The Economics of Austerity: How the USMCA is Disastrous for Windsor & All Canadian Workers

By J.G. Markham


On February 11th, 2020, the Windsor chapter of the Young Communist League - Ligue de la jeunesse communiste invited Communist Party of Canada - Parti communiste du Canada leader Liz Rowley to the University of Windsor Alumni Hall for a speaking event titled ‘The Economics of Austerity and the Politics of Militarism and Regime Change’. Rowley’s first point of discussion was talking about austerity, particularly the trade deal negotiated by the Liberal government known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and its effects on the manufacturing sector in Canada, which is deeply felt within the Windsor-Essex region.

Big Corporations Win the French Presidential Elections

Adrien Welsh

On April 23rd, the French people were called to chose two out of the eleven candidates running for the Presidential elections who would make their way to the second round and aspire to be the next tenant of the Élysée palace.

In France, the first round for Presidential elections has never been a moment of great suspense. For decades, the two main political parties, the Socialists (PS) and the right (Les républicains and, formerly, the UMP or RPR) usually get to the second round with a comfortable margin. Polling institutions have an easy job in predicting who the two aspiring presidents will be. However, this year, until the last minute, four candidates  were polling at around 20% in the first round, namely Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Marine Le Pen, François Fillion and Emmanuel Macron.

7 reasons why the Trudeau Government is a Big Business Government

Drew Garvie

The Trudeau government has been elected at a time of economic crisis globally, where capital internationally is on the offensive to drive down wages and living standards, spread imperialist war, and expand environmental destruction. Despite changes in style and rhetoric, there is every reason to believe that the Trudeau Liberals will continue down this path.  Here are seven big reasons…

1) Austerity & Infrastructure Spending

Trudeau’s campaign managed to project itself as Keynesian, a feat made easier due to the NDPs attempt to outflank the Liberals from the neoliberal right. But the Liberal ‘anti-austerity’ rhetoric was tied to running deficits for infrastructure spending, most of which will end up in the hands of capitalists through the usual Liberal strategy of public-private partnerships (P3s). In fact, a year ago, Trudeau declared himself a major supporter of P3s at the annual Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships National Conference.

Irish Water Charges Revolt – A young Communist’s view on the ground

Communist Party of Ireland and Connolly Youth Movement
march against water privatization

Graham Harrington

The Irish working-class, previously believed to be cowed into submission by the ruling class, has finally stood up. We have unified under the cause of one word: NO!

No to water charges! No to austerity! No to corruption!

Since the property bubble exploded in 2008/2009 austerity has become our reality. The “Celtic Tiger” years are but now a memory. Neo-liberalism has destroyed us. The bankers gambled our money until the system popped. The bankers debt, in the hundreds of billions, was socialized by the Irish state, the money for paying off their debts was taken from the Irish taxpayer. Cuts in healthcare, education and in public services destroyed families and threw huge amounts of people into poverty, homelessness, and an epoch of darkness. In response, the Communist party called for the complete repudiation of this debt. It was not sovereign debt. It was not borrowed to pay for schools, hospitals or to develop infrastructure. It was taken out to cover the losses of the bankers and financial speculators.

Interview with Marianne Breton Fontaine on Quebec's Anti-Austerity movement

Jane Bouey of "Media Mornings" in Vancouver interviews Marianne Breton Fontaine on the 2015 Quebec student strike and the movement against austerity. Interview is from April 8th, 2015.

Marianne Breton Fontaine is a writer for Jeunesse Militant and Rebel Youth magazines, a longtime member of the YCL-LJC, a leader of the Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Quebec and a student at UQAM in Montreal.

Quebec Anti-Austerity Battle Heating Up

Johan Boyden

Reprinted from People's Voice Newspaper

Mobilizations to stop the austerity measures of Philippe Couillard’s Quebec Liberal government got a boost in late March, after a meeting of the Front Commun, the Common Front of Quebec public sector trade unions. Then the student movement brought over 70,000 protesters into the streets on April 2, its largest mobilization since the 2012 strike.

In late March, the Liberal budget presented by Couillard’s finance minister Carlos Leitao ended any illusions that negotiations could lead to a victory for public sector unions. Calling the budget “austerity at light speed,” and a gift to big business, the labour movement condemned the proposals including a two-year wage freeze. On March 31 the Front Commun concluded further negotiations would be a dead-end and began mobilizing for a strike.

A quick reminder why Feminism is necessary

Marianne Breton Fontaine

Not a day passes without reminding me of the necessity of feminism, despite the surreal campaign “Women against feminism,” a US initiative where women post photos of themselves explaining why feminism is not needed by them. “I do not need feminism because if I wear a top like this, it’s for you to look at,” said one of them. “I do not need feminism because I like to cook for my boyfriend,” says another. It’s funny, because for me, these arguments convince me of the need to continue the struggle...

This morning’s daily reminder was made when I learned that the Couillard government will cut the “Chapeau les filles!” program, this program that was promoting education for women in areas still reserved for men, such as science and engineering. However, this cut will only save tiny crumbs for the public treasury. The icing on the cake was that earlier yesterday the same government announced that it would fly to the rescue of Bombardier if the company requested, because the company is currently experiencing some declines in profits. Is there anyone who still doubts that the State is at the service of a specific class?

Ontario’s Austerity Hurts Students With Disabilities

By Sarah Jama

We all know what it feels like to sit in class with an uncontrollable urge to pee. Most of us would raise a hand, get granted a hall pass, and go relieve ourselves in the nearest bathroom or tree. For others, the process is more complicated. Picture wearing a catheter, or needing help to transfer from a wheelchair to a toilet. Not so simple in a school setting.

Educational assistants (EAs) are individuals who help students with disabilities gain access to the accommodations required in order for them to benefit from receiving an education. Simply put, EAs are meant to assist students with disabilities in closing the gap between able-bodied individuals and themselves, or to ‘even the playing field’. They scribe notes for students who can’t move their fingers, or assist in monitoring students with severe anxiety in testing situations. Yes, they even help students in the bathroom.

Harper Vs. Women

by Marianne Breton Fontaine

Rape culture, discrimination, poverty, violence, etc.; the list of evils of patriarchy is long. One might think that every year, the status of women is improving in Canada. But it’s not, and it's not just women's groups and the left that say so. According to the World Economic Forum, Canada’s place on the international gender equality index has steadily declined from 7th place in 2004, to 25th in 2009. This is not a coincidence; it is the result of clear policies enacted against the advancement of women's equality. Yes, Harper is anti-women!

Funding for women's groups

Since Stephen Harper took power in 2006, the Conservative government gradually eliminated funding for groups that promote women's rights. For example, he has closed 12 of the 16 regional offices of Status of Women Canada. The Conservatives have made significant changes to the funding criteria of women's organizations, saying that they will only fund groups that are “directly involved” with women. In other words, groups that were doing research on issues affecting women, defending feminist positions or lobbying on women’s issues are no longer considered eligible for funding. Harper did not stop there. He also removed the word "equality" from the ministry’s objectives. Thus, groups such as the Victoria Status of Women Action Group (SWAG) and the Coalition for Pay Equity in New Brunswick saw their funding cut drastically, and in some cases these groups have had to close their doors permanently.

The Human Cost of FIFA

By TJ Petrowski - Manitoba

As the world watches the 2014 FIFA World Cup over one million people are protesting the cost and the human rights violations being committed by police and security forces to protect this corporate investment.

Working people in Brazil are understandably frustrated with the public cost of the World Cup, an estimated $14 billion. When compared to spending on social services, the cost of the World Cup is the equivalent of 61% of funding for education, or 30% of the funding for healthcare. Private companies, including those in the services and construction industries, will be the main beneficiaries of this public money. Adding to this cost is the forced evictions of the poor living in the favelas (slums) and the dispossession of indigenous people from their lands to build stadiums and parking lots.

How austerity works for some

People's Voice Editorial

How does our society measure what "works" and what doesn't? The economic crisis which broke out in 2008 provides a classic lens to examine this question.

On a global scale, the major shareholders of the most powerful corporations and banks have recovered, and much more. Huge bailouts squeezed from the working class covered any short-term losses suffered by the rich, and then profits and stock prices rebounded past pre-crisis levels.

Here in Canada, studies on the "Rich 100" bear out this analysis. As one media commentary said in November, "because these people have been at it for decades, they keep getting fabulously, obscenely, gloriously richer."

Collectively, the individuals on Canada's Rich 100 are worth $230 billion, more than the total gross domestic product of many countries. This year alone, their combined net worth surged by more than 15%, the biggest increase since 2000. The cutoff for making Canada's Rich 100 list is now $728 million, compared to $309 million in 1999.

Here's one example. While the retail and grocery sectors in Canada have been challenged by Target and Walmart, profits in these sectors have seen big profit increases. Companies controlled by two Rich 100 families, the Westons and the Sobeys, have bought up Shoppers Drug Mart and Safeway Canada. The net worth of these families shot up by $2.1 billion and $598 million, respectively, for gains of about 25%.

So, does capitalist austerity work? The bottom line is that it serves the "one percent" quite well, while working people, the so-called "ninety-nine percent," keep getting shafted. It's time for a system that works for the vast majority, not the ultra-rich.

Festival Odigitis calls for struggle, denounces Golden Dawn

International Bureau,
Rebel Youth Magazine

Odigitis is the newspaper of the Communist Youth of Greece, or KNE. Each year, for almost forty years, the newspaper has celebrated a massive festival in Athens.

This year's festival came to an exciting peak of entertainment and politics this past Saturday, with a massive rally at the central area of Tritsis Park, in a working class neighbourhood of Athens.