Posts Tagged ‘Gilles Bisson’
Ontario NDP Leadership Convention Emergency Resolution on Stelco Layoffs
This afternoon the NDP passed an emergency resolution in response to the US Steel layoffs in Hamilton and Nanticoke. Below is a video of the NDP’s four leadership candidate’s response to the resolution and the text of the motion itself.
“Emergency Resolution – US Steel Shutdown
WHEREAS US Steel announced on March 3 that the former Stelco steel mills in Hamilton and Nanticoke would be shut down for the first time in their century-long history; and
WHEREAS this will cost the jobs of at least 1,500 workers directly and potentially thousands more in the surrounding communities; and
WHEREAS this is just the latest blow in the manufacturing crisis that has cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ontario while the McGuinty Liberal government failed to take effective action;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Ontario New Democratic Party will stand shoulder to shoulder with the affected workers and their families as they fight to keep their jobs; and will
Demand that the McGuinty and Harper governments take immediate action to explore alternatives to keep the Hamiliton and Nanticoke plants open; and
Call on the Federal government to reform Employment Insurance to expand eligibility and benefits, including eliminating the two-week waiting period; and
Demand expansion of the Harper government’s inadequate stimulus package , inclding effective “Buy Canada” provisions, to produce a stronger and faster boost to the Canadian economy; and
Will fight for broader provisions in the Investment Canada Act to protect Canadian jobs for tougher enforcement of commitments made by foreign investors.
ONDP Provincial Executive”
Posted from the floor.
4 Comments »John Laforet's Sit Down Interview With NDP Leadership Candidate and MPP Gilles Bisson
Gilles Bisson is an outlier in NDP Leadership race. If one were to play the “one of these things is not like the other” game, at least in the context of this race, that one would likely be Gilles Bisson. This isn’t necessarily good or bad, and I’m not attempting to say there aren’t differences between the other candidates, but perhaps with Bisson the differences are more pronounced.
Bisson represents the riding of Timmins James Bay – a riding that covers 25% of the land mass of the province of Ontario. His opponents all represent urban ridings in southern Ontario. Bisson is the only candidate seeking the leadership who does not have previous experience as a municipal politician. He is the only candidate to first gain entrance to the Legislative Assembly through a general election. Bisson also is the longest serving of the NDP MPPs seeking the leadership and the only one who was in caucus when the NDP government was in place. I’m not sure any of this is good or bad, just aspects of who Bisson is and what he brings to the table.
Jeff Hume continues to be a gentleman and a scholar for his most excellent work behind the camera and in all the production related matters for this video. We will endevour to put these videos on youtube when time permits as well.
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