PUBLIC POWER for PUBLIC GOOD

What makes New Democrats different from all the other political parties? It’s their willingness to use the power — the resources and the legislative authority — of government to do things which private enterprise is unable or unwilling to undertake. Call it ‘Public Power.’

New Democrats see government as a sort of large-scale co-op. The shares are held by the citizens, and the guiding principle is to do what is good for those share-holders, what will serve the public interest.

When something can be done by a private provider, but it’s a service that is essential for the public interest, the NDP is not afraid to use regulation to assure that it’s done well and fairly. Think, for example, of utilities like electricity or communications infrastructure or trustworthy child care: provided by private operators, but overseen and controlled by government on behalf of the public.

When something is simply beyond the capacity of, or the commercial advantage of private providers, New Democrats say ‘Our society needs this, and so we’ll use the government’s resources — the initiative and expertise available to government and yes, the public tax-funded treasury — to get the job done.’ That’s how we get our education and health and justice systems, for example.

“And that’s the principle”, says Joe Byrne, “that can help us put a stop to price-gouging on groceries, provide housing units tailored to income, and expand our health-care system beyond dental and pharmacare into vision and hearing services. Let’s put Public Power to work!”