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(Contents)
(Home)
1) CLC LAUNCHES EI
CAMPAIGN IN HAMILTON
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
PV
Ontario Bureau
Hamilton - A
massive rally and march down the main streets here on March 21 launched
the CLC's Canada-wide campaign to Fix Employment Insurance. The focus
was on 1500 workers at US Steel in Hamilton and Lake Erie who will be
seeking EI and new jobs after the indefinite closure of the mills which
have been continuously producing for over 100 years - until now.
Opening the
rally of more than 2,000 at the Hamilton Convention Centre,
Steelworkers' Local 1005 President Rolf Gerstenberger said the economic
crisis "demands a response equal in scale" to the wrecking underway,
and demanded action from Ottawa and Queen's Park to keep Stelco mills
producing.
Gerstenberger
called for emergency measures "to legislate public control over the
wholesale trade in steel to guarantee a viable self-reliant Canadian
steel industry with stable wholesale market prices that reflect the
price of steel production, (legislate to) guarantee the solvency of all
Canadian steelworkers' pension funds, and (legislate to) reinvest steel
value added back into existing steel plants" and expand to build new
plants across Canada. He said the government should take over foreign
owned steel operations and assume responsibility for pension and
benefit obligations if these companies refuse to
comply.
"(People's)
needs cannot wait for `the market to improve' as the CEO of US Steel
John Surma so very casually declares, a man who last year personally
took over $11 million from the production of steelworkers," said
Gerstenberger.
CLC Vice
President Hassan Youssuff pounded the federal government for its theft
of EI funds, used by Liberal and Tory governments to pay down the
deficit and fund corporate tax cuts. Now, fewer than 25% of
contributors across Canada are able to collect EI when they need it, he
said, adding that women contributors have even less access, and women
of colour even less than that. The CLC is demanding a reduction in the
hours required to qualify, elimination of the two-week waiting period,
extension of benefit payouts to 52 weeks, and a substantially increased
benefit payout.
The CAW's
Peggy Nash attacked Chrysler for its threat to pull out of Canada if
the CAW didn't agree to more layoffs, pay cuts, and concessions.
"If they want
to go, let them go - but the plants and equipment stay here," she said
to thunderous applause. In exchange, the government would take over the
Big Three pension and benefit obligations, and build cars.
"We need EI and we need severance, but what we really need and want is
jobs", Nash said to more applause.
CUPE
President Paul Moist talked about the attack on social programs and the
public sector, and called for all‑out unity between private and public
sector workers against right wing governments and the corporations they
represent. Again, the hall erupted in thunderous applause.
The speaker's
line‑up included a woman from the Lake Erie Works who had just received
her layoff notice; she spoke about the dignity and security that her
job provided for more than a decade to herself and her four children,
one of whom is severely disabled.
A Local 1005
steelworker and poet put into words the anger and pain of laid-off
workers at the company and governments responsible. The young daughter
of another laid-off steelworker spoke of family and community
solidarity in the uncertain future.
After a
boisterous rally, thousands marched through the city and finished up
with speeches from ONDP leader Andrea Horwath and NDP MP
Christopherson, who railed at the companies but did not reference the
calls for public takeovers. "Buy Canadian" said Horwath, advocating the
NDP's main policy plank dealing with the economic crisis.
The Communist
Party was also active at the rally, handing out a special message to
Steelworkers, and the CPC's new campaign leaflet calling for broad
unity and mass action to beat back the corporate offensive.
Bob Mann, a
CPC spokesperson in Hamilton and longtime steelworker at the Hilton
Works, said "federal and provincial governments must act to protect
jobs and this community, and they have to act in the interests of
Canada for a national steel industry. All of the infrastructure
programs in the world can't be delivered, without a basic steel
industry. Governments in Canada have to guarantee this, and the labour
and its community allies have to make them do it."
CPC (Ontario)
leader Liz Rowley said Investment Canada's decision to allow the sale
of Stelco to US Steel just over a year ago shows that the Harper
government is a barker for US based transnational corporations to buy
up what's left of Canadian owned industry.
"Clearly, US
Steel is closing the Hamilton mills, at a cost of millions of dollars,
with the aim of gutting collective agreements and slashing jobs and
wages, just like they've done in the States. They'll re‑open here
in
Hamilton if they can do it, or keep it closed if they can't - it's that
simple," said Rowley.
"Local 1005
is quite right to call for public ownership and democratic control of
the Hilton and Lake Erie Works if US Steel won't keep the mills
working. There is no other choice except to bow down, and that's no
choice at all," she said.
"Between US
Steel and the Big Three US automakers, there is every reason for the
federal and provincial governments to nationalize the Canadian
operations of these companies, and take over their pension and benefit
obligations as payment. These operations are at the very heart of
Canada's manufacturing and secondary industry, and are the engine of
the Canadian economy.
"Let's
operate them in the interests of Canadians, putting Canada back to work
in good unionized jobs with good pay and pensions, producing steel and
steel products that can be used to build affordable social housing,
public hospitals and clinics, public schools and post‑secondary
institutions, a universal quality child care system, municipally owned
clean water and sewage plants, roads and bridges, a Canadian car that's
small, affordable, fuel efficient and environmentally sustainable along
with mass rapid transit and light rail and intercity transit.
"The sky's
the limit when we're talking about a new made‑in‑Canada industrial
strategy that addresses the long and short‑term needs of Canada and
Canadian workers", said Rowley. "We need to build up a powerful
movement for this kind of future for Canada. The corporate option of
plant closures or wage cuts (or both), is based on greed, the same
greed that brought the world into deep recession. Another world is
possible, and urgent."
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2) CNTU CALLS FOR
"MASSIVE MOBILIZATION" ON EI
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
We reprint these
excerpts from the opening remarks by President Claudette Carbonneau, to
a meeting of the Confederal Council of the Quebec-based Confederation
of National Trade Unions (CNTU) on March 17. Sister Carbonneau's urgent
call for mass action is important reading for all labour activists in
Canada.
Dear fellow
executive committee comrades,
Dear delegates,
dear activists, dear workers,
Since our
last Confederal Council, the economic crisis has worsened. The
consequences are major. The layoffs announced daily are starting to be
reflected in the statistics. After having made no progress whatsoever
in October and in November 2008, employment in Quebec has declined by
7,400 jobs in December and by 25,800 in January. During the same month,
in Canada, the registered loss has reached 129,000 jobs, the largest
monthly adjustment since 1976. The manufacturing sector is
particularly affected, with a loss of 100,900 jobs. In the United
States, 598,000 jobs were lost in January and more than 650,000 in
February.
We are every
day on the firing line with respect to employment. I am thinking, among
other things, about the Abitibi-Consol situation, which is seeking to
refinance a very important debt. This case has raised a lot of energy
within the CNTU and the FTPF (Federation of Paper and Forest
workers-CNTU) and for good reason: at stake are more than 7,000 direct
jobs, 8,900 retirees, 28 plants in various regions of Quebec. This is a
major question. All proportions considered, it is our General Motors!
The CNTU and FTPF are calling all levels of government to do their part
for the workers, for employment and for the regions.
Bankruptcies
were up sharply across Canada. In Quebec, 28,317 persons went bankrupt
in 2008, an increase of 12.9% compared to 2007. The number of consumer
bankruptcies in December 2008 was 46.1% higher than 2007, reflecting
the deteriorating financial situation of households. Lowest level of
market indices, retail sales collapsing, all previous records have been
beaten.
Financial
crisis, food crisis, energy and environmental crisis: these are
underlying issues of the economic crisis. We cannot wait idly for the
end of the crisis situation and then get back to everyday life when the
recovery will be felt. This situation is the result of 30 years of
neoliberal policies, of putting everything in the hands of the market ‑
deregulation, social cuts, increasing inequalities. At this Council, we
will have an in-depth and substantive debate on the best road map, not
only to cope with the crisis and to get out of it, but also to prepare
the post-crisis period. It is important to think deeply in order to
avoid repetition of the same policies that would produce the same
effects, to prevent business executives, particularly financial
business executives, from implementing again the same practices when
things calm down. Finally, we will have to consider closely the
pressures that will inevitably arise in public finances, in public
services and in social programs.
With
globalization based on the model of consumption of rich countries,
changes have accelerated, and the finance capitalists became
extraordinarily rich. From huge losses to the paralysis of the
financial system, from the freezing of credit to the fluctuation of
exchange rates, from the loss of confidence to the fall in consumption,
from closures to bankruptcies: the bubble exploded from all sides. The
prices of oil and raw materials have dropped.
The policies
adopted to get out of the crisis cannot ignore these issues. Of course
it will be necessary to take measures to counter the recession by
monetary and fiscal policies to regulate finance capital, by promoting
the recovery with the implementation of sectoral plans and
infrastructure, by strengthening public services, by contributing to
greener growth.
But, most of
all, it will be necessary to give support to the people affected by the
crisis. It will be necessary to promote the training of the workforce,
to deal with the problems of education and to fight illiteracy, and
also, on an urgent basis, to improve access to employment insurance.
This is called social investment. This will be a priority in our list
of demands. We cannot really get out of this crisis without changing
the old paradigms of capitalism. Another type of globalization is
possible. Another economic model must be put at the service of the
humans who inhabit our planet. This crisis gives us an extraordinary
opportunity to change things. We need the competence, the solidarity
and the militancy of each one of you.
We are
therefore sending a call for a massive mobilization in order to support
our demands to counter the crisis and, primarily, to win changes to
employment insurance with the perspective of a May 1st in which the
economic crisis will be on the agenda. The idea is to go and get the
maximum support in your regions, from mayors, city councils, members of
Parliament, MRC (regional administration bodies) and other
stakeholders, culminating with regional demonstrations under the theme
"To get out of the crisis: people first!" The crisis and its effects,
and the need to return to the raison d'etre of Employment Insurance ‑
the protection of workers who lose employment ‑ will be one of the
important themes of these demonstrations.
At the
federal level, although there is money available, the CNTU believes
that the 2009 budget is unacceptable and unfair to the unemployed, to
older workers, to women and to Quebec. In addition to attacking
fundamental rights, the Conservative government does not propose any
change of direction on substantive issues such as equalization and
federal transfers for social programs, support to ailing economic
sectors, the employment insurance program, tax relief, climate change.
Bill C-10 is
also an insult to the fundamental right of women to recognition of the
value of their work, and of women themselves, who have more than one
reason to feel offended. First, the government is redefining
"employment" to limit the category of female employment only to jobs
that have more than 70% of women. It also attacks the right of women to
equal pay for work of equal value, by adding to the recognized criteria
for job evaluation, the criteria of the needs of employers concerning
recruitment and retention of the workforce! Wage discrimination has
therefore become permissible if it is justified by market conditions.
This is unacceptable!
Not
satisfied, the government brought this law in the field of what is
negotiable rather than imposing the adoption of genuine pay equity
programs and ensuring their existence. Now, pay equity is no longer a
right to enforce, but a condition to negotiate. And the responsibility
for the results are attributable not only to employers but also to the
trade unions. Indeed, the bill gives to the Public Service Commission,
an agency that has no expertise in this matter, the power to determine
a compensatory amount to a person who was harmed. It could force a
trade union to pay a portion of this amount. On its face, this is
nonsense and a very dangerous precedent that we must expose and
challenge.
Equally
hateful is the fact that the government forbids trade unions to
encourage women to file complaints and even to represent them to obtain
justice. How can the government propose such an unfair legislative
framework?
We demand the
government withdraw the provisions on equity in the remuneration of
federal public sector workers, and that it follow with the elaboration
of real proactive legislation on pay equity...
On January
24, 253 workers of the Journal de
Montréal daily were thrown on the
sidewalk. For Quebecor Media, this is the 13th union lockout in 14
years.
Since the
founding of the Journal de
Montréal, at the time of the strike at La
Presse in 1964, it is the first labour dispute involving the
office and
editorial staff... What is at issue here is the survival of a strong
and combative union, mobilized to preserve their working conditions and
to prevent the loss of a hundred jobs in offices and classified ads,
jobs held predominantly by women who have been working for the Journal
de Montréal for many years.
The union of
the Journal de Montréal
news workers, which has negotiated what some
call the "best agreement" in the communications sector in North
America, also wants to protect the professional clauses, which provide
the public with quality, credible information from different sources
and which comply with all ethical rules in this field. In Quebec, it is
the collective agreements that guarantee these characteristics. For
Pierre Karl Péladeau, they represent an obstacle to its
obsession of
unlimited convergence. He tries to reduce the sources of information in
order to use the contents of all its platforms through its empire coast
to coast.
We assure the
253 locked‑out workers of the unwavering support of the CNTU. We also
call on the delegates of the Confederal Council to continue to campaign
in your organizations, to tell our members and the public to no longer
read and to stop buying the newspaper whose the quality and credibility
have deteriorated since January 24. Moreover, the locked out workers
are doing a remarkable job with http://www.ruefrontenac.com, an
extraordinary slap in the face of Pierre Karl Péladeau,
according to
whom the union had always refused to participate in a website. We
invite you to visit this site assiduously. Solidarity!...
In addition
to the Journal de Montréal,
Quebecor just locked out the employees of
L'Hebdo Le Réveil du Saguenay. With workers of Roi du Coq Roti,
Olympia, the Holiday Inn-Longueuil and the Casino de Montréal
security
guards, the CNTU has six lockouts. We offer them all our solidarity.
Solidarity also to the union members at Domaine Fleurimont in the
Estrie and at the Sheraton Four Points-Montréal, on strike since
July 8
and August 25.
I wish you a very fruitful Confederal Council. Long live the CNTU!
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3) ONTARIO STUDENT
LEADER CALLS FOR PROVINCE-WIDE MOBILIZATIONS
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
With the current
economic down‑turn, province‑wide mobilizations are needed bringing
together labour and students in the style of the Ontario Days of Action
to demand substantial investments in public services, Ontario
Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) told People's
Voice recently.
Shelley
Melanson criticised Ontario's McGuinty Liberal government for doing
nothing on their anti‑poverty strategy, a response to widely condemned
explosion of precarious work, growing income gaps and food bank usage
across Ontario.
"With the
economic crisis more and more students are aware of the increasing
privatization of institutions," Melanson told PV. "The Educational
Policy Institute [a right‑wing US‑based think tank] was talking about a
25% increase in tuition. I think this sent shockwaves through the media
and public discussion. It was front‑page of the Toronto Star."
Melanson, who participated in numerous radio talk shows in response to
the report, said she heard overwhelming support for immediate action on
reduced tuition fees.
EPI's report,
"On the Brink: How the Recession of 2009 Will Affect Post‑Secondary
Education in Canada", was co‑authored by Alex Usher. Back in 1995 (with
the facilitation of the federal Liberals), Usher led a right‑wing split
from the CFS, arguably to dampen large student mobilizations against
drastic federal cut backs to social programmes and downloading.
Melanson
addressed revelations that the Conservative Party is training campus
activists to manipulate student organizations, as well as the rising
attack on freedom of speech on campuses.
"Now, more
than ever, students need to come together regardless of your political
beliefs, and defend our Charter rights," she said. "I think that the
minister of citizenship and immigration, Jason Kenney, has posed a
serious threat to freedom expression and speech on campus. It would
appear the Canadian government is not interested in people who disagree
with them - for example their treatment of the Canadian Arab
Federation, George Galloway, and the attempt to shut down discussion on
international conflicts and occupations. "Can the government limit
freedom of speech because of positions on war and international policy?"
"This
government clearly has an interest in undermining democratic
organizational structures that exist on campuses," she said, pointing
to a recent leak about the Conservative Party organizing workshops
about keeping the CFS off campus, running candidates in student
elections, overturning student levies, and setting up front group clubs
by students affiliated with the Tories. "These workshops took place
with sitting MPs in attendance," Melanson noted.
On leaked
tapes, a former student union president at the University of Waterloo
describes how he coordinated directly with the local Conservative club
to launch an attack on the campus chapter of the Ontario Public
Interest Research Group. Melanson condemned this anti‑democratic
involvement a political party in providing strategy and support for
campaigns undermining student's right to organize.
"I'm not
necessarily shocked by what is happening. We've seen student codes of
conduct - which should be about safety and equity, stopping harassment,
safer spaces for women - instead used to stifle dissent," Melanson
said. "Take the case of the fourteen students at the University of
Toronto, who were engaged in a peaceful demonstration, and faced
criminal charges, many of which have now been dropped and the students
cleared, and also code of conduct charges. Perhaps [what is new is
that] it is more visible, and there is more media attention. I think
that institutions are more blatant."
Melanson
spoke to People's Voice at
the end of a weekend‑long "Student Assembly
Against War and Racism." The event, jointly organized by the Canadian
Federation of Students and the Canadian Peace Alliance, aimed to
provide an opportunity for students and allies to build skills for a
sustained anti‑war movement on campuses. "We wanted to provide an
opportunity for people with a significant background with activism to
come together through skill building workshops with people who are just
finding a political outlook."
A major theme
of the weekend was military recruitment on campuses, and military
spending, both issues the CFS Ontario plans to continue to organize
around. The effort will also help build for anti‑NATO demonstrations on
April 4. The workshops "showcased in a variety of ways how our
government is out of step with the sentiments of everyday Canadians and
students" Melanson said.
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4) MILITANT ACTION
WINS PARTIAL PAYMENT FOR AUTOWORKERS
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
By
Sam Hammond
In mid-March, a
U.S. company operating in two Ontario plants under the names Aradco and
Aramco decided to close their doors and depart. Their going away
present to the workers was the theft of $1.5 million in severance and
holiday pay, money owed under contract obligation and Canadian law.
This was the sixteenth time this had happened to CAW members in the
last eighteen months. All of these plants were automotive parts
suppliers.
On four
occasions since the beginning of 2008, militant and resourceful members
of the CAW have occupied plants and forced partial payments. These have
been mostly won from third party manufacturers, the notorious Big
Three, so they could get their precision dies and other equipment out
of the plants.
The latest of
these debacles was in Windsor. Workers occupied the Aradco plant on
March 17 to prevent Chrysler from removing parts and tooling until they
received termination and severance pay. Union members from Windsor and
nearby communities surrounded the plant to protect the workers inside.
Chrysler obtained an injunction against the occupation, and the union
went into negotiations, coming out with less than half of the $1.5
million owed. The parts and dies are gone south.
The CAW and
its members in the Auto and Auto Parts sector are definitely under
massive duress. In negotiations with the Big Three over the last
several years the CAW tried very hard to honour its founding
non‑concessionary principles. It tried to be resilient, flirted with
union‑management agreements at Magna, and watched its leader, Buzz
Hargrove, champion Prime Minister Martin and Premier McGuinty.
The CAW was
double crossed by General Motors in the Oshawa truck plant agreement
before the ink was dry, and is now under attack from the Harper Feds
who demand give‑backs from the workers before they'll come to the aid
of GM, Chrysler and Ford. The workers have to give money to the Big
Three so the government can give more of workers' money to the Big
Three. Canadian parts manufacturers are also demanding $1 billion in
government (taxpayer) handouts. The bankers of course were the first at
the trough, busily feathering their nests with our feathers. Does
anyone see anything wrong with this picture?
The militancy
of CAW members is an established fact. However the creeping growth of
concessionary bargaining is also a fact. Since the concessions allow
some contracting out, the auto plants are no longer closed shops, and
there are now workers with different rights in those plants. The
workers themselves spurned the Magna company union deal, which is
slipping into history as a bad experience.
The outbursts
of resolve and militancy really show the way, as antidotes to other
tendencies. The demands for what is due under contract and law are
minimum demands for what has already been earned; but even minimum,
purely defensive demands, require maximum nerve and courage to win.
Hats off to those workers who stand in solidarity and fight this fight.
Sometimes it
is necessary in a tight spot to up the ante, and this is surely the
case now in manufacturing. The seizure of the parts and dies won
Windsor workers a partial payment. The demand could have been for
government intervention, for keeping the plant open as a condition of
selling in Canada.
It is time
for Canadian workers to stop taking only exit wounds in rearguard
actions. The same determination and tactics can be employed on larger
goals. Families cannot live on partial severance payments. They need
plants and jobs. If the present system of private ownership is
impoverishing us, we need to look at public ownership and a
manufacturing strategy that feeds on publicly-owned resources, turning
out green products that serve the public interest and a fair trade
policy. If removal of equipment is allowed, it will never return; it's
high time we quit subsidizing the cost of moving it.
The use of ex
parte injunctions in labour disputes has been a prime weapon of
the
employers since the early 1960s, and labour has not fought hard enough
against them. This was the weapon employed by GM in Oshawa and Chrysler
in Windsor. More and more, the courts are becoming the prime and first
weapon in labour disputes, and the threat of imprisonment and massive
fines are the reward for non-compliance. The Aboriginal peoples have
faced the same tactics, but have been more stubborn in their resistance.
In the
cross-hairs are the fight for democracy, the fight against regressive
laws and for labour law reform. As long as any judge can end an action
with a piece of paper, we'll always be left with the crumbs while the
corporate bosses walk away with the loaf. When CAW members fight for
their rights, their severance and holiday pay, the thieves walk away
untouched. Judges issue injunctions with impunity, and governments pump
billions into the coffers of the criminal corporate elite.
We cannot
live with this. In manufacturing it is equipment and buildings; in the
steel industry, workers may have to prevent the removal of coal and
ore. Same fight, different material.
The CAW is
evolving an SOS (Save Our Severance) campaign which should be supported
by every worker in the country. Hopefully they will consider future
demands. Hopefully every trade unionist will look carefully at the
declaration of the Confederation of National Trade Unions, printed in
this issue, which calls for actions across Quebec on May 1,
International Labour Day. Hopefully every trade unionist will take
heart from the massive strikes in France and the large demonstrations
in Ireland, Greece, Germany and the Russian Federation. This struggle
for what is ours - and what should be ours - is only beginning.
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5) WINNIPEG BUDGET
FAILS WORKING PEOPLE
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
The Winnipeg
Labour Election Committee (LEC) says the city's operating budget,
scheduled for adoption in late March, "does nothing significant to
improve the lives of the majority of people in Winnipeg or to act
decisively on the many serious crises in the economy or Nature; it is a
budget that lacks vision except when it comes to protecting short term
profits and private land speculators."
In a
statement to Mayor Katz and the City's Council's Executive Policy
Committee on March 11, the LEC's Cheryl-Anne Carr began by noting that
"Last year we made a presentation to you that rejected the neo‑liberal
cuts and privatizations that were steadily impoverishing Winnipeg,
creating injustice and inequality. We see nothing new in this budget.
It is a budget that will still make our city a place where the wealthy
few can enjoy swimming pools in their back yards but the majority of
youth in the inner city get spray pads and fewer swimming hours in the
endangered public pools."
The LEC
rejected the proposal to establish a new water authority, removed from
public scrutiny and control. "The water utility must be under full
democratic control and completely transparent and accountable to City
Council, the way it is right now as a department," said Carr. "We don't
want to see a situation where, because a tiny portion of the utility is
privatized - for example, its payroll department like in the Winnipeg
Health Authority - then finding information about the utility becomes
impossible because of so‑called privacy issues - information like an
intention to sell even more of the utility to private interests."
Turning to
the present economic situation, Carr called this "all the more reason
for spending to be maintained and even increased by and for cities.
Winnipeg should expect more, not less, funding during an economic
slowdown as a way to compensate for the failures of the private sector;
the public sector can help maintain jobs and consumer spending during
an economic crisis."
The LEC says
the Jan. 27 federal budget "is a huge failure... since it makes new
spending dependent on shared funding from municipalities. How cities
that are already operating on a break-even basis with an eroding tax
base during a crisis can afford such spending has not been addressed."
The LEC
points to two alternatives for the city - taxing the wealth in
Winnipeg, and a provincial budget that provided more to Winnipeg and
other municipalities so that they can accept the Harper Conservative
government's offer.
"It is no
good to throw your hands up and say you can't do anything," said Carr.
"It is your job to make noise for the City of Winnipeg. If you go
quietly, where is our leadership?
"It is clear
enough that we are well into a very serious economic crisis, a crisis
which is multi‑dimensional in scope. It is a crisis which has not just
one ten trillion dollar‑problem but several concerning the environment,
expensive and dangerous military preparations, and the core problem of
world hunger, impoverishment and unemployment. We have to adopt
policies that are fundamentally different than those that have brought
us to this debacle."
There are "two basic questions that the Labour Election Committee
understands need to be addressed," she said.
"Firstly,
will Winnipeg's budget prolong the agony of the present economic crisis
and stall action on the complex and serious problems confronting us, or
will the budget help to shorten the economic crisis?
"The measures
in the proposed budget are a total failure in this regard. The layoffs
and spending freezes will only prolong the agony of the crisis. It is
another stop‑gap budget, with no vision except possibly to help the big
developers who own or have options on the few remaining parcels of land
available for suburban development.
"It is a
budget that is only good in one aspect, that it does not carry out the
full, reactionary promises of the majority of City Council; for
example, by eliminating the business tax and shifting the tax burden on
to working people and small businesses, or by privatizing even more
operations or selling public assets. Maybe the protests and
presentations around last year's budget did some good after all.
"It is a
budget that will continue to gut the City's inner core of services that
people need and to impose hardship on people in the suburbs because of
the unsustainable model of urban development that has been led by the
big developers and who still dominate City Hall.
"It is a
budget that fails on several measures. There is no change of course to
create affordable mass and rapid transit in a timely manner, to improve
housing, to increase library hours, to improve parks and recreation
facilities and access, to create a system of affordable, universal
child‑care. All these measures would create jobs and make Winnipeg a
better city.
"Secondly,
for how long will Winnipeg and along with it Manitoba remain a low
wage, racist backwater? And what is this City Council going to do about
it?
"You are so
quick to pass resolutions decrying racism but do nothing to change the
system that has used racism to flourish for two centuries.
"The facts
about the average weekly wage in Manitoba are known to all and need not
be dwelled on this presentation. But there is a long way to go in
Manitoba to end racism, and Winnipeg must do its part. This province
was established through the unequal negotiation with the Métis
people
who resisted losing their land and rights, and has continued to operate
in the interest of the non‑Aboriginal business elite ever since,
including the large Eastern business big shots who still dominate the
Canadian economy.
"Racism plays
a big role in driving down the wages of all workers in the province,
especially anti‑Aboriginal racism. It acts like a giant anchor on the
wages of all workers.
"Winnipeg has
privatized many hundreds of jobs, such as garbage collection. We argue
that if we are to be a truly just society in Winnipeg with full pay and
job equity, surveys of who is hired and paid by this City budget must
take into account all the jobs that have been contracted out, all the
workers who are hired by contracts extended to businesses in places
like garbage collection.
If there is a
giant difference in the workforce who is hired in garbage collection
and in the rest of the workforce, especially in management positions...
then the Labour Election Committee would end the contracts with any
contracted out service on the basis of violating the human rights of
Winnipeg citizens...
"The Labour
Election Committee gives notice that it wants this data for garbage
collection and other contracted out services gathered and made
available to the public before next year's budget.
"Finally, we
hope that after this budget is passed that you'll join us in the
celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of the Winnipeg General
Strike over the next few months. It would be a positive step to see
members of City Council participate in the annual May Day parade and
help celebrate the Strike which was one of the greatest working class
struggles in Canadian history."
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6) HOMELESS AND POOR: A
CAPE BRETON WORKER IN BC
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
By
Kimball Cariou
"Hello, sir, can I
ask if you know the city very well?"
I looked up
from lunch with my son, in the Wendy's restaurant by Boundary and
Grandview in Vancouver. Beside our table was a man about sixty, wearing
a white cowboy hat, face creased and tanned from a life of outdoor
labour. He could easily have been from the countryside in Alberta where
I grew up.
As it turned
out, Leonard was from Cape Breton, but he's been working in coal mines
in western Canada for a number of years. His situation is all too
frequent these days. Homeless and unemployed, he's fighting to get his
life back, with no help from uncaring right-wing governments.
Leonard sat
down and pulled out some papers filled with neat handwriting. "I need
to go to this address," he said, pointing to "100 Avenue and 170
Street," out in Surrey. After that, he had to get to Annacis Island, an
industrial/warehouse island in the Fraser River, arriving by two
o'clock. His story was a bit complicated, but it boiled down to this:
he had to find his work tools at the first address, and get to the
second location where somebody had promised him a lift to Edmonton, on
his way to a job in northern Alberta. His question was simple: could I
give him directions to walk to his destination, since he had no money
and no luck hitch-hiking.
I looked at
my watch. It was already noon, and the total distance facing Leonard
was at least 40 kilometers. Walking was out of the question. He needed
a vehicle to make this trip, but I had to be back at work in the
opposite direction by one pm.
As I
explained the problem, Leonard realized his position was futile.
Unfamiliar with Vancouver, he had started walking at six in the morning
from his tent over on the North Shore, and now he had just two hours
left to find his equipment and catch his ride. I could give him a lift
to the nearest Skytrain station, which would take him within a few
kilometers of the first address, but it would still be nearly
impossible to complete his journey on time. All he could do was try, so
we jumped into my car while he told me more.
How did my new acquaintance get into this mess?
Leonard's
most recent job was in Sparwood, BC, where he suffered a heart attack a
few months ago. He was sent to a hospital in North Vancouver, but after
recovering sufficiently to be discharged, he had no money and no job,
just some personal belongings. A resourceful person, he managed to
obtain a tent and pitch it near the hospital, suffering through several
cold and hungry nights while he tried to contact friends about work. An
employer in High Level, near the Alberta-NWT border, promised him a job
and even offered to repay him for meals along the way, but not bus fare.
Overcoming
his pride, Leonard found a provincial social assistance office to seek
help. All he needed, he told us, was a couple of hundred dollars to get
to Alberta. Instead, he got a pittance and a bureaucratic line about
the waiting period.
"That doesn't
make any sense," Leonard said. "There's thousands of us homeless people
here. Why wouldn't the government spend $200 so that I can take care of
myself and get out of that tent?"
I suspected
that Leonard knew perfectly well that the Campbell Liberals care
nothing about people living on the street. During eight years in
office, this government has seen homelessness skyrocket while it kicked
thousands off social assistance and cut the minimum wage to six bucks
an hour. Larger numbers of unemployed mean cheaper labour and higher
profits for BC employers. Hearing my explanation, he simply nodded.
Arriving at
the Skytrain station, I gave Leonard some money and showed him the
regional map. It was a longshot, but maybe his ride would wait past two
o'clock. Or maybe not. If luck wasn't with him, he'd be stuck in
Vancouver, just another statistic. After a lifetime of hard work,
Leonard could soon end up with nothing.
On May 12,
British Columbians have the opportunity to put the right people in the
unemployment line for a change. Defeated Liberal MLAs won't go hungry,
of course, and none of them will have to sleep in a tent. But if we
drive them out of office, at least they won't be in charge of making
the poor even poorer.
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7) GALLOWAY DECISION:
CRIMINALIZING DISSENT
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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
The federal
government's decision to bar British Member of Parliament George
Galloway from entering Canada marks a frightening escalation of the war
on free speech. This act is the latest stage in a drive to criminalize
opposition to the apartheid state of IIsrael for its crimes against the
people of occupied Palestine.
University administrations have banned
posters, refused to allow Palestine solidarity groups to book rooms,
and taken formal action against student activists. Many Canadian media
outlets act as propagandists for Israel, whipping up hatred against
Palestinians and Muslims, and against peace and solidarity movements
which refuse to remain silent on these issues. The labour movement has
been a particular target of this campaign, especially sections of CUPE
which take strong and principled positions in support of the global
campaign for boycott, disinvestment and sanctions against Israel.
It is becoming virtually forbidden for elected
members and candidates of the larger political parties to express sharp
criticism of the Israeli apartheid state. The latest example is in
British Columbia, where Mable Elmore, a trade union activist with a
solid record of leadership in the anti-war movement, was condemned by
her own party's leadership for her criticisms of Israeli policy after
winning the NDP nomination in Vancouver-Kensington in the May 12
provincial election.
We condemn the decision to bar George
Galloway, and this dangerous campaign against free speech. Growing
numbers of Canadians stand in solidarity with Palestine, and criticize
Israel for refusing to abide by United Nations resolutions and for its
violations of international law. The right to express such views must
not be characterized as de facto criminal activity. It is the
responsibility of every labour and democratic movement to resist this
war against our fundamental civil rights.
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8) THEN THERE'S JASON
KENNEY...
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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
Anyone needing more proof of the anti-democratic nature of the Harper
Tories should consider the record of Jason Kenney, Minister of
Citizenship, Immigration and (ironically) Multiculturalism. Speaking to
the University of Toronto Conservative Party and Hillel campus clubs
recently, Kenney announced plans to cut funding for groups which oppose
the Tory position on international issues. Of course, his words were
couched in language about "removing state support from groups that
advocate hatred or express support for terrorism," but if Mr. Kenney
meant such phrases literally, he would not be a welcome guest of
supporters of the apartheid Israeli state.
No, Mr. Kenney was referring to the Islamic
Congress and the Canadian Arab Federation, which he described in a
racist fashion as "groups with no real constituency," just fax machines
and e‑mail accounts.
The Harper government's total, unswerving
support for apartheid Israel appears to be the key factor in Minister
Kenney's latest jaw-dropper, the appalling decision to bar British MP
George Galloway from Canada.
But this is just the latest from the far-right
Calgary MP. Last summer, he had the nerve to call U.S. war resisters
"bogus refugee claimants," while his government moved to deport to a
U.S. jail one such resister, Kim Rivera, a mother of three children.
Jason Kenney has a long history of bigoted statements, from his
homophobic attacks on NDP MPs Svend Robinson and Libby Davies, to his
recent suggestion that many new immigrants aren't trying hard enough to
learn English or French, and should accordingly be denied citizenship.
Across Canada, outraged voices are demanding
that this out-of-control fascist-minded cabinet minister must be fired.
We support this demand - it can't happen a moment too soon.
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9) BUSH FREE TO
ENTER, GALLOWAY BARRED
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
By Johan Boyden, General Secretary,
Young Communist League of Canada
On one side of Canada stood a man who, for my generation, personifies
the great evil of the US empire. On March 17 he was warmly welcomed to
Calgary by the governing Harper Conservatives. From outside the
$400‑plate luncheon of business and oil executives, over 200 protestors
chanted, expressing the sentiments of the Canadian people.
On the other side of the country well over a
thousand people - in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal - had pulled $10 out
of their wallets to hear an outspoken anti‑war crusader. On March 20,
this man was banned from entering Canada for posing a threat to
national security.
The first case is George W Bush. If what
resonates with the Canadian people had been recognized in Ottawa, then
the clarion call contained in a letter from Lawyers Against the War to
the RCMP would have been heard. Bush would have been arrested for
crimes against humanity. He was not.
The second case is rebel British MP George
Galloway, a mighty and eloquent speaker. Galloway, who left Britain's
Labour party in 2003 and now sits as a left‑wing Respect MP, has hurled
repeated barrages of verbal criticism against the oppression and
injustice of US, Israeli, British, and Canadian foreign policy. For
this he has been censured. People's Voice readers already know the
answer to the question: will this public outcry resonate with the
Canadian government?
If you don't know who Galloway is, search his
name and "Senate hearing" on You Tube to hear him speak. He is the man
who famously crossed the Atlantic to address a US Senate hearing that
had falsely accused him of corruption:
"I gave my heart and soul to stop you
committing the disaster which you did commit in Iraq. And I told the
world that your case for the war was a pack of lies... Senator, in
everything I said, about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned
out to be wrong. And a hundred thousand people have paid with their
lives, sixteen hundred of them American soldiers, sent to their deaths,
on a pack of lies."
George Galloway has been to Canada before. In
2006, he told CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos that "your foreign policy
has changed markedly even in the twelve months or so since I was last
here, it has a sharper, uglier edge."
Apparently the Harper Conservative government
cannot handle such criticism, or any at all.
It was entirely appropriate that an emergency
planning session responding to Galloway's ban came at the end of a
three‑day student anti‑war conference in Toronto - a meeting talking
about issues from the increasingly aggressive military recruitment
campaigns to the carbon footprint of NATO.
The emergency session heard numerous reports
of similar clamp-downs on freedom of speech. High school teachers and
students with the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid spoke of the
heavy‑handed approach of the Toronto School Board and university
administrations (reported in our last issue). The War Resistors have
seen four resistors and young families deported by Immigration Minister
Jason Kenney's department. The Canadian Arab Federation's funding is
being cut by Kenney not because of any action, but a political
statement.
"We have to funnel the outrage of the Canadian
public towards Harper," Toronto Coalition to Stop the War spokesperson
James Clark said. The group is launching a legal challenge led by
Barbara Jackman. If that doesn't work a delegation of Canadian MPs,
lawyers and activists will escort Galloway across the border from the
US.
The burning issue here is freedom of speech -
even Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff gets that.
Galloway joins a growing list of progressives
not allowed into Canada, from US women's peace activists with Code
Pink, to William Ayers and anti‑war folk musician David Rovics, and hip
hop artist Immortal technique. Nor were they the first.
As Galloway himself said: "More than half a
century ago Paul Robeson, one of the greatest men who ever lived, was
forbidden to enter Canada not by Ottawa but by Washington, which had
taken away his passport. But he was still able to transfix a vast crowd
of Vancouver's mill hands and miners with a 17‑minute telephone
concert, culminating in a rendition of the Ballad of Joe Hill.
Technology has moved on since then. And so from coast to coast,
minister Kenney notwithstanding, I will be heard ‑ one way or another."
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10) "CRISIS NOT AN ANOMALY OF
CAPITALISM"
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
Excerpts from a recent interview with
Osvaldo Martinez, director of the Research Centre for World Economy and
president of the Cuban National Assembly's Economic Affairs Commission.
Mass lay‑offs all around the world,
rising unemployment rates and poverty indexes, bankruptcy of companies
and banks are some of the most obvious effects of the crisis. At which
stage of the crisis are we in?
Osvaldo Martinez: The crisis
is just beginning, and no one can predict with certainty how long will
it last nor its intensity. We are facing something more than a mere
financial crisis: it is a global economic crisis that affects not only
international finances but also the real economy. Due to the high
degree of development achieved by speculation and financial capital in
recent years, the extent of the breakdown in the financial sector, and
the highly globalised economy, we can deduct that the present crisis
will be worse than the Great Depression that occurred in the 30's.
What has been happening since August 2008 is
the explosion of the speculative financial bubble, caused particularly
by neoliberal policies. Right now the crisis is beginning to affect the
real economy, that is, the economy that produces real goods and
services, development of technology, and values that can be used to
satisfy needs. How much more will it affect the real economy? It is
hard to say. There are many opinions on this subject. Some suggest that
the crisis may last between two and five years. If we use historical
references, we see that the crisis of the 30s started in October 1929,
developed at full speed until 1933, and the economies had not fully
recovered their previous levels of activity when the Second World War
started in 1939.
What finally "solved" that crisis, and I say
"solve" because this is only the solution that capitalism gave to the
crisis, was the destruction of productive forces caused by the war,
which allowed post‑1945 capitalism to initiate a new growth stage based
on reconstruction. Every crisis, linked or not to a war, is above all a
process of destruction of the productive forces.
Which sectors have been worst
affected?
Martinez: The explosion of the
financial bubble has caused the collapse of stock markets and the
bankruptcy of important corporate speculators (the so called investment
banks, which in fact are not productive investors but speculative
investors). Large banks have become bankrupt, credit has been affected
at a global level, since it has become scarce and expensive. There has
been a decrease in the prices of raw materials and oil. Sectors of the
real economy commence to be affected by the crisis, as with the motor
industry in the USA: the three largest companies, General Motors, Ford
and Chrysler are receiving support from the government to avoid
bankruptcy. Several airlines have closed down, flights have been
reduced. Unemployment is on the rise, tourism is also affected. It is a
snowball effect, which can lead to the deepening of the crisis during
2009.
To some specialists, this is one more
cyclic crisis of the capitalist system, one of those described by Marx
in the 19th century. But it has also been said that it is not just "one
more" but, given the huge dimensions it has reached, it is the
expression of the internal destruction of capitalism. What is your
opinion on this matter?
Martinez: The current crisis
is, without doubt, another cyclic crisis of capitalism. It is one more
in the sense that the system in place since 1825, when Marx noted the
first crisis, has suffered hundreds of similar crises. A crisis is not
an anomaly, rather, it is a regular feature of capitalism, to the point
that it is even necessary to the system. Capitalism follows a
particular logic, since it needs to destroy productive forces in order
to pave the way for another stage of economic growth. However, the
current crisis is undoubtedly the mark of a deep deterioration within
the capitalist system.
I believe the crisis can reach serious
dimensions, but I do not think that, on its own, represents the end of
the capitalist system or its definitive destruction. Marx argued with
great lucidity that capitalism does not collapse due an economic
crisis. Capitalism has to be brought down through political actions.
So do you agree with what Marx said,
and later supported Vladimir Lenin and Rosa Luxembourg, that despite
the self-destructive nature of capitalism, there has to be a revolution
to bring it down?
Martinez: Of course. To think
that capitalism will collapse on its own, due to a spontaneous force
like an economic crisis, is to believe in utopia. The crisis may create
conditions that favour anti-capitalism political movements. As long as
politics are tactfully handled and as long as there is a leadership
that takes advantage of the situation, the crisis creates favourable
conditions because it generates more poverty, unemployment, large scale
bankruptcy and the desperation of the masses.
Throughout history, large scale economic
crises have been linked to revolutionary movements. For example, during
the First World War there was a profound capitalist crisis, and the
success of the first socialist revolution in Russia was linked to this.
The crisis of the 1930s, however, was linked to the appearance of
fascism. The desperation of the masses in Germany and Italy provoked a
crisis that was used by the right wing to create extremist right wing,
fascist, chauvinist and nationalist governments.
What I want to stress is that nothing is
inevitably written in history. It all depends on the expertise and the
handling of the political forces that are in competition. In the
present situation, it is possible to think about change: we are in a
situation that may have us seeing a surge in the radicalization of
anti‑capitalist movements.
If it is just another cyclical
crisis, but at the same is different, what factors characterize it?
Martinez: I think the
differences are down to the context. The present crisis is especially
complicated because the global economy is also complicated, much more
than the economy of 1929. Firstly, the level of economic globalization
is vastly superior. The degree of interconnection that national
economies had back in 1929 was incipient. In 1929 there was no
internet, no email, no aviation; they depended on telegraphic
communications, telephones had not been perfected, and planes were just
starting to cross the skies.
Today, every event that happens in a powerful
economy has an impact, in a matter of minutes, on the rest of the
world. Markets are greatly interconnected, especially global financial
markets, and that means that the world economy is like a spider web in
which we are all trapped. A movement in any part of the spider web is
felt everywhere else. Because of all this, the capacity for this crisis
to spread is larger than in 1929. This is the first difference.
Secondly, the level of financing in the global
economy is also vastly superior. The amount of speculative capital and
the nature of the actions that occur are much more intense than in
1929. Back then there were stock markets, but their functioning was
simple. Today, financial speculation has reached an immense
sophistication, which is in turn one of its weakest points. The
speculative operations are so sophisticated, risky, loaded with fraud
and unreal, that they have constituted the basis of the global
financial breakdown.
Up until now there have been no radical
measures put in place to stop the crisis. However we are seeing how the
state, especially the United States, intervenes more and more to avoid
the bankruptcy of companies... and by doing this it is taking on a
prominent position which reminds us of the Keynesian methods used by
Franklin Roosevelt. Today many claim that neo‑Keynesianism will be the
alternative...
In essence they are trying to apply
neo‑Keynesian methods in a diffuse manner. We can see evidence of this
in what Barack Obama has announced regarding a large scale
reconstruction of the road network. That is a typical Keynesian
resource to generate employment and income, and to stimulate demand.
But at the same time, measures like this are combined with others that
are contradictory, such as rescuing bankrupt companies and giving out
large amounts of funds to put back together the speculative structure
which failed and collapsed.
This is a clear expression that the
neoliberals continue to hold positions of power. We are witnessing a
battle between a neo-liberalism that refuses to disappear and a
neo‑Keynesianism that wants to become established.
I doubt that neo‑Keynesianism can turn out to
be the solution, even if it is strictly applied. This is because the
current crisis has new components. The crisis combines elements of
over- and underproduction; it is a crisis that has attacked the
environment, it is not only economic but also environmental, and with
this human survival and the conditions of human survival are at risk.
Do you mean that, as it has already
happened, Keynesianism will only be a temporary solution that will deal
with the problems without getting to the roots?
Martinez: Of course. We
cannot consider Keynesianism and neo-Keynesianism as infallible recipes
that will solve the economic problems of capitalism. Capitalism has
suffered crisis with both neoliberal and Keynesian policies. Between
1973 and 1975 there was a severe capitalist crisis that occurred under
Keynesian policies, and that was a factor that provoked the
substitution of Keynesian ideas by neoliberal policies.
We should not believe in the false dichotomy
that affirms that neoliberalism provokes the crisis and Keynesianism
resolves it. Simply put, the system is contradictory and has a tendency
to develop periodic economic crisis. Whether they are neoliberal or
keynesian, economic policies can facilitate, stimulate or postpone the
situation, but they are not able to eliminate capitalist crisis.
Then there is one solution left:
socialism...
Martinez: Without a doubt. I
am more convinced than ever before that the dilemma presented by Rosa
Luxembourg is in evidence: "socialism or barbarism". I do not believe
that humanity will go back to barbarism, simply because our survival
instinct is the strongest of all.
I believe rational conditions will prevail,
and rational conditions imply a sense of social justice. I think we
will overcome capitalism, and the practice of creative socialism will
prevail. This means socialism being a continuous search, without
forgetting its basic principles; however from these basic principles
stem the possibilities for experimentation, polemic and creativity.
And that would be the socialism of
the 21st century?
Martinez: I believe so.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa,
during the conference at Havana University in January, explained that
one of the problems of socialism is that it has followed a development
model similar to that of capitalism; that is, a different and fairer
way to achieve the same thing: GDP, industrialization and accumulation.
What do you think?
Martinez: Correa raised a good
point. The socialism practised by some socialist countries did no more
than repeat the development model of capitalism, in the sense that the
objective was the growth of productive forces. By doing this it
constituted itself in quantitative competence with capitalism, and
ignored that the capitalist model of development is a social structure
unable to provide for the whole of humanity.
The planet would not survive otherwise. It is
impossible to fall again into concepts like one car for each family,
the model of North American idyllic society, etc... It is necessary to
conceive another model of development which is compatible with the
environment and which has a more collective way of functioning.
Although Correa was right in many things, I do
not agree with him in one thing. In one of his TV interviews he
mentions the socialism of the 21st century, with which I agree, but
then claims that several things would become obsolete. Amongst them, he
mentioned class struggle, when that is one of the political struggles
of his country, Ecuador, which is now immersed in an episode of class
struggle that he is trying to resolve with his project.
Who opposes his project? It is undoubtedly the
oligarchy and the bourgeoisie. Who can he rely on to support him
against the enemy? The workers, the peasants, the indigenous peoples. I
am not thinking in the classic definition of "class", but in the
undeniable existence of social classes, and the struggle between them
is undeniable and evident. If we renounce class struggle, what would be
left? Cooperation between classes? I don't think Ecuador can complete
its project of 21st century socialism with the cooperation of people
like Gustavo Novoa, the Catholic church or those who try to overthrow
Correa.
The world has built many expectations
around the figure of Barack Obama. What role can he play with regards
to solving the crisis?
Martinez: I do not have high hopes of change. I believe that Obama's
government can represent a cosmetic change rather than a profound
structural change in North American policies. I think he represents the
position of a certain political sector in the United States which
understood that it was impossible to continue a regime so unpopular,
worn out and unpleasant as that of George Bush. However, there is
something we must take into account, and at least give him the benefit
of doubt: Obama's ideas are one thing, and where the deepening economic
crisis may take him is another thing. And once again I have to use the
30's as an example.
In 1932, when the crisis was full‑blown,
Franklin Roosevelt took over as president. His ideas were nothing
extraordinary, there was nothing that could have had people guessing
what would happen next: his policy of active state intervention,
support by trade unions or the regulation of private economies. All
those measures were taken more as the result of what the crisis forced
him to do, than as a result of a pre‑existing political philosophy.
Something similar could happen with Obama, but we must give him the
benefit of doubt to see where the crisis will take him.
In the past few weeks there has been
a lot on talk on the role of Latin American integration. Although this
process is only starting, there have been changes at structural level
that point towards integration. How can integration help us face the
crisis as a region and as a country?
Martinez: I think that the
integration of Latin America and the Caribbean will be a key strategic
factor in the future of the region, and not as an appendage of the
United States. For decades, Latin American integration has been
rhetoric, never practice. But we have seen the beginning of a new
space, marked by the Summit of Salvador de Bahia, which took place in
December last year, where Cuba joined the Rio Group. We also have the
ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas), a model of integration
based on solidarity and cooperation, not on the market.
This situation coincides with a crisis that is
forcing Latin America to rethink her position in the global economy.
This also coincides with a profound crisis in the neoliberal policies
that governed the region during the last 30 years. It is a great
moment, and there is a real possibility that true Latin American and
Caribbean integration will become a reality.
Some authors point at the idea that following
the current crisis, the world economy will be structured in large
regional blocks: one in Asia, another one in North America and a new
one established by Latin American countries. The possibility is very
interesting.
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11) MASSIVE GENERAL
STRIKE ROCKS SARKOZY IN FRANCE
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
French unions kicked off a national strike on March 19 to press the
government to boost the minimum wage, increase taxes on the rich and
scrap plans to cut public‑sector jobs. At least one million people
flooded the streets of central Paris; about three million people took
part in 200 demonstrations in other towns and cities across the country.
Paris police laid out two routes through the
capital for the huge crowds of oil, car, banking, pharmaceutical and
retail workers who marched shoulder to shoulder with public‑sector
employees.
Rail traffic was disrupted and schools,
hospitals, the postal service and public transport were also affected,
but a law pushed through by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in August
2007 that requires "minimum service" to be guaranteed has limited the
impact of the industrial action.
Adding to the social tension, many French
universities have been paralysed for weeks due to a strike by
lecturers, professors and students against a government assault on the
higher education budget.
French unemployment has recently surged past 8
per cent, with more than two million people out of work. Another
350,000 set to lose their jobs this year as the market meltdown
destroys thousands of jobs in heavy industry and the car sector. The
jobless rate is projected to near 9 percent by the end of 2009.
Car industry supplier Rencast, an aluminium
founder that employs 850 people in south‑eastern France, was officially
declared bankrupt on March 18, while the tyre manufacturer Goodyear
announced plans to slash up to 1,000 jobs. At the same time, companies
like the transnational oil giant Total are laying off workers while
simultaneously announcing record profits.
Unions are calling for an immediate halt to
the mass job cuts, and demanding that Sarkozy's right‑wing government
scrap a 50 per cent cap on income tax.
At least 78 per cent of the population
supports the unions' demands, according to a French poll published in
the French financial daily Les Echos.
Sarkozy told ministers at a March 18 cabinet
meeting that he "understood the worries of the French." But in the same
breath he claimed that increasing taxes on the rich would only drive
them abroad.
Weeks after a strike in late January brought
2.5 million people into the streets, Sarkozy announced measures to help
people affected by the financial crisis, including special bonuses for
the needy. But union leaders point out that the 2.3 billion euro
support plan for working people has been dwarfed by the hundreds of
billions of euros doled out to banking bosses.
The country's eight main trade unions demanded
that the government react to the latest protests.
"I cannot believe the government will stay
immobile in the face of a phenomenon of this size," Bernard Thibault of
the General Labour Confederation said on state television France 2.
"If things continue like this, the marches
will get bigger," Bernard van Craeynest, the leader of trade union
CFE‑CGC, was reported as saying by Le
Monde.
The National Institute for Statistics and
Economic Studies (INSEE) now forecasts a "prolongation of the
recession" in the first half of this year in France, saying GDP will
shrink by up to 1.5 percent in the first quarter alone, its worst drop
since 1975.
Meanwhile, strikes have been taking place in
other EU countries as well, including Italy. A major demonstration is
also to be organised by unions, NGOs and charities on March 28 in
London, ahead of the G20 meeting on April 2, to call on global leaders
to "put people first".
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12) FMLN HOPES TO
REBUILD EL SALVADOR
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
With files from Prensa Latina (Cuba),
Morning Star (UK), and InterPress Service
After three decades of military and political struggle, the Farabundo
Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) won the March 15 presidential
elections, paving the way for building a new El Salvador.
In spite of right‑wing slanders, fraud and
threats, FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes managed to win with
51.32 percent of the votes. The Alianza Republicana Nacionalista
(ARENA) candidate got 46.68 percent.
In an interview with Prensa Latina, FMLN
general coordinator Medardo Gonzalez described the process that led his
party to the presidency.
"The last stage in this process dates back to
December 2006, when in a National Convention we launched a manifesto
stating people were eagerly looking forward a new system, faced with
the unbearable economic, political, and social situation they were
going through. At that time, we called all who longed for a change to
unite, and the party expressed its willingness to become that force; it
was an important starting point for us," he recalled.
"Picking the candidate was another important
step, because we wanted other sectors beyond the FMLN to join the
process. That process took a year, and ended in November 2007, when
Funes was nominated," he added.
The FMLN program stated among its priorities
to face the current international crisis which is particularly hitting
El Salvador for its dependency on the United States. El Salvador
adopted the US dollar as its currency in 2001, and 80 percent of its
exports go to the United States. Family remittances account for 19
percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, nearly one fifth of
the national income.
The economic crisis has already been reflected
in the loss of jobs and in a drop in remittances sent home by the 2.5
million Salvadorans who live in the U.S. Some four billion dollars were
sent to El Salvador last year. But in January, remittances dipped eight
percent with respect to the same month in 2008.
The new government aims to begin the way
towards development with equity, to fulfill the peace agreements signed
in 1992 and strengthen the role of the State. A new government also
means changes in foreign policy and diversification of commercial and
diplomatic relations with other countries.
"It is vital for us to re‑establish relations
with Cuba soon and give the corresponding level to the Venezuelan
relations," Gonzalez declared.
The FMLN general coordinator dedicated the
victory to the historic leader of the organization, Schafik Handal, who
died in 2006, and to all his comrades. "This victory also represents a
great personal satisfaction and happiness for the people," he stressed.
"We have done it and we will start fighting to build a New Salvador."
Jubilant, red‑clad FMLN supporters poured into
the streets of San Salvador after the vote was announced, singing,
clapping, blowing whistles and waving large party flags as fireworks
lit up the night sky.
Addressing a victory rally, Funes said that
"the time has come for the excluded, the opportunity has arrived for
genuine democrats, for men and women who believe in social justice and
solidarity."
He vowed to boost public spending on
education, health and poverty alleviation. And he gave notice to
big‑business bosses who exploit government complacency to evade taxes,
pledging to bring the full force of law to bear on them.
The former freelance television reporter
harnessed a wave of discontent with two decades of ARENA party rule
that have brought economic growth along with growing social inequality.
Fuel and food prices have soared, while powerful gangs extort
businesses and fight for drug‑dealing turf, resulting in one of Latin
America's highest murder rates.
Funes faces major challenges as he prepares to
take office on June 1. In his victory speech, he pledged to build a
government of national unity because "the country belongs to all
Salvadorans," but that he would put a priority on the poor, the victims
of neoliberal free‑market policies followed by ARENA since 1989.
Funes will also confront a state apparatus
created by ARENA. From its very origins, El Salvador's small wealthy
elite has used its dominant positions to monopolize the economy,
resulting in opulence for a few but abysmal poverty for the majority of
the population.
ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila, a former police
chief, had warned that an FMLN victory would send El Salvador "down the
communist path" and threaten the country's warm relations with the
United States. He vowed to lead "a vigilant opposition that would
ensure that the country does not lose its liberties."
In a March 16 editorial, the
ultra‑conservative El Diario de Hoy newspaper
also called for "national unity." But during the election campaign, the
newspaper had accused Funes of being "the candidate of the party of
kidnappers and criminals."
The FMLN was formed in 1980 as an umbrella
group to unite progressive guerilla groups struggling against the
US‑backed military regime and its notorious death squads. After signing
the Chapultepec Peace Accords in 1992 which ended the bloody civil war,
it became a legal political party.
In January's legislative elections, the FMLN
won 42.6 per cent of the vote and 35 seats, making it the largest party
in parliament, though it does not have a governing majority.
The president‑elect travelled to Brazil on
March 19 to meet with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who
congratulated Funes on his triumph and offered to help El Salvador in
the fight against poverty.
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13) MEETINGS ACROSS
CANADA MARK 2004 COUP IN HAITI
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
Chapters of the Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN) recently organized
events in nine cities across Canada to mark the fifth anniversary of
the illegal coup d'etat that removed Haiti's elected president and
government in 2004. Canada was a key plotter of that coup, and sent
military forces and police to carry out the dirty deed. Today, CHAN
argues, Canada shares a great responsibility for the deterioration in
living conditions and political rights that has accompanied the past
five years of foreign occupation in Haiti.
A highlight of the network's activity was a
day‑long conference in Ottawa entitled "Ottawa Initiative on Haiti
2009." The conference was organized by Haitian people in the Ottawa
region with the participation of CHAN's local chapter, the Ottawa Haiti
Solidarity Committee/Kozayiti. Speakers from Haiti and from the Haitian
Diaspora addressed the conference, as did authors, academics and
activists from Canada, the United States and Britain. Teleconferencing
technology was successfully used.
Several speakers who defend, or downplay, the
coup of 2004 were invited to participate in order to promote a spirit
of dialogue and informed exchange. One accepted the offer. More than
100 people took part in the conference.
Filmmaker Kevin Pina brought his new 80‑minute
documentary film, Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits, to seven cities from
Feb. 28 to March 6: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Toronto,
Guelph and Hamilton. The tour was a rousing success, with more than 500
people attending events. The film is a powerful telling of Haiti's
modern history.
Each showing was followed by comments by Pina
on the current situation in Haiti, notably the total failure of the
foreign occupation to bring any meaningful improvements to the people
there. The filmmaker also offered proposals for what can be done in the
coming months to support the sovereignty struggle in Haiti that,
according to him, is demonstrably on the rise after suffering heavy
blows following the coup.
Pina's film also screened in Fredericton and
was attended by 35 people.
Sixty people attended each of the events in
Victoria, Vancouver and Calgary. The latter event was hosted by the
University of Calgary Consortium for Peace Studies. It was a big
success, and future collaboration with Haiti solidarity activists seems
assured. Thirty five attended in Saskatoon.
In Vancouver, an arts and craft fair was held
at the Delta Baptist Church. Three thousand dollars was raised and will
be shared among three social projects in Haiti - the SOPUDEP School,
Partners in Health, and the Haiti Baptist Mission.
In Toronto, Guelph and Hamilton, Pina was
joined by former member of the Haitian Parliament Jean Candio. The
latter is currently applying for refugee status in Canada, arguing that
his safety and that of his family cannot be assured in Haiti at this
time. Eighty people attended the Toronto event and 35 in Hamilton. The
largest of Pina's speaking events was in Guelph, with over 100 people.
The major organizers of the event were students from the University of
Guelph and the Toronto‑based Students in Solidarity with Haiti.
Jean Candio spoke about how he became involved
with the Lavalas political movement and his harrowing experiences after
the 1991 and 2004 coups in Haiti. He also spoke about the repression he
has faced from the U.S. and Canadian governments when attempting to
apply for asylum after being forced to flee Haiti. He underscored that
the persecution he faced in Haiti because of his affiliation with
Lavalas was continued in both the U.S. and Canada.
(Report from
Canada-Haiti Action Network)
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14) SOUTH KOREA'S
MISSILE SPECULATION FRENZY
(The
following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
By Sean Burton, PV South Korea correspondent
I am really tired of endless speculation about North Korea. Going
through the archives of any South Korean newspaper, one can find
article after article about North Korea's intentions as assumed by
other countries. I suppose that if you only rely on pictures from the
spy planes that regularly violate the North's airspace, you just have
to guess.
The media has rammed down our throats almost
everyday that the North is about to test an ICBM, based on aerial
evidence that some sort of missile device was being prepared at a
launch site. Thus it's not surprising that when the North made an
official announcement that it was going to launch an experimental
satellite, the government agencies and media started calling it a cover
up. Perhaps they cannot accept that the North has some of the best
rocket technology in the world, and is quite capable of conducting such
an experiment? They must maintain a frightening image of the North, and
going on about the missile is one way to do it.
I was honestly quite surprised to read that
Obama's new national intelligence chief, Admiral Dennis Blair, reported
to the U.S. Senate Armed Service Committee that North Korea is, in
fact, preparing a "space launch vehicle". He even admitted that the
technology involved is virtually indistinguishable from ballistic
missiles, and that a three‑stage launch vehicle could indeed reach
parts of the U.S., though perhaps not the continental states.
This is not yet the official American
position, but it is quite a strong statement.
Alas, such news has not been widely reported
in the west. North Korea has followed international procedure with this
launch, notifying the International Civil Aviation Organization and the
International Maritime Organization of the launch date between April
4‑8, and the coordinates. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also
reported that their country has also recently signed treaties regarding
peaceful space exploration. Is all of that a deliberate cover up? As
far as South Korea is concerned, it does not matter. Unification
Minister Hyun In Taek stated that whatever the case, "it is still
basically a missile", and in violation of UN Security Council
resolutions on North Korea.
Threats from abroad continue as well. Japan,
ever eager to reassert its regional power, has said it will use its own
missiles to shoot down anything the North fires, whether a missile or a
satellite. Japan's defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, has stated that
"It is natural to react to even a satellite if it can cause serious
damage when it falls down to Japan." What an outrageously belligerent
stance! If that were to happen, it would be an unfortunate accident,
but nothing more. The U.S. government also is not showing any quarter
to the North. Hillary Clinton has accused the North of unhelpful and
unwelcome rhetoric. Evidently, Japan is not to be held to the same
standards. And of course, President Obama continues to speak about the
"risks" of North Korea's missile program. UN Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon, who happens to be South Korean, has also claimed that either
launching a satellite or missile will threaten the peace and stability
of the region.
These claims are getting ridiculous. The North
wouldn't have devoted so many of its scarce resources to building a
large military and nuclear weapons were it not for the decades of
threats from the U.S. and its allies in the region. Having such weapons
is a way for the North to say, "We have such powerful weapons, you
daren't touch us!" Objectively, North Korea is no military threat to
the continental U.S. But consider the thousands of American soldiers
and weapons maintained in South Korea since the 1950s, and the lack of
an actual peace treaty. Who is threatening whom?
On a concluding note, North Korea held
elections for the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on March 10. There
has been a huge amount of media speculation in the South that one of
Kim Jong Il's sons will eventually replace him as the country's leader.
Daily NK, "the hub of North Korean news", a
website based in Seoul, jumped the gun and claimed Kim Jong Woon, third
son of Kim Jong Il, was on the ballot. This has since turned out to be
false information. So how reliable is any of this speculation? Daily NK
ought to change its slogan to "the hub of ANTI‑North Korean news".
If I want North Korean news, I'll go directly
to the KCNA website http://www.kcna.co.jp or "The
People's Korea" http://www1.korea‑np.co.jp/pk/.
Both sites are maintained by the General Association of Korean
Residents in Japan, made up of over 150,000 Koreans who refused South
Korean citizenship, and even have representatives to North Korea's SPA.
Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm in South Korea, where those
websites, and many others, are banned.
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15) WHAT'S LEFT
(The following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
END NATO’S WAR
Rallies across Canada
on April 4 to protest NATO's war in
Afghanistan, see http://www.acpcpa.ca
for local events.
VANCOUVER, BC
Spaghetti Dinner - 5 pm, Sunday, March 29, Van East Club
CPC annual
fundraiser for People’s Voice, followed by film at 7 pm, at 706 Clark
Drive. Tickets $12, call 604-255-2041.
STV
Debate: Is it right for BC?,
hosted by COPE - Wed., April 1, 7 pm, at Creative Individual
Studio, 110
- 60 East 5th Ave.
COPE
AGM - Sunday, April 5, 2:30 pm,
Ukrainian Orthodox Hall, 154 E. 10 Ave. Call 604-255-0400 for
information.
Left
Film Night, Saturday - April 18,
Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark Drive.
- 7 pm: The Guerrilla
and the Hope: Lucio Cabanas, documentary on Mexican guerrilla leader
from the 1970s;
- 9 pm: Machuca, the story of a young
boy in Allende’s Chile. Call 604-255-2041 for details.
Grand
March for Housing - Sat.,
April 4, starts 12 noon from Peace
Flame Park, south end of
Burrard Bridge, organized by City-Wide
Housing Coalition.
SASKATOON, SK
Political
discussion & beer, all
welcome to join Saskatoon CPC members - third Monday of
every month, in
the tv room at Amigo’s, 632-10 St. East.
TORONTO, ON
Report from Greek
Communist Party Congress, by CPC leader
Miguel Figueroa - Friday, March 27, 7:30 pm, GCDO, 290 Danforth Ave. Sponsored by Belogiannis Club CPC, Friends of the CPG, Veterans of the Greek Resistance, and Greek Canadian Democratic Organization. Call 416-469-2446 for info.
Hemingway’s
Hot Havana, starring Brian Gordon Sinclair - Sat., March 28, Winchevsky Centre, 585 Cranbrooke Ave., doors 7:30, performance 8 pm. Suggested donation $15 (proceeds to Cuba Hurricane Relief). Cosponsored by United Jewish People’s Order and Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association; call Elizabeth 416-654-7105.
Almighty Voice and His Wife,
play by Daniel David Moses, director Michael Greyeyes - at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson
Ave. The
Davenport Club CPC invites you to the
April 4 performance, 8 pm. For tickets ($20), please contact
Dave at
416-535-6586 or mckee.dave@sympatico.
Hemingway’s
Hot Havana, starring
Brian Gordon Sinclair - Sat., March 28, Winchevsky Centre, 585
Cranbrooke Ave., doors 7:30, performance 8 pm, light refreshments to
follow. Suggested donation $15 (proceeds to Cuba Hurricane Relief
fund). Jointly sponsored by United Jewish People’s Order and
Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association; for info call Elizabeth
416-654-7105.
Don’t
let Harper Extend the War,
rally and march organized by Toronto Coalition to Stop the War -
starts 1 pm from Yonge-Dundas Square, 416-795-5863 for info.
International
Festival of Poetry of
Resistance, in honour of the Cuban Five - April 24-30, opening
gala 7
pm, Friday, April 24, Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave. For full
programme, email resistancepoetryfest@gmail.com,
or see next issue of
PV.
FIGUEROA TOUR
CPC
leader Miguel Figueroa’s speaking
tour will continue in
- St. Catharines (March 30-31),
- Guelph (April 1),
- Ottawa (April 2-3),
- and Montreal (April 3-5).
For details, call 416-469-2446.
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(Contents)
(Home)
$50,000 FUND DRIVE
PV Drive passes 20% mark
(The following
article is from the April 1-15, 2009, 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.)
Donations are coming in fast to our
2009 Fund Drive, which is now
over the 20% mark. Leading the
way is Ontario, with $5545
to date, or 25.2% of their provincial
target. BC has raised $4079,
or one-fifth of its provincial goal
of $20,600. Saskatchewan readers
have sent $200, or 25% of
their goal. Alberta is now at
24%, with $576 raised on
their target of $2400. In
total, we have raised $10,870, or
21.6% of our goal.
The attack on free
speech across Canada has moved
into high gear this spring.
Recent shocking
examples include British MP
George Galloway being barred
from entering the country, and
the move to force an NDP candidate
in Vancouver to apologize for
speaking out against Israel’s anti-Palestinian
policies. More than ever, it
is critical to carry on a
two-sided struggle for free
speech - fighting to win space for
progressive opinions and viewpoints
within the mainstream media,
while building our own, working
class press and other democratic
avenues to express left-wing
ideas. People’s Voice joins
with our friends in the antiwar and other progressive movements in condemning the efforts to criminalize those who speak out against Israeli apartheid, and we will
continue to print the truth
about the situation in the Middle
East.
Funds for the PV Drive have been raised at several events during Miguel Figueroa’s speaking tour on the fight for jobs and EI, which is on the prairies as this issue goes to press. Thanks to all who have donated at these meetings!
As you know
from our recent mailout, we
are once again offering something
in return for your generous
solidarity. This year’s “PV
Shopping Bag” includes the following:
- a 12-month complimentary PV sub (keep it or give it to a friend);
- People’s Voice 2009 Calendar; People’s
Voice “Karl Marx” Tshirt (tell
us what size);
- a surprise music CD - pick
classical, oldies, or folk.
Here’s how it works. For a
$100 donation, you will
receive your choice of one of
these items. For each
additional $100, you can choose
another item from our Shopping
Bag. For a donation of $1000
or more, take the entire Shopping
Bag, and we will also give a
lifetime subscription to you or
a friend.
Remember -
People’s Voice is your
newspaper, your voice in the information
wars. Your contribution helps
us build it bigger and better!
Here's
my contribution to the PV Fund Drive!
Enclosed please find my donation of $_____
to the 2009 People's Voice Press Fund
Drive.
Name __________________________________
Address ________________________________
City/town ______________________________
Prov. ________ Postal Code _______________
Send to: People's Voice, 133 Herkimer St.,Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P
2H3
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MAY DAY 2009
GREETING ADS
To mark May Day 2009, People's Voice will print
greetings from a wide range of labour and people's
organizations in our May 1-15 issue, which will be
distributed at events across Canada. The deadline for
camera-ready ads is April 19; if PV is preparing the
layout, the deadline is April 17. Please check with us
about the format if your ad is being sent electronically.
Ad rates (based on 5 column page):
Send greetings to People's Voice at:
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, V5L 3J1
Fax (604)254-9803 E-mail: pvoice@telus.net
One column-inch.......................................$10
One column x 2 inches..............................$20
Two columns x 2 inches............................$35
Two columns x 3 inches............................$50
Two columns x 5 inches............................$75
Three columns x 4 inches....................... ..$90
Two columns x 7 inches...........................$100
Three columns x 7 inches........................$150
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