OTTAWA — British Columbia union leader Rob Ashton says he’s happy to take NDP icon Jack Layton’s mantle of the guy you’d have a beer with , but there’s one important caveat.

“It doesn’t have to be over a beer because we have a lot of people in this country who are in recovery and can’t do alcohol. I’m happy to meet anyone over a coffee, too — I kind of like tea myself,” said Ashton in an interview with the National Post.

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Ashton, a burly career dock worker who heads up the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, said that genuine one-on-one conversations will be key to rebuilding the NDP from the ground up, after the party had its worst result ever in April’s federal election.

“We’ve forgotten how to communicate with workers, for whatever reason, and

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