Freeland confronts anger over TPP in her own riding

Rally against the TPP outside the meeting - Photo: J Watts

Drew Garvie

On Wednesday, June 16, Chrystia Freeland, the Liberal Minister of International Trade visited her own riding of University-Rosedale in downtown Toronto in order to “listen” to the public as part of her promised consultation tour on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The message Freeland heard at the meeting was a clear and resounding “No to the TPP”.

It was a close to capacity crowd with hundreds in attendance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business. A large crowd gathered outside in festival themed rally complete with a 30 foot, red-eyed, inflatable horse, meant to represent the TPP as a Trojan horse.

Ontario’s Education Minister condemns BDS, supporting apartheid education

Peter Miller

On May 19th, a motion given to the Ontario Legislature titled the “Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario Act” was defeated 39 - 18. Bill 202 would have blacklisted supporters of the Palestinian led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement by prohibiting public institutions from working with people who support BDS. The Bill also would have specifically prohibited colleges and universities from enacting BDS because of the movement's success in getting students and student unions to support BDS through general meetings and referendums. Not only was the Bill a McCarthyite attack on democratic rights and those fighting for human rights in Palestine, but the Bill also spread misinformation, stating supporters of BDS are “anti-Semitic” and call for the boycott of Jewish businesses, which has never been the case.

RY’s Class Enemy of the Fall: Oily Politicians

From "Class Enemy" series - Rebel Youth Issue 19

There is perhaps no better contemporary example of the confines of democracy under capitalism as demonstrated by the current “debate” over the tar sands and pipelines in Canada. Climate change is a massive crisis that has started to effect people around the world. Scientists are unanimous in proclaiming that greenhouse gas emissions need to be immediately slashed if we are to avoid total devastation to the environment and to people. Why is it then that the major party leaders are unanimous in denying that Canada needs to stop developing the tar sands and the pipeline infrastructure designed to expand this particularly destructive extraction method? Let’s take a quick look at the denial being promoted by Steve, Tommy and Justin:

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.

The Liberal Social Injustice Premier and The Fight for A Livable Minimum Wage

A joint statement from the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) and the YoungCommunist League (Ontario)

Last year, Premier Wynne said she wanted to be Ontario’s “social justice Premier”.  She said she would take action to increase social assistance rates and to raise the minimum wage. 

But her inaction on starvation level social assistance rates, and her decision to permanently embed a poverty level minimum wage, is earning her the title of Ontario’s social injustice Premier.

Wynne’s government is following other Liberal and Tory governments in Canada:  to drive down wages and living standards, attack labour and democratic rights, reduce taxes on the corporations and the rich, cut services and privatize, privatize, privatize.

No Friends in the Legislature

The Liberals have been all too happy to parrot the policies put forward by corporate employers and their lobby groups. This includes the Retail Council of Canada, which is supported by Toys ‘R’ Us, and the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, which represents Tim Hortons and McDonald’s.

The very modest $14 minimum wage being fought for by youth, labour, anti-poverty and social justice groups around the province, has no friends in the Legislature.  The NDP is non-committal.  The Tories would eliminate the minimum wage altogether if they could (in keeping with the right-to-work-for-less legislation they want for Ontario).   The Liberals want to make sure the minimum wage is wrapped in cement, never rising beyond the annual inflation rate. 

Political parties and student struggle

Jean Chrétien, Liberal Prime Minister
of Canada from 1993-2003 

Commentary
By Rebel Youth

Other articles and series on this theme: the student fight back and struggle today; our coverage of the Quebec Student Strike; Students of Canada Rise Up; YCLer Marianne Breton Fontaine speaks on Student Solidarity tour; Call to 2013 YCL student conference.

Can elections be used as markers in time and struggle? Perhaps only with the full knowledge that, as Marxists understand, history is not made by the comings and goings of bourgeois political parties in polite rotation through their bourgeois parliaments, like so many characters in a Swiss Cuckoo Clock -- but by the struggles of the masses.

Still, the Canadian federal election in October 1993 is significant moment to tag. The outcome shaped the terrain of struggle of the youth and student movement in many new ways. The unpopular Conservative government (formerly led by Brian Mulroney) was swept out of office in crushing defeat -- reduced from 156 seats to just two, it lost official party status. The landslide victory of Jean Chretien's Liberals began thirteen years of that party's rule.

Swept to office on somewhat vague promises of change and anti-Free Trade sentiment, the Liberal's quickly dropped their proposals like renegotiating NAFTA and made their true colours clear to all by shifting attention towards balancing the budget -- ie. paying back the big capitalist creditors. Still in their honeymoon period, the Liberal's announced that all of Canada's social programs would be reviewed with sweeping and significant changes likely to come. Cut backs would be deep.

Call-out to the second-annual YCL-LJC student conference

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Open only to members of the YCL-LJC or by invitation

1. We believe in the principle that the student movement is one of the most radical, dynamic and progressive forces for change in society and the future.

2. The uprisings of students in the Middle East and North Africa, the brave united battles of the Chilean students, and the massive struggle in Quebec last winter and spring have shown the validity of the optimistic claim that the young people, united with the working class, are continuously an important catalytic force for social transformation, overthrow and revolution.

3. At the same time, new, contradictory and even confusing developments are taking place internationally and locally. We believe that the student movements in Quebec and English-speaking Canada are at a difficult but significant and even historic juncture.  At stake is our basic access to education.

On the Jan. 27 Federal Budget - People's Voice commentary

January 28, 2009


The political mindset has changed in Ottawa since last fall, but not nearly as much as most analysts of the Jan. 27 federal budget suggest.

This is not surprising, since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's "budget consultations" were conducted almost exclusively with big business and right-wing think tanks. As the global economic crisis deepens, this budget prioritizes bail-outs for the banks and other lenders, and tax hand-outs to business, while ignoring the urgent needs of workers and the unemployed – further proof that the Harper minority government remains a trusted tool of the ruling class and a bitter enemy of working people across Canada. More than ever, a massive struggle by the working class and other democratic forces is needed to drive the Tories out of office.