibly replaced by the MMP (mixed member proportional), if it garners enough votes in the upcoming election, which is also serving as a referendum.

For those of you who are wondering, MMP would give each voter essentially two votes.  The first vote would be for the party of your choice; the party that you feel best represents you.  The second vote would be for the actual MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament) who represents the riding in the legislature.  This would defeat the old system of FPTP, where even if the elected MP (or MPP) didn’t have even 50% of the vote they still got the seat simply because they had the most votes overall.

The MMP system would give underdog parties a greater chance to represent a larger portion of their members and supporters in the legislature and it would give people a greater voice because the legislature would no longer be dominated by those who won their riding simply because they had more votes than their opponents, even if they took less than half of the votes in their riding.

This system would serve as a challenge to stagnant ideologies by allowing a greater range of input into a system that has for too long been dominated by those who hold wealth and power.

It’s easy to say, “oh I’d like to do that one day”, it’s another to actually make the move.  My next move will be to find out what I can actually do to be active.  I’ve been interested in this for a while, so I’m quite excited about this.  It’s a great chance to learn more about what works in this country.

One in five Canadians are uninsured for drug costs and 3.5 million Canadians have no coverage at all.

There are 33 million Canadians and counting according to the last census conducted. Even those who are covered, they are covered to various degrees under a variety of programmes; either through a private plan they have bought, a plan provided by their workplace or a provincial plan.

I take a plethora of medication but I am one of the lucky ones who has coverage. If my household didn’t have the generous prescription drug plan offered by my fiancé’s workplace we would be paying through the nose. We wouldn’t qualify for social assistance if we needed it. We would be like the many Canadians caught between a rock and a hard place.

Why should Canadians have to pick between putting food on the table and buying their medication? Why should it be a choice at all?

There’s a patchwork of coverage across the country. “When it comes to health care, every Canadian should have equal access, it doesn’t matter where you are in the country,” [Layton] told the Canadian Pharmacists Association’s annual meeting.

At least there are some politicians who know what Canadians really need.

We don’t need a Ballistic Missile Defence Shield; we don’t need our politicians debating about whether or not we should take away the right for gays to marry; we don’t need politicians who cut taxes and trash a childcare programme. We need politicians who look out for Canadian interests that actually matter to everyone.

Why get “tough” on crime when there are people are dying because they can’t afford their prescription drugs?

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And the Conservatives are the weakest link. They are out of tune with what Canadians really want. We want healthcare. We want strong cities. We want to see our environment last long enough for the next generation to enjoy.

Layton asks for support on drug plan

Or even Dion seems to know what Canadians want. He may be rejecting Mayor Miller’s call for a 1-cent of the GST but he knows what needs to be done to keep the heart of the country ticking. He knows tax cuts don’t achieve anything because it takes money out of the government coffers that could be used for the betterment of the nation.

“The Prime Minister is committed to decrease the GST by one additional point, that’s $5.5 billion. I will use it to fight poverty, and I will work with municipalities on that.”

Dion acknowledged “tremendous” needs to fix Canada’s infrastructure. “I want to deliver what I am able to deliver, and I want to be strong partners with (municipalities) for all the needs we mentioned today: Poverty, infrastructure, environment, immigration, aboriginal.”

Dion rejects cities’ call for 1-cent of GST

While he chooses to close a door, he leaves the window open and acknowledges that the cities have needs and knows what matters.  Provided that he does make good on it, it shouldn’t matter that he has a different plan than that the mayors of Canada have in mind as long as all roads lead to Rome.