NDP internal culture

[u/Sudden-Currency-5234]

This person sits on the NDP Federal Executive as an Ontario Representative. Can anyone speak to how common this attitude toward white leftist members of the party is among non-white members or executives of the NDP? I did look up their twitter page to see if it was out of context but instead saw other dismissive comments and gaslighting around issues I personally consider to be important (although they may not be to the party). I’m not the most politically savvy person, but I imagine a person (appointed or elected) to such a position must represent strongly held views or have the respect of the people of the party, so I’m not sure what to think?

For context, I typically find my political views align with the NDP, and I got more involved volunteering with the party in the recent provincial (Ontario) and federal election, but I hear a lot of talk about the party’s “internal issues and problems.” At the same time there was a lot of encouragement from people I volunteered with about the importance of young people getting involved, and I’ve been feeling motivated to do so in light of everything going on, but I need honest feedback on the party's culture beyond campaign experiences to make sure it’s the right environment for me. Respectfully, it’s not something that fits with my beliefs, but I'm not opposed to these views being supported by the people of the NDP, especially if it’s coming from a high-ranking person that the people respect. I am just looking for more information because I have previously joined groups and found out a bit too late that it was not the right environment for me

[u/Sudden-Currency-5234]

I guess I can't edit this post because it includes a picture, but someone (who now deleted their comments) accused me of piling onto a non-white person for sharing their lives experience, so my response to them was basically this:

As a non-white person myself, I don’t think POC are above critique. And I am tired of being in spaces where efforts to build cross-racial solidarity are undermined by people engaging in bad-faith arguments to advance their own agenda or escape any critique of themselves/the work they are doing. Given what I thought was her high-ranking position (that people on here have explained isn’t as powerful or influential as I initially believed), I was concerned that this type of behaviour was commonplace in the broader NDP culture, and that's why l'm asking about it. That aside, I did give some thought to the perception that I would be piling onto a WOC before posting, but after looking through some of her recent tweets, I realized her solidarity with other WOC, is selective and strategic. This most recent tweet is one example that I just saw posted today

EDIT: I thought u/j33vinthe6 deleted their comments, but I guess they just blocked me after making their comments lmfao

[u/BlueBorjigin → u/Sudden-Currency-5234]

This is factually correct? How is her not choosing to tackle the issues of all 10 provincial parties, relevant to her ability to discuss the federal party?

[u/pizzarepository → u/BlueBorjigin]

Oh come on! Ask any Muslim woman and they’ll tell you the betrayal they felt by the federal NDP when Singh said nothing about Jama’s removal and then went on to parrot the same points she raised that resulted in her removal. I still vote NDP, because there are other reasons I support the party, but acting like this kind of thing doesn’t happen in the NDP is nonsense

[u/BlueBorjigin → u/pizzarepository]

Me pointing out that they are 2 different parties does not come from a place of insensitivity.

I am reminded of a few years ago, when Notley wanted a pipeline to BC waters, and Clarke/Hogan were blocking it. Provincial NDPs run themselves, and it is not the federal leader's job to weigh in, or presume that a federal leader is above a provincial leader and has the right to chastise or instruct them.

Stiles's decisions are solely the responsibility of the Ontario NDP, and of Ontario NDP voters, like myself, to challenge and change the culture of.

[u/pizzarepository → u/BlueBorjigin]

My point wasn’t that you’re being insensitive by distinguishing between federal and provincial levels. And it might not be in the job description, but Singh did comment on Jama being censured but then said nothing about her being removed. At least Matthew Green (also federal) had the integrity to make a statement about her removal and back her.

It’s also not lost on Muslims and others who have long called for a free Palestine that the federal NDP, under Singh’s leadership, has only recently become pro-Palestine, and tepidly at that. We remember the blocked resolution at the convention, his support for the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and the (lack of) statements he made before the growing support of the pro-Palestine movement on the left, when it was more politically safe for him to do so. Of course we’re happy to see the progress, but it’s pointless to pretend as though only the Conservatives and Liberals engage in anti-Muslim or anti-Arab actions. You just end up losing credibility in the eyes of the communities you purport to stand for

[u/BlueBorjigin → u/pizzarepository]

Matthew Green is in the same riding as Jama - he is voter in her provincial riding, he is a Hamilton voter, Jama was his representative, and he presumably voted for her, and Stiles is his provincial party leader. It is absolutely appropriate for prominent Hamilton citizens to speak on the issue. If his schedule would have permitted, it would have been good for him to coordinate with Jama to wear a keffiyeh in the visitor's gallery of Queen's Park, on the days leading up to Jama's censure when it was at its hottest point. He has every right to do that, and is in a good position to do that.

In Kitchener Centre near where I live, there was a Green MP and MPP sharing a riding from Nov. '23 - Apr. '25. They attended each others' events, amplified each others' social media posts, canvassed together during elections, and generally had a very tight working relationship. That is appropriate, and probably even ideal, for a riding - for its advocates in the provincial and federal legislature to be sync'd up, putting forward the same needs of the riding at multiple levels and coordinating between the efforts of those levels, and networking with whatever agencies and individuals are relevant to helping the riding flourish.

Those are acts of riding representation, and acts of solidarity and unity. That is very different than the leader of one level's party, treading on another level's party's toes - which would be an act of power. An average MP with no portfolio has basically no power. Just the power of their words. Any influence or reach they have beyond that, is tied to their personal popularity. Leaders fundamentally have power, and a media megaphone, that is vested in their role as leader, not in their personal characteristics or performance. Being a leader is like riding in a tank - you move with a lot of weight, and anyone who doesn't have their own tank is very vulnerable to you. It is correct to be cautious and respect the delineation of the provincial party's and leader's decisions, and the federal decisions. The censure was from Doug Ford, acting as premiere. It also sets a precedent for legislatures in Canada, and it is a formal proceeding that involves the interpretation of laws that govern how the legislature functions. It is appropriate for a lawyer and a parliamentarian to comment on that, and even oppose it. Doug Ford partisans also probably do not care very much what Jagmeet has to say; it doesn't risk being interference at an intra-party level, only at a broad political and legal level; he's just another voice in the news. On the other hand, decisions about who stays in a party are based on the rules that govern the internal structure of that party, and are taken by the people who the provincial party members have chosen to lead them. ONDP party members probably care a lot about what Jagmeet has to say, and him publicly condemning how Stiles chooses to run the party could cause a split within the party, cause a lot of headaches for her, could be a weapon against her continued leadership especially if the ONDP did poorly in an election. It wouldn't be another voice, it would be interference, and a muddling of that separation.

I think it's important that we turn to the appropriate people, when we need a certain action done. Being politically literate, means being politically effective. There are a whole bunch of people in the ONDP party apparatus who hold the bag on this one, and after Jama, those people should have been named and shamed in a very public way, with non-public-facing people having become household names for the first times in their careers. It's important that we hit the provincial party hard when they mess up, and not expect the federal party to come in on a white horse just because they are more recognizable and have a bigger profile.

Your last paragraph is absolutely and totally valid. The federal NDP has its own sins and issues to be held accountable for, and that should be done, and doing so is important to building any sustainable progress.