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By Alex Frost and Lorenzo Fiorito in Montreal
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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
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About 800 demonstrated in Montreal on May Day, facing a brutal
intervention of the police, while on May 3rd the official union
rally attracted around 50,000, significantly up on last year's numbers.
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By Fightback - www.marxist.ca
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Tuesday, 29 April 2008 |
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14 students at UofT, including Canadian Marxists active with Fightback, have been arrested on false charges for fighting for free education. The charges include assaulting a police officer and forcible confinement, which could lead to serious jail time. The University is trying to crush this movement under repression before it takes off. Solidarity action is needed now!
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By Fightback Editorial Board
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Wednesday, 26 March 2008 |
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Canada has one of the highest levels of strikes in
any country in the world. It has also experienced several factory occupations
over the past year or so. Now its giant neighbour, the USA is in recession.
Canada is facing a turbulent period, where all relations, economic,
political and social, will be turned upside down.
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By Miriam Martin in Vancouver
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
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Last month marked the 100 year anniversary of one of the B.C.
labour movement’s darkest moments – the anti-Asian riots of 1907. This
mobilization of organized workers against other workers along racial
lines highlights the need for a clear understanding of why racism
exists and is allowed to exist, the pernicious role it plays under
capitalism, and the real road to its abolition.
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By Fightback - www.marxist.ca
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Friday, 27 July 2007 |
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At each stage of the class struggle, it is necessary for revolutionary
activists to take stock of the general situation. in order to understand and
anticipate the direction of the class struggle. The following articles come out
of the discussions held at the 2007 Fightback conference
and are meant to orient the action of Canadian revolutionaries in 2007. See
part 1, part 2, and part 3.
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By Miriam Martin in Vancouver
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
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Miner’s Memorial Day
took place this past weekend on Vancouver Island to celebrate the memory of
Ginger Goodwin and the struggles of the miners. A good contingent of youth were
present to take part in meetings and discussions.
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By Julian Benson and Alex Grant in Toronto
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Thursday, 21 June 2007 |
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Today
the major industrialized country with the highest proportion of working days
not worked due to strikes or lockouts is Canada, the only OECD country with a
higher rate is crisis-ridden Iceland. The high strike rate in Canada is now
leading to further radicalisation as workers in the manufacturing sector begin
factory occupations against plant closures. Canadian workers are setting the
pace; the world will follow.
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By Alex Grant – Fightback Editorial Board
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 |
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The recent elections in Québec represent a
tidal shift in the political landscape. Voters expressed their dissatisfaction with the old parties by electing the right-populist Action democratique du Québec (ADQ) into
2nd place, thus assuring a minority government.
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By Julian Benson from Toronto
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 |
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The auto industry in North
America is in crisis. Over the past 5 years, many plants have been
closed and thousands of workers laid off. This process continued recently when
Collins & Aikman declared bankruptcy and announced it would close its plant
in Scarborough.
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By Communist Party of Québec
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 |
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Fightback,
the website of the
Canadian Marxists, has received the following article by the Communist Party of
Québec (PCQ) on the recent Québec elections. We are translating it into
English because, while we do not agree 100% with all of the formulations, it
contains very interesting analysis that should be made available to activists
in English Canada and around the world.
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By Julian Benson
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Wednesday, 20 September 2006 |
From 8th September to the 10th, the New Democratic Party (NDP) held its biennial federal convention in Québec City. The NDP’s youth wing, the New Democratic Youth of Canada (NDYC), also held its convention in Québec just prior to the federal convention.
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By Camilo Cahis
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Wednesday, 20 September 2006 |
Since the betrayal of the Ontario Days of Action in 1996-97, the movement in Ontario has been at one of its lowest levels. This is in contrast to the rest of Canada where most provinces are seeing some of the most militant labour actions since the 1970s. In both British Columbia and Québec, we have seen a burgeoning general strike movement while Newfoundland recently saw the largest strike in the province’s history.
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By Mike Palecek - www.marxist.ca
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Wednesday, 26 July 2006 |
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On July 27, 1918 Albert (Ginger) Goodwin stared into the
barrel of Dan Campbell's shot gun and in a second, it was all over. Ginger Goodwin's murder sparked the first
general strike in Canadian history and he remains a source of inspiration for
revolutionaries and labour activists to this day.
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By Fightback - www.marxist.ca
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Wednesday, 26 July 2006 |
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Every year labour activists from across British Columbia descend
on the town of Cumberland
for Miner's Memorial Day. The annual
event is held to commemorate the hundreds of workers who died in Cumberland's coal mines and
murdered socialist Ginger Goodwin. Comrades
from the International Marxist Tendency are always present for the ceremony,
but this year we played a much larger role.
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By Alex Grant - www.marxist.ca
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Monday, 19 June 2006 |
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On the evening of Friday June 2nd, Police and Security
Forces arrested 17 men in the Greater Toronto Area on terrorism
charges. For Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the
arrests come at a convenient time when support is slipping for the
Canadian intervention in Afghanistan. The corporate media and
right-wing politicians are attempting to use the fear of terrorism to
erode civil liberties in Canada.
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By Fightback - www.marxist.ca
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Wednesday, 07 June 2006 |
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We are publishing a discussion document written by the Fightback editorial board. It attempts to outline the dominant trends within the Canadian labour movement to give youth and worker militants a guide to action. |
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By Mike Palecek
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Tuesday, 14 March 2006 |
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The Campbell government is planning a major offensive on the rights of working people. Over the past five years, each attack of the government has been met with stiff resistance. Each battle has taken on an increasingly militant character. With most public sector contracts ending this month, the stage is set for a decisive battle. |
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By Alex Grant
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Wednesday, 25 January 2006 |
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The Liberal Party of Canada has finally been kicked out of office. The Conservatives must attempt to lead an even more fractured minority Parliament while there is little support for right-wing policies. The Canadian elite wants a strong majority government to push through attacks on the working class. But the good showing by the union-backed NDP, and the continued presence of the separatist Bloc Québécois, means the Canadian political crisis will continue until the fall of this weak government. |
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By Rob Lyon
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Wednesday, 21 December 2005 |
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A group of “prominent personalities” in Québec issued a manifesto titled Pour un Québec lucide (in English, For a clear-eyed vision of Québec). Attempting to draw upon Québec’s history and using some of the strongest symbols from its past, it is nothing more than a manifesto of the bourgeoisie for the 21st century. More than that, Pour un Québec lucide is a stark warning to the working class that things are about to change. |
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By Miriam Martin, Vancouver, BC
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Tuesday, 13 December 2005 |
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Following some major successes in both Alberta and Ontario (including the recent endorsement by Canada’s largest regional trade union federation, the Ontario Federation of Labour), Hands Off Venezuela has begun making inroads in the British Columbia Labour Movement. |
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By Alex Grant
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Monday, 12 December 2005 |
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Bourgeois Democracy in Canada is facing a crisis of confidence. The fall of the minority Liberal government presents Socialists with a choice. Do we sit out the coming federal election or do we actively participate in the debate? What strategies are necessary for increasing support for socialist ideas? And finally, what position should we take towards the federal New Democratic Party? We are producing here the text of a leaflet, Join the NDP - Fight for socialism, that tries to answer these questions. |
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By Hands Off Venezuela Canada
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Wednesday, 30 November 2005 |
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Increasingly, Canadian workers are learning about the importance of the Venezuelan Revolution. The Ontario Federation of Labour, which represents over 700,000 workers, unanimously passed a resolution in support of Venezuela at its November 21st – 25th convention. This success is the culmination of several months of organizing activity by Hands Off Venezuela activists in Canada and is an important step forward for the Venezuela solidarity movement. |
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By Mike Palecek
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Monday, 07 November 2005 |
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As the dust settles around the British Columbia teachers' strike there is an uneasy calm hanging over the province. Two facts are immediately apparent - first, neither the government nor the labour movement were decisively defeated; and second, this was only a dress rehearsal for the bigger battle to come in the spring. |
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By Mike Palecek
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Wednesday, 19 October 2005 |
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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. |
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By Fighback Editorial Board
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Monday, 17 October 2005 |
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In a matter of days, all of the contradictions that have been building over the last four years in British Columbia have come to the fore. Gordon Campbell's mis-named Liberals have spent their time in power attacking the working class. This has been met with several waves of unrest. Now this battle is reaching new heights. The province stands on the brink of an all-out general strike. |
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By Fighback Editorial Board
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Friday, 07 October 2005 |
Yet again, the BC
Liberal Government has removed the democratic right of employees to
strike. From the UBC TAs, to the ferry
workers and hospital employees, workers’ rights and public programs are coming
under constant attack. Now the Liberals
plan to use BC’s teachers as their next layer of cannon fodder. On October 7, 42 000 public school teachers
will illegally walk the line in defence of their right to collectively bargain,
to go on strike and to save education for BC’s youth. Fightback stands together with the striking teachers.
Also see the Picket Line Solidarity Special in PDF format here |
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By Alex Grant
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Wednesday, 05 October 2005 |
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In the last five
years, gas prices in Canada have soared from about 65-cents per litre to
over $1.10. This price hike hits the
working class hardest. While the right
wing are trying to blame taxes for the increase, the majority of Canadians see
that corporate super-profits are the real culprit. In a recent
poll, 49% of Canadians (and 67% of Quebecers) support nationalizing the oil
industry. |
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By John Haggerty
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Wednesday, 14 September 2005 |
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Management
at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is trying to force through a new
contract on their employees – a contract eliminating restrictions on the
broadcaster's ability to contract out work instead of hiring full-time
employees. They have now applied a lock-out and it looks like it is going to a
long and bitter struggle. |
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By Miriam Martin
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Wednesday, 14 September 2005 |
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We’ve
seen disgruntled public service workers taking action all over Canada in the
last year or so – whether it be teachers in Québec, twenty-thousand
Newfoundland public sector workers, Ontario’s Hydro One workers, or the members
of the Hospital Employees’ Union. The increasing labour unrest culminated this
summer when private sector workers stepped onto the scene in a major way with
the victorious Truckers’ strike. |
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By Fightback editorial board
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Monday, 08 August 2005 |
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Fightback
calls for the nationalization of telecommunications under democratic
workers’ control, as the only solution to the problems of poor
management at Telus. |
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By Miriam Martin
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Monday, 08 August 2005 |
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Telus
workers across BC and Alberta have been on the picket lines since
Thursday July 21st, making it clear that they will not roll over and
take the offer that the company is trying to impose. In five years
without a contract, the members of the Telecommunications Workers Union
have put up with Telus stalling, conniving, and repeatedly bargaining
in bad faith, in a blatant attempt to break the union. |
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By Fightback Editorial Board
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Wednesday, 01 June 2005 |
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It is a cliché of Canadian political economy to say that if the US
sneezes, Canada gets a cold. When the US gets a cold, Canada suffers
pneumonia. The reason for this is very simple; the Canadian economy is
based on the export of manufactured goods to the United States. The Fightback Editorial Board looks at the world situation and how this affects Canada. |
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By Mike Palecek
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Tuesday, 17 May 2005 |
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Today is election-day in British Columbia and the BC New Democratic
Party is trailing in the polls. After four years of right wing rule in
British Columbia the province’s social services have been decimated.
Only a year ago BC stood on the brink of a general strike, now all is
quiet on the industrial front. This election should have been a cake
walk for the NDP, but the drift to the right by the leadership has left
workers uninspired. |
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By Alex Grant
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Monday, 18 April 2005 |
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The continuing revelations of the Gomery inquiry have unearthed the
corruption in Canada’s “democratic” system. There has been a collapse
in support for the Liberals but this has not resulted in any major
enthusiasm for the opposition Conservatives. The common opinion is that
all politicians are corrupt. This reflects the growing crisis in the
ability of the capitalist parties to rule. |
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By Fehr Marouf and Lorenzo Fiorito
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Monday, 18 April 2005 |
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Québec is in crisis and has just witnessed the largest student strike
in 30 years. What is needed now is an honest appraisal of the objective
failures and successes of the strike, and a sober discussion of how to
build from the current situation in preparation for future battles. |
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By Alex Grant
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Wednesday, 16 March 2005 |
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Eight months into their minority government, the federal Liberals have
tabled a budget that serves one main aim – survival. Their
right-leaning budget aims to please everybody, or more accurately in
typical Canadian fashion attempts to offend nobody, and in so doing
shows the weakness of Canadian Liberalism. |
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By Camilo Cahis
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Wednesday, 16 March 2005 |
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Last year, the Toronto District School Board debated whether to start
collecting data based on students’ race. Now, a professor is suggesting
that Toronto experiment with “black focused” schools in order to halt
“the problem of black youth disengagement from school.” |
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By Brent J. MacVicar and Cora James
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Tuesday, 15 March 2005 |
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Once again the workers of Québec are pointing the way forward for the
rest of Canada. From over 100,000 taking to the streets of Montréal on
May Day to the occupation of an Alcan smelting plant north of Montréal,
now Québec has become the first place in North America in which a
Wal-Mart store has unionized. |
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By Mike Palecek
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Friday, 14 January 2005 |
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After nearly four years of attacks by the Gordon Campbell Liberals,
British Columbia workers are fighting back. With the NDP in a position
to win May’s provincial election, a major confrontation is set to take
place between rank-and-file workers and the leaders of the NDP and
labour movement. The task of the Marxists is to penetrate these
organizations and sow them with ideas that can win. |
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By Alex Grant
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Friday, 14 January 2005 |
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Ian Angus’ book Canadian Bolsheviks details the birth,
growth, and eventual Stalinist degeneration of the Communist Party of
Canada and also details the lessons learned by the early communists
while building the most successful revolutionary party in Canada’s
history. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Wednesday, 01 September 2004 |
The Marxists in Canada are launching a new website – www.marxist.ca,
and a new publication – Fightback. We support their call for all
Canadians who read In Defence of Marxism and agree with the ideas of the
International Marxist Tendency to contact them and join their fight. We welcome Fightback
and www.marxist.ca
as new comrades in the struggle, and we are confident that they will become the
key organisers for revolutionaries in Canada. We are publishing three articles from issue #1 of Fightback.
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By Rob Lyon
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Thursday, 05 February 2004 |
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The world's largest producer of aluminum, Montréal-based Alcan, announced on January 22, 2004 that it was closing its Jonquière Soderburg smelter in Arvida, Québec. In order to protect their jobs, the unionized workers of the smelter have seized it and demanded that it either remain open, or that Alcan replace the smelter with a new one. |
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North America 
