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November 16-30 ,
2011
Volume 19 - Number 20
$1
Prolétaires
de tous les pays, unissez-vous!
Otatoskewak ota kitaskinahk mamawestotan!
Workers of all lands, unite
1) WHICH DIRECTION FOR THE OFL?
2) TRAGEDY SHAKES OCCUPY VANCOUVER
3) BILL C‑10: OMNIBUS ATTACK ON HUMAN RIGHTS
4) TORY DICTATORS STEAMROLL OVER CWB
5) ACT NOW TO SAVE THE WHEAT BOARD!
6) VOTE COPE/VISION IN VANCOUVER – Editorial
7) CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, BY P.M. HARPER - Editorial
8) END HARPER'S WAR ON WORKERS, SAYS CUPE
9) COPE EXPRESSES SYMPATHY AND SOLIDARITY
10) PEACE CONGRESS SLAMS "CANADA FIRST DEFENCE
STRATEGY"
11) CLASS WAR AT QANTAS AIR
12) CUBAN DOCTOR SOLIDARITY TOUR ACROSS CANADA
13) NEWS FROM COLOMBIAN PRISONER LILIANY OBANDO
14) GREEK COALITION TO IMPOSE "DEAD-END POLICIES"
15) TAKING LIBERTIES WITH "NATIONAL SECURITY"
16) WHAT’S LEFT
17) CLARTÉ (en français)
18)
THE SPARK! (Theoretical and Discussion Bulletin of the Communist Party of
19) INTRODUCING MARX
PEOPLE'S VOICE
NOVEMBER 16-30, 2011 (pdf)
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People's Voice deadlines: December 1-31 January 1-31 Send submissions to PV Editorial Office,
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REDS
ON THE WEB |
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People's Voice finds many "Global Class Struggle" reports at the "Labour Start" website, http://www.labourstart.org/. We urge our readers to check it out! |
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(The following articles are from the
November 16-30, 2011, issue of People's
1) WHICH DIRECTION FOR THE OFL?
By Liz Rowley
The Ontario
Federation of Labour meets Nov. 21‑25 in Toronto, but without the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU) and the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA), who refuse to pay up
back dues in a continuing struggle over the OFL's direction and leadership.
The decision
isn't unanimous. One of the biggest OPSEU locals in the GTA opposes the
boycott, calling for a united labour movement and a united fight against the
employer‑government attack on free collective bargaining, the right to
strike and wages and living standards.
The decision
to withhold dues is a continuing effort by the right‑wing leadership of
these unions, supported by like‑minded leaders in Steel, Firefighters and
the Society of Professional Engineers. They aim to create a financial crisis
and cripple the OFL's ability to mobilize workers across the province, and to
link up with communities in mass, independent labour political action.
This struggle
goes back to the 1990s, when the Harris government's attacks on union rights,
living standards, jobs and social programs galvanized public anger and led to
the
The right‑wing
forces opposed this strategy, and brought in Wayne Samuelson to put an end to
mass political action by the OFL for 12 years. The same forces are trying to
cripple President Sid Ryan's efforts to build a Common Front of labour and its
allies today.
This is the
crucial question facing OFL delegates: what kind of a trade union movement do
workers need in the face of unprecedented corporate and government attacks?
What kind of a fightback plan can win?
On the one
hand, there are unions and leaders that support a mobilized, militant OFL that
takes the lead to build a Common Front of labour and it allies, to fight for
full employment, rising wages and living standards, strong social programs,
affordable housing, labour and democratic rights, progressive tax reform. In
short, policies that will benefit labour and the 99%, with the capacity to back
up those demands with mass united political action that puts thousands of
people into the streets.
On the other
hand, there are unions dominated by leaders who are fundamentally and
ideologically opposed to mass action. They prefer to contract out labour's
political aims to the NDP or the Liberals, and to approach governments cap‑in‑hand.
They narrow the role of unions to collective bargaining, and some have
advocated concessions in the name of common cause with the employers in tough
times.
During
speaking engagements in southern Ontario this month, political commentator
Michael Parenti observed that it's hard to find the trade union movement in the
US today because it is so small. Decades of unrelenting corporate‑government
attacks, combined with a policy of concessions by the leadership, have
decimated the once powerful
In
The attacks
by Reagan, Thatcher and Mulroney in the '80s, and by Mike Harris in the '90s,
required the labour movement to unite, and to work with allies to mount an
effective fightback and defend interests of workers and their communities.
Today, OFL
delegates must decide between two directions: unity, solidarity and mass
action, moving to a counter‑offensive to curb corporate power and Big
Business governments? Or, more studies, more lobbying, and more cap‑in‑hands
that were a main feature of the Samuelson decade, when the OFL was virtually
invisible as massive job losses and plant closures racked the province,
stealing our livelihoods and our futures?
With a deep
recession on the way, or even a global depression, and more job losses,
privatization, and tax cuts for the corporations and the wealthy, more attacks
on labour and democratic rights, and impoverishment and insecurity for the 99%,
the answer should be clear.
It's a long
time until the next convention. Delegates must make their voices heard now for
a strong, united and militant OFL, leading the struggle to stop the corporate
juggernaut and to champion a people's agenda for
(Liz Rowley
is the
2) TRAGEDY SHAKES OCCUPY
By Kimball Cariou
The death of
a young member of the Occupy Vancouver (OV) movement has shocked her fellow
participants and turned up the political temperature, days before a crucial
Nov. 19 civic election.
Ashlie Gough,
a 23-year-old from
Ashlie's
death touched off a firestorm of hypocrisy. Reactionary bloggers and media
outlets have labelled OV as a drug den and a blight on the city. They rarely
mention that despite some progress, drug overdose deaths and homelessness are
still common.
A few days
earlier, NPA mayoralty candidate Suzanne Anton (who has been trailing in the
polls) failed to get a seconder for her motion at city council to begin
removing the occupation tents. Requests by the firefighters and health
officials for improvements at the site were accepted after some debate at OV's
nightly general assemblies, and the situation appeared to be improving.
But Anton's
right-wing forces cynically hope to use Ashlie's death to box Mayor Gregor
Robertson and his Vision majority into a corner. While public opinion in
Robertson's
response has been to retreat, suddenly agreeing that the OV site is
"unsafe". City staff have begun preparations for a removal operation
which will likely be resisted. Given
By offering
to help homeless campers find accommodations, and stressing that the OV
protests are welcome to continue, the Mayor and his party hope to avert a
direct confrontation. This would allow Vision to appease some critics, while still
defending the free-speech rights of the Occupy group.
Those rights
were exercised on Nov. 6, as hundreds of Occupy supporters marched through the
streets against the impact of corporate mining interests on Indigenous peoples,
both in
This
approach, however, will not satisfy the NPA, which is running a multi-million
dollar campaign largely with huge donations from forestry and mining companies.
These interests calculate that buying a friendly NPA mayor and council would
shift
The NPA
campaign is also linked to Stephen Harper's Tories, and shares the same
anti-democratic outlook. Electing a Rob Ford-style city council in
These forces
no doubt want a violent clash at the
Fortunately,
there are wiser voices on the scene, especially the Coalition of Progressive
Electors, which has an electoral alliance with Vision. In a Nov. 6 statement
(see sidebar), COPE candidates pledged to continue support for the goals of the
Occupy movement, and urged city officials to "work carefully... to ensure
the health and safety of the Occupy
But the
situation remains extremely tense. A mayoralty debate between Robertson and
Anton on Nov. 7 saw the candidates shouted down frequently by some OV
activists, a tactic which may have backfired. There are also sharp debates
within the OV group about whether move the camp in response to the city's
pressure.
Robertson and
his party will need to steer carefully through these complicated waters,
avoiding a clash which could benefit the NPA and their corporate backers on
Nov. 19.
3) BILL C‑10:
OMNIBUS ATTACK ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PV Vancouver Bureau
On September
20, Tory Justice Minister Rob Nicholson tabled Bill C‑10, an omnibus bill
titled the Safe Streets and Communities Act. Combining amendments from bills
that failed to pass in previous Tory minority parliaments, the legislation
would make fundamental changes to
Among other
changes, C-10 proposes: new criminal offences; new and increased mandatory
minimum sentences; the selective elimination of conditional sentences;
increased pretrial detention and harsher sentencing principles for young
offenders; longer waiting times to apply for pardons; increased barriers for
Canadians detained abroad who wish to serve the remainder of their sentence at
home.
The Bill also
amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to grant the Minister of
Immigration broad discretion to deny work permits to any foreign national who
is "at risk of abuse", and introduces changes to allow victims of
terrorism to sue certain (but not all) foreign entities and governments for damages.
Many groups
have condemned the legislation. For example, the Canadian Civil Liberties
Association says the Bill proposes "a few welcome changes," such as
requiring the Parole Board of Canada to provide statistics relating to record
suspensions, which replace pardons for some offences.
Overall,
however, the CCLA warns that "the direction these changes set out - jail
more often, for longer, with more lasting consequences - is a dangerous route
that is unsupported by the social science evidence and has already failed in
other countries. Indeed, the research suggests that putting an individual in
jail for longer will actually increase the likelihood of re‑offending.
It's hard to see how this Bill will make streets and communities safer. What it
will do is needlessly increase the number of people in prison, skyrocketing
costs and imposing unjust, unwise and unconstitutional punishments. This is
exactly the kind of policy
The CCLA
raises several specific concerns.
The
legislation proposes "vague amendments to the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act", giving a very broad mandate to deny any foreign national
a work permit, without specifying what factors define an individual as "at
risk" of being exploited. A better public policy, says the CCLA, would
address employers who exploit such individuals.
The expansion
for the rights of victims, says the CCLA, leaves out victims of torture. Both
torture and terrorism are serious crimes, and yet the amendments make access to
the courts available only to victims of terrorism, who must have their cases
"pre-approved" by the government. The Harper Tories would have the
ability to decide which governments can or cannot be sued; presumably, the
The use of
mandatory minimums for broad and vague underlying offences, says the CCLA, may
result in grossly disproportionate sentences. The drug provisions include jail
terms for possession of as few as six marijuana plants, and would even target
all those who rent or live in a so-called "grow-op" house they do not
own. Several provinces warn that a flood of harsh jail sentences, against
people who are not criminals, will mean enormous new expenses for taxpayers.
The child
pornography provisions would impose mandatory minimum jail sentences, for
consensual, legal sexual activities of youth and young adults.
In the CCLA's
view, C-10 will greatly increase the prison population, with a devastating
impact on marginalized communities, particularly Aboriginal peoples and those
with mental health needs who are already greatly over‑represented in
correctional institutions.
The Canadian
Bar Association (CBA) has raised serious concerns with several aspects of C-10.
The CBA argues that the Bill will worsen problems faced by the criminal justice
system, with huge resource implications.
"The
impact on northern residents, Aboriginal people and people with mental illness
will be especially profound," warns the CBA's Dan MacRury. The association
speaks for 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students across
The Canadian
Council on Refugees (CCR) points out that Canada is a signatory to the UN
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially
Women and Children, which aims to protect and assist the victims of trafficking
in persons, with full respect for their human rights. Currently, non‑citizen
women, children and men who are trafficked into
"It is
demeaning for women to have a visa officer decide that they should be kept out
of Canada for their own protection," says the CCR, warning that the bill
"fails to address the situation of the most vulnerable of exploited non‑citizens:
those who have no valid work permit. In fact, closing the door on valid work
permits may expose women to greater vulnerability, by forcing them
underground."
The group
also criticizes the government's "moralistic" focus on strippers from
other countries. "Instead of passing moral judgment," says the CCR,
"the government should work on ensuring that non‑citizens' rights
are protected and that they have the freedom to make informed choices about
their own lives."
4) TORY
DICTATORS STEAMROLL OVER CWB
By Joyce Neufeld,
Prime
Minister Harper intends to steamroller his elimination of the Canadian Wheat
Board (CWB) through Parliament shortly. He intends to avoid Agriculture
Committee Hearings and fast track Bill C‑18 through the unusual use of a
Legislative Committee hearing process. This will restrict Parliament's right to
examine this Legislation and to hear from those most affected - the farmers of
Should
Harper, Ritz & Anderson be successful in this, we could see the firing of
our democratically elected CWB Board of Directors within weeks, only to be
replaced by five government stooges who obey the Minister of Agriculture and
have no obligation to act in the interests of farmers, but will instead act in
the interest of five large corporate Grain Traders and two Railways.
1. July 2008:
Stephen Harper vows to "walk over" CWB supporters.
2. July 23,
2008: Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz sends a secret letter to the CWB
instructing the CWB to remove about one‑third of the farmer‑voters
from the voters' list.
3. August
2008: Ritz changes the CWB regulations and removes the spending limits on third
party interveners during the election period.
4. September
2008: Ritz sends a letter and ballot application to farmers/ranchers in western
5.
September/October 2008: The ballot application posted on the election
Coordinator's website will not work for farmer permit book holders who want to
get back on the voters' list.
6. November
2008: Several Conservative MPs directly contravened the Code of Ethics for MPs
by sending campaign‑style letters directly to farmers from their offices
in
7. October 7,
2011 -
More
recently, Harper has committed millions of Taxpayers dollars to shore up grain
shipments through the Port of Churchill for the next four years ($5 million)
and more over three years ($4 million) for maintenance - a cost that was
previously covered by the present CWB system for as little as 8 cents per
bushel by the farmer. 95% of Churchill business is due to CWB export sales.
"In
fact, the cost of winding up the CWB could cost taxpayers many more millions -
in severance to employees, legal costs, etc. All this to get rid of a
profitable enterprise that wasn't costing taxpayers a nickel" ‑
Bruce Johnstone, Leader‑Post,
Oct 22, 2011.
Harper, Ritz
& Anderson are making a complete mockery of Canadian Democracy in their
headlong goal to hand the whole grain industry over to their corporate grain
trading friends and railways at the expense of farmers.
The Grain
Growers of Canada, a group which claims to represent more farmers than there
are in all of western Canada, is fond of claiming that without the CWB value
adding of grains will increase. It is also a favourite of our Federal
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
Perhaps Ritz
could explain the fact that a major Canadian company, Legumex Walker Inc. is
spending $110 million US on a canola crushing plant to be located in
Then we have
Larry Martin, George Morris Centre, saying "Wheat, durum and barley
processing sector has been restrained by the single desk, which forces
processors to pay more for board grain than if they bought the crops directly
from farmers". (Western Producer,
Oct. 13.) Is that bad ‑ that the farmers get more for their product
through the CWB?
I find it
intolerable that the Harper Government has been extolling their role in the
removal of a dictator from
5) ACT NOW
TO SAVE THE WHEAT BOARD!
We don't want
to wake up after four years of Harper Conservative rule and not recognize the
Unless the
labour movement comes out strongly to support the family farm now, then it will
not have the allies it needs to defeat the Conservatives in 2015. It will be a
huge task to build a broad alliance of popular movements.
Organizing
outside parliament is the only strategy that works, swelling the progressive
vote and nudging politicians to put people before profit. For example, the
Canadian Labour Congress was part of the massive 1988 campaign by the Pro‑Canada
Network to defeat the Mulroney government's free trade proposal. The CLC
targeted 50 incumbent PC candidates for defeat.
We have to
start now to build an even stronger popular coalition than in 1988. The
alliance needs to embrace farmers, Aboriginal peoples, the peace movement,
youth and students, women and anti‑poverty groups ‑ all popular
groups working for democratic rights.
Going back
further in history, it was the dream of the Conservative Party to colonize
The farmers
and workers of Western Canada have always been looked at as a source of profit
for the industrialists in
FALSE:
Without the Canadian Wheat Board, farmers will make more money and the food
industry will employ more people in Canada
There is absolutely no research that
supports either allegation. The CWB, which works for large and small farmers,
has unchallenged research that it provides a net benefit of $500 million per
year compared to the "open market."
Without the
CWB, the earnings of smaller family farms will be more vulnerable to the
monopoly practices of grain corporations whose only motive is profit. Thousands
of family farms will be wiped out.
FALSE: "The people of
A week before
the May 2 federal election, Conservative agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said
he would respect a CWB farmers' vote about the future of the Canadian Wheat
Board. We know now that was a false statement, although it was widely reported
in Western Canadian farm newspapers.
A clear
majority of both wheat and barley farmers in Western Canada voted in support of
the CWB's single‑desk selling mandate in a referendum this August.
More than 60 per cent of voters opposed the Conservative Party in the last
election which was the only elected party that wanted to get rid of the CWB.
FALSE: "Losing the Canadian Wheat Board won't matter, especially to people
in cities, and most farms are big corporations anyway."
The CWB
markets from $5-8.5 billion a year in wheat and barley. It is the largest
farmer‑run marketing board in
FALSE AND INHUMAN: "Larger farms and putting the global grain trade into
the hands of the giant grain corporations will end global hunger."
Famine is
spreading through the world. In 2008, the giant grain corporations were
responsible for the record cereal grain prices that sparked food riots in at
least 26 countries. They made a combined profit of $266 billion that year.
Now, prices
are again at record levels and millions of people are expected to die of
starvation in
So why is the
Harper government giving even more to these corporations who already dominate
the global grain market? He hates telling his friends in
Second, the
democratic farmers' movement in
Finally and
most importantly for Harper, the farmers' movement offers hope that people in
Western Canada can curb Harper's unlimited greed. So Harper wants to wipe them
out. These are people Labour should get to know.
In a 2008
global study, more than 1,000 agrarian scientists and experts declared that
continuing to force millions of smaller farmers off the land and into cities is
short‑sighted and a danger to the world food supply.
We cannot let
Harper crush the democratic farmers' movement in
If it is to
play a positive role in building a better
Farmers are
working people, also. Many work off their farms to make ends meet, many in a
union job. While it is true that trade union members in
We need to
act now to create the kind of popular alliance that will block the Harper
Conservatives. First they are coming for the CWB, then they will go for the
CBC, then medicare. The labour movement cannot afford to remain silent.
We cannot
lose this monumental opportunity to make a firm alliance with the farmers of
6) VOTE
COPE/VISION IN
People's Voice Editorial
Three years
ago, Gregor Robertson's Vision
Nothing since
2008 has fundamentally changed this picture. COPE has regained part of its
historic labour support which had temporarily swung to Vision, and Mayor
Robertson has lost some of his shine. COPE and Vision have cooperated on
important issues (environmental initiatives, Insite, street homelessness),
while disagreeing on others (the tax shift from business to homeowners).
Popular pressure compelled Vision to move on casino expansion and civil liberties
during the Olympics. At the School Board level, Vision and COPE trustees have
been united to defend public education against the Liberal government's
attacks.
This fall,
the NPA is raising millions of dollars from forestry and mining corporations.
The Harper Tories back the NPA's vicious strategy, hoping to turn
There are
plenty of names and parties on the ballot in
7) CRIME AND
PUNISHMENT, BY P.M. HARPER
People's Voice Editorial
For a
politician who claims to speak the hard truth, Stephen Harper plays fast and
loose with the facts. His government's so‑called "Safe Streets"
bill is a work of complete fiction based on neo‑con ideology rather than
science.
Organizations
such as the Canadian Bar Association and the Civil Liberties Association
present an understanding of crime and punishment in the real world, not in the
fevered imaginations of far‑right politicians. The facts are undeniable.
Crime rates have been falling for years, not rising; this is no consolation for
victims, but basing public policy on headlines leads to disaster. Similarly,
jailing people for minor offences doesn't work. Even the average Tory MP should
grasp that prison inmates often learn crime tips from each other.
Bill C‑10
will jail tens of thousands for "crimes" as ridiculous as growing a
handful of marijuana plants. The provinces will bear the multi‑billion
dollar burden of this policy, leading to more social cuts and/or higher taxes
on working people.
Add to this
the plans for warrantless electronic spying on Canadians, and $500 billion on
military spending over the next two decades, and a clear pattern emerges. Right‑wing
politicians are not eliminating the state, they are removing universal social
programs and redistributive spending, in favour of a massive binge on the
police, prisons, spies, and weapons. When the Harperites are finished,
Canadians will be under constant surveillance, and jailed for a wide range of
"offences" against the morals of a small minority. Canada will become
a militarized thug state, a willing accomplice of the U.S. and its NATO allies,
imposing the rule of transnational capital across the planet. It's a scary
future, but not inevitable... if sufficient resistance can be built, starting
today, not during an election four years from now.
8) END
HARPER'S WAR ON WORKERS, SAYS CUPE
PV Vancouver Bureau, with files from www.cupe.ca
Meeting at
the
Since getting
a majority government in May, the Conservatives have interfered with collective
bargaining at Air
The Emergency
Resolution called upon CUPE to work with the CLC and other allies to oppose the
Harper government and begin planning for the 2015 election of an NDP
government.
Debate on the
floor was spirited and supportive of the motion, with many delegates expressing
frustration that working people have been losing rights over the last few
years.
Local 116
delegate Colleen Garbe spoke in favour of the motion. "This resolution is
long overdue. We are losing ground over and over again."
Several Air
Vancouver
delegate Ken Davidson called for a tougher approach, arguing that the Labour
movement has no choice but to act or be destroyed.
"We
can't survive on the idea that a good argument is the solution, cause it ain't
working," said Davidson. "I'd much sooner go out swinging then sit
back and say I tried what I could and it didn't work."
Delegates
also overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on their union to convene a
Canada‑wide community labour coalition along the lines of the Action
Presented by
the CUPE
Given the
prominence of the occupy movements across the country, such a call for a
People's Assembly could help to set the stage for a much broader fightback
against Harper and the austerity agenda.
Early in the
convention, delegates rallied at lunch hour on Nov. 1 in solidarity with Occupy
9) COPE
EXPRESSES SYMPATHY AND SOLIDARITY
NOV. 6 - The Coalition of Progressive
Electors expresses our profound sympathies and compassion for the loss of a
sister within the Occupy
COPE
continues, as we have from the beginning, to support the goals and message of
the Occupy movement around the world: democratizing the global economy and
working towards true economic justice, equality, and environmental
sustainability.
COPE urges
officials at the city, fire department, police, and health care workers to work
carefully, and in coordination, to ensure the health and safety of the Occupy
We must
continue to address homelessness, poverty and drug addiction.
COPE will
continue to struggle for equality, social justice and environmental
sustainability with our fellow citizens, in solidarity with Occupy movements
around the world.
In the spirit
of the global Occupy movement, COPE supports occupiers taking this movement
beyond the Vancouver Art Gallery, to work with community groups, service
agencies, resident‑based neighbourhood councils, the trade union
movement, churches, and environmental NGO's and to bring together a new
Solidarity Coalition.
COPE has been
committed to progressive social change for more than 40 years. Beyond Election
Day on November 19th, COPE will continue to fight for a
10) PEACE
CONGRESS SLAMS "
The
Canadian Peace Congress, which has continued to expand its activities in recent
years, will hold its next convention on Nov. 25-26 in
The election
in May of the Conservative majority government is the single most important
political event since our Extraordinary Renewal Convention in 2008, one which
radically alters the country's political landscape...
During the
previous seven years of minority government, and even during the preceding
Liberal majority governments, the peace movement had some ability to work with
progressives within the opposition parties to expose the aggressive,
militaristic and integrationist policies of the government and, to a limited
extent, block some of the more extreme aspects of those policies. Key examples
of this are the massive protests in 2003 that forced the government to reject
direct military involvement in the invasion of Iraq and to maintain distance
from that war and occupation; sustained public education and lobbying that has
continued to deter Canadian participation in Ballistic Missile Defence and the
weaponization of space; and the campaign to expose Canada's complicity in the
torture of Afghan detainees, which was so effective that the Harper government
needed to prorogue Parliament to remain in power.
However, with
the Harper Tories now holding majorities in both the House of Commons and the
Senate, the ability to confront the corporate war agenda in the parliamentary
arena has been severely diminished. While it remains vitally important to
maintain and expand work with progressives in government, the focus for peace
and progressive forces must now shift decisively to the extra-parliamentary
struggle...
During their
minority government, the Harper Conservatives made several changes in policy that
clearly indicate the trajectory of Canadian capital with respect to
international issues.
For a long
time, the advanced sections of the peace movement have understood that the war
in Afghanistan was never a localized conflict - it has been, from the
beginning, part of a regional campaign that includes the war against Iraq and
Israel's role in the Middle East. Clearly, the war in
Beyond these
objectives, however, the war in
CFDS promotes
the growth, modernization and combat readiness of the Canadian military and its
interoperability with US military forces for one main reason, to commit Canada
to current and future US-NATO wars, interventions and occupations as the first
principle of Canadian government foreign policy.
CFDS boasts
of the experience gained by Canadian forces in
Fear
mongering about alleged threats to Canadian security is the method used by the
Conservative government to justify massive transfers of public finances,
without Parliamentary approval, to foreign and domestic defence contractors to
stimulate a speculative expansion of the economy. This is what is meant by the
"military partnership with Canadian industry".
CFDS is
profoundly undemocratic, and was implemented without seeking Parliamentary
approval. It commits $492 billion over 20 years on top of the $5.3 billion
already allocated in 2006, approaching 2.2% of GDP, all to guarantee the
profits of defence contractors and investors. The Canadian government policy of
rapid militarization of the economy is the only job creation project the
Government has to offer youth, the unemployed and the underemployed. CFDS
cannot be implemented without sacrificing the needs of public health care,
pensions, child care, seniors' needs, low cost housing and the peaceful development
of the country.
Since winning
a majority, the Conservatives have moved quickly and aggressively to implement
new imperialist policies. In addition to continuing their previous policies of
increasing military spending, pursuing the war in Afghanistan, promoting deeper
integration of military and foreign policy with the United States and NATO, and
an aggressively pro‑Zionist policy toward the Middle East, the new
Conservative government has:
* Enthusiastically promoted and
participated in the imperialist attack on Libya, with a shameful vote of
support by the government that had only one member opposing and 307 (including
the entire NDP caucus) supporting;
* Announced its intention to secure
rights to build military bases in other countries around the world;
* Indicated it will pursue a policy of
militarization in the
* Overseen espionage projects by
military intelligence against aboriginal peoples and organizations in
* Announced the introduction of severe
austerity measures - combined with massive military spending increases...
Peace and the
survival of the planet are conditional upon the ability to overturn aggressive
imperialism by the organized political and social actions of the vast majority
of humankind. The forces of peace and human progress in all continents declare
that hunger, disease, poverty, lack of education and unemployment and abuse of
the environment can never be solved by militarism, wars of aggression and
occupation that perpetuate the dominance of a few powerful imperialist states
over all of humanity.
The basic
necessities of life and human happiness can only be achieved in a society that
eradicates all of the causes of war.
From The Guardian, newspaper of the
Communist Party of Australia
It's full‑on
class war. Qantas is determined to deunionise its workforce and slash labour
costs. The airline's sudden and arbitrary grounding of all flights was nothing
short of a premeditated act of bastardry against its workforce and the
travelling public. The company's actions and the struggle of its workforce to
defend their jobs, wages and working conditions has brought to a head an
insidious process that has been under way for decades.
The
"globalisation" or equalisation of wages and working conditions in
the name of competition is a race to the bottom. The cost of labour is not too
high in
For decades,
the private sector has been exporting jobs offshore, raking in ever larger
profits through the super-exploitation of lower paid labour on unregulated and
non‑unionised labour markets. The manufacturing sector in
Qantas has
offloaded a large proportion of its potential domestic and international
operations to Jetstar. As reported previously in The Guardian, foreign crew employed by its subsidiary Jetstar
have been working shifts as long as 20 hours on a base monthly wage of $258.
The media,
Murdoch's Australian newspaper
in particular, have backed Qantas and other corporations in their offensive
against Australian workers and trade unions. Repeatedly, they accuse the trade
union movement of "intransigence", of threatening to wreck
productivity and costing workers their jobs. David Greig's "Qantas unions
in a time warp" (The Australian,
26‑10‑2011) was a classic piece of employer propaganda,
trotting out the all too familiar myths about competition, deregulation, higher
productivity (read profits) and flexibility benefiting workers.
"The
only way to secure aviation jobs in
"The
unions need to change tack and work hard with management to find ways of
increasing flexibility and producing more per employee," Greig says. What,
fewer pilots in the cockpit?Passengers load their own luggage? Qantas already
has passengers weighing and checking in their own luggage. Cut back on maintenance
checks by aircraft engineers - wait until something goes wrong?
Greig's
advice means one thing. The same thing that Qantas, the banks, the
manufacturers and other corporations are after: lower wages, longer hours,
slave‑like working conditions and short cuts with safety. If the unions
and workers won't cop it in
There is
another option, one that Qantas and the likes of Greig are not prepared to
consider. It involves public ownership and control of Qantas and re‑regulation
of the industry. Australia's national carrier should be in public hands, its
workforce guaranteed a decent income that recognises their skills and
experience with good working conditions and safety a priority. All airlines
flying in
That would
soon secure the rights and jobs of Qantas staff. Qantas and Jetstar employees
deserve the full support of all Australian workers and the wider community. It
is crunch time. Time to take the employers and government on.
12) CUBAN DOCTOR SOLIDARITY TOUR ACROSS
Special to PV
The
Steelworkers Hall in
Dr. Balseiro's
kindness and professionalism were very evident, witnessed by his power point
presentation about the dire situation in
The meeting,
organized by the Canadian Cuban Friendship Association, was part of a three
week tour of
Dr. Balseiro
explained how the Cuban team worked extremely hard to save lives, when for the
first time ever a cholera epidemic struck
"Cuba is
also helping with reconstruction of the health system in Haiti" Dr.
Balseiro told the audience, stressing the word "help" because it is
the Haitian system. Cubans do not interfere, but just give their experience and
assistance.
Following the
presentation, Dr. Balseiro answered several questions. One participant was
emotional in his expression of thanks to Dr. Balseiro and the Henry Reeve
brigade for their work: "I am impressed with Dr. Balseiro's deep
professionalism, as well as the length and scale of assistance. I am part of
the 99% occupying
The moderator
for the meeting was Professor Keith Ellis, who is chair of the
Elizabeth
Hill, President of the Canadian‑Cuban Friendship Association, and also co‑chair
of the Canadian Network on Cuba, outlined the purpose of the tour, and
expressed appreciation to everyone who helped make the event possible.
Kevin
Edmonds, representing the Toronto Haiti Action Committee, talked of his work in
exposing the negative effects the United Nations in
The Consul
General of
Cuban Consul
General Jorge Soberon talked of brigades to other countries. After the 2005
earthquake in
The Cuban
Doctor tour was a torch going across
For more
information, visit www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca.
13) NEWS
FROM COLOMBIAN PRISONER LILIANY OBANDO
We have
reported several times on the situation of Liliany Obando, the most prominent
political prisoner in
I got in to
see Liliany in the high security women's prison "Buen Pastor" last
Saturday (Oct. 24). Liliany's son Camilo accompanied me. He is now 18 so he can
visit every Saturday. Unfortunately her 8-year-old daughter Laura can only
visit once a month, which is a very sore point with all the prisoners and is a
rather cruel punishment. Children under three stay with their mothers in
prison, and then are taken away and get only one four-hour visit a month until
they are 18.
The guards
were cooperative and friendly. During my last visit in March 2010, the guards
threw me out because they had suddenly changed the rules on the documents I
needed. This time I breezed through the entry process but as usual I was x‑rayed,
scanned, gone over with a wand, frisked, fingerprinted twice, had my shoes
disassembled and sniffed by a drug dog. I almost didn't get in as the
authorities once again changed the rules and now require a specific photo, but
fortunately the local lawyers group LAZO quickly obtained this for me.
Liliany seems
to be in very good spirits even though she is now in an even higher security
cell block. It has no daylight, even the yard is enclosed. At one point I
commented that the heavy rain they are having is terrible. She replied that she
enjoyed it when it rained hard, as then she can hear it falling on her cell
block roof, giving her contact with the outdoors. Not being able to see the
sun, feel the rain or even a breeze is a terrible added punishment.
There are
only 27 other prisoners in her new cell block, which measures about 60 by 30
feet, so it is less crowded. But she is now in with very dangerous common
criminals, right-wing paramilitary prisoners and rich drug dealing prisoners,
who despise her and would likely kill her if they had a chance. This might be
the authorities' plan, but she thinks she is safe. She has only one companera
in the cell block and so spends almost all of her time in her cell. She is
trying to politically organise these new fellow prisoners, as she did in patio
6, which is why they moved her, but it appears to be a hard job. Since she left
cell block 6, the new warden has clamped down on her friends and taken away
rights Liliany had successfully won there. Most of the prisoners in her new
cell block 7 want to cooperate with the guards to make their own lives easier.
Her
accommodations are better then in Patio 6, as she has a bit bigger room with a
tv, a bathroom and only one roommate, but now the bunks are concrete slabs with
a thin foam mattress. The patio 7 cells are locked down at 7 pm so it really
limits her political organising.
Typically for
Liliany, she challenged the "head" prisoner in charge of the cell
block, because she was cooperating with the guards too much. So Liliany has
lost her TV privileges controlled by this prisoner overseer.
Like my last
visits, it appears that Colombian unions and activists, other than the brave
LAZO lawyers, are scared to come close to Liliany due to fears of right wing
retaliation. She has almost run out of legal options. A final Supreme Court
appeal is coming soon, and if lost, that could leave just waiting for her trial
to end. Everyone else who was arrested using the "magic" FARC
computer information has had their trials thrown out due to this evidence being
compromised or bogus, except for Liliany.
It appears
that the government knows the evidence will not convict Liliany, so they are
simply delaying by not holding any trial dates. She has been in prison for over
40 months so they are simply punishing her without a trial. Political pressure
would seem to be the only hope. I will hopefully get in to visit her these next
two Saturdays.
Her kids,
Camilo and Laura, appear to be doing better than the last time I saw them.
Camilo is in university studying to be a journalist and Laura is in grade two
and has opened up and made many new friends and is primed and ready for
Halloween. When I accompanied her to buy a costume, she initially wanted to get
a striped prisoner costume, but eventually got a princess outfit.
The letters
and phone calls Liliany gets from us on the outside are extremely important,
and she thanks us for them (but would like more please).
PS: Regarding
the
Letters can
be sent to Liliany Obando, TD-065593, Patio 7, Reclusion de Mujeres, Buena
Pastor, Cra. 47, No. 84‑25,
14) GREEK
COALITION TO IMPOSE "DEAD-END POLICIES"
Special to PV, with files from the
Morning Star (UK)
Despite
partisan differences, the parties agree on further slashing of social security
and public‑sector salaries in return for a 130 billion euro bailout deal,
and a partial debt write‑off by banks whose reckless speculation plunged
the eurozone into economic crisis.
Greek
Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga said the parties' "dead‑end"
policies represent "the plutocracy and the EU", not the public. Opinion
polls suggest over 90 per cent of the population oppose the assault on the
public sector.
"This
government will not be for a few weeks only," warned Papariga. "They
intend to drag it on for as long as possible. But even if it is for a few weeks
it will take measures which concern the living standards and the rights of the
people for at least 10 to 15 years... We call on the working class, the popular
strata to cast down this government with their struggle as quickly as possible,
to make its life difficult, to utilise whatever difficulties the new alliance
government has and to shorten its stay as far as possible, before final
decisions are made, and to impose elections."
New Democracy
leader Antonis Samaras had previously called for immediate elections, before
withdrawing this demand under "strong pressure" from EU chiefs.
Negotiators
suggested that the coalition could be headed by former European Central Bank
vice‑president Lucas Papademos to ensure it met the bank's demands.
EU finance
ministers met on Nov. 6 to decide whether to send the next batch of previously
agreed loans to Greece, which were suspended when outgoing Prime Minister
George Papandreou announced plans to hold a referendum on the bailout. Polls
indicated that the public would have rejected the EU debt deal, possibly
leading to
A
spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that she had
received a grovelling phone call from Papandreou thanking her for her
"close and good co‑operation" with
In a
statement from its media office, the KKE said the safeguarding of the next
instalment of international loans is "the pretext to justify the formation
of an open coalition government of PASOK‑ND and other parties of the
system. This is the demand of the Greek plutocracy and the EU. Their goal is
not to save the people but to subjugate them... The people can see with their
own eyes the blatant interventions of the leaders of the EU and other
mechanisms of capital...
"In
opposition to this extremely hostile alliance of the bourgeois parties, the
people must pose right now their own popular alliance and counterattack to
erect obstacles and ruin their reactionary plans. This open governmental alliance
shows their difficulties and fear of the people, their emancipation and
organization.
"The
capitalist crisis in
15) TAKING
LIBERTIES WITH "NATIONAL SECURITY"
By Matthew Behrens, October 24, 2011
Just after
Thanksgiving,
This
collegial‑sounding gathering ‑ entry to which was restricted to
those who could shell out the $895 entrance fee ‑ appears to have been
one of those periodic gabfests where elite representatives determine the
responsible manner in which the rest of us will perceive terms like
"terrorism" and "national security". Importantly, attendees
were safely insulated from the most compelling voices of the past 10 years:
those who have been victimized by numerous conference participants. The latter
included judges who have presided over secret hearings, spies whose
organization falsely labels individuals security threats, and academics who
produce papers defending arbitrary detention.
Indeed,
Canadians Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin, who three
years ago this month were found by a secretive federal inquiry to have been
tortured with the complicity of Canadian government agencies, including CSIS,
were not on any of the panels. Nor were Abousfian Abdelrazik and Omar Khadr,
both tortured with CSIS complicity. Benamar Benatta, an Algerian refugee
rendered to torture by Canadian hands on Sept. 12, 2001, wasn't there to talk
about how his Charter rights had been violated either, nor were Adil Charkaoui
and Hassan Almrei, whose bogus secret trial security certificates were finally
quashed after a decade‑long struggle. Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah,
and Mohamed Harkat, who are still facing deportation to torture without being
able to see the secret "case" against them, were similarly absent.
Each of those
individuals was more than capable of delivering an eloquent assessment of the
conference theme ‑ indeed, the names and stories of those who have
suffered a fundamental denial of rights at the hands of Canadian authorities in
the past decade could fill volumes. But conference organizers instead brought
in CSIS Assistant Director of Intelligence Raymond Boisvert, and former CSIS
Director Jim Judd (who in one Wikileaks‑released document laments
Canadians' "paroxysms of moral outrage" over the human rights abuses
committed by his organization).
It must have
been an odd sight to witness those CSIS veterans sharing a polite panel
discussion with critics of human rights abuses such as of Amnesty International
Canada's Alex Neve, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's Nathalie des
Rosiers. One wonders if either of them directly challenged the CSIS men,
perhaps asking why there has been no apology, no compensation, and no systemic
changes in CSIS to prevent the kind of torture suffered not only by the above‑mentioned
men, but by numerous others.
Equally
important, did conference organizers and participants consider the manner in
which the scandal‑plagued CSIS is accorded a significant degree of
legitimization and acceptance by having its heavyweights appearing at such a
gathering? Or that those who have been targeted, such as Maher Arar or Adil
Charkoui, suffer an equal degree of de‑legitimization by not inviting
them onto the agenda?
As with any
important political issue, who sits at the table of such conferences generally
determines the scope of the discussion. In this instance, the absence of key
voices raises significant issues about how the never‑defined term
"national security" is framed, filtered, and ultimately understood in
this country. Such a closed, circular world logically produces a Canadian
military that names First Nations advocates threats to national security and
explains why the Canadian financial intelligence unit FINTRAC was found
recently to have tarred environmentalists and animal rights activists as
terrorists in their online tutorials.
In a similar
vein, it will come as no surprise that most mainstream media outlets buy into
such narrow narratives. Most reporters assigned to the national security beat
are not physically embedded within the RCMP and CSIS in the way those covering
the occupation of
Witness the
Canadian media's wall‑to‑wall coverage of the 10th anniversary of
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which occurred in another country. The
event allowed many journalists to step outside of their proudly professed
neutrality and share their feelings about having "been there." But
the 10th anniversary of the U.S.‑led terrorist attacks against
Afghanistan the following month failed to elicit significant coverage, much
less sympathy, especially for the thousands killed in aerial bombing strikes in
the first months of the invasion or those who continue to die under the drone
strikes or rot in that country's torture chambers.
While the
Canadian media embeds got caught up in an exercise of group‑feel and the
endless "can it happen here" scenarios, few bothered to note that the
2011 Terrorism Risk Index ranks Canada as 86 out of 197 countries for risk of
terrorism, and the lowest of "western" economies. That low ranking is
likely not because
Ultimately,
the national security lens moves depending on political expediency. No clearer
example can be found than in the on‑again, off‑again
demonization/friendship cycle with former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who
one minute was the "mad dog of the Middle East" and the next a
generous host for the extraordinary rendition to torture program for agents of
the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Indeed, while CSIS spokespeople grabbed their
muffins and shared small talk with their Montreal conferees a few weeks back,
Human Rights Watch revealed that Canadian citizen Mustafa Krer had been
detained, interrogated, and tortured in Libya for eight years, and that CSIS
agents had flown over to take part in the interrogation on at least three
occasions.
Gaddafi is
now out of the picture, so new arrangements will have to be made. With the
apparent decline of Al‑Qaeda ‑ some analysts claim the organization
will be kaput within 18 months ‑ those whose job requires an enemy are
desperately searching for an understudy to play The Next Great Evil. While
different groups are being tried on for size and traction ‑ the Haqqani
Network in
At a time
when some NGO representatives lament what they term "torture fatigue"
and "national security fatigue" ‑ a feeling that people have
heard enough about these horror stories and simply want to move forward, as
Barack Obama pledged to do when he refused to consider exposure and prosecution
of Bush administration criminality ‑ it's important to remind ourselves
that such violations are not a consequence of or reaction to events of ten years
ago, but are grounded in historical patterns and power dynamics that continue
to evolve. We neglect them at our peril.
(This column first appeared on the Rabble.ca website. Behrens is a freelance
writer and social justice advocate who coordinates the Homes not Bombs non‑violent
direct action network.)
Revolution Banquet: From the Russian Revolution to
COPE Election Office, at 585 E. Broadway. To volunteer for the
campaign or election day, drop in or call 604-255-0400.
Left Film Night, screening of “Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up,” rescheduled to 7 pm, Sun., Nov. 27, Centre for Socialist
Education, 706 Clark Dr. Admission by donation, call 604-255-2041 for details.
Class Struggle from the Russian Revolution to Occupy Wall Street, with CPC leader Miguel Figueroa, 7:30-9 pm, Sat., Nov. 19, City Arts Centre Drama Room, 10943 - 84
Ave., near U of A campus. All welcome, organized by
Celebrate 90 years of the Communist Party, Sat., Dec. 3,
Cafe Cuba, Fri., Nov. 25, 7 pm,
Build the Peace Movement Through Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Canadian Peace Congress
convention, Nov. 25-26, at Metro Hall,
Convention opens 7 pm Nov. 25, continues 10 am Nov. 26. For information,
please check www.canadianpeacecongress.ca
or ph. 416-535-6586.
Celebrate 90 Years of Struggle by
Palestinians And Jews United, boycott/disinvestment/sanctions picket, every
Saturday, 1-3 pm, outside Israeli shoe store “NAOT”,