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Communist Party CC meeting puts heat on Tories
(The following article is from the July 1-31, 2007 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, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Special to PV
Meeting in Toronto over the June 23-24 weekend, the new Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada focused its attention on signs of increased working class action across the country, and the need to defeat the favoured party of big business - the Harper Conservatives. The meeting also set plans for building the Communist Party during the second half of 2007, on top of some encouraging growth in the first six months of the year.
Elected in February at the party's 35th convention, the 25-member CC includes members from Nova Scotia to the west coast. Reflecting the party's working class outlook and base, eleven of the 25 are labour activists, holding a range of leadership positions in their unions. Nine CC members are women, and several are involved in movements working for LGBT equality rights. Two CC members are Aboriginal, and five are from Quebec. As the Communist Party's highest body between conventions, the body meets twice-yearly.
The meeting kicked off with a report on the current global and domestic political situation. Party leader Miguel Figueroa gave an overview of the dangerous developments in Central Asia and the Middle East, as US imperialism and its allies continue to stoke tensions, from the "hot wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the occupation of Palestine and the threats of aggression against Iran. Looking at the Canadian scene, Figueroa noted the contradictions in the current "booming" economy, which generates vast wealth while destroying industrial jobs and expanding poverty.
Figueroa's opening remarks were followed by a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the labour movement and other democratic struggles across Canada. In virtually every part of the country, CC members noted a growing mood of public resentment as the gulf between rich and poor widens, and as corporate profiteering means stepped-up attacks on wages and working conditions. There are growing examples of workers challenging the corporate assault, such as the two strikes by railway workers this year.
On the other hand, the CC noted, the ruling class is using every possible tactic to suppress and weaken working class militancy, from its control of the mass media, to legislative and police attacks against strikes. Another major factor holding back many struggles is the refusal or inability of some leaders in the trade union movement to mobilize a more powerful resistance. Many strikes and other actions have taken place with strong support from grassroots union members and mid-level labour activists, but in most cases, these struggles have remained somewhat isolated.
In this situation, other aspects of the fightback against the right-wing agenda have come to the forefront, notably the widespread demands to get Canadian troops out of Afghanistan, and the powerful upsurge by Aboriginal peoples. The Communist Party has urged full support for actions taking place on and around June 29, the National Day of Action called by the Assembly of First Nations in response to government foot-dragging on land claims and the shameful levels of poverty on and off reserves.
During their first 18 months in office, the Tories have carried out parts of their right-wing agenda, but lacking a majority, they have been compelled to compromise or delay other initiatives. Trying to turn this to his electoral advantage, PM Harper has soft-pedalled unpopular reactionary policies and kept a gag order on outspoken far-right MPs. But the big business agenda is advancing rapidly, such as around military spending and the North American integration project, which will receive another boost at the US-Canada-Mexico summit at Montebello in August. The Tories are also using ministerial authority to implement policies such as gutting the Canadian Wheat Board, doing an end run around Parliament and public opinion. On Afghanistan, the Tories have used divisions in the opposition to their advantage, leaving room to extend the occupation past the current deadline of February 2009.
For all these reasons, the Central Committee voted to launch a special campaign to "Drive out the Harper Tories." The two-phase campaign will begin over the summer, with the wide use of stickers, poster and buttons designed to raise awareness of the Tory menace and to showcase progressive alternatives proposed by the Communist Party. Starting in September, the campaign will shift into pickets of Tory MP offices and other public actions, and a series of public forums.
Special reports on some key current issues were discussed by the CC, including support for the National Day of Action, and plans for protests against the North American summit. The CC also condemned the June 21 racist attack against the Kitigan Zibi Cultural Centre (north of Ottawa), and agreed to initiate celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution this fall.
Plans were elaborated for a 2007 Party Building Campaign tied into the "Drive out the Tories" actions. Already this year, dozens of new members have joined the CPC across the country, a Communist club has been formed in Windsor for the first time since the 1970s, and paid subscriptions to People's Voice have grown by ten percent. Sam Hammond, the chair of the party's Central Trade Union Commission, outlined detailed proposals for strengthening communist work in the labour movement over the next several months. The meeting also heard a report on the recent re-founding convention of the Young Communist League, presented by YCL general secretary Johan Boyden, the youngest member of the CC.
Upon adjournment, several CC members headed to the airport, leading the first official Communist Party of Canada delegation to Cuba in several years (see report in our next issue). Others joined with YCLers to take part in the Toronto Pride Day parade; the contingent drew loud cheers with their rainbow/peace flag and "smoke `out' the Harper Tories" stickers handed out along the route.
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