Jean Crowder and the State of Canadian Politics

29 February 2012Jim Ganley

It has been a year since our Jean Crowder, our NDP Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Cowichan graced us with her presence and much has changed in that time both for her, the NDP party, and the Canadian government.

After an hour-long question and answer period with more than 150 students in the Killy Theatre, Jean spent another hour on Wednesday morning with Mr. Wismer’s Comparative Government and Politics class and explained some of the major changes she has witnessed in Ottawa. She spoke excitedly of the growth of her party, which won an unprecedented 103 seats in parliament last year making it the official opposition.

She described how the dynamics of the party have changed since this move, especially considering that several of the new elected candidates, such as the “McGill 4”, are still in university and not much older than the grade 12s at our school. When questioned on the reality of having such young MPs, Ms Crowder responded that age in parliament does not necessarily contribute to wisdom and that the fresh ideas of the emerging generation are important for progress.

Within ten minutes of her arrival, the classroom quickly turned into a question period and several students were quick to question Jean on her views of the Conservative Party which she deemed as “uncooperative” with the NDP, the Canadian Senate which she expects would be voted out if the public were given the choice, the proposed Omnibus Crime bill which she criticized as being an ineffective drain on federal and provincial funds, and the future of the NDP’s influence in Quebec which she believes is continuing to expand.

On a more somber note, Ms Crowder also expressed her sadness over the passing of the leader of the NDP, Jack Layton, last year, and spoke reminiscently of “growing up in Parliament with Jack” and how this unfortunate loss has affected the entire party. She explained how the NDP needs a leader like Jack who is able to reconcile the differences between English and French Canada and who can lead the party forward in making major changes. In terms of her role, she says that her workload has gone up as she has become a mentor to several of the new MPs and that the new opportunities brought about by the election last year have been both exciting and stressful.

For her party as a whole, the next opportunity to gain seats in an election may be in the distant future, but the times are certainly a-changing in Ottawa and the vibrant, progressive ideals she and the new MPs are battling in parliament for certainly seem to point to a brighter future for the Nanaimo-Cowichan region, BC, and Canada as a whole.

Robin J

Where Students Choose To Be