04) "DEFEND DEMOCRATIC AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN ONTARIO"

     The Ontario Federation of Labour and its community allies have issued a call for a major rally on Jan. 26, 2013, at the upcoming Ontario Liberal party convention. The following is from the OFL website:

     The Ontario government has been shut down while workers' rights are under threat and cuts to jobs and services are hurting every community.

     The 2012 Ontario Budget slashed funding and threatened thousands of jobs that are essential to the delivery of vital public services that support every community. Meanwhile the Ontario Liberal government maintained corporate tax cuts that continue to bleed $15 billion from the province every year. This fall, McGuinty's Liberals, with the backing of Tim Hudak's Progressive Conservatives, passed Bill 115 - an unprecedented law stripping educational workers of their most basic democratic rights. By cheating teachers and educational support staff of the right to strike and the right to bargain collectively with their employer, the Liberals and Conservatives have established a precedent that threatens the rights of every worker in Ontario.

     Now the Ontario Legislature has been prorogued while public services and workers' rights are continue to hang in limbo. However, with a provincial election on the horizon, workers and community members across the province can demand new priorities for Ontario that put people ahead of corporate profit.

     The Ontario Federation of Labour and community allies have launched a campaign to defend the democratic and economic rights of everyone. The campaign will bring the fight for rights and democracy directly to the doorstep of every Member of Provincial Parliament in the leadup to the Ontario Election. It has already started with regional town hall community meetings across the province and it will culminate in a mass rally at the Ontario Liberal Leadership Convention in Toronto on January 26, 2013.

     Get involved in the campaign! Help build labour‑community coalitions in every community! Mobilize for January 26 to defend the democratic and economic rights of everyone!

Website: www.ofl.ca/index.php/campaigns/DemocraticRights

Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/489963847693178

Twitter Hashtag: #J26Rally

(The above article is from the December 1-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)