When Jack Layton came up the stairs, he had a glass of wine in each hand. When the interview started there was one. By the time it was finished he had none.
The NDP leader was at Madhatters to greet Concordia’s NDP chapter supporters last Friday and sat down with The Concordian for a little chat.
What are your thoughts on the new federal budget?
The first thing to notice is that six times as much was given to those who don’t need it – namely the big profitable corporations, namely the big banks, big oil companies . rather than addressing the issues that a lot of people are facing.
Such as?
If we talk about students first, the investment that was required to make education truly affordable and to deal with the crisis of student debt . that’s why we’ve put a bill before the house to establish postsecondary financing as the law of the land. The federal government has an obligation to make those investments.
What is this bill?
It’s a piece of legislation that would for the first time actually spell out the federal role in the financing of postsecondary education . Particularly making education affordable, so that students who wish to, and have the capacities to pursue postsecondary education are not faced with the kind of financial obstacles they are now.
How do you divide provincial/federal responsibility?
It has to be a negotiation . . . it’s very similar to how we have Medicare (health is a provincial responsibility), but we have Medicare which puts federal dollars into health care . the total elimination of all financial barriers, which would require the elimination of tuition fees and the housing cost . that’s probably a dream that’s a long way off. Our view is that you start with reducing fees and freezing them and the NDP has done that in Manitoba, and we believe that can be done nationally. But you do have to treat each province differently . if you came in with an across the board program that wouldn’t make sense.
Do you hope to see an election soon?
We believe that Mr. Harper’s agenda for the country is wrong . So that’s why we’re standing up to his agenda, he’s taking us longer, further, deeper into war, with the support of Mr. Dion. He’s taking us towards more corporate giveaways, to the very companies that rob us at the bank machine . at the gas pump, and they pollute our planet and rob us of our future and we’re shoveling billions of dollars into their pocket with this budget, supported by Mr. Dion. This needs to be emphasized, because he likes to portray himself with a green scarf and a concern about poverty. You can portray yourself anyway you like, but if you’re not willing to actually take the steps, it’s all sound and fury and signifies nothing. In fact it’s worse than that, because it facilitates Mr. Harper to the point where he’s basically acting like he has a majority now because of the abstention of the official abstainers in the house.
What’s one issue you would call them on more than anything else?
Well, I have called them on the war and on the budget. I would also call them on human rights, where they supported the security certificates legislation. They claim to be the champion of the charter, but yet they’re willing to take away basic human rights. But we’ve seen that before, especially in this city, because I joined the NDP when Trudeau brought in the war measures act. So he may get kudos for the charter, but let’s just remember what he’s done.
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