Talk:Natural Law Party of Canada

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Merge[edit]

I agree to the merger of this article with the article Natural Law Party

Newspaper Supplement during 2003 Federal Election[edit]

Just before the 2003 Federal election, the Natural Law party presumably paid to have a multi-page supplement detailing its party platform (and related ideas) printed in multiple newspapers in Canada. I don't know how many papers it ran in, but I think it ran in the three major Toronto papers at least. (Those by themselves must have cost a fortune). It would be interesting to add this to the article if a reputable source can be found. I kept the one that came in my newspaper, but I suspect it got lost in all the moves over the past few years.209.202.70.226 (talk) 21:12, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes this could be an interesting addition to the article. Perhaps you can find a source online. --BwB (talk) 08:44, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I've read about that insert, or another one like it, and I should be able to find the source again.   Will Beback  talk  09:02, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The party published a widely noted brochure in 1993, and perhaps a smaller one in 1997.

  • The Natural Law Party has its own campaign document, similar to the Liberal Party's red book and the Progressive Conservatives' new blue book. In this case it is a 43-page newsprint publication with a picture of party leader Neil Paterson on the front. [..] The document is replete with promises which Mr. Henning was eager to outline yesterday.
    • ELECTION '93 Nature line-up no illusion Henning and company outnumber Reform, want serious hearing RICHARD MACKIE. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Sep 30, 1993. pg. A.8
  • In a chart in its 44-page "draft document" that looks suspiciously like a 44-page tabloid newspaper, the party explains itself.
    • Will squadron of yogic flyers be our best line of defence?; JAMIE LAMB. The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, B.C.: Oct 1, 1993. pg. A.3
  • The party's 44-page election brochure even includes an advertisement for videotaped courses on Natural Law and the "Maharishi Effect," although there is no reference to their prices ($15-$60). Throughout the brochure, claims are made to the scientific validity of the party's beliefs, although the scientists are connected to the TM movement. A gathering this summer by yogic flyers in Washington, for example, is lauded as a success of the Maharishi Effect that decreased violence in the capital by 25 per cent. That's news to the Washington, D.C. police department, which quotes statistics to show homicides, assaults, and violent crimes in the capital increased pretty much as expected. Ten million of the colorful brochures are to be distributed before the election, says Paterson, which should account for most of the budget.
    • A leap of faith; Mark Richardson. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Oct 12, 1993. pg. A.1
  • A brief story in a daily newspaper, however, cannot do justice to the Natural Law party's policies or the intricacies of transcendental meditation followed by party members. For further reading you might want to consult the party's 44-page political-religious-spiritual platform.
    • Henning sends out de-stress signals: The magician is here to explain the politics of yogic flying and vanishing deficits; KEVIN GRIFFIN. The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, B.C.: Oct 18, 1993. pg. A.5
  • And speaking of magic, I wouldn't have believed that anything could give politics a worse name. But then the Natural Law party came along. The "7,000 yogic flyers" distributed a (what else?) flyer last week aimed at raising, or levitating, more business for His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's "Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program." A photo in the 44-page tabloid shows the maharishi's "scientific research" in six volumes. The text says: "The candidates of the Natural Law party will be offering courses on this knowledge to all the voters in their constituencies." Suddenly, even pork-barrel politics looks pure.
    • Why does the West wimp out?; Editorial TREVOR LAUTENS. The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, B.C.: Oct 23, 1993. pg. A.17
  • (The Natural Law Party, which ran the most effective campaign ever mounted in support of a platform which is manifestly insane, published their plan in the form of a newspaper. The eggshell-blue type was virtually impossible to read, and its contents were incomprehensible to anyone but the alien light-beings who dictated it. This made it an ideal post-literate vehicle; both read and unread.)
    • The Liberals succeeded because they had a written plan (no matter that nobody read it) and a leader who projected the right archetype: ARCHTYPES: KIM! THE ENERGIZER BUNNY; ROBERT MASON LEE. The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, B.C.: Oct 23, 1993. pg. B.1
  • And thanks to PhDs from the Maharishi's university in Switzerland, the NLP has more doctors than the OMA. But the fact is the Natural Law Party had a hell of a week as the campaign closed, surging to within a few percentage points of the NDP in the polls. It may be that too many people spent too much time early on laughing at the Yogic flying. It could be that the 44-page NLP platform that thudded from newspapers across Canada this week finally won the NLP the respect it deserved. It is every bit as substantial a document as the Liberal red book. It has twice the chance of implementation as Bob Rae's Agenda for People.
    • Air traffic controllers should be busy if Yogic flyers succeed at polls; Jim Coyle. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Oct 23, 1993. pg. A.10
  • The Natural Law Party apparently has a lot of money to spend and has mounted a lavish newspaper and television ad campaign to explain their unusual views.
    • In Canada, voters set to throw out ruling party; JACK R. PAYTON. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Oct 24, 1993. pg. 1.A
  • We had the chance, proffered on the proverbial silver platter, to elect a perfect, flawless, immaculate, untarnished, impeccable, irreproachable government. And we blew it. We carelessly tossed aside a potential heaven on Earth and chose to remain in a fool's paradise. [..] I base this apocalyptic view on the Natural Law Party's campaign brochure - if I may use a trifling term for such a transcendent treatise. This 44-page, tabloid-sized tome arrived with a great thump at my doorstep on the Thursday before election day. Captivated by the beatific countenance of party leader Dr. Neil Paterson, which adorned the front page, I started immediately to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't finish until two days after the vote, ... [..] I found Appendix IV a bit bewildering - although hardly more obscure than much of the other campaign literature. It contained a labyrinthine chart proving Natural Law's superiority through the "Qualities of the Unified Field Derived from the Lagrangian of the Superstring." A dictionary definition of Lagrangian - " the difference between the kinetic energy and the potential energy of a system expressed as a function of generalized co-ordinates, their time derivatives, and time" - offered little clarification.
    • The Natural Law Party's campaign brochure contained some unusual language, including references to the 'Lagrangian of the Superstring' and the constitution - of the universe, that is. ROBERTSON COCHRANE. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Oct 30, 1993. pg. D.6
  • Each of the 231 NLP candidates had to put up a $1,000 deposit to Elections Canada. The party, meanwhile, invested an estimated $1-million in getting its 44-page tabloid platform into four million homes, and purchasing full-page newspaper ads featuring the smiling face of party leader Neil Paterson, the "Governor-General of the Age of Enlightenment for North America."
    • REJECTION BY THE VOTERS ONLY SERVES TO MAKE THE NATURAL LAW PARTY'S APPEALS MORE URGENT, ITS PLANS MORE GRANDIOSE, ITS CLAIMS MORE STRIDENT. JACK KAPICA. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Nov 27, 1993. pg. D.3
  • They're followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and offer a platform that calls for creation of harmony among everyone in society. They had enough of the Maharishi's money behind them to afford a 44-page insert in major newspapers across the country. They ended up with the votes of 1.4 per cent of Canadians.
    • Yogi's disciples take a flier on Quebec's election campaign; DECISION 94; [FINAL Edition] LISA FITTERMAN. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Aug 12, 1994. pg. A.6
  • The program revolves around the 1,000 yogic flyers, who have their headquarters at the College Militaire in St. Jean. Their efforts, Faguy said, would bring the province in accordance with "natural law," creating a favorable economic climate and a constitutional situation that would please everybody - a sovereign Quebec within a united Canada. The party does not have the resources to support a group of flyers - even the small contingent of 50 needed to bring harmony to the West Island - and needs government funds to do it, Faguy said. He said the party has no illusions about its chances of winning but is trying to drum up support for the party's program. The party, which had enough money to distribute a 44-page supplement in major newspapers during the federal campaign, will spend only $35,000 to run Quebec candidates, he said.
    • Come fly with us, Natural Law Party says; 5 candidates running in West Island ridings:DECISION '94; CAMPBELL CLARK. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Aug 25, 1994. pg. F.5
  • John Cowhig, a candidate in 1993, will be running there again. The party pitches itself directly at people who feel the established parties are fossilized. "You're not going to get change from existing parties," said Cowhig. That pitch seems to be aimed in particularly at students, whose testimonials on behalf of Natural Law are part of the 32-page tabloid handed out to explain party programs.
    • Party with New Age ideas has a unique closed-door policy; [FINAL Edition] Frances Bula. The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, B.C.: May 10, 1997. pg. A.4

That same year, Doug Henning performed an illusion during the NLP's allotted 17 minutes of free TV time.

  • Sadly, the Natural Law Party made good on its recent threat to take itself more seriously. It prematurely yanked its ads showing candidate Doug Henning making elephants disappear. The replacement is a windy commercial showing the party's glazed-looking leader, Dr. Neil Paterson, telling us how a group of 7,000 yogic flyers will create so much positivity and harmony across the nation that all things bad will cease.
    • TV ads deserve the mute button VIEW FROM THE LIVING ROOM " The Tories' Chretien commercial takes the boob-tube booby prize KIRK MAKIN. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Oct 19, 1993. pg. A.5
  • Henning's party has drawn laughs from mainstream voters for its television ad in which he makes an elephant - with the deficit written on it - disappear. "We created a very amusing commercial but it also let people know Doug Henning is back in town," he said. "They all know Doug Henning is a magician but now I'm going across the country to tell people we do have answers to Canada's problems."
    • Now you see it . . .; Magician makes hankie disappear, pleads for unity; ELECTION '93; RON SUDLOW. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Oct 19, 1993. pg. A.11
  • Louise Cousineau of La Presse likes the Liberal ads, but she is a little less kind in reviewing the promotion of the Natural Law Party of Canada. The television critic was convinced that the ad, featuring party leader Neil Patterson, whose message is dubbed into French so badly that his lips don't move with the words, was a clever joke by the comedy team on the TV show Taquinons La Planete. The Natural Law leader would have been "better off shooting himself in the foot," Ms. Cousineau wrote.
    • QUEBECOIS VOICES Crying wolf at Quebec won't work any more DIALOGUE " 'The world has been turned upside down' in the current election campaign, says one Montreal commentator ANDRE PICARD. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Sep 30, 1993. pg. A.27
  • [Henning's] latest political-party trick is a television ad in which he goes Kim Campbell one better in deficit reduction. To dramatize his promise to do away with the deficit, he makes an elephant disappear.
    • The Bloc's coup; Bouchard's burning eyes loom large on political scene; NORMAN WEBSTER. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Oct 2, 1993. pg. B.5
  • The Natural Law Party may have set a record for the quickest about-face in a campaign. Within four days of airing their ads, they scrapped them and went back to the studio. "We didn't like them," said Wayne Foster, a party spokesman. "Canada is in a big mess - and we're a serious party." The ham-handed ads focused on Doug Henning, a magician who looks like an aging Bee Gee. Mr. Henning chatted brightly about how his party would make the deficit and the goods and services tax disappear and generally make everybody very happy. Using a backdrop of shimmering rainbows and props such as a vanishing elephant, the ads were decidedly silly. Alas, that was their charm. This is not a party that should get serious.
    • ELECTION'93 Political tedium is the message as for most parties VIEW FROM THE LIVING ROOM"Whether spouting ideas or touting leaders, TV campaigns have been less than commercial successes so far KIRK MAKIN. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Oct 4, 1993. pg. A.4
  • The best ad of the campaign came from the Natural Law Party, [Carleton University communications professor Paul] Attallah said. What other party could claim to be able to wipe out the deficit the way Doug Henning made an elephant disappear on screen?
    • Image-makers fail to sway electorate; TU THANH HA. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Oct 23, 1993. pg. A.1.FRO

The elephant trick seems to have been viewed fondly and it should get a sentence. As for the big brochure, I think it would be worth a line or two, too, considering how much attention it got. Something like "4 million households, 44-page, tabloid-sized, light blue ink, $1 million, complex charts, platform, Yogic Flying." The party was very active in Canada - this article could be expanded significantly. When it comes to platform issues, we should probably mention the overall NLP platform first and then cover the Canada-specific issues.   Will Beback  talk  11:28, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wow! I Had no idea there was this much supporting information. Also, I mistakenly said 2003 above, when I meant 1993.209.202.70.226 (talk) 19:51, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I figured that might be a mistake. By 2003 the party was already winding down. If you still have that brochure then hang on to it. It might be worth something someday.   Will Beback  talk  21:52, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Naomi Rankin[edit]

I just can't see why any readers would be interested to learn that some extremely marginal political figure thought the NLP were crazy. It isn't an interesting analysis in its own right and the speaker isn't important enough for their commentary to be automatically noteworthy. In short--who cares? What does it add to the article?Pwrm (talk) 22:43, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

WP:NPOV calls on us to include all significant points of view. Rankin is a perennial candidate in Canadian elections, and is notable person. Can you suggest other views to add to the article, or are you suggesting that we exclude all published views of the party?   Will Beback  talk  22:51, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I'm suggesting that Wikipedia restrict itself to views that come from people who have some expertise related to the subject at hand, are close to the subject in some fashion, are important public figures, etc. Maybe Rankin is a bigger deal in Canada than I realize, but being notable enough to have a Wikipedia article and being a perennial candidate doesn't automatically make a person very important--not important enough for it to be worth mentioning their views on a topic that has little to do with them. Generally when I read something about politics I could care less what the Communist Party's opinion on it is, and I'm guessing most other readers also find this quotation uninteresting and its presence in the article inexplicable. Do you think all articles about Canadian politics would benefit from the addition of a quote from the Canadian Communist Party? If not, what makes this one different?Pwrm (talk) 23:08, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Rankin has some expertise in the field of fringe Canadian political parties. If this is the only view expressed about the topic, then it might be of interest. Certainly if other, more prominent views have been expressed then those should be given more weight.   Will Beback  talk  23:13, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
As for the "who cares?" argument, the cited source puts the characterization in its headline: "Fringe parties include 'right, left, crackpot'". The article, published in the The Gazette of Montreal, is mostly devoted to summarizing Rankin's views of the political landscape, and the NLP in particular. So a major Canadian newspaper cared enough to devote a few hundred words to her views of the party.   Will Beback  talk  23:40, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Discussion closed, with unanimous consensus for merger — Keithbob • Talk • 19:44, 22 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Merge Proposal[edit]

I propose that Natural Law Party of Ontario and Natural Law Party of Quebec be merged with this article. Comments? -- — Keithbob • Talk • 21:44, 27 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The NLP was a short-lived and electorally unsuccessful party. These three articles are all very short and are not going to get any longer. Ontario and Quebec have a combined daily traffic in single figures. Readers' interests will be better served if all the content is available on one page. Spicemix (talk) 23:02, 27 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • That remains true four years after I made the first merger proposal. So of course I agree there should only be one article. Merge. -- Ohc ¡digame! 01:30, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for sticking around! Spicemix (talk) 11:17, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
It appears there is a consensus for a merger. If there are not objections then I think we should go ahead. Comments?-- — Keithbob • Talk • 20:25, 16 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Since this merge discussion has been ongoing for 25 days and no one has objected to the merger. I am going to go ahead today. Thanks to all who have participated.-- — Keithbob • Talk • 19:00, 22 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Removing OR tag from 2009[edit]

Tags are not badges of shame. Since there is no active discussion I am removing the outdated tag. If anyone has OR concerns please describe them here so that they can be discussed and corrected.-- — Keithbob • Talk • 19:47, 22 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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