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July-August 2009
Jill Marzetti
Jill Marzetti Knowing that the party had a candidates. The Leader was prepared to
strong likelihood of becoming govern- meet with these persons to bring them
In the 2009 Nova Scotia election ment, candidate search was regarded on board as candidates. In some cases
the NSNDP initiated new and updated as critical. The Party did not want to ridings were told to go back and do
organizational practices that were cru- face questions such as “Darrell is a more work on candidate search rather
cial to winning the necessary seats for good guy, but look at his team!” The than go with the same candidate they
a majority. incoming premier would need to have had had in previous elections. Most of
Those practices included: a very ac- a strong pool of MLAs from which to the ridings had candidates in place be-
tive role by the Leader, Darrell Dex- choose cabinet ministers. As Leader, fore the writs were dropped. Just half a
ter, in candidate recruitment; a pre- Darrell Dexter and his team were very dozen did not; in 2006, about a dozen
election capacity-building exercise; hands-on with the search. Ridings candidates were only nominated after
a “tough love” approach to the “safe” were encouraged to target individuals the writs were dropped.
incumbents; a target team approach to who were experienced in business, ag- Once candidates were nominated,
the new seats that were needed, and a riculture, the fishery, civic government a capacity-building exercise was done
fresh approach to the endgame. and law enforcement as prospective with incumbents and (Cont’d on p.5)
1 Hear ts and Minds
In this issue
4 Strategic challenges in the Nova 3 2009 Liberal Budget and the Har-
Scotia election monized Sales Tax (HST) in Ontario
Jill Marzetti Cheri DiNovo, MPP (Parkdale—High Park)
The articles contained within represent the views of each author, not necessarily those of
either the riding association executive or any other NDP body. All authors are members of
the Parkdale-High Park Riding Association unless otherwise identified.
These goods and services will cost you 8 percent more under the HST
Accounting services Haircuts and styling Plumbing services Theatre admissions Dry cleaning
Adult footwear under $30 Home heating oil Postal stamps Tobacco Electrical services
Air-conditioning repairs Home renovations Prepared foods under $4, Bicycles Electricity
Arena ice rentals Internet access fees including coffee, muffins, Veterinary care Energy Star appliances
Audio books for the blind Landscaping fast food meals, etc. Domestic air travel Financial advisory services
Bicycle safety gear Legal services Real estate commissions Train fares Funeral services
Boat docking fees Magazines Rentals of commercial Taxi fares Furnace repairs
Campground fees Manicures property Bus fares Gas at the pumps
Car washes Massages Ski lift tickets Sale of farmland Vitamins
Carpentry services Moving vans Snow-plowing Courier fees Grass-cutting
Conferences and seminars Newspapers Sports field rentals Real Christmas trees Gym fees
Thus the ballot question became “Can we risk four more Dexter and the NSNDP had established a trust with the
years of the Rodney MacDonald government?” The over- voters that was rewarded on election day with thirty-one
whelming response was negative which led to the answer, of the fifty-two seats going to the NDP. The Liberals got
“we can make life better for you and your family. For genu- eleven seats. The Conservatives retained ten seats and
ine leadership for today’s families, vote for Darrell Dexter Rodney MacDonald has resigned as leader.
and the NDP”
Darrell Dexter and the NSNDP now have four years to
When the assault came in the last ten days of the campaign, provide genuine leadership as a government with a bal-
Darrell Dexter and the NDP were well-positioned to resist. anced, practical plan for Nova Scotian families.
Nova Scotians simply weren’t afraid that unions would Jill Marzetti was director of organization in the Nova Scotia NDP’s
run the province should the NDP be elected government. 2009 campaign.
The safe fifteen incumbents—those who had been elected Finally, the team recognized early that to plan for the last
before 2006—were told to expect nothing in terms of re- week, the endgame strategy, a new and rested person was
sources from the central campaign. With the exception of needed to freshen up the campaign and provide a crisp,
two seats that was the rule. The only support the incum- focussed run to election day. That person was a co-chair
bents received was communications support for leaflets, of the election planning committee who had not been
copies of the platform, and a check-in call every two days involved in the day-to-day running of the campaign and
in the writ period. No e-day staff, no phone bank time, no had been out of the country. She drafted an approach to
mailings. the last five days after consultation with all departments,
for the consideration of the campaign director. That plan
The campaign had determined that special attention need- involved moving staff between campaigns, new signage, a
ed to be given to the five seats gained in 2006 and the next final piece of literature with the ballot question (see Strate-
best prospects that the NSNDP needed to win to form gic challenges), radio ads, phone blasts, local ad buys, and
government. Those latter seats were determined, as usual, leader’s letters of endorsements to the homes of our identi-
by size of loss in 2006, no non-NDP incumbent in place, fied supporters.
and special circumstances—our candidate, troubles with
the non-NDP incumbent, and polling. Those seats were These practices made a huge difference in winning and
serviced by a special team (the target team concept that provide an interesting lesson to us Ontario New Demo-
originated in Manitoba), with dedicated communications, crats.
5 Hear ts and Minds
Psychiatric survivors need jobs
What should we do? The first thing Out of This World Café and Parkdale
David Reville, former NDP MPP
we need to do is rid ourselves of the no- Green Thumb Enterprises. And, show-
I went to the doctor to find out how tion that having a mental illness means ing that survivor business isn’t just a
high my cholesterol was. In the wait- you can’t work. Most of the 70 people big city phenomenon, Abel Enterprises
ing room was a poster that read “em- who work at A-Way Express Couriers in Simcoe produces custom wood-
ployment determines health”; I knew, were told they couldn’t work. Hah! A- working and commercial furniture.
right then, what I’d write about for this Way is celebrating its 22nd birthday on The businesses mentioned provide full
newsletter. June 11 (Editor’s note: Approximately or part-time work for several hundred
Let me locate myself. In the 1960s, I 30 percent of the people working at A- psychiatric survivors. If there were
spent almost two years as a patient in Way Express live in Parkdale.). more businesses, many more psychi-
mental hospitals in Ontario. I got inter- The second thing we need to do is atric survivors could be employed.
ested in the mental pa- What’s needed is a
tients’ liberation move- greater investment by
ment in the early 70s; government.
that activism eventually The second is to
led me into politics— support and expand
Toronto City Council “augmented educa-
(80-85), the Ontario tion”. “Augmented
Legislature (85-90), Education” is a new
and in the Premier’s training and employ-
Office (90-94). In 1996, ment support model
I started David Reville developed by George
& Associates, which Brown College and the
does social research Centre for Addiction
and community devel- and Mental Health
opment. Since 2004, I (CAMH). The Assis-
have been teaching A tant Cook Extended
History of Madness and Training program is
Mad People’s History at one of two “Augmented
Ryerson University. Education” programs
Seventy to ninety currently offered at
l to r: A-Way Express Executive Director Laurie Hall, David Reville, and activist
percent of people with Pat Capponi at A-Way’s 20th Anniversary party George Brown College.
serious mental illness The other program is
are unemployed. When I hear people to pressure our governments to put called the Construction Craft Worker
complaining that their job is driving more emphasis on employment sup- Extended Training Program.
them crazy, I wonder if they know that ports for people with mental illness. The goal of these programs is to help
not having a job drives and/or keeps Here are some things that we could be people recovering from addiction and
people crazy. Well, it’s true. In his fa- doing more of: mental health problems take the first
mous book Recovery from Schizophre- The first is to support and expand steps toward jobs in Toronto’s food
nia Richard Warner shows that the survivor-run businesses. I’ve already service and construction industries.
biggest single factor in recovery from mentioned A-Way Express Couriers. This program is free for participants—
schizophrenia is whether or not the In Toronto, there are four other busi- with costs covered by the Ontario gov-
person works. Alas, as the statistics nesses: Fresh Start Cleaning and Main- ernment.
show, we are doing a very bad job of tenance and the three businesses that These programs are enormously
helping people with schizophrenia the Ontario Council of Alternative successful. There are three problems,
(and other mental illnesses) get work. Businesses runs: The Raging Spoon, however. There is a choice of just
Hear ts and Minds 6
Psychiatric survivors need jobs
Other sources of informa-
two programs, they are offered only hired a number of peer support work-
at George Brown College and stable ers in its schizophrenia program The tion on this issue
funding remains elusive. Augmented mental health sector employs tens of
• An interesting article
education could help any marginal- thousands of people; many more of
about survivor-run busi-
ized group gain entry into the labour them could be people with lived expe-
force and augmented education pro- rience.
nesses: Learning to walk
grams could be offered at community between worlds: informal
colleges right across the province. The For further information on A-Way’s learning in psychiatric
provincial government has provided services, call 416 424-2266, or see http:// survivor-run businesses: a
funding through a variety of funding www.awaycourier.ca retrospective re-reading of
mechanisms. I think it’s time for the research process and results
government to fund an augmented David Reville is a psychiatric survivor, and from 1993-1999, Kathryn
was a popular Toronto City Councillor
education program. Church (2001)
(1980-85) and MPP for Riverdale for two
The third thing we could do is en- terms (1985-90), before retiring from the
http://www.oise.utoronto.
courage the mental health system to legislature. He received an award from the
put more emphasis on the value of Council of Canadians with Disabilities in ca/depts/sese/csew/nall/
lived experience and hire more psychi-
2001. He now runs David Reville & Asso- res/20learningtowalk.pdf
ciates consulting firm, and is an instructor
atric survivors. The Centre for Addic- at Ryerson University’s School of Disability • “Working Like Crazy”, an
tion and Mental Health has recently Studies. NFB documentary about
survivor-run businesses.
Other businesses run by psychiatric survivors A teaching guide may be
Fresh Start Cleaning and Maintenance Busi- Parkdale Green Thumb Enterprises found at http://www.onf-
ness 1499 Queen St. W., Suite 203 nfb.gc.ca/sg/98109.pdf
761 Queen St. West, Suite 207 Toronto, ON M6R 1A3
Toronto, Ontario Tel: 416 - 537 - 9551 • For more about aug-
M6J 1G1 Fax: 416 - 537 - 1810 mented education, see
Phone: 416-504-4262 greenthumb@on.aibn.com the George Brown College
Fax: 416-504-3429 http://www.pgte.org/index.html website. There are a num-
http://www.freshstartclean.com/
This business provides specialty cosmetic
ber of articles about aug-
This business provides general office clean- landscaping both indoors and outdoors mented education on the
ing, special event cleaning, construction to local businesses and organizations. It CAMH website; see, for ex-
cleaning, seasonal lawn clean up, prepara- currently provides employment for up to ample: www.camh.net/.../
tion and fertilization. They provide over 1000 35 people. For a portfolio of their work, see Strategic_Planning_An-
hours a week of work to dozens of psychiatric their website.
survivors. nual_Reports/Annual_Re-
ports/2005/training_em-
Out of this World Café The Raging Spoon
ployment_ar2005.html
1001 Queen St. W. (inside CAMH) 761 Queen St. W. (Queen and Euclid)
Tel: 416-535-8501 x. 3006 (416) - 504 – 6128 • For information about
Fax: 416 - 583 - 1247 ragingspoon@bellnet.ca jobs requiring lived expe-
General Inquiry: info@otwcafe.com http://www.ragingspoon.com/home.htm rience of mental illness
http://www.otwcafe.com/index.html
Raging Spoon provides excellent catering e.g. peer support workers,
This business provides top-notch catering services (see their menu at http://www. see: http://www.vch.ca/
services too (see their menu and on-line ragingspoon.com/ragingspoonmenu.pdf ). It mentalhealth/peersup-
order form at http://www.otwcafe.com/ also has a café, currently under reconstruc- port_faq.htm
catering.htm) tion but reopening soon. It has employed
about 150 psychiatric survivors
7 Hear ts and Minds
Getting eHealth back on track
France Gélinas, MPP to find anyone who would deny the importance of elec-
tronic health records. Thus, it is essential that this scandal
The continuing expense does not leave Ontario even further behind in achieving a
scandal at eHealth On- system of electronic health records.
tario and the McGuinty
government’s seemingly Certainly, heads must roll as a result of the current scan-
laissez-fair supervision dal—including the one of the Minister in charge. But it’s
of the agency has cast also prudent to take a moment and think about where we
doubt on not only the ought to be headed.
competency of the gov-
ernment, but also on Electronic health record systems have the potential to save
the status of Ontario’s our healthcare system millions of dollars each year. They
electronic health records can also reduce healthcare errors, ensure greater coordina-
system. tion, and provide for better care and health outcomes for
Ontario patients.
It should be said at the outset that no government agency
should be given carte blanche in their operations, regard- Yet, in spite of these benefits, Ontario is sadly lagging be-
less of the importance of the final product. The gross mis- hind other jurisdictions.
management and waste of precious health care dollars,
the backhanded deals between friends, and the continued We are standing on the sidelines while a place like Den-
bungling of the launching of a provincial electronic health mark—with about half of Ontario’s population—demon-
records system is unacceptable. strates an advanced and comprehensive electronic health
records system. The level of integration and the close to
But where do we go from here and how do we get the de- 100 per cent compliance that has been achieved in Den-
velopment of an electronic health records system back on mark is a goal we should set our sights on.
track?
But before we think that the only leading example of this
For starters, there is no question that eHealth Ontario must kind of system is located in a far-off country, let’s take a
shed itself of the corporate culture of entitlement that has look at an Ontario-grown model.
left Ontarians appalled. These are the same Ontarians who
have patiently waited a very long time for an electronic The Group Health Centre, located in Sault Ste. Marie, has
health records system to roll out across the province. been described by Roy Romanow as “the jewel in the crown
of Medicare.” The centre is a model of inter-disciplinary,
In the healthcare sector itself, you would be hard pressed comprehensive care—all supported by an electronic health
TAKE ACTION!
Write to your federal MP, of whatever political stripe, urging him/her to vote in favour of a
firm cap on interest rates by supporting Bill C-426.
Clean energy jobs being created in Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Manitoba and Quebec
can take cold or heat out of the earth. Quebec content for wind turbines, of their state—and seeing the positive
That isn’t electricity generation. That’s they’re talking heavily about content results that you can see if you’re willing
taking advantage of heat and cooling from Gaspé. Companies are having to invest substantially and understand
storage in the ground, something we to move into the Gaspé Peninsula to where the future is going.
should be doing—an area where Man- make wind turbines, to make blades, People ask what green jobs are and
itoba is leading the way. to make the whole range of equipment I can tell you, they are financial, cleri-
In Quebec, they have investment in to actually put those wind turbines in cal, retail, IT, design, manufacturing,
wind turbines that are changing the place. So an area that for generations maintenance, construction and trans-
face of the Gaspé Peninsula. When we has seen nothing but depopulation is port. In fact almost every job we do
talk about investment in wind turbines seeing young people come back into now can advance a sustainable agenda.
in Quebec, you have to understand that the Gaspé because there are now some That’s if we are willing to act.
they’re very focused on the Gaspésie, new jobs that pay decently there.
on an area that has been chronically Quebec is using their green energy Peter Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth
since 2006, is the NDP critic on Environ-
underdeveloped, that has been losing sector as an economic development
ment and Energy.. He was previously Ex-
employment and losing population. tool—frankly, like Minnesota, which ecutive Director of Greenpeace Canada and
When Quebec talks about 60 percent has a similar strategy in the north end Toronto City Councillor for Riverdale.
Further reading
For Hunger-Proof Cities—Sustainable Urban Food Systems.
Edited by Mustafa Koc, Rod MacRae, Luc J.A. Mougeot, and Jennifer Welsh.
Published by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 1999.
For Hunger-proof Cities is the cooperation between urban and rural poverty and inequality and exam-
first book to fully examine food populations. It explores what existing ines the role of emergency food
security from an urban perspec- marketing and distribution structures systems, such as food banks. For
tive. It examines existing local can do to improve accessibility and Hunger-proof Cities includes con-
food systems and ways to improve what the emerging forms of food- tributions from farmers and pro-
the availability and accessibility distribution systems are, and how they fessors, young activists and expe-
of food for city dwellers. It looks can contribute to alleviating hunger in rienced business leaders, students
at methods to improve commu- the cities. Finally, the book discusses and policymakers, and commu-
nity-supported agriculture and the underlying structures that create nity organizers and practitioners.