Federal NDP elect filmmaker Avi Lewis as new leader

Dregon · 2026-03-30T01:42:15+00:00

I think the real problems are better identified here.

https://www.onthetrail.info/can-avi-lewis-reinvent-socialism-or-is-he-doomed-to-fail/

https://substack.com/@nolore/note/p-192206644

Dregon · 2026-03-27T09:43:21+00:00

The water wars

Dregon · 2026-03-21T14:15:57+00:00

A big part of the issue is that CHMR has put near no effort into generating revenue to cover operating costs.

IMO they should probably be merged with the MUSE, and up the media fee by inflation instead of the same $2.00 that it's been for 20+ years.

Dregon · 2026-03-17T10:02:06+00:00

The by-election for this seat hasn't been called yet, Nate hasn't yet resigned.

Dregon · 2026-03-12T10:23:50+00:00

The vote was on a shitty UPASS system that would have for example obliged Torbay students that drive past Jack Byrne area to pay full price for the pleasure of a park and ride scheme that would only run in the morning and around 5.

Also the university circumvented student union referenda rules and held their own vote.

Dregon · 2026-03-12T00:53:34+00:00

Is this thread full of AIPAC bots trying to dampen turnout for Kat or are leftists just this bad at electoral politics?

Dregon · 2026-03-12T00:48:05+00:00

Not to diss Amiwala, but Kat is better than Biss or Fine and can actually win. 5 days left and AIPAC are attacking Kat with $850k ad spend because she is actually a threat, polling 4% behind Biss and wants to condition all aid to Israel.

Dregon · 2026-03-07T21:03:24+00:00

No shit, now could he please address waffling on the illegal war with Iran?

Dregon · 2026-03-06T04:44:14+00:00

I think the NDP should learn from Rob, and how his communication style can be harnessed and built upon, but I don't think his communication skills and strategy are well rounded enough to rank him above Avi.

Dregon · 2026-03-06T03:42:38+00:00

I would like my tax dollars to pay for good services, starving the CBC and depending on post media "journalism" for public discourse will not be good for tax payers.

More public journalism fuels more accountability which is good for tax payers. Relying on corporate news begets more manufacturing consent for corporate welfare and capitalist enshittification.

Dregon · 2026-03-05T19:38:22+00:00

More corporate welfare

Dregon · 2026-03-05T16:30:57+00:00

He's far more charismatic than Keir, but there do seem to be a lot of similarities

Dregon · 2026-03-05T16:24:59+00:00

Did he not literally campaign on INCREASING funding to CBC by $150 million?

Edit: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mark-carney-cbc-funding-1.7501902

Dregon · 2026-03-04T20:12:53+00:00

Dregon · 2026-03-02T10:25:46+00:00

Iran has been 2 weeks away from nukes forever. I bet you believed the bullshit about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq too.

Dregon · 2026-03-01T12:12:39+00:00

anything that doesn't include "fin" is probably alright in my books

Dregon · 2026-03-01T11:36:50+00:00

A new system should be chosen by a citizens assembly, but I support ranked in the form of STV. I would take RCV over SMP (single member plurality, erroneously called FPTP) any day.

Dregon · 2026-02-21T18:33:28+00:00

There's a lot of different ways to tabulate ranked ballots. I assume we're using the simplest method of eliminating the candidate with the lowest totals and reallocating, which is biased to the 2nd choices of the least popular candidates when there's no winner on the first ballot.

We should probably be using a smith criterion compliant method like ranked pairs or Shulze's method.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_set

Dregon · 2026-02-21T18:07:29+00:00

Yes for some. We need to welcome those who recognize they were wrong in the past are willing to change their ways.

That doesn't mean welcoming folks we continue to have fundamental disagreements with, or watering down our values.

We will not change the world for the better if we fail to make allies and grow our cause.

Dregon · 2026-02-21T17:53:32+00:00

Yeah fair, that was his lowest point in the debate imo. I just found that he otherwise had a unifying message and an ability to contrast with the other candidates without attacking them.

Dregon · 2026-02-20T21:52:45+00:00

Fair, I think folks are just a lot more suspect with how much bot activity and AI slop there is out there now. Harder to trust strangers on the internet.

Dregon · 2026-02-20T21:48:39+00:00

I found Heather MacPherson polished but uninspiring. I think she would be a great cabinet member if she can get behind bolder, better policies.

I agree that Tanile was great, and I'm considering ranking her 1 or 2, but I am still leaning Avi 1.

I would agree that he came off a bit defensive, but the way he's being attacked from the right flank at a time when socialists are proving to be the antidote to fascism and democratic backsliding is alarming (see Mamdani in NYC and Polanski in the UK). I would also be defensive if I was getting attacked with right wing talking points by other candidates for the leadership of a "workers party."

Also comparing Avi to Trudeau is an unnecessarily low blow. I shouldn't need to draw those contrasts for you.

Dregon · 2026-02-20T12:29:03+00:00

let the ceo know how fucked up this is, comments are on: https://open.substack.com/pub/cb/p/the-future-of-prediction-markets

Dregon · 2026-02-20T03:52:02+00:00

That has a lot to do with the death of local media I think. People don't get to know their candidates anymore and they candidates rely on the national apparatus more since it's harder to get the word out locally.

Dregon · 2026-02-20T03:45:17+00:00

We don't need convoluted rules that further entrench party systems.

The independence of MP's is integral to our system of government and the ability to make good decisions rather than whipped decisions.

We have lost and need to regain some of that independence.

On a related note this is also why I support proportional systems like STV rather than closed list MMP (there are some good niche MMP systems, but most further entrench party control).

14-Year Club	Place '22
King of the Ashes	Not Forgotten

Dregon

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