Old Arrangements Cannot Restore Equilibrium in Party System of Government
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the federal election held on October 25, 1993, which profoundly changed Canadian politics. The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) analyzed that as a result of the election, a disequilibrium had been created which must be settled in favour of the people. For the first time in Canadian history, a situation no longer existed whereby the governing party was replaced by the party in opposition. Throughout Canada's history, federally, it had either been the Liberals or the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) in power, with the other party as the Official Opposition. With the resounding defeat of the PCs at the polls in the 1993 election -- they were reduced to two seats in the House -- they lost official party status in the Parliament. The Bloc Quebecois, which is not a national party, formed the official national opposition, along with the Reform Party which, for its part, ran no candidates in Quebec.
This disequilibrium marked the further metamorphosis of power which began with the Referendum in 1992, when the Canadian electorate resoundingly defeated the establishment parties by voting No! to the Charlottetown Accord.
The leader of CPC(M-L), Hardial Bains convoked a press conference the day after the election in which he pointed out that all the political forces would become very active in the coming period trying to reestablish the parliamentary equilibrium in their favour. This means, he said, that Canadians must become very active to pursue their program of getting involved in mainstream politics by dealing with the concrete issues which face them as these issues present themselves. The program of Canadians to empower themselves has to be fought for within this arena of establishing an equilibrium which goes in favour of the people, he pointed out. He stressed that unless the people become a factor in the equation, the establishment forces will reestablish arrangements which favour the status quo of their rule and reaction, further eroding the achievements the people had made in the previous decades and heightening the dangers which face them and society, nationally and internationally. "A party which is incapable of opening new paths within the country cannot open them up internationally either," he said.
The newspaper Today/Tomorrow reported on the press conference saying:
"Bains also pointed out that in order to reestablish the equilibrium in their favour, the establishment forces will become increasingly demagogic, because the objective basis for them to have the 'just society' they are speaking about, no longer exists. This 'just society' was created in the 1960s, when the expansion of American capital into Canada was used to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure of various kinds. It went into crisis with the onset of the recession in the 1970s at which time wage controls were brought in and the cutbacks began in various forms. Furthermore, the furtherance of the cause of establishing political equality between all citizens and residents does not favour them either, because it erodes their stranglehold on political power which they seek to preserve, Hardial Bains pointed out.
"Discussing the necessity to provide a modern definition of citizenship, Bains dealt with the negative role of various forces in promoting the marginalization of all sections of society. He pointed out that the practice of elite accommodation, which is part of Canada's political process, 'is a strategic policy of those who want to maintain the status quo. Elite accommodation is not in favour of the ghettoized people. ...It is not in order to assist these different sections of the people. It should be understood.' He added that 'elite accommodation is one of the most powerful weapons of the bourgeoisie to keep the middle strata away from the working class. It is a weapon which is directed against the people, many of whom are democratic, enlightened in many ways, who would like to see the situation change. But once they become victims of elite accommodation, they lose their positive role.'"
"The current situation has created a complexity, Hardial Bains, pointed out. Neither can the establishment forces carry on in the old way, given the disequilibrium which has been created, nor can they overcome their credibility crisis on the basis of demagogy and illusion-making which they will be forced to engage in, in order to maintain appearances. This means that Canadians must activate themselves, to ensure that they provide solutions to the problems which face them.
"Bains also pointed out that in the election, the working class played no role, while the middle strata succumbed to the scare tactics of the establishment forces, according to which Canada faced a danger from the right-wing and separatist forces. It has been acknowledged that this created the conditions for a Liberal sweep in the election, he said. For instance, he said, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) 'played its usual role. It created the scenario that the main enemy is comprised of the Tories. On that basis, they had hoped that the people would go for the NDP and they completely lost on this question.' In the end, he said, such forces, including the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) and others, favoured the election of a Liberal government. In Quebec, Hardial Bains pointed out, 'the trade unions put their entire lot with the Bloc and, as time passes, they will find out that they also lost with the Bloc because, with such a massive Liberal majority, the Bloc cannot really lay claim to uncontested popularity, even in Quebec."
"As for the participation of the Marxist-Leninist Party in the election, Hardial Bains pointed out that the Party 'set its program and stuck to it. Its program was to keep the establishment parties out for the next five years. What has happened is that the establishment's balance has been shaken. The situation does not show that the establishment won. Its equilibrium has been thrown completely out of whack.(...) At the same time, a new equilibrium has yet to be established.'"
"How far the Party and the working class will be able to take advantage of the situation, this really is the question," he said. He called on all members of the Party to discuss this thoroughly so as to intervene in the situation effectively. "In this situation of disequilibrium," Hardial Bains said, "once again the question arises that only the working class can lead an alternative, which is socialism. This should be brought forth through our work. In other words, immediately the debate must begin and practical work must begin. In no way can the Party afford to be subjective just because the adversarial electoral system is fully controlled by the establishment."
"What this means," Hardial Bains pointed out, "is that the working class must mobilize itself in the coming period in its own favour and it must also neutralize the middle strata, so that it breaks away from supporting the establishment and takes up positions which favour Canadians and the real resolution of the problems of the economy, democracy and federalism." "In this respect," Bains said, "the Party cannot got to the people and merely say that the Liberal Party is not going to do anything! This is not the issue, even though we should tell the people that the Liberal Party cannot solve the problems of the economy, the political process and the constitution. The Marxist-Leninist Party and all political people have to actually make proposals, as to how the situation can be changed. The first proposal which we have put up for deliberation is that the problem of the economy can only be sorted out if we have a binding referendum on its direction. Canadians have the right to set the direction of the economy. We cannot wait to see what the Liberal Party is going to do." He pointed out that discussion is also needed on the issue of changing the political process and drafting a new constitution.
"We have to get into action without delay so that the working people become a factor in the equation and the equilibrium settles in their favour, not in favour of reaction and the status quo," Hardial Bains concluded.
(Today/Tomorrow, October 27, 1993)
This article was published in
Volume 53 Number 10 - October 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M530108.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca