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Socialist Action Canada

Socialist Action Canada | Ligue pour L'Action Socialiste

Year: 2022

The Red Review — Class Struggle or Just a “Con”voy?

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In this episode of The Red Review, brought to you by Socialist Action, Emily and Daniel take you on a deep dive into the anti-mandate convoy? Is this a working-class movement or a eugenecist and reactionary movement led by the petit-bourgoiesie? What fueled the anti-mandate convoy, and what role did mainstream coverage of China's zero-covid strategy play? We end with a discussion about who ought to respond to the convoy — the police or labour?

The far-right’s dangerous political momentum

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As state power is reluctantly and belatedly deployed against the far-right’s laughably named Freedom Convoy, it’s time for the political left in Canada to ask itself some very serious questions. How could a gaggle of white supremacists manage to capture the political momentum and undertake “the biggest protest organized by the Canadian far-right since the 1930s”?

Code Red — Alberta’s Ambulance Shortage

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The Province of Alberta, led by Kenney’s United Conservative Party (UCP), faces an ambulance shortage. Articles in 2019, well before the pandemic of Covid-19, described a sharp increase in code reds, where no ambulance is available to respond to a call. With increased rates of infection impacting both the number of healthcare workers isolating at home and the number of calls for ambulances coming in, the crisis of ambulance coverage in Alberta surpassed any reasonable notion of a tipping point. The existing system isn’t failing — it’s failed.

Coverage of China’s Covid-Zero Strategy and Manufacturing Consent

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As neoliberal governments faced yet another wave of Covid-19 in December 2021, this time fueled by the even-more contagious Omicron variant, politicians and corporate-owned media began laying the ideological groundwork for the scrapping of all public health protections. Despite workers and oppressed people continuing to get sick, developing chronic illnesses, and dying, and the ongoing uncertainty about new variants emerging, the resumption of maximum production and consumption again stands as the only priority. As the exploited classes are primed to acquiesce to an erosion of our right to a safe workplace, media and politicians work overtime to discredit any alternative pandemic response. In this quest, the biggest obstacle remains China’s successful and dynamic Covid-zero strategy.

No War in Ukraine!

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Socialists oppose all wars, except the class war.  Workers and the poor, women and children are the first and foremost victims of war, while a tiny, rich minority profit from the woe it inflicts on the vast majority.  The current conflict over Ukraine shows this again.  It stems from the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is led by Washington, London, Paris, Ottawa and their imperialist allies.  The unfolding tragedy can be halted by mass protest actions in every country, along with the construction of a broad, democratic anti-war movement.  Those are the key tasks at this moment.

The Ontario NDP and the Art of Political Manipulation

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By postponing the Ontario New Democratic Party Convention (for nearly a year) to occur just four months prior to the Ontario provincial election, party officials tipped the scales to minimize criticism of its policy and Leader.  And leaving nothing to chance, they ensured that dozens of submitted resolutions calling for democratic and socialist policies were ranked low on subject priority lists so as to never see the light of day.  Milquetoast motions that did get debated (February 4-6, 2022) mostly garnered over 95 per cent approval.  The 1,100-plus registered delegates endured a long parade of NDP and Labour bureaucrats who repeated arguments at the virtual PRO mic, ad nauseum.  But don't think that this was a convention of calm consensus.  Up to a quarter of the gathering, representing thousands of rank and file members of the only mass, labour-based, working class party in North America, frequently challenged bureaucratic rules and pro-capitalist policies.

Press NDP to Fight for a Workers’ Agenda in 2022

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After nearly four years of the most regressive, incompetent and corrupt Ontario government in decades, opinion polls show the Doug Ford Conservatives leading, and the New Democratic Party mired in third place, well behind the Liberals, on the eve of the June 2 provincial election.

How is this possible?  Only exceptionally weak NDP policy and leadership can account for this disturbing situation.  It’s certainly not a function of popular satisfaction with the status quo.

Toronto Anti-Convoy Protest Shows the Way Forward

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While the anti-mandate siege in Ottawa continued, Torontonians learned of a similar convoy set for the weekend of February 5, 2022. We anticipated thousands of people would converge in Toronto to spread a eugenicist message — that saving the lives of the most vulnerable from Covid-19 is not worth any concession of individual liberties. But frustrated and over-stressed healthcare workers decided to take a stand.

The Red Review — Challenging Eco-colonialism Using Indigenous Science with Dr. Jessica Hernandez

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In this episode of The Red Review, brought to you by Socialist Action, Emily and Daniel talk with Dr. Jessica Hernandez about her new book, Fresh Banana Leaves, and her conceptualization of Indigenous science and eco-colonialism. We finish with a discussion about how Indigenous peoples and settlers can unite against common oppressors and what it takes for that to happen.

Emergency Town Hall on Omicron Crisis: Workers’ on the Frontline

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On Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 7p.m. over 300 front-line workers from coast to coast joined a Zoom Conference in response to the Omicron crisis. The conference host, Justice for Workers Organization, was overwhelmed by the participation and passion of frontline workers from variety of sectors, including health, education, transportation, agriculture and newly emerging freelance/ gig workers.  The conference included special guest Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Peggy Sattler from London West, guest speaker Dr. Naheed Dosani, and observers from the Migrant Rights Network, along with Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL). 

Maybe the story is more complex than Russia bad, Canada good

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The saber rattling is becoming scary. But Canadian officials labelling Russia “aggressive” while stoking unnecessary conflict has a long history.

Echoing a 2009 statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently denounced “an aggressive Russia”. Throughout their time in office the Liberals have blamed Russia for complicated conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as nuclear proliferation. In a major 2017 foreign policy speech foreign minister Chrystia Freeland called “Russian military adventurism and expansionism … clear strategic threats to the liberal democratic world, including Canada.” But NATO countries spend $1.1 trillion on their militaries each year while Russia’s military budget is $61 billion.

Robbie Mahood 1946-2021 : Un révolutionnaire en pratique comme en théorie

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Robbie Mahood, 75 ans, membre fondateur et figure de proue de la Socialist Action / Ligue pour l'Action socialiste, est décédé à Montréal le 26 décembre 2021 ; il a perdu sa longue bataille contre le cancer le 24 décembre suite à un accident vasculaire cérébral totalement débilitant. Entouré de sa famille et de ses proches dans sa chambre d'hôpital Robbie a peut-être aussi été conscient de l'affection et de l'adoration exprimées par un grand nombre de camarades de tout le continent qui se sont joints à un rassemblement virtuel en ligne impromptu organisé à son chevet quelques heures seulement avant que sa vie s'éteigne.

Socialist Action 2022 Fund Appeal – Invest in the struggle for a better world!

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Now that another year of pandemic is behind us, it is time to reflect, and to replenish our resources. Inspiring are the first signs of a revival of the workers’ movement, including new union-organizing efforts, and the many young workers who are joining the revolutionary socialist movement. The aim of this New Year’s Fund Appeal is to raise over $5,000 between now and February 28, 2022, to enable Socialist Action 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.

2023 Socialist Action Canada
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