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IWD 2014: “Equality for Women is Progress for All”

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For over a century, March 8 has been the international day to honour the women in all countries who strive to achieve full equality. On IWD 2014, the Communist Party of Canada sends our warmest greetings to all women in the fight against poverty, austerity, violence, misogyny and war. As the United Nations has declared for this year’s IWD, “equality for women is progress for all.”

Here, the ruling class claims that Canada is a country of equality, fairness and social justice. Yet recent years have seen huge struggles around issues such as access to education, pay equity, union rights, jobs, devastation of the environment, deportations of migrants. Women have played a leading role in the Quebec student strike, the Idle No More movement, grassroots environmental struggles, and defence of labour and social rights.

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Joint International Statement on the reactionary developments in Ukraine

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The Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada agreed to sign the following Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties on the recent developments in Ukraine.

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The recent dramatic developments in Ukraine do not constitute the “victory of democracy” by the alleged “revolutionaries”, as it is being described by the mass media of the USA and the EU, but is a dangerous development, above all for the people of Ukraine themselves.

Reactionary political forces, ideological descendents of the Nazis, have risen to the political “surface” with the assistance of the EU and the USA. These are forces which apart from destroying the offices of their opponents, are planning political persecutions, and the banning of parties, above all against the communists, and even racist legislation at the expense of the Russian-speaking population, like what has been in force for the last 20 years in the countries of the “European” Baltic, with the blatant political support of the EU.

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Hands Off Syria: Keep up anti-war actions!

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Syria: The Ongoing Imperialist Drive to War and the Need for Anti-war Mobilizing The imperialist drive to launch a military attack on Syria, which was rapidly accelerating only weeks ago, has been temporarily forced back. This is a victory for the forces of peace and solidarity, but the danger of escalation and direct intervention remain very … Read more

B.C. Communists slam ferry service cuts

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“The decision by the British Columbia Liberal government and the BC Ferry Corp. to slash services on many so‑called `minor routes’, and to eliminate free sailings during Monday to Thursday each week for seniors, will cause enormous hardships to the people of this province, while bringing paltry benefits to taxpayers. In fact, these cutbacks will likely create economic losses far outweighing the supposed savings which are the justification for this announcement.

“We join with groups and individuals across British Columbia demanding the cancellation of these changes. In our view, the coastal and inland ferry system of BC must be treated as an extension of the highway system, i.e. as an essential public service for the people of this province, not as a `for sale’ operation geared to squeeze a profit out of each route.

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We stood with Mandela in the struggle to defeat apartheid

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The death of Nelson Mandela on December 5 marked the loss of an outstanding leader in the struggle for human liberation. But for millions of people around the world, it was also an occasion to celebrate Mandela’s remarkable contributions.

Many political activists who came into the Communist Party of Canada and other progressive movements during the past half century or more were dedicated supporters of the anti-apartheid struggle led by the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe, the South African Communist Party, COSATU, and other organizations.

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Communist Party Condemns Attack on Canada Post

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The Communist Party of Canada joins with the labour movement and its community allies in condemning the federal government’s unilateral decision to eliminate home delivery, raise postal rates, and cut thousands of jobs. While the “restructuring” announcement was made by Canada Post Corporation, these measures are orchestrated by the Harper Tories, as part of their overall agenda to privatize public services and to attack the rights and interests of organized workers.

If implemented, these changes would make Canada the first country in the world to completely replace door‑to‑door delivery of urban mail with the “community mail boxes” which were imposed despite major opposition in rural areas across the country. Those negatively affected will include huge numbers of pensioners and people with disabilities who will find it much more difficult to get their mail on a regular basis. The reduction of service levels and staggering price increases to begin next March will also devastate thousands of small businesses and charities which rely heavily on lettermail to maintain contact with customers and pay their bills. The bland reassurances of Canada Post and Harper government cabinet ministers that these are “minor problems” ring completely hollow.

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15th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties

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The 15th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties took place from Nov. 8-10, 2013 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Communist Party of Canada was represented by Elizabeth Rowley, member of the Central Executive Committee and Ontario Provincial Leader.  Elizabeth presented the following intervention from the Communist Party of Canada.

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 It is a great honour and a privilege to speak from a platform in the homeland of the great Communist internationalist and theorist Comrade Alvaro Cunhal. Would that he were with us now to give us his thinking on the very difficult problems facing the international working class and the Communist and Workers’ Parties today. No doubt he would counsel unity of the international Communist movement as an essential ingredient in the struggle against imperialism, war and reaction, and for social advance and socialism.

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Down with the Omnibus Bill C-4!

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The Communist Party of Canada strongly condemns the new omnibus Bill C‑4 to implement elements of the March 2013 Conservative budget, changing many laws and containing an array of measures, including a fierce attack against the right to strike in the public service.

In particular, this bill now gives the government, as an employer, the exclusive right to determine which services, facilities or activities of the State it considers essential, depriving public employees of their right to strike. Currently, the determination of essential services is the result of negotiation between the employer and the union.

In addition, the bill provides that where the employer has said that at least 80% of positions are essential, the right to strike will be completely abolished and the dispute must be referred to arbitration. However, when the employer considers that less than 80% of services are essential, the employer will have a veto over the arbitration. The bill also provides that the arbitrator shall be required to place a preponderance of weight to employer demands.

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No to Harper’s attack against the right to self-determination of Quebec!

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 The Communist Party of Canada strongly denounces the decision of the federal Conservative government to deny the right to self‑determination of the people of Québec, by intervening before the Québec Superior Court in support of the legal challenge to Bill 99 initiated by the former head of the Equality Party, Keith Henderson.

Bill 99 was adopted in 2000 in response to the federal government’s “Clarity Act,” which imposes the burden of more than a simple majority in response to a question deemed “clear” by the federal government, in order for Québec to be able to declare sovereignty. The “Clarity Act” is in fact an outright denial of the right to self‑determination of Québec.

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Solidarity with Elsipogtog!

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People’s Voice newspaper commentary

The shocking attack on Oct. 17 by RCMP officers against anti-fracking protesters in New Brunswick sends a clear signal that the Canadian state and the Harper Conservative government want to smash the growing resistance by Aboriginal peoples, environmentalists and other forces which oppose the destructive profiteering of transnational energy monopolies, such as the Houston-based Southwest Energy company (SWN).

People’s Voice and the Communist Party of Canada join with all democratic and progressive people in condemning this brutal police violence. The Oct. 21 decision by the Court of Queen’s Bench to lift SWN’s injunction, which had been filed to end the blockade protecting Mi’kmaq traditional territory from fracking, is a major victory, and makes clear that the RCMP attack was completely unjustified.

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