Delegates to the federal NDP convention delivered some stinging rebukes to party leader Alexa McDonough's attempt to move right.
McDonough has sought over the last year to follow the model set by Tony Blair's New Labour Party in Britain.
After a trip through Europe and a caucus train ride around Canada last summer, McDonough announced that the NDP would attempt to woo business.
Party members and even some labour leaders were outraged at this shift.
As a result, McDonough was forced to soften her public statements.
Then the caucus tried to publicly discredit and humiliate Svend Robinson over presenting a petition from constituents calling for God to be removed from the constitution.
It was clearly an attack on the left in the party of which Robinson is the most high-profile spokesperson.
McDonough and others such as MP's John Solomon, Lorne Nystrom and Nelson Riis hoped that at convention they would be able to win the policies they wanted to follow through on their shift right.
One of the first signs that this wouldn't be a cake walk came when the NDP caucus were introduced.
The loudest applause and a partial standing ovation went to Svend Robinson. Only McDonough received louder applause, an expected response as party leader.
But her speech received mostly a lukewarm response except when left-wing views such as fighting homelessness were put forward.
The leadership's growing fears about a rebellion from the membership were made clear by their distancing of themselves from Tony Blair's 'Third Way.' A reference to working with business was even deleted from the final version of the speech.
And in her speech McDonough stated to loud applause: "We must lay out a new way for Canadians to navigate in the 21st century. Not an old way, not a Third Way, but a made-in-Canada way, our New Democratic way."
However it was also clear that while she was willing to give up the label, she intended to continue the same policy. Her speech was littered with phrases about "fiscal responsibility," "practical solutions," and "responding to change."
These were her mantra the entire weekend, regardless of votes taken on the floor. And in her speech there was even a direct quote taken from the "Third Way" document written by Tony Blair and right-wing German social democratic chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
As Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) leader Buzz Hargrove stated in a media scrum after her speech: "I take some heart out of the fact that Alexa didn't feel comfortable embracing the Third Way but I'm still concerned because the 'Canadian Way' could very well be defined, as this convention goes on, as the Third Way."
But McDonough's argument that the membership supported her direction for the party became more and more at odds with reality as the debates and votes unfolded on the floor.
Support for the first economic policy paper entitled "Social Democratic Fiscal Framework in a Global Environment" was vociferously opposed from the floor by high profile union leaders such as Buzz Hargrove and CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan.
The paper argued for, among other things, tax cuts and a balanced budget as key NDP policies -- a serious concession to the right-wing.
Ryan argued in response that "tax cuts are a leech sucking the lifeblood out of our social programs."
Eventually the policy paper passed but a solid 1/3 of delegates voted against it.
Widespread opposition to the leadership's direction could also be seen by the attendance at a meeting of the Socialist Caucus at which Ryan spoke. Around 70 people crammed a room to hear him condemn Blairism and demand policies which put human needs before profit.
The Socialist Caucus claimed that up to 100 people attended its regular meetings over the course of the weekend.
And throughout the convention hundreds of delegates wore stickers on their credentials, bags, hats and shirts which said: "Third Way? NO WAY!" and "Go Left." Even the mainstream media was forced to note them.
On the second day of the convention the leadership were forced into a full retreat.
First came a resolution condemning the Third Way and its support of the market and profit as the basis for determining policies. As soon as it was read out loud cheers and clapping broke out in the hall.
When the chair and delegates from more conservative unions tried to shut down debate bedlam broke out in the hall with shouts, clapping and pounding on tables.
Seeing that they risked a walkout or a complete loss of control the right-wing backed down and the debate continued.
Not one MP, party leader or union leader stood up to oppose the resolution though several had been quoted in the press as supporting the Third Way in the lead up to the convention.
Every speaker who spoke against the Third Way received loud applause and often, standing ovations.
Former Ontario MPP Dennis Drainville, who split from the Ontario NDP government after it backed down on public auto insurance was the first to speak to the resolution.
"Brothers and sisters, the corporate agenda is not the agenda of the workers, the corporate agenda is not the agenda of the people, and the corporate agenda must not become our agenda."
He was followed by Svend Robinson who argued forcefully: "Let us be perfectly clear that the Third Way is the way to political oblivion for New Democrats... I urge delegates to say 'no' to the Third Way... 'no' to the move to the right... and 'yes' to democratic socialism."
When the vote was taken the support for the resolution was almost unanimous throughout the hall. Delegates let out a loud cheer and thumped their tables.
But what was also clear was that the leadership were willing to lose some battles on the floor in order to keep unity but they intended to push ahead with Blairism just the same.
As Jeremy Arsenault, the communications coordinator on the Ontario New Democratic Youth executive told Socialist Worker, "The same hypocrites that voted in favour of fiscal responsibility yesterday also voted to denounce the Third Way. I think that it was a bone thrown to the left."
Shortly afterward Alexa McDonough certainly confirmed this during a media scrum held to indicate her response to the vote. She stated that she had voted in favour of the resolution and supported its condemnation of the Third Way.
"[It was] an important assertion by this convention of exactly what I said in my speech yesterday. What we are determined to do is bring forward the 'Canadian Way' to bring us into the 21st century."
McDonough denied that the resolution indicated anything more than a rejection of the term "Third Way" and did not indicate anything less than full support for her policies. [see box "Trashing Blairism"]
But if McDonough acted with contempt towards the membership, that contempt was often returned in kind.
This was apparent at a reception she held for youth delegates on the first night of the convention.
Several youth wore pins with McDonough's picture, only her name was changed on it to Kim Campbell, a reference to the short-lived Tory Prime Minister.
Others were plastered with "Go Left!" and "Third Way? NO WAY!" stickers and wearing "Capitalism $ucks!" t-shirts.
One youth leaned forward as they shook hands and said to her: "I can't wait until the next leadership convention so I can vote against you." McDonough was shocked and taken aback.
Nor was it confined to the youth of the party. Bill Schramm a miner at Royal Oak mines in Yellowknife told Socialist Worker : "While the leadership may be so far off track that really they ought to resign, the delegates here haven't forgotten what socialism is."
The leadership were clearly very nervous. Newly elected Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti who had been quoted in the press prior to the convention as a strong supporter of the Third Way and of tax cuts suddenly changed his tune.
His speech after the Third Way debate tacked considerably to the left stating that "New Democrats represent people, not markets" and condemning the Third Way.
"Here in Canada, centre-field and right-field are so crowded with politicians that there is not room left but there is plenty of room left in left-field. And if you build it, they will come."
However, safely away from delegates he told the media that the NDP was "not anti-business. We're not anti-big business. We're not anti-small business. But we are pro-corporate responsibility..."
After the passage of the resolution condemning the Third Way delegates unanimously rejected a policy document on job creation.
The document spent a lot of time talking about the need to support the private sector, flexible work and getting the input of all "stakeholders" -- a Blairite codeword for business input. But the paper never once mentioned the right to strike.
The leadership of the caucus were desperate to not appear under siege. The motion to refer the jobs document for re-writing was put forward by MP Pat Martin, at best a centre-right member of caucus.
He breathed an audible sigh of relief at his microphone when the motion of referral immediately went to a vote without further discussion on the floor.
They attempted to regain the initiative. A small business caucus was launched and announced to the media. The caucus was headed up by Lorne Nystrom and Nelson Riis.
However, many of their posters were covered with anti-Third Way stickers.
More left-wing resolutions passed throughout the remainder of the convention.
Popular left-wing MP Libby Davies spoke to an excellent resolution on homelessness which adopted the policy position of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. Davies received thunderous applause and the motion passed unanimously.
Later, an emergency resolution calling for a universal, publicly-funded childcare program was also passed.
But none of this was the message that the party leadership wanted to have come out of the convention.
At the final press conference, Alexa McDonough repeated over and over that the party would now emphasize "fiscal responsibility."
"What is important for all Canadians to understand is that we approach these issues from a position of fiscal responsibility."
When she was asked repeatedly if the NDP was still on the left or had moved to the centre she refused to answer the question. And she denied that the jobs document had been defeated by convention, presumably since one of those involved in it had moved the referral motion.
What was clear was that while delegates gave the right-wing leadership a black eye, they will interpret the resolutions and sentiment of the membership in whatever way suits them. And what suits Alexa McDonough and company is Tony Blair and the Third Way, or whatever they choose to call it.
Struggle is the key
McDonough and her supporters made it clear that they will continue to push the party to the right, regardless of the votes at convention.
This shows in what contempt they hold the membership and party democracy.
But the shift rightwards is not inevitable.
Preventing the party from moving to the right however, will not fundamentally be won within the party itself.
The leadership controls the party machine and in between conventions there is very little the membership can do to bring pressure to bear on the party leadership.
What is key is what happens outside the party: the state of the struggle.
The reason why NDP members felt confident to challenge McDonough while Tony Blair was able to easily defeat his opponents has nothing to do with the inherent character of the two parties.
Britain has a low level of struggle in comparison to Canada which has the highest level of strikes in the industrialized world. We have seen the Days of Action movement in Ontario, illegal nurses strikes in Saskatchewan and Quebec, occupations of closing plants and numerous economic strikes.
Workers are developing the confidence, through struggle, to challenge the market.
That confidence was expressed at the convention and before it to keep pressure on union leaders who are nervous about losing the support of their membership.
The union leadership -- as well as the rank and file -- have transmitted this more militant mood to the leadership of the NDP, undermining the confidence of the right-wing.
What is clear is that while the leadership may be able to ignore resolutions on paper, they cannot ignore a militant, active union movement.
If they do so they risk losing its support -- a point made forcefully by Buzz Hargrove during the debate on the Third Way resolution.
"I want to say as clearly as I can, that a move to the right will not enjoy the support of the Canadian Auto Workers union."
The party leadership tries to use the passivity and lack of confidence of the membership to control the party both at and in-between conventions. Building struggles and a network of activists on that basis is the best way to challenge the shift to the right.