04) HARPER TOSSES HIS GRENADE

 

People’s Voice Editorial

 

            As People’s Voice goes to the printer, the longest federal election in Canadian history is entering the home stretch. But unfortunately, none of the major contestants has offered much hope for working people who face the prospect of declining living standards and environmental change.

 

            Our view remains that the most dangerous outcome would be another majority for the Harper Tories, the favoured party of big business. Ignoring the norms of “parliamentary democracy,” the Conservative just signed the pro-corporate Trans Pacific Partnership, during a campaign which they may well lose. Harper’s strategy of tossing the TPP grenade into the room aims to shackle any new government with a deal that the ruling class would make virtually impossible to reject. Of course, Justin Trudeau’s big business Liberals would not even consider such an option. The NDP, on the other hand, finally came out against the TPP just hours before the pact was signed, after failing to help build a powerful mass campaign against this treacherous sellout.

 

            In essence, the Tories remain the battering ram of the ruling class, doing the heavy lifting to destroy labour and democratic rights, privatize any remaining public assets, and drive down wages and pensions. The Liberals share the same basic austerity agenda, while also promising to invest public funds in badly-needed infrastructure spending. That tactic may have outflanked both Mulcair’s NDP and the Greens, which present themselves as parties of change which won’t rock the capitalist boat or challenge neoliberal economics.

 

            Only the Communist Party has fought hard for fundamental change in this election, and its candidates deserve increased vote totals. But in most ridings, working class voters face difficult a choice, as they try to block a Conservative victory and also oppose the wider corporate agenda. In our next issue, we will examine the terrain of struggle under a new balance of forces in Parliament.                      

 

(The above article is from the October 16-31, 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.)