(The following article is from the February 1-28, 2010 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

PV Commentary

In a powerful show of anger against the Harper government's shut-down of Parliament, Canadians rallied in some 60 cities and towns across the country on January 23. Supporters of "Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament" (CAPP) also organized protests in Dallas, Costa Rica, San Francisco, London, and New York.

     Preliminary estimates indicated that over 27,000 people took part in 32 of these rallies. The largest was in Toronto, where the turnout was over 6,000. Some 2,000 marched to Victory Square in downtown Vancouver, and the Victoria rally was estimated at 1,500.

     While many events in small towns were smaller in size, it appears that the total participation was more than 30,000. That's an impressive figure for a grassroots movement organized in just a couple of weeks in the middle of winter, largely by using Facebook and other social networking sites.

     The understandable outpouring of public response to the terrible devastation of the earthquake in Haiti may well have affected the turnout for the Jan. 23 rallies. But the huge geographical range of the CAPP protests was an unmistakable signal that the patience of voters with the Harper Tories is waning fast. Several recent opinion polls found support for the Tories sinking from a late 2009 level of about 40%, down to just over 30% by mid-January.

     The Jan. 23 protests also pointed to other difficulties facing the Tories, especially the prominent role of young people among the organizers. At nearly every demonstration, speakers and signs went beyond the immediate topic of anger at Harper's abuse of Parliamentary democracy. Many young participants focused on the Tory government's refusal to take serious action on climate change, and its scandalous attempt to cover up torture of Afghan detainees. The fact that the Parliamentary opposition parties were largely observers at the Jan. 23 events further highlighted the reality that criticism of the Tories is becoming more deeply-rooted among young activists whose attention is usually directed towards the extra-parliamentary arena. That could spell big trouble for Harper whenever circumstances finally lead to another federal election.

     Unfortunately, the labour movement was not highly visible at many of the Jan. 23 events, unlike environmental and anti-war groups. This may reflect the challenge of mobilizing trade unions quickly during a sudden upsurge of popular anger. But the result was a missed opportunity to build a broader struggle to block the Harper government's impending attacks on social spending.

     Over the next few weeks, the corporate media and the Harper government will try to shift attention away from the prorogation debacle, using the distraction of the Winter Olympics. But the fundamental issues facing working people will not disappear during this circus. The news that 500,000 Canadians are running out of EI benefits proves that if anything, 2010 may be an even worse year for working people. As the March 3 return of Parliament nears, it will be even more crucial to turn up the heat on the Harper Tories and the opposition parties. The Jan. 23 rallies were a good beginning for this movement - but the pressure must keep building!