University of Toronto New Democratic Party Club

 



Welcome

The University of Toronto New Democratic Party Club is dedicated to promoting the cause and the ideology of the New Democratic Party and of democratic socialism at the University of Toronto, and to working towards the election of NDP candidates to office.

University of Toronto New Democratic Party Club Executive

Co-chairs: Emily Shelton and Jeff Sweeting
Secretary: Hanah McFarlane
Treasurer: Liam McHugh-Russell
Communications: Matei Savulescu
Outreach:
Members-at-large: James Le; Amber Craig; Dan Minkin; Jen Hassum;Nathaniel Thomas; Tony Kao

Email: ndp.club@utoronto.ca
Email list: Yahoo Groups
Office: 605 - 21 Sussex Street, Toronto

 



News

Petition: Accountability for Vancouver Kingsway

David Emerson should face a by-election

Vancouver Kingsway MP David Emerson defected to the Conservatives 14 days after voters re-elected him as a Liberal. During the election, Mr. Emerson attacked the Conservatives, then became one when his Liberals lost power.

Fewer than one in five Kingsway voters chose a Conservative MP — but they got one anyway. Mr. Emerson says voters should accept his decision. That’s not his call to make.

>> Sign the petition

Statement by Jack Layton in Vancouver on Minister David Emerson and the NDP’s floor-crossing bill

Just three weeks ago voters of Vancouver Kingsway came to polling stations like the one here at this school -- to vote for their Member of Parliament. They voted to elect their MP; their representative.  An MP who embodies the values reflected in their community.

Just over one week ago the duly-elected Member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway turned his back on the people of this riding and crossed the floor to accept a cabinet post with the very party he claimed to oppose.

Mr. Emerson put his personal interests ahead of the democratic wishes of the people of Vancouver Kingsway. That’s wrong.

It was an affront to democracy and a slap in the face to the people of Vancouver Kingsway. People here deserve better. Every voter in Canada deserves better.

There are people saying that what David Emerson has done is okay. People like the conservative mayor of Vancouver, former Conservative Prime Minister Kim Campbell and other Conservative MPs who voted against floor-crossing last year, but now say it’s okay.

But I say it’s not up to them to decide who represents the people of Vancouver Kingsway. It’s up to the people of Vancouver Kingsway.

What Mr. Emerson fails to realize is that the people of Vancouver Kingsway have a seat in the House of Commons as a means through which their voices will be heard, not as a means to ensure that he gets to keep his limousine driver. His actions show contempt for democracy and a refusal to listen to the people of this riding.

If Mr. Emerson doesn’t want to listen to the people of his riding – we will. And we’ll do more.

Today I am announcing that at our earliest opportunity the NDP will table its anti-floor crossing bill in the House of Commons as an Opposition Day Motion. This course of action will ensure that this bill is debated in the House of Commons and voted upon.

This way, every Canadian will see exactly where their MP stands on this vital democratic principle.

The bill will ensure that if a duly-elected Member of Parliament wishes to cross the floor and sit with another party, they may do so only after successfully getting the permission of their voters in a by-election.

Of course, this issue could be dealt with more quickly were Mr. Harper to include this democratic measure in his Accountability Act – which he has committed to making a priority.

What happened to the people of Vancouver Kingsway shouldn’t happen to them again – it should never happen to any voter in Canada again.

And with our bill, it won’t.

 

 


More accessible education

We shouldn’t have to mortgage our futures to get the education we need for good jobs. But after 12 years of Liberal government, tuition and student debt are soaring. Last year, Paul Martin broke his promises to students again. Students only got a break when the NDP rewrote the Liberal budget to bring tuition down.

» More | Download PDF

Environmental sustainability now

After 12 years of Liberal government, Canada’s pollution record is even worse than George Bush’s — but the Liberals keep choosing voluntary rules for polluters that simply don’t work. Enough is enough. Jack Layton and the NDP got results for the environment in the last Parliament, and more NDP MPs can get more done in the next.

» More | Download PDF

Changing how politics works

Making politics work for people means ending Liberal corruption and taking power out of insiders’ hands. It also means ending the biggest democratic deficit of all — an outdated voting system that doesn’t respect your vote. Electing more NDP MPs can bring accountability back to politics — and proportional representation to Canada.

» More | Download PDF

Protecting human rights

Canadians count on Canada’s NDP to defend human rights. Our MPs helped ensure marriage equality that, left to the Liberals and Conservatives, would have been denied. More NDP MPs will get more done — and a dysfunctional immigration system and new threats to civil liberties remind us how much work is left to do.

» More | Download PDF

Canada’s role in the world

After 12 years of Liberal government, Canada is breaking its promises to the world’s poorest people, and military integration with the US is supplanting our peacekeeping role. But more NDP MPs in Ottawa delivered more foreign aid and helped keep Canada out of George Bush’s Star Wars. Electing more NDP MPs can get even more done.

» More | Download PDF
 

Join  the UofT NDP Club

There are numerous opportunities to help the New Democratic Party by being active in the events organized throughout the campus by the NDP Club.
» Join the UofT NDP now

Help elect your local NDP candidate

 You make the difference! Volunteer, donate, take a lawn sign, help stuff envelopes, hand-out leaflets – there are countless ways you can help elect your local NDP candidate.
» Find your candidate now
 

Subscribe to e.NDP

Get the latest information directly from the NDP’s Headquarters by subscribing to the the NDP’s electronic newsletter e.NDP.
» Subscribe now

Join the NDP

 Canadians from all parts of the country are joining Canada’s NDP because they want Parliament to work and get results for people.
» Join the NDP now
 
     


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