W SARASONA November was a bit late like A Tale of 7ty Cines. I'm not referring to the snow storm that punctuated a week unusually mild weather. I'm talk. ing about 'the best of times and the Hundreds of activists converged on the federal NDP convention vention, very visibly working class in composition. There were 1500 NDP members, new and not so new, as well as non-party activists. The possibility innovation was in the air.
But there was bitter disappoint11C11 Instead of renewal, they saw a party leadership bent on retaining conOne assessment of the convention is that the NDP establishment car ried the They got their They got a moditied OMOV clecting the Leader in future. And their almost all But the victory of the establishment came at a price. "NDP Fends Off Challengers" and "NDP shuns left turn". What does this mean?
The "challenge" that the leadership had to fend off came from the largest, most vocal and most radical opposition at an NDP federal conestablishment retained control, but they were shaken nonetheless. ancy know tat the struggie 1s 183) from over, and bigger battles are just ahead.
P olitically, what did the convention? The Toronto Star summed up the situ editorial titled: "Where are the NDP's progressive ideas?* the Star argued that leader Aler McDonough emerged from the convention "still in charge of her fractious flock, but that:
"She did not cite a single new policy thrust. She did not talk about building affordable housing or closing the gap between rich and most desperate people..
"She did not speak up for ethnic minorities wao ice. inteatenca o Ottawa's security clampdown. She did not give voters a glimpse of a Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove pointed our in al media interview that Alexa's antiwar position was muted at convendon ta tavour or pro-achca sen timentality:
Today working people face a sicuaentire capitalist world are in recession. The US is leading an unlimthe NDP said about jobs, peace and democracy, except that the governTAN TALL UNWE acti erwo Cotes dricen mad by globalisation and the Free Trade Area of the Americas protested at last year's Quebec summit: but they could join other anti-capitalists and the lef wichin the NDP in the fight for a new party of the working class. tried to challenge the agenda, to open up more time for the 'new party debate, and limit the general not where decisions would be made. We tried to get some of our cleven Socialist Caucus resolutions to the floor, resolutions that had the support of up to 18 local associations and unions across the country.
We mored amendments to establishment motions, and challenged the chair when the chair tried to member from Edmonton. Williams, upset the chair on Sunday morning by correctly insisting on a scnace balancea peakers" list. That's how speaking lists are organized at SC conferences - alas, not yet in the NDP W : advised NPI leaders on floor strategy and how to lobby for noilcy priorities We gave up one of our speakers to the NPI in the 'new party" debate, and we refrained from moving a referral to the Burnaby-Dougias "compromise IPI. We urged the NPI to lobby for higher priority for this resolution, which helped to move it from fourth to second place - • crucial to openly. But SC and NPI postions ion collaborated, altho n the 'new nar SPI proposed to dentical the NDP launch a process-leading to the formation of a Caucus supports that initiative, but argues that the new party should be labour-basea, socialist party 'compromise' resolution asked the NDP Federal Council to political entity:
The debate on NDP Renewal preThe result was adoption of a resolation that calls for another round of mcclungs across the country.
The resolution gives to Federal Council the power to implement the the Kenewal Keport sublect to the motions adopted by the convenThis approval OMOV, plus 25% for labour, as well as a referral motion which would put the NDP on record as favourfinancial contributions to political Both policies, modified OMOV.