i don't think we should put the government in charge of this.

listen: maybe a lot of these sign-ups are dubious. but, he didn't do this by himself, he had help from the establishment behind him - and this is how establishment politics works (right down to playing the race card when you question what they're doing). read up on the chretien/trudeau years a little, and you'll see how endemic this is in canadian politics.

it might be a little bit new to the ndp, but it's just a part of the process of the party joining the establishment consensus - which has been happening for quite a while, now.

the bottom line is that this is the inevitable result of left of centre voters refusing to take control of their party and direct it. democracy requires participation to work, and if you don't get participation then you don't get democracy.

it's been unclear for years what kind of vehicle the ndp is for the left, in the first place. naomi klein is married to the party's hereditary ruling chief, and she won't have anything to do with them. it's just a bit of a reality sandwich: this party wasn't going to succeed in advancing a leftist vision, anyway. so, you get this feedback cycle, and this race to the bottom.

it seems like the grassroots in the country is more interested in the green party, but they're arguably even worse when it comes to entrenched right-wing interests.

it's no secret what's happening. but, it shouldn't be surprising. in the end, 2017 may be seen as the party's last pretence of leftist sentiment, as they shift to a largely ethnic based moderate conservative party in the model of the american democrats.

https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/09/28/Party-Membership-Questioning-Sparks-Controversy/