Capitalism is destroying the planet – the alternative is socialism
The Communist Party of Canada welcomes the historic global mobilization on Sept. 15 to 17, to demand a rapid, just, and equitable end to fossil fuels. Our members will be in the streets across Canada, and we urge full support for this student-driven campaign, before world leaders attend the UN Climate Ambition Summit starting on Sept. 17 in New York.
The Communist Party of Canada welcomes today’s Federal Court of Appeal ruling which overturns the federal government’s approvals to build the Trans Mountain expansion project. This decision builds upon decades of legal and political struggles by Indigenous peoples in British Columbia and across Canada; it is truly a historic victory over the resource extraction corporations and other capitalist interests which have dominated this country since Confederation, and going back to the time of European colonization.
The federal Liberal government’s $4.5 billion purchase of the TransMountain pipeline expansion project is a bonanza for Kinder Morgan shareholders, but a disaster for Indigenous peoples, the environment, and communities along the pipeline route. The Communist Party of Canada calls on Parliament to reject this dangerous sellout, and instead to move away from reliance on extraction and export of raw materials, towards energy and resource policies that protect the interests of people and the environment, and respect Canada’s commitments to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Paris Agreement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the 2015 election largely by pledging to take a different course than the Harper Conservatives on many key issues. This included his call for a new nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples, full acceptance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and promises to act on all the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). If these promises had actually been carried out, this would have meant a sharp break with the historic policies of both the Liberal and Conservative parties, which have always imposed various forms of colonial, assimilationist and genocidal policies upon the Indigenous peoples within the borders of the Canadian state.
The Federal Liberals’ support for the Trans Mountain pipeline makes a mockery of any promise to give Indigenous peoples the veto on developments affecting them, and to recognize Indigenous sovereignty while also trashing commitments on climate change. The difference between Tory all-out support for all pipelines, up to and including climate change denial, and Liberal support for some pipelines, despite their intended reform of the environmental review process, is at best stylistic. There is no difference of substance.
Statement on the U.S. election, Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada, Nov. 10, 2016
The election of Donald Trump marks an extremely dangerous shift, that threatens peace, democracy and sovereignty abroad, and labour, civil, social, and equality rights in the U.S. As the de facto leader of a fascist movement, Trump has been compared to Silvio Berlusconi, the fascist leader of the Italian People of Freedom Party. The Republicans now control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the executive branch, with power to make crucial appointments to the Supreme Court.
Déclaration sur les élections américaines, Comité exécutif central, Parti communiste du Canada, 10 novembre 2016
L’élection de Donald Trump marque un changement extrêmement dangereux qui menace la paix, la démocratie et la souveraineté à l’extérieur des États-Unis, et les droits civils et sociaux, ainsi que le droit à l’égalité aux États-Unis mêmes. En tant que chef de facto d’un mouvement fasciste, Trump a été comparé à Silvio Berlusconi, le dirigeant fasciste du parti italien Le peuple de la liberté. Les Républicains contrôlent maintenant la Chambre des représentants, le Sénat et le pouvoir exécutif, avec le pouvoir de faire des nominations cruciales à la Cour suprême.
Our 38th Central Convention meets at a moment of escalating danger, from increasing war, environmental crisis and economic decay. As the systemic crisis of capitalism continues to deepen, and the effects of the 2008 economic meltdown continue to be felt, imperialist states and organizations are becoming increasingly aggressive. The standoff between nuclear armed states in Ukraine and the expanding war in Syria are powderkegs that threaten disaster. Millions upon millions of people in all parts of the world are being forced into poverty, hunger, homelessness and displacement.
But this is also a moment of rising working class and popular resistance. In all countries, albeit unevenly and with different characteristics, we see increased unity and mobilization. From online campaigns to mass demonstrations, general strikes, and political actions, people are using many different vehicles to advance these struggles. This is also expressed by the rising popularity of so-called democratic socialism, with all its contradictions, which is examined in detail in this report.
In Canada, the electoral defeat of the Conservatives in October 2015 represents a significant victory for the working class, Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, women, LGBTiQ communities, youth and students. While the victory of the Liberal party does not represent a break from the reactionary policies that are characteristic of the Canadian state, through a united, conscious political and organizational struggle we can open new space and possibilities in the fight for peace and disarmament, for immediate action to combat climate change, and for social equity and social justice. These advances can be realized – and can become concrete steps toward more fundamental change.
The 38th Central Convention of our Party follows a major political upheaval in the recent federal election, and a new escalation of the global economic crisis which emerged in 2007-08. Initially, the Canadian economy was buffered to some degree by exports of fossil fuels and other natural resources, and because Canada’s megabanks were somewhat less exposed to the collapse in value of leveraged (re-packaged) debt. Now, the dramatic collapse in energy prices and the Canadian dollar are causing new job losses and rapid increases in the cost of imported products. The working class is paying a heavy cost for the turmoil of the capitalist system.
Labour Day 2016 statement from the Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada
Coming almost a year after the defeat of one of the most dangerously reactionary governments in Canadian history, Labour Day 2016 is an important point for the organized trade union movement to respond to challenges facing the working class in the changed political environment – and most importantly, to mobilize against the continued neoliberal austerity policies of governments and corporations.