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McMaster students begin 2nd week of hunger strike for a fossil free university
by Tom Baker, March 27, 2023 On March 24 over 100 students and community members rallied in support of five students from the McMaster Divestment Project (MacDivest) who are on a hunger strike against a duplicitous “green washing” university administration. …
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The History and Practice of Socialist Action – Canada (2020)
by Barry WeislederSA Canada is 26 years old. But SA didn’t suddenly arise. It did not spring from the head of Zeus. It emerged organically from concrete conditions. To understand those circumstances, some background is needed. This is the 103rd…
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Carleton University Workers Strike against Poverty Wages and for Quality of Education
Education workers at Carleton University are set to commence strike action on March 27 in an effort to reach a fair deal with the University. CUPE Local 4600 President Noreen Cauley-Le Fevre states that despite months of negotiations, the University…
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Socialist Digest – February 2023
Discontent with the capitalist status quo is spreading rapidly. At the forefront are mobilizations in France against President Emanuel Macron's reform of the country's retirement law. Under Socialist Party President Francois Mitterrand and up to the 1990s the legal retirement age with full pension was 60 years. Since then, right wing governments have pushed it up to 62 years. Macron announced a move to raise it to 65 years, but backed down. He now proposes age 64. Mass action involving strikes and demonstrations, one day at a time, usually once or twice a week, have followed the parliamentary calendar. More militant sectors in the union movement have been calling for renewable strikes from one day to the next, towards a general strike.
Police Murder in Memphis
On Friday, January 27, Memphis, Tennessee city officials released over an hour of video showing the murder of Tyre Nichols, a black resident beaten to death by police. Recorded earlier by three body cameras and one stationary surveillance camera, the videos were made available to family members, lawyers, and various public officials, who universally described the contents as disturbing and inhumane.
Windsor City Council Backs Natural Gas Power Plant Expansion Despite Opposition from Residents and Environmental Groups.
By A. Ellis (MSA Shadow Councillor in Windsor-Essex). Published on the Municipal Socialist Alliance website on Jan. 24, 2023. On January 16, 2023, Windsor City Council supported a proposal from Capital Power to add two natural gas turbines to their…
Ford’s Healthcare Privatization — A Slippery Highway to Hell
Well folks, he’s done it again. Ontario Premier Doug Ford retrieved the major tool in his toolbox: privatization. This time, Ford brandishes privatization to hammer on the nail that is the province’s healthcare system. As reported by the CBC last week, “Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones are planning to make an announcement next week on expanding the number and range of surgeries performed in independent health facilities outside of hospitals.” Independent health facilities are generally for-profit clinics operated by the private owners.
Socialist Action Joins Hundreds of Protestors at Toronto City Hall to Oppose TPS Police Budget
As the city’s Budget Committee wrapped up for the year, hundreds of demonstrators, including Socialist Action Canada and members of the Municipal Socialist Alliance, rallied outside of Toronto City Hall, demanding that the Toronto city council divest from the Toronto police budget and invest in Toronto communities. Socialist Action member Sean Ihn spoke at the rally, representing Students Mobilizing Against Systemic Hardship at U of T (SMASH U of T)
Socialist Digest – January 2023
Canada’s 100 highest-paid corporate executives made an average of $14.3 million in 2021, exceeding the previous record of $11.8 million set three years earlier. By January 3, the average CEO on that list made $58,800, the amount an average Canadian worker earns in an entire year, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
No More ‘Red-Baiting’ — Letter to the Hamilton Spectator
Regarding “Scrap fighter-jet purchase plan” (Jan. 6): I have serious reservations about the Trudeau government’s decision to procure F-35 fighter jets at a life-cycle cost of over $70 billion. Despite previous Liberal government statements that the F-35’s “stealth first-strike capability” was not needed to defend Canada, Minister Anita Anand now asserts that the F-35 is needed to protect Canada and fulfil its obligations. In truth, funding these costly carbon-intensive war machines will drastically undermine our capacity for Indigenous reconciliation, adequate housing, accessible health care, education and urgent climate action.
The Toronto Police Services Budget Needs to be Slashed Not Increased
On the first Monday of 2023, Jan. 9, the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) held a special meeting to discuss and vote upon a proposed $48.3 million CAD increase to the Toronto Police Services (TPS) operating budget in 2023, which represents a 4.3% increase over the bloated 2022 operating budget.
Municipal Socialist Alliance Says No to Proposed Increase to Toronto Police Budget
The Municipal Socialist Alliance says No to the proposed increase to the Toronto police budget. The notion that the hike is a step towards enhanced public safety is completely ill-conceived.
Unions in New Brunswick Protest Bill 23
As opposition to it grows, it appears that the very legislation enacted by the Conservative government to limit the rights of unions is creating an unprecedented level of solidarity among them.
Happy Revolutionary New Year 2023 From Socialist Action
No one is sad to see 2022 go. Our hopes are for a brighter and better 2023. A happy, healthy and revolutionary New Year from Socialist Action in the Canadian-state
Socialist Action 2023 Fund Appeal: Invest in the Struggle
News flash: Generous supporters pledged close to $3,000 in the first week of this campaign. Will you join them now? Now that another year of pandemic is behind us, it is time for us at Socialist Action to reflect on the year that was 2022, and to replenish our resources. The aim of this New Year’s Fund Appeal is to raise over $7,000 between now and February 28, 2023, to enable Socialist Action Canada to rise to the challenges ahead. We seek to enlist your support for our efforts to build a larger, more effective, non-sectarian, socialist working class party.
“The entire labor movement in the province was ready for a general strike”
It is with a little delay that we return here to a mobilization of education staff at the beginning of November and publish the content of the interview granted to us by Julius Arscott, member of the executive committee of the union of employees of the Ontario Public Service.
Socialist Action Digest, December 2022
On the domestic political landscape, the biggest development in the Fall was the two-day walkout by CUPE-Ontario education workers. They boldly defied a law pre-emptively banning strike action. CUPE and allies, including the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union, forced the Thug Ford Conservative government to rescind Bill 28 and its use of the notwithstanding clause to violate the Charter of Rights.
Radical Vancouver Politics — The Birth of Vote Socialist
On May 1st, 2022, a new united front electoral alliance launched in Vancouver. With demands to defund the Vancouver Police Department, build public housing, and to tax big corporations, Vote Socialist ran a five month whirlwind of a campaign that netted its three candidates — Sean Orr for city council, Dr. Karina Zeidler for school board, and Andrea Pinochet-Escudero for park board — a combined 45,000 votes. This is the story of how Vote Socialist came to be.
Tout le mouvement syndical de la province était prêt à une grève générale
C’est avec un peu de retard que nous revenons ici, sur une mobilisation du personnel de l’éducation au début novembre et publions le contenu de l’interview que nous a accordée Julius Arscott, membre de la commission exécutive du syndicat des employés de la fonction publique de l’Ontario. Ce mouvement a été remarquable par la pression mise par les syndiqués sur leur direction syndicale, pour ne pas faire de concessions au patronat dans un contexte d’inflation (5,6 %). L’autre trait remarquable a été la solidarité de tout le mouvement syndical envers les travailleurs de l’éducation. Une révolte… qui en appelle d’autres !