rabble.ca Canadian federal election blog

The election babble continues…

by Michelle Langlois, rabble staff

Strategic voting is a hot topic on babble lately.  Elizabeth May is calling for it, and heck, even some NDP supporters are calling for it now that the Liberals and NDP are neck-and-neck in the polls.  There’s even a brand new web site dedicated to the idea - but many babblers wonder whether it’s merely the latest effort to get NDP supporters to vote Liberal.

If you’re into the issues, here are a few that are being discussed right now.  Jack Layton is calling for a consumer watchdog, as well as strategies to reduce poverty.  The Conservatives are calling for corporate tax cuts (opposed by the NDP), and another Conservative candidate slips up and showcases the party’s real feelings about immigration and new Canadians.  The babblers also discuss whether or not the Alberta Tar Sands should be shut down.

Where should electoral reform fit in the Green and NDP platforms?  Stephane Dion favours preferential ballot to proportional representation - and babblers speculate about why that would be.

Finally - Jack Layton has decided to allow now-infamous NDP candidate Andrew McKeever continue running in Durham under the NDP banner, despite viciously attacking activists who support NDP policy on Facebook with sexist obscenities and violent threats.  Should Layton kick him to the curb, or was he right to let him stay on?

Breaking news: Andrew McKeever and Krystalline Kraus issue joint statement

rabble.ca has just received notice of Andrew McKeever and Krystalline Kraus’ joint statement on the breaking earlier this week. Read below:

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In recent days there has been a lot of discussion about comments Mr. McKeever posted on Facebook that were sexist, offensive and wrong.

This issue is not about the medium of the Internet or Facebook. Mr. McKeever has acknowledged what he said and has given an apology for to everyone hurt by his words, either directly or indirectly by having to read them in a public forum. Obviously, such language is inappropriate in any setting or circumstance, and for this he has apologized.

Now the issue is Mr. McKeever’s commitment, the NDP’s commitment, to end the war in Afghanistan and to support Iraq War Resisters in this country.

Since the Liberal Party of Canada also supported the June 3rd motion in Parliament allowing Iraq war resisters to stay — a motion ignored by Mr. Stephen Harper — it’s a shame that the Liberals are harming this pledge of support by not focussing on the real threat posed by a pro-war, pro-Bush Conservative government.

We believe Canada should withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The aggressive counterinsurgency war is not making the Afghan people any safer and is risking Canada’s reputation abroad. Both Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion concede that the mission is not working – yet they still want to see troops committed for three more years. Canada is under increasing US pressure to commit more troops. The Canadian people do not want this war to continue.

We also believe deporting conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in Iraq is wrong. During the Vietnam War Canada became a refuge for young Americans who refused to participate in an immoral war. Thirty years later, Canada has an opportunity to live up that legacy and provide refuge to those who refuse to be complicit in the US-led war on Iraq. Canadians have spoken clearly through polls and through Parliament. 137 Members of Parliament stood in the House of Commons in support of a motion to “allow conscientious objectors and their families… who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations … to apply for permanent resident status.” The motion carried. Stephen Harper and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley need to respect Parliament and implement the motion passed in the House of Commons on June 3 calling for an end to deportation proceedings against war resisters, and for war resisters to be allowed to apply for permanent resident status in Canada. Canadians do not want to see conscientious objectors deported simply for standing up for what they believe in.

These are the issues that Canadians need to discuss. Lives are literally at stake.

It’s time to debate issues that will shape the lives of not just Canadians, but Afghanis, Americans, Iraqis and the entire world.

- Andrew McKeever, NDP Candidate Durham     
- Krystalline Kraus, internet activist and Iraq war resister supporter

NDP Durham candidate in hot water over offensive Web postings

by rabble staff

The Liberal Party has issued a press release calling for the immediate firing of Andrew McKeever, the NDP candidate in Durham, Ontario. The Liberal release states:

NDP Leader Jack Layton must fire his candidate in the riding of Durham over inappropriate comments he made on the internet this summer on the subject of United States war deserters.

“Mr. Layton must fire his candidate in Durham, Andrew McKeever, who threatened people who didn’t agree with him with physical violence in a web posting,” said Durham Liberal Candidate Bryan Ransom.

The following quotes from Mr. McKeever’s Facebook posts are intolerant and demonstrate lack of fitness for public office:

“Answer a direct f**king question you c**t. I can guarantee, if I ever see you face to face I will make you squeal for the same authority you have such a baseless disdain for” [to a woman poster on the Facebook group]

“…one by one the TraitorCriminalDeserters [US war deserters] will be sent back down south to face the music”

“There is no room for this kind of vicious, threatening attack in Canadian politics. These comments are beyond the pale and Jack Layton must denounce them and fire his candidate immediately,” said Dan McTeague, Liberal Candidate for Pickering-Scarborough-East.

The Liberals have made public a pdf file of some of the offending remarks made in a Facebook discussion by the Durham NDP candidate. The comments attributed to McKeever include sexist and violent language, and derogatory comments about U.S. war resisters seeking refuge in Canada. (The NDP has consistently supported sanctuary for the resisters.)

A number of McKeever’s comments were made toward krystalline kraus, a long-time rabble.ca contributor.

Yesterday, on the “Andrew McKeever for Durham NDP” Facebook group, the candidate posted the following:

I took part in several online discussions over the last few months and was often a less than respectful contributor, exchanging insults with other members.

I am deeply sorry for having offended anyone.

My uppermost concern has always been the support of the men and women of the Canadian Forces and their families. I also acknowledge the legitimate moral reservations of those who cannot, in good faith, fight any longer.

As of 3p.m. EST, the NDP campaign had not yet made any official statement on the matter. (On babble, the discussion is already focused on when McKeever will be dropped by the NDP).

McKeever, 34, is a recent university graduate who won the NDP nomination for Durham last week.

Update: Late this afternoon, an NDP spokesperson commented on the issue to rabble.ca: “The NDP candidate in Durham has apologized for the comments he made on Facebook. It was a fulsome apology and he is making a direct apology to those whom he offended.”