NDP not an environmental party
A recent correspondent urged Greens to support the NDP in the next federal election, so as to fight climate change more aggressively than the Liberals. Everyone is welcome to vote for whomever they please, but they should not be fooled into thinking that the NDP is an environmental party.
Here is evidence: federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told Evan Solomon on Global TV that he supports fracking and the forcing of a gas pipeline through Wet’suwat’en land; at last month’s federal NDP policy convention, members voted down a resolution on climate change, on day two. This is not a party interested in fighting climate change except at election time. Instead, this is a unionist party, interested in jobs for union members.
Please don’t get me wrong — Canada needs a strong unionist party to balance a strong pro-business party. They are two sides of the same coin, with the same focus on coin. They are two legs of the same pair of pants: one leg is left and the other is right, but they are both walking in the same direction.
It must be said, though, that the NDP, including our NDP MP Alistair McGregor, has offered some well-needed, positive legislation to improve the environment, but whenever the fight against climate change threatens a union job, guess who loses? Those of us who are concerned about climate change need to stop diluting the environmental vote and resist voting for a party whose true focus is elsewhere.
Otherwise, we’ll someday say, “Sure we killed off the fish, polluted the water and created a world of constant wild weather, drought, flood and fire, but at least we had good jobs and made a lot of money!”.
Cynthia Montgomery
Maple Bay
