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DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
$2 | No 611 | December 2018 | socialist.ca

DOUG
                                                                                                                                                                  Stop climate
                                                                                                                                                                  chaos
                                                                                                                                                                  Reports from the
                                                                                                                                                                  resistance around the world
                                                                                                                                                                  Pages 4-5

FORD’S
                                                                                                                                                                  The fall of Tony
                                                                                                                                                                  Clement
                                                                                                                                                                  John Bell on the end of
                                                                                                                                                                  another useless Tory
                                                                                                                                                                  Page 6

CLASS WAR
                                                                                                                                                                  Fighting the far
                                                                                                                                                                  right in Brazil
                                                                                                                                                                  Sean Purdy reports from
                                                                                                                                                                  Sao Paolo
                                                                                                                                                                  Page 3

                                                                                                                                                                  Brexit crisis
                                                                                                                                                                  explained
                                                                                                                                                                  Reports from the UK on
                                                                                                                                                                  Theresa May’s gamble
                                                                                                                                                                  Page 3

                                                                                                                                                                 Territorial acknowledgment
                                                                                                                                                                 As settlers, we acknowledge our
                                                                                                                                                                 occupation of lands that are the
                                                                                                                                                                 Indigenous territories of Turtle Island.
                                                                                                                                                                 Furthermore, we support all struggles
                                                                                                                                                                 for Indigenous sovereignty in whatever
                                                                                                                                                                 forms they take by the hundreds of First
                                                                                                                                                                 Nations and Inuit communities that
                                                                                                                                                                 have resided here for many thousands of
                                                                                                                                                                 years, and by Métis communities that
                                                                                                                                                                 have developed in the last hundreds of
                                                                                                                                                                 years.

D
         oug Ford’s Bill 47 slashed some of the      Oshawa, cutting thousands of jobs, comes on the     who is “disabled” will allow local bureaucrats to      water disaster – is now an employee of the gov-
         gains Ontario $15 and Fairness cam-         heels of Bill 47’s cuts.                            force more people off ODSP and Ontario Works           ernment. That means all environmental reports
         paigners had forced the Wynne Liber-                                                            (OW) support and into the workforce, into the          will now be approved by Doug Ford before
         als to enact.                               Ford the slasher                                    lowest paying jobs with the least protection.          publication.
   The Tory “Open for Business” Bill 47 cuts a       Hardest hit are those in low paying and precar-        Ford the slasher didn’t spare children. He shut       Francophone Ontarians suffered big cuts.
planned minimum wage raise to $15/hr, elimi-         ious jobs: Indigenous, migrant and racialized       Children’s Advocate offices across the province,       Slashed is the Office of the French Language
nates two paid sick days and reduces the number      workers, especially women.                          often the last resort for kids caught up in the jus-   Commissioner. Slashed is the plan to build a
of unpaid sick days from a possible 8 to 3, it          But that is the nightmare of Ford’s Class War-   tice or mental health systems. The offices were        promised francophone University.
revokes equal pay for part-time, contract and        fare–ignore everything but the interests of your    lifesavers for First Nations and Metis kids. The         Ford’s track record: scrapping the Child Ad-
temp workers, and cancels the fairer scheduling      business allies, slash as many public services as   dollar savings will be minimal, but Ford hench-        vocate and the expert roundtable to end violence
provisions that were set to take effect on January   possible, as fast and hard as possible.             man Vic Fedeli bragged about the “red tape” he         against women, going after gender identity, Sex
1, 2019.                                                That means hitting the most vulnerable: peo-     was slashing.                                          Ed, labour standards and ODSP.
   General Motors has shown they know that           ple with disabilities. Planned 3% increase to          The environment? Ford says slash that. The            It’s all part of a bigger plan to pay for whop-
Ford’s “Open for Business” bullshit means cor-       Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)           office of the Environmental Watchdog is closed.        ping tax cuts for his friends on the backs of mi-
porations can do whatever they want. It is no        have been cut in half and are likely to be frozen   What used to be an independent investigator – a        norities and the most vulnerable people in our
accident that the announced shutdown of GM           for the next 3 years. Changing the definition of    position created after Mike Harris’s Walkerton         province.
DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
From the “Battle of the Hatpins” to Ford:
Stop Tory attacks on Franco-Ontarians
by Chantal Sundaram                       right back to 1912, when a Conser-                                                                                            school year in the fall of 1916, the

A
                                          vative government passed Regulation                                                                                           schools were reopened and the teach-
          s part of a many-               17, in order to assimilate the Franco-                                                                                        ers were paid their salaries in arrears.
          pronged attack on equity        phone population of Ontario.                                                                                                  The crisis came to an end in 1921
          and minority rights in                                                                                                                                        and bilingual schools in the province
          Ontario this fall, Doug         Regulation 17                                                                                                                 were officially recognized in 1927.
Ford’s government went after the          Regulation 17 severely restricted the                                                                                            The two central heroines of this
612,000 Ontarians who identify as         use of French by teachers in both                                                                                             story were not forgotten by the
Francophones when he cancelled            Catholic and public schools across                                                                                            Francophone community of Ottawa,
plans to found a French-language          Ontario right up until 1927, despite                                                                                          who in 1997 named a high school
university in Ontario and dismantled      the fact that it was home to the larg-                                                                                        in a French-speaking suburb of
the Commissariat of French-language       est French-speaking population in                                                                                             Ottawa “Béatrice-Desloges.” But
services.                                 Canada outside of Quebec at the time.                                                                                         equally worthy of remembrance are
   It was less than three years ago       Many of this generation, especially in                                                                                        the mothers who defended them,
that ex-Premier Kathleen Wynne            northern Ontario, were denied the                                                                                             the “guardians” of resistance to
acknowledged the bitter history that      right to learn to write or speak their                                                                                        assimilation.
                                                                                    Fighting the Tories’ French language ban in 1916
lies behind suppression of the French     own language.                                                                                                                    This is an important example
language in this province. She issued        Regulation 17 was implemented          es and Béatrice Desloges, both teach-     hatpins, occupied the Guigues ele-        of grassroots resistance that has
a formal apology in Queen’s Park to       amidst a rise of British sentiment in     ers at Guigues elementary school,         mentary school and began guarding         had smaller echoes in more recent
the Franco-Ontarian community for a       the Ontario government in the lead-up     refused to implement the provisions       the school’s entrance. The Desloges       Franco-Ontarian struggles, like
rule that virtually banned the use of     to WWI, and was enforced by threats       of Regulation 17. They were both          sisters defied an injunction ordering     the successful fight to save the
French in elementary schools early        to school funding and to teachers’        banned from school property. With         them to immediately leave the school      French-language Monfort Hospital
last century: “Regulation 17 showed       certifications if schools or individual   support from some parents and mem-        grounds or face arrest and impris-        in Ottawa from the healthcare cuts
a disregard for Franco-Ontarian           teachers continued to allow French to     bers of the community, they opened        onment. They were protected by the        of yet another Tory premier, Mike
identity and equality, and on behalf      be spoken.                                classes in a “free school” located in a   mothers, who became known as the          Harris.
of the government of Ontario I offer         It forced many Francophone             church basement and later in a com-       “guardians of the school.” Together
an apology.”                              teachers to resort to hiding French       mercial building.                         this alliance of teachers and mothers     Resistance today
   That apology might ring hollow         textbooks and pretending to teach            Provincial authorities withheld        staged a long day-and-night siege         Resistance to Ford’s renewed attack
from a Liberal government which           in English when school inspectors         their salaries and revoked their teach-   of what became the most famous            on Franco-Ontarians has already
itself did not invest enough to prop-     would visit the classroom.                ing certificates but they refused to      “école de la résistance.”                 begun. While there is much to learn
erly sustain services and education in       But there were some schools that       back down. Students left Guigues             At the end of January 1916,            from the “Battle of the Hatpins,”
French. And of course any apology on      openly defied the government, calling     elementary school en masse and the        French students in Ottawa took part       today Franco-Ontarians need the
behalf of the “government of Ontar-       themselves “écoles de la résistance.”     teachers hired to replace the Desloges    in a series of protests and sent a del-   support of their Anglophone and Al-
io” rings especially hollow now with      And there were large protests against     sisters were soon alone in an empty       egation to City Hall to demand that       lophone allies to take on Ford.
Ford at the helm.                         the Regulation, especially in the Ot-     building.                                 the salaries owed to their teachers be       On December 1 at 1 pm, simulta-
   But the reason the apology took        tawa area, leading to the founding of        It wasn’t long after that parents      paid. As the protests continued, the      neous rallies will take place across
place when it did was the 100th anni-     Francophone newspapers and orga-          launched a popular movement of civil      “guardians of the school” maintained      Ontario at Tory MPP offices and pub-
versary of the “Battle of the Hatpins”    nizations, many of which are still in     disobedience. A group of mothers          their vigil in the schools on strike      lic locations including at the Human
against Regulation 17: a chapter          place today.                              stormed the Guigues school in what        until June. In order to thwart any        Rights Monument in Ottawa and in
of Franco-Ontarian history – and                                                    came to be known as the “Battle of        attempt by the provincial authorities     many small communities in franco-
women’s history – that should not be      “Écoles de la résistance”                 the Hatpins.”                             to expel the teaching staff, groups       phone areas in the north.
forgotten.                                At the heart of resistance was Guigues                                              of women – again mostly mothers
   The story provides insight into the    elementary school in Ottawa, where        Battle and occupation                     – remained on guard in front of the       • You can find the locations and reg-
Tories’ long tradition of anti-Franco-    two teachers made history.                On January 4, 1916 the group of           school armed with their hatpins.          ister your participation by following
phone politics in this province: going       In 1915 two sisters, Diane Deslog-     mothers, armed with scissors and             Finally, with the beginning of the     this link: https://monassemblee.ca

 Scandals and Cabinet shuffles in Ford’s Ontario
 by Faline Bobier                         forced resignations and they put          governments.                              recently as four days before the cab-        “These actions make it abun-
                                          the lie to Doug Ford’s statement             The so-called ‘best team in            inet shuffle. During question period,     dantly clear that Ford is trying
 All is not well in the Doug Ford         when he announced a major                 politics’ seems to be riven with          the premier called Tibollo “the most      to paper over the problems in his
 camp. The Ontario Premier                cabinet shuffle in the aftermath          problems, not least Ford himself,         credible minister down here.”             hand-picked cabinet. To remove
 announced a cabinet shuffle just         of these resignations, only four          who has been accused of cheating             “He has integrity, he has transpar-    and demote a number of ministers
 days after the surprise resignation      months after his government               his brother Rob Ford’s widow out of       ency and he’s an absolute champion.       after just a few months is troubling,”
 of Jim Wilson as Ontario’s minister      took office: “After four months           her inheritance.                          I’ll stand beside him any day, 365        NDP deputy leader Sara Singh said
 of Economic Development, Job             of unprecedented action, we are              Many of Ford’s MPPs do have            days a year,” said Ford.                  in a news conference.
 Creation and Trade.                      taking this opportunity to calibrate      previous experience in the Mike              When Ford finally allowed the             Singh also rightfully pointed
    What was initially released from      our cabinet assignments to ensure         Harris government, which is not           media to ask some questions about         out the cabinet shuffle is a “missed
 Ford’s office was that Jim Wilson        we continue to deliver on our com-        really a badge of honour. They have       why Jim Wilson had really stepped         opportunity” for Ford to tackle
 had resigned to seek treatment for                                                 years of experience feeding at the        down, he was very much on the de-         diversity issues within his cabinet.
 ‘addiction issues’. It soon became                                                 public trough and axing services for      fensive. “We acted decisive. We’re        As of 2016, about three-in-ten
 clear that Wilson had been forced to                                               ordinary people in Ontario. Under         very decisive. I have zero tolerance      Ontarians identified as being part
 resign because of sexual misconduct                                                Doug Ford they promise to do more         for this behaviour. It takes courage      of a visible minority, but among the
 allegations against him, made by                                                   of the same, by refusing to bring         to come forward and speak truth to        reconfigured Ford cabinet, only one
 a male Queen’s Park staffer. The                                                   in the $15 an hour minimum wage           power.”                                   minister isn’t white.
 premier’s office became aware of                                                   in January and by taking away the                                                      The new cabinet also did little
 the claim late Friday afternoon,                                                   promise of two paid sick days for         Bunch of hooey                            to address the gap in gender parity,
 the same day they announced that                                                   employees in Ontario.                     According to Ford the reason his          with seven women and 14 men.
 Wilson was resigning for health                                                       Michael Tibollo relinquishes           office initially claimed Wilson was          Doug Ford claims his is govern-
 reasons.                                                                           his role as Minister of Community         stepping down in order to deal with       ment ‘for the people’. This might
    On the same day that Wilson                                                     Safety and Correctional Services          addiction issues was that he wanted       be true if ‘the people’ refers to his
 resigned, Andrew Kimber, Ford’s                                                    to Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia            to protect the identity of the person     entitled, mostly white, mostly male
 Executive Director of Issues Man-                                                  Jones. Tibollo will now assume the        who had come forward with sexual          buddies whom he’s appointing to
 agement and Legislative Affairs,                                                   role of Minister of Tourism, Culture      harassment claims.                        high-paid government positions.
 resigned after being confronted                                                    and Sport.                                   This is clearly a bunch of hooey,      It’s no wonder they are falling like
 about multiple sexually inappropri-                                                   Tibollo’s short tenure as the          since there would be no reason or         stones.
 ate text messages he allegedly sent to   mitments to the people. We have           minister responsible for the OPP          need for the Ford government to dis-         Just like the recent spectacle of
 a female staffer at Queen’s Park.        the best team in politics and a plan      has been speckled with controver-         close the identity of the person filing   Brett Kavanagh being appointed to
    Wilson stepped down hours after       that is working.”                         sy. Most recently, media reports          a complaint against Wilson.               the Supreme Court in the US, with
 appearing with Ford at a border             Wilson, who was first elected in       surfaced that Tibollo was criticized         Critics have voiced concerns           all the old white male Republicans
 crossing near Sarnia, Ont., earlier in   1990, was one of the most expe-           by the Ontario Securities Commis-         about the suddenness of the cabinet       gleefully supporting him and heap-
 the day where they unveiled a sign       rienced members of Ford’s team,           sion for his actions as a lawyer in       shuffle, saying Ford needs to ex-         ing scorn on the woman who had the
 advertising Ontario as ‘open for         having previously served in several       the 1990s related to a $30 million        plain his reasons for making such         courage to call him out for the sexist
 business’.                               cabinet portfolios for the PCs under      stock fraud.                              significant changes so soon into his      scumbag he is, the rot is there for
    These are two high profile            the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves               But Ford was praising Tibollo as       mandate.                                  all to see.

2 Socialist Worker December 2018
DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
Confronting the
Bolsonaro threat
by Sean Purdy, Socialism and                                                                                                       offered a fresh alternative. The PT      dents will be short-lived. Bolsonaro
Liberty Party (PSOL)                                                                                                               erred in launching Haddad as the         has not even assumed office and has
                                                                                                                                   candidate late in the process and        already come under intense fire for
On October 28, the far right politi-                                                                                               despite tacking to the left during the   breaking some campaign promises
cian Jair Bolsonaro, a former soldier                                                                                              campaign was unable to turn a tide       and cozying up to the traditional
with close ties to the Armed Forces                                                                                                which had begun months earlier.          corrupt political class in Brazil.
and the powerful evangelical church-                                                                                                  From 2016 until the present, the         He has already back-tracked
es, won the Brazilian presidential                                                                                                 centre and right under the coupster      on several proposals – such as the
elections handily with 55% of votes                                                                                                president Michel Temer have consis-      promise to combine the Finance and
against 45% by the Workers’ Party                                                                                                  tently shifted the terrain of politics   Environmental Ministries and his
(PT) candidate, Fernando Haddad.                                                                                                   in the country, advancing outright       support to move Brazil’s embassy
Bolsonaro’s neoliberal, racist, sexist,                                                                                            austerity politics, cuts to social       in Israel to Jerusalem – after intense
homophobic and anti-democratic                                                                                                     programs and attacks on the social       international criticism from crucial
agenda represents a massive threat                                                                                                 rights of LGBT, blacks and women.        European and Arab trading partners.
to democratic and social rights in                                                                                                 It was in this climate that Marielle        The principal question in relation
Brazil, the world`s third largest                                                                                                  Franco, a black lesbian activist and     to a Bolsonaro government will be
democracy and the largest economy                                                                                                  city councilor in Rio de Janeiro for     his inability to solve the economic
in Latin America.                                                                                                                  PSOL, was brutally murdered in           crisis which could provide space for
   Already during the election, at                                                                                                 March 2018.                              the mobilization of the organized
least 3 people were murdered by                                                                                                       Racist and anti-poor law and order    working class. But this will require
supporters of Bolsonaro and there                                                                                                  politics and a disastrous incarcera-     sustained arguments from union
were more than a hundred cases                                                                                                     tion policy, which has seen Brazil’s     militants against the timid union
of aggression against left-wing                                                                                                    prison population rise to the third      bureaucracy largely controlled by the
activists.                                                                                                                         highest in the world – something         PT. A national demonstration against
   Many deputies from Bolsonaro`s                                                                                                  which the PT did nothing to change       privatization of pensions has been
Social Liberal Party were also elect-                                                                                              and even fed – proved to be a strong     called for November 22 promises to
ed to the federal congress and state                                                                                               point in Bolsonaro’s campaign. He        be a good first step in resistance to
legislative assemblies with record                                                                                                 has promised to liberate the personal    the Bolsonaro government.
numbers of votes, riding the wave of      Fightback against the far right in Brazil                 Photo: Agência Brasil
                                                                                                                                   use of guns, a disastrous policy in a       There will be a tension between
popularity of the presidential ticket.                                                                                             country where 70,000 people were         the neoliberal policies which he has
   One week before the election, he       climate-change denier and a host of    How did this happen?                              murdered in 2017. Not surprisingly,      recently adopted and support among
promised to “wipe red criminals off       poorly-qualified politicians and bu-      The right was able to capitalize               the number of people murdered by         many of his voters for decent social
the map” and soon after his election      reaucrat hacks who recently jumped     on the very real, if frequently                   the police, disproportionately poor      programs, job creation and labour
explicitly attacked the Landless          on his bandwagon.                      exaggerated and distorted, history                and black, has risen steeply since       rights. His supposed anti-corruption
Rural Workers’ Movement and the              Despite his supposedly anti-cor-    of corruption by PT governments,                  2016.                                    policies will come under scrutiny as
Homeless Workers’ Movement. In            ruption agenda and promise to “do      the grave economic crisis, a highly                  The only bright light of the          he staffs his government with a band
the few weeks since the election, he      away with everything” in traditional   orchestrated and illegal campaign                 elections was the gains by the radical   of long-standing corrupt criminals
has continued to advance a vicious        politics, he has gathered around him   of fake news about the economic                   left Socialism and Liberty Party         and shady army generals.
privatization and cutback agenda          advisors facing corruption charges     policies and social positions of the              (PSOL). It more than doubled its            International solidarity will be
as well as attack social, labour and      and has already begun to cynically     left and the implicit backing of the              number of federal deputies from 5 to     essential for Brazilian unions, social
environmental rights.                     negotiate with traditional power       corporate media and many tradi-                   11, including two black women and        movements and the left in the com-
   His choices for Ministers in           brokers in the country, including      tionally corrupt parties. Desperate               a gay activist and elected many more     ing months and years. A Bolsonaro
the new government, which takes           supporters of the parliamentary coup   after 6 years of severe recession                 deputies in state legislative assem-     regime needs to be denounced by the
office on January 1, 2019, range          that impeached President Dilma         and high unemployment and buying                  blies, including several black women     international workers’ movement,
from a neoliberal University of           Rouseff of the PT in 2016 and mem-     into the supposed “anti-politics”                 and two transgender women.               the left, all democrats and supporters
Chicago-trained economist, a              bers of the thoroughly corrupt Temer   and “corruption-free” campaign of                    Yet it is highly likely that the      of human rights. Our struggle is your
crusading anti-corruption judge, a        government that replaced her.          Bolsonaro, many believed that he                  traditional honeymoon for new presi-     struggle.

 Explained—why there is a crisis over Brexit
 Bankers and bosses are piling            Bank of Scotland and Lloyds fell                                                         by a “Joint Committee” of British           The Tory deal has not resolved
 pressure on Tory MPs to vote for         by more than 10 percent in a day                                                         and EU officials during the transi-      the divisions within the Tory party
 Theresa May’s Brexit deal.               and a half.                                                                              tion period. And the EU would still      or the wider crisis facing the
     Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI direc-           Europe has split the Tories for                                                       have some power afterwards.              ruling class that the Leave vote
 tor general, spoke to the annual         decades.                                                                                    Bosses want assurances that           unleashed.
 conference of the bosses’ organi-           There were different positions                                                        Britain will keep free market rules         Bosses will now tr y to force
 sation on Monday. “The prime min-        over joining the Common Market                                                           and access to European markets           MPs into looking after their inter-
 ister’s agreement is not perfect,”       in the 1970s, and over the Maas-                                                         on its statute books after a tran-       ests, but they still see the deal as
 she said. “It is a compromise, but       tricht Treaty in the 1990s.                                                              sition period.                           a compromise.
 it is hard-won progress.”                   Now Brexit has brought serious                                                           And large sections of business           Some US banks are pushing for
     Big business breathed a sigh         fissures between the Tory party                                                          also fear Brexit will make it more       Britain to remain in the Europe-
 of relief when the European Union        and business to the fore.                                                                difficult to hire migrant labour.        an Economic Area, which would
 (EU) Withdrawal Agreement was               One banker said, “Politics is                                                            Yet May has also tried to win         mean keeping all of the single
 published last week.                     always going to be in the driving      Teresa May is in trouble (CC BY 2.0) by muffinn   over racist, right wing voters by        market’s free market rules.
     The deal includes a transition       seat in this process, but now it is                                                      promising to dump freedom of                And       right      wing      Tor y
 period that would bind Britain to        swerving all over the road.”              EU rules also block policies that              movement for EU migrants. This           backbenchers will use the oppor-
 EU single market rules until 2021.          Bankers and bosses want to          are seen to give state-owned com-                 has split the Tory cabinet and           tunity to argue that May is betray-
 These rules include regulations          remain in the neoliberal EU’s          panies an advantage over private                  backbenches.                             ing Brexit.
 on competition and state aid that        single market and customs union        ones. And the European Court of                      Vile reactionaries such as               The solution isn’t to line up be-
 protect bosses’ profits.                 because it protects their profits.     Justice (ECJ) has the power to levy               Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris John-          hind any of these rival sections of
     But now bosses fear a no-               For instance, EU rules wouldn’t     financial penalties against govern-               son are jockeying for position by        the ruling class.
 deal Brexit is becoming a real           allow a Labour government to na-       ments and overturn laws.                          screaming betrayal when May has             The answer is to use their crisis
 possibility.                             tionalise the whole rail industry         These rules would apply during                 leaned towards the demands of            to fight for a Brexit in the interests
     Analysts from City Group bank        and run it as a public service.        the transition period and the ECJ                 big business.                            of workers and migrants—and to
 said the political situation amount-        Instead it would only be al-        would still have power to inter-                     May has also been hemmed in           force the Tories out.
 ed to a “full-blown constitutional       lowed to nationalise individual rail   vene against policies the EU’s                    by EU rulers who are determined
 crisis”.                                 firms—as long as they continued        rulers and bosses didn’t like.                    to make an example of countries          • This article was originally
     The share prices of the Royal        to compete alongside other ones.          Any disputes would be overseen                 that try to leave their club.            published on www.swp.org.uk

                                                                                                                                                                       December 2018 Socialist Worker 3
DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
CLIMATE CRISIS NEEDS
RADICAL SOLUTIONS
The climate crisis is accelerating, and radical action is required. On these pages, we look at
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   by D’Arcy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Join       Briggs
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        the barricades

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Solidarity with
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Unist’ot’en camp
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   On November 19th, the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Unist’ot’en received notice
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   from TransCanada that “field
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   reconnaissance and pre-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           movements  and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Photo:   can publications
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         warrior make

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           it harder for supporters to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           mobilize.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Unist’ot’en Camp asks
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           “If you can launch a campaign,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   construction activities are             organize education forums,
struggles that are tackling the growing crisis, and why the working class, not consumers or the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    scheduled to begin the week of          host kitchen parties, fundraise
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   November 19th and conclude              with our consent, organize a
market, is the key to challenging capitalism’s drive to profit and environmental destruction.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      before the end of 2018.”                caravan, plan a trip to support
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      This is in attempt to build          us ASAP, donate, spread
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the Coastal GasLink pipeline            the word... please start. We
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   project, which will extend from         just ask that you let us know
by Eric Lescarbeau                          as extremely conservative in its pro-     on track for 5C warming if other         ward by well-meaning technocrats                                                                                                                                                                                                    Dawson Creek to Kitimat in BC.          in advance so that we can

D
                                            jections, leaving out discussion of       countries followed its example.          and reforms brought in from above                                                                                                                                                                                                      In response, the Unist’ot’en         establish a contact and endorse
          ire warnings from the             climate refugees or any mention of           In this context, two related          that ultimately depend on the very                                                                                                                                                                                                  are calling for supporters to           any actions before they start.”
          Intergovernmental Panel on        tipping points which could dramati-       “solutions” have come into focus,        “free” market system that is causing                                                                                                                                                                                                stand in solidarity and push               Campaigns and solidarity
          Climate Change in October         cally accelerate the crisis.              carbon pricing and personal lifestyle    the problem and leave that system                                                                                                                                                                                                   back against the corporation.           efforts to shut down Enbridge’s
          have reignited debates in            The gap between these warnings         changes. Both are problematic.           untouched.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The Unist’ot’en also state           Northern Gateway and
the climate justice movement over           and the current state of climate             Critically, the working class            Neither can we look to individual                                                                                                                                                                                                that TransCanada’s timing for           Chevron’s Pacific Trails projects
who is to blame for the crisis and          politics internationally could not        must be central to any strategy for      strategies that reinforce our atomi-                                                                                                                                                                                                this project was deliberate, as         were successful, so let’s join
what kind of action is required to          be starker. The world’s govern-           fighting climate change because          zation as individual consumers and                                                                                                                                                                                                  Freda Huson, spokesperson for           the fight against TransCanada
stop it in time.                            ments have set us on track for a 3C       rising emissions stem directly from      thus undermine efforts at collective                                                                                                                                                                                                the Unis’tot’en, is helping her         and shut this third pipeline
   In the IPCC report, the world’s          world whose consequences would            the capitalist drive to profit from      action. We need systemic change                                                                                                                                                                                                     partner’s mother in a critical          down.
leading climate scientists warn we          threaten the existence of civilization    the exploitation of workers, their       that can only come directly from the                                                                                                                                                                                                palliative care home.
have just 12 years to limit global          as we know it. Donald Trump has           communities and the natural world        mass mobilization and unity in ac-                                                                                                                                                                                                     The company is also choosing
warming to 1.5C or face significant-        vowed to walk away from the Paris         they are a part of.                      tion of workers and their communi-                                                                                                                                                                                                  to do pre-construction plans            • Visit www.unistotencamp.com. To
ly worse impacts from droughts,             accords altogether and newly elected         Real action on climate change         ties and in solidarity with indigenous                                                                                                                                                                                              during the winter as the poor           donate: http://unistoten.camp/sup-
floods, extreme heat and poverty            president Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil is     therefore means working people           sovereignty struggles which are           Mass direct action in London, UK last month shut down bridges across the Thames                                                                    Photo: Thomas Katan - DeSmog Blog      weather can often damper                port-us/donate/
affecting hundreds of millions              promising to open the Amazon for          acting collectively to take the power    driving the movement against pipe-
more people with each half degree           unfettered development. According         to decide away from corporations         lines and other Tar Sands projects.

                                                                                                                                                                        BC NDP: Green light for new devastating fossil fuel project
increase above that.                        to a newly released study, Canada is      and the market and put it in the
   The report is also seen by many          one of the worst climate criminals,       hands of the people most impacted.       For the full article please see:
of the scientists who helped draft it       whose policies would put the world        We can’t leave it to policies put for-   www.socialist.ca

 Quebec’s Pact: from words to action
                                                                                                                                                                        by Patrick Schreck                                      displacement of 10s of millions of people.             The CO2 emissions from fracking, extract-          Natural gas: a barrier, not a                         LNG exporting, pipeline building, and fracking
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                There’s a lot at stake for human civilization.       ing, transporting, liquifying, and shipping the      “bridge”                                              frenzy possible with an array of economic in-
                                                                                                                                                                        It is time to take the energy sector out of the            The IPCC report concludes that a massive          natural gas for the LNG Canada project will          Oil and gas corporations aggressively push the        centives, including tax reprieves, tax subsidies,
                                                                                                                                                                        hands of corporations and politicians.                  reduction of GHGs (mainly CO2 and methane)           make meeting BC’s targets of the Paris Climate       message that natural gas is “cleaner” than coal       discounted electricity rates, and even a break
by Chantal Sundaram                                                                                                                                                        In the same week that the IPCC announced             emissions needs to take place in the next 12         Accord out of reach. In fact, LNG Canada will        and oil. As vast reserves of natural gas trapped      on BC’s own carbon tax.
                                                                                                                                                                        that immediate, “unprecedented” world-wide              years. The goal must be to leave fossil fuels in     become BC’s single largest CO2 polluter. At          in shale formations become available to new              Clearly, the strategy of relying on politicians
In November 2018, 500 major cultur-                                                                                                                                     action can still reverse greenhouse gas (GHG)           the ground. The hopeful message in the IPCC          full capacity, emissions would be in the range       extraction methods like fracking and horizontal       to steer us away from climate catastrophe has
al, artistic and scientific personalities                                                                                                                               emissions to keep temperatures from soaring             report is that staying below 1.5 degrees is both     of 9–12 Mt (megatonnes) of CO2 each year             drilling, the oil and gas industry is rushing in      failed. As have market-based strategies. It has
in Quebec signed a Pact for the Tran-                                                                                                                                   above 1.5 C, the BC NDP government has                  possible and feasible, but only with a massive                                                            to bring natural gas to market and reap huge          been, rather, the market-based pursuit of profit
sition to “save the planet.”
   This marks an important step in the
                                                                                                                                                                        given the green light and economic incentives
                                                                                                                                                                        for joint-venture LNG Canada to build a
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                shift away from fossil fuels and toward renew-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ables along with significant changes in econom-       LNG Canada is going                                 profits for their shareholders.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The notion of natural gas being a bridge’ or
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                that lies behind the climate crisis we now face.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   We urgently need a socialist solution.
broad mobilization against climate
change that builds on many local
                                                                                                                                                                        massive liquified natural gas (LNG) export
                                                                                                                                                                        facility in itimat, BC. This will also include
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ic, industrial, and land use systems.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   So, it is breathtaking that within days of the     to emit massive                                      transition’ fuel is largely an oil-industry ruse
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          that keeps it in business while undermining
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Studies show it is possible to complete-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ly eliminate fossil-fuel use in a few decades
and Quebec-wide victories against
fracking, incursion on conservation
                                                                                                                                                                        the expansion of the pipelines and natural gas
                                                                                                                                                                        fracking required to feed the LNG Canada
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                IPCC report, the BC NDP government, side-by-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                side with the federal Liberal government, cele-       amounts of CO2 in                                   the urgent move to the fossil-free economy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          we need. Right now, natural gas is as cheap or
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                with wide-scale conservation efforts and the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                intensive adoption of renewables. The logic of
areas, and the defeat of the Energy
East pipeline.
                                                                                                                                                                        facility.                                               brated at the LNG Canada deal-signing event.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The project is a climate and environmental         order to sell a fossil                              cheaper than renewables like solar, wind, geo-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          thermal and tidal. And natural gas is forecast to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                capitalism will not get us there. It is recklessly
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                focused on the expanding profit making poten-
   Before and after the recent Quebec
election, there have been huge mo-
                                                                                                                                                                        Aggressive CO2 cuts
                                                                                                                                                                        The latest IPCC report makes it clear that the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                disaster from beginning to end.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   On the upstream’ end, the project will un-         fuel that will emit even                            get cheaper as the global oil industry expands
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          into natural gas as new technologies, weak
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                tial of corporate shareholders.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Unlike socialism, capitalism is not focused
bilizations in the streets to demand
a government response to the crisis,
                                                                                                                                                                        agreed goals of the 201 Paris Climate Accord
                                                                                                                                                                        are currently unlikely to be met, and moreover,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                leash a 40-year frenzy of natural gas fracking in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                the Montney Formation in northeast BC. More           more massive amounts                                regulations, and government subsidies make it
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          more and more profitable. Reuters reports that
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                on the needs of ordinary working people or the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                communities and the environments they live in.
under the slogan “the planet invites
itself to parliament.”
                                            50,000 march for the climate in Montreal                                                      Photo: Gustavo Monteiro       are themselves inadequate to avoid tem-
                                                                                                                                                                        peratures that could trigger runaway climate
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                fracking will mean further dam construction and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                diversion of fresh water, injection of fracking       of CO2.                                             LNG Canada is “just the tip of the megaproj-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ect iceberg” of many new huge LNG projects
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   A socialist solution includes organizing
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                together and pushing aggressively for the
   The strength of the pact is its          consumption, whose major culprit              Reducing my plastic consumption      be fought for in the streets and in      change.                                                 chemicals into the earth and water table, and                                                             currently being pursued by the major oil com-         de-privatization and democratization of an en-
broad reach at a solution: “The sci-        is corporate consumption in industry           Reducing my consumption of          workplaces to force a change at the         However, the scientific consensus of the IPCC        methane (a GHG worse than CO2) release as            double BC’s current emissions from the oil and       panies. Shell inked a similar deal in atar just       ergy sector that is in the hands of workers and
ence also tells us that it is absolutely    and manufacturing. The pledge seeks       farmed meat and opting for locally       level of government and industry that    is that it is still possible and feasible to keep the   hundreds of new gas wells are fracked each year      gas sector.                                          weeks before.                                         communities and an energy policy that is set
possible technologically, humanly           to set an example by individuals to       produced and organic foods, under-       matches the will of ordinary people      global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees           to feed the LNG Canada export facility.                 Heaped on top of LNG Canada’s own                    The old oil companies now getting behind           democratically and focussed on human needs
and economically to limit global            those who hold more power. It states:     standing both regional realities and     to reduce their carbon impact on the     Celsius instead of 2 or more. Staying below                To transport the fuel, TransCanada Corp will      CO2-emitting activities, is the CO2 that will be     so-called “transition” fuels are interested, not in   and the environment, not profit.
warming. Political will is a necessary         “I commit, starting now and over       loss of food security in Indigenous      planet.                                  1.5 , compared to hitting 2.0 , would mean              construct the 70-kilometer Coastal GasLink           unleashed from the fracked-and-liquified-in-BC       the IPCC recommendations or stopping climate             That starts with resisting LNG Canada and
element of the solution.”                   the next two years, to the extent of my   communities associated with biodi-          Quebec climate activists will         significantly reducing the risk and severity of         pipeline across northern BC which will pump          gas shipped to and burned in overseas factories      change, but in maximizing the profits from their      all new fossil-fuel projects as well as all con-
   The pledge points to all the right       realities and abilities, to reduce my     versity loss                             mobilize again for this at a rally on    a litany of climate change consequences: water          2.1 billion cubic feet of fracked gas per day to     and power stations. When government decisions        capital investments for as long as possible. For      tinuing fossil-fuel extraction enterprises.
impacts – fossil fuel use, food pro-        greenhouse gas emissions through               Using my power as a citizen”.       December 8 in Montreal, coinciding       scarcity, drought, crop failure, food shortages,        the LNG Canada export facility in itimat. Once       are made to extract fossil fuels and are reported    them, the longer so-called “bridge” fuels crowd          We must reclaim democratic control and so-
duction, carbon footprint – but not to      the following concrete actions:              In return, the Pact demands that      with the Conference of Parties (COP)     more extreme weather events, unprecedented              there, the energy-intensive liquefaction process     in the media, the final CO2 emitted when the         out renewables, and major conservation efforts        cial ownership of the energy industry. Then we
all the right targets for those impacts.        Reducing my oil consumption in        the government take serious action       24 meetings in atowice, Poland.          forest fires, heat-related illness, re-establish-       will burn up to a third of the gas supply itself     BC gas is burned outside of BC rarely gets           such as public transportation expansion, the          can restructure it through a planned and order-
The focus of the pledge is individual       whichever way possible                    through legislation and redirection                                               ment of once-eradicated diseases, biodiversity          for electricity. LNG carrier ocean ships will sail   mentioned, let alone figured into the BC carbon      better for them and their profits.                    ly transition to renewable energy under local
consumption.                                       Reducing my consumption,           of resources to a just transition. The   • To sign the Pact: https://www.         loss, species extinction, loss of tropical coral        up and down the Douglas Channel loaded with          budget. LNG Canada is going to emit massive                                                                worker and community control             including
   But the ultimate target is social        waste production and wastage              broad support for this pledge must       lepacte.ca/english.html                  reefs, collapse of fish stocks, melting of polar        LNG to be delivered overseas, to be burned in        amounts of CO2 in order to sell a fossil fuel that   De-privatize and democratize                          the livelihoods of current oil industry and re-
                                                                                                                                                                        ice sheets, and rising sea levels leading to the        factories and electricity generation plants.         will emit even more massive amounts of CO2.          The BC NDP government has just made this              lated workers.

4 Socialist Worker December 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      December 2018 Socialist Worker 5
DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
Where we stand
The dead-end of capitalism
The capitalist system is based on violence, oppression and brutal
exploitation. It creates hunger beside plenty, it threatens our sustenance
                                                                               Tragedy of Two-Tier Tony
through unsafe and unsustainable farming, and kills the earth itself with
pollution and unsustainable extraction of oil, minerals, animals, trees,       LEFT JAB                                  erton resulted from deregulation and
                                                                                                                         weakened standards. Clement’s fin-
and water. Capitalism leads to imperialism and war. Saving ourselves           by John Bell                              gerprints are all over those debacles.
and the planet depends on finding an alternative.                                                                           But it was as Health Minister that
                                                                               After 20 years in “public service”        Clement won his nickname, Two-Ti-
A system that is killing the planet                                            Tony Clement’s career is in tatters:      er Tony. Amalgamation and closure
Capitalist profits depend on extracting the world’s blood and bone. The        he has been caught sexting genitalia      of hospitals meant layoffs of nurses
devastating impact of capital’s assault on the planet affect the world’s       pix to someone who used them for          and loss of beds–the origin of the
most vulnerable populations and threaten the long-term meaningful              extortion purposes. It seems Clem-        “hallway healthcare” that Doug Ford
existence of humanity. Capitalism cannot regulate the catastrophic             ent had access to sensitive security      is pretending to solve with even more
effects of climate change. We stand for climate justice, including the         information.                              cuts. Clement initiated the building
concept of “just transition” for affected workers.                                That caused Tory leader Andrew         of a new “public private partnership”
                                                                               Scheer to demote the veteran from his     hospital in his own Brampton riding.
Socialism and workers’ power                                                   shadow cabinet. Clement swore it was      From the outset the privately built
Any alternative to capitalism must involve replacing the system from the       a one-time deal. Then came a flood        and run hospital met opposition from
bottom up through radical collective action. Central to that struggle is the   of information from women about           the community, workers and health-
workplace, where capitalism reaps its profits off our backs.                   a long history of creepy behaviour.       care advocates. Cost over-runs, poor      Gazebo Tony        Photo: Tigana CC-BY-NC
  Capitalist monopolies control the earth’s resources, but workers             Then it was learned that this wasn’t      planning and mismanagement led
everywhere actually create the wealth. A new socialist society can only        the first time he had been threatened     to a shortage of beds at the hospital,     mayors from his riding, to pretty up
be constructed when workers collectively seize control of that wealth          with extortion from sharing explicit      which–coupled with the closure of          their store-fronts. Part of the dough
and plan its production and distribution to satisfy human needs, not           photos. That caused Tory Leader           other public facilities–became the         went toward the Muskoka gazebo that
corporate profits—to respect the environment, not pollute and destroy it.      Andrew Scheer to kick Clement out of      only ER to serve Brampton, one of the      will forever be part of his legacy.
                                                                               his caucus.                               fastest growing towns in the province.        As President of the Treasury Board
Oppression                                                                                                               The results were disastrous for health,    his career-long hatred of organized
Within capitalist society different groups suffer from specific forms of       A Harris MPP                              but profitable for business.               labour came in handy. In charge of
oppression. Attacks on oppressed groups are used to divide workers                Clement is asking for understand-                                                 negotiating with federal workers,
and weaken solidarity. We oppose racism and imperialism. We oppose             ing for his weaknesses, and that we       Taking it national: Harper                 Clement promised to claw back their
all immigration controls. We support the right of people of colour and         allow him to seek help. While we          Cabinet star                               pensions, wages and benefits. “So that
other oppressed groups to organize in their own defence. We are for real,      would love to be charitable, here are        After a brief hiatus Clement was        means taking a position that will alter
social, economic and political equality for women. We are for an end           some facts from Clement’s career that     back serving the interests of the rich     the dynamics of collective bargaining
to all forms of discrimination and homophobia against lesbians, gays,          might inform that charity.                and wrecking ordinary lives. Having        as it has been done in this country
bisexuals and transgender people.                                                 What might have led young              ruined his reputation in Brampton, he      over the last few decades.”
   We oppose environmental racism. We oppose discrimination on the             Tony to a lifetime of being a dick?       sought bluer pastures, moving to the
basis of religion, ability and age.                                            Maybe it was his time as a student        safe Tory seat in Muskoka.                 In opposition: still a dick
                                                                               “free speech” advocate busy in the           As federal Health Minister, Clem-          When Trudeau’s red wave swept
Canada, Quebec, Indigenous Peoples                                             pro-Apartheid struggle. He fought to      ent led the charge to prosecute casual     away most of Harper’s worst, Tony
Canada is not a “colony” of the United States, but an imperialist country      bring the South African ambassador to     marijuana users, declaring “The            announced his candidacy for Tory
in its own right that participates in the exploitation of much of the world.   U of T to explain why whites should       party’s over!”. Under his leadership       leader, but dropped out because no
The Canadian state was founded through the repression of Indigenous            rule. You get the idea.                   arrests in some cities increased by        one came forward to support him
peoples and the people of Quebec.                                                 Clement was a leading figure in        one third. He also set the template        financially or with endorsements–per-
   We support the struggles for self-determination of Quebec and               Mike Harris’s government beginning        for Tory Health Ministers ignoring a       haps a clue to the observant that even
Indigenous peoples up to and including the right to independence. In           in 1995, took a break when those          mountain of evidence proving safe          his own Party was on to his now-
particular, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ original and primary right        Tories were thrown out in disgust         injection sites save lives and reduce      known history of creepy behavior.
to decide their fate and that of their lands, heritage, and traditions.        after two terms, then hitched his         addiction.                                    Two-Tier Tony was recently spotted
Socialists in Quebec, and in all oppressed nations, work to give the           wagon to Stephen Harper. For the past        Ignoring harm-reduction facts and       enjoying a night on the town, standing
struggle against national oppression an internationalist and working           12 years he pushed the same policies      evidence, there was always right-          in line outside Roy Thomson Hall to
class content.                                                                 he championed as an Ontario MPP:          wing ideology to fall back on: “The        see Steve Bannon (lying hater) debate
                                                                               slashing public services, deregulation,   supervised injection site undercuts the    David Frum (hateful liar).
Internationalism                                                               whipping up hysteria to promote po-       ethic of medical practice and sets a          And then came news that finally
The struggle for socialism is part of a worldwide struggle. We campaign        licing and militarization, and blaming    debilitating example for all physicians    spelled his downfall–insert your own
for solidarity with workers in other countries. We oppose everything that      victims.                                  and nurses, both present and future in     dick joke here. He is sorry and begs
turns workers from one country against those from other countries. We             Under Harris he was in turn Min-       Canada,” Clement pontificated. “This       our understanding. After all these
support all genuine national liberation movements.                             ister of Transportation, the Environ-     is a profound moral issue.”                years, looking over the thread of his
   The 1917 revolution in Russia was an inspiration for the oppressed          ment, Municipal Affairs and Housing,         Clement’s next position, Industry       career, I think I understand him pretty
everywhere. But it was defeated when workers’ revolutions elsewhere            and–most memorably–Health and             Minister, oversaw the shutdown of the      well. The true tragedy of Two-Tier
were defeated. A Stalinist counter-revolution, which killed millions,          Long Term Care. The privatization of      federal census; undercut the CRTC          Tony Clement is that it took a tawdry
created a new form of capitalist exploitation based on state ownership         toll-highway 407 was a massive cash       when it threatened to weaken the           little scandal like this to scuttle him.
and control. In Eastern Europe, China and other countries, a similar           giveaway, resulting in billing abuses,    telecommunications stranglehold of         His politics of greed, callous inhu-
system was later established by Stalinist, not socialist, parties. We          safety short-cuts, and police investi-    the big corporations; and divvied up       manity, and betrayal of the public
support the struggle of workers in these countries against both private
                                                                               gations. As for the Environment, the      $50 million earmarked for security         interest should have been more than
and state capitalism.
                                                                               deaths from drinking water in Walk-       at the G8 Summit among small town          enough to do him in.

Elections and democracy
Elections can be an opportunity to give voice to the struggle for social                                  Never miss                          Name:
change. But under capitalism, they can’t change the system. The
structures of the present parliament, army, police and judiciary protect
the ruling class against the workers. These structures cannot be simply
                                                                                                          an issue.                           Address:
taken over and used by the working class. The working class needs
                                                                                                          Mail in this form with a cheque
                                                                                                          or money order made payable to      Phone:
real democracy, and that requires an entirely different kind of state—a
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   But the fight for reforms will not, in itself, bring about fundamental
social change. The present system cannot be fixed or reformed as the
NDP and many trade union leaders say. Nor can the system regulate
                                                                                 Join the International Socialists
itself to prevent environmental destruction and climate injustice. It has to       Name:                                                      City:
be overthrown. That will require the mass action of workers themselves.
                                                                                   Address:
The revolutionary party                                                            E-mail:                                                    Phone:
To achieve socialism the leading activists in the working class have to be
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of action, and it must be democratic. We are an organization of activists
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6 Socialist Worker December 2018
DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
Stop Mohamed                                                                                                    REVIEWS
Harkat’s
deportation to                                    Extreme Cities: Climate
torture
The federal government is pushing to deport
                                                  change and resistance
Mohamed Harkat to torture. The matter is          by Valerie Lannon                                                                                          describes the grass-roots community response

                                                  A
urgent and imminent.                                                                                                                                         to Super Hurricane Sandy in New York in
   Harkat, a United Nations Convention ref-                 shley Dawson’s use of the term                                                                   2012. He notes that grass-roots efforts by
ugee who has lived in Canada for 22 years,                  “extreme” in the title of his book                                                               health and social service workers, and other
faces deportation to Algeria under a highly                 refers to “… an urban space of stark                                                             community organizers, were quicker and more
controversial security certificate.                         economic inequality, the defining                                                                efficient than state and federal government
   Declared unconstitutional in 2007, then        urban characteristic of our time, and one of the                                                           departments. “Rather than provoking selfish,
reinstated with a minor alteration, Secu-         greatest threats to the sustainability of urban                                                            antisocial, and even belligerent circumstances,
rity Certificates allow for secret hearings       existence.”                                                                                                most people tend to regain their self-control
where the accused and their lawyers are not          Urbanization has been continually growing                                                               and become concerned about the conditions of
allowed to see key allegations and evidence       for decades, so that now “…the majority of the                                                             those around them relatively quickly.”
used against them. Security-cleared lawyers       world’s megacities are in coastal zones threat-                                                               Dawson argues that continuing climate di-
are allowed to see some of the secret case,       ened by sea level rise. Today, more than 50                                                                saster will likely make “disaster communism”
but neither the accused nor their lawyer is       per cent of the world’s population lives within                                                            more common and, like Andreas Malm, points
allowed to be present.                            120 miles of the sea.” Cities are where carbon                                                             to the origins of some of the Arab Spring up-
   Harkat was arrested on International Hu-       emissions from industries and transportation                                                               risings in climate-induced droughts, leading to
man Rights Day, December 10, 2002, and            are highest.                                                                                               higher food prices and resulting grain riots.
subsequently detained without charge for             By focusing on extreme cities that are                                                                     But he has no illusions in “horizontal”
3.5 years, often in solitary confinement. He      located at sea level, he carefully documents                                                               organizing as the ultimate solution. He states
has struggled under a brutal series of house      how climate change will negatively affect                                                                  “Disaster communism – on a purely local
arrest bail conditions and is fighting this       huge populations of people, many of whom                                                                   scale- does not actually constitute an inherent
latest threat of deportation.                     are poor and least able to cope with the impact.                                                           threat to the capitalist social order.” He backs
   As his spouse Sophie Harkat stated, “I         Recall the deaths and forced relocations of                                                                this up by describing how quickly state bureau-
have been married 18 years to this gentle,        low-income black people in New Orleans after                                                               cracies and elite interests intervened post-Hur-
funny, hard-working man, someone who has          Hurricane Katrina and you get the beginnings           climate justice opposition has been led by          ricane Sandy to resume control of rescue and
never been accused – much less convicted          of the picture.                                        indigenous communities threatened by pipeline       reconstruction operations.
of – committing a crime or act of violence.          The book pays particular attention to Miami,        or marine spills, it is also the case that “ex-        Unfortunately, Dawson has no suggestions
But in the Canadian racial and religious          New York (to remind American readers, as               treme cities” will see huge numbers of people       for how the required changes he recommends
profiling sweeps that happened after 9/11,        if they needed reminding, that rising seas             threatened.                                         can come about aside from a general call for
Moe was wrongfully targeted… Moe was              won’t just be affecting remote Pacific islands),                                                           social movements to act in unity.
never charged with anything. Yet he spent         Jakarta, Delhi, Port-au-Prince and Sao Paulo.          Just transition                                        He is deafeningly silent on the role of the
over a year in solitary confinement, and          In Canada we can add places like Montreal              In addition to highlighting the physical, social    working class, which is odd given his quotes
after three more years in jail without charge,    (which saw record heat wave-related deaths             and economic disasters awaiting the residents       throughout the text of figures like Trotsky and
was transferred to the strictest house arrest     this past summer, as well as a huge upsurge in         of extreme cities, Dawson lists what needs to       modern day Marxists like David Harvey and
in Canadian history.”                             climate justice activism on the streets), Rich-        be done to ensure a just transition. There needs    Mike Davis.
   Though Harkat was arrested under the           mond, BC, Halifax and other coastal cities to          to be a planned relocation of populations, so          In spite of this significant shortcoming,
security regime of the former Harper gov-         the mix; say good-bye to the scenic Vancouver          that the poor are not left behind. Otherwise        the book is still recommended. We should be
ernment, appeals to the Liberal government        airport.                                               what we are likely to see under capitalism is       inspired by his conclusion that “The good city
to let him stay in Canada have so far gone           Drawing from earlier work by Mike Davis,            the wealthy able to make their getaway, leav-       cannot be a version of today’s city newly em-
unheeded – despite their inability to show        particularly Davis’ Planet of the Slums, Daw-          ing everyone else stranded.                         bellished with green trimmings like bike lanes
that he presents any kind of threat.              son reminds us of how capitalism has thrown               Using an anti-capitalist analysis, Dawson        and ribbon parks in front of high-end condos.
   If sent back to Algeria, Mohamed Harkat        millions of peasants world-wide out of their           also points the ways forward for achieving a        The good city will only heal the wounds of
faces detention, torture and even death.          traditional farming and into a poverty-laden           just and democratic way out of the impending        calamitous environmental degradation if it is
   This threat of deportation flies in the face   urban proletariat or unemployment. While               climate disaster, especially in extreme cities.     rebuilt to overcome today’s yawing economic
of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declara-       on Turtle Island/North America, much of our            His chapter entitled “Disaster Communism”           and social inequalities.”

                                                   Poppy: Am I a Girl
tion last year that “Nobody, ever, deserves
to be tortured.” Nobody, ever, deserves to be
deported to torture either.
   Amnesty International, the International
Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, and thou-
sands of people and organizations across
this country are demanding that the federal
government put an end to this nightmare
for the Harkat family by lifting the threat of    by D’Arcy Briggs                                       both a self-aware and self-indulgent play on pop        After Poppy’s reprogramming she seems to
deportation.                                                                                             music culture. The album’s opening tracks see       be somewhat self-aware of humanity’s destruc-
   Organizers are urging supporters to write      Poppy’s latest album, Am I a Girl?, is a               our pop star lyrically addressing the audience of   tive nature when she awakens alone in a facility.
                                                  celebration of all that is capitalist alienation,      their songs in an almost They Live fashion. The     The chorus to the track “Time is up” sings “I
                                                  commodity fetishization, and environmental             track “It’s Fashion After all” opens with “I’m      don’t need air to breathe when you kill the bees
                                                  destruction. If 1984 was a musical, this album         working every angle / My lipstick is a staple       / And every / river bed is dry as a bone / Oh,
                                                  would surely act as the score. It’s an album                                                               I will still survive when the plants have died /
                                                  which is incredibly self-aware, and showcases                                                              And the atmosphere is just a big hole.” While
                                                  the ideas of celebrity in the digital age. It easily                                                       the character is now ‘awake’ to the nature of the
                                                  serves as a tongue-in-cheek warning to those                                                               system, she still feels outside of the problem.
                                                  who question what it means to be an individual                                                             Poppy then starts to acknowledge how she was
                                                  and a member of a community under capitalism.                                                              previously treated and thrown out and questions
                                                     Am I a Girl? is a concept album that takes                                                              her identity in “Girls in Bikinis,” as well as the
                                                  place in a near-apocalyptic future in which a                                                              title track, in which the chorus asks “Am I a girl?
                                                  feminized pop-star android, Poppy, is repro-                                                               / Am I a boy? / What does that even mean? / I’m
                                                  grammed and subsequently struggles with                                                                    somewhere in between.”
                                                  their own identity, their place in the world, and                                                              The album ultimately ends with Poppy decid-
                                                  reaches a musical and thematic climax during                                                               ed to destroy the system herself, starting with
                                                  the final few tracks.                                                                                      the track “Play Destroy.” In the song, she pledg-
                                                     The album generally follows a pretty stan-                                                              es “This is how we play destroy… / Burn down
                                                  dard synthpop formula, but with a decidedly                                                                the local Wal-Mart / Monsanto, Raytheon.”
Justice for Mohamed Harkat                        strong vaporwave influence. The final tracks                                                                   While Poppy’s Am I a Girl? could push
                                                  go for broke and blend togettheir aggressive                                                               some away for the artist’s strange persona and
to Trudeau and the Ministers of Public Safe-      heavy metal with saccharine sweet pop. The                                                                 targeted synthpop and metal sound, there is an
ty, Justice and Immigration to urge them to       majority of the album wears its contemporary                                                               interesting sci-fi story under the surface for
stop the deportation to torture of Mohamed        dance music influences on its sleeve (The album                                                            those willing to take the time to listen to the
Harkat and to not make themselves, and            is being released on Mad Decent records and            / My hair and makeup make you envious and           album as a whole experience rather than just
Canada, complicit in torture once more.           even contains a song featuring Diplo), but ends        want to die… / My wrists are terrorists / My lips   the singles. It ultimately serves as an incredibly
                                                  sounding like some hellish mix of Carly Rae            gave you a kiss / My consciousness thinks this is   powerful, if not catchy, soundtrack to a world
• To sign the petition https://bit.ly/2QfelLl.    Jepsen and Slipknot. While musically it’s not a        making me feel fabulous.” The tracks “Iconic,”      in which the ideas of social justice and human
To send letters to federal officials http://      tired album at all, it’s the album’s efficacy in       and “Chic Chick” follow the same path, while        rights are seen as debatable. This is just as much
iclmg.ca/stop-harkat-deportation/                 thematic and lyrical content that really delivers.     lyrically emphasizing the importance of con-        the soundtrack to the horrors of capitalism as it
                                                     As stated earlier, Am I a Girl? could be seen as    sumption in the creation of the individual.         is a pastiche of celebrity in 2018.

                                                                                                                                                                  December 2018 Socialist Worker 7
DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca DOUG FORD'S CLASS WAR - socialist.ca
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