The Marxist-Leninist Daily

September 4 Quebec Election --
All Out to Defeat the Neoliberal Vision of Society

Say No to Nation-Wrecking!

What's at Stake in the September 4 Quebec Election

In the September 4 Quebec election, resolving the conflict between two visions of society is at stake. The people are fighting so that their human-centred vision prevails. Individual rights as well as collective rights must be respected and the two can be harmonized with the general interest of society only if the society affirms public right. The problem facing the workers, women and youth is that they cannot take up their social responsibility without seizing political power, the power to decide the political, economic and social affairs of the nation in defence of the public good, not private interest. How to end the stranglehold of the elites on the so-called democratic institutions that denies the rights of all except the major monopolies?

It is clear that the neoliberal aim is for the people to be depoliticized. It means the people are allowed to have their vision of society but not control over the so-called democratic institutions required to realize it, not even through the election of the National Assembly. In this election, Quebeckers can still occupy the space for change by intervening in order to contribute to the creation of a modern society which recognizes the rights of all by virtue of their being human, and the responsibility of the state and its institutions to ensure these rights in practice. The people of Quebec must ensure that the elected government will subordinate the democratic institutions to public right. It must defend the public good against the sell-off of the nation's resources in the service of private interests. It must invest in social programs and public services and oppose privatization and the blackmail that the government "has no money."

In this election, the people must express a clear and coherent opinion on the vision of society that Quebec needs. They must apply their political will by defeating the Liberals and not permitting any party or neoliberal coalition to take control of the National Assembly!

Say No to Nation-Wrecking!

Premier Jean Charest and his party are the target of the people's anger for several reasons. The most important is that the Liberal Party is up to its neck in all sorts of corruption. This is linked to the fact that for nine years it has been wrecking the nation with its pay-the-rich schemes like the Northern Plan, secret deals and the sellout of Quebec's resources at the expense of the way of life of the region's communities and First Nations. It destroys the environment, attacks trade unions, the standard of living and standards in health and job safety. All of this is part of the mad dash to further enrich the wealthy at the expense of the general interests of society itself. No one except the rich elects a government to use the nation's assets to enrich a handful of people!

The tuition fee increase that provoked the student strike movement is part of this corruption that encourages private partnerships between governments and financiers, allowing private interests to pocket public funds. The cost of the tuition fee increase is not "50 cents a day" as Charest says. The real cost is the students' indebtedness and putting education in the service of private interests instead of the public interest.

The attack on unions, attempts to deprive retirees of their pensions, secret agreements on hydroelectricity and mines, the underfunding of health care and other problems that the Quebec people face today are all a part of the neoliberal vision of this government and its pay-the-rich schemes. It is mostly due to the fact that this vision of society deprives people of their public institutions and the right to have their say on the decisions that affect them.

In this election, this vision of nation-wrecking is an issue. Quebeckers must inflict a decisive defeat on the Liberal Party, but also ensure that no other party or coalition of parties founded on a neoliberal vision can take control of the National Assembly. This situation must be ended where a party or coalition of parties can use their position of power in the National Assembly to enact laws over which the people have no control.

Occupy the Space for Change

There is a socio-political movement in Quebec that envisions a society that recognizes the rights of all. What is needed is to occupy the political space and this requires a political movement that is capable of putting the decision-making power in the hands of the workers, women and youth, not the rich.

That's what it means to occupy the space for change in this election. The challenge is to create the political movement that leads to the realization of a human-centred vision of society. This requires the working class to put forward its independent politics based on meeting the needs of the whole society. These politics have as their starting point that the real producers of wealth must have first claim on this wealth. Quebec has enough natural, human and social wealth to provide for the needs of all and ensure a high standard of living for everyone, education for all and quality health care for our seniors and all citizens. This is how the working class ought to create a society in its own image. Meanwhile, Charest and his neoliberal cronies seek to create a society in their own image, in which they perceive themselves as masters of the world at the helm of private companies, with no respect for anyone or anything except their private interests. It is up to the working class to constitute itself the nation and vest sovereignty in the people to put an end to this corruption and bring about the new!

Political Parties' Refusal to Meet the People's Needs in National Assembly Extends to Electoral Campaign

The so-called leaders' debate broadcast on Radio Canada and Télé-Québec on August 19 shows the extent to which public institutions and the common good in Quebec are instruments to negate the needs of the Quebec people. The elite use these instruments for their own ends -- for private interests -- without any consideration for the demands of the workers, youth and all those who make up Quebec society.

This debate was consciously organized in violation of Quebec electoral law, which says all the leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly which received at least three per cent of valid votes in the last general election, must receive media coverage equitably, of the same quality and quantity.

Based on the fact that the leader of the Parti Option Nationale was not invited, the debate does not qualify as a leaders' debate. Never mind that the other leaders of all the other parties participating in these elections (18 in total) including the leader of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec (PMLQ), were not even part of the equation in the minds of the monopoly media for whom they simply do not exist. TVA went even further and organized "one-on-one" debates between the leaders of only the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), the Parti Québécois (PQ) and Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), August 20-22. This situation during elections is akin to that in the National Assembly between elections, where a democratic institution is co-opted for the sole purpose of responding to private interests while snuffing out the demands of the people. Within such a framework over which the workers and people exercise no control, it is impossible to hold a real discussion that puts forward the preoccupations of the entire society and proposes programs to respond to them.

If it is not the case that people are excluded from decision-making, then what explains all the struggles led by the workers in recent months, such as against the attacks on their right to organize in a union or against the use of natural resources like hydroelectricity to finance the monopolies when they attack the workers fighting to defend their rights. What explains the fight against the theft of pensions and the people's opposition to the plunder of natural resources and environmental destruction by these same monopolies? What explains that in these debates, the courageous fight of the students against the imposition of neoliberal policies by opposing the fee hikes and upholding the right to education and social services that correspond to the people's needs has been ignored? Listening to these "debates" is like pretending there has not been a fierce battle raging for months between the Charest government and the workers, youth and people who oppose the neoliberal vision of subordinating public right to private interests. The people's vision of society demands pro-social measures to ensure that the exploitation of natural resources respects the natural and social environments and is in the service of the needs of Quebec society. It is based on affirming the right to education, where the youth's right to education is provided with a guarantee so that they can fulfill their responsibilities to build a modern society. Such a society upholds the workers' right to a pension that permits them to live in retirement with dignity. Why have the thousands of actions and voices fighting on these issues not been addressed in these "debates"?

The clash of these two visions of society reflects the social crisis in which Quebec is mired. The Liberal government refuses to respond politically to the people's demands. Instead, it criminalizes these struggles, especially the students and workers, by using violence and unjust laws to blame them for the crisis it created. The determination of the workers and youth to say "No, we will not accept neoliberalism, this is not the society we want," was not represented in the debates. This permitted Jean Charest to attack the youth in the so-called debates. He called them violent and criminals, without anyone putting him in his place.

This is why the workers and the youth could find nothing in these "debates" but shameful squabbling between the most corrupt elements and those who claim to be as pure as the driven snow. Thus Jean Charest is presented as Quebec's strong man while the CAQ claims the right to replace him with even more anti-social and anti-people policies.

By blocking access to a real debate on how to solve the issues facing the development of Quebec society, the message the monopoly media and these political parties are trying to send is that the people's demands have no place and nothing can be done to change the situation, either in the National Assembly or in the elections.

This is totally false. The experience of the past few months shows that the workers, youth and people are capable of putting forward initiatives to advance their struggles, justify their vision of society and unite all the sections of the people and organizations in defence of their interests. The next step is to do this in an organized manner by developing the independent political movement of the workers and people to take up practical politics to advance their vision of society and smash the firewall imposed in the National Assembly that blocks setting the agenda based on the needs of a modern Quebec society. It is not only the street that belongs to the people, the power to decide also belongs to us and to affirm it we must advance the independent political movement to take what is ours.

Let's stake our claim on our natural resources, economy, pensions and education system and the institutions which can guarantee their use to ensure society's well-being, now and in the future. Let us use these elections as a springboard to further this aim by concretely blocking a neoliberal coalition of the PLQ and CAQ.

An Election to Divert Attention from the
Justness of the Students' Cause

Charest is using the election to divert attention from the justness of the students' cause, especially from the fact that their vision of a society that defends the interests of all is the vision of the Quebec people, who hate corruption and refuse to tolerate that the government and the National Assembly are put in the service of private interests.

The Liberals have used diversion from the beginning. First they tried to divide the students with rantings to the effect that those who are against the hike advocate a "social cause" (which according to them is tantamount to anarchy, violence and public disorder), while those seeking injunctions against the strike are defending their "individual rights" (which according to them is tantamount to defending the right to education and respect for the so-called democratic institutions). It is pure hypocrisy. The recourse to the courts, disinformation, police violence and dictate simply expose the government's failure to be accountable to the public. This is to hide the anti-social offensive and the neoliberal vision of society that goes against the public good. This offensive attacks individual rights as well as collective rights, not only for students but for everyone -- except the rich who monopolize the natural, human and social resources for their private gain.

The students who oppose the tuition fee increase are defending the public good against the usurpation of the so-called democratic institutions, the government and the National Assembly, by private interests. This is why they were quite right to demand Jean Charest's resignation when he refused to account for his actions with regards to education. Now with the election they are right to work for the defeat of his party and any neoliberal party or coalition. They will support those who take up the affirmation of the right to education to become the Quebec government. This government must maintain the tuition freeze until the matter of financing post-secondary education and the guarantee of the right to education for all has been submitted to Estates General -- roving public consultations.

Whether students return to class or not, the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec is calling on workers to continue to support their sons and daughters who are resisting and persevering, confident in the justice of their cause. In defending the interests of students, they defend the interests of the whole society for a better future for all.

Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec Candidates

The Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec is presenting 25 candidates in the September 4 election, in the regions of the National Capital (Quebec City), Mauricie, Montérégie, Montreal and the Outaouais.

	Capitale-Nationale			Mauricie
	Pierre Chénier Charlesbourg	Claude Moreau Jean-Lesage		Jean-Paul Bédard Laviolette

	Montérégie
	Serge Patenaude La Pinière	Normand Chouinard La Prairie	Hélène Héroux Sanguinet	Normand Fournier Taillon

Montréal
Linda Sullivan Anjou--Louis-Riel	Claude Brunelle Bourget	Christine Dandenault Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Garnet Colly Jeanne-Mance--Viger	Peter Macrisopoulos Laurier-Dorion
Yves Le Seigle Marguerite-Bourgeoys	Diane Johnston Mont-Royal	Rachel Hoffman Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Geneviève Royer Pointe-aux-Trembles	Stéphane Chénier Rosemont
	Fernand Deschamps Saint-Laurent	Serge Lachapelle Sainte-Marie--Saint-Jacques	Eileen Studd Verdun

Outaouais
Pierre Soublière Chapleau	Yvon Breton Gatineau	Gabriel Girard-Bernier Hull	Alexandre Deschênes Papineau	Louis Lang Pontiac

Demand a New Direction for the Economy to
Resolve the Crisis in the People's Favour

In this election, while the people strive to liberate Quebec from the anti-social, anti-worker and anti-national aims of the Liberal Party and to block any neoliberal coalition, particular attention must be paid to advance the independent politics of the working class and nurture those who would defend Quebec's interests as defined by those who elect them.

Contrary to the Liberals' pretence of defending individual rights, the government has no business intervening on behalf of employers in their relations with the workers or on behalf of the financial oligarchy in their relations with the students. An equilibrium can be established in the relations of production and a legal structure can be conceived based on the recognition of the rights of all if public right is defended.

Similarly, the government has a duty to protect public right, not to justify the privatization of public authorities to serve "individual rights." We are all born to society and we all depend on the society for our livelihood and well-being. If the government does not defend public right, we go back to the policy of "fending for oneself" and the law of the jungle. This is the origin of the anarchy and chaos that the Charest government has introduced into Quebec society. This policy is responsible for the widespread failure of the society to ensure law and order. Law and order depends on the defence of the rights of all, not the increase of police forces to protect an alleged and immoral "mandate to govern."

With regard to workers' rights, a new government must be held responsible to establish a framework to monitor and correct the consequences of the globalization of production, including the transfer of decision-making power outside of Quebec, at the expense of the people and communities, and the loss of mutual benefit within the economy.

A new government must improve the standards of working conditions, particularly regarding the length of the work day, a better work/family balance, health and safety, subcontracting and the plight of injured workers.

The imbalance in the construction industry needs to be corrected by defending the rights of workers and their unions and not allowing corrupt businesses to take everyone hostage. The government must be held accountable for corruption on construction sites since it is the one which accepts the bribes. It is unacceptable to blame the workers and unions when corruption comes from the government.

To counter the nation-wrecking by the Charest government, we need a government of the people that advocates a pro-social economy.

We need an economic development strategy that promotes employment for all those who can work, an economy that develops all sectors and all regions, which uses the natural resources in an environmentally friendly manner and promotes the well-being of the population and the nation as well as the expansion of manufacturing and service industries.

A pro-social economy includes an energy policy that ensures sustainable development according to the laws of nature and the needs of society. All Quebeckers and all communities should benefit from the use of their natural resources and economic development so that their value yields returns in the form of royalties, new livelihoods, the well-being of communities and other forms.

Any trade must be based on mutual benefit, not on the basis of unilateral agreements that promote monopoly right, especially that of oligopolies over which Quebeckers have no control.

This election is an opportunity to demand a new direction for the economy so that the crisis is resolved in favour of the people.

Vote for Candidates Who Take an Uncompromising Stand Against Nation-Wrecking!
No to the Subjugation of the Common Good to Private Interests!
No to Public-Private Partnerships!
No to the Anti-Union Offensive!
No to the Tuition Fee Increase!
No Secret Agreements Selling Quebec's Natural Resources and Destroying the Environment!
Pensions for All!
Public Health Care Services with Sufficient Budgets and Personnel!
Deprive the Liberal Party and any Neoliberal Coalition of any Power in the National Assembly!
Together Let's Occupy the Space for Change!

Retirees Form Coalition to Demand
Pension Security for All

On August 29, at a demonstration in defence of pensions in front of White Birch Paper's Stadacona plant in Quebec City, organizers announced the formation of the Quebec Retirees' Coalition. More than 300 people participated, the majority of them retirees from the White Birch plant in Quebec City and the AbitibiBowater plants (now Resolute Forest Products) in Donnacona, Clermont and the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region. The coalition's aim is to defend pensioners' rights, regardless of their affiliation. The coalition has adopted a grey square as the symbol of the retirees' resistance and determination to protect their rights and the gains workers have achieved.

Two recent events pushed the retirees to form the coalition. One was the arrangement White Birch reached under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) whereby retirees will lose at least 30 per cent of their pensions. The other was Resolute Forest Products' threat to close its pension fund citing a high solvency deficit, which would reduce retirees' pensions by 30 to 40 per cent.

In lively discussion prior to the rally, participants denounced the legalized theft of pensions from workers who have worked all their lives and now see their pensions reduced despite having in hand signed contracts to guarantee defined pension payments until the end of their days. The time has come to force governments to ensure full pensions for all and to stop the big companies from abandoning their responsibilities towards pensions, the retirees said.

Gilles Bédard, the president of the Association of Retired Employees of White Birch-Stadacona and master of ceremonies at the rally, announced the creation of the coalition to warm applause from all participants. He said that the fight to defend pensions that White Birch retirees are waging against the plant's current owner and the potential buyer may also have to be taken up in other companies and even in other municipalities. The attack on pensions may well spread to all pensions and the coalition's formation is timely, he pointed out.

Gilles Papillon, Armand Gauthier and Mathias Dufour, spokespersons for the AbitibiBowater retirees associations from Donnacona, Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean and Clermont respectively, demanded that pensions be secured and bankruptcy protection laws changed. Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire candidates as well as a member of the NDP were invited to say a few words, and they committed to help satisfy the demands of the workers on the pension funds issue.

Participants were visibly happy that the Coalition has been formed and with the demonstration, held in the midst of the September 4 election campaign. They were dismayed that an issue as important as pensions has been treated like a hot potato by those who would form the next government and had no place in the election until the retirees themselves took action.

Alma Workers Reiterate Call for Government to Cancel Secret Deal with Hydro-Quebec and Rio Tinto

The Syndicat des travailleurs de l'aluminium d'Alma, which represents the Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) workers, recently published an election ad in the newspaper Le Quotidien.

In its message, the union demands the cancelation of the 2007 secret agreement between the Quebec government, Hydro-Quebec and RTA with respect to Hydro-Quebec's procurement of excess hydroelectricity from RTA during a strike or lockout. According to the agreement, Hydro-Quebec is obligated to purchase all unused hydroelectricity from RTA in the event of a labour dispute. During the six month RTA lockout of Alma workers, Hydro-Quebec paid RTA more than $90 million for its energy.

In its message to the people, the union thanks "all the citizens, unions, politicians and businesses that supported [them] during a difficult lockout, financed by Hydro-Quebec." The union says that this support made a significant impact and assisted them to protect future quality jobs by obtaining a ceiling for subcontract jobs. It adds, "Meanwhile, the collective agreements of all the Rio Tinto Alcan plants will expire in 2015 and if there is a labour dispute the government will be obligated to buy the energy ($90 million [in unused hydroelectricity] for just six months [while] two-thirds of the Alma plant [were not in use]). This scandal has gone on long enough! Together let's demand more in return for our resources. On the eve of this election the Syndicat des travailleurs de l'aluminium d'Alma demands that the next government correct past wrongs by ending secret deals."

The union told the local press that it would challenge candidates and political parties to take a stand on this question.

Cree Nation Opposes Uranium Exploration and Mining

On August 8, Waskaganish, the General Assembly of the Cree Nation unanimously adopted a permanent moratorium on the exploration and mining of uranium and the dumping of uranium waste in Eeyou Istchee, the Cree territory of James Bay.

Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Cree, Matthew Coon Come, said that "the community is not opposed to all forms of mining, but to those concerning uranium because of its potential toxicity and radiation [...] The Cree Nation is committed to protecting our economies and way of life against the exceptional and serious threat posed by uranium mining and uranium waste, now and in the millennia to come."

According to Sebastien Grammond, dean and professor of civil law at the University of Ottawa, "the permanent moratorium may have no legal value, but it has put a serious stick in the spokes of the companies." Grammond said, when asked whether the Cree Nation could declare a moratorium, "No, because they do not own the natural resources. That is provincial jurisdiction."

This demand for a moratorium by the Cree Nation is a test of the recent agreement signed between the Charest government and the Cree Nation on the latter's governance and autonomy in the Eeyou Istchee territory. The First Nations' experience of Charest-style democracy is that the only acceptable decisions are those that do not threaten monopoly right. At the signing of the agreement on July 24, Charest presented his notion of the Cree and James Bay residents' autonomy: "Together, the Cree and James Bay residents will be able to define the needs of the region and plan its development, thus designating access to Northern resources in line with government wishes."

With this permanent moratorium, the Cree Nation is attempting to block Strateco, the company that develops the most significant uranium mining exploration projects in Northern Quebec. The company wants to continue exploring the Matouche site by building an underground ramp. It has already received support from the federal government and only requires the go-ahead from the Quebec Environment Ministry and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The CNSC's decision will be made within days.

In early June, the CNSC held hearings in the Cree Nation of Mistissini. The Cree demonstrated their opposition to the Strateco project. Ultimately it is up to the Quebec government to decide whether or not it will move forward.

Monthly Mass Demonstration Reaffirms People's Desire to Defeat Charest Government's Destructive Policies

Despite all the attempts by the Liberals and the media in their service to divide and isolate the student movement and the vision of society it proposes, nearly 100,000 people rallied on Wednesday, August 22 at Place du Canada and demonstrated in the streets of Montreal against the ongoing destruction of public services, the tuition fee increase and the Special Law (formerly Bill 78, now Law 12). This sixth consecutive monthly mass demonstration took place right in the thick of the election campaign, with tens of thousands of students, workers and people from all sectors of society once again taking to the streets to express their desire for government policies that defend the common good and to denounce the Charest government for its destruction of Quebec's social fabric.

At the rally, representatives from the Broad Coalition of Student Union Solidarity (CLASSE), the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) and the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ), all identified neoliberal policies as the main block in the affirmation of a society that serves the common good. The students' determination to pursue the fight against the tuition fee increase, whether they are on strike or in class was hailed by all. "The strike was the best way to address education in Quebec these past months, and if our politicians are not preoccupied with this during the elections, it's up to us to inform the population on this matter [...] And even if Law 12 is withdrawn and the hike is cancelled, the student population will remain vigilant to any attack against education or public services. You haven't heard the last from us yet," said CLASSE co-spokesperson Jeanne Reynolds.

FIQ President Régine Laurent addressed the privatization of health care and education. "In education, to go from collective funding to individual funding is unacceptable and will only benefit the banks who don't care about the common good [...] We are hundreds of thousands demanding a real break with the neoliberal model," she said.

At a press conference just before the demonstration, Martine Desjardins, President of the Quebec Federation of University Students reiterated the call to not vote for parties that do not support the students, pointing out, "The Liberals and CAQ [Coalition Avenir Quebec] are the same."

(Translated from original French by TML. Photos: LML, M. DiGiglio-Bellemare, A. Guedon, A. Querry)