Cruel racism abounds in the USA. From the slave ships, to the slave auctions, to the schools and prisons of today; from the whippings, rapes and murders of the past to the beatings, racial profiling and killings of today… slavery is endemic to the capitalist system across North America. On the land stolen from the brutalized and decimated Indigenous peoples, capitalism was built on the backs of African and Indigenous slaves, and by impoverished, exploited and oppressed immigrants and racialized workers.
In Canada, the ruling class papered over the violent seizure of land from the indigenous peoples — much of it still unceded. Those peoples were starved, raped, injured and murdered. Their children were seized, imprisoned in residential schools where the “Indian ” in them was suppressed relentlessly, where many were over-worked, underfed, beaten, raped and killed.
“No institutionalized racism in Canada”? Canada was founded on racism toward Indigenous peoples, Metis, Quebecois, Blacks and racialized immigrants. In 1755-64 the Crown expelled Acadians from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Slavery was legal in Canada until 1833. Ottawa imported Chinese workers, many of whom died building the Canadian Pacific Railway; the survivors were ordered to leave. The state interned Canadians of Japanese heritage during World War II. In 1946, Viola Desmond went to jail for challenging anti-Black segregation in Nova Scotia. Racial profiling and racist murder by cops continue. Canadian mining companies exploit and brutalize black and brown people around the globe, stealing their resources for a fraction of their market value. Canadian capitalism was born of racism. It carries the virus to this day. We demand:
1. Stop and reverse the invasion of unceded lands and First Nations territories by mining, gas and oil corporations.
2. Enforce fully the U.N. Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People.
3. Jail Killer Cops. Prosecute Police Brutality. Smash anti-Black racism.
4. Disarm, De-fund and Disband the capitalist police force. For Workers’ and Community-Controlled Policing.
CONTACT SOCIALIST ACTION at www.socialistaction.ca
e-mail: socialistactioncanada@gmail.com phone: 647-986-1917
