(The following article is from the March 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People's Voice Editorial

While it's way too soon to predict the full impact of Barack Obama's election, his brief visit to Ottawa hinted at some of the potentials and pitfalls. Most Canadians are optimistic that the new President will steer away from his predecessor's drive to war and fascism. But the challenges facing President Obama and the U.S. people are daunting indeed, not least the powerful grip of the military-oil-industrial complex over their country.

     We share the hope that after a million deaths, the long nightmare of US occupation in Iraq is nearing an end, and we welcome Obama's admission that a military solution to the problems of Afghanistan is not possible. Parliament should act accordingly and begin removing Canadian troops from this quagmire immediately, not in 2011. Such a move would strengthen the anti-war forces in the United States, helping to dispel illusions that the "Afghan surge" will somehow bring "positive results."

     On another topic related to the President's visit, his focus on "clean energy" and the serious impact of climate change was an important break from the Bush regime. This shift allows new options for Canada to move away from the Tory/Liberal policies of continental integration and "shared" energy resources. The time has come for a widespread genuine debate around public ownership of energy as the key to simultaneously reducing environmental destruction, rebuilding Canadian industry, and abrogating the NAFTA deal which drastically reduces Canadian sovereignty.

     These and other issues which arose during Obama's brief visit show that the momentum for real change is growing. Here in Canada, success depends on building a powerful people's movement to drive out the Harper Tories, and to establish a People's Alternative Coalition based on people's needs, not corporate greed. Yes, we can do it - if we have the political will!