06) YES TO PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

People's Voice Editorial

            One of the last actions of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada was to urge Ottawa to establish a Crown Corporation in the telecommunications sector.

            Congratulations are in order to the CEP for raising this proposal. As outgoing CEP president Dave Coles asks, rather than giving benefits to Verizon, a giant US corporation that will take jobs, expertise and profits out of the country, why not set up a Crown telecommunications company that will hire Canadians and return the surplus to the public?

            It's a sad commentary on the Official Opposition that this concept is seen as "thinking outside the box." Instead of encouraging wide debate on the benefits of public ownership, the NDP leadership stifles any such discussion, even though (to give just one example) a higher percentage of Canadians support public ownership of the energy industry than those who voted NDP in the most recent federal election.

            The "Canada Wireless" proposal raised by CEP deserves strong support from the labour and people's movements, as an important measure to help end the relentless gouging of consumers by the telecom monopolies.

            It's also time to demand public ownership in other key sectors, such as oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance, etc. Such highly profitable industries could become the material basis for a radical transformation of the economy, away from corporate profiteering, and towards jobs, housing, social programs, and environmental sustainability.

            This is not a utopian idea; it's an urgent necessity of our times. The private profit economy known as capitalism poses a dire threat to the living standards of working people, but also to the very future of our planet. Simply put, human survival is too important to leave in the hands of the ultra-rich. Kudos to the CEP for helping to stimulate debate on this important topic.

(The above article is from the September 1-15, 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,