On Monday, October 17 tens of thousands of trade unionists brought the capital city of British Columbia to a grinding halt. Victoria was closed for business as a regional general strike in support of the British Columbia Teachers Federation crippled the city. The strike culminated in a massive demonstration at the BC legislature. The comrades of Fightback were there on this historic day.
As we drove into the city, the magnitude of the event became clear. There were picket lines everywhere. Every public sector office was behind a picket line. Every school, every grocery store was closed.
The march began at Centennial Square and headed towards the legislature. We met the demonstration at the rally site. You could hear the drums banging and crowd cheering from several city blocks away. As the crowd came into view on Government Street, it was a truly awe inspiring sight. A wall of people, filling a four-lane street was heading towards the legislature. The rear of the march arrived an hour and a half later than the front. This demonstration may be the largest in the history of Victoria.
As the government met inside, 50,000 people stood on the lawns chanting “General Strike! General Strike!” Many labour leaders addressed the crowd, including the president of the BC Teachers Federation Jinny Sims and BC Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair who announced another regional general strike for Wednesday.
The BC Federation of Labour has planned regional general strikes throughout the week. Rumor has it, that the schedule has Vancouver out on Friday and an all-out, province-wide general strike to begin Monday, October 24.