联邦新民主党党魁唐民凯专访报道

在3月15日，Bob Mok对联邦新民主党党魁唐民凯进行了专访，期间重点讨论了华裔社区的影响，以及对今年即将举行的联邦大选的准备等问题。读者可登陆YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3T7H3RgEAs观看此次专访的视频。

On March 15, Bob Mok had a one-on-one interview with The Honourable Thomas Mulcair (联邦新民主党党魁唐民凯).The discussions centred on issues affecting the Chinese Community and preparations for the upcoming Federal election this year. A video of this interview is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3T7H3RgEAs

                      
唐民凯是加拿大联邦正式反对党的党魁。许多人都以为正式反对党是贾斯汀•特鲁多领导的联邦自由党，但实际上这是一种误解。目前，联邦新民主党持有95个联邦议席，而联邦自由党只有36席。

Thomas Mulcair is the Leader of the opposition party in Canada’s Federal government. Many would think that the Opposition party is the Liberal Party with its leader is Justin Trudeau (自由党党魁贾斯汀杜鲁多) and that is simply incorrect. Currently, NDP holds 95 seats in the parliament compared with 36 held by the Liberal.


在被问及邹至蕙是否会再次以联邦新民主党候选人的身份进行参选时，唐民凯带着夸张的笑容给出了一个令人难以捉摸的回答,“谁知道呢……”但他的反应令我相信邹至蕙很有可能再度角逐联邦大选。

When asked about whether Olivia Chow will return as a candidate for the Federal NDP, Mulcair came up with an elusive answer - “You never know..” and a theatrical smile, a reaction left me believing that there is a very good chance for Olivia Chow to contest the Federal elections.


在谈到移民政策时，唐民凯积极支持提高家庭团聚移民配额。在过去十年中，加拿大平均每年都接受25万名来自世界各地的移民，其中包括投资移民、技工移民以及家庭团聚移民，在他们当中来自中国大陆的移民约为3.5万人，来自香港的移民不到1,000人。与此同时，唐民凯认为老年新移民未必是加国健保系统的负担。

Talking about immigration policy, Mulcair was positive on increasing family reunion quotas. Canada has been accepting an average of 250,000 immigrants – including investors, skilled workers, and family reunion -- from all over the world each year over the last decade, with 35,000 being from China and less than 1,000 from Hong Kong. Mulcair believes that older newcomers are not necessarily a burden to the health care system.


随着联邦自由党的政治立场渐渐左倾，联邦新民主党的选民基础正在不断被自由党侵蚀。但是，人们并不清楚联邦自由党和联邦新民主党政纲之间的根本区别。

The NDP voter base has been steadily eroded by the Liberals who are shifting to the left of the political spectrum slowly. However, there are confusions about the fundamental differences between the Liberal and NDP platforms.


唐民凯举例称，从C51法案（反恐法案）就可以明显看出联邦新民主党和联邦自由党的不同之处。他同时表示，在建造Keystone输油管道，向大公司提供500亿元减税和环境保护等问题上两党意见也都相左。此外，唐民凯认为一个出色的政党领导人应该从两方面看问题，而一个出色的反对党领导人应该提出“建设性批评”。

Mulcair used the example of Bill C51 (Anti-Terror Act) as a contradiction between the NDP and the Liberals. He identified several issues – including Keystone pipelines, a 50 billion dollar tax break for the largest and richest corporations, and environment issues – that have separate the two parties. Moreover, Mulcair believes that a good party leader is capable of looking issues at both sides and that a good opposition party engages in “constructive criticism”.


领导能力是选民关注的另一个重要问题，而唐民凯却面临着在联邦政党领袖的声望民调中处于落后地位的严峻挑战。虽唐民凯的名字不像缺乏特鲁多那么响当当，但唐民凯认为选民投票支持某人是一回事，而是否了解他们则是另一回事。

Leadership is another big issue for voters. Mulcair faces challenges of lagging behind in the popularity polls of Federal political leaders. Lacking a well-known name as that of Trudeau, Mulcair believes that there is a big difference between voting for someone and saying that you know them.


唐民凯表示，加拿大人需要改变，但只有投票支持联邦新民主党才能实现这种改变，因为联邦自由党和联邦保守党的政纲有许多相似之处，其中包括经济、国家安全和社会问题等。唐民凯称，联邦自由党当选就好像将可口可乐换成百事可乐，只有联邦新民主党才是全新选择，因为他们是“橙汁”，他们能够带来真正的改变。

Mulcair stated that Canadians need a change, and the change can only obtained by voting NDP because the Liberal and Conservatives share many similarities in party platforms – including economy, national security, and social issues. Getting Liberal elected is like changing a Coke for a Pepsi. NDP is the alternative to all of that, they are the real change and they are the “Orange Crush”, according to Mulcair.


鉴于下届联邦选举定于今年10月19日举行，是否能够赢得华裔社区的选票，以及确定可以激发社区投票之热情似乎是各政党能否在下一次大选中获胜的关键因素。

Given that the Federal Election is scheduled for October 19, to gain the votes from the Chinese community and to identify issues that will motivate the community to vote seems pivotal to win the election.


唐民凯承认，拥有近120个议席的安省会是下届大选中的重头戏。目前安省拥有全国逾三分之一议席，甚至连大多伦多区的议席数量都超过四个大西洋省份的总和。因此判断与迎合包括华裔社区在内的多元文化社区的立场很有必要。

Mulcair recognized that Ontario with around 120 seats is a massive player in the next campaign. More than one third of the seats in all of Canada are here in Ontario and even the GTA has more seats than all 4 Atlantic Provinces. There is a need to gauge and respond to a spectrum of diversified communities – including the Chinese community.


唐民凯称，他会继续走遍全国各地，走访加国最非同凡响，最活力四射和最富有成效的社区之一，华裔社区的居民。

Mulcair says he will continue to go across Canada and to meet people from one of the most extraordinary, vibrant, productive communities – the Chinese community.


唐民凯给人的印象是他是一位善于表达、为人真诚、精力充沛和直言不讳的政客。虽然有许多人可能并不认同其政党（联邦新民主党）的一些政策，但是在众多迂腐迟钝的政客中他显然能令人耳目一新。

Muclair came across as an articulate, sincere, energetic, and straight-shooting politician. While many may not agree with some of his (NDP) party’s policies, he stands for a breath of fresh air amongst many stagnant and sluggish politicians.