Jack Layton, the downtown Toronto politician who became the sixth leader of the New Democratic Party last weekend, promised nothing less than a change in the country’s political discourse.
“The debate in this country is about to shift,” said the 52-year-old former Toronto city councillor who won the NDP leadership Jan. 25 in a first ballot romp. He was in Ottawa for the opening of Parliament and a first meeting with his parliamentary caucus.
“I’ll go further,” he added Jan. 27 as 12 of 14 caucus members, two of whom he had defeated for leader, stood behind him. “A debate is about to start on the important issues.”
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Later, Saskatchewan MP and agriculture critic Dick Proctor said he expects agricultural and rural issues will be part of the new leader’s focus, despite his reputation as a big city candidate with an urban agenda.
“To his credit, he has reached out to rural Canada, spent a lot of time in Saskatchewan during the leadership and made himself very familiar with rural issues,” Proctor said Jan. 27 after the caucus meeting.
Layton’s agricultural policy included a call for more federal support for farmers, a suspicion that World Trade Organization rules are not helpful for agriculture, a shift in federal support from large to small farms and rules to make sure railways do not overcharge farmers for their grain-hauling services.
In an interview, Layton also said he is skeptical of the benefit of genetically modified crops and supports party policy that all GM food should be labelled.
In rolling to a first-ballot victory with 54 percent of the vote Jan. 24 at a Toronto convention, Layton defeated three sitting MPs – 23-year Commons veteran Bill Blaikie of Winnipeg, who came second, 30-year Commons veteran Lorne Nystrom, who came third and rookie Windsor MP Joe Comartin, who placed fourth.
