A calendar for the year 2008, dedicated to the struggles of the international working class for peace and socialism. Featuring notable dates, short biographical sketches, plus poetry, speeches, and writings by Che Guevara, Clara Zetkin, Norman Bethune, James Connolly, Emiliano Zapata, Nikos Beloyannis, Dolores Ibarruri, V.I. Lenin, Pablo Neruda, Gladys Marin, Tim Buck, Nazim Hikmet, Ho Chi Minh, and Salvador Allende. Available for $10 plus $2 postage from People's Voice, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.

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1) MAY DAY: CHALLENGES FOR CANADIAN LABOUR

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Commentary by Sam Hammond, Chair of the Central Labour Commission, Communist Party of Canada

International May Day was born out of the conflict between capital and labour, a conflict that is unfinished. The very nature of an unfinished conflict demands reflection, analyses and planning, a global overview which includes phenomena that are a result of the class struggle which propels and dominates other world-wide, national and local developments.
     May Day is the day we took for ourselves, a day of our martyrs, a day of our achievements and our dreams. It is so reflective of the struggle for emancipation of the toiling masses that the evidence and proportion of its celebration is almost a measuring rod of the fightback by labour or social justice movements in a given time or place. In progressive states, it is a reflection of the revolution, and in some places of repression it is almost covert. In all places its reflective and analytical nature is not passive but alive and vibrant, a promise for us and a warning for our exploiters.

     In Canada this past year, we have witnessed the continuing spectre of de-industrialization, the massive loss of manufacturing jobs, the escalation of resource sellouts and exports of energy.

     The unfettered globalized movement of capital has imported the international neoliberal agenda, the so-called market economy which is played out in the co-operation and competition of imperialist states, with the Canadian ruling elite as junior partners. It is logical that this condition will develop and escalate as imperialism reaches more terrible levels of barbarism, environmental destruction and war in their competition for global resource and market domination.

     It is also logical and necessary that the forces of peace and socialism develop to higher degrees as the only known antidote. The defining factor will be to what extent forces can be brought together on minimum programs of resistance that, no matter how transient, have the unifying qualities of common purpose and the potential to escalate the fight-back and inject new hope and purpose into the class struggle. Canadian labour doesn't have to re-invent the wheel, but unless the decline of effectiveness is halted, the percentages of attrition are reversed, and a new social movement is inspired, labour as we know it could fall into a very diminished role.

     Canadian labour has learned to do many things very well. It   has learned to litigate and advocate and to strike and struggle. But these things come in degrees; whether they are in the stage of growth or ebb is the barometer. The labour movement is the most important weapon, instrument or vehicle of the working people. It is our hope and our movement that we fought for, so we have the right to worry over its possible lethargy, its absence from the streets where we live and the hearts of our youth. If labour doesn't exist in the passion and consciousness of our youth, it exists only in the present.

     The percentage of Canadian workers organized is between 30 and 33%. Only 12% of young workers between 16 and 24 are organized. With the massive loss of better paying manufacturing jobs, these youth are being stratified and attached permanently to low-paid, part-time service jobs. For generations labour has abandoned workers in small enterprises as too expensive to organize, not a viable dues base. With the technological revolution and decentralization of production, these enterprises employ almost 70% of the total Canadian workforce. De-industrialization has not changed the figures, but merely shifted them from industrial production to service and retail jobs. With an almost entirely unorganized workforce, the small enterprises have been able to set the pace, operating without the organized resistance that might have put up a fight against NAFTA and neo-liberalism.

     One of the measuring sticks, a definitive point in labour relations, is contracting out of jobs and other "exceptions" within a collective agreement. The value of a collective agreement is that its universality ends competition and discrimination between workers, forging unity in a workplace. Departures from equality and universality are measurements of how far a union leadership or membership has been penetrated by the agenda of the employers. The idea of giving up union jobs to outside non-union contractors as a trade-off for keeping a plant open or saving the employer money recruits workers into a jobs-trust mentality, a collaboration with employers against other members of our own class, our own children.

     The argument that these are not concessions because they will take place by attrition, and not cause layoffs of existing workers, only reinforces the mentality of a jobs trust. Outsiders don't matter. How will the union workers in Ford and GM will look to young janitors or loading dock workers who will not be allowed to join their union, who are second-class? Should the workers abandoned by labour be expected to fight for labour? Do we have the right to demand their loyalty when they are not in the fold and will never be?

     The serious challenges of job protection and maintenance of standards in a hostile environment are staggering. The response in most areas has been militant and admirable, like the "no two tier wage" stands of the CAW and CEP. There have also been some less than admirable retreats elsewhere. These dual roles might puzzle some, but they are completely in line with a movement that has not made up its mind to throw in the towel, but is not sure how to fight.

     Only one approach can save the day. Organize, renew ties with the social justice and fight-back movements, build new relationships with every street level group grappling with the effects of poverty and exploitation. Set up massive campaigns for housing and full employment, shorter work weeks and longer holidays.    

     But most of all, organize the un-organized. Re-learn how to talk to the working poor in their own language with their own recruits, and if they cannot support the present dues base, better analyse what to do about this. There are more workers, not less. Despite NAFTA, deep integration, Atlantica, TILMA, the attack on education, and a minimum wage that doesn't provide a minimum life, our numbers continue to grow. Organize the un-organized and they will sustain labour into a new social movement; continue to ignore them and labour will perish or become an ineffective corporate partner, part of the establishment helping to control our own rebellious children.

     No real trade unionist would stand idly by and watch this happen. Later this month, the Canadian Labour Congress convention in Toronto will grapple with this challenge. We are confident that the delegates, the elected representatives of our movement and our class, will use their abilities to find the ways to fight for our future.

     May Day Greetings! Solidarity, peace and socialism!

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2) MAY DAY SALUTE TO WORKERS

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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, May 1-15, 2008

This year's International Workers' Day sees a continued growing trend of class struggles around the world. In every corner of the planet, working people are confronting the disastrous effects of imperialism and its neoliberal policies, with rising militancy and determination.

     In Latin America, the revolutionary Bolivarian process is gaining, as seen by the Venezuelan government's decision to nationalize a major steel producer at the demand of its workers. The left-wing election victory in Paraguay is the latest sign that workers can defeat even the most entrenched ruling class regimes. And in Cuba, the working class remains staunchly in support of the Revolution, defying North American media predictions following the change in leadership.

     The working class of the former socialist countries of Europe continues to fight heroically against the consolidation of capitalist rule. Using every tactic from hunger strikes to mass protests, workers in these countries are battling privatization, the elimination of social programs, and the frequent refusal of their new bosses to pay wages.

     In the "global south", millions of new workers are moving into the class war. Many of the most militant working class struggles of recent years are taking place in areas such as the Gulf states, the scene of rapidly growing capitalist expansion.

     Here in Canada, the working class refuses to surrender to capitalist pressures. Struggles against "two-tier" wages and attempts by governments and corporations to destroy the social safety net continue, and working people keep searching for ways to build unity against those who seek to divide us. Almost six years after Canadian troops were first sent into Afghanistan, the solid majority of working people still oppose this country's role as spear-carrier for the U.S. Empire.

     These are all welcome signs that May Day is not the relic of a previous century, but a day for all workers and our allies to unite around our dreams and aspirations for a better world. The next stage for debate in this process is the Canadian Labour Congress which opens in Toronto on May 26. We send our best wishes to the CLC delegates as they prepare for this important convention, and we salute all workers in struggle on May Day 2008!

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3) GOOD ENOUGH TO WORK - GOOD ENOUGH TO STAY!

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Commentary on Bill C-50, by the Communist Party of Canada

Bill C-50 was written by the Tories for the employers, and the large national and trans-national corporations. The Bill is about giving the Immigration Minister and Cabinet arbitrary and sweeping new powers to slash immigration and to grow a giant pool of temporary foreign workers, effectively eliminating labour laws and protections for an ever-larger part of the working class.

     It's about rolling back rights for all other workers who will be forced to compete with the low wages, long hours, and abysmal conditions forced on temporary foreign workers by racist laws and bosses.

     It's about replacing immigration with temporary, super-exploited workers, injuring immigrant and Canadian-born workers alike. It's about creating racist divisions.

     It's about the race to the bottom, vastly increased exploitation and corporate super-profits, and turning the clock back 100 years on labour and democratic rights in Canada.

The Harper Tories have tried to hide this monstrous assault inside the Budget legislation, because they know that the vast majority of working people in Canada would reject it if it stood alone - as the profoundly anti-democratic, anti-labour and anti-human legislation that it is.

     The Tories know that public hearings on Bill C-50 would clearly expose the government's racist, xenophobic, and corporatist agenda, and could lead to a massive defeat at the polls.

     Their Bill C-50 can't stand the bright light of public debate, and the government can't stand the political exposure that public hearings would bring. This includes the proposal to give the Minister sweeping and arbitrary new powers to pick and choose applications, to levy quotas on national groups, and to block and stop family reunification.

     That's why the government has made C-50 a confidence vote. They're counting on the Liberals to let the Bill pass.

     The government must be pressured to withdraw C-50 by a storm of public and parliamentary opposition. But if the government refuses to withdraw it, the opposition parties must unite to vote C-50 down and go to the people in a general election; there is no other choice.

   The Communist Party stands united in action with the labour and democratic movements, and with all immigrants, with and without status, to defeat this odious legislation and this reactionary, racist government.   

     Canada needs a new government and new policies that will put people before profits. A broad based People's Coalition, uniting the labour, progressive and democratic forces around a People's Agenda for Canada, could defeat the Big Business neo-liberal agenda, and open the door to fundamental social change.

     This is what is needed to ensure that the extreme right-wing, reactionary agenda being advanced by the Tories and other Big Business parties in Parliament is permanently blunted and blocked.

     Defeating Bill C-50 and defeating the Tories in a general election is an important part of this struggle today.

     The CPC calls for:

* defeat Bill C-50.

* public hearings on all immigration and refugee Bills.

* hire new staff to clear the backlog of 925,000 applications - some up to 7 years old.

* expand immigration in all categories; facilitate family reunification; enable refugee claims, eliminate racist and discriminatory rules; reduce fees.

* provide all workers - irrespective of status - with the protections of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and apply federal and provincial labour laws to all workers equally, irrespective of status.

* prosecute employers who break these laws to the full extent.

* enable non-status residents to secure Canadian status; end deportations; eliminate security certificates and restore habeas corpus.

* recognize the credentials of internationally trained professionals and skilled workers.

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4) SCRAP BILL C-50, URGES NO ONE IS ILLEGAL

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Joint statement from No One Is Illegal (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal), and Solidarity Across Borders.

Recently the Conservative government introduced a series of amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), buried in Bill C-50, a 136-page "budget implementation bill". This fundamentally undemocratic move sneaks in critical changes to Canada's immigration policy without proposing any of those changes before Parliament. By making it a matter of confidence, the government forces Opposition parties to either accept them or call an election.

     This series of amendments places more arbitrary power in the hands of the Immigration Minister:

- Under the existing s. 11 of the IRPA, anyone who meets the already stringent criteria to enter Canada as a worker, student, visitor, or permanent resident, shall be granted that status. However, under the proposed changes, despite meeting the criteria, the Minister will have the discretion to arbitrarily reject an application.

- Sec. 25 currently says that the Minister "shall" examine a Humanitarian and Compassionate application - this is changed to "shall" examine the H&C application if the applicant is in Canada, but only "may" examine the application if the applicant is outside Canada. Although the government claims will have no impact on family reunification, in practice it will have a serious impact on family reunification as H&C applications are one of the most frequent avenues for family reunification (for example separated refugee children).

- Proposed s. 87.3 of the Act will allow the Minister to issue "instructions" setting quotas on the "category" of person that can enter Canada - including quotas based on country of origin. This unprecedented modification of IRPA would risk putting in place implicit equivalents to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, the Order in Council of 1911 prohibiting the landing of " any immigrant belonging to the Negro race", that of 1923 excluding "any immigrant of any Asiatic race", or the "None is too many" rule applied to fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe during the Second World War.

- Ministerial power in deciding the order in which new applications are processed, regardless of when they were filed. This means prioritizing immigration applicants based on their ability to fulfill the needs of the Canadian job market, "whether it's people to wash dishes and make sandwiches, or whether it's the highly skilled engineers", as stated by Minister Diane Finley. This is a profoundly dehumanizing and racist conception of immigrants as disposable commodities.

- New sections 87.3 (4) and (5) of the IRPA would allow the Minister to simply hold on to, return, or throw out a visa application and deny any opportunity to review that decision in Court. This precedent is truly alarming, especially in the context of a deeply flawed appeals process, including the existing lack of implementation of a Refugee Appeal Division, despite being provided for under IRPA.

     The Conservatives argue that these changes are necessary to "modernize" the immigration system and reduce the existing backlog. However, the true objective is clear from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's comments that the government seeks a "competitive immigration system which will quickly process skilled immigrants who can make an immediate contribution to the economy."

     The major lobby behind these changes comes from employers' organizations and business lobbies. Indeed, bill C-50 is being praised primarily by business associations. Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of British Columbia, has stated that the government is moving in the right direction by focusing on Canada's economic needs, "We need strong, young, willing workers to come, much like the people who built this country."

     Mr. Hochstein seems to forget the historical exploitation of immigrant workers, the most well-known example of which is the Chinese railway workers. The estimated 17,000 Chinese workers who came to Canada from 1881-1884 were met with dangerous working conditions and discrimination upon their arrival. Chinese workers earned $1 a day, and it is estimated that anywhere from 1500-2500 Chinese migrants died during the construction of the railway. As soon as this dangerous work was completed, the message was clear: Chinese people were no longer welcome.

     These proposed legislative changes come in the context of a global capitalist and nationalist reinforcement of labour flexibility as the guiding principle of immigration policy, where migrants are only as valuable as their labour. It is clear that the priorities will be relatively wealthy people applying under the skilled worker program and investor classes, as well as increasingly vulnerable temporary migrant workers. Immigration policy will serve the needs of Canadian industry by regulating migration and providing a flexible labour pool rather than upholding the dignity of migrants.

     These changes are directly in line with Canada's commitment to the Security and Prosperity Partnership, which lays out the need for a rapid expansion of both "low-skill" temporary guest worker programs and "high-skill" professionals. In Canada today, the number of people admitted each year on temporary worker visas is greater than the number admitted as permanent residents. We must reject temporary migrant worker programs of indentured servitude and call for the unconditional right of migrant workers to permanent residency and labour rights equal to those of citizens.

     At the same time, such changes comes at the deliberate expense of refugees, non-status migrants, or those seeking family reunification- who are seen as increasingly "undesirable" and potential security threats in light of repressive post 9/11 controls. Decisions such as the $101 million arming of Canadian border guards; the establishment of Canadian Border Services Agency as an enforcement division in processing refugee claims that sends the message that refugee claimants are a threat to public safety; the ongoing unjust use of Security Certificates against non-citizens; the implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement between the Canada and US which has drastically reduced the number of asylum seekers able to make a claim in Canada; and increasing rates of deportation to over 13,000 a year from Canada have all perpetuated a racist, anti-poor, and anti-migrant agenda.

     This agenda is normalized due to the heightened racialized national identity of Canada that continuously places racialized immigrants (although not white immigrants) as "Outsiders" to the Canadian nation. For example, much of the opposition to this Bill has challenged the secretive process behind the bill, while still accepting the norm that "Canada should be able to select its preferred immigrants", thus feeding into the commodification of migrants and the assertion of Canada's sovereign and racist right to select who it allows to remain, as reminiscent through the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese-Canadian internment, and Komagatamaru incident. Therefore although nothing new, in the post 9/11 climate, we are witnessing an escalation of attacks against "immigrants" - the eternally hyphenated citizens- for example through the reasonable accommodation' hearings, the wearing of the hijab and turban, the phenomenon of "nippertipping" against Asian-Canadians, and many more. The constant questioning of immigrants (although most are long-time citizens) "ability to integrate", their "suspicious behaviours", their "overburdening of the system", and their "Third World traditions" reveals an incredibly shallow multiculturalism.

     This mutual reinforcement of corporate and state interests - cheap labour and national identity, respectively - evident in the prioritization of labour market needs within the global War on Terror, is legitimized not only by recourse to colonial and racist discourse but also by the constant cultivation of fear in the hearts and minds of citizens. The production of migrants as disposable commodities goes in tandem with their construction as the dangerous "Other" or "The Enemy Within" as the threat they pose can be tamed through a process of commodification and the withholding of citizenship rights as a mechanism of social control. Fear of the "dangerous Other" thus underwrites the production of exclusivist nationalist identity (and therefore support for the state) while fear of the "commodifiable Other" (as "stealing" employment and eroding the social system) produces fearful and disciplined citizens vulnerable to increasing corporate exploitation and state repression.

     Therefore, the general message to poor and working people of colour and their families - the overwhelming majority of migrants from the Global South - is that they need not apply as permanent residents unless they are willing to come as temporary workers in exploitative jobs and whose status will be legally reinforced as "non-Canadians". This is particularly revolting in a context where the Canadian government and Canadian corporations actively participate in the creation and reinforcement of a system of global displacement of migrants and refugees who are fleeing poverty, persecution, war and corporate exploitation of their lands.

     In light of this reality, we call for an end to deportation and detentions and a comprehensive, transparent, inclusive and ongoing regularization program that is equitable and accessible to all persons living without permanent residency in Canada to ensure free migration and full rights for all those who seek them. We also call for the abolition of agreements such as NAFTA and the SPP, which are making Canadian borders increasingly open to capital and those who represent capital, while at the same time restricting the movement of those who have been displaced by these very same neoliberal policies.

     At a most basic level, we must also challenge the notion that some migrants are more worthy than others; we believe that freedom of movement is a fundamental human right and we struggle for a world in which no one is forced to migrate against their will and where people can move freely in order to live and flourish in justice and dignity.

     We encourage allies across Canada to march in solidarity with all migrants and refugees to demand STATUS FOR ALL!: In Toronto, join us on May 3 at noon at Christie Pits; in Montreal, join us on May 4 at 12:30 pm at the corner of Victoria & Van Horne. Other actions across Canada to be announced.

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5) MANITOBA COMMUNISTS URGE NEW SPENDING PRIORITIES

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

In a statement addressing the Manitoba provincial budget, the Communist Party of Canada-Manitoba warns that the global economic slowdown means "now is the time to demand government action and spending, not `staying the course' or gutting social programs.

     "In Manitoba, child hunger and poverty have been growing for years and are unacceptably high. More than 18,000 children in Winnipeg rely on food banks every month, up from 5,500 in 1995. Welfare rates are far too low. Wages continue to fall behind inflation. Housing, fuel and food are getting far too expensive. Climate change is not a government priority.

     "The Manitoba NDP government's constant bowing down to big business interests is fueling the confidence of big business parties, just like in Saskatchewan where the NDP lost power last year.

     "And now Premier Gary Doer has formed an alliance with Wal-Mart, Sears and Rona to carry out a yellow ribbon campaign in support of troops going to Afghanistan. Students will be signing yellow ribbons in schools to glorify the Afghan mission....

     "The Manitoba legislature is following a dangerous and misguided policy of investing in a big oil corporation's biofuel refinery, converting edible grains into ethanol. This is helping to boost food prices globally, sparking food riots and `food crisis' in 37 countries, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation. Farmers don't gain from the higher prices because of skyrocketing costs - the usual cost-price squeeze. And it does nothing to prevent climate change! This exercise is a sham!

     "It is politics like this and fiddling around promoting a new tourist slogan like `Spirited Energy' that makes people realize what other priorities should be taken up by the Legislature.

     "We need action on climate change, sustainable farming practices, fighting for the family farm, for a big increase in wages and welfare rates. We need a Legislature that supports peace, not war.

     "Aboriginal people in Manitoba already know that their hydroelectric energy is being spirited or stolen away. All of Manitoba's hydro energy will be stolen until such time as we have a new, equal and democratic relationship between all the nations in the province, until such time as a new Constitution recognizes that new relationship and that Aboriginal rights and claims never disappear just because the colonial theft of land is `history.'

     "We can continue on the path of cultural and other forms of genocide (job discrimination, jail, destruction of families, etc. for Aboriginal peoples) or we can arrive at a new relationship between nations in the province. We can continue to allow big business to use anti-Aboriginal racism to divide the working class movement, or we can recognize the full rights of Aboriginal peoples and realize justice for Aboriginal peoples is a key strategic question for progress...

     "Is spending $20 billion on new hydro dams the best use of our resources, just like 20 years ago? Constantly increasing energy supplies is not an option. We need to renovate homes and buildings to save heat, invest in public transit, and cut military spending. One quarter of all fuel consumed in the United States goes to war-related activities. The more hydro we export, the more fuel the U.S. military can use!

     "We need decent housing and jobs for everyone. We need free, quality higher education just like in Cuba, a country that is far less wealthy than Manitoba.

     "We know that our policies are those of the future, ideas that millions of people are already advancing in other parts of the world where socialism is gaining ground again."

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6) COPE DEMANDS ACTION ON HOMELESS CRISIS

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

"Homelessness in Vancouver has reached crisis levels," said COPE Councillor David Cadman, after the latest homeless count found more than 1500 people are living on Vancouver streets. "With people dying as a direct result of being homeless, City Hall has to act immediately," Cadman urged.

     The 2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count, conducted on March 10, found that the number of people without a home in Vancouver increased by 19 percent since 2005.

     Cadman wants Mayor Sam Sullivan to scrap the Eco-Density policy of massive development in the Downtown East Side (DTES) that allows developers to scrap affordable housing and build three units of high-price condos for every unit of affordable housing. He also wants the City to enforce its current DTES Housing Plan that requires a one-to-one replacement of low income housing in all condo redevelopments.

     "If we continue with rampant condo development in Gastown, Chinatown and the DTES, without safeguards, all we're doing is pushing prices up for all and driving people into the streets," said Cadman.

     Meanwhile Cadman wants the City to release its list of rooms that are sitting empty and that could be used to house the homeless.

     "The City has a list of single occupancy rooms that are being vacated by the owners," said Cadman. "We know of 54 empty units at the Colonial, and more than 100 units at Little Mountain that are empty and unused. The city can use its powers under the Standards of Maintenance By-law to make these rooms fit for occupancy."

     Former Vancouver councillor and long-time housing advocate, Ellen Woodsworth, is concerned that homelessness is spreading across the city because Sullivan and his NPA councillors have failed to implement the 2005 Homelessness Action Plan, and the Provincial Government is not doing enough to create more affordable housing.

     "Now we are seeing homeless people on Commercial Drive, in Kitsilano, the West End and virtually every neighbourhood and in many city parks," said Woodsworth. "Meanwhile the province has a $250 million Housing Endowment Fund sitting unused in the bank. In just the last four months, 375 single occupancy rooms, for many the last stop before being on the street, have closed in the Downtown Eastside."

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7) FIRST NATIONS DAY OF ACTION ON MAY 29

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine has called upon all Canadians to support and join First Nations on May 29 in challenging the government of Canada to implement lasting solutions based on equality and respect. Fontaine was joined by labour, religious and student organizations at the April 17 announcement.

     "I am challenging the Government of Canada to join us in acting now to remove the constraints on progress, the impediments to a better quality of life for First Nations in Canada and the obstacles to respectful relationships," Fontaine urged. "It is critical that together we remove the unfair treatment of First Nation citizens in this country. We must remove the hurdles that stand in the way of real and lasting solutions for the challenges facing First Nations and thus all Canadians. Our future on these lands is our mutual responsibility."

     "Last year we hosted a successful day of action that succeeded in raising awareness about issues facing First Nations citizens in Canada. Thousands of Canadians from all walks of life joined us in those peaceful events. Unfortunately the Government of Canada has not responded to the poverty and harsh conditions that continue to grow and which claim the lives of our young people," the National Chief noted. "This year, we are offering straight-forward solutions that need immediate action. In the next few weeks leading up to May 29th, I will be issuing a set of concrete proposals that would truly help provide a real and lasting improvement in the lives of First Nations citizens, in their relationship with the Canadian government, and in the economic outlook of Canada more broadly. I challenge the Government of Canada to respond with equal clarity."

     In Ottawa, the Day of Action will begin at Victoria Island with participants marching to Parliament Hill for a peaceful rally. Details of other May 29 events will be available at the AFN website, http://www.afn.ca.

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8) SCANDALS AND SHAMELESS HYPOCRISY

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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, May 1-15, 2008

The Harper Tories narrowly won a minority government two years ago, largely on their promises to clean up Liberal corruption. Now, the Conservatives have been caught red-handed, ripping off the public purse for about a million dollars. Their "in-and-out" scheme was essentially a scam to make taxpayers foot the bill for a massive advertising blitz during the 2006 election campaign. Coming on top of the Cadman scandal and their attacks on rights of immigrants and women, it's no surprise that voters are increasingly anxious to drive this obnoxious gang of corporate thugs out of office.

     There's another, rarely mentioned side to the latest scandal. The same Conservatives who feel free to fill their bank accounts from the trough of public dollars are among the most determined foes of equal public funding for all political parties. The Communist Party and other small registered parties are carrying on a lengthy court battle to get the same $1.75 per vote annual subsidy that the major parties all receive. If Stephen Harper and his MPs had any shame, they would be deeply embarrassed by their hypocrisy. But the history of the Conservative Party in this country shows that they are utterly shameless. In spite of this, the legal and political struggle for fair electoral laws will continue.

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9) WHY WE ARE IN JAIL: K.I. CHIEF AND COUNCIL

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Message to our Allies, Friends and Supporters, from the Chief and Council of KI, April 9, 2008

We have been in jail since March 17. This is a small note to our friends and supporters to explain why we are still in jail and why we may be in jail for several more months.

     First of all, we want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. You have given added strength to a strong community under siege. We especially want to thank our brothers and sisters from Muskrat Dam, Bearskin Lake, Wawakapeewin, Wapekaka, and Kingfisher Lake First Nations, as well as Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, who have supported KI and our allies, the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, by suspending lands and resources negotiations with Ontario.

Contempt of court and sentencing:

     On October 25, 2007 KI announced that we could no longer afford to participate in court proceedings in the Platinex dispute, and then we walked away from the court. After 18 months of litigation and negotiations, legal options had been exhausted and our community was virtually bankrupt. Our position had not changed: KI will not support any exploratory drilling by Platinex and we will not negotiate with Platinex, despite being ordered by the court to do so. Our priority is the protection of our land, not money.

     After KI walked out of court, Mr. Justice Smith issued an order which prohibits our members and supporters from interfering with or obstructing Platinex as they conduct exploratory drilling within KI's traditional territory. When KI responded to the October 25 order by publicly announcing that Platinex would not be welcome in KI's traditional territory, Platinex brought a motion for civil contempt of court.

     On November 12, 2007 we retained Chris Reid as our lawyer. We have given Chris very clear instructions not to appeal any orders or defend against contempt of court proceedings. Our dispute with Ontario will not be resolved through the courts - it must be resolved through government-to-government negotiations between KI and Ontario.

     On December 7, Platinex's contempt motion was heard by Mr. Justice Smith in Thunder Bay. We offered no defence to the contempt of court motion. We told the court that we would not obey the October 25 order and would not engage in any further negotiations with Platinex. We then were found in contempt of court. Contrary to what Minister Bryant has been saying in the media, Ontario did not support KI in any way. On virtually every issue they support Platinex.

     On March 17, we were sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court. This was expected since Robert Lovelace, former Chief of the Ardoch Algonquin FN, had received a six month sentence in a very similar case on February 15, 2008. Again, contrary to what Minister Bryant has been saying in the media, Ontario did not support KI on the sentencing issue. Bryant's lawyers asked the court to severely punish us for our "disobedience".

Appeal:

     Although our focus is no longer on the courts, a process to appeal the sentences has begun. Since it could take many months before the appeal will be heard we will also be bringing a motion in the Court of Appeal to have the sentences suspended pending the hearing of the appeal. The motion will also ask that all prisoners be released unconditionally and immediately. Our lawyer has asked lawyers for Ontario whether they have instructions from Mr. Bryant to support a motion for our immediate and unconditional release. Ontario's lawyers have not yet responded.

After We Are Released:

     Both KI and Ardoch remain committed to the proposal which we made in January for a Joint Panel to examine the causes of these disputes and make recommendations for preventing similar disputes in the future. Although Mr. Bryant has not yet responded to the proposal, both communities have told him that we are still prepared to work with Ontario to set up the Joint Panel, as soon as all of the prisoners are released from jail and a moratorium on mining and exploration in the disputed territories is implemented.

KI's Position on Legal Issues:

     Although we say that Ontario failed in its duty to consult with us before giving Platinex permission to explore for minerals on our land, we do not expect to achieve our goal of protecting our lands through the courts. We learned the hard way that the courts are not always the way for First Nations to get justice.

     To encourage mining and exploration, Ontario's Mining Act is based on a "free entry" system, which means that all Crown lands, including those subject to Aboriginal title claims, are open for staking, exploration and mining without any consultation or permitting required. Anyone with a prospector's license may stake claims and prospect for minerals on any Crown land. Once a claim has been staked the Mining Recorder "shall" record the claims. There is no opportunity or requirement for consultations with affected First Nation communities. Once a claim is recorded, the prospector can conduct exploratory drilling without any more permits being required.

     It is also important to know that in the 2004 Haida case, the Supreme Court made it clear that First Nations which have asserted rights claims or land claims, but not have not yet proven their claims, must be consulted and accommodated, but they cannot "veto" development on disputed land.

     Consultations and accommodation can include measures to mitigate the impacts of the project and provide some compensation for the affected communities, but they must lead towards implementation of the project. KI spent more than 18 months and $700,000 trying to break out of this legal box only to find ourselves faced with an injunction which permits drilling by Platinex and forbids us from obstructing Platinex.

     The only way to achieve what KI and Ardoch believe is a fair and just solution is through negotiations between Ontario and the First Nations. Negotiations could lead to land use plans which withdraw sensitive lands from mineral staking and mining. That's why we ask that our supporters focus on the need for political action to resolve these disputes, not the courts.

     We want to get out of jail and go back to our families, but please remember why we are here. We need Ontario to agree that Platinex will not be allowed to drill on our territory, and to work with us to ensure that disputes like this one do not happen again. If we have to remain in jail for five more months, or even five years, so be it.

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10) BACKGROUND TO THE KI STRUGGLE

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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

There is growing pressure on the Ontario government to overhaul mining laws and policies in the wake of jailings of Aboriginal opponents of mining exploration.

     Six members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI, Big Trout Lake) First Nation were sentenced March 17 on contempt charges for conducting peaceful protests to defend their traditional lands. A few weeks earlier, Bob Lovelace, a spokesperson for the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, was sentenced to six months and fined $25,000, for opposing uranium exploration on an unresolved land claim area in eastern Ontario. In addition, the community was fined $10,000 and Chief Paula Sherman $15,000. Leaders of the neighbouring Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation have been dragged into court and face a $77 million lawsuit against their community.

     KI is an Ojibwa/Cree First Nation in Northern Ontario, and a signatory to Treaty No. 9. The fly-in community of about 1,200 people is located 580 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. In May 2000, KI filed a Treaty Land Entitlement Claim with Ontario and Canada.

      Platinex is a mining exploration company whose claims and leases are within the area at issue. Shortly after filing its claim, KI issued a moratorium on resource development in its traditional territory, including mineral exploration.

     In 2005, KI leadership sent letters to Platinex indicating strong opposition to any development. Platinex did not tell the investing public about these letters, and instead claimed that KI had consented to exploration. Early in 2006, after a Platinex drill team encountered peaceful protesters from KI, the company flew in a private security consultant to organize the drill team's pullout.

     In April 2006 Platinex filed a $10 billion lawsuit for damages against KI, and sought a permanent order preventing the First Nation from interfering with exploration. KI counter-sued Platinex for damages, and has sued the province for a declaration that the Mining Act is unconstitutional, on the grounds that the Act does not recognize and respect Aboriginal and Treaty rights, and does not provide for adequate consultation with First Nations peoples.

     As the legal struggle unfolded, four KI community members - Mark T. Anderson, Darryl Sainnawap, Wallace Mosquito and Dylan Morris - began walking from Pickle Lake to Queen's Park in May 2007 to raise public awareness.

     On May 22, 2007, the courts issued orders imposing a Consultation Protocol, timetable and Memorandum of Understanding upon Platinex, the Government of Ontario and KI. The parties were unable to come to agreement on these items prior to a court-imposed deadline.

     Last fall, Platinex brought a motion for contempt against KI, which was forced to abandon its legal fight, the victim of a legal strategy effectively bankrupting the impoverished community. On March 17, 2008, Justice Smith sentenced KI Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack McKay, Sam McKay, Bruce Sakakeep, Darryl Sainnawap, and Cecilia Begg to six months in jail.

     The McGuinty government seems willing to sacrifice Ontario's so-called "new relationship" with First Nations. What's at stake is a multi-billion dollar resource bonanza in the far north, which could be blocked if the 49 communities in Nishnawbe Aski Nation decide to freeze development in the region. Mineral commodity prices are hitting record highs, with gold passing $1000 per ounce.

     Under Ontario's "free entry" policy, all Crown lands are open for mineral operations unless they are specifically withdrawn. There is no requirement that government consult Aboriginal peoples or other land users prior to opening lands for mineral exploration. There is no prior planning to establish which tracts of Crown land are particularly sensitive, or serve as critical habitat for endangered species, or are valued ecosystem components.

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11) "UNBORN VICTIMS" BILL: A TORY ATTACK ON WOMEN

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Statement from the Central Executive Committee and the Women's Commission of the Communist Party of Canada, April 21, 2008:

   The Communist Party of Canada joins with other equity seeking groups in opposition to Conservative MP Ken Epps' private member Bill C484, "Unborn Victims of Crime". This bill narrowly passed second reading in Parliament on March 5, 2008 and is another Conservative Party attempt to pass dangerously reactionary legislation by stealth. The bill, which attempts to re-criminalize abortion by giving fetuses a form of legal personhood, is being vigorously promoted by anti-choice and far right groups. These groups recognize that the law, if passed, will endanger not only abortion rights, but the right of pregnant women, and the constitutional rights of women in general.

     The five recent murder cases in Canada, which involved a pregnant woman being murdered by a male partner or boyfriend, are horrific, but should not be used as the pretext for this bill. Homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women in Canada. But this bill will not protect those women. What women desperately need are more resources to reduce violence against women:

* Funding for women's advocacy and education programs especially the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC); the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL); the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA); and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW)

* More resources for regional women's centres

* More resources for family law legal aid

     Instead, this Conservative government and their provincial allies have slashed funding in these critical areas.

     Bill C484, which technically exempts both abortion and pregnant women from prosecution, is similar to laws in US states which have been used to target pregnant women for actions perceived to harm their fetuses. In practice, these "feticide" laws create a dangerous slippery slope towards the criminalizing of pregnant women for behaviour that is not criminalized for anyone else.

     Canada has legal precedent supporting the equality of rights of women, including pregnant women's sovereignty over their fetuses (Supreme Court's Dobson vs Dobson, 1999). Canada's Criminal Code says "A child becomes a human being... when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother." This bill - if passed undermines the rule of law, as it is contradictory to legal precedent and the Criminal Code - and thus throws women's rights into confusion.

     Canada already has the legal capacity to increase penalties to men convicted of harming pregnant women. All this bill does is undermine the rights of all women.

     We encourage all concerned citizens to contact their MPs and urge them to oppose this Bill C484 in parliament.

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12) "WE DECIDED WE HAD TO FIGHT"

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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 interview by Johan Boyden

Farshad Azadian graduated from high school just last year. The 19 year-old first-year student and All-Star rugby player was at the centre of controversy in January when the University of Toronto ordered the removal of several hundred posters by a student activist group for which he was a spokesperson. Always Question accused Barrick Gold of killing labour leaders, instigating wars, and burying miners alive. Barrick Gold has donated over $18 million to the University.

     Now Farshad's helping with the Ad Hoc Committee for Just Education at the U of T, which recently formed and is bringing together a several student groups around tuition issues. I caught up with him speaking passionately at an April 19 rally in support of Mumia Abu Jamal.

People's Voice: How did you get radicalized?

Farshad Azadian: I've always been political, I was involved in the NDP and went to a convention before high school. But I figured I was more radical than that. When I was in grade 12 some friends and I started a group called "Always Question," basically an awareness campaign. Because of our goals, we became more of political organization. Soon over 120 people were discussing on our website.

     Most of us went to U of T. When they announced a 20% increase in room rates at New College we decided we had to fight it - and we jumped on board, postering, getting people from bigger groups on campus. My friends and I re-formed Always Question. New College Student Council and Residence Council supported us, as well as the University of Toronto Student's Union and others.

PV: Then you did a sit in.

FA: Yes, we got speakers and organized a main protest outside the University President's office, Simcoe Hall, demanding [among other things] a meeting with the President and a 15 minute presentation to Governing Council about access to education and tuition fees. People then went inside Simcoe Hall's foyer in a non-violent peaceful protest. The Toronto Police came, but left, but campus police stayed. Most of them were in plain clothes, and they wouldn't say they were police. They kept moving in, pushing us around.

     After that the police began to rough us up, but we were clear in not resisting and being passive. But some people got really shoved harshly. T-shirts were ripped, police tackled people, and dragged them away - it was a big shock to see the campus police react in that way.

     Then some of the Administrators came out, and basically stepped on the students. One of them said to me "I don't discuss with the radicals."

PV: Why were the police so heavy-handed?

FA: A veteran activist told me that there was an higher number of students of colour at the protest than usual. I think the protest became racialized. The Administration has more ability to deal with protestors now that they've brought in the Student's Code of Conduct.

     It's also been quite active at the U of T recently, I think they were trying to send a message of intimidation. After the demo some police followed a few organizers back to their residences.

PV: Then what happened?

FA: On the 25th we held another demonstration, which was better organized and groups such as the United Steel Workers, Canadian Union of Public Employees, and the Canadian Federation of Students came out, as well as other groups, like Justice for Alwy [a Toronto campaign for a youth of colour shot by police without provocation].

     Then we held a public forum a few weeks ago. We talked about the workers, and about eliminating tuition fees - which, I think, makes us look at real solutions. We're talking about ways to organize the university community and a more of "United Front" approach. At the forum we started the Ad Hoc Committee, around three points - demanding the elimination of tuition fees, student-worker-faculty parity on the governing council, and immediate end to repression against student dissent. We're planning to organize for Frosh.

PV: What will you be saying to first-year activists?

FA: I'd tell them that the hardest thing is just to start. But look at what has been done in the past - look at Quebec, look at France [with the 2007 mass-mobilizations]. Protest is actually very realistic and possible. And if you are serious about fighting for justice, you have to do something.

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13) WORLD PEACE ASSEMBLY: A UNITED GLOBAL VOICE FOR PEACE AND ANTI-IMPERIALISM

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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 Dave McKee

Over 500 delegates and participants, representing 124 organizations in 76 countries, converged in Caracas, Venezuela for the Assembly of the World Peace Council, held from April 7-13. The Assembly was hosted by Venezuela's Comite de Solidaridad Internacional (COSI) with the full support and endorsement of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Caracas itself was declared the World Capital of Peace and Anti-Imperialist Struggle.

     Since the last World Peace Assembly, held in Athens in 2004, US imperialism has intensified its strategy of imposing and consolidating its new world order of economic domination, oppression and war. This has led to sharpening rivalries with other imperialist centres, most notably in Europe. But it has also been met with increased resistance, especially in the Middle East and Latin America, which create more and more obstacles for imperialism.

     The Assembly reiterated its call for an immediate withdrawal of imperialist forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, and voiced its opposition to war on Iran and Syria. It declared its solidarity with struggles for peace and liberation around the world, including those in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Western Sahara, Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela.

     Delegates discussed the global decline in living standards and political strength of the working class, and the importance of confronting this decline as an integral component of the struggle for peace. Orlando Fundora, outgoing World Peace Council President, summed up this relation with his call: "Disarmament for Development, Development for Peace!"

     The Assembly deliberated on many other issues, including militarization of international relations and NATO expansion, imperialism's use of the "Kosovo model" to divide and rule countries and regions around the world, nuclear arms reduction, and the global struggle against foreign military bases.  

     Sean Currie, a Canadian Peace Congress delegate to the Assembly, participated in a panel discussion on Defending People's Rights. He discussed the deepening process of trade integration of the NAFTA countries and the related transformation of Canada's economy into a wholesale exporter of natural resources, especially oil. He used this as a departure point for an analysis of the increasing political and military integration of Canada and the US, and related that process to the loss of economic strength, political voice and living conditions among the Canadian working class. "Peace is the central question for the working class today," he said. "Labour will lead the way in this struggle, as workers confront this issue in all areas of the world."

     The Assembly finished by electing a new 40-member Executive Committee to coordinate work over the next four years. Brazil's Socorro Gomes (CEBRAPAZ) was elected President, with outgoing President Orlando Fundora being given the title of Honourary President. Greece's Athanasios Pafilis and Iraklis Tsavdaridis (both from EEDYE) were re-elected General-Secretary and Executive-Secretary respectively.

     The Canadian Peace Congress, this country's WPC affiliate, was represented by a six-person delegation. The Congress is rebuilding across Canada and delegates agreed that the Assembly helped provide the energy and political vision necessary to advance their work.  Report-back tours are being organized in several locations around the country.  

     People's Voice readers can find more information about the World Peace Council and the Canadian Peace Congress, including the Final Declaration of the World Peace Assembly, on the internet at http://www.wpc-in.org and http://www.canadianpeacecongress.ca.

     (Toronto peace activist Dave McKee was a delegate to the World Peace Assembly.)

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14) RELEASE OMAR KHADR NOW!

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Statement by the Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada, April 17, 2008

As more light is shed on the case of Omar Khadr, it becomes increasingly obvious to the world that the Pentagon's prosecution of this young Canadian "child soldier" is a sickening violation of international legal standards and human rights.

     The charges of murder and other serious crimes against Khadr have already been dismissed twice, amply demonstrating the lack of any real evidence that he killed a U.S. soldier. On each occasion, the charges have been renewed by a U.S. military seeking to justify its wars of occupation.

     Captured during a firefight in Afghanistan in July 2002, Khadr was just 15 at the time - a child soldier. Charges were not laid until he had spent years in Guantanamo, a violation of his right to a fair and timely trial. Then last year, a military judge tossed out the charges because Khadr was classed as an "enemy combatant", which should have granted him the right to be held under the Geneva Conventions and the laws of war, not locked up under horrifying conditions for years without adequate legal counsel. But the U.S. military said it would appeal, and marched Omar Khadr back to solitary detention.

     Since then, the case has disintegrated in the face of new evidence. Revelations in pre-trial proceedings have shown that nobody saw Omar Khadr toss the grenade which allegedly killed a U.S. soldier. At least one other wounded combatant was still resisting the U.S. attack, and could have thrown a grenade before he was shot in the head and killed. Another distinct possibility is that the U.S. soldier may have been hit by "friendly fire" during the confusing battle. Omar Khadr himself, immobile and facing away from his attackers, was shot twice in the back but survived his injuries.

     Despite the prosecution claims to be conducting the case in an open and fair manner, most of the new evidence has emerged by accident, such as the unplanned release to reporters of documents which were supposed to be censored.

     Just as significant, Omar Khadr is charged under the Military Commission Act, which was never intended for the prosecution of juveniles. As his defence attorneys have pointed out, the prosecution's position would open the door to military-based charges against even a five-year-old.

     Omar Khadr is the last citizen of a western country still detained in Guantanamo. Every other country whose citizens have been sucked into this vortex of torture and solitary confinement has vigorously demanded the return of these prisoners. But in line with Stephen Harper's position that every arbitrary violation of human rights by the U.S. Empire must be given complete support, not a finger has been lifted by the Tory government to win a fair trial for Omar Khadr. The shameful abandonment of unfairly jailed overseas Canadian citizens by the Harper Tories, and the similar policy of turning Afghan detainees over to the corrupt and brutal Karzai government, are scandals condemned by a wide range of democratic organizations and the opposition parties in Parliament. But this government simply prefers to lick the boots of its masters in Washington.

     Any country - including the United States - which has been the target of terrorist attacks has the legal right to bring charges against those responsible. But no country has the right to trample on international law by invading other countries and by concocting trumped-up murder charges against children. The continued renewal of charges against Omar Khadr shows that he cannot expect to receive a fair trial from the U.S. military.

     The CEC of the Communist Party of Canada joins with Omar Khadr's lawyers, and with labour, democratic and human right organizations to demand the dropping of all charges, his immediate repatriation to Canada, and the closure of the Guantanamo detention centre, illegally operated by the US on Cuban territory. We call for an independent Canadian foreign policy of peace and disarmament, beginning immediately by withdrawing Canadian troops from Afghanistan.

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15) NEPAL VOTES FOR RADICAL CHANGE

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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 Vancouver Bureau

Nepal's April 10 country-wide elections to form a Constituent Assembly (CA) have put the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist in first place. With just over 30% support in the proportional representation ballot, and 116 "first past the post" (FPTP) seats as of April 19, the former rebels are in position to lead the country's next government.

     The outcome seems certain to end the country's deeply unpopular monarchy, which had been reluctantly forced to accept democratic changes in the 1990s, but continued to overrule elected governments. Placing abolition of the monarchy as its main goal, the Maoist rebellion was based in rural areas, but the CPN-M also won large votes in Kathmandu and other cities.

     Narrowly ahead in the race for second is the bourgeois-oriented Nepali Congress party, which had been in office for much of the past two decades, with 32 "FPTP" seats and 21% of the vote. With 31 FPTP seats and nearly 21% of the popular vote, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), was in third place. The CPN(UML) had taken as much as 30% of the vote in elections during the 1990s, and briefly formed a government during that decade. The party was strongly represented in the interim government which took office after the king was compelled to yield power, leading up to the April 10 election.

     Running fourth with nearly 4% of the vote and 24 FPTP seats was the Madhesi People's Rights Forum, based among an oppressed ethnic group in the country's south. Several smaller communist parties received about 4% of the total vote; in total, over 55% of Nepali voters backed communist parties, indicating the depth of desire for radical change in the country.

     According to the official Nepali Election Commission site, the CA "is an assembly of people's representatives chosen by the people for the formation of a new constitution, as desired by the people. [It] is needed in Nepal to restructure the nation according to the aspirations of the People's movement... to reach a decision on the future of monarchy, to ensure democratic rule of law, to ensure proportional representation in all the bodies of state, to institutionalize the people's sovereignty and to create an atmosphere for all the citizens to exercise equal rights."

     By agreement among the political parties, 240 CA members are being elected through the first-past-the-post system and 335 CA members by proportional representation, while another 26 will be nominated in the 601-member Constituent Assembly.

     On April 16, all seven cabinet ministers representing the CPN-UML submitted a resignation letter to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, stating their intention to honour the people's mandate to the CPN-M to lead the government. There were reports that the other major parties, including the CPN-M, were pressing the CPN-UML to reconsider its decision to quit the government.

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16) WALES ELECTS COMMUNIST COUNCILLOR

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

Wales has just elected its first Communist councillor in three decades. Clive Griffiths, 48, was first elected to the Hirwaun and Penderyn Community Council in 1999 as a member of the Labour Party. On April 14, having joined the Communist Party of Britain, he was re-elected unopposed.

     Asked how he would put Communist principles into practice on a body that has extremely limited powers, Griffiths, who is also standing for election to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: "There's a very important local issue at the moment which is a very good example of why I left the Labour Party. In Hirwaun, there's an old school building that the local NHS Trust would like to turn into a health centre. But the council, which owns the building, says it has to be sold to the highest bidder and wants to sell it to a property developer. I am sure a way could be found to get it converted into a health centre but it seems the council doesn't want to know."

     Griffiths, who has been a peace activist for many years, said he left Labour because of the decision to invade Iraq.

     "It got to the point where I couldn't square the circle and stay in New Labour any more," he said. "I have quite a few friends in the Labour Party but it's clear to me that the party has moved so far away from socialism that there is no point staying in if you are a socialist. The Communist Party reflects what I believe in and I feel comfortable in it."

     Rick Newnham, the CPB's Welsh secretary, told an April 14 news conference: "Unlike the other parties, we are prepared to talk about the issue that is the elephant in the siting room, the fact that our society is built on inequality and that a very small percentage of people own the vast majority of the wealth."

     At the same news conference, CPB leader Rob Griffiths (no relation) was asked what difference it would make if Communist candidates won seats in the May 1 elections in Wales. Griffiths said: "That would send out a powerful message that would be picked up loud and clear. More and more people are becoming disillusioned with the policies of the mainstream parties, all of which want to prop up the fundamentally unequal and unjust system of capitalism. We are offering an alternative which more and more people are turning to. Young people are our future. For the first time for many years, we have in Wales a Young Communist League that is campaigning for genuine socialism. We are on the way back."

     (From an article in the Western Mail newspaper.)

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17)WHAT'S LEFT

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

MAYWORKS

Check websites for highlights:
Toronto - http://www.mayworks.ca
Winnipeg - http://www.mayworks.org
Edmonton - http://www.mayweek.ab.ca
Ottawa - http://www.mayworksottawa.ca

VANCOUVER, BC

Left Film Night, Sunday - April 27, 7 pm, Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark  Drive. “Harlan County USA,” documentary on Kentucky coal miners’s strike by Academy  Award-winning director Barbara Kopple. Free (donations welcome), call 604-255-2041.

May Day Rally - Thursday, May 1, gather 5:30 pm at Clark Park (14th & Commercial), for 6 pm march to Grandview Park.

Frank Paul Rally: stop the violence - Thursday, May 8, 5 pm, Detox Centre, 377 E. Hastings, organized by Indigenous Action Movement.

FMLN Fundraiser, with Luis Enrique Majia Godoy and guests Son Rebelde - Thursday, May 15, 7 pm, Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash St. Tickets $25 at People’s Co-op Books (1391 Commercial) or call 604-876-6749.

Walk for Palestine: No Time to Celebrate! - Sat., May 10, gather 1 pm at Clark Park (Commercial at 14th Ave), for silent march to rally at Grandview Park. Please wear black. Endorsed by Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-UBC.

Malalai Joya Support Rally, one year after her suspension from the Afghan parliament -  Wed., May 21, 5 pm, Art Gallery, organized by StopWar.ca.

Left Film Night - Sunday, May 25, 7 pm, Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark Drive.  Film to be announced in early May; call 604-255-2041.

People’s Voice Banquet - 6 pm, Sat., June 7, Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., see next  issue for tickets, or call 604-255-2041.

NEW WESTMINSTER, BC

The impact of war on workers, BC Labour Against War May Day forum- 7 pm, Thur.,  May 1, CAW Hall, 326-12 St.

BURNABY, BC

Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast - proceeds to People’s Voice, Sunday, May 11, 10 am  (last call for pancakes 12 noon), 5435 Kincaid St. Admission $10 (or $5 under 12), call Anna, 604-294-6775.

WINNIPEG, MN

May Day March - Thursday, May 1, assemble 6 pm at City Hall, for info contact Glenn  Michalchuk at 589-7840.

Movie Nights with the Young Communist League - Wed., May 7 and May 14, 7 pm, Room  2C13, U of Winnipeg, movies TBA, free admission.

Annual Sisters In Spirit Mother’s Day March - 1 pm, Sunday, May 11, from St. Regis  Hotel on Smith St., to the Forks for speeches and entertainment until 4 pm.

Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee meeting - Mon., May 12, 7 pm, 280 Smith St.,  Mezzanine level. Press buzzer to gain entry. Info 783-9380.

Fresh Air Art Gallery, display of progressive banners and workers’ history memorabilia.  Noon to 4 pm,

• May 12 at Central Park (Cumberland & Kennedy);
  
• May 13 at Coronation  Park (Tache at St. Mary’s);
  
• May 14 at Bonnycastle Park (Main at Assiniboine);
  
• May 15  at Old Market Square (King at Bannatyne);
  
• May 16 at Revolution Park, 387 Selkirk Ave. (near Salter);
  
• May 17 at Memorial Park (Memorial at Broadway - this date tentative);
  
• May 18 at St. John’s Park (Main at St. John’s). Info: Anna-Celestrya, 233-7116.

Che Guevara Brigade Fundraiser - Thur., May 15 at Mondragon Restaurant and  Bookstore, 91 Albert St. For details, call 783-9380.

Al-Nakba commemoration events in Winnipeg, marking 60th anniversary of the expulsion  of Palestinians - details from Canada-Palestine Support Network 233-7116.

Young Communist League-UW campus club  meets 1st & 4th Wednesday each month, 5:30 pm, U of W buffeteria (4th floor top of escalators). E-mail us at ycl_manitoba@ycl-ljc.ca

CALGARY, AB

May Day picket and rally - Thursday, May 1, 5 pm, in Front of U.S. Consulate, MacLeod  Tr. SE and 7th Ave., organized by May Day 08 Calgary Organizing Committee, 283-7054.

EDMONTON, AB

Edmonton Young Communist League - meets regularly at Remedy Cafe, 8631-109 St., 5 pm on the second Friday each month. Discussion topics and suggested readings on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3559215104.

TORONTO, ON

May Day in Toronto! Celebrate May Day with People’s Voice - Thursday, May 1, 7:30 pm, GCDO Hall, 290 Danforth Ave. Music, speakers, food, refreshments. Don’t miss it! Labour Council delegates welcome!

March for Immigrant Rights - Sat., May 3, Noon-6 pm, Christie Pitts Park, 750 Bloor St. West., demand justice and dignity for all immigrants and refugees. Organized by No One Is Illegal & others.

Kenny Prize Lecture - Thursday, May 8, 4 pm, Fischer Rare Books Library, 2nd Floor, 120 St. George St. Lecture by Kenny prize winner Andrée Lévesque, author of Red Travellers.

HAMILTON, ON

Salt of the Earth, labour film classic - on Sunday, May 4, 3 pm, plus dinner for just $12, at  Solidarity House, 779 Barton St. East. Seating limited, advance tickets only, call  905-529-1461 or email solidarityhouse@cogeco.ca.

OTTAWA, ON

Bill C-484 protest, defend abortion rights - Sat., May 3, noon to 3 pm, at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin St.

MONTREAL, QC

May Day rally to defend public health care against privatization, organized by Quebec trade union centrals - Sat., May 3, 12 noon, at Parc Lafontaine (Sherbrooke Metro, corner of Sherbrooke & Parc-Lafontaine).

March for Immigrant Rights & Against Bill C-50 - Sat., May 3, 12:30 pm, Victoria & Van  Horne (near Metro Plamondon), organized by No One Is Illegal.

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People's Voice deadlines: MAY 16-31 Thursday, May 8 JUNE 1-15 Thursday, May 22 Send submissions to PV Editorial Office, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, V5L 3J1, pvoice@telus.net

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$50,000 FUND DRIVE
Nearing the halfway mark

(The following articles are from the May 1-15, 2008, 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.)

As of April 21, this year’s People’s Voice Fund Drive has raised a total of $22,450, or 45% of our $50,000 target. That doesn’t yet include the full value of the May Day ads printed in this issue, which will take us closer to 50% when we sharpen our pencils and complete the calculations.

In the last two weeks, Ontario has jumped into the lead, with $10,639, or 53% of their provincial target. That puts them ahead of B.C. now in second place with $9646, or 48% of the west coast goal. The Maritimes and Newfoundland remain at the 40% mark, but Alberta is gaining, with $785 turned in, or 39% of their target.

People’s Voice is one of the few publications in Canada which makes it a top priority to mark May 1, International Workers Day. This issue of the paper helps to promote May Day rallies and Nearing the halfway mark MayWorks events across the country,  activities which are pointedly ignored by the corporate media. The PV Editorial Board sends a special “Thank You” to all the labour and democratic movements which placed greetings, and we pledge to keep fighting for the interests of the working people you represent!

This month we also focus on two key political battles: the demand to free six leaders of the K.I. First Nation, jailed in northern Ontario for resisting corporate encroachment on their traditional territories (see page 8), and the fight to defeat Bill C-50, the Harper government’s reactionary changes to immigration policy (pages 5 & 16). As always, our position is “an injury to one is an injury to all.” Unity of all working people, whether Aboriginal, Canadian, Quebecois or immigrant, is necessary to roll back the corporate attack!

The paper in your hands will be distributed at many of these May Day and anti-C50 rallies and activities, so we also want to thank the hard-working PV supporters who take out bundles of the paper. Your efforts are crucial to help build the struggle to defeat the  Harper Tories and their ruling class masters, and to win workers for the cause of peace, democracy, equality, and socialism!

Some successful fundraising events have already been held, and more are coming up. Please do your part to help us keep publishing, by attending one and bringing a friend!

On Sunday, May 4, at 3 pm, Hamilton readers will host Sam Hammond at a special screening of labour film classic Salt of the Earth, plus dinner for a bargain price of just $12. It takes place at Solidarity House, 779 Barton St. East, but seating is limited. Advance tickets only, call 905-529-1461 or email solidarityhouse@cogeco.ca.

The annual PV Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast will be at 5435 Kincaid St. in Burnaby, Sunday, May 11, starting 10 am. For only $10 (or $5 for those under 12) get all you can eat - pancakes, sausages, and much more - plus the company of old and new friends and supporters. Don’t be late: last call for pancakes will be 12 noon.

Vancouver’s 16 Annual People’s Voice Victory Banquet is scheduled for 6 pm, Saturday, June 7, at the Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Avenue. See our next issue for information on tickets.

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