On eve of NDP federal convention — Policy, not image, should be focus of Leader

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The honeymoon was over in record time. The business press that blatantly boosted Jagmeet Singh over his lack­ luster NDP leadership rivals turned away from him within weeks of his Oct. 1, 2017, tri­ umph.

A burst of unfair media crit­ icism quickly gave way to a studied disinterest.

Singh was unjustly singled out for comment on the Air India bombing—which oc­ curred when he was six years old. He was chided for not immediately seek­ ing a seat in Parliament. And then, the NDP did very poorly in the six by-elec­ tions held on Dec. 11. It now sits at a mere 17 per cent in opinion polls.

Singh gave a stirring speech to the B.C. NDP convention, but later dodged the Site C Dam decision. He has been nearly mute on a rising wave of issues including the future of NAFTA, the re­ bellion against electoral fraud in Hon­ duras, Trump’s affront to Palestine on the status of Jerusalem, and Washing­ ton’s supply of lethal weapons to the reactionary regime in Kiev.

Even on tax evasion by the rich and powerful, including by Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Singh has been out-hustled by Tories Andrew Scheer and Pierre Poilievre.

The problem now is not image, or timing, or electoral tactics. It is politi­ cal. It is the lack of bold policies, and the absence of direct action. (Above) NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Recall that Jagmeet Singh was the most conservative of the four aspirants who ran the last lap of the leadership race. The political up-side of his win was his positivity and pride as an ar­ ticulate, equity-seeking racial minority person.

The 38-year-old turbaned Sikh law­ yer from Brampton is the first person of colour to head a major Canadian political party. The significance of this was evident long before the Terry Milewski CBC interview, when he was confronted by a racist woman in Peel who absurdly berated him for being a Muslim. Singh countered by simply repeating the words “We love you. We support you.” Bourgeois pundits lapped it up.

The truth is that racism and incipient fascism must be countered by stress­ ing the need for working-class unity against the system that breeds racism, and by initiating mass actions to crush the racists. But to establishment politi­ cos, that’s not “cool.” South Asian woman have failed to outdazzle Justin Trudeau’s “sunny-ways,” super-selfie persona. It is simply a los­ ing proposition for the NDP to com­ pete with Justin in a glamour gambit when the NDP base, the working class, needs system change not another per­ sonality contest.

This is especially true when the po­ litical right wing, including the Lib­ eral government, is moving ever more stridently against democratic rights, to condone criminal tax avoidance, to tighten the grip of imperialism on the world, and to put profit before the en­ vironment.

Sadly, the most left wing candidate for leader, Niki Ashton MP, squandered the opportunity to present a bold so­ cialist policy platform, to integrate grassroots socialist activists into her campaign, and to turn it into a vehicle for mass action against capitalist aus­ terity. She steered away from the radi­ cal path of British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Jagmeet Singh, former Ontario NDP Deputy Leader, appointed leadership opponent and Quebec MP Guy Caron to be NDP House Leader until the 2019 election. Charlie Angus, who was praised by the Toronto Star for having “the most nuanced position on pipe­ lines and energy projects”, is left out in the cold. Does this mean Singh will oppose pipelines, and fight for public ownership and for a rapid Green en­ ergy transition away from carbon de­ pendency?

Maybe. But it would take enormous pressure from below to move him in that direction. Remember, Singh ini­ tially favoured the Energy East pipe­ line, then backed down under pressure from Niki Ashton and others.

When he last ran for public office, he initially opposed LGBTQI-positive sex education in Brampton schools. As an Ontario MPP he fully backed loved NDP MPPs Mel Swart and Peter Kormos.

During the 2017 federal leadership race Singh stunned members when he came out against universality in se­ niors’ benefits. He infamously toured Israel hosted by Zionist organizations, and he was backed by the openly pro-imperialist NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Helene Laverdiere. On post-secondary school fees and student debt he has been vague.

On the positive side, Singh has a vi­ sionary position on illegal drugs. He wants to de-criminalize all drugs and invest in the treatment of substance abuse as a health issue.

However, he never uses the word “socialist” to describe himself; he pro­ poses only minimal changes to tax law; and offers not a word about striving for democratic control of the economy. He is silent on internal party affairs, particularly the need for greater de­ mocracy.

So, what is to be done? Party and la­ bour leftists should press Singh sharp­ ly on Pharma-care, dental care, free post-secondary education, steep taxa­ tion of corporations and the superrich, for BDS against Israeli apartheid and Canada Out of NATO, and for pub­ lic ownership, particularly in the areas of energy, banking, telecommunica­ tions and transportation.

We need a commitment to respect the local NDP candidate nomination process and for the Leader to actively campaign for the policies adopted at convention.

Instead of trying to revive a shortlived honeymoon for the new Leader, working-class activists need to set a militant tone at the February 2018 NDP federal convention. This should be done by advancing socialist policies and by demanding that Singh lead the fight for a Workers’ Agenda. He can do it, if we unite to demand it. n