The first in-person NDP convention since 2018 kicked off Friday in Hamilton Ontario, and over 1,200 delegates are estimated to take part over the three-day duration of the event.
From a list of 60 prioritized resolutions, some topics of discussion will include establishing a Crown Corporation to manufacture vaccines, adding dental, mental, drug, auditory and vision care to the public healthcare system, and increasing the federal minimum wage to $20 an hour. Others include developing a national agency to coordinate and retain the healthcare workforce, permanently eliminate interest on student loans, and building an interprovincial power grid to achieve 100 per cent non-emitting electricity.
The list of 60 priority resolutions, derived from a list of 350, did not include the mention of the Israel-Palestine conflict. However delegates voted on the resolutions they wanted to prioritize last Thursday — before Hamas launched its attack.
Friday saw a majority of discussions on the topic of affordability. Canadian politician and NDP delegate Kim Wright says understanding people’s lived experiences is one of the most important things when having policy discussions.
“This is not just an academic discussion. These are people’s lived experiences. How to get housing, what they are dealing with at the grocery stores. And I know some will say it’s just New Democrats going after the big CEOs, it’s so much more than that.”
Amid discussing policy resolutions, some delegates are expressing their disproval of the deal that the NDP struck with the Liberal government 17 months ago. Alanna Johnston stated that ‘This isn’t politics. This is garbage. This is some kind of business agreement,” when referring to the agreement, which she says has Singh doing all the work, and Justin Trudeau taking all the credit. Under the agreement, the NDP won’t trigger a federal election before 2025 in return for movement on key priorities.
At some point during the three-day convention, party leader Jagmeet Singh will face a mandatory leadership review vote.
