09) SFL CALLS FOR BAN ON CORPORATE POLITICAL DONATIONS

 

By Darrell Rankin

 

            The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour is urging Premier Brad Wall to ban corporate political donations.

 

            "The people of Saskatchewan should have faith that their government is not beholden to corporate donors, and that decisions are made in the interests of the province," said SFL president Larry Hubich.

 

            The SFL made the call "In light of revelations about how a handful of Saskatchewan construction companies donated more than $64,000 to the current government in 2011 alone... (This is) the same government that passed Bill 80 at the industry's request in 2008."

 

            Bill 80 did away with the basic rights of building trades workers to choose their own union. Contractors can now choose which union will represent workers on job sites, effectively banning craft unions from the industry and ripping up province‑wide collective agreements.

 

            "The news about how significantly some construction companies are involved in Saskatchewan politics is extremely troubling," said Hubich.

 

            The SFL is probably the first labour fed to make such a demand. Most federal and provincial election laws ban both corporate and trade union political donations.

 

            The Communist Party has also called for a ban on corporate donations since corporations should not have the same rights as people; they are purely legal entities.

 

            The current ban on union donations was put in place in the last 20 years as a way to "guarantee" governments are "neutral" and distant from the class struggle. In fact, there is no such thing as a neutral government in class‑divided societies. All governments in a capitalist society defend the interests of the ruling capitalist class, a class which always has pools of money to donate to their political parties. The Communist Party has always opposed the ban on union donations.

 

(The above article is from the December 1-31, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist 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.)