Staff
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty was acclaimed as the NDP candidate in the next federal election following three nomination meetings held across the riding that culminated Wednesday night at the East End Hall here.
But Rafferty told those on hand that it’s “pretty clear” people in this riding don’t want an election anytime soon.
“I don’t want you to think that we’re giving Mr. Harper a blank cheque,” he cautioned about the NDP’s decision to support the government in a budgetary vote earlier this month.
And with a drop for support of the Liberals in recent polls, Rafferty said he worries that if an election was called, Canada might end up with a majority Harper government.
“And I don’t think anyone wants that,” he remarked.
Rafferty explained the NDP will be voting on a case by case basis, and won’t vote for anything that is “regressive.”
This case by case basis included the budget motion recently passed with the support of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois—a motion Rafferty said included things he thought were good for Canadians, such as approval of the home renovation tax credit, the first-time home buyers’ tax credit, and allowing farmers to defer their income for two years.
Rafferty also took time Wednesday night to highlight other accomplishments of the NDP and himself over the past year, including a recent agreement by the Conservatives to enact parts of the Workers’ Rights Bill the NDP has been pushing for.
“It’s very important and it’s something we’ve been fighting for,” he noted, explaining these changes will view workers’ pensions as deferred wages, and that pensioners will have “supercreditor status” and be paid first should a business go bankrupt.
“That’s a big victory,” Rafferty stressed, adding the NDP still will fight for more of the Workers’ Rights Bill to be enacted.
Other areas he highlighted included the $200 million the federal government has invested to fight against the spruce budworm, as well as the billion-dollar forestry package.
“So that is the kind of work that we do there,” Rafferty said, taking time to thank both his staff and constituents for their support over the past year.
“We’ve had lots of successes,” he added. “We’re getting things done, [and] we will continue to get things done.”
