Dedication of the Party Memorial

A Revolutionary Tribute to the Building of a New World

On August 15, 1999, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) organized a ceremony at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa to dedicate a Party Memorial to honour the memory of Comrade Hardial Bains, CPC(M-L)'s beloved Founder and Leader, and other Party comrades who have passed away.

The important occasion, marking both the 60th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Bains and the 10th anniversary of the historic Chertsey gathering, was led on behalf of the Central Committee by Comrade Sandra Smith, its First Secretary and the Party's National Leader. Members of the Central Committee, regional secretaries and party activists from across the country, family members and friends of the party attended the ceremony. Representatives of fraternal parties and organizations from Britain, Cuba, India, Ireland, Mexico, Trinidad and the United States also joined CPC(M-L) on this occasion.

Prior to the ceremony members of the Central Committee paid respects to Comrade Bains and Comrades David Danielson, Tom Boylan, Anne Boylan and Dave Hemingway whose names have been added to the Party Memorial at this time. They also paid respects to all the other comrades who have passed away defending the Party and the cause of communism and renewal in Canada, whose names were added to the Memorial on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of CPC(M-L) in 2000 and every year since then.

Members of the families of Comrade Bains, Anne and Tom Boylan and Dave Hemingway also visited the cemetery on the day prior to the memorial's dedication to pay their respects.

At 11:30 a.m. on August 15th, the Dedication Ceremony began with an a capella quartet performance of Our Founder, Our Leader; a beautiful rendition of the song which honours the revolutionary life of Comrade Bains and his legacy which lives on in the Party he founded and led. This was followed with the reading of the dedication in three languages, English, French and Punjabi. Comrade Sandra Smith then led comrades who represent the Party organizations to which the five comrades being honoured belonged, i mingling their ashes and scattering them over the memorial.

She laid the wreath of the Central Committee, made up of flowers the colours of the dawn, thus paying the respects of all the members and supporters of CPC(M-L).
 

A floral tribute was then paid by the representatives of the fraternal organizations. They stood in respect in front of the Memorial while Comrade Chris Coleman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) laid the bouquet of flowers on behalf of the International Communist Movement. In this way, CPC(M-L) was also able to honour two comrades from the RCPB (M-L), the General Secretary of RCPB (M-L), Comrade John Buckle, killed in a plane crash in Madrid on Novermber 27, 1983, and Comrade Cornelius Cardew, killed in a hit and run accident under suspicious circumstances on December 13, 1981, and all other comrades from the fraternal communist parties whose contribution and memory we profoundly respect and cherish.

Representatives of several mass organizations of workers, women and national minority communities then came forward to pay their respects. Comrade Barbara Seed, Secretary of the People's Front, laid a bouquet of flowers on their behalf.

After this, representatives of the Communist Youth Union of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and organizations of the youth under its leadership paid the respects of the youth. On their behalf Kim Roberge, President of the Marxist-Leninist Party Club at the University of Ottawa, laid a single red rose on the memorial.

The participants then stood for a moment of silence, following which they joined together to sing The Internationale. Then, one by one and in groups, comrades and friends came forward to place their own flowers on the Memorial. Six youth flanked the memorial in a Guard of Honour and the song Our Founder, Our Leader was sung once again.

Aside from the floral tributes and flowers presented by individuals and collectives, the Memorial was adorned by 60 red carnations, 10 yellow carnations and over 138 lily blossoms, representing the number of years since the birth of Comrade Bains, the 10 years that have passed since the Chertsey meeting, and the 138 days remaining before the Party enters the new millenium on the basis of its nation-buiding Historic Initiative.

The ceremony was a beautiful and moving revolutionary tribute to the building of the New World. It was followed by a reception which featured the showing of a video produced for the occasion. Entitled The Party's Word is Its Deed, Hardial Bains: A Portrait, the video brought out how, throughout his political life, Comrade Bains was an instrument of building the Party which turns its words into deeds. It was highly appreciated by the comrades, friends and family members in attendance who stayed for a long time after, discussing with one another and sharing this important occasion.
 

Those present were deeply moved by the day's proceedings and expressed great pride in the work of the Party to have such a beautiful and permanent tribute to the memory of Comrade Hardial Bains and other Party comrades who have passed away. During the late afternoon and into the early evening, comrades and friends returned once again to the site of the Party Memorial, where a Party photographer was on hand to take photos. They took their time to admire the majestic beauty of the red granite flag of modern communism that now stands in memory of our comrades and the deed of the Party, as a symbol of the profound appreciation of the working class and people for their dedication to the cause of building a new world.