by Barry WeislederPension plans and retirement savings have been hit hard by the downturn. The security of many Canadians is at risk. Some companies even want to cut defined benefit plans that employees paid into throughout their working lives. (That's…
Will Copenhagen Make a Difference?
- Toronto Socialist Action Public Forum Presents -Will Copenhagen make a difference?World leaders gather for the climate change conference in Denmark, after ten years of market-based 'solutions' set out in Kyoto have failed miserably to effect real reductions in carbon…
Will OFL Join OPSEU to Fight Ontario Cuts?
When Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan declared October 22 that his Liberal provincial government faces a $24.7 billion deficit this year, it was a signal that a major assault on public service wages and programmes for the poor is in…
Recovery? In a Pig’s Eye!
Wishful thinking usually dominates the financial pages, especially after an economic crash. So goes the coverage of the current 'recovery'. It bears closer scrutiny.Yes, in September, Canadian house sales jumped 17 per cent from a year ago. The Conference Board…
Manitoba NDP Chooses New Premier
According to the business media, Manitoba Finance Minister Greg Salinger, 58, became NDP provincial Leader and Premier-elect by defeating a challenger from the left, MLA Steve Ashton, 53. “Race for top job in Manitoba pits centre against left”, read a…
Aim a Little Lower, Please
After Taser International, Inc., issued a bulletin from its U.S. headquarters instructing users not to aim the weapon at the chest of a suspect to avoid impact to the heart, police in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg, plus the Royal…
Like We Said . . . Blood for Oil
Oil baron T. Boone Pickens told the U.S. Congress in Washington on October 21 that U.S. energy companies are “entitled” to some of Iraq's crude oil because of the large number of U.S. troops that lost their lives fighting in…
Education for Activists Conference
Education for Activists Conference2nd annual Toronto Socialist Action Trotsky SchoolNovember 20-21, 2009 at OISE, U of Toronto, 252 Bloor St. W.just above the St. George Subway StationFriday, November 20, 7 p.m.Rosa Luxemburg – a revolutionary for the 21st Century The…
Layton’s hypocrisy undermines NDP
Fear that a Fall Canadian federal election would decimate the ranks of New Democratic Party MPs drove Leader Jack Layton to a self-inflicted act of desperation – voting for a rotten Tory budget.Months of failing to advance socialist policies to…
Toronto Labour must replace Miller
The mayor of Canada's biggest city, David Miller, betrayed labour, disappointed his business allies, and was so low in the polls that he announced on September 25 that he will not seek a third term in office. Although the next…
Family says soldier’s death in Afghanistan “useless”
For once, the corporate media felt compelled to feature an opinion critical of the Canadian military intervention in Afghanistan. It is a view shared by over 60 per cent of the population, but it took the expressed grief of a…
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Big Canadian banks set for buying spree
While the average person is coping with lost income, a vanishing pension, shrinking benefits, inaccessible unemployment insurance and double-digit joblessness, the Big Five Canadian banks are flush with capital, thank you very much.And you know what? They're preparing to go…
Economic crisis harms health
Health, as well as wealth, is taking a beating in the current economic crisis. A Canadian Medical Association survey, reported on August 17, shows that while 57 per cent of Canadians are worried about their financial security, nearly an equal…
SA Fall Calendar
In solidarity with the Inco strikersA Concert to Celebratethe music of Phil Ochsfeaturing Zachary Stevensonsponsored by: Socialist ActionFriday, September 25 8 p.m.(doors open at 7 p.m.)OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor Street West@ St. George Subway Stationtickets at door: $20 waged; $10…
NDP Brass Treads Water in Halifax
No new name, No new policiesby Barry WeislederLabour unionists, traditional social democrats and radical socialists held off a drive by a wing of the federal New Democratic Party establishment to propel the NDP faster and farther to the right. The…
Time for the NDP to Put Capitalism on Trial
Capitalism isn't working. The proof is overwhelming. Across Canada, 1.5 million are unemployed, not counting discouraged workers and the under-employed. The numbers are expected to rise well into 2010. The International Labour Organization warns that the number of jobless worldwide…
Obama’s spin doctor has no business at NDP convention
The decision by New Democratic Party officials to feature Barack Obama's director of communications, Anita Dunn, at the NDP federal convention, reveals a major misconception.The Democratic Party, USA, is no friend of working people anywhere. The invitation to Dunn only…
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Liberal-NDP Coalition in Toronto stinks
Last winter there was much ado about the prospect of a Liberal-NDP coalition federal government. According to Conservatives, it would have violated democracy and bankrupted the state. According to NDP officials, it would have mitigated the economic crisis and provided…
The Summer of the Strike
Across Canada, resistance to the employers' agenda is visible in a growing number of labour-management disputes. Most, but not all, are strikes against concessions demanded by bosses trying to take advantage of the global economic crisis.An exception was the two-day…
Forum on "France: The New Anti-Capitalist Party"
- Toronto Socialist Action Public Forum Presents -France: The New Anti-Capitalist PartyA new and growing revolutionary socialist party, with thousands of members, is playing an important role in the context of spreading protests and plant occupations against layoffs and factory…