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ONDP Convention: NDPs vision vortex

The Ontario NDPs ruckus n rancour-filled convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre reaffirmed Andrea Horwath as leader last weekend, scoring 77 per cent support.

But a disconnect between policy-makers and party ranks continues to brew. Is an inac-cessible policy book at the heart of the ONDPs problems?

After a weekend spent passing resolutions, many of them unanimously, theres no way for members to read them. There are no links to follow on the partys website. In fact, there are no policies on the ONDP website at all, which makes me wonder if delegates wasted their weekend on an exercise in hand-raising.

Members looking to get hold of the 100-plus-page book will have to email overworked staff and hope they put one in the mail.

We need to be more connected to our stakeholders, Horwath said in her keynote Saturday morning. But the best means of doing that is an accessible policy book and for very important reasons.

When a platform did materialize during the last election, it left many members complaining that much of it seemed to have been imposed from on high rather than through member consultation and voting.

They were among those who wanted to replace Horwath on the weekend, but all they could muster was a vague resolution on election messaging. To wit, the NDP would campaign on a vision of a better world for all and to constantly strive to form a government for the purpose of realizing that vision.

Thats clearly open to a lot of interpretation.

Indeed, party brass did a remarkable job, via agenda-arranging, of ensuring that only the least contentious motions made it to the convention floor. The result was that a few bland resolutions were over-whelmingly approved. Affordable childcare, better benefits for first responders suffering from PTSD, electrification of the Union Pearson Express and implementation of the Elliot Lake Inquiry recommendations were among the no-brainers.

Meanwhile, debate on more controversial motions, like the elimination of post-secondary tuition fees and reaffirming the rights of sex workers, was cut short.

But the most egregious example of agenda manipulation was the timing of the leadership review vote, which was to immediately follow Horwaths speech. This made delegates wonder if they were supposed to vote on her oratorical or leadership skills. They succeeded in revising the agenda and held Saturdays leadership vote long after Horwath had spoken a rebuke by members who refused to rubber-stamp top-down policies.

Now at a crossroads, the ONDP ought to connect to its membership by charting a bold new future via a modern set of policies and core values or at the very least a more accessible policy document.

news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

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