Most of the Leap Manifesto isn’t a huge jump from NDP policy, says Nanaimo’s member of Parliament.
Sheila Malcolmson was in Edmonton earlier this month as her party voted to debate the Leap Manifesto in ridings across the country. Leap is a slate of left-leaning policies, including a call to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
Some of the ideals in Leap, like support for renewable energy and “a just transition” away from a commodities market toward value-added, are already party policy, Malcolmson said.
That transition needs to be done thoughtfully, she added, over a long enough period that it doesn’t have negative impacts on jobs and the economy.
But it’s helpful to have dialogue on “hot-button” environmental issues, she said.
“If we had pipeline proposals that were going to ensure Canadian employment, Canadian energy security, value-added refining and processing and had First Nations engagement and involvement, I think that would be a very different consideration from what is actually on offer right now,” Malcolmson said.
In her view, current pipeline proposals have no upside.
“I tried to say that to the Alberta membership that was at the convention, and they do understand that if this was something that added to our employment and energy security that the conversation might be different,” she said.
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