NDP PREFERS TO FOCUS ON SUBSTANCE RATHER THAN RHETORIC
NDP members of the Legislative Assembly will not – on principle – waste valuable time in the legislature today speaking to yet another desperate and futile attempt by the Liberals to bring down the Yukon Party government.
“Our strategy is to get to the much more substantial second motion – Todd Hardy’s call for a social-inclusion summit early in the new year,” says NDP House leader Steve Cardiff.
That motion calls for a focused discussion to examine effective strategies to respond to poverty and other factors, such as inadequate housing, education and employment, which exclude people from participating in healthy and productive living.
This summit would bring together representatives in Whitehorse from every level of government and every strata of society, as well as non-government organizations and experts.
“This summit, which is modeled after the extremely successful Substance Abuse Summit of 2005, has the potential to create dialogue, action and momentum to improve peoples’ lives in concrete ways for years to come,” says Hardy, the motion’s sponsor.
“For all those people struggling with poverty, homelessness and hunger, I really hope we get to this important debate, and don’t spend all afternoon listening to the members of the Liberal and Yukon parties trade accusations, insults and cheap shots.”
“Arthur Mitchell knows full-well that his attempt to bring down the government is doomed to fail, given the fact the government has a majority,” Hardy says about the Liberals’ non-confidence motion. “The Liberals are once again demonstrating to me they are more interested in playing partisan political games than engaging in constructive dialogue that will advance the important business of the Yukon people.”
“Some Liberal MLAs have tabled some really strong motions that could lead to good public policy,” Cardiff adds. “For example, the MLA for Vuntut Gwitchin has read a motion into the record calling for the creation of a non-partisan commission to look into ways we can better protect aboriginal languages.”
But instead of debating that very important issue, the Yukon Liberals have chosen to spend their motion day on political posturing and gamesmanship.
“The problem with that approach is the public’s business does not get done,” says Cardiff.
The two motions scheduled for debate today are:
Mr. Mitchell (Motion #844)
THAT this House has lost confidence in the Premier and in his capacity to govern.
Mr. Hardy (Motion #851)
THAT this House urges the Yukon Government as part of its social inclusion initiative to host a major summit in Whitehorse in early 2010, similar in structure and scope to the Yukon Substance Abuse Summit of 2005, to bring together all levels of government, including federal, territorial, First Nations, municipal, as well as non-government organizations, the private sector, people living in poverty and acknowledged experts in the field, for a focused discussion to examine effective strategies to respond to poverty and other factors, such as inadequate housing, education and employment, that exclude people from participating in healthy and productive living.