This past Friday was a busy day in Ottawa for me as I delivered a member’s statement and also asked two questions of the government regarding life in Northern Ontario. My statement paid tribute to the Unifor #1075 workers at Bombardier in Thunder Bay who went on strike over the […]
John Rafferty – From The House
First off, I would congratulate all the members of Unifor #1075 who fought and won a tough fight for fair wages and a secure retirement for all workers at their Bombardier plant in Thunder Bay. The decision to strike was not an easy one for these members, who for nine […]
Last week, some hard numbers poked some pretty big holes in the Conservative government’s rhetoric concerning both Canada Post and job creation in this country. It was just over a year ago that the Conservatives announced the end of home mail delivery from Canada Post over the next few years. […]
Some major developments over the past week—some horrible, others good—have given new momentum to the idea of a national inquiry for missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. If you’ve seen the evening news over the past week or two, then you know the grim story of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, […]
As we approach the next federal election in 2015, the various political parties will begin to roll out their priorities and platforms. Last week, NDP leader Tom Mulcair kicked off the process by declaring that increasing health-care funding and improving access to health-care services will be a top priority for […]
As a New Democrat, I’m a proud supporter of the “sustainable development” of our natural resources. If you are wondering why, then look no further than the massive ecological disaster that occurred last week at Imperial Metal’s Mount Polley open-pit copper and gold mine in British Columbia. The United Nations […]
There is a deeply-tragic series of events that has led to economic exclusion and physical endangerment of the people of the Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations on their own territory. It is completely unacceptable and the fault for this lies exclusively with the Crown. As we all know, relations […]
Last week, Canada’s economy was downgraded by the International Monetary Fund, new statistics showed the widespread pain of those who recently have lost their jobs, and the Harper government continued to embarrass us internationally by reneging on a deal to help a country in desperate need. Both the Bank of […]
With job creation stalled, consumer credit and spending maxed out, and housing prices set for an adjustment or outright crash, Canada’s economy is sputtering mightily under the negligent watch of the Harper government. It may sound odd but it’s true that Canada’s economy has been on “full sputter” over the […]
This week, I would like to offer a bit of a recap of the spring session of Parliament that’s now behind us. New Democrats held the Conservative government of Stephen Harper to account for the weak economic growth we are experiencing in Canada, some bad policies that targeted the most […]
The Monarch butterfly population in North America is experiencing a massive decline. But if governments and citizens act soon, I’m certain we can save this species from collapse or extinction. Last week, I tabled a non-partisan motion in Parliament that could serve as a strategy to stem the decline and […]
Your right to personal privacy is under direct attack by your democratically-elected government. The attack is coming on many fronts, very quickly, and may prove irreversible if we aren’t able to stop it before it fully takes hold. Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that: […]
