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Globe and Mail
Summary:
Lorne Nystrom,
a candidate for leadership
of the Canadian New Democratic Party, criticizes his opponents. All
candidates, however, are in favor of full representation (proportional
representation).
NDP risks stagnating, Nystrom warns
By Kim Lunman
Toronto -- The federal New Democrats risk stagnating in the polls
as a protest party if either of the front-runners wins the
leadership on Saturday, candidate Lorne Nystrom said Tuesday. Mr.
Nystrom, a veteran Regina MP considered to be in third place, said
NDP House Leader Bill Blaikie is "a candidate of the status quo,"
while Toronto City Councillor Jack Layton is "totally off base" on
some of his economic policies. "He does not have a program. How
does the party know where he stands on the issues? He is a candidate
of the status quo. He's not offering anything new." Mr. Nystrom,
who has focused his campaign on fiscal policies, also criticized Mr.
Layton's financial policies. Mr. Layton said Tuesday he disagrees
with Mr. Nystrom's plan to hold off paying down the national debt
for the next two years. "We've already paid down our debt," Mr.
Nystrom said. "We do not need to be paying down the debt for the
foreseeable future. People don't panic and pay down their mortgages
right down to zero." Said Mr. Layton, "I know lots of people who
panic about their mortgages. He's totally off base. That's why this
party doesn't do well." It is widely believed that Mr. Blaikie, who
has represented Winnipeg-Transcona since 1979, is in a tight two-way
race for the leadership with Mr. Layton, a high-profile civic
politician who has gained numerous endorsements, among them that of
former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and the band the Barenaked Ladies.
Windsor MP Joe Comartin, Quebec party organizer Pierre Ducasse and
Vancouver activist Bev Meslo are also running. Mr. Nystrom said a
recent poll that shows the federal NDP at 13.5 per cent -- in third
place, ahead of the Canadian Alliance and nearly tied with the
Tories -- shows that the party must develop a strong fiscal platform
so it can run for government, not opposition, in the next election.
"The window is opening," said Mr Nystrom, who lost the leadership
to Alexa McDonough in 1995. "We're doing very well. I'm challenging
the party to take the path less travelled. If we're interested in
being government, we have to pull our heads out of the sand." The
NDP has been struggling to make an electoral comeback over the past
decade. But it has never been able to recapture its glory days under
Mr. Broadbent in the 1970s and 1980s, when it reached 44 seats in
Parliament. The NDP made marginal gains under the outgoing leader
but has only 14 seats. Mr. Blaikie dismissed Mr. Nystrom's
suggestions Tuesday. He said the party should have a role in shaping
the NDP's policy. "The party makes policy. To some degree, Lorne has
been acting as though he's in a general election. I think this is
somewhat presumptuous." There has been little dissent in debates,
although the candidates differ on some financial issues and defence
spending and Ms. Meslo urged the party to take a greater turn to the
left. All oppose a war in Iraq, are pro-choice and favour
proportional representation and abolishing the Senate. One of the
leadership contest's final televised debates will be in Toronto
tonight and broadcast on CBC. Mr. Layton is the only candidate
calling for a freeze on defence spending at $12.3-billion a year.
"Jack has tried to make this into a wedge issue, when it really
isn't," Mr. Blaikie said. "New Democrats need to decide what it is
they want the Armed Forces to do." Mr. Blaikie has the most support
of the NDP caucus. He counts among his supporters Ontario NDP Leader
Howard Hampton, Manitoba NDP Premier Gary Doer and Shirley Douglas,
daughter of former NDP leader Tommy Douglas. |
