The Martlet

He is a healthy dose of left, west and orange in equal parts. You can hear his brain’s RPM from 10 feet back. Nathan Cullen, the 39-year-old New Democratic Party member of Parliament and leadership candidate says he is in the “business of ideas.” He is the only leadership candidate from B.C., representing one of the country’s largest ridings, the Bulkley-Skeena Valley.

“I very rarely try to seek sympathy from the public for being a politician,” Cullen said smiling to a crowd of 70 or so people at the Victoria Public Library on Saturday.

Joining in the race to lead the official opposition Cullen explains, “Not only must we defeat the Harper government; we must de- feat the manner in which he does government.”

Cullen is throwing his “business of ideas” behind a co-operative strategy for opposition parties to engage in a certain type of political bloodlet- ting, whereby the three opposition parties work together, weigh their odds in respective ridings and avoid vote-splitting by running only one candidate in ridings where Conser- vatives have won by marginally fewer than half of opposition candidates votes.

“I am a believer that there is a post-partisan world in front of us,” says Cullen. “I really do. I think the power of the parties is going to be less and less. I think we need to turn that power to the people and get the parties out of the way sometimes.”

Canadians are slowly waking up to the full opportunity that is posed to the NDP in the next election. With the Liberal party limping, the Bloc Quebecois conceding to the NDP, and the Conservative Party’s weak ma- jority teetering on a waffling GTA (Greater Toronto Area), the October 2015 election might be when the orange crush turns into a majority government.

“The eight of us are going to make this decision as hard as possible for you,” says Cullen referring to the other leadership candidates. The other seven candidates are: Brian Topp, Toronto ,Ont.; Romeo Saga- nash, Abitibi–James Bay–Nun- avik-Eeyou, Que.; Peggy Nash, Parkdale-High Park, Ont.; Nikki Ashton, Churchill, Man.; Martin Singh, Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S.; Thomas Mul- clair, Outremont, Que. and Paul Dewer, Ottawa, Ont.

Cullen also spoke to some important focal points for NDP leadership candidates.

“We will not allow this pipe- line to happen,” said Cullen to applause referring to the Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal that enters its first week of joint review process hearings Tues- day in Kitimat.

“You have a responsibility now, because they want to send a 1100-kilometre pipeline filled with bitumen in a 36-inch pipe — which will break one day — and put it into super tankers three football fields long and drive it through three channels at three 90 degree turns in some of the roughest water in the world . . . for China,” says Cullen.

Cullen is no foreigner to big, extractive in- ternational energy industries coming knock- ing on remote, small-town British Columbian doors. He has fended off Shell Canada once from fracking for coal-bed methane in the sacred headwaters of the Skeena, the Stikine, and the Nass rivers. He also played a crucial and supportive role in the establishment of the great Bear Rainforest agreement on the central coast.

“The land makes the people; the people don’t make the land,” Cullen explains. “The First Nations have given me a mentorship that I am humbled by. The elders have been patient, and spent time with me.”

Cullen is also concerned about the Harper government increasing the Canada Revenue Agency’s mandate to investigate charitable organizations that have “gone too far” in criti- cizing the government, so that their chari- table status may be revoked.

“There are three places for criticism for government. One: the opposition (parties).

And that has been effectively shut down every time they bring in a bill with their majority. Second: the press. They’re having a tough time around the Hill. They don’t get access to min- isters; they only get talking notes. Third: civil society. That’s it. If you’re in power and there is criticism coming it is going to come from one of those three places. And I’m not looking at a prime minister that likes to be criticized.”

Cullen said that one of the first things he would do if he were to win the leadership of his party, and then win a federal election, would be to improve the representativeness a voting system that was invented before the light bulb. He also wants to lower the voting age and believes housing is a right.