Neighbor Murray 'played' it as a move by leader Mulcair to gain mushy middle, usually Liberal, votes, and it is. Mulcair, for the same tactical reasons, also walked away recently from the decades long NDP support of marijuana legalization and moved middle by endorsing de-criminalization instead. Mulcair is a snake oil selling liberal at heart. His campaign to gain mushy middle votes may backfire as long-time NDP supporters look for 'greener' pastures.
Mulcair is being upstaged on an even more important aspect of the Free Trade debate, this time by default. Now the Liberals, and well-groomed Justin, are the sole owners of the FAIR Trade position. Up until recently that, fair trade not free trade, was the NDP's argument. Even back before the Monster Mulroney ruled and the FTA was forced on Canada. Even then, from beneath the Monster's boot, as the mushy Liberals and liberals acquiesced, the NDP voices said "Fair Trade not Free Trade".
Free trade isn't just words to be parsed, it's a whole globe girdling, planet pulverising, paradigm. As Maude Barlow puts it, " I'm referring to those awkward facts about free trade, like that Canada lost 334,000 manufacturing jobs in the first five years after the Canada-U.S. deal was signed -- a decline that continued under NAFTA and continues to this day. Good paying full-time jobs are more often than not replaced by precarious part-time work, which contributes to Canada's stagnating middle-income wages over the past 20 years. It's a harsh reality of the free trade era that most of the new wealth created -- and free trade does create wealth -- went straight to the top, to the richest one per cent in Canada and globally."
Free Trade is a weapon of the 1%, Fair Trade is a tool of the 99% That is, IMO, Mulcair's mistake [and the neighbor's too for not mentioning it].
