13) PEOPLE’S VOICE FUND APPEAL: WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!

    Every year, People’s Voice appeals to readers and friends for material support. This time-honoured tradition goes back to the era of The Worker, which began publication on March 15, 1922, the Canadian Tribune (launched 75 years ago, on January 15, 1940), and then the Pacific Tribune.

    Ninety years ago, radio was a new information technology, and working people relied on newspapers, leaflets, books and other print media to learn about politics and current events. Today, progressive movements increasingly depend on websites and social media platforms to reach millions of people. We are no exception, and our volunteers are busy expanding the People’s Voice online presence (watch for details!).

    But some things don’t change. Socialists and progressives have always resisted imperialist war and aggression. That was true during the era of The Worker and the Tribunes, and today Canada is being plunged into yet another deadly war of occupation in Iraq and Syria. The labour movement was under constant threat by governments and corporate interests in 1922 and 1940, and again today under the Harper Conservatives.

    There is another ominous parallel with earlier times. Today’s Bill C-51 reminds us of the War Measures Act, which was invoked several times to ban left-wing organizations, imprison labour leaders, shut down newspapers, and to incarcerate people on the basis of their ethnic origins. Bill C-51, the so-called Anti-Terrorism Act, allows arrests on mere suspicion of future criminal activity, expands the “no-fly list”,  creates a new speech-related criminal offence of “promoting” or “advocating” “terrorism offences in general,” and criminalizes activities which “interfere with the economic or financial stability of Canada.”

    Look at the potential targets of this dangerous police state legislation: anti-war activists; Canadians of Muslim faith (portrayed as potential criminals by racist Conservative cabinet ministers!); supporters of national liberation movements; trade unionists exercising their right to strike and take other forms of collective action; Indigenous activists and environmentalists who engage in civil disobedience to resist tar sands extraction and pipelines.

    With a federal election looming, the Conservatives and their right-wing backers want to shut down open debate. They hope to use the legal bludgeon of Bill C-51 to intimidate critics into silence.

    However, People’s Voice will always speak out against war, fascism, racism, bigotry, and Islamophobia. We support the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions campaign against Israeli apartheid policies. We stand shoulder to shoulder with trade unionists struggling for better pay and working conditions, and with those who oppose expanded greenhouse gas emissions. In the face of Harper’s threats, WE WILL NOT BE SILENT.

    We will keep giving prominent coverage to the campaigns to block C-51, to reject police state repression and surveillance, and to dismantle CSIS. We will stand for peace, solidarity with Palestine, free collective bargaining, Aboriginal rights, and climate justice. We will continue to call for an end to capitalist exploitation, and for a socialist Canada, in which working people democratically control the economy and hold political power.

    But we cannot move ahead without your solidarity. People’s Voice urgently needs to complete our annual $50,000 Fund Drive, so that we can keep reporting on the huge political struggles building across Canada and around the world.

    To our amazing subscribers - when your mail appeal letter arrives in early March, please respond as generously as you can. Every donation is critical, no matter what you can afford.

    This year, we also want to pay a special tribute to friends who make significant donations to our Fund Drive. All those who contribute or raise $300 or more will be recognized as People’s Voice Supporters. and we will send you a copy of “Red Bait”, the late Al King’s wonderful book on the history of the Mine-Mill union in Trail, British Columbia. Contributors of $500 or more will become “Editor’s Circle” members, eligible to receive a copy of “Citizenfour,” the important new documentary on whistle-blower Edward Snowden (as soon as it goes on sale!).  And those who donate $1000 or more will be honoured with a Lifetime Sustainer subscription, either personally or for somebody of your choice.

    Never has it been more important to help People’s Voice stay in print. We know we can count on your support!

(The above article is from the March 1-15, 2015 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.)