16) PV FUND DRIVE: YOU NEED US.... AND WE NEED YOU!

     We've all seen it coming: the avalanche of devastating attacks on the working people of Canada. Early warning signs were frequent, from the lockouts at Vale Inco and Hamilton's US Steel, to the propaganda war against the hard-won rights and benefits of public sector employees, to the skyrocketing tuition fees which saddle students with a lifetime of debt.

     Millions of Canadians are realizing that these are not isolated cases. The war of the rich against the rest of us which is shaking Europe is also being fought right here. Not satisfied with pay freezes and the occasional private pension grab, the bosses want everything. They are demanding much lower wages, an end to job security, and a rollback of pensions.

     It gets worse. They want to privatize every public asset and to scrap regulations which restrict their exploitation of workers and the environment. They want the "sacred right to profits" enshrined in "free trade" deals like CETA, which will permanently prevent citizens from exercising democratic sovereignty over our country and our economy. The Tories attack their critics as "enemies of Canada" and want full access to our private communications. Social equality rights are under fire.

     Perhaps most terrifying, Stephen Harper wants to turn Canada into a highly-militarized partner of U.S. imperialism, killing people in deadly new wars of aggression in the Middle East and beyond.

     These are dangerous times. Today every voice of opposition to Harper is critical, and every action to block the corporate agenda is urgent.

     This year, People's Voice will continue to report on the fightback, from the picket lines to the streets to the ballot box. Like the newspapers which preceded People's Voice over the past 90 years, our pages will feature the millions of working people who refuse to surrender, who keep fighting for a better future.

     But as we launch our 2012 Fund Appeal, we remind our readers that People's Voice has an even more important role. Working people need to understand the source of the attacks, and to rally around an alternative which goes far beyond criticism of the existing order.

     Uniquely among the democratic media across Canada, we stand for a socialist alternative to the destructive impact of 21st century capitalism. The policies of Stephen Harper and his cohorts are not simply a reflection of their far-right ideas. These policies flow from the capitalist system itself, which needs to boost the rate of profits to keep expanding.

     People's Voice will continue to combine revolutionary theory with the daily struggles of working people, in a format which is accessible and unifying. We will give full support to the fightback, such as the April 21 rally being organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour at Queen's Park, and we will continue to argue that labour must begin to build a powerful, militant, united people's coalition against the corporate agenda.

     But we can't do this without you. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to print and mail PV twice a month, and our subscription rates cover only part of this expense. If you agree that the working class of Canada needs its own socialist media, please give us your support. When you receive your 2012 Fund Appeal in the mail, be generous with your solidarity!

(The above article is from the March 1-15, 2012, 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.)