47th Anniversary of the Founding of the
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)
Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
Inaugurates National Office in Ottawa
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) sends revolutionary greetings to all Party members, supporters, friends and the working people as we celebrate the 47th anniversary of the Party’s founding. Without their support and confidence we would not be here today.
Today in Ottawa, we are holding a reception to officially open the Party’s new National Office. We congratulate the Ottawa-Gatineau Branch of CPC(M-L) and Youth for Democratic Renewal for their work to prepare and operate the National Office on a professional basis. We salute also the cadre across the country who are being trained to carry out the work of the Office on a planned and professional basis. We reserve special thanks to the comrades and friends who answered the call of the Party to assist this project by raising funds. Half the projected amount of $40,000 for this year has been achieved, which is great news. We call on everyone not to let up on mobilizing support for this most important work of the Party.
We are also pleased to inform you that, besides the work for democratic renewal and a modern constitution, the National Office is also overseeing membership campaigns and communications with members and the public. A great beginning is reflected in the issuing of membership cards for several hundred new members for 2017 and the renewal of the cards of current members. Everyone will receive their cards within the next month. This is particularly important as the Party involves members and supporters in the preparations for its 9th Congress.
Modern Conception of Rights
This year we mark Canada’s 150th anniversary as well as celebrate the 180th anniversary of the Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. The 1837-38 Rebellions led to the establishment of what was called responsible government in Canada. The country’s present institutions and conception of rights were established at that time. Of great significance to grasp of those institutions is that sovereignty was not vested by the people in themselves. Far from it, through a series of Royal Proclamations sovereignty was vested in the police powers of a foreign monarch and private interests. Those arrangements remain a block to building a modern and independent Canada to this day.
The celebration of Canadian Confederation is taking place at a time the country has become integrated into the U.S. economy and war machine. Under the leadership of the U.S. imperialists, the Canadian military is engaged in acts of aggression and occupation of other countries without the consent of Canadians and in large measure in opposition to the people’s desire for an anti-war government and to make Canada a zone for peace.
Even though large amounts of money are being spent on celebrations of Canada 150, the discussion and elaboration of two topics are strictly prohibited: Canadian history and the Canadian Constitution! This is justified in the name of maintaining unity. In reality, the prohibition is to create a mindless atmosphere to undermine the political movements of the people in defence of their rights and deprive them of the outlook they need to build the New. Facing this situation, history calls upon the working people themselves to step forward to provide Canada with an aim that upholds the rights of all and secures a bright future for the coming generations.
Canada 150 cannot be separated from the current most furious reactionary assault under the banner that there is no alternative to war and repression. This outlook is fundamentally anti-worker, racist, misogynist, warmongering and morbidly defeatist. The disinformed outlook blocks the striving of the working people, youth and older generation to build the New. It opposes the unity of the peoples of all lands on an organized basis and claims no alternative exists to war and class privilege. It seeks to block any renewal of society that would open a path to progress in defence of the rights of all and to affirm national sovereignty of the peoples everywhere. This includes here at home Quebec’s right to self-determination and the hereditary rights of the Indigenous peoples, as well as citizenship rights on a modern basis within a modern constitution.
The celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Confederation underscore the importance for Canadians to discuss the conception of rights enshrined in the Constitution by the British North America Act, 1867 and especially its amended form with the addition of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.
At this time, in the name of strength in diversity, the rights of all are negated by dividing the people into categories of national origin, ethnicity, gender, religion, wealth and ability. This is done to weaken the organized conscious collective defence of rights by virtue of being human and the striving of the working class and people to humanize the natural and social environment.
The working people are seeing that the security and peace of mind of their families during their working lives and in retirement are out of their control. Wealth and power are being concentrated ever more rapidly and shamelessly in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Governments of police powers not governments of laws have become commonplace. Far from enacting needed reforms to the electoral law so that all medieval vestiges of privilege are removed from the political process and Canadians can exercise control over elected political representatives and hold them to account, the opposite is occurring.
Increasingly, workers and youth are looking at how to understand the present historical juncture and what theory and actions are required to turn things around in their favour. Profound concern has been expressed with the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and the manner in which the government of Canada is kowtowing to every arbitrary measure the U.S. administration takes in the name of security and prosperity by stepping up the use of police powers.
The working people see the alarming deterioration of the conditions of life and work in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and countries where Canada is intervening militarily to enforce regime change on behalf of U.S. imperialism’s striving for global hegemony. While the rich get richer and the poor poorer, the dangers of war and to the social and natural environments increase. Under these circumstances, strengthening the Party’s capacity to respond to the need to involve workers and youth in Party work, increase its national profile, as well as broaden the Party’s technical base are all urgently required. These issues are being addressed through the preparations for the Party’s 9th Congress and to build the institutions and innovate a political process required to build a modern Canada.
In this regard, we are pleased to announce that the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec (PMLQ) is hosting a Conference in Montreal on May 7, to discuss the conception of rights in Canada’s old constitution and a modern conception needed in a new one. The Conference aims to mobilize workers and youth to shed light on the origin of the police powers being unleashed today against them, and how the people can respond to defend their rights and build the New. Similar conferences will also be organized locally across the country.
Historic Need to Build the New
This year, we will hold celebrations under the theme The Birth of the New to strengthen the work to open society’s path to progress in today’s conditions. The celebrations will emphasize the significance of the role of the Communist Party in making sure the working class leads the masses of the people to bring about the social transformations so needed at this time.
The Party also calls on all its members and friends to join us in discussing the Party’s thesis on the Necessity for Change on the historic occasion of the 50th anniversary of its adoption in 1967. The Necessity for Change analysis provides the outlook guiding the Party’s work. We also join the communist parties and peoples all over the world in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution in 1917.
To mark these occasions, an important Conference to be held in Ottawa on August 12 under the theme The Birth of the New to which everyone is invited. The Conference will be followed by a Concert and Reception as well as the annual Dawn Ceremony at the Party Memorial in Beechwood Cemetery on August 13. These are dedicated to the Party’s founder and leader Comrade Hardial Bains on the 20th anniversary of his death, and to all the Party comrades who have passed away and whose contributions to building the New in this country we treasure. On this occasion we will also pay tribute to Comrade Fidel Castro and the significance of his life and work, as well as the lives of all those who have contributed internationally to our common cause of peace, freedom and democracy.
On this day of celebration of CPC(M-L)’s 47th anniversary, we pay our founder and leader Hardial Bains and other comrades who have passed away our deepest respects and dedicate our work to their memory. We wish all the organizations of the Party at every level success in their work!
Together, Let Us March On for a Modern Canada that
Upholds the Rights of All!
All Out to Build the New! Long Live CPC(M-L)!
Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)
March 31, 2017
For information on the project of CPC(M-L) to build the National office and Participate in this work, contact office@cpcml.ca.
Send to: P.O. Box 666, Postal Station C, Montreal, Quebec H2L 4L5 or donate through Paypal below.
The MLPC will issue a receipt for tax purposes which enables the donor to receive a tax credit. The maximum contribution to a registered political party permitted by law in 2017 is $1,550.00.