The 2016 federal budget proposes to make good on the slew of Liberal election promises that resulted in a Liberal majority last fall. Fed up with the Tories, Canadians chose the Liberals as the preferred vehicle to drive the Tories out and move the country away from a decade of austerity, war and corruption, to the ‘sunny ways’ agenda of promised jobs, prosperity, democracy, and action on climate change.
Aboriginal and Indigenous peoples struggles
IWD 2016 Greetings – Harper’s gone, but the struggle for equality continues
This March 8, International Women’s Day, is time to celebrate our history of struggle for equality, and to unite in action for a better and more just world. In Canada we celebrate the defeat of the anti-women Harper Tories, who shut down virtually every federal agency or service which supported women’s equality, closed Status of Women Canada offices, eliminated funding of women’s organizations which engage in advocacy, passed Bill C-36 (which endangers the lives of sex workers) and blocked legal avenues to fight for pay equity.
CPC Central Committee launches 38th Central Convention discussion, stop TPP campaign
Big challenges were on the table for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada, when it met Jan. 30-31 to launch preparations for the party’s upcoming 38th Central Convention in Toronto. The centrepiece of the meeting was the Draft Political Resolution for the May 21-23 convention, a document which will be debated by members at club meetings and provincial gatherings over the next three months.
Reconciliation means acknowledging genocide and taking action to end colonialism
Resolution adopted by the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, June 13-14, 2015, Toronto
The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission chaired by Justice Murray Sinclair is an important milestone in the struggle to achieve reconciliation and to overcome the legacy of racist colonial policies imposed upon Aboriginal peoples by the European imperialist powers and later by the Canadian capitalist state. The Communist Party of Canada welcomes the TRC report and pledges our support for its 94 recommendations, which would be a significant step towards full equality, and social justice for Aboriginal peoples. We also express full support for demands to extend the truth and reconciliation process to include the impact of the “day schools” attended by thousands of Metis and First Nations children.
As the summary report of the TRC states:
For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide.”
This conclusion is firmly based on the facts and on international law, which recognizes several categories of genocide, including the mass killing of members of a targeted group (physical genocide); and destruction of structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group (cultural genocide).
Confronting racism and facism
Seemingly unconnected events sometimes reveal patterns which are not immediately obvious. One such pattern is the re-emergence of racist and fascist ideas which had been consigned to history.
South of the border, the mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston – the historic church of slave revolt hero Denmark Vesey – was not the act of a disturbed individual. The killer openly upheld the centuries-long “tradition” of white supremacy, which includes countless murders, rapes, lynchings and police killings against Black Americans. The Civil War victory over the southern slavocrats was not enough to root out their inhuman ideology, which survives in a modern United States where corporate profits are boosted by the exploitation and oppression of racialized minorities.
Empowering women, empowering humanity
IWD 2015 greetings from the Communist Party of Canada
March 8, International Women’s Day, is a time to celebrate our historic struggles for equality, and to unite around today’s challenges. On IWD 2015, the Communist Party of Canada extends our warm solidarity to all who stand for peace, equality, democracy and social progress.
In September 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. 30,000 activists held a parallel Forum, while government representatives from 189 countries hammered out the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Despite its shortcomings, the document was amazingly comprehensive, covering women and the environment, economy, education, health, armed conflict, and much more.
Émancipation des femmes, émancipation de l’humanité
Salutations du Parti communiste du Canada à l’occasion de la JIF 2015.
Le 8 mars, Journée internationale des femmes, est une occasion de célébrer nos luttes historiques pour l’égalité et de s’unir pour relever les défis d’aujourd’hui. À l’occasion de la JIF 2015, le Parti communiste du Canada exprime sa solidarité la plus chaleureuse envers toutes celles et ceux qui se dressent en faveur de la paix, l’égalité, la démocratie et le progrès social.
En Septembre 1995, la quatrième Conférence mondiale sur les femmes s’est tenue à Beijing. 30 000 militantes avaient organisé un Forum parallèle, tandis que les représentantes des gouvernements de 189 pays élaboraient la Déclaration de Beijing et le Programme d’action. Malgré ses lacunes, le document était étonnamment complet, couvrant les femmes et l’environnement, l’économie, l’éducation, la santé, les conflits armés, et bien plus encore.
Communist Party welcomes Tsilhqot’in land title victory
The Communist Party of Canada welcomes yesterday’s historic Supreme Court of Canada ruling, which upheld the Tsilhqot’in people’s title over their traditional territories.
This 25-year legal case arose from an attempt to conduct commercial logging on Tsilhqot’in lands without consent from the First Nation, which is among many in British Columbia which never ceded ownership of their territories since the arrival of the European colonisers. In fact, the Tsilhqot’in courageously maintained their rights since the beginnings of the occupation, despite the murder of six of their chiefs by the British colonizers in 1864. We salute the Tsilhqot’in for their generations of struggle and resistance, in the face of enormous obstacles.
As the Supreme Court recognized, the principles in this case have very wide implications for the recognition and affirmation of Aboriginal rights across Canada.
Solidarity with Elsipogtog!
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.
No to “Values Charter”
No to Divisions! Yes to working class unity!
Debates are raging in Québec over the “Charter of Québec Values” which the Parti Québécois government officially made public on Sept. 10, but whose content had been published for the most part by the media several days previously.
In all likelihood, the government itself orchestrated these leaks in the media, to evaluate the impact that the project would have with the electorate. Last May, the Government conducted a survey which showed the support of a majority of citizens for a framework of “reasonable accommodations”. On that occasion, the minister responsible, Bernard Drainville, announced that the “secular charter” promised during the previous election campaign would instead become one of “Québec values.”
Essentially, the project contains five propositions revolving around two principal aspects: the establishment of tags to manage requests for religious accommodations and, secondly, the declaration of neutrality of the State, in particular prohibiting all public employees from wearing “ostentatious” religious symbols.
In the latter case, it is proposed to allow CEGEPS, universities, health and social service establishments and municipalities to be exempt from this ban during a transitional period of two five-year terms. However, this aspect remains by far the most controversial because it violates fundamental rights.