December 26, 2019

2019 Photo Review

Speaking and Acting in Our Own Name
to Uphold the Rights of All and Make Canada a Zone for Peace

September

With this issue of TML Daily, CPC(M-L) continues its month-by-month 2019 photo review with a look at September.

As September began, thousands of workers participated in Labour Day celebrations upholding the dignity of labour. Events took place across Canada, except in Quebec where only May Day, the International Day of Working Class Unity and Struggle, is celebrated. Facing systematic attacks on their wages, working conditions and workplace safety, workers were deeply concerned about the direction of the economy and future of society. Workers pointedly said that when they fight for their rights and stake their claim on what belongs to them by right, they represent not only what is required today but are also fighting for the well-being of future generations.

On September 10, the Alberta Court of Appeals quashed the injunction that had suspended the implementation of Bill 9. The bill can now be enforced which effectively tears up sections of public sector workers' collective agreements and impacts the wages of 180,000 workers. Immediately workers stepped up their organizing to defend their rights in the face of this new attack.

The writ was dropped for the 43rd federal general elections on September 11. The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada immediately issued a press release announcing it would run 50 candidates -- 25 women and 25 men -- in four provinces -- Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and BC. The press release stated that the "MLPC will continue its work of organizing Canadians for democratic renewal, a new direction for the economy and to establish an anti-war government. Under the banner of 'Empower Yourself Now!' the MLPC candidates will speak in their own name about conditions of work and life, and call on the electorate to do the same. They will discuss solutions with Canadians to the problems people face and elaborate the MLPC platform to Humanize the Natural and Social Environment." As the election period unfolded, working people across the country held their own meetings and discussions, finding ways to speak out on the matters of concern to themselves, rather than being passive spectators to the electoral shenanigans of the cartel parties.

Take Back the Night marches, which began in Canada in 1980, were held across the country throughout the month of September. These actions expressed the determination of women to ensure they are safe, protected and can live their lives fully without discrimination and without being treated as fair game by anyone, especially not the state institutions whose every consideration oozes discrimination. Despite claiming to uphold the rights of women, the state structures in fact deny them, in the name of high ideals of what can or cannot be achieved. The stats on the plight of women and children reveal the truth about Canada's democracy, not just the treatment meted out to Indigenous women and girls, which is abhorrent, but to the entire collective of women and especially the most vulnerable, those who are impoverished through no fault of their own.

September 20 to 27 saw a massive youth-led mobilization around the world, some seven-and-a-half million strong, expressing the urgent demands for what is required to safeguard the natural environment and defend it from the consequences of the pillage, plunder and devastation caused by narrow private interests. In the largest turnout of any climate strike thus far, workers, university students, retired people and others concerned about the defence of Mother Earth, joined the grade school students who led previous strikes. In Montreal, half a million people took to the streets; marchers filled the lawn on Parliament Hill, spilling into Wellington Street; and many thousands more participated in small communities, towns and cities across the country -- an estimated 800,000 in total. Many placards in the climate marches across Canada made a link between the lack of action in the face of climate change and the peoples' lack of political power to realize the needed changes.

September 2
On Labour Day, workers across the country participate in activities that uphold workers' dignity, in the face of the brutal neo-liberal anti-social offensive which treats them as a cost to be reduced and discarded.

Toronto, ON

Hamilton, ON

Windsor, ON

Ottawa, ON

Sudbury, ON

Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Calgary, AB

Edmonton, AB

New Westminster, BC

Vancouver, BC

Campbell River, BC

Prince George, BC

https://cpcml.ca/ru19004/#1 (Photos: TML, CUPE, BCGEU, SUFN)

September 5
Health care workers picket in Sudbury and hold a rally at the head offices of CarePartners in Kitchener after the company breaks off negotiations and locks out workers at the Sudbury office. The workers, who schedule homecare visits to patients in northeastern Ontario, had rejected demands from the company for concessions on pensions and benefits and to forego a wage increase.

Sudbury

CarePartners’ head office, Kitchener
https://cpcml.ca/ru19025/#5 (Photos: RU, USW 2020)

September 8
Dozens of empty red dresses are held high at the corner of Highways 16 and 97 in Prince George, BC, to represent all the Indigenous women and girls who have been murdered and gone missing along the Highway of Tears. This is the fourth annual Red Dress event.

September 9
Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace holds a colourful vigil on the waterfront, calling for Canada to not to participate in warmongering military actions or training mandated by aggressive military alliances such as NATO.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19011/#2 (Photo: NS Women for Peace)

September 10
A protest is held in Edmonton against the Alberta Court of Appeal's ruling that overturns the suspension of Bill 9, meaning that this legislation that effectively tears up sections of public sector workers' collective agreements now goes into effect.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19003/#3

September 11
Solidarity picket with workers at Windsor's Nemak plant. Workers shut down production and shipping on September 2 upon learning the company plans to close the plant in 2020.

(Photo:Unifor)

September 12
More than 2,000 people march through the streets of Montreal in solidarity with
support workers at the Université du Québec à Montréal demanding their right to negotiate acceptable wages, unrestricted by the government's wage policy, and improvements to working conditions.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19016/#6

September 12-27
Women take to the streets in cities and towns across Canada and Quebec for the annual Take Back the Night marches. They affirm their right to be and to walk the streets and participate fully in the life of the society in safety. In many cities organizers make it a point not to ask permission of police or government officials to march.

Kelowna, BC

Kamloops, BC

Prince George, BC

Red Deer, AB

Edmonton, AB

Fort Saskatchewan, SK

Windsor, ON

London, ON

Kitchener, ON

Guelph, ON

Brampton, ON

Etobicoke, ON

Toronto, ON

Belleville, ON

Ottawa-Hull, ON

St. John’s, NL
https://cpcml.ca/ru19026/#5 https:/://cpcml.ca/ru19020/#4 (Photos: RU, London Pride Fest, CALAC, Guelph CJPP, C. Feere,
G. Bacon NLSACPC, G. Katchur, B. Jonkman, R. Rogers, N. Johansen, ibew 993, L.M. Lindo, CASASC.)

September 15
Actions in Montreal defend the right to affordable housing and demand whoever forms the next federal government guarantee this right. Participants march to Peel Basin, which they say must be used for social housing and other needed projects.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19022/#2 (Photos: FRAPRU)

September 15
A rally and march in Toronto denounces India’s state-organized attacks on Kashmir. The Indian government unleashes a wave of state terror against the people of Kashmir following its repeal of Section 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave the part of Kashmir occupied by India a measure of autonomy.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19038/#3

September 16
Demonstration in Montreal stands with the Venezuelan people and opposes the dirty role of the Lima Group and Canada's leadership within it.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19024/#1

September 16-17
Health professionals in the Outaouais uphold their rights, as nurses at the Gatineau Hospital stage two sit-ins to denounce compulsory overtime. https://cpcml.ca/ru19031/#3 (Photos: FIQ)

September 17
Monthly picket against the aggressive NATO military alliance is held outside the NATO Association of Canada headquarters in Toronto.

September 17
Protest outside Chrystia Freeland's Toronto election campaign office denounces Canada's despicable role in the Lima Group in pushing for regime change in Venezuela.

September 18
A meeting in Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s Toronto riding, University--Rosedale. Called "Washington at Work in Honduras -- What’s Canada’s Role?" the meeting calls for Canada to end its support for the corrupt Honduran regime.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19038/#4

September 20-27
Actions take place in cities across Canada as part of a week-long global climate strike.These events coincide with the International Day of Peace instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 which this year took up as its theme "Climate
Action for Peace."

Halifax, NS

Fredericton, NB

Guelph, ON

North Bay, ON

Winnipeg, MB

Calgary, AB

Edmonton, AB

Revelstoke, BC

Smithers, BC

Vancouver, BC

Victoria, BC

Cumberland, BC

Courtenay, BC

Whitehorse, YT

The second Friday of climate strike actions sees even larger marches in Canada and around the world. An estimated 800,000 participate in actions in Canada and Quebec.

St John's, NL

Halifax, NS

Quebec City, QC

Gaspesie, QC

Saguenay, QC

Oka, QC

Montreal, QC

Gatineau, QC

Toronto, ON

Windsor, ON

Winnipeg. MB

Edmonton, AB

Calgary, AB

Vancouver, BC

Victoria, BC

Comox Valley, BC

Prince George, BC

https://cpcml.ca/ru19021/#2 https://cpcml.ca/190927-canada-climate-strike/ Photos: RU, TML, A. Hawthorne, R. Plourde, Coalition Fjord,
E. Aubin, La Planète s’invite au Parlement, G. Fontaine, M. Beaudoin-Lecours, UQO, Coalition for Livable Sudbury, K. Jones, Climate Action Peterborough, J. Martens, K. Caliwes, S. Stairs, B. Tucker, D. Gray-Donald, B. Basu, Climate Strike Canada, Canada 350,
Citizen for Climate Action, T. Parsons, J. Jeandron, S. Cook, L. Cameron, Future Villages, D. Wellwood, D. O'Keefe)

September 23
On September 19, several hundred hotel workers from the Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore and Pinnacle Harbourfront hotels in Vancouver, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40,
walk off the job. The outstanding issues, after fourteen months of bargaining, include workload, safety and job security. Below, workers picket the Hyatt Regency in support
of their demands.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19019/#2

September 25
A convoy of 230 logging trucks arrives in Vancouver to protest the loss of forestry jobs and mill closures in the province. The convoy of semis started from Prince George, stopping in Quesnel, Princeton, and other towns collecting more forestry workers and truckers. Truckers from the Cariboo who join the protest say, "We’re all getting hit hard."

Cache Creek

Merritt
https://cpcml.ca/ru19023/#2 (Photos: C. Langill, R. Pfyffer, J. Beckett)

September 26
Steelworkers on strike against Western Forest Products, members of United Steelworkers Local 1-1937, rally outside the company offices in Campbell River reaffirming their determination to hold strong in their fight against concessions. They are joined by retirees and workers from many other unions.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19023/#3

September 26
The Wet’suwet’en continue to resist Coastal GasLink’s illegal occupation and destruction of their unceded territories. Chief Dsta’hyl of the Likht’samisyu Clan was blocked by private security as he attempted to enter a community meeting at the Witset First Nation band office. Once he gained entry, Dsta’hyl told David Pfeiffer, President of Coastal GasLink, that no pipelines will be allowed to cross sovereign Likht’samisyu territory -- only the Likht’samisyu clan and hereditary chiefs can make decisions affecting their territory.

https://cpcml.ca/ru19033/#4

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Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca

September

With this issue of TML Daily, CPC(M-L) continues its month-by-month 2019 photo review with a look at September.

September 2 On Labour Day, workers across the country participate in activities that uphold workers' dignity, in the face of the brutal neo-liberal anti-social offensive which treats them as a cost to be reduced and discarded.

September 8 Dozens of empty red dresses are held high at the corner of Highways 16 and 97 in Prince George, BC, to represent all the Indigenous women and girls who have been murdered and gone missing along the Highway of Tears. This is the fourth annual Red Dress event.

September 9 Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace holds a colourful vigil on the waterfront, calling for Canada to not to participate in warmongering military actions or training mandated by aggressive military alliances such as NATO.

September 10 A protest is held in Edmonton against the Alberta Court of Appeal's ruling that overturns the suspension of Bill 9, meaning that this legislation that effectively tears up sections of public sector workers' collective agreements now goes into effect.

September 11 Solidarity picket with workers at Windsor's Nemak plant. Workers shut down production and shipping on September 2 upon learning the company plans to close the plant in 2020.

September 12 More than 2,000 people march through the streets of Montreal in solidarity with support workers at the Université du Québec à Montréal demanding their right to negotiate acceptable wages, unrestricted by the government's wage policy, and improvements to working conditions.

September 15 Actions in Montreal defend the right to affordable housing and demand whoever forms the next federal government guarantee this right. Participants march to Peel Basin, which they say must be used for social housing and other needed projects.

September 16 Demonstration in Montreal stands with the Venezuelan people and opposes the dirty role of the Lima Group and Canada's leadership within it.

September 16-17 Health professionals in the Outaouais uphold their rights, as nurses at the Gatineau Hospital stage two sit-ins to denounce compulsory overtime. https://cpcml.ca/ru19031/#3 (Photos: FIQ)

September 17 Monthly picket against the aggressive NATO military alliance is held outside the NATO Association of Canada headquarters in Toronto.

September 17 Protest outside Chrystia Freeland's Toronto election campaign office denounces Canada's despicable role in the Lima Group in pushing for regime change in Venezuela.

September 18 A meeting in Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s Toronto riding, University--Rosedale. Called "Washington at Work in Honduras -- What’s Canada’s Role?" the meeting calls for Canada to end its support for the corrupt Honduran regime.

September 20-27 Actions take place in cities across Canada as part of a week-long global climate strike.These events coincide with the International Day of Peace instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 which this year took up as its theme "Climate Action for Peace."