(The following article is from the September 1-15, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People's Voice Editorial

Maybe it was appropriate that the federal cabinet shuffle coincided with the season finale of the popular TV show, "So You Think You Can Dance." Mired in the polls, Stephen Harper hopes that his little two-step routine will convince Canadians that the Conservatives really can sparkle on the big stage, instead of stomping on our toes. His problem is not a need for "better communicators," but the reality that most Canadians reject his far-right agenda. Not surprisingly, the inept Gordon O'Connor is gone as defence minister, but as long as Canadian troops are dying and killing in Afghanistan, his replacement Peter MacKay will not be able to shift popular opinion on this horrendous imperialist war. Having trashed the Wheat Board during his term as Agriculture Dictator, Chuck Strahl Is now in charge of Indian Affairs, ready to use his minuscule supply of charm to convince Aboriginal peoples to surrender their inherent national rights for some cash. Then there's Bev Oda, the former minister for Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, where she alienated a wide swath of voters by attacking both culture and gender equality. Ironically, Oda is how the minister for International Cooperation.

     The cabinet shuffle also coincided with Mr. Harper's latest stand in defence of Canadian sovereignty, against those dastardly Russians with their titanium flag. Harper has made a career out of integration into the U.S. empire, and his bravado stands in sharp contrast to the continentalist project known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership.

     Harper's pathetic public relations efforts emphasize that he has never had a popular mandate to carry out his neoliberal, sellout, reactionary agenda. The Tories are vulnerable, and the opposition parties and the people's movements must step up efforts to drive them out as soon as possible. Stronger popular resistance during the fall session of Parliament can help create better conditions to force the government to go to the polls. This is no time to sit back and wait for the Conservatives to sink beneath the weight of their rhetoric. It's time to step up the heat!