06) BETRAYING PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS

People's Voice Editorial

     The announcement by NDP leader Thomas Mulcair that his party is "very open" to a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union is a betrayal of the movements resisting the "free trade" blitz to allow corporations to shift investments freely across borders. Trade unions, environmentalists, the Council of Canadians, and others have raised serious warnings about CETA. This anti‑sovereignty deal would open up public services to further privatization, undermine the power of local governments, weaken environmental protections, and accelerate the neoliberal attack by big capital and right‑wing governments.

     Mulcair does add that transnational capital should not get everything it demands in CETA: just most of it. His view echoes the social democratic parties in Europe, which are mildly critical of neoliberal policies... until they take office. These parties reject socialist alternatives and agree that capitalism is the only possible form of human society.

     Perhaps even worse, Mulcair supports investment deals with "people (in the EU) who evolve in a similar universe to ourselves," unlike people in China. His breathtaking racism is amplified by the claim that Europe and Canada have "advanced" laws on human rights, the environment, and labour practices. What about indigenous peoples whose treaty rights are ignored, workers whose collective agreements are shredded by bosses and governments, or peasants whose lands are destroyed by resource corporations based in Europe, Canada, and the US?

     Of course, the Harper Tories represent the most dangerous big business threat to the interests of working people in Canada. But an NDP government which refused to challenge the agenda of big capital would do little to improve our lives. What`s really needed is a broad and powerful People`s Coalition, capable of fighting for a truly progressive agenda, both in the streets and inside Parliament.

(The following articles are from the February 15-28, 2013, 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.)