Canada and Quebec

May Day Events Nationwide

Montreal, May 1, 2021.

Workers' Centre of CPC(M-L) Holds Successful
National May Day Meeting

Workers from all main sectors of the economy were joined by several trade union leaders from across the country to share experiences in a vigorous May Day meeting organized by the Workers' Centre of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) on the evening of May 1.

The meeting greeted the workers of all lands who are fighting as never before for peace, justice, democracy and freedom. Special mention was made of the working people in the United States who continue to fight without a moment's let-up. In spite of the efforts of the Biden administration to cover up the crimes the U.S. commits at home and abroad and claim it represents human rights, democracy and peace, "it is thanks to the struggle of the U.S. working people that the murderer of George Floyd was found guilty and it shows the way to get results," the representative of the Workers' Centre said. "Thanks to their struggle, the extent of the racist killings and violence in the U.S. has been revealed, the extent of the crimes against humanity committed by the U.S. imperialists striving for world domination have been revealed and we have confidence that the working people will continue to speak in their own name and create a new system which recognizes their claims on society, ends racism and fights for peace."

The meeting also sent specific greetings to our Mexican brothers and sisters and fellow workers in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, the entire Caribbean and all those who are brought to Canada as migrant labourers whose rights as workers and human persons are not recognized. We are one working class fighting for the rights of all, the representative of the Workers' Centre said.

Further, the meeting sent a red salute to "our fellow workers, farmers and families in India against whom a criminal government is acting as a wanton killer. The struggle of the farmers, supported by the Indian working class and people and the Indian diaspora shows the capacity of the working people to organize themselves on a new basis which transcends and does not permit the sectarian violence and splits imposed by the anachronistic system of party government."

Greeting the workers of the entire world, the Workers' Centre recognized that their "fight for the right-to-be of their peoples is saving humankind in the face of the insatiable greed of a global oligarchy whose crimes are so great that they control governments and media who declare it is all for the good of humanity."

The meeting saluted the workers of Cuba and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea whose determination and sacrifice under the leadership of their own communist parties are maintaining their socialist systems despite being heavily blockaded and attacked by the U.S. imperialists. It also saluted the Vietnamese working class and their communist party under whose leadership they have shown what can be achieved: Vietnam has 96.5 million people, with only 2,865 COVID-19 infections and just 35 deaths. It can be done! The pandemic can be brought under control. The economy can serve the people, the representative of the Workers' Centre pointed out.

"The people must control the product of their own labour by bringing into being new arrangements which place decision-making in their hands," he said.

A two-hour exchange of information and views followed in both English and French with simultaneous translation. Rank and file workers and trade union representatives spoke to what is happening in their sector and how the workers are organizing to get results. Speakers from British Columbia to Quebec and New Brunswick, retired workers, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada President Rob Ashton, New Brunswick Federation of Labour President Daniel Légère, Rolf Gerstenberger, former president of United Steelworkers Local 1005 in Hamilton and President of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada, an occupational health and safety steward of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in Scarborough and a Communications Specialist with UNITE HERE Local 40 representing hospitality workers in BC all spoke about the experiences of workers in their sector over the past year. Speakers also represented the concerns of health care workers and teachers. Besides workers, organized and unorganized, there were also representatives of advocacy organizations including the Barrie Injured Workers Group, South Asian Women's Rights Organization and migrant workers. The last speaker was a youth who expressed the pride of the youth to be part of the modernization and expansion of the work of the Workers' Centre.

It is thanks to the reports the workers are giving about their working conditions and the claims they are making that Canadians are getting a thorough appreciation of what comprises the economy of Canada and how it is organized.

In Canada only 30 percent of workers are unionized and it is not just union members who are organizing and speaking out but also the organizations that advocate for migrant workers, gig workers and unorganized workers. The response to the invitation to the meeting shows the significance the workers give to exchanging experiences and learning from one another.

In the course of the discussion many people, besides relating their own experiences, condemned the back-to-work legislation of the federal government against the Montreal dock workers, and many expressed support for the militant struggle of Indian farmers against the anti-farmer legislation of the Modi government.

In his concluding remarks, Pierre Chenier, Secretary of the Workers' Centre, emphasized the role of Workers' Forum, the online newspaper of the Workers' Centre, to give pride of place to the voice of workers speaking in their own name. It has created the basis for our own news agency in which the workers themselves report on their concerns and we are not at the mercy of what the monopoly media reports and how they report. Reporting on what is going on in different sectors shines a light on how governments are operating, using the pandemic to pay the rich by borrowing vast sums from private lenders and using those funds to pay the interest, theft pure and simple. The reports received from the workers also reveal the revolving door between corporate leaders and government members and officials.

Pierre called on everyone to continue to contribute to Workers' Forum so that together we can assess the conditions and work together to change the situation in a manner which favours the people and society. Workers need their own reference points, he said, so as not to fall into the trap of accepting what the rich and their governments say are matters of national interest and national security. We need to strengthen and expand our work of interviews and reports and develop other means of communication such as podcasts and radio, something that the youth are keen to spearhead, and we need funds for this work so that it is done professionally, Pierre said.

We have seen over the past year, he said, that it is workers' fight for rights which is saving lives and that it is in fighting that we dispel all the dogmas which claim that the working class is no more than an extra-parliamentary pressure group to lobby for good policies, which diverts us from looking at what those policies are and who they serve.

The meeting ended with the playing of The Internationale, the song of the international working class written at the time of the great uprising of the French working class who created the Paris Commune in 1871.

Quebec

On May Day, Quebec workers and their allies organized actions in several cities. They put forward measures to emerge from health, economic and environmental crises and they also opposed the activities of the rich and their governments to suppress the voice of workers and people in the defence of their rights, in the name of the combatting the pandemic and restarting the economy. They demanded better protection of workers' physical and mental health, wage increases that allow for a dignified life, increases in social assistance and employment insurance benefits, the strengthening of labour, social security and immigrant rights, a major reinvestment in public services, including the working conditions of those who provide them, and measures to protect the environment. Workers denounced the Legault government's Bill 59 as an unacceptable step backwards in occupational health and safety and compensation for workers who are injured or become ill on the job. Private and public sector unions, women's organizations, defence organizations for migrant workers, the unemployed and those on social assistance, student organizations, environmental organizations and many others took part.

The criminalization of dock workers at the Port of Montreal by the federal government's back-to-work legislation in support of the employers' refusal to negotiate was front and centre in the demonstrations. The dock workers, members of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375, led the march of more than 2,000 people in Montreal, side-by-side with workers from the Shell oil terminal in Montreal, members of Unifor Local 121, who have been locked out since November 2020.

Again this year, police forces violently attacked the demonstration organized by the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles in Montreal, injuring and arresting several people.

Montreal

Quebec City

Chicoutimi

Drummondville

Month-Long Mayworks' Events in Halifax, Toronto and Winnipeg

Mayworks events are being held throughout the month in Halifax, Toronto and Winnipeg, starting with an online panel discussion including migrant workers' advocates, union leaders and community workers entitled "Essential Work, but Disposable Workers?"

Online Rally for Indian Farmers

The Farmer's Support Coordination Committee-Ontario, held an online May Day Celebration on May 2 to support the heroic farmers of India who have stood their ground to have the three unjust farm laws passed by the Modi government repealed. There was participation from across Canada as well as India. Underpinning the celebration was the months-long work that the Committee has undertaken.

One of the topics discussed was how to broaden the support for the fighting farmers of India by engaging the labour movement in Canada. A presentation was made about how the pandemic in Canada has particularly affected national minority workers who make up the bulk of frontline workers in many places. The speaker noted that these workers have faced discrimination and abuse by government and employers and continue to fight for their just demands for a living wage, paid sick leave and days off to rest and have a family life.

Between the presentations there were performances of poetry and song commemorating workers' struggles.

The Farmer's Support Coordination Committee announced that it will be stepping up work to support the Indian farmers and in defence of the rights of national minority workers in Canada.

Alberta

The Edmonton May Day Committee hosted a lively virtual celebration on May 1. Discussion focussed on the experience of workers in providing solutions to make their workplaces and communities safe during the pandemic. Participants also denounced governments' use of the emergency situation to launch one attack after another on workers' rights and to line the pockets of the rich. The chair of the meeting, Merryn Edwards, condemned the Trudeau government for its criminalization of the Montreal dock workers and the slanders against them, expressed solidarity with the Indian farmers' courageous fight and with the people of Cuba and others facing criminal blockades and with everyone fighting for rights, against aggression and for peace.

Speakers from Edmonton and District Labour Council, Friends of Medicare, Migrante, Women for Rights and Empowerment, the Edmonton-Cuba Solidarity Committee, the Edmonton local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and a teacher spoke about their experiences of the past year in upholding their rights to safe working conditions and to safety for students, patients, long-term care residents, migrant workers and all Albertans. The meeting concluded with a slide show of previous May Day celebrations and the singing of The Internationale.

At the event held by the Calgary May Day Committee, workers from many sectors including health care, communications, education, the post office and utility and retail workers vigorously participated. Workers, including retired workers and youth, shared information about their challenges and experiences over the past year in dealing with the pandemic to keep themselves and society safe and what they need going forward. Music and a slide show of past May Day events rounded out the meeting.

British Columbia

On the west coast, in Vancouver, the Left Coast Labour Chorus held an online concert celebrating the workers of the world with a new animation of Tommy Douglas' Mouseland speech and a story from fired hotel workers in Vancouver.

In Prince George, the May Day Organizing Committee and Stand Up for the North Committee held an online event with workers from many sectors including education, forestry, hospitality and construction. Also in attendance were the mayor of Prince George, Lyn Hall, and two city councilors, Frank Everitt and Susan Scott.

Dawn Hemingway, University of Northern BC (UNBC) professor and one of the organizers served as moderator. She began the event by providing a brief history of May Day. Mayor Lyn Hall welcomed everyone and spoke to the important role of workers in keeping everyone safe in the midst of the pandemic with particular thanks to the city workers.

Peter Ewart, a retired college instructor and representative of the May Day Organizing Committee, remarked that despite significant challenges posed by COVID-19 workers across the country and around the world are fighting heroically to improve the health and safety situation at their workplaces, and in the society as a whole, despite the failure of governments and employers to do so.

These introductory comments were followed by presentations from union representatives beginning with Matt Baker, President of the North Central Labour Council, who brought greetings from the Council, as well as speaking to the situation facing workers in construction camps around the region.

Naden Abenes, a hospitality worker and member of UNITE HERE Local 40, provided an update on hotel workers, mainly women and racialized workers, who are fighting against the industry's mass firings of workers and refusal to commit to bringing back workers once the pandemic is over. She thanked everyone for their support of the union's Unequal Women campaign, and encouraged everyone to share the information to bolster the struggle.

Joanne Hapke, President of the Prince George and District Teachers' Association, spoke about the struggles of BC teachers to keep schools, staff, teachers and students safe by fighting for proper class sizes, ventilation, mask requirements and other measures, despite lack of cooperation from the province.

Jan Mastromatteo, representing the Faculty Association at the College of New Caledonia, informed about the challenges facing college instructors in the move to online instruction, such as lack of appropriate support and compensation, and, importantly, a failure of management to properly address and adhere to copyright requirements and related issues.

Paul Siakaluk, President of the UNBC Faculty Association, spoke of the importance of unionization and unity in the labour movement. After being formed in 2014 and two subsequent strike struggles, the UNBC Faculty Association has finally achieved a sector norm salary grid. Paul thanked the entire labour community for its strong support and noted its importance in achieving this victory.

The organizers concluded by announcing that more online discussions will be held, with the next one in June, and invited everyone to provide topics that they would like to have discussed.

Bayan-Canada Online Event:
"International Worker's Day -- Activism Is Not Terrorism!"

Workers, students and youth across Canada joined speakers from the Philippines in an online May Day event organized by Bayan-Canada, an alliance of progressive Filipino organizations.

The meeting addressed the situation in the Philippines in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renato Reyes, Secretary General of Bayan (the New Patriotic Alliance), which was founded on May Day 1985 to oppose the Marcos Dictatorship, spoke about how the U.S.-backed Duterte regime has used the pandemic to carry out a military campaign against the communists, progressives and human rights activists and others, while at the same time abandoning its responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the people. Reyes noted that the Philippine government passed the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 last year and this has been used to criminalize and attack the movement of the people for their rights. In response, workers and peasants have stepped up their resistance with the aim of ousting the Duterte regime from power. They have also strengthened their social solidarity with one another to help contain the pandemic and ensure that no one is left behind.

Maria Sol Pajadura, the Chair of Migrante Canada, a national defence organization for Filipino and other migrant workers, spoke about the struggle of migrant workers in Canada, many of whom are undocumented. She pointed out that the racist immigration policy of the Canadian government encourages human trafficking of Filipinos and other workers. She spoke about the recent appeal by Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott for more nurses from the Philippines to fill shortages in the health care system which have been made even worse by the pandemic after decades of privatization and cuts. Canada knows that the nurses are needed in the Philippines, Ms. Pajadura pointed out, but nonetheless encourages nurses to come as temporary foreign workers to help solve their crisis. Still, despite their qualifications and the fact that English is an official language of the Philippines, these same nurses face expensive and onerous language and certification requirements. Ms. Pajadura highlighted the work that Migrante Canada was doing in helping undocumented migrant workers to obtain basic services as well as uniting with other defence organizations of the Canadian working class to fight for the rights of all. Migrante Canada also works to support the Filipino people's movement for national liberation.

The Canada-Philippines Solidarity Organization provided information about its work in support of the Filipino people's movement for national liberation as well as campaigns to hold the Canadian government to account for its role in facilitating widespread human rights violations in the Philippines. The Canadian government continues to support the Philippine military through training and arms sales to the Duterte regime as well as enabling Canadian mining companies to dispossess the Indigenous people of the Philippines and steal their resources for private profit.

The online meeting highlighted the role of the workers in the forefront of the Philippine revolution and in the fights for the rights of all in Canada.

Cuba's Medical Internationalism Celebrated in Windsor, Ontario

To celebrate this year's May Day under pandemic conditions, people in Windsor were invited to walk by One ten park Studio to view its window display of Mail Art sent from Canada and 23 other countries in response to a call to honour Cuba's Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade and support its nomination for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. The call was issued by the coincidentally named Nobel Peace Project, an international Mail Art initiative founded over 20 years ago in Nobel, Ontario by artists Susan Gold and AG Smith as a response to NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia.

The Nobel Peace Project's organizers say they are very pleased with the enthusiastic response of artists and others to their call, and of community members to the exhibition. A booklet documenting all the Mail Art images received and where they came from has been produced and is being mailed to all participants. The images, many accompanied by statements expressing love and appreciation for Cuba's contributions to humanity, can be found on the Nobel Peace Project's website here. (Right click on any of the photos and select "Open Image in New Tab." to view full size.)