NDP softens its support for language equality
Motion slipped through convention without attracting attention
By DON MACPHERSON, The GazetteAugust 18, 2009
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Recent Canadian history bears out the wisdom of Machiavelli's advice that there is nothing in politics more perilous than initiating constitutional change.
But choosing a name for a political party appears to run a close second.
There was a short-lived Quebec party in the late 1970s initially named the Parti national. But when its founders realized that its supporters would be called "pénistes," they hastily added the word "populaire" to the name.
The official name of the former Canadian Alliance party - the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance - was changed only a few days after it was chosen by party members in 2000. When the word "party" was added to the name, it generated the acronym CCRAP.
And at the New Democratic Party convention in Halifax last weekend, a resolution to drop the "New" from the name of the now 48-year-old party was allowed to die without being voted upon despite having strong support.
It wasn't until the resolution reached the convention that it was pointed out that the party's new initials in French would be pronounced "pédé," which is a derogatory term for homosexuals.
Only about 10 per cent of the delegates to the NDP convention were from Quebec, less than half this province's 23-per-cent share of the country's population. But they appeared to wield influence out of proportion to their numbers.
Not only did they get the proposed name change killed, they also got the party to soften its support for equality between English and French in federal jurisdiction.
More on link
Motion slipped through convention without attracting attention
By DON MACPHERSON, The GazetteAugust 18, 2009
Article Link
Recent Canadian history bears out the wisdom of Machiavelli's advice that there is nothing in politics more perilous than initiating constitutional change.
But choosing a name for a political party appears to run a close second.
There was a short-lived Quebec party in the late 1970s initially named the Parti national. But when its founders realized that its supporters would be called "pénistes," they hastily added the word "populaire" to the name.
The official name of the former Canadian Alliance party - the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance - was changed only a few days after it was chosen by party members in 2000. When the word "party" was added to the name, it generated the acronym CCRAP.
And at the New Democratic Party convention in Halifax last weekend, a resolution to drop the "New" from the name of the now 48-year-old party was allowed to die without being voted upon despite having strong support.
It wasn't until the resolution reached the convention that it was pointed out that the party's new initials in French would be pronounced "pédé," which is a derogatory term for homosexuals.
Only about 10 per cent of the delegates to the NDP convention were from Quebec, less than half this province's 23-per-cent share of the country's population. But they appeared to wield influence out of proportion to their numbers.
Not only did they get the proposed name change killed, they also got the party to soften its support for equality between English and French in federal jurisdiction.
More on link
