Civil and Democratic rights

Unite against Harper’s politics of fear

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In the wake of the violent events in Ottawa and Quebec last month, the Communist Party of Canada warned against attempts to use such incidents to impose new restriction on civil liberties and democratic freedoms. The Harper government is clearly adopting such a strategy, in an effort to intimidate Canadians against expressing criticism of Conservative policies, by expanding the frightening scale of mass surveillance of the activities and communications of the people of this country. We join with many others to warn that this trend towards police state tactics will have dangerous consequences for democracy and freedom.

Instead of adopting an “evidence based approach” to dealing with violent crime, the Harper government is engaged in a blatant attempt to frighten Canadians into silence. The Conservatives strategy is to use various hot-button issues to head off serious debates, such as their claim that terrorist threats pose a mortal danger to the entire country, or that “cyber-bullying” can only be stopped by giving police sweeping new powers to monitor virtually all online communications.

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Defend civil liberties and democratic freedoms

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The Communist Party of Canada warns against the attempt by the federal Conservative government to use the recent events in Ottawa and St‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu as justification to restrict civil liberties and democratic freedoms. Even before these unconnected incidents the government had been preparing new so‑called “anti‑terrorism” legislation to expand the legal scope for CSIS and other security agencies to spy on the activities and communications of Canadians, and to allow “disruption” tactics – a euphemism for the authority to arrest anyone considered a potential threat, even those who have not engaged in any illegal activity. This chilling legislation will be brought before Parliament shortly, perhaps in an even more draconian form.

Ever since taking office, the Harper Conservatives have directed state security agencies to profile and focus on those they consider “enemies”, such as environmentalists opposed to the expansion of the tarsands and hydraulic fracking, Aboriginal movements which resist the destruction of their traditional territories by governments and resource corporations, or groups CSIS vaguely labels “multi‑issue extremists”. CSIS already operates beyond the reach of Parliament and exists to suppress political dissent. The expansion of police state powers will accelerate this drive to label Canadians as “potential terrorists,” creating a basis for even more severe police spying and repression against, the labour and democratic movements and grassroots opposition forces.

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The continuing attack on democratic and civil rights must be reversed

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The Communist Party of Canada’s Central Committee calls for democratic‑minded people to join in the condemnation of Montréal municipal bylaw P‑6 and support the ongoing court challenge against this law. Montréal is on the front line of a much broader, reactionary attack on democratic and civil rights which must be reversed.

Bylaw P‑6 was created during, and in response to, the Québec student strike of 2012. Refusing to negotiate in good faith, and responding to the outpouring of public support, the provincial Charest Liberal government imposed draconian legislation under the title of Bill 78 which grossly violated civil and democratic rights by effectively outlawing all student protest and blocking any attempt of solidarity actions by the labour movement.

It is well known that this tactic further discredited the Charest Liberals. Public pressure helped trigger an election in which the Liberals were defeated, and the new minority Parti Québecois government struck Bill 78 from the books.

What is not well know is that on the municipal level, both Montréal and Québec City either adapted or adopted city bylaws mirroring Bill 78 ‑ and that these were never struck from the books.

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TFWP “reforms” leave cheap labour strategy intact

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After a series of revelations about abuses of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), the Harper Conservatives have announced so-called “sweeping changes”. Their political aim is to prevent this scandal from becoming a major issue in the 2015 federal election, without reversing the cheap labour strategy demanded by big capital.

Canada needs policies to put people’s needs ahead of corporate greed. Instead, the Harper government uses temporary foreign workers as part of the drive against job and income security for working people. This includes the expanding use of casualized, temporary, non-union workers, paid minimum wages and without benefits. The drive to reduce labour costs and attain a flexible work force is creating a brutal system of modern capitalist slavery, a system which generates, and feeds off, a huge pool of working poor.

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Celebrate the summer of World Pride!

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Pride 2014 Statement from the Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League

The Pride 2014 summer season is here, including World Pride in Toronto and hundreds of events in cities and towns right across Canada! This is a time to celebrate the gains by LGBTTQ+ communities, and to reflect on the challenges we still face. The past year has seen some remarkable victories, but also ominous signals of a dangerous pushback from anti‑equality forces.. More and more countries are recognizing same‑sex marriage and other fundamental LGBTTQ+ rights. In Canada, the struggle to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender expression/identity has seen new progress.
The latest major victory was the adoption of an updated LGBTTQ+ policy by the Vancouver School Board, after a vitriolic hate campaign was defeated by VSB trustees and the new, broad‑based BC Safer Schools Coalition.
The continued expansion of queer‑positive environments in the popular media, the labour movement and other areas of society is particularly significant. In the arena of professional sports, the coming out by Michael Sam, drafted by the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, and the overwhelming rejection of a few bigoted reactions, signals that yet another barrier is being shattered. The many legal, political and cultural victories of recent years are the hard‑won results of decades of efforts by the LGBTTQ+ community and our allies.

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Harper should apologize to people of Canada

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At a May 30 dinner in Toronto hosted by far right political activists, Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched a vicious Cold War style attack against communism. The Communist Party of Canada condemns Mr. Harper’s lies and baseless accusations. His slanderous speech aimed to build support for the growing NATO military build-up against Russia, and to create the political conditions for accelerating the wide ranging Conservative attack on the trade union movement and democratic rights and freedoms in Canada. We call upon all Canadians to reject the Prime Minister’s anti-communist rhetoric, and to rally in defence of peace, democracy, labour rights and civil liberties.

Mr. Harper spoke at a fundraising event held by the so called “Tribute to Liberty” organization. The Conservative party’s support for this group goes back years, to the start of their campaign to erect a “monument to the victims of communism” in the National Capital Commission area of Ottawa. Unable to raise sufficient funds privately, the group will be given millions of taxpayer dollars by the Conservative government for their highly political project, in violation of the principles of the NCC.

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Bill C-23 Must Not Pass – Joint Statement of 11 Parties

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Ottawa – April 11, 2014 – Registered political parties currently without representation in the House of Commons met in Ottawa to consider Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to certain Acts. The parties listed below agreed to issue the following statement. These parties are also concerned about many provisions in Bill C-23 aside from those outlined in the statement and they encourage the media to contact them individually.

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The Conservative Party of Canada, overseen by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is hoping to steal the next federal election. Bill C-23, the so-called Fair Elections Act, is their game plan. We are working together to stop the Conservatives, and to protect every Canadian’s right to vote in a fair and honest election that is free of voter suppression schemes, of election fraud, of the denial of fundamental rights, and all watched over by an independent and effective Elections Canada.

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Withdraw the “Fair Elections Act” Now!

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Stop the Attack on Democracy!

Demand C-23 be Withdrawn Now!

The Communist Party of Canada joins with other federally-registered political parties, labour and community organizations, and hundreds of Canadian and international constitutional experts and scholars in condemning the anti-democratic character of the so-called Fair Elections Act (C-23) and demanding its immediate withdrawal. We urge all democratically-minded Canadians, unions and people’s organizations to act now to defeat this legislation.

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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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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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