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BC NDP Newswire -- June 3, 2003

MACPHAIL WILL NOT SEEK NDP LEADERSHIP

NDP Opposition Leader Joy MacPhail announced today that she will not be seeking the permanent leadership of her Party at its leadership convention in November.

She made the announcement in her Vancouver - Hastings constituency, a seat she has held since 1991. MacPhail also announced that she will not be running as a candidate in the May 2005 provincial election.

MacPhail will continue to serve as MLA for Vancouver-Hastings until the next election, and as Party leader until the leadership convention this fall.

The leadership convention will be held in Vancouver November 21 to 23. Leadership candidates may begin their official campaigns on June 15.

The new leader of the BC NDP will be selected by delegates to the November convention. All 79 constituency associations around British Columbia are entitled to send a number of delegates that is proportional to the number of Party members in their constituency.

Constituencies will hold delegate selection meetings between September 15 and November 6. Individuals who are members in good standing 90 days prior to their constituency's delegate selection meeting are entitled to vote for delegates or stand for nomination as a delegate.

The full text of MacPhail's announcement is attached.

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Notes for a statement by
Joy MacPhail, MLA
Leader of Opposition
Tuesday, June 3, 2003

Good morning. Thank you for coming.

I want to talk this morning about leadership in British Columbia.

A few weeks ago, we passed the halfway mark in the life of the Gordon Campbell government -- the harshest, most imbalanced and most destructive regime this province has ever seen.

Our natural environment. Our communities. Health care. Education. Public institutions like BC Hydro and BC Rail. Workplace fairness. Equality. The financial well-being of our province. ...All of it is being steadily sacrificed to pay for a tax handout to the very wealthiest.

We can't go on like this. The things that make B.C. great are vanishing before our eyes, and it has to stop.

That brings me to the best hope for replacing Mr. Campbell's extreme agenda with a forward-thinking, fair and balanced government: the NDP.

The New Democratic Party has come a long way since that election night in 2001. It looked to many that night as though the NDP might not survive as a viable political party.

But we've done far more than just survive. Today the NDP is in better shape than it's been in years.

New members are joining every day, from every part of this province. There's a renewed sense of purpose - outrage over what is happening to the British Columbia we love, but also hope that we can and will make things better.

That sense of purpose is propelling New Democrats into the civic and political lives of communities throughout B.C.

I'm proud of what Jenny Kwan and I have achieved in the Legislature over the past two years.

I'm proud of the way British Columbians have mobilized across this province.

I'm proud of the way the NDP has rebuilt itself from the ashes of the most devastating electoral defeat in B.C. history... to a viable political force.

I'm proud that we are speaking for people in every part of B.C. who know that Gordon Campbell is taking this province in the wrong direction.

I'm proud of the way we've learned from our past mistakes, and just as importantly, from our successes.

Now, we're ready to take the next step. We're ready to present the people of B.C. with a clear, credible, modern vision for the future - a way to turn the page on Gordon Campbell's government.

But to do that, frankly, the party needs a high-voltage jolt - the kind of jolt we get from a vigorous, flat-out leadership race.

In November, the NDP will hold a leadership convention. And I want the months between now and then to see the most vibrant, creative and honest debate this party has ever had.

That requires me to make a difficult decision.

Many British Columbians - both within and outside the NDP - have encouraged me to stay on. I can tell you their support has meant the world to me.

But I believe the NDP can, must and will be a party of new voices, new energy... and new leadership.

I'm going to do all I can to make that happen.

That's why I won't be a candidate for leader at the November convention.

I make this decision without regret. I take enormous satisfaction in the contributions I've been so lucky to make, and in the role I've been so fortunate to play: in the party, in my community, in government and in opposition.

I've had the chance to work with the best British Columbia has to offer, and with their hard work, I've been able to take some part in some momentous achievements.

...B.C.'s leadership in taking on the tobacco industry;

...the legislation we wrote bringing adoption into the modern era for parents and children;

...the eight-dollar-an-hour minimum wage;

...funding targeted directly to inner-city classrooms;

...our innovative universal childcare program;

...the child tax benefit and the BC Family Bonus, pioneered in this province and now a model for the nation;

...the freeze in tuition fees;

...doubling of our parks and protected wilderness;

...and after years of hard work, the balanced budget of 1999-2000.

That balanced budget has now been blown by the Liberals, with the biggest deficits in B.C. history. B.C. Hydro and B.C. Rail are facing dismemberment and sale. And these are only a few of the elements of British Columbia's legacy that the Liberals are squandering to pay for Gordon Campbell's tax cut for the very richest.

But we can turn that around. The NDP can lead the effort to regain this province's legacy as Canada's home of hope and justice.

The next generation of leadership in the party is already stepping forward, with our young president, with exciting candidates throughout the province.

And when I talk about a new generation of leadership, I don't just mean age. I mean all of those who bring new energy and new ideas, steeped in real-world experience.

I mean all of those who wish to forge modern new policies from sound, proven values.

The door of this party is wide open to you - including the top job.

Let me close by saying that I have been blessed with the support of some very fine people.

For the past two years, this party has stood behind me, and I'm deeply grateful. Jenny in particular has been a good friend, a valuable ally and a constant inspiration on the floor of the legislature.

For more than a decade, the people of Vancouver - Hastings have given me the privilege of speaking and fighting on their behalf. It's the best job in the world, and I don't intend to relinquish that honour any time soon.

I intend to serve out the balance of my term as their MLA, and then campaign like hell to elect my successor.

Most important of all, and closest to my heart, is my son Jack. After sharing me with the province, the legislature and the media... he'll get to see more of his mother now - which is, of course, just what every teenager wants to hear.

I've spent a dozen years in public life, and they aren't over yet. If anything, they've only strengthened my love for British Columbia, and deepened my resolve to defend what this province stands for.

I've always said that I will serve this party, and this province, in whatever role allows me to do the most good. I'm looking forward to working with the new leader, on behalf of all those British Columbians who aren't being served by Mr. Campbell's government.

In every community I've visited, I've found a fierce commitment to fairness, to sustainability, to opportunity... and most of all, to hope. Those are the values that built the NDP. They are the values that make British Columbia great. And they are the values that will prevail - in the next election, and long afterward.

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