People's Voice Commentary

     In the wake of the arrests of seventeen alleged terrorists in the Toronto area, Prime Minister Harper and other leading right-wing politicians have joined with much of the corporate media in painting the suspects as guilty before being tried. But a growing number of voices across Canada are sharply critical of this attempt to create a lynch-mob atmosphere. Despite days of lurid headlines about beheadings and sieges, millions of Canadians remain sceptical that these allegations justify the drive to eliminate crucial civil liberties and democratic rights.

     Such scepticism is well grounded in history and reality.

The RCMP and other "security" forces have a long record of exaggerations, lies and law-breaking as part of efforts by the ruling class to isolate opposition voices and to scapegoat immigrant communities. For example, false accusations against leaders of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and the Communist Party of Canada during the early 1930s were used by the capitalist state in its attempt to weaken the upsurge of radical working class movements. In recent decades, security forces have often used agents and provocateurs to promote violent tactics as a strategy to crack down on opposition groups. During the 1980s a police infiltrator in Quebec's labour movement advocated bombing tactics, and the anti-globalization movements have been the target of police agents and spies.

     Even more recently was "Project Thread," in which some two dozen Muslim men were arrested in Toronto as members of a so-called "Al‑Qaeda sleeper cell." The accusations proved false, and none of these men were ever formally charged, yet most were deported from Canada.

     There are many signs that the current case bears similarities to such past abuses by security forces. The latest accusations claim that police actions stopped a well-organized terrorist group with the capacity to strike at the heart of the Canadian state. But from the moment the arrests were made, evidence has mounted that the there was never any coherent plan or strategy for such attacks. In fact, the security forces may well have encouraged angry outbursts by some of the young men who were arrested, with the aim of building a legal case against them. The role of the police in providing the three tonnes of nitrate which became the immediate justification for the arrests smells of entrapment, to say the least. Most recently, it has been revealed that the so-called "terrorist group" was badly divided over the use of violence, raising even more questions about the sordid role of the police.

     Given this history and the facts that are known at this point, there is strong reason to suspect that the RCMP and CSIS were engaged in a deliberate attempt to create an excuse for a new "anti-terror" crackdown in Canada. The timing of this operation - just a few months after the election of a minority government seeking closer links to U.S. imperialism, but facing strong domestic opposition to the Canadian military role in the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan - adds to such suspicions.

     Certainly the arrests had some immediate welcome repercussions for the Harper government. The attacks against Muslim mosques in Toronto and Winnipeg can only fuel the atmosphere of racist hysteria which the state needs to promote new attacks on civil, legal and democratic rights. Similarly, the "discovery" of a so-called "home-grown terrorist threat" has given the government an excuse to attack opponents of the Afghan occupation as "unpatriotic." Unfortunately, even some opposition MPs who had been critical of the Afghan war quickly caved in to these pressures, praising the RCMP and CSIS for the arrests and strengthening the hand of the Harper Tories.

     From the beginning of the so-called "war on terror" launched by the Bush regime in September 2001, the Communist Party of Canada has opposed all efforts to generate racist and anti-Muslim campaigns to undermine civil, legal and democratic rights. On this occasion, the CPC demands that all those arrested must be presumed innocent pending the outcome of a fair and open trial. The state must not be allowed to use tainted or fabricated "evidence" behind the scenes to seek convictions, as they have tried to do with the deplorable processes of secret trials and security certificates.

     The CPC joins with others in condemning the mainstream media's attempt to demonize and scapegoat the Muslim community around these arrests. We ask the following: if the corporate media was truly concerned with exposing terrorism, why not level such accusations against the U.S. government, which bears full responsibility for over 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq since the illegal occupation of that country began in March 2003? Why not condemn the U.S. military as a terrorist organization for conducting the massacres at Haditha and the well-known torture of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib, and for organizing the secret "rendition" flights used to transport victims to torture and death in several countries?

     We ask another question: why did the state not move quickly to protect buildings used by the Muslim community in the wake of the arrests in Toronto? Instead, Stockwell Day, the ultra-right "Minister of Public Safety," openly suggested that those arrested are guilty, before any trial. Mr. Day should certainly be removed from his cabinet position for fanning the flames of hatred rather than acting to ensure public safety.

     Most important at this difficult time, we urge all Canadians who support peace and global justice to step up our common efforts to end the illegal wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to help achieve genuine freedom and statehood for the Palestinian people. Instead of seeking the illusion of "safety" within a police-state North America, Canadians must expand our struggles for a world free of imperialist war, military occupation, endless arms races, economic injustice and other sources of violence. This is the only way forward to a future in which peoples and nations can work together to preserve our planet and to achieve justice and security for all.

Intimidation and provocation in Caledonia

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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

     As the occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates by the Six Nations continues in Caledonia, Ontario, several new twists have emerged that play to the media but invoke some degree of scepticism from thinking people.

     Of course, these are added to the time-worn and traditional racist slurs from travelling rednecks, incoming liquor bottles, etc. As usual, these are perpetrated by a minority of people of questionable origin and tolerated by the police. These are shrugged off by the local Hamilton media as the inevitable result of citizen frustration.

     OK, I guess that makes everything understandable. What else can a person do when frustrated but throw bottles (after consuming the contents of course), scream racist insults and incite others to do the same? These jerks and their apologists perhaps should be in the U.S. army, where frustration can really be played out in a more unrestrictive manner.

     Speaking about Americana, the latest in provocation concerns the mysterious appearance of a hi‑tech U.S. Border Patrol vehicle, complete with Border Patrol Officers, who just happened to be visiting the area to see how the Ontario Provincial Police handle Native protests.

     I suppose if there is a good thing happening, it would be absolutely impolite not to invite your friends and associates. How else can one explain the presence of American Border Patrol Officers over 100 kilometres inside Canada. Who ordered them here? Who invited them? Were they looking after their colonial interests by observing Canadian police looking after our colonial interests? Isn't imperialism thorough?

     Why was this U.S. para‑military vehicle close enough to the occupation site to be seized by Native people and spirited off while the occupants were detained? Exactly what were they up to? Every Canadian citizen should be asking this question. Please ask this question.

     Apparently a Native person drove the captured vehicle (in reverse gear, the sneak!) at an OPP officer who was saved when his fellow officers dragged him out of the way. No one knows why he didn't just step sideways himself. Apparently he was hurt, treated, and released and the vehicle was recovered.

     Another incident within the same hour concerns an elderly couple who were visiting from the nearby city of Simcoe. "Elderly Couples" visiting from Simcoe don't normally place themselves in front of a barricade. Native people claim there were provocative racial slurs hurled at them. There was physical contact. The elderly man, according to OPP officers, was taken to hospital as a precaution. No injury.

     At the same time, two CHCH-TV camera operators, who just happened to be monitoring the clash with the "elderly couple", were jostled by native protesters. CHCH-TV claims that one of its operators had to get a couple of stitches in his head.

     Native spokespersons have publicly expressed regret that these incidents happened, reiterated their unarmed peaceful policies, and called for calm and progress in negotiations. Anyone who has ever been on a picket line, who has ever studied the methodology of control and penetration exercised by police and so‑called intelligence services, who has ever studied passive conflict resolution, should smell the stench of provocation in these incidents. Visiting U.S. Border Patrol Officers, hi‑tech surveillance vehicles, "Elderly Couples" visiting from Simcoe and a CHCH-TV camera crew all just happen to converge on a Native barricade. The strangest twist is that no one has mentioned Native frustration being a justified response. Do I sound partisan? Yes, I do, even to myself, and I am proud to be so.

     All this flim‑flam does not in any way address the very serious problem of Native land and Native rights. It does not address the colonial/imperial history of British and Canadian governments, which have answered trust and negotiation with abuse, theft and negligence born in chauvinism and racism. It does not speak to the problems of a First Nations population who have not only survived and regenerated their culture, but are the fastest-growing section of the Canadian population, outside of immigration.

     It does not require a rocket scientist to figure out that a people who were pocketed into decreasing space within the second largest country in the world, who had the resiliency and will to survive and start to multiply, have developed an acute need to settle their land claims with the Canadian Government. Is there no place in this country for people to live? This problem is squarely on the shoulders of the Harper government, as it was on all previous governments. To call this a provincial matter is a bold-faced lie, a charlatan ruse so cheap it should embarrass even a Harper Tory.

     In 2005, in the nearby city of Hamilton, there was a home invasion that ended in a shooting of the homeowner and the serious injury of his son who tried to protect him. The police shocked the public when they only charged the invaders, the shooters, with criminal assault. They said they could not provide enough evidence of an intent to kill to make an attempted murder charge. A bullet in the abdomen is apparently not enough evidence of intent to kill.

     The OPP are looking for seven suspects thought to be hiding on the Six Nations Reserve, apparently sought with co‑operation of some Native leaders. From the incidents mentioned here, the OPP are charging attempted murder, assault, forcible confinement, motor vehicle theft, robbery, intimidation, and assault causing bodily harm.

     Does anyone see a difference here? Different strokes for different folks, perhaps? I wonder how the Border Patrol officers enjoyed their visit to Canada?

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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 James J. Brittain and Jim Sacouman

     On June 8-10, the city of Saint John, New Brunswick was a clear representation of the dynamics of class society and struggle. While a few hundred of the region's most wealthy and political recognized persons came together to discuss issues of unhindered trade and private economic expansion, roughly five hundred working class Atlantic Canadians, from all sectors of life, came together to oppose the anti‑democratic activities associated with "Atlantica," an organized market‑based attack on the livelihoods and social policies surrounding Maritimes.

     Within Eastern Canada exists the right‑of‑centre think‑tank called the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS), which has been diligently working on the systemic fracturing of labour standards and public social services within New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island for several years. Titled "Atlantica," the AIMS model specifically targets issues that restrict profit maximization within the private sphere.

     Earlier this year, a conference for business and political leaders from throughout the region was scheduled to take place in Saint John to discuss the construction of Atlantica. Interestingly, the conference, appearing to be open to the public, had a $715 registration fee. According to Vibrant Communities Saint John, a community‑based poverty reduction collective, Saint John has the highest rate of single parent families living in poverty within Canada (60%), and a general poverty level of 25%, with some sectors of the city experiencing rates of 40% living below the poverty line. This is hardly a region were the average constituent could afford to attend "Reaching Atlantica: Business without Borders."

     That conference rallied around the principal goals of Atlantica: to reduce labour rights, and to fracture state‑based public policy and social services (regional harmonization of minimum wages with the United States, reduction of state‑based social spending, increased public/private competition, etc.).

     With policies that attack Canadian sovereignty, Atlantica regionally incapacitates organized labour and national social-welfare programs through a divisive process that inhibits larger national and international workers' collectives and civil society from taking action. Atlantica has aimed its anti‑labour sights on a specific series of issues to further weaken the already struggling working‑class of Atlantic Canada.

     The Atlantica collective is a "who's who" of capitalist promotion and activity within the region. Speakers invited to the June conference included Richard Egelton, Senior VP & Chief Economist, BMO Financial Group; Nancy Hughes Anthony, President & CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce; Elizabeth Beal, President & CEO, Atlantic Provinces Economic Council; Kenneth Irving of Irving Oil Ltd.; Brian Crowley, President, Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.

     The think tank has stated that our region suffers from five specific "public policy distress factors", which must be dealt with in a firm and economically efficient manner to increase profits. These factors include:

1) "Size of government relative to the economy (a measure of the burden the public sector places on the private economy)."

     Atlantica's solution: proportionalize government programs and policies so as to not interfere with private enterprise and profits.

     The result for workers and the local population: the elimination of lower and mid‑level government (social) programs, policies, and facilities, reducing the numbers of government employees and increasing the pool of easily exploited labour.

2) "Government employment as a percentage of total state/provincial employment (a measure of public sector efficiency)".

     Atlantica's solution: government cutbacks so that state employment meets the "immediate needs" of the regional population.

     Result: regional government would not exceed the most immediate and limited of social needs (health, education, welfare, etc.) that cannot be provided through the private sector, resulting in a reduction of state employees.

3) "Total government revenue from own sources as a percentage of GDP (a measure of dependence)"

     Atlantica's solution: systemic reduction of state revenues from the private sector, i.e. corporate taxes and levies are to be reduced, with the fiscal shortfall covered by the public.

     Result: domestic governments (both provincial and federal) within which the private industries reside and obtain resources, must take on the burden of public expenditures and public/privately utilized infrastructure, resulting in increased personal taxation of the local populations.

4) "Minimum wage legislation (a measure of labour market flexibility)"

     Atlantica's solution; institutionalize a fixed/frozen regional based wage.

     Result: a minimum wage model in which wage‑levels in all labour sectors (industrial, technology, trades, etc.) are to be weighed against the lowest wage, resulting in a reduced (and frozen) regional wage proportion.

5) "Union density (a measure of labour market flexibility)"

     Atlantica's solution: disallowance of union membership upon retirement and/or layoffs, coupled by steps to ease de‑certification of existing organized unions.

     Result: a reduction of organized union membership and strength, undermining the capacity of regional organized labour and its connection to larger domestic and international labour solidarity.

     Maritimers have already experienced the reduction of corporate taxes, placed instead on the backs of the working class (see People's Voice, December 2005). Under the current Conservative federal government of Stephen Harper, Canada is coming closer to implementing structural "economic agreements" and policies with the United States and domestic business that will ensure that "deterrents to economic interests" are removed, placing a tremendous strain on the working class.

     The disturbing Atlantica model affects the vast majority of persons within the region; however, these peoples were fiscally and politically restricted from participating in the Atlantica conference. In light of this, an oppositional collective came together to counter the elitist events taking place in Saint John, through a counter‑conference entitled Resisting Atlantica - Reclaiming Democracy.

     Made up of the Canadian Labour Congress, New Brunswick Federation of Labour, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, Prince Edward Island Federation of Labour, numerous Districts of Labour, various unions at the local, provincial, and federal level, indigenous nations, ecumenical groups, civil society coalitions including the Communist Party of Canada, and concerned citizens, the organized collective began the counter‑conference on June 8th.

     The Resisting Atlantica - Reclaiming Democracy conference provided workshops, lectures, information sessions, and a major rally on June 10th that revolved around the history, present, and future of the working class and how together unity can prosper.

     Representatives of CUPE, regional Labour Councils and Federations of Labour and other labour activists held a coordinated press conference on June 9th.

     Several members of the Communist Party of Canada were involved in organizing and participating in the Resisting Atlantica - Reclaiming Democracy conference. Jim Sacouman, member of the CPC Central Committee, was asked to participate in the weekend's main workshop prior to the June 10th rally, while Johan Boyden of the Young Communist League's Preparatory Committee took part in protests, activities, and events centred on youth.

     The events that took place in Saint John this June depict a revitalized struggle unseen in the port city in almost two decades, a collective of unified protest working at coordinating a socially‑just alternative to economic centralization. Let us support this fight for a new vision, a vision of socialism!

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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.)

     For a week last month Winnipeg hosted the largest‑ever urban warfare training exercises in Canada. Five hundred soldiers, including forty from the U.S., patrolled the streets and pretended as if it were Afghanistan, where they will be sent in 2008 if Canada continues to occupy that country. The exercises were in Winnipeg's core area, one of the poorest urban areas in Canada. Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Pat Martin said the exercises should be "celebrated" and Canadian Forces commanders promised to make them an annual event in cities across Western Canada. The exercises evoked a week of protests against militarization and Canada's imperialist foreign policy, including the leaflet on this page distributed during "Soldier outreach day" to all soldiers and officers.

By Darrell Rankin

     For thousands of years, humanity has either prepared for war or fought wars. Tens of millions of people died in these wars, with most never realizing the cause they fought for was a deception, and they died to benefit the wealthy, the slave owners, the feudal lords, and - in the last 200 years - the owners of corporations.

     But war never posed the same danger to humanity as it does today. Weapons of mass destruction can destroy all life on earth, and the declared aim of the U.S. Space Command to put weapons in space to protect U.S. "investments" (a.k.a. Missile Defence) will make things even more dangerous.

     Democratic countries are waging a "War on Terror," a war said to be "endless". But ask yourself:

     Is everyone Canada is fighting in Afghanistan a "terrorist"? Or are many genuine patriots who realize that their country was invaded and occupied in violation of the U.N. Charter?

     Whose family members were killed by occupying forces? (Are you comfortable with the idea of killing a young person who is shooting at you because it is the only way he or she knows to prevent others from losing their parents or family members?)

     Whose dignity and freedom are denied by an unjust war of occupation that advances the predatory aims of U.S. and Canadian transnational corporations?

     Afghanistan could easily become "Canada's Vietnam." Canadian soldiers will never be welcome or understood by Afghans as anything but violent supporters of an imposed and corrupt regime with little authority outside of Kabul.

     Imperialist aggression against Iran - to halt that country's alleged nuclear weapons program - could spark a much more serious war, engulfing the entire Middle East with millions of casualties.

     Yet the Harper Tories are eagerly enlisting Canada to fight the "terrorists." You will not find many MPs sons or daughters in the Canadian military. People who fight and die in wars are mostly workers (in uniform or not) and their families. There's lots of money to be made from war, but very few people see any of it.

     The well‑educated soldier should carefully study the true causes and victims of wars in the last century. Know why you are fighting!

"Reversion to barbarism"

Friedrich Engels once said: "Capitalist society faces a dilemma: either an advance to socialism or a reversion to barbarism." What does a "reversion to barbarism" mean at the present stage of European civilisation? We have all read and repeated these words thoughtlessly, without a notion of their terrible seriousness. At this moment, one glance around us will show what a reversion to barbarism in bourgeois society means. This World War - that is a reversion to barbarism. The triumph of imperialism leads to the destruction of culture, sporadically during a modern war, and forever if the period of world wars which has just begun is allowed to take its course to its logical end.

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested."

- US Marine Corps General Smedley Butler (retired), 1935. In 1934, Butler informed the U.S. Congress about the conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government and establish a fascist dictatorship (the so‑called "Business Plot"). The House Un‑American Activities Committee deleted extensive excerpts from its report on the matter relating to Wall Street financiers.)

Kill as many as possible

"If we see that Germany is winning, we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and that way we let them kill as many as possible."

- Comment by U.S. Senator Harry Truman of Missouri, June 23, 1941, published in the New York Times one day after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union with three million soldiers and 3,300 tanks. U.S. imperialism has no great or principled opposition to war, and used this war to gain a dominant position in world politics. Truman became President in 1945. His wish was tragically fulfilled. Close to twenty‑five million Soviet people perished, half of the war's total dead. It was the Soviet Union that broke Nazi Germany's military might, although people in Canada are brainwashed with Hollywood films that portray the USA as a firm ally and the leading force against fascism.

There would not have been Auschwitz

"If it had not been for (the) delays with the opening of the second front, there would have been 10‑12 million fewer victims among the Soviet people and the allies, especially in occupied Europe. There would not even have been Auschwitz, for it began working actively only in 1944."

- Victor Falin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, on the delayed second front in World War Two, published in Russia on March 22, 2005

Denounce pacifists for lack of patriotism

"Of course the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

- Herman Goering, notorious Nazi war criminal, 1946, at the Nuremberg trials

Maintain disparity

"We have about 50% of the world's wealth, but only 6.3% of its population. ... In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships that will permit us to maintain this position of disparity. ... To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day‑dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives. ... We should cease to talk about vague and ... unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better."

- George F. Kennan, a key U.S. architect of the Cold War, 1948

Peacekeeping or imperial policing?

"Peacekeeping is not new; only the name is new. In the past when Britain, France, Holland and Italy were colonial powers it was called imperial policing. Britain's regular army kept the restless tribesmen of India's frontier in order... Today the old colonial empires are no more. In their place is the UN and its international forces.... It could be said that Canada's regulars and militiamen were peacemakers when they put down the Northwest Rebellion of 1885."

- Col. Andrew Strome Ayers Carmichael‑Galloway, Canadian soldier, 1993, in Legion (March 1993), p. 17.

"Helping" the Afghanis

The recent discovery of significant oil and gas resources in the northern reaches of the country is an exciting development. Canada, with our vast experience in this sector can make a very positive contribution in helping the Afghanis develop this resource.

- Dr. Keith Martin, M.P. (Liberal MP, formerly Canadian Alliance), "Why we are in Afghanistan," Victoria Times Colonist, March 6, 2006

U.S. military strategists argue that future infantry battles will be fought largely in urban areas around the world. They clearly perceive the huge working class cities in Third World countries as major, potential centres of insurrection against imperialism. (See Mike Davis, The Pentagon as Global Slumlord, www.commondreams.org/views04/0419‑14.htm.) Is this consistent with a democratic, law‑abiding military doctrine for Canada?

NOTE: The Nuremberg trials, mentioned above, established that "following orders" is not a legal defence for soldiers who commit war crimes, although modern legal experts believe that lower ranking soldiers may escape with a lesser sentence. (See "Soldiers risk war‑crimes charges, report warns. Deal on detainees does `great disservice' to Canadian troops," Ottawa Citizen, Apr. 10, 2006.)

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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

     The news that Canada's official jobless rate is down to 6.1% has ruling class pundits swooning with glee. Judging by their hallelujahs, this statistic is the ultimate proof that capitalism has solved all the economic difficulties faced by Canadians.

     Almost unmentioned is a shocking figure: 1,073,200 workers were unemployed during May. That's right - over one million people were jobless during an economic boom in one of the richest countries on the planet. From this perspective, the figures are a stark condemnation of capitalism.

     In fact, the statistical yardstick has been changed in Canada over several decades, to count many who work only a few hours a week as "employed." According to progressive labour researchers, six percent unemployment today is the equivalent of nine or ten percent during the early post-war period, when the jobless rate was in the four percent range.

     Workers with longer memories will recall similar brief periods of exuberance, invariably followed by depression. Already there are fears that the Harper government and the Bank of Canada will move to "dampen" the economy by raising interest rates. Why? In part because a shrinking "reserve army" of jobless workers results in higher average wages. After years of losing ground to inflation, workers have made some small gains, with pay rates rising by 3.8% over the past twelve months, or 1.4% more than the annual inflation rate of 2.4%. So even while the ruling class trumpets its "success," government intervention may soon trigger a recession.

     That's the nature of capitalism. Unfortunately for the employers (and even more so for exploited working people), this system is based on cycles of expansion and contraction, boom and bust. The labour movement should take advantage of this period of better conditions for bargaining and organizing - but keep in mind that this moment is temporary, and that large sections of the working class continue to suffer poverty and deprivation despite this "boom."

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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

     After two years of planning, the biggest peace gathering in Canadian history, the World Peace Forum, kicks off on June 23 in Vancouver. Never in human history has the need for such events been so urgent. The US-led "war on terror," the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Israel's refusal to end the oppression of the Palestinian people pose terrible dangers for our world. US threats to launch new wars in Asia, and the Bush administration's rejection of international cooperation towards disarmament and environmental protection, complicate the struggle for survival even further. Here at home, the new Conservative government is bucking the global trend by steering Canada towards increased cooperation with the U.S. imperialist agenda.

     For all these reasons, People's Voice sends greetings to all participants from across Canada and around the world, and our best wishes for WPF activities which will further the cause of peace, disarmament, global justice, and environmental sustainability.

     We also salute those who initiated the WPF, particularly the COPE members of the 2002-05 Vancouver City Council. Daring to think big, the COPE councillors, as well as COPE school trustees and park commissioners, tackled a dazzling range of issues during those three years, proving how much a far-sighted group of elected political activists can accomplish with the support of a strong base in the labour and people's movements. The World Peace Forum was one of those achievements, and despite the difficulties encountered along the way, this historic event will give global activists a unique opportunity to discuss, debate, teach, and learn from each other. Let's use the WPF to build a wider, stronger and more powerful movement to end war and save our planet!

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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 C.E. Carr and Darrell Rankin

     After almost ten years of talks, the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) will vote on June 7 and 14 on a plan to develop the proposed $1 billion, 200 megawatt Wuskatim dam on the Burntwood River in Northern Manitoba.

     The Tataskweyak Cree Nation will vote on a proposal to build the $3.5 billion Gull‑Keeyask dam later this year. A proposal to build the $5.9 billion "Conawapa" dam is unfinished. These are some of the largest non‑oil and non‑military investments in Canada today.

     The Communist Party fully respects the right of nations to decide their own future, but we have definite views about relations between nations in Canada. We are concerned that the proposal, which is large as a phone book, was available on March 28, received by the Band Council in the third week of April, and made available to voters only three weeks before the vote.

     We are concerned that calls for independent observers to monitor the vote have fallen on deaf ears in the Manitoba government.

     To gain part ownership of the dam, the NCN would be obliged to borrow close to $200 million, mostly from Manitoba Hydro itself. The NCN will have to borrow $17 million elsewhere, an almost impossible task because under federal law Indian Bands have no collateral. This compares poorly to the deal struck with the Cree of Northern Quebec who had no such requirement. Further, there are no guarantees in the proposal for Manitoba Hydro to hire NCN members.

     This failure is a huge flaw, because of the massive unemployment among First Nations in Canada. It is a human right to have a job! Centuries of racism and the colonial theft of land and natural resources have made unemployment a huge crisis in First Nations.

     The deal reflects the prevailing neo‑liberal views of Corporate Manitoba, which refuses to recognize the right to a job. In Manitoba today, the unemployed are a huge reserve army of labour, able to drive wages down since so many are desperate for work, making Manitoba a "low wage" province.

     Manitoba Hydro's historic purpose has been to supply cheap energy to large industrial consumers in the South of the province, to give local corporations an advantage. Hydro's purpose has never been to ensure workers and their families enjoy lower energy costs.

     The treaties signed in Manitoba under duress by many First Nations extinguished Aboriginal land rights and set up a system of "reserves" as compensation. The treaties were negotiated so that corporations could enjoy almost unhindered rights to exploit Manitoba's rich natural resources. (The system was so effective that South Africa studied Canada's legislation to help establish "Bantustans" under Apartheid.)

     The proposed Wuskatim dam deal is part of a long history of Hydro development in the North at the expense of Aboriginal peoples. For example, South Indian Lake was a First Nation affected by a series of dams built in the 1960s and 1970s.

     Flooding forced the community to relocate and caused the traditional Aboriginal economy to fail. About 1,500 residents were paid $18 million, or $12,000 per person. Many who left the community received nothing.

     The NCN itself has already suffered from the loss of hunting and fishing, the severe erosion of waterways and contaminated water. The flooding of burial grounds both old and not‑so‑old has caused widespread grief to people. The compensation from the first round of flooding in the 1970s has been sorely inadequate. The community continues to be deprived of the most basic of amenities, drinking water, housing, schools and jobs.

     In a May 18 speech to the right‑wing Frontier Centre for Public Policy, former NDP Manitoba Premier Ed Schreyer claimed that Manitoba Hydro spent far more money than was warranted compensating northern communities for the damage caused by its dams. Before the 1969 provincial election when he was elected Premier, Schreyer also promised that if elected South Indian Lake would not be flooded.

     This is just one example of the high level of pressure on NCN voters to accept the deal as the best available offer.

     It is not the best offer. A truly equal relationship between the nations in Manitoba requires a just settlement of land claims, including natural resources. It means ensuring jobs are created for those who live in the North and in Aboriginal nations. It means creating a new, equal and voluntary partnership with all nations in Manitoba today.

     (C.E. Carr is Chair of the Communist Party's Aboriginal People's Commission, and D. Rankin is the leader of the Communist Party of Canada-Manitoba.)

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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.)

Quebec human rights lawyer on western speaking tour

     Quebec refugee and human rights lawyer Bill Sloan is travelling across western Canada in June speaking out on "Canada's Unequal Union," and the need for a new equal, voluntary partnership of Aboriginal Peoples, Quebec, and the rest of Canada based on recognition of the right of nations to self‑determination.

     "The future of Canada depends on the willingness of Canadians to fight for a democratic and political solution to inequities and discrimination imposed on Indigenous Peoples and on Quebec since confederation," Sloan told People's Voice as his tour began.

     "If we don't find a democratic solution, then we are likely to see the increased use of force against Aboriginal Peoples and against Quebec, by the Canadian state. The situation in Caledonia is proof of that, and so is the Clarity Act which implies the use of force following any future referendum in Quebec. The use of force will only make matters worse, deepening divisions among working people in all nations, making a political solution more distant and difficult to find. The experience in Northern Ireland and Israel are cases in point."

     Bill Sloan brings a long history of involvement in the struggle for minority and human rights to this issue. An active opponent of Pierre Trudeau's declaration of martial law in Quebec under the War Measures Act in 1970, Sloan went on to earn a law degree and is a founding member in Canada of the American Association of Jurists (AAJ). He was part of the AAJ mission to Ecuador after the Indigenous take-over of Congress in that country, and organized the AAJ symposium on Native rights in Canada. Sloan is an eyewitness to recent developments in South and Central America, the Caribbean and Bangladesh.

     A specialist in refugee law, Sloan is active in organizing lawyers, and helped lead the 1996 Quebec legal aid strike. He represented Quebec City Summit defendants arrested during the anti-FTAA protests in 2001. He is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Parti Communiste du Quebec.

     The speaking tour is being conducted under the auspices of People's Voice.

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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 Siamak

Mahmoud Etemadzadeh (Pen name M.A. BehAzin), one of the most prominent figures of modern Persian literature, passed away in Tehran on May 31, 2006. BehAzin's multifaceted character renders describing his life in a few words impossible. Throughout his more than six decades of intellectual and political activities, BehAzin rigorously adhered to the humanitarian ideas of social justice, liberty, peace, and freedom. A genuine and almost epic belief in the possibility of a different and a better world is observable in all endeavors of the life of this translator, writer, politician, and critic. 

     BehAzin was born in Rasht, Iran, in 1915. In 1933, he received a scholarship from the government of Iran to pursue an engineering degree in France. Upon completion of his studies in the area of Naval Engineering he returned to Iran in 1939. During the turbulent years of WWII, he started his career as an officer in the Iranian Naval Forces. Throughout these years, due to the military prohibition against participating in political activities, he coined the pen‑name BehAzin (which means Best Faith in Persian) to express his political views.

     In 1942, he lost his left hand in an air raid, while serving in the naval base of Bandar‑Anzali. Two years after this accident, peace‑loving BehAzin managed to transfer himself to the Education ministry as a mathematics teacher. This was the beginning of a new life for this man of literature. In 1945, already a communist, he joined the Tudeh Party of Iran (TPI, the Iranian Communist party). His loyalty and devotion to the party of the working class of Iran cost him years of imprisonment both before and after the revolution.

     During the dark years after the CIA-supported coup d'état of 1953, against the national government of Mohammad Mosadeq, which extensively scarred the progressive forces of Iran, BehAzin as a writer continued to reassure the youth of this highly depressed society that a different world is possible. During the years that resulted in the 1979 revolution, the effect of BehAzin's meticulous choice of novels for translation, and the lucidity of his translations from the works of great realist novelists such as Mikhail Sholokhov and Romain Rolland, was felt in the emergence of a new generation of progressive forces.

     BehAzin was the writer of a declaration against the censorship of the Shah's regime in 1969. In this declaration that became the keystone of the Association of Writers of Iran (Kanoon e nevisandegan e Iran), he stated that if a writer and a human being feels the suffocating forces of censorship and does not speak up, he/she is not in possession of very important humane qualities which need to be sought after.

     One year before the revolution of 1979, while a radical change on this scale was unimaginable, he pioneered to break the deadly silence of society by organizing a ten-night-long festival of poetry in Tehran's Institute Goethe. By breaking the silence of intellectual society and reuniting them with the people in tens of thousands, "Ten nights of Institute Goethe" became the very first drastic step towards a regime change. In the one year prior to the revolution, in hope of uniting the progressive forces of Iran, BehAzin established the People's Democratic Union (Etehad e democratic e madrom), widely believed to act in place of the outlawed TPI.

     Despite the existence of a powerful religious component among the forces of 1979 revolution, BehAzin and the TPI leadership were convinced that support and alliance with a majority revolutionary faction among these groups could not only prevent the emergence of a theocratic dictatorship, but also bring substantial achievements for the working class of Iran. This hope was rendered impossible by the childish adventurist agitations of the early years after the revolution.

     Shortly after the revolution, the Association of Writers of Iran, of which BehAzin was a founding member, expelled him for his strong support of the revolution. In order to fight the ultra-left's childish agitations, he established the Writers' and Artists' Association (Shoraye nevisandegan va honarmandan) in 1980.

     As an outcome of the lack of unity in the camp of progressive revolutionary forces, the unrealistic demands of the ultra‑left, and imperialist instigation of the Iraq/Iran war, reactionary theocratic forces hidden inside the religious leadership of the 1979 revolution outlawed all political parties and imprisoned their leaderships. In 1983, BehAzin was imprisoned at the age of 68. He spent the next eight years in prison and under extensive torture. After release in 1991, he was kept out of the public spotlight.

     Among his masterpieces are lucid translations of Romain Rolland's Jean‑Christophe, and l'ame enchantée (The Enchanted Soul); Mikhail Sholokhov's Tichii Don (The Silent Don), Podnyataya Tselina (Virgin Soil Upturned), and Oni Srazhalis za rodinu (They Fought for Their Country); Honoré de Balzac's le Pere Goriot, les lys dans la vallée (Lily of the Valley), and la cousine Bette; Shakespeare's Hamlet and Othello. He was the author of many original books and short stories in Persian, including Goftar dar azadi (A Passage on Liberty), Be sooye mardom (Towards the People), Khanevadeye Aminzadegan (Aminzadegan Family), Dokhtare raiat (The Peasant's Daughter), Az har dari (mostly unpublished autobiography), and Mihman e aghayan (Guest of these Guys), his memoir from the Shah's prison.

     BehAzin died a communist. Despite all the years in hardship, in prison, and under torture, he stood firm until the end in his belief in peace, social justice, and freedom.

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How much longer can the U.S. dollar reign supreme?

(The following article is from the June 16-30,2006 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 Linda Heard

Saddam Hussein stopped trading his oil for dollars before Iraq was invaded. Iran gets set to open a new oil bourse and futures market that will trade in euros, while Venezuela is said to be mulling over whether to follow suit.

     Now Russia has joined the bandwagon. On May 10, President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a Russian oil and gas bourse along with his intention to convert the ruble into a convertible currency that would be used for the trade. Russia has recently swapped some of its dollar reserves for euros.

     Together Iran, Venezuela and Russia corner some 25 percent of the export market in oil. If the three countries do away with the petrodollar, this could seriously buffet the US currency, forcing up interest rates, increasing the cost of imports into the US and contributing to an inflationary economy or a recession.

     William Clark writing in the Energy Bulletin says, "What we are witnessing is a battle for oil currency supremacy. If Iran's oil bourse becomes a successful alternative for international oil trades, it would challenge the hegemony currently enjoyed by the financial centres in both London (IPE) and New York (NYMEX)..."

     At the same time, nations in this region have been exchanging percentages of their dollar reserves for other currencies.

     In March, following the Dubai Ports World debacle, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Central Bank said it was considering converting 10 percent of its dollar reserves to euros. Kuwait and Qatar have hinted that they might do the same.

     The Commercial Bank of Syria has exchanged all its dollar devise for euros following a call from Washington urging US banks to cease acting as correspondents for Syrian financial institutions, ostensibly because of money‑laundering concerns.  

     Last month, Sweden cut the dollar share of its $21 billion foreign reserves from 37 percent down to 20 percent, causing the dollar to tumble almost two percent in one week. Sweden's central bank said the switch to euros was an effort to stabilise its foreign currency reserves and reduce volatile currencies.  

     Iran, Venezuela and Russia are hardly on warm terms with the US Government and their proposed flight from dollars is thought to be partially, if not wholly, politically motivated. However, if the dollar value plunges as a result, then central banks around the world will be left with devalued reserves, and may have to start switching as well.  

     According to David Smith, economic editor for the Sunday Times, much of the dollar plunge is further "prompted by America's $800 billion current‑account deficit". This deficit isn't surprising when a whopping $280 billion has gone to fund the war in Iraq and the Bush administration is bent on its policy of tax cuts, which mostly benefit mega corporations and the wealthy.  

     Gulf nations, in particular the UAE and Qatar, are said to be suffering inflationary pressures due to the weakened dollar and there is discussion as to whether the dirham and the riyal should be released from their long‑time hinge to the greenback.  

     Some economists are making the case for Gulf currencies to be linked to a basket of foreign currencies instead. In May, Kuwait revalued its dollar‑pegged dinar up one percent. According to the Kuwaiti Finance Minister, the revaluation was meant to offset the impact of the dollar's slide on investments and inflation.  

     An article posted on the Emirates Bank website penned by its general manager believes there is a more important question up for discussion than the pegging of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) currencies.  

     "A more important question therefore, may be whether oil exports should continue to be denominated in US dollars," he writes. "This might well be something that Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) or OEAPC can consider as to the pros and cons but is a matter that is best decided by a dialogue between the importers of oil and the exporters."

     Washington's erratic and aggressive foreign policies have also contributed to the rise in oil prices. In the event of a military strike on Iran or attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Venezuela, oil could top the $100 dollar mark with severe repercussions on the US and other first world economies.  

     Indeed, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to stop the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz, while Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez says he will quit selling oil to the US if threatened with invasion.  

     The question is how far will the dollar dive? If it ever goes into freefall, we may be all in for a bumpy ride ahead.

     (Reprinted from The Guardian, weekly newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia, with acknowledgements to International Clearing House)