(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

(On Jan. 24, the Central Executive  of the Communist Party met to prepare this preliminary statement on the outcome of the federal election. Further analysis will come in future issues.)

     While the Conservative push for a ruling majority was thwarted, Stephen Harper and his right‑wing party managed to fashion gains at the polls on Jan. 23 mostly at the expense of the Liberals, winning 124 (of 308 seats) in Parliament.

     Even though the Tories fell far short of the outright victory they had sought, there should be no underestimation of the harm that could result under a Harper minority government. The challenge now for the labour, peace, equity and social justice movements will be to strengthen mass extra‑parliamentary resistance to prevent the Tories from implementing their reactionary agenda, and to bring down the government at the earliest opportunity.

     The Conservatives' tightly‑scripted and heavily‑financed campaign focused almost entirely on whipping up public anger at the ruling Liberals over the sponsorship scandal, while presenting themselves as the only alternative for "change" in government. They cynically misrepresented their positions on Medicare, education, Canada‑US relations and many other issues to obscure and conceal their reactionary, pro‑war agenda. For the most part, they managed to gag their more imprudent, red‑neck backbenchers from spewing racist, anti‑women, Christian fundamentalist diatribes.

     The Tories' deceptive strategy was aided and abetted by the corporate‑controlled media, which often behaved more like cheerleaders than journalists. This reflected the strong desire of most sections of monopoly finance capital in Canada to replace with discredited Liberals with a Conservative majority.

     In the final analysis, however, this strategy failed to deceive most voters, who remained justifiably wary of Tories' hidden agenda. The Conservatives took only 36.5% of the popular vote (23.5% of registered voters), a clear repudiation of Mr. Harper's' claim on election night that his party had received a clear mandate from the Canadian people. Even though the balance of forces on Parliament Hill has tilted to the right, the election results did not signal any rightward shift in the thinking of most electors.

     The Harper Tories will have to manoeuvre carefully to avoid a political show‑down that could bring about an early defeat in a non‑confidence vote, but this does not mean they will abandon their right‑wing program. As our Party said during the campaign: "the election of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives would be a major setback for the working class in Canada ... Even a minority Tory government would move quickly to accelerate the dismantling and privatization of the health care system and other social programs and services. They would speed up economic integration and structural `harmonization' with the U.S., and tie Canada even closer to Washington's aggressive imperialist drive global domination."

     It is highly unlikely that Harper will be able to secure a comprehensive agreement with any of the three opposition parties to achieve a stable governing majority. Instead, the Conservatives will likely move to implement their program in a piecemeal fashion, gaining support from various sections of the 'opposition' for different planks in their reactionary legislative agenda. For instance, they may count on some Liberal Party support for their plans to significantly increase military spending, and for accelerating "deep integration" initiatives with U.S. imperialism. They may cut a deal with the Bloc Québecois to weaken federal powers by transferring or "downloading" federal services and tax points to the provinces, so long as this satisfies the BQ's objective of gaining more powers for Quebec.

     Harper's pledge to effectively scuttle plans for a universal, publicly financed childcare program (replaced by a taxable allowance of $100 per month), and lingering Tory threats to reopen Parliamentary debate on reproductive rights, same‑sex marriage and other social and equality issues are deeply disturbing, especially for women. There will be even fewer women MPs in the new House to defend women's rights and interests, a stinging indictment of the current electoral system, and another argument in favour of some form of proportional representation, under which the participation and election of women would surely increase.

     The Tories can also inflict great damage in such areas as government infrastructure, judicial and Senate appointments, and on "state security", foreign and defence policy issues, which require neither federal‑provincial nor Parliamentary approval.

     Jack Layton and the NDP come out of this election with some gains in popular vote, and a 29‑seat caucus, a gain of 10 seats. These advances have raised expectations in the labour and social movements that the NDP is better situated within Parliament to fight the expected onslaught from the Harper Tories. But there is growing concern about whether the NDP leadership is prepared to play such a combative role, given its opportunist shift during the campaign on a number of key issues: its rather feeble opposition to the proliferation of private health clinics ‑ the material basis for the transformation to two‑tiered healthcare; its promise to freeze rather than increase taxes on corporations and the wealthy; its support of the chauvinist Clarity Act, the main aim of which is to deny Quebec's right to self‑determination; and its pandering to the right populist campaign to "get tough" on gun violence and youth crime.

     The Greens gained some votes in this election, but the lack of proportional representation again kept them out of Parliament.

     The Communist Party's own electoral campaign registered a modest improvement in the average vote among our 21 candidates, despite the highly polarized character of the election and the backward, undemocratic first‑past‑the‑post electoral system. The campaign raised the visibility of the Party through increased coverage in the media, at all‑candidates meetings, and on thousands of doorsteps. It is particularly significant that our party website received almost 100,000 visits (more than 4.2 million hits) during the campaign. Many more working and progressive‑minded people, especially youth, are interested and attracted to our policies and socialist perspective.

     The overall political situation coming out of this election will be marked by a great deal of volatility, with significant dangers from the Right. The labour and people's movements will be challenged more than ever to mobilize outside of Parliament to oppose right‑wing efforts to gut Medicare, education, pensions an other social programs and services, to attack labour and democratic rights, and to align Canada even more closely with U.S. imperialism. The first opportunity to hit the streets against this agenda comes on March 18, when anti‑war demonstrations take place in many Canadian cities and towns as part of a global day of peace action.

     The Communist Party and its members will be called upon to redouble our efforts to build the broadest possible resistance to the Tory/corporate agenda, to blunt and defeat its offensive, and send the Tories packing.

Communist support grows in campaign

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

PV Vancouver Bureau

     The Communist Party of Canada achieved the goals it set at the start of the federal election campaign: to bring wide attention to the "people's alternative" policies advocated by the CPC, and to win new members and supporters for the party. In its main election statement, the CPC also stressed that voters should deny a majority to either big business party, and the final results reflect that position.

     During the course of the campaign, the Communist Party website received a record four million hits, as hundreds of thousands of Canadians looked for information on the CPC platform and candidates. Despite wretched winter weather in many parts of the country, some 75,000 election flyers were distributed to voters, along with thousands of copies of People's Voice.

     Communist candidates spoke at dozens of all-candidate forums and other events, although discrimination against smaller parties prevented such participation in some cases.

     Just as important, the party's intense efforts to break through the media blackout had some limited success. While the biggest corporate media in Vancouver and Toronto resisted any mention of the Communist candidates, there was much improved coverage in smaller centres. This was particularly true in cities such as Saskatoon and Guelph, where Sonje Kristtorn and Scott Gilbert respectively were the first Communists on the ballot for many years. CPC leader Miguel Figueroa averaged several interviews a day during his January tour to nearly every city where the party was on the ballot.

     In some cases, the CPC was able to mount a visible street presence, with remarkably positive results. Teams of supporters hit the streets of Vancouver Kingsway each Saturday, waving signs and handing out leaflets with candidate Kimball Cariou. Many of these volunteers were non-members, taking part in a Communist campaign for the first time, a pattern repeated in other ridings.

     As expected, the vote for Communist candidates remained low, in large part due to the determination of progressive Canadians to block the big business parties. But the average vote for the 21 CPC candidates did increase, rising from 126 in the 2004 campaign to 149 on January 23. The highest Communist vote was for Bob Mann, a long-time and highly respected labour activist who totalled 365 in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek.

     There was also a sharp increase in requests for information and membership in the Communist Party. CPC webmaster George Gidora reported that after weeding out pranksters, at least 75 applications for membership had been received by email. All in all, it appears that the Communist Party will come out of this election with more members and more support, ready to take on the Harper Conservatives in the political struggles which lie ahead.

The following editorial is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

People's Voice Editorial, Feb. 1-14, 2006

     Stephen Harper has won the most seats in Parliament, but he becomes Prime Minister with one of the lowest levels of popular support in Canadian history, a mere 36.3%.

     Contrary to bogus fundamentalist claims, most Canadians voted for parties which refuse to wipe out equality gains won by women and the LGBT community. The Conservative minority has no mandate to reverse these gains, although Harper may try to change the composition of the Supreme Court to set the stage for such a scenario.

     Similarly, most Canadians voted for parties which opposed the war in Iraq. Even Harper had to cover up his real views on this subject. There is no mandate for Canadian military participation in further US wars of aggression.

     Most voters supported parties which defended universal Medicare and advocated (under pressure, in the case of the Liberals) some expansion of social programs, such as child care. Mr. Harper will try to drive his child tax credit through Parliament, and he will refuse to protect Medicare from the two-tier systems being pushed by right-wing provincial governments. But he will be acting contrary to the wishes of Canadian voters.

     Using lies and subterfuge, Mr. Harper has taken advantage of Liberal corruption to become Prime Minister. But he has no mandate to destroy decades of hard-won social advances. The working class and democratic movements must shout this truth loud and clear. The task now is to pressure the opposition parties to resist the corporate-Conservative attack in Parliament, and to mobilize working people against the Harper government's impending assault.

(The following editorial is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

People's Voice Editorial, Feb. 1-14, 2006

     Stephen Harper's Conservatives won only 36.3% of the vote on Jan. 23, in an election with a 65% turnout. This adds up to just 23.6% of eligible Canadian voters - hardly a sweeping endorsation. Almost 63% of ballots were cast for parties which (aside from a handful of Liberal candidates) support the equality rights won in recent years. That works out to 41% of all eligible voters.

     Clearly, a strong majority of Canadian voters rejected the right-wing "family values" agenda. And yet, the outcome is being hailed as a "tremendous victory" by fundamentalist groups which backed the Conservatives while the corporate media looked the other way.

     For example, Charles McVety, President of the Canada Family Action Coalition, stated that "Tonight we have witnessed a tremendous victory for families nationwide. The people of Canada have rejected the extremism of redefining marriage, and the plans to legalize prostitution, marijuana and euthanasia."

     Among these wild exaggerations, McVety left out any reference to one of the key goals of the fundamentalist movement: the push to remove women's reproductive rights.

     McVety went on to claim that "This election has demonstrated the resolve of mainstream Canadians to respond to the attacks and not allow extremists to take over the country. However it is disappointing to see that fear mongering has scared Torontonians away from change."

     In fact, not a single Conservative was elected in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver. Given the long-term urbanization of the population, which usually finds reflection in stronger support for equality rights, Harper's minority government may be the far right's last real chance to roll back the clock. But it's hard to see where the votes will come in Parliament for legislative action to remove equal marriage or women's reproductive rights. We should not let the bigots go on the political offensive claiming that they "won" this election.

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

     The Canadian Autoworkers Union (CAW) has called Ford's Jan. 23 announcement of up to 30,000 job cuts in North America, and up to 14 plant closures, "a shocking, painful blow that will shake the foundations of the whole North American auto industry."

     A mainstay of the North American auto sector and of Canada's industrial economy, Ford employs some 12,000 Canadians directly. Tens of thousands more rely on employment generated through Ford's purchases and investments, making the downsizing a devastating event for many communities.

     Ford announced the closure of its Windsor castings plant, and other job reductions in Windsor. Noting that these "were anticipated in the 2005 collective agreement negotiated last September between Ford and the CAW," the union expects that with transitional measures and voluntary severance benefits contained in that contract, the 1100 jobs affected "can be offset through attrition and relocation." According to the union, "Ford remains committed to a new engine project for Windsor."

     More surprising, says the CAW, "was Ford's announcement of the elimination of one shift of production at St. Thomas in 2007, at a cost of some 1200 jobs. This is a very negative and surprising development. It is a direct result of the decline in Ford's share of the North American new vehicle market, and the aging nature of the product produced at St. Thomas. The only positive news is that Ford remains committed to the $200 million investment in updating the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis in St. Thomas." The union says it will "work strenuously with company and government officials to maintain the operation of the second shift at St. Thomas for as long as is possible, to negotiate equitable severance and adjustment provisions, and to eventually win Ford's commitment to new investments and product allocations that will support the re‑hiring of the second shift, and the long‑run survival of the whole plant."

     However, the future of the St. Thomas assembly plant is in jeopardy, affecting almost 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. Paul Martin had offered financial incentives towards new investments at St. Thomas, but this election ploy is now history.

     The union says it is "heartened" that Ford has committed to move ahead with its Centennial redevelopment in Oakville, "which will position that facility as a centrepiece of its restructured North American manufacturing operations." The federal and Ontario governments have poured some $200 million into this billion-dollar investment, which the union hopes will offset some of the job losses in Windsor and St. Thomas. The CAW response praises the federal and Ontario governments for their "foresight" in "leveraging Ford's commitment to Oakville."

     The Jan. 23 announcement, the union says, "is ultimately the result of the continuing conquest of the North American vehicle market by offshore producers - whose commitment to North American jobs is spotty, at best. Over 20 percent of North American vehicle sales are captured by offshore imports (not counting transplant production within North America by offshore‑based companies). Yet North American producers are unable to export any significant quantities of finished vehicles outside of this continent at all, thanks to Asian countries' protective foreign trade policies. This is a completely one‑sided, unsustainable trade relationship: North American workers get all the downside of globalization, and none of the upside.

     "Announcements like today's restructuring from Ford, and the previous production cutbacks announced by General Motors, are also devastating for the Canadian auto parts industry. The Big Three account for 85 percent of all Canadian auto parts sales. Rising import penetration and repeated cutbacks by North American producers inevitably result in cutbacks, losses, and eventually plant closures at scores of Canadian parts plants. For their sake, too, it is essential that government correct the imbalances in international auto trade that are the crucial source of the troubles at Ford and GM."

     The CAW goes on to demand "a new North American Auto Pact, one that would require offshore companies to buy as much from us as they sell to us." It warns that proposals to negotiate free trade agreements with Korea will only make matters worse for North American autoworkers, calling instead for "fair trade deals that require a two‑way commitment to trade, investment, and jobs."

     "Without addressing this fundamental, ongoing catastrophe in our automotive trade," says the CAW, "then even a restructuring as dramatic as the one today can never save Ford. These cuts will barely offset the lost sales that Ford has already endured, thanks to the one‑way flood of imports. A company cannot cut its way to prosperity, so long as the fundamental underlying problem - eroding market share, and one‑way trade - remains unaddressed."

     The statement concludes by expressing the union's condolences and solidarity to autoworkers in the U.S. and Mexico who will also be harmed by Ford's destructive announcement.

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

By Sam Hammond

     On Tuesday, January 24th, the political hangover blues started in Canada. One of the first headaches, no doubt timed for the morning after the election, was Ford's "A Way Forward" program, which for Ontario workers means forward to unemployment and state welfare dependency. No point in dropping a bombshell like this during an election campaign where the Tories needed Ontario compliance and their corporate ties were suspect.

     Leading up to and during the election, Canada was being divested of its steel industry: Stelco in the hands of venture capital "restructuring" from Wall Street, Dofasco on the bidding block of European capital penetration and Algoma under a court threat of U.S. assassins who seek to plunder the cash reserves and force the company into bankruptcy protection. True "vulture capitalists".

     Plant closures, the neo‑liberal de‑industrial strategy, and foreign ownership. Another stake through the heart of Canadian sovereignty. A fitting opener for day one of the new Genesis. The beast isn't scheduled to rest for another six days, which according to theologians could take years. This is definitely not going to be a fun time.

     The analyses and anguish within the working class and most pointedly within the labour movement is going to be murder. Buzz Hargrove, the new "labour lipster," will be a prominent target, and Georgetti's CLC could bear scrutiny too. The NDP will be basking in the Pyrrhic victory of additional seats, the Bloc will be feeling smug as the standard bearer of Quebec interests, the Tories are preparing the "thousand cuts" of decentralization further into the global corporate quagmire, and the Liberals are preparing to be the loyal opposition to their own kicked up agenda.

     The ruling circles within the capitalist class have contained the complainers within and got a government that is much of what they wanted on a very un‑level playing field. In this political midnight, the Banshees are howling over the troubled sleep of the working class. Who is going to sound the alarm and muster the defence of hearth and home? Stand up for Canada! Wasn't that the Tory slogan? Those who really stand up for Canada better wear iron leggings, because the plan is to shorten your legs to kneeling level.

     The major problem for the Canadian people (at least the non‑corporate population), is that they are bereft of a united and class‑struggle labour agenda that could rally them around real alternatives to the corporate agenda. The trade unionists who realize this are bereft of a political expression to accomplish it - a parliamentary fist propelled by the street level use of labour power.

     The crisis in world‑wide social democracy expressed itself in this election more acutely than ever before. The NDP feinted and dodged, competed in upgrading the police state, and wore many masks. They sought to be the default party of the working class, the party of choice for disaffected small capitalists and a non-threat to corporate tax concessions.

     There is a real danger, a danger that will be played out in some quantity, that the analyses and critique within the labour movement will be tactical. Let's hope that this is the lesser quantity of a debate that of necessity must be political. Politics is class, and the analyses/debate must be politically subservient to class interests. That is the only way it can produce a fightback agenda.

     The Communist Party and its Labour Program must be an important part of this debate. In our next issue we will attempt a report of the steel industry, the Inco‑Falconbridge merger and the imperialist competition over Canadian resources and industry. Hopefully our readers will jump into this fray and use the pages of our press to relay their opinions. You can get in your say via email or letter to People's Voice.

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

     On Jan. 16, Winnipeg North Communist Party candidate Darrell Rankin issued an open call to Prime Minister Paul Martin to reverse the decision to hold military exercises in Winnipeg, and on Mayor Sam Katz and Provincial Premier Gary Doer to withdraw their support. Rankin also called on Conservative Party candidate Stephen Harper to spell out his party's position on the exercises.

     "The exercises are all about training Canada's military to occupy foreign cities, in support of U.S. aggressions around the world," said Rankin. "Canada already is participating in illegal occupations of Haiti and Afghanistan; we should withdraw from these countries, pay reparations and in the future respect international law."

     Described as the largest urban warfare training exercise of its kind ever held in Canada, Operation Bison will take place from April 30 to May 6 and coincide with the Winnipeg Labour Council's annual May Day parade, and weeks before major anti‑globalization protests are planned in Winnipeg during the North American Summit Hemispheria.

     "It is unacceptable that the military will be hiring student actors to portray so‑called demonstrators during this exercise. Are the military being trained to attack demonstrators, or just to terrorize them with these exercises?" said Rankin. "The last time I checked, it was legal to protest things in Canada.

     "It is totally unacceptable not to consult the public about the use of our city in this way, and also groups that have the use of the streets for activities that mark important international working class events," continued Rankin, who chairs the Communist Party's Peace and Disarmament Commission. "People in Winnipeg are sure to reject having Operation Bison, once they find out the reason for the exercises. It is clear that the military chose Winnipeg because of its high rate of poverty, like many Third World cities. At a time when cities and provinces are being starved of funds for the needs of the poor, Ottawa is preparing the military for foreign aggressions that are purely to support U.S. effort to maintain global military domination."

     "Pentagon planners consider Third World cities to be the key battle area of the future," said Rankin. "The huge working class cities that have developed in Third World countries are key potential centres of insurrection against imperialism. Thus the emphasis on urban warfare training. We can see it already in cities like Fallujah, Iraq. Canada should get out of supporting the unjust imperialist world order, and instead work for global justice by forgiving Third World debt, with technology transfers, by vastly increasing genuine overseas development aid, and by cutting spending on futile and expensive weapons systems."

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

Book Review by Bre Walt

Wal‑Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, By Greg Spotts, The Disinformation Company, New York, 2005, ISBN 1932857249, $9.95., 192 pages.

Greg Spotts quit his job in 2004 to interview Americans who had lost theirs as a result of the global sourcing of labour, all to make the documentary film American Jobs. He also wrote the book, CAFTA and Free Trade: What Every American Should Know.

     In Wal‑Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Spotts follows an aggressive news gathering team led by director Peter Greenwald as they investigate the business practices of the world's largest corporation.

     Greenwald's new documentary, Wal‑Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, was released last November for "Wal‑Mart Week," a seven‑day blast of anti‑Wal‑Mart activity encompassing a wide variety of issues and advocacy groups. The book was released two days later, documenting the entire filmmaking process. No current employees would talk about Wal‑Mart for fear of jeopardizing their employment, and even the director for one of the comedy spots used "Alan Smithee" as a pseudonym.

     Despite the risks, individuals bathed in the thrill of making this film. One staff member dedicated two weeks of her time, plus that of her two full-time interns, attempting to get footage of fifty Wal‑Mart stores all opening on the same day. She managed to get worthwhile footage of 39 stores using amateur videographers, and the two‑week project cost $5,000.

     Only four documentaries have grossed more than ten million dollars in U.S. theatres, and only 15 have passed the three million dollar mark. With this in mind, the crew worked hard and fast, with Greenwald watching footage at double speed to save time. When producer Jim Gilliam sent out the first mass email about the movie, more than $10,000 was donated within five hours, and more than 50 internet blogs were mentioning the movie and its website.

     While documentary filmmakers go into debt to expose the truth, Wal‑Mart's top executives live in the posh, gated Rogers area near Bentonville, Arkansas, where Wal‑Mart headquarters are located. Bentonville has a Wal‑Mart store in every direction, but the Rogers Area has only top‑notch private retailers. The headquarters, "said to control the temperature of each and every Wal‑Mart store via remote control," issued nationwide directives on how to handle Greenwald's producers and researchers. The company's VP of Corporate Communications said that, "when November comes, we will be very aggressive in getting our side of the story out. We will do it separately where we can control what we say and how it's presented."

     In 2005, Wal‑Mart hired over 100,000 new employees, and Jenny Cartwright, (pseudonym for a co‑producer) applied for and got a position. Previous retail experience entitled her to $7/hour, considerably higher than Wal-Mart's usual starting wage. Jenny was put right to work before completing her training. Overworked by store managers, she began missing her breaks. Her first week ended on Friday with a "half idea session, half pep rally" full of "enthusiasm and cheering." Luckily, Jenny was simply going undercover and did not have to continue.

     Wal‑Mart has applied a wide variety of cost saving employment practices that bend or break the law. The largest class action employment lawsuit in history, Dukes vs. Wal‑Mart, charges the corporation with systematically denying women pay and promotions available to male employees. Wal‑Mart also fails to provide proper health insurance; Wal‑Mart workers "not only qualify for government aid, Wal‑Mart helps them get it."

     Weldon Nicholson, a Wal‑Mart manager for 17 years, had to "learn how to be a good person" after leaving the company. Nicholson's dirty work included shedding hours from employee paychecks, manipulating department managers to work off the clock, terminating associates for the slightest hint of union activity, and using illegal immigrants as overnight janitors. He worked in several states and said these activities are part of an unwritten code shared by Wal‑Mart managers at every location where he worked.

     It is common practice for Wal‑Mart to move in to small towns, resulting in the loss of local stores. On Feb. 10, 2005, co-producer Caty Borum first visits H&H Hardware, owned and operated by the Hunter family since 1962, in the Amish country of Middleton, Ohio. When the Hunters attempted to refinance their commercial mortgage earlier in 2005, local appraisers said that downtown business activity was predicted to decline with a new Wal‑Mart coming. Borum returned a month later to see H&H closing its doors. The property was losing value and sources of capital were drying up. The Hunters could not compete with the Middlefield Wal‑Mart store which opened two months later, with special parking for Amish horse and buggies.

     Numerous levels of government have made it easy for Wal‑Mart to invade small towns by offering large subsidies or tax breaks. Red Esry, a former independent business owner, says the subsidies, unavailable to him and other local shopkeepers, give an unfair competitive advantage to Wal-Mart, with its deep pockets and awesome purchasing power.

     Inglewood, California received a proposal from Wal‑Mart in 2003 to build a supercenter on a deserted parking lot. After meeting resistance, Wal‑Mart spent over a million dollars conducting a ballot initiative, only to lose the vote (7,049 to 4,575). The proposal was defeated, but "the company, their developers or a related entity bought the sixty acres of land, proving the fight was not over."

     Seventy Wal‑Mart parking lot crimes occurred in the first seven months of 2005 alone, ranging from car jackings to murder. Abducted from a Wal‑Mart parking lot, Laura Tanaka decided to research these crimes and launch a lawsuit. She says the "company's security effort was almost entirely focused on protecting the merchandise inside the stores rather than the customers outside the store." Wal-Mart had 200 cameras inside the store, but zero outside where Tanaka was abducted. The company's response was that "some of the cameras inside the store are fake." Tanaka won her case, and was eventually rewarded $500,000.

     A district court judge in another such case fined the company $18 million, stating that Wal‑Mart "has demonstrated a pattern of desiring to flaunt the rules, to hide, to cheat, to give false answers under oath."

     Spotts' account of the making of Wal‑Mart: The High Cost of Low Price serves not only as the best account of Wal‑Mart's various crimes, but also as a tool guide for aspiring documentary filmmakers.

     (Born and raised in St. Thomas, Ontario, Bre Walt is a freelance writer, and a student at the University of Guelph. She is the founder of "Students Against Corporate Control," which works on social justice and environmental issues.)

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

PV Vancouver Bureau

The two top leaders of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), Chairperson Mukunda Neupane and Secretary‑General Binod Shrestha, were arrested at their homes on January 19 as part of a new crackdown by the country's dictatorial monarchy. Over 100 leaders of Nepal's seven‑party opposition political coalition were also rounded up under a 90‑day detention order. In a replay of the royal takeover of February 1, 2005, a curfew was imposed, mobile phones completely cut off, landlines arbitrarily shut down and all political demonstrations banned.

     King Gyanendra's regime has also placed new, stricter controls on radio stations, and imposed unilateral amendments to the Labour Code, to restrict the rights of workers rights and trade unions and increase the power of foreign owners in worksites.

     Those arrested were detained under Nepal's Public Security Act (PSA) which permits detention without trial, initially for up to 90 days, to prevent persons from committing actions that supposedly "undermine the sovereignty, integrity or public tranquility and order of the Kingdom."

     These developments came shortly after a Jan. 16 edict from the King, forbidding protests and demonstrations in the capital of Kathmandu and neighbouring Lalitpur. The order banned all assemblies, processions and political sit‑ins in advance of non-violent protests scheduled for January 20.

     GEFONT (which is led by members of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist) and two other labour federations condemned the arrests and the attack against a January 21 pro-democracy rally, during which police used sticks and tear gas to arrest hundreds of protestors. Warning that their support for social dialogue should not be taken for weakness, a statement from the unions warned that unless all arrested leaders and activists of the democratic movement are released, they will be compelled to organise a general strike covering all trade, industry and services.

     International condemnation has also been swift. Christopher Warren, president of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), said that "the repression of all those daring to resist the autocratic regime represents a severe challenge to the restoration of democracy in Nepal."

     UN Secretary‑General Kofi Annan had repeatedly called for urgent dialogue to avoid confrontation, and for a bilateral ceasefire between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist. His appeal was not heeded, and the four‑month unilateral ceasefire declared by the Maoists has now come to an end. 

     More repression is expected as the country nears the first anniversary of the February 1 coup, and municipal elections scheduled for February 8. Political parties and human rights activists have termed the elections sham attempt to consolidate the King's regime.

     The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the World Congress of Labour, and other labour groups have sent strong protests to the Nepalese authorities.

     "We call for immediate release of GEFONT's leaders and others," stated Fred Higgs, General Secretary of ICEM, the International Confederation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions. "To arrest these people only deepens our resolve, and the resolve of pro‑democracy voices inside Nepal for an end to the absolute rule of this monarchist regime."

     Protests can be sent to: His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, Narayanhity Royal Palace, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, NEPAL, fax +977 14 413577 or +977 14 228235.

  For a Workers' Bill of Rights in Manitoba

(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2006 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.)

(Brief to the Employment Standards Code Review Commission, presented by Darrell Rankin, Manitoba leader of the Communist Party of Canada, Jan. 16, 2006)

The Provincial Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada welcomes this opportunity to comment on Employment Standards laws in Manitoba. However, we protest the timing of this Review, which poorly serves Manitoba's 600,000 workers.

     The abrupt announcement of the Review, the shortness of the Review period, the conjunction of a federal election and several holidays during the Review, all seriously discouraged public input into the important issues of workers' rights and conditions in Manitoba.

     The Communist Party requests that the Manitoba government revise the mandate of the Review Commission to receive submissions for an extended period of at least three months. Employment standards laws are too important for the government to cut off debate by workers at this time.

     The Communist Party focuses in this brief on employment standards rather than on safety and health and collective bargaining rights, although it is necessary to address some matters concerning the fundamental rights of trade unions in Manitoba.

     The Communist Party of Canada, formed in 1921, is a working class party dedicated to the creation of a socialist society. We have a long history of struggle in Manitoba for reforms that benefit working people, for their families and for the needy, including pioneering demands for medicare and unemployment insurance.

     The Communist Party's aim in contributing to the discussion of employment standards laws is to spark action for improving the rights and conditions of workers in Manitoba, especially by and for those experiencing the greatest discrimination. That action will take place either in the legislature or in the streets, because for too long workers have been denied any meaningful rights in a number of important areas.

     For too long corporations and the wealthy have been too free to impose their will on discriminated workers and on workers as a whole. Workers who are covered by employment standards laws find they are woefully inadequate to curb the immense power of corporations.

     Employment Standards laws such as minimum wages and hours of work were created only because the capitalist work place is ruthless and dictatorial, and workers fought long and difficult struggles to limit the power of corporations to exploit labour and to create racist and sexist divisions among workers.

     In recent years the rights and conditions of workers have been seriously undermined or destroyed, especially since the late 1970s when neo‑liberal governments gained power in virtually all advanced capitalist countries. But in every country, the first target of neo‑liberal governments has been the organized labour movement.

     These right‑wing governments have imposed laws to restrict the labour movement, with the aim of limiting the right to strike, curbing union density (organization) and going so far as to ban or limit political activity by unions.

     Unacceptably high unemployment and the proliferation of low wage and "casual" (precarious) jobs have also seriously undermined the ability of workers to carry out successful struggles for legislative reforms.

     Workers and their families have suffered, but corporations are making record profits in Canada (over $200 billion, according the latest figures for 2004).

     It is time to turn this situation around! It is time to stop trying to adjust employment standards to reflect today's "modern," "flexible" work force, because these are code words for lower wages, less job security and privatisation. (The discussion paper produced by the Manitoba government for the Review uses these words.)

     We need employment standards that will help create better‑paying, more secure jobs for every worker!

     The Communist Party calls for a comprehensive Bill of Rights for Labour in Manitoba that would achieve the following demands (again, this brief does not focus on collective bargaining or health and safety):

Political rights for trade unions and workers

‑ Lift the ban on political contributions by unions; keep the ban on corporations.

‑ Establish and protect the right of political activity in work places by workers during scheduled breaks.

Fair access to jobs and pay equity

‑ Establish strong affirmative action hiring programs and comprehensive pay equity laws for Aboriginal peoples, women, people of colour and people with disabilities.

Plant closures and mass lay‑offs

‑ Hold public tribunals on plant closures with the power to restrict capital flight and to force corporations to show "just cause."

‑ Legislate a two‑year notice of mass lay‑offs.

Full employment and better jobs

‑ A 32‑hour work week with no loss in take‑home pay and no loss in service to the public.

‑ A $12/ hour minimum wage.

‑ Raise statutory paid vacations to four weeks.

‑ Early voluntary retirement at age 60 with full pension benefits.

‑ Establish a regulated ban on employer deductions from workers wages, including for production errors or cash shortages.

‑ Establish "fair wage" or "living wage" laws to ensure all public sector‑related workers earn union or comparable wages.

‑ Require employers to explain reasons for dismissal with a minimum two‑week notice; establish penalties and remedies for wrongful dismissal, including return to employment.

Laws for all workers!

‑ Extend coverage of Employment Standards to all workers ‑ foreign, part‑time, so‑called independent contractors, "on call," domestic, contract, salaried, "piece," commission workers ‑ all workers.

‑ Place farm workers under federal jurisdiction with full labour standards and the right to organize and bargain collectively.

‑ Raise Manitoba's standards to reflect at least those contained in International Labour Organization conventions (regarding child labour, etc.).

‑ Establish strong anti‑harassment and anti‑abuse laws, for all public areas and work places.

‑ Establish severance pay at two weeks for every year worked.

Enforce the law

‑ Establish & enforce penalties for employers who violate Employment Standards.

‑ Require posting of Employment Standards in all work places and conduct public education of Employment Standards rights.

‑ Establish the right of "third parties" to launch investigations of Employment Standards violations.

‑ Legislate a law to protect "whistleblowers" who report company violations.

‑ Adequate staffing to administer Employment Standards laws; mandate inspections especially in work places employing youth and other discriminated workers; provide legal aid to workers requiring assistance with claims and to organize unions.