What great supporters, what great new supporters.

Andy, shown on his bike, is a long time and solid supporter.

But I continue to receive indications of support from surprising places. Many have called to say they're voting NDP for the first time.

The poll just announced on Global is based on polling done on October 4th and 5th. As the pundit said, "A week is forever in politics." This comment

"I think there's probably some great buying opportunities emerging in the stock market as a consequence of all this panic," Harper told reporters as the S&P/TSX fell for the fifth straight day. [Ottawa Citizen, Oct 7]

has resonated throughout Canada, showing how little empathy he shows for those whose life savings have diminished 40% in just a few days.

Questions from some Grade 6 students

I received an email from a local Grade 6 class asking several questions:

During our lessons on democracy, our grade 6 Social Studies class has been learning about the 40th General Election and the political parties involved. The students found it difficult to find answers to their questions while searching the political party websites so together we decided that the best way to find answers to their questions would be to send an email to each candidate in our electoral district.  I have attached a letter to this email with their questions for you.

Hi [Teacher's name],

Thanks for the questions. Here are my answers:

Kailyn – “Has Jack Layton always wanted to be in the political system?” I don't know for sure, but the evidence suggests the answer is yes.

Layton comes from a long line of politicians. His great-granduncle, William Steeves, was a Father of Confederation. His great-grandfather Philip Layton was a blind activist who led a campaign for disability pensions in the 1930s. His grandfather, Gilbert Layton, was a cabinet minister in the Union Nationale government of Maurice Duplessis in Quebec, and resigned due to the provincial government's lack of support for Canadian participation in World War II. His father, Robert Layton, was a Liberal Party activist in the 1960s and 1970s, and served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet minister in the 1980s.[2]
Layton was born in Montreal and reared in nearby Hudson, Quebec, a comfortable and largely anglophone community.[3] He was elected student council president of his high school, and his yearbook predicted that he would become a politician.[4] He studied political science at McGill University, and in 1969, at age 19, he married his high school sweetheart Sally Halford, with whom he had two children, Sarah and Mike.[5] (Layton and Halford's marriage ultimately ended in 1983 after 14 years.)
In 1970, the family moved to Toronto where Layton went to York University to obtain his Ph.D. in political science. Layton then became a professor at Ryerson University.[6] He also became a prominent activist for a variety of causes. He has written several books, including Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis and, more recently, a book on general public policy, Speaking Out.

At York and Ryerson, Layton developed close links with a number of Toronto figures including John Sewell and David Crombie. He was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1982, in a surprise upset against incumbent Gordon Chong. He quickly became one of the most outspoken members of council, and a leader of the left wing.[7] He was one of the most vocal opponents of the massive SkyDome project,[8] and an early advocate for rights for AIDS patients.[9] In 1984, he was fined for trespassing when he handed out leaflets at the Eaton Centre during a strike by Eaton's staff, but the charge was later thrown out on freedom of speech grounds.[10] Layton was also one of the few opponents to Toronto's bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics.[11] In 1985, he moved to the Metro Toronto council, in the first direct elections for members of that body.[12][13] In the 1988 municipal elections, Layton traded places with City Council ally Dale Martin, with Martin going to Metro and Layton returning to Toronto City Council. Layton was easily elected in a contest with former high school teacher Lois MacMillan-Walker. The election was a major victory for Layton as the reformist coalition of which he was the de facto head gained control of City Council, the first time in city history a coalition of New Democrats and independents controlled council.[14]

From <Wikipedia Jack Layton>, accessed on Wednesday, 2008 October 1. Footnote numbers refer to the website:




Natalie – “Does the NDP want to lower taxes?”

Yes and no. One year ago, Stephen Harper and his finance minister, Jim Flaherty (who as finance minister in the Ontario government of Mike Harris ran up a huge deficit), proposed to cut corporate taxes by $50 billion. The NDP proposes to cancel this planned cut and continue to tax corporations at the same rate as they've been paying for a number of years. Is this raising taxes or not?

For individuals, we plan to cut some taxes for lower income individuals as well as providing $400 per child (up to the age of 18) to families. We may raise some taxes for persons making over $188,000 per year.


Natalie – “People have to send their children to daycares because they have to work. How does the NDP plan to help these families?”
See Child Care:

Children and Child Care: Ensuring a Head Start for Kids

In consultation with the provinces and territories, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Enact the New Democrats' Early Learning and Child Care Act – which has already passed Second Reading in Parliament - to establish the program in law for the first time in Canada.
Establish and adequately fund a Canada-wide child care and early learning program. We will make high quality, accessible, affordable, non-profit and licensed child care available to Canadian families, including aboriginal Canadians.
These initiatives will create 150,000 new child care spaces in the first year, growing to 220,000 spaces per year in the fourth year.
Ensure a healthy head start for kids. We will develop a Children's Nutrition Initiative to support and expand provincial and local programs that provide healthy meals to school children.


Dohyun – “How could the NDP help and support the families of Canada?”

Almost our whole platform is directed to helping and supporting the families of Canada since we believe that the kitchen table is more important than the boardroom table. Please see

Protecting Consumers
Here's an excerpt from that page, but there's lots more

Reduce overcharging and hidden fees, and ban ATM fees for institutions regulated under the Bank Act, by requiring more accountability and transparency from the cell phone companies, the banks, airlines and other companies. This will include ending unfair charges on incoming text messages.
Limit outrageous interest rates and fees charged by "fringe banks". We will enforce existing regulations to limit the interest rates and fees that can be charged for services like "payday" loans, tax refund advances and cheque-cashing.
Cap the interest rates on credit cards to a maximum of 5 percentage points over prime by amending the Bank Act.
Help alleviate gouging at the gas pumps through monitoring and regulating fuel prices at the pumps.



Rylan and Nathan D. – “How will the NDP make our land and water cleaner?”

Again, we have lots of ideas. See Fighting pollution and
environment

Here are two excerpts:

We will implement Jack Layton and the New Democrats' comprehensive new Clean Water Act. This will:
Establish enforceable guidelines for drinking water quality, starting with standards for First Nations reserves, and working with provinces and territories to make sure that all Canadians have clean, safe water in their homes and communities.

And

Implement a parks and wilderness plan that reflects Canadians' strong commitment to preserve our natural heritage. We will:
• Complete the National Parks system.
• Establish a nationally representative system of Marine Protected Areas and complete the Integrated Management Plans of our three oceans.
• Ensure that the integrity of parks and protected areas is not compromised by industrial activity or inappropriate development.



Nathan D. – “Why does NDP want justice for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples?”

Canada is one of the 12 wealthiest countries of the world (one ranking has us 11th- ). The past wrongs are many. The grinding poverty among First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples also has a negative effect on all Canadians. Our platform is at this site: First Nations Iniut and Metis

Leaders' Debates, Amnesty International, canvassing, forums

Tonight I missed most of the leaders' debate because I was attending the 60th Anniversary Party of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! Twenty human rights defenders received volunteer awards from Amnesty International Lethbridge. I am honoured to be one of them. (I will not mention the names of the others to protect their privacy). It's amazing to see how Amnesty International Lethbridge has grown from a group of five in January 2007 meeting at Mary Kosta's home (three attended, plus Mary and her husband), to a group of 30 or 40 tonight at a local church (which supplies space for free). Congratulations, Mary!

The tail end of the leaders' debate was fascinating, but to hear the Keith Boag of CBC give such praise to Jack Layton was gravy. It's not often that CBC is quite so positive to the NDP.

Lastly canvassing is going very well as are the forums. I receive positive feedback about forums. Showing up well in forums is not much related to electoral success--look at the absent Conservative candidates in the Calgary debates--but it helps.