Mr. Speaker, today in the Ottawa Citizen a former adviser to Ed Broadbent stated that the NDP must either be revived or declared dead. I would like to respond by stating that it is my sad duty to declare the NDP dead.
The New Democratic Party in the past has made valuable contributions to Canadian political debate. However its recent performance is showing it to be increasingly divided and irrelevant.
The current NDP seems bereft of ideas for dealing with the challenges of the global economy. As the article stated, it has been a long time since a member of the NDP has had anything innovative to say about Canada's economy. To quote: "They project no civic mission for the country as a whole, no intelligent reflection on the consequences of their mumblings and no credible grappling with contemporary issues".
Those hoping for renewal of the NDP are going to be disappointed. A party with no visionary candidates for its leadership is not in a position to begin to renew itself. No ideas, no leadership, no renewal, no party.