(The following editorial is from the August 1-31, 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 public attention is focused on the vagaries of the Canadian weather, warning signals keep flashing about an impending fall election. The Harper Tories are happy to read the recent crop of news reports about the "end of the recession". This is a classic case of counting unhatched chickens, based mainly on "data" such as consumer confidence - which unsurprisingly reflects the desire of the corporate mass media for a return to economic normalcy. In reality, the capitalist world remains mired in the worst downturn in industrial production and international trade in decades.

     Part of this bigger picture is that some two to three million Canadians remain unemployed, depending on one's choice of statistical evaluation. Of those, less than half have access to EI, and the level of unemployment benefits in Canada is far below the average for other OECD countries.

     And yet the Harper Tories remain determined to leave Canadian working families in the lurch. The Ignatieff Liberals let the Tories off the hook in June, agreeing to take part in a committee to study this issue. But the work of the committee is already stymied by the categorical statement of Tory MP Pierre Poilievre that his government will never agree to proposals to reduce the number of hours employees must work before qualifying for insurance payments.

     For hundreds of thousands laid off in recent months, EI benefits will soon start to run out. A cynic might wonder if Mr. Harper hopes to force a fall election before the reality of this unemployment crisis become fully apparent in mid-winter. Whatever the case, the job of the labour movement is to step up the campaign to expand EI access and benefits. It will soon be a matter of life and death.