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Kingston & the Islands NDP News - ARCHIVES
*This page is dedicated to past news items from the front page of our site.*
HFX09 Federal Convention Wrap Up
August 18, 2009
The New Democratic Party recently concluded their policy convention in Halifax, NS. Conventions are a multi-purpose tool to bring together New Democrats in order to: introduce new policies, re-focus existing policies, educate and train party activists, and provide networking opportunities on a national scale.
The Kingston & the Islands NDP had 8 delegates who were eligible to attend, and we look forward to those delegates sharing their experiences/training with us in the wake of the convention.
It is worth noting that the bulk of mainstream media coverage of the convention centred on a resolution to re-brand the party through the dropping of 'New' from the party name. However, when delegates prioritized the massive slate of resolutions, this proposal did not achieve the necessary democratic momentum to reach the convention floor.
*Press release and video coverage of the convention is available at www.ndp.ca**You can also read an article regarding a local perspective on the convention, courtesy of the Whig-Standard at: http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1703988
Kingston New Democrats Continue to Grow
July 3, 2009
2008-2009 has represented a great period of growth for the Kingston & the Islands NDP, with membership doubling over the past 18 months.
"The key to our recent growth has been our continuing attention to local issues and concerns. We want to be known as the party that works every day for the betterment of this riding." said Kingston & the Islands NDP President, Daniel Beals.
For information on how to become a member of the Kingston & the Islands NDP or to get involved with our local activist team, please email information@ndpkingston.org or visit our activist page.
New Democrats Continue to Speak “Out”
May 19, 2009
New Democrats will be participating in the 5th annual HIV /AIDS Memorial Vigil this Thursday evening in Kingston. The event is dedicated to the millions around the world who are affected or have been lost to HIV/AIDS.
“We have been championing this cause for years in both legislatures, ” said Pauline Kuhlmann, New Democrat team member. “On the prevention side, New Democrats have been leading advocates of harm reduction and prevention measures in dealing with drug use.”
Kuhlmann went on to say that the New Democrats would continue to support the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. “This issue remains one of the top health care priorities for our party, and we will continue to fight against the ideological cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in the House of Commons.”
A Thank-You To Voters
I would first like to thank all voters that made this election work. Whatever party or candidate you may have voted for, you deserve a heartfelt "Thank You".
Our election process allows all people - including those with the lowest of means - to go out and take part in our democracy. In this way, ordinary citizens are able to impact decisions on how we live as opposed to having just the ruling elite do as they see fit.
However, across Canada we found that only 59.1% of eligible voters exercised their privilege to go to the ballot box. This is deeply troubling in a time of economic downturn.
Progressive policies that address the needs of everyday Canadians need to be supported by the voters. We need to support policies like increasing the number of doctors and nurses for our public health care system, or putting a moratorium on tar sands to assist in curbing climate change. We need to address childcare amd make it universal for all. More needs to be done to make Canada one of the strongest countries in the world, and this involves you.
I am very pleased to have worked on this past campaign. With your dedication, we can continue to build for the future. In the next few months, Kingston will be hosting some very influential events and will look to you, the membership to help make them successful. We have great and humble ambitions for this riding in the next couple of years; with your continued support we can make a difference - We can make history.
Thank you,
Jamie Masse
Kingston and the Islands | Chief Campaign Organizer
Rick Downes Wins Kingston Federal Nomination
Kingston, ON - September 13, 2008
Kingston & the Islands New Democrats are pleased to announce that former city councillor Rick Downes has been nominated to serve as the Federal NDP Candidate for Kingston & the Islands in the 40th Canadian Federal election.
Downes was a three-term city councillor for King's Town district before coming within 700 votes of Mayor in 2006. In 2007 he was the provincial NDP candidate for Kingston & the Islands New Democrats, winning 22% of the vote. "I'm committed fully to winning this election," said Downes shortly after giving his acceptance speech in front of the packed Wilson Room downtown. "We've got to get our voices heard."
"Rick brings a lot of passion and experience to this campaign," said Renee Stephen, president of the Kingston NDP riding association. "The great turnout tonight will give us a lot of momentum, and we're overjoyed to have such a great candidate on board to represent Kingston's New Democrats."
Federal Nomination Meeting Announced for September 12
The Kingston & the Islands New Democrats would like to formally invite all of our members to a federal Nomination Meeting taking place on Friday, September 12 at 7:00pm.
This meeting will be taking place at the Wilson Room, Kingston Frontenac Public Library at 130 Johnson St. Our slate of guest speakers will include:
Kingston City Councillor Robert Hutchison
Ontario NDP Leadership Candidate Peter Tabuns
Candidate speeches will be approximately 10 minutes each for all candidates standing for nomination.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Local NDP Candidate Steps Down for Personal and Professional Reasons
August 28, 2008 - Kingston, ON
Federal NDP candidate Renee Stephen has announced that she is stepping down as the candidate for Kingston & the Islands for personal and professional reasons.
"I regret that I am unable to commit the time and energy that Kingstonians need from a candidate. It's been a great year and a half, and I'm grateful to Jack Layton and our Party for their endless support and hard work," said Stephen.
Stephen will continue in her role as President of the riding association, and is leading the search for a new candidate.
"We've made steady gains here in Kingston," said Stephen, citing Rick Downes' achievement in doubling the Party's number of votes in the recent provincial election. "With a strong candidate we'll build on the growth we've seen here."
Stephen criticized Liberal MP Peter Milliken and Stéphane Dion's Liberal Party calling them an "absentee party" and said "average families in Kingston are tired of the lack of representation that they're seeing from Peter Milliken and Dion's Liberals. We deserve a Member of Parliament who will work for the people of this riding. It's time to show Stéphane Dion that we're ready for change."
Summer 2008: OrangeCamp Report
Kingston - July 28, 2008
This past July 18-20, the Kingston and the Islands NDP organized the first annual OrangeCamp. OrangeCamp is an un-conference - a non-traditional space to share ideas in a democratic format, with participants interacting in an open environment. The event was set-up on a Web 2.0 social networking model. Everybody watched, recorded, took part, and shared...And everyone was welcome.
The purposes of this year's camp were to mark the CCF's 75th birthday, and to develop ideas based on social democratic traditions - while reflecting the realities of today's challenges. The three days of discussion saw tens of party members, activists, supporters, MPPs and Ontario NDP Leadership candidates Gilles Bisson and Michael Prue actively participating.
The majority of the opinions echoed by the attendees reflected their concern that now is the moment to start a conversation about the direction that the NDP needs to follow. It is time for the NDP to discuss and advocate the issues that are of concern to Canadians from coast, to coast, to coast. Now is the time to stop focusing on populist politics and return to the social-democratic values that the NDP was founded upon. More than ever, they are relevant in Canada's history.
The positive political dialogue that was opened by OrangeCamp will continue to evolve. However, we are very proud that in Kingston, at the marking of the CCF's 75 anniversary, the OrangeCamp attendees committed to bring the discussion back to their communities. OrangeCamp is simply a beginning for the cooperation and interaction that will fundament the NDP's values and direct them forward into the 21st Century.
OrangeCamp is designed to be a recurring event in Kingston. The 2009 dates have yet to be announced. You can read the 2008 conversations and add your suggestions at www.OrangeCamp.org. Photos of the event are available HERE.
2008 Annual General Meeting Report
April 24, 2008
Our first speaker was the acting co-chief for the Ardoch Algonquin First Nations Meirelle LaPointe. Who spoke on behalf of the delegation providing an update of the proceedings regarding one Mr. Robert Lovelace, and the Uranium Exploratory Mining issue that has been plaguing our community and the communities across Ontario. Mrs. LaPointe spoke from the heart about the travesties and violations against human rights and freedoms, which are occurring right now in our backyard.
We must also thank the Ottawa Centre MP (and Foreign Affairs Critic) Paul Dewar, who provided an important perspective for how Canada has fallen behind the world lobbying against the recognition of indigenous peoples on the UN Declaration of Human rights.
There were numerous changes to the Executive at the AGM, with just about every position going to a new member. Renée Stephen, our federal candidate, replaces Gary Wilson as President of the Riding Association. Gary in turn replaces Richard Priestman as Financial Agent. Ted Worth returns as the Provincial CFO. Daniel Beals is our new Vice-President (as well as chair of the Election Planning Committee).
The two new positions of Membership Coordinator and Membership Administrator are being filled by Jamie Masse, who is and Matthew Hodgetts, respectively. Ya Wen Zhang is our new Women's Representative, while Matei Savulescu and Helga Mankovitz return as Members at Large.
The positions of Labour Representative, Youth Officer, as well as a female delegate to Provincial Council remain open and any member interested in learning more about these positions is urged to contact Jamie Masse today. For a summary of changes and all contact information download a copy of our new directory.
Tabuns Opens Dialogue on Energy/Economy
February 8, 2008
A great thanks goes out to everyone who attended the 'Dialogue for a New Energy Economy' event at the Kingston Public Library on January 17th. This very successful event featured Peter Tabuns, who is the MPP for Toronto-Danforth.
Mr. Tabuns addressed a standing-room only crowd of interested citizens on the inherent future possibilities for marrying necessary environmental policies with economic benefits - and the role that citizens and government must play in making it happen.
Ontario is on the brink of environmental and economic crisis - but we have a golden opportunity to shift from the costly practice of importing non-renewable resources to a thriving economy with good jobs built on energy efficiency and renewable energy resources.
Huge credit is deserved by Mr. Tabuns for taking the time to not only visit out city - but also raising the profile of the NDP in this area when it comes to discussion of the environment. New Democrat policy has much to offer on this topic, and we cannot allow the Green Party to dominate the conversation in our area. So speak out!
Additional thanks and credit must also go to Ross Sutherland for making this event a very successful reality.
Downes Campaign A Building Block for the Future
Contributed by Matt Hodgetts
November 22, 2007
For many staunch NDP members and campaign volunteers, the results of the past general election were disappointing. However, if we put personal feelings aside, there is some very encouraging data to report.
First, while the NDP received 16.8% of the votes provincially, here in Kingston Rick got 20.6% of the votes. This amounted to 10,126 votes, an increase of nearly 84% over the 5,514 votes received in the 2003 Provincial Election.
Data from this election shows that the Liberal’s received 28,877 votes in 2003 and 23,273 in this election. This means that the Liberal’s vote share fell 13.5% among the four major parties. This is a huge difference and is a credit to the hard work of Rick and his team.
Where vote share is concerned, both the PC party and Green Party received just over a 2% increase from 2003 in Kingston & the Islands, while the NDP achived an amazing 9.1% vote share increase. This means we increased our vote share more than double what the Green and PC parties did together. This makes it absolutely clear that the NDP has become a very viable alternative to the Liberals in Kingston.
Some Other encouraging numbers are: 838 households took one or more signs during this election and 178 individuals volunteered time at one point during the campaign. Best of all, 3,152 individuals we contacted out of a total 7,664 (41.1%) said they supported or we’re open to supporting the NDP!
Perhaps the most encouraging piece of data from this entire election is this: in the past 20 years (since the 1987 General Election), only once has a party in our region gained more vote share in the space of a single election than the 9.1% Rick Downes achieved in this election and that was when the NDP's Gary Wilson was election in 1990 (a 13.3% increase).
So, take heart...Your local NDP most definitely has something to build upon with the citizens of Kingston and the Islands.
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Prison Farms Town Hall with MP Malcolm Allen
As the Federal Government sets to close prison farm institutions across the country the local New Democrats are fighting to Save Our Farms
Thursday, Jan. 21st - 7PM
Chernoff Hall Rm. 117
Co-sponsored by the National Farmers Union, Kingston Cattleman's Association and local activist groups
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