Democratic, the NDP’s middle name, eh?

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Is the New Democratic Party democratic? Compared to the Liberal and Conservative parties, it is. The policies of the parties of Bay Street are set by their leaders, not by mem­ bers. Their conventions are just a showcase for party big wigs and a playground for trial balloons. Whatever else happens, the inter­ ests of the rich prevail.

The NDP, on the other hand, is a working-class party, based on the unions. Its purpose is to fight for the needs of the vast majority, against the evils of capitalism. Its policy is decided by working-class delegates at large party conventions. There should be ample discussion, and the policies are to be imple­ mented, supposedly. But is that really what happens?

My experience is that very little debate on policy occurs at convention. Decades ago, most of the time at NDP conventions was de­ voted to policy debate. But in recent years, less than 25 per cent of the time is spent that way. Worse, very few radical, or even slightly controversial resolutions make it to the floor. Even worse is the fact that progressive poli­ cies that are adopted are often quietly buried.

I can think of three examples: “Canada get out of NATO,” “Abolish the GST,” and “Demand public ownership of the energy resource sec­ tor.”

A controversial issue today is Palestine and the campaign known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the racist Israeli state.

Before the Oct. 19, 2015, federal election, the NDP leader blocked nomination bids or removed locally nominated candidates for the crime of just mentioning Palestine, or for quoting Amnesty International data on the crimes Israel committed against the people of Gaza.

But the majority of New Democrats support self-determination for the Palestinian peo­ ple; they even back the BDS campaign as a peaceful tool in the quest for a little justice in the Middle East. That’s why Palestine is such a big issue in the NDP today—which brings us back to the issue of internal democracy.

The NDP badly needs a democratic revolu­ tion. What would that look like? It would be much less costly to become a convention del­ egate. Most of the time at convention would be devoted to policy debate, which would make for more time to deal with resolutions submitted by grassroots bodies, including progressive and socialist policies. The party brass would be stopped from obstructing or removing locally nominated candidates for political reasons. Party electoral campaigns would not just reflect, they would highlight the most progressive policies adopted by the ranks at convention.

Resolutions circulated by the NDP Social­ ist Caucus that aim to make those changes are in the convention resolutions book now, submitted by many NDP district associa­ tions, unions and youth clubs. It’s time for a change, don’t you think? Join the democratic revolution! n