(The following article is from the September 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, Sept. 1-15, 2008

Bank accounts overflowing with cash from their corporate masters (and Canadian taxpayers), the Harper Conservatives are engaged in another round of pre-election chest-thumping. Like most bullies, the Harperites prefer to go into battle on their own terms, i.e. with the overwhelming support of the mass media. That explains their reluctance to sit through another session in Parliament, where even the relatively toothless opposition parties will have plenty of ammunition to fire at the minority Tory front benches.

     For nearly two years, Harper and his clique have searched for suitable "wedge issues" to force an election on terrain favourable to the right wing. This effort has been an abject failure, leaving the Tories languishing in the opinion polls, with no real chance of a majority.

     Now, it appears that the time-worn "law and order" issue, an eternal favourite of bourgeois parties, will be resurrected for a possible fall campaign. The Tories have used public funds to mail vast quantities of controversial flyers across the country, calling for vague steps to remove "junkies" from the streets, and even accusing health professionals who support harm reduction policies of unethical behaviour. This outrageous threat to silence critics exudes a whiff of fascism, but it's not the first time the Tories have gone down this sordid road. Unfortunately, in the last election, the Liberals, BQ and even the NDP succumbed to the law and order crowd, supporting calls to "crack down" on young offenders. Such attempts to appease the right wing can only help the Tories by allowing Harper to campaign on his issues. We urge the labour and democratic movements to step up efforts to defeat the Tories, by fighting for policies of peace, social and economic justice, democracy, equality, and genuine environmental protection.