OTTAWA (Staff) – Regina New Democrat MP John Solomon says western NDP candidates will use the next federal election to continue the fight against Liberal gun control rules.
“It’s not going to be a number one issue on the NDP list but my view is that it will be raised by constituents,” he said in an interview.
“It is an issue the Liberals are vulnerable on because it is unfair to rural people and very unpopular.”
It also could be a problem for the NDP itself. Leader Alexa McDonough insists the party supports gun control and while the last Liberal initiative is flawed, it is better to support it than not.
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Some opposed
During last year’s leadership race, she angered some of the caucus members she now leads by criticizing their opposition to gun control legislation. It created a rift between the Nova Scotia-based McDonough and the western Canadian-based caucus which still is visible at times.
In the end, eight of the nine NDP MPs voted with Reform and against the Liberals on gun control. Only Vancouver MP Svend Robinson supported it.
McDonough said Robinson, one of her leadership opponents, was reflecting traditional party policy. Solomon disagrees.
Party policy is to support effective and fair gun control and the Liberal plan does not meet the test, he said.
“In caucus, we voted eight to one against the bill and that is the position we will take when constituents raise it.”
Solomon is a member of the national election planning committee that is trying to get party policies, strategy and the campaign machine ready for the next vote, expected no later than late 1997.
