How I see it

The NDP :(/:)

The unanimous decision today in the House of Commons made me take a second glance at my party. Although I support the social democrats of the New Democratic Party, the vote to extend the mission in Libya comes at my surprise. More concerning was the recognition of the Libyan rebel forces provisional government as the true government of Libya. How can Canada recognize a force that we know little about as the true governing body of the Libya?

Politics aside; in my view, the current crisis in Libya is one that should be dealt by the Libyan people. The rebel groups striving to remove Gaddafi forces from Tripoli is a Libyan movement that formed at the grassroots, eventually extending to the higher echelons of the underfunded Libyan military. Their weaponization has been a result of defecting military officials and those who left their military outposts. If removing Gadaffi is such a priority to the Canadian government, why aren’t other dictators, across the globe being bombarded by NATO allies? For example, in Burma the military government has subjected its people to cruel treatment and ranks 176th out of 180 countries worldwide on the corruption perceptions index.

Although I was surprised at the NDP’s decision to vote with the Harper government, I do applaud their urge to the Harper government to increase humanitarian assistance to Libya and use Diplomacy versus bombs to ensure the transition of power from Gaddafi to the rebel forces. Moreover, their staunch opposition to the deployment of ground forces was also commendable.

So where do the grits go from here….

After the devastating defeat delivered to the liberal party on Monday, it is clear that there needs to be important restructuring of our friends the Grits. Being an instrumental party throughout Canadian history, I don’t think that the grits should take this defeat lightly, nor do I think they will.

The defeat of their leader, the loss of the GTA to Conservative candidates can be attributed to the poor campaign ran by the Grits. I believe that the constant mud slinging by Ignatieff sent a message nationwide that resonated in a negative way with Canadians. Moreover, the Conservatives have been able to effectively create xenophobic attitude towards Ignatieff as he has spent thirty years teaching and shaping the minds of others.

Those MPs such as Justin Trudeau and Bob Rae who were able to withstand either the Orange crush or the Blue tidal wave have a lot of planning and strategizing to do within the next 5 years. Their most important goal, assuming that a merge with the NDP is ruled out, will be to choose a leader that will appeal to Quebec and Ontario. With this election, it is evident that Quebec is a wildcard again. The Bloc Quebecois’ defeat allows for federalist parties to have a chance at wining seats int he province. Even though it appears that Qubecers see the NDp as the only federalist party they trust, things can change come the next election. By targeting Quebec early, the Liberals may just give the New democrats a run for their seats.

The Grits also need to ensure that they are rallying the base. With a decrease in federal funding and soon cut to it, the Liberals need to ensure they can raise enough funds to have a plethora of resources available to them during the next election.

NDP youthanized

As the NDP have gained official opposition status, many questions have been raised regarding whether or not some of these candidates are adequately experienced and ready for life on the hill. Some of these new MPs are students at McGill University, with one as a recent graduate. The NDP have also elected the youngest MP of all time, a 19 year old Pierre-Luc Dusseault a student of Politics at Universite de Sherbrooke.

Now, I can understand the concern other parties and the media are raising regarding these young, inexperienced MPs that are representing Quebec Ridings, many of which displaced Bloc incumbents. That being said, I still see great potential in these MPs.

I find it unfair and unjust that the media has been attacking and questioning Jack Layton regarding the experience these MPs lack.

When it comes down to it, these candidates were given a mandate to represent the constituents of their respective ridings. It is evident that the voters in these ridings do solemnly believe that the NDP candidates, although young and inexperienced will do an adequate jobs in representing them and as a result of the vote which displaced many Bloc incumbents, they voted for change in parliament hill. It is evident that the NDP represented that change.

All we can do is wait and see. These young MPs will need to learn quickly what happens on the Hill but I have faith that they will learn quickly and well as they are energized to make change on parliament hill.