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March 29, 2012 - No. 44 28th General Alberta Election Announced Use the Election to Provide a
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This situation presents a
challenge and opportunity to the working
people of Alberta -- the need to unite ranks behind their own interests
and rights and in defence of the rights of all. Already a vigorous
campaign is developing to defend and expand social programs and block
the monopolies and the political parties in their service who are
demanding wholesale privatization and the handover of public assets to
the rich. Teachers are actively defending quality public education;
health care workers are fighting for their rights and the rights of all
to health care; seniors are vigorously organizing to expand public
health care and provide the long-term care system that seniors need.
Meanwhile, the workers in construction are opposing anti-worker union
busting laws that affect their ability to fight and organize their
collective. Both pipeline and construction workers are facing
increasing loss of life and injuries from unsafe conditions and the
pace of work in the oil and gas industry. Energy workers are opposing
the nation-wrecking and massive job losses being created by the
shipping of raw
bitumen out of the country without refining the products in Canada. Oil
and gas workers are also standing up against nation-wrecking due to the
fact that refineries are closed in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes
forcing these regions to import oil and gas from foreign
countries. Manufacturing workers who produce materials for commercial
and residential construction are opposing attacks on their rights and
the
loss of manufacturing jobs. 
There is growing opposition
to the direction of the economy where
all the decisions are in the hands of the energy monopolies, most of
which are foreign-owned and care nothing for the public good.
Whether it is the shipping of raw resources, the wrecking of
manufacturing, the trampling of Aboriginal peoples' rights,
the
outlook of reckless expansion in the oilsands disregarding the social
and environmental consequences and the living and working conditions of
the workers, a new direction for the economy is needed. People are
saying no to new electrical transmission lines built at public expense
to allow the oil companies to export power to the U.S. while the
cost of power soars for the people.
Albertans are greatly
concerned
that large corporate financial contributions to the
long-ruling Tory party can buy political influence. Even the ruling
party admits that this is a "public perception" while feebly claiming
it is not really the case. Corporate profits in Alberta have risen an
estimated 300
per cent since the early 1990s due mainly to the exploitation of the
oilsands. A recent study by the Pembina Institute shows that in terms
of what is known as the "gini coefficient," a measure of income
distribution by the gap between the highest and lowest income, Alberta
now has the highest after-tax income gap
between rich and poor of any province. Clearly, an electoral system
whose outcome is prejudiced by the unfair distribution of wealth
perpetuates an unfair political playing field. Workers on wildcat walkout to defend rights and the right to health care, Edmonton, February 16, 2012. |
Seniors, health care workers and their collectives are leading the fight to put forward alternatives to the plans of the rich to privatize and further degrade existing public health systems, and block the plans of the rich and the government which serve them to further privatize and degrade public services. Recently the monopoly media has highlighted several situations where families have raised concerns about unacceptable care of their loved ones in long-term care facilities. More often than not the impression left by the monopoly media is that the health care workers are to blame. Meanwhile, the workers are silenced by their employers' threats of legal action or termination if they speak out.
The starting point of a human-centred health care system
is the need to pay attention to the demands of the health care workers
that walked out across the province. These are the workers who
represent the interests of Alberta. They represent the human-centred
outlook which begins by affirming the rights of everyone
to health care, including all the care that seniors need to live in
dignity and the rights of the care-givers and all the workers who
provide care and services. Neither those in need of care nor those who
provide it are considered a cost as the obsolete, anti-social,
capital-centred outlook demands. The human-centred
alternative begins with a profound understanding that the rights of
patient and care-giver are interdependent. It is the staff who care for
patients who are socially responsible. They give the compassionate,
dedicated and professional care required, which is why they are
entitled to demand that the needs of the caregivers
must also be recognized. Staff must be provided the conditions where
they can carry out their responsibilities with peace of mind and
dignity, including adequate resources and the right and responsibility
to speak out and advocate for the people they care for. Seniors and the
disabled living in long-term care, their
families and the staff who care for them are together in this fight to
defend rights and dignity, not adversaries.
The workers must participate
in this election by
rejecting the monopoly-led discourse. The failure of governments to
provide a long-term care system which upholds the rights of seniors is
not a problem of how to get these "bed-blockers" who are clogging up
the system out of the way. This anti-social, anti-people
outlook greatly assists the plans evident in Dr. John Cowell's Health
Quality Council Report to increase the pressure on doctors, hospital
administrators and staff to measure "success" by how quickly people can
be moved out of hospitals. In this election, oppose governments across
Canada which favour a "giant HMO"-type system in which funding will be
withheld from hospitals and care
centres that do not adhere to length of stay protocols and
capital-centred, corporate-style decision-making about what care a
patient will receive. They are pushing for private delivery which
removes public control and accountability.
  Wildcat walkout in Calgary and Edmonton, March 16, 2012. |
In this election, we must also oppose the other prong of the attack on health care workers who are criminalized when they defend their rights. Workers are accused of abuse and neglect with no investigation into staffing levels and other issues. Health care workers are tried and found guilty in the press, instead of putting the responsibility squarely on governments which refuse to carry out their social responsibilities and guarantee the right to health care. Health care workers and professionals are a bulwark against this assault. Let us demand that long-term care residents, their families and staff be provided the means to together advocate for their patients without interference or intimidation of any kind from employers and governments. In this way the staff can also fully carry out their responsibility to speak out and to defend the most vulnerable, and to participate in decision-making.
Abolish the Temporary Foreign Workers Program -- Status for All!
On March 8, Service Alberta Minister Manmeet Bhullar, held a press conference to announce that the Alberta government was introducing tougher rules aimed at protecting temporary foreign workers. "Many workers come to Alberta because we have excellent opportunities," Bhullar said. "Unfortunately, some people take advantage of their eagerness to find work. That's why this government is acting by putting in strict rules that make employment agencies more accountable, strengthen protection for workers, and aid in complaint investigations."
The government news release stated: "The Employment Agency Business Licensing Regulation currently prohibits agencies from charging workers a fee for finding them jobs. Agencies must also be licensed by the provincial government. Amendments to the regulation will provide additional protections making it illegal for businesses to: mislead temporary foreign workers about their rights or their chance of becoming a Canadian citizen; pressure workers to lie to Canadian officials; intimidate or threaten individuals seeking work; or require workers to provide a performance bond.
"Agencies will be required
to keep full records of their
recruiting activities and register their agents with the Government of
Alberta. These changes will assist in the investigation and prosecution
of companies that exploit vulnerable workers. Violators face
enforcement action ranging from suspension or cancellation
of their licence to prosecution under the Fair Trading Act.
Penalties determined by the court include a maximum fine of $100,000
and up to two years in jail."
A September 2011 report released by the Alberta government called for addressing the problem of unscrupulous third-party recruiters, stating that with a dramatic increase in the number of employment agencies operating in Alberta in 2007-2008, the government of Alberta "became concerned that some may be operating in the province without a licence and may be charging illegal recruitment fees from Temporary Foreign Workers. This increase, and the changing labour market at the time, prompted the review of the current legislation. Findings are due later this year."
Service Alberta Minister Bhullar is completely silent about what has happened. It is already illegal to charge workers recruitment fees, but the government knows that the practice is widespread. How many of these modern day slave-traders/human traffickers have been shut down? How many have been prosecuted? How many found guilty? Have they been fined or sent to jail? On all of this there is a deafening silence. Instead the government announces that it will add some new offences. If offences under the old legislation could be carried out with impunity, why will it be any different now?
Similarly, the report revealed that according to the government's own records, close to 75 per cent of all employers hiring temporary foreign workers coming to Alberta were found to be violating labour laws. The most common illegal practice was failure to pay premiums for working on statutory holidays and overtime. Again, the government is completely silent about how it is "cracking down" on the vast majority of employers hiring temporary foreign workers who engage in theft of wages and other illegal practices.
Jason Kenney, federal Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism was quick to use the announcement not only to congratulate Alberta but to wave his own flag, stating that "These measures complement Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)'s efforts to crack down on the activities of unscrupulous immigration consultants."
Kenney's "better oversight" seems most concerned
about
whether workers coming to Canada under the temporary foreign workers'
program are coming to work in "genuine jobs." He stresses that
regulations should not be "overly onerous on the large majority of
employers who have the best interests of their employees
at heart." To make sure that the employers can act with impunity, and
not face any "onerous" penalties, the federal government made changes
which mean that workers are in fact penalized with loss 
of their jobs
if they lay a complaint since their employer will be barred from using
the program for two years. It is
hardly surprising that Mr. Kenney has not made any announcements about
how many charges have been laid and how many employers found guilty.
Canadians must hold the Harper and Redford governments to account for this transparent attempt to whitewash their human trafficking and modern-day slavery arrangements.
It is not possible to reform a program where workers are indentured and tied to an employer. The temporary foreign workers program must be abolished and a new program should be restricted to providing work permits for genuinely short-term employment, such as academic exchanges. Permanent resident status must be granted to both undocumented workers and temporary foreign workers on the basis of Status for All! and by affirming that No One Is Illegal!
News in Brief
University Students Rally to Support Quebec Students and the Right to Education
On March 21, about 100
University of Alberta students,
faculty and staff rallied in front of the campus administration
building to show their support for striking students in Quebec and to
advocate for the right to education. Signs proclaiming "Education is a
Right" were noteworthy throughout the crowd. Red
square badges, the symbol of the Quebec students' fight, were passed
out to all participants to show their solidarity
and a large red banner
was prominently displayed. Participants also filled out red cards
stating the thousands of dollars they are in debt due to the refusal of
the Alberta government to adequately fund
education and the completed cards were attached to a display board. A
series of speakers made a number of important points, including that it
was critical to both support the just struggle of the Quebec students
and also to fight militantly in Alberta for the right to education,
increased funding for education, and against
tuition fee increases and the imposition of non-instructional fees. One
speaker suggested that the right to education should be written into
the Constitution. At the end of the rally, a photo of all the
demonstrators together was sent to the Quebec students. The groups who
organized the University of Alberta demonstration
have vowed to continue their actions.
Two hundred thousand students march in defence of education, Montreal, March 22, 2012.
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