PV Vancouver Bureau Commentary Internal strife is nothing new for the New Democratic Party in B.C. The sudden resignation of Carole James on Dec. 6 opens the door for an NDP leadership convention early in 2011. Some pundits have declared that the next election is already over, awarding the B.C. Liberals victory in advance. But [...]
Category Archives: Canada
New Attacks on Free Speech
January 1 11
People’s Voice Editorial The furious attack against free speech in Canada escalated again in early December, with outrageous slanders in the Ontario Legislature against a university student. On Dec. 7, MPPs Steve Clark and Eric Hoskins spoke to condemn Jenny Peto, a University of Toronto student whose 100-page MA thesis examines pro-Zionist Holocaust remembrance programs. [...]
Communist Party Leadership Meets in Toronto
January 1 11
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada met over the Nov. 27-28 weekend in Toronto. The Political Report adopted by the meeting is now online at www.communist-party.ca. The report stresses “the continuing global capitalist crisis which, now into its third year, shows no signs of abating. The impact of the crisis, the measures taken [...]
“Unite in Solidarity with Steelworkers in Hamilton”
January 1 11
Resolution adopted by the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, Nov. 28, 2010 The lockout of 900 Steelworkers in Hamilton, which began on Nov. 7, is much more than a local struggle. U.S. Steel wants to shut down production in Hamilton, and seeks to force USW Local 1005 members and 9,000 retirees to switch to [...]
Billboard Campaign for Locked-out Steelworkers
January 1 11
Locked out workers at Hamilton’s US Steel plant are wasting no time getting their message out: the issue with US Steel is about Canadian control of the economy, a Canadian steel industry, and the rights and dignity of labour to decent living standards and quality of life for workers and retirees. USW Local 1005 is [...]
Fed Moves to Biennial Conventions
January 1 11
By Sam Hammond The British Columbia Federation of Labour Convention from Nov. 29-Dec. 3 was the swan song of the annual conventions that have been traditional in BC. The BC Fed changed its constitution to move to a convention every two years. This was done with the passing of a composite resolution that also added [...]
G20 Report: Massive Compromise of Civil Liberties
January 1 11
By Liz Rowley, leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin has concluded that police and government action that led to the arrest, detention and beatings of 1105 people last June 26/27 in Toronto constitute “the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history”. It’s a clear statement that the [...]
Afghanistan War: The Crucible For Reorienting Canadian Foreign Policy
December 1 10
By Dave McKee, President, Canadian Peace Congress Operation Apollo, Operation Athena, Operation Archer, Operation Accius, Operation Altair … since Canada first entered the war on Afghanistan in 2001 the list of extensions, renewals and “spin‑offs” has gone on and on and on. Originally scheduled to end in 2003, Canada’s involvement in this imperialist aggression threatens [...]
“Implement the Declaration in a Principled Manner”
December 1 10
Joint Statement in response to Canada’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples On November 12th the Canadian government endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We urge the government to move ahead with the implementation of its provisions in a principled manner that fully respects their spirit [...]
Big Business Wins Winnipeg Election
December 1 10
By Darrell Rankin Opportunistic failures by reform forces in the civic election blocked a shift in the balance of forces in Winnipeg city council, but voters delivered a stinging rebuke to the right wing majority on October 27. Sam Katz was re‑elected Mayor largely as a result of his massive election budget and the fire‑proof [...]
Trustees Propose Supports for Vancouver Schools
December 1 10
PV Vancouver Bureau Amidst turmoil within the B.C. Liberals, the next round of the struggle over public education policy is expected to unfold shortly. Vancouver Board of Education trustees are scheduled to vote Dec. 14 on possible closures of five schools, after an in-depth public consultation process. The hearings wound up on Nov. 10, after [...]
Hydro Hikes in Ontario
December 1 10
The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) is calling on the labour and democratic movements to raise the roof over an estimated 43% hydro price hike to effect over the next year. The cause of the hike is the break‑up of the publicly owned Ontario Hydro under the Tory government of Mike Harris. Privatization and deregulation [...]
Harper Isolated on Climate Issues
December 1 10
People’s Voice Editorial As the next round of climate negotiations resumes in Cancun, an Environics poll finds that the Harper Tories are out of step with Canadians on this crucial issue. The survey finds that 87% of Canadians agree that too much focus on economic growth and consumerism is a root cause of climate change, [...]
Jobless Benefits Not Available for Majority
December 1 10
In a critique of the Harper government’s policies, labour economist Andrew Jackson recently pointed out that “Well under one-half of Canada’s 1.5 million unemployed workers are collecting EI benefits today, even though the unemployment rate is still almost 8%. Special EI measures introduced as part of the 2009 Budget, notably an extra five weeks of [...]
Food Banks Report that Hunger Stalks Canadians
December 1 10
PV Vancouver Bureau Despite the hype in the big business media about the so-called “economic recovery,” hundreds of thousands of Canadians face a hungry holiday season and a long cold winter. That’s the only possible conclusion from the latest HungerCount report on food bank use in Canada, and economic indicators which peg the “official” jobless [...]
Potash Decision a Victory
November 16 10
Ottawa’s denial of the BHP Billiton hostile bid for the Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is an important victory, despite the crass opportunism behind the decision.