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Tap into Struggling Workers' Anger to Win, Harry Smith Tells NDP

Path to victory includes those who need the most help, says 92-year-old austerity opponent.

Jeremy Nuttall 6 Aug 2015TheTyee.ca

Jeremy J. Nuttall is The Tyee's Parliament Hill reporter in Ottawa. Find his previous stories here.

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If the New Democratic Party hopes to take charge of Canada, it must reach out to the most vulnerable in the country and drive home how it will create change, said 92-year-old progressive crusader Harry Smith.

If not, Smith warned, the NDP could risk blowing the election, much like the Labour Party in the United Kingdom did earlier this year.

Smith toured the U.K. during that campaign, encouraging people to vote Labour for the sake of social services that didn't exist when he was a child and which are now under the threat of austerity. The misery of his youth is documented in his book, Harry's Last Stand.

Smith moved to Canada in the 1950s and now divides his life between Yorkshire, England and Ontario.

He recently finished a tour of Canada to spread the same message he did in Britain: ''Don't let my past become your future.''

Earlier this week, at a Tim Horton's just off Highway 401 in his Canadian home of Belleville, Ont., Smith said he feels ''cheated'' by Labour's loss in the U.K. He said he partly blames the party's inability to reflect and capture the anger and desperation of the nation's most vulnerable.

''I think the Labour Party overstepped themselves. They thought it was an easy job, and it wasn't,” Smith said. ''They were not looking at it from the aspect of the people in the lower classes of society, the people who are suffering.''

Canada's election writ dropped Sunday, and so far the NDP has spoken about the concerns of dairy farmers and stressed its commitment to looking out for Quebec's interests on a federal stage.

But if the New Democrats don't want to experience the same defeat as the Labour Party, Smith said, they need to ramp up efforts to reach low-income earners in Canada -- those who require help and feel there is nowhere to turn.

That includes young people saddled with student debt and poor job prospects, he said.

A party for the people

According to Statistics Canada, Canada's youth unemployment rate is at 12.9 per cent for people aged 15 to 24. The agency said the average student debt level for a bachelor's degree is more than $26,000.

One solution put forward by Stephen Poloz, the Tory-appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada, was that unemployed youth should work for free to beef up their resumes.

"Get some real-life experience even though you're discouraged, even if it's for free," Poloz said during a November House of Commons committee meeting, prompting anger and backlash from young people and columnists.

At the time, Claire Seaborn of the Canadian Intern Association accused Poloz of sending the message to companies that the nation's young people are so desperate they will work for free.

Smith said the NDP must grab hold of that kind of anger and prove it will be the party that best represents Canadians.

''They must start telling the public how and what they're going to change,'' Smith said. ''It's essential that the people know and understand deeply that Mulcair will be the leader that will change our system.''

The NDP's proposal for a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, increasing federal transfers for health care, and improving environmental protection laws are campaign points Mulcair must champion to get those voters out, he said.

A plan to bring back manufacturing is also key, Smith said, suggesting tax incentives for small industry.

Reaching blue collar youth

As Smith talked to The Tyee, a construction crew of young men worked outside to spruce up the exterior of the coffee shop.

After the Second World War, such jobs could afford a person a home and family, Smith said.

But looking at the young men through the window, Smith said he's worried those jobs are now being undermined.

In the wake of federal legislation such as Bill C-377, which opponents say is intended to weaken labour movements, Smith said the NDP needs to reach out to workers and show how wages and rights can be raised and restored.

Reflecting on his tour, Smith said many young Canadians seemed to understand his message because they are already experiencing some of the trials he raises.

Sky-high housing prices were a major concern, he said, as the federal government has done nothing to cool the market and give youth a chance at home ownership.

Though the people he met on tour gave him hope, Smith said he could also feel their worry.

''I felt desperate. I felt there was an undertone of unhappiness they couldn't openly express, an undercurrent of fear,'' he said.

''I was glad to be there and I was hoping what I was saying was sinking in… they have to get out and change society by voting.''

He said the NDP can make these needed changes, or be pressured to make them if elected.

But to do that, he said, it first needs to tap into the feelings of those who are overworked, underpaid and desperate for change in Canada.  [Tyee]

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