Unlike Panama and Greenland (part of Denmark), which have had the dignity to tell U.S. President Donald Trump their countries are not his to dispose of, Canada has not. Canada has caved in, whole hog, to U.S./NATO demands to hand over the Canadian Arctic to the U.S. for its plans to militarize the Arctic, use it as a base from which to attack Russia and China, and control the Northwest Passage as a coveted shipping route.

The Arctic is home to various Indigenous Peoples. There are the Inuit who have lived in the Arctic since time immemorial. They are one people despite their division in modern times across four different countries (Canada, the U.S., Russia and Denmark). This in no way eliminates their right to live as a free people entitled to preserve their way of life, enjoy standards of living second to none and control the decisions that affect their lives. Their call is to Make the Arctic a Zone of Peace and Canadians call for no less. Since the establishment of NATO, their lands have been used as a dump for nuclear waste and garbage, and to carry out military exercises which break sound barriers, threatening the people and the animals they depend on to live. In the 1950s, Inuit were forcibly relocated by the RCMP acting on behalf of the Department of Resources and Development to the High North to serve Cold War aims in the name of "Arctic Sovereignty." Indigenous Peoples living in the sub-Arctic regions of Canada -- the Dene in the west and the Innu in Labrador and northern Quebec -- also oppose the abuse of their lands by NATO warmongers.

Protest at the Goose Bay Air Force Base in 1988 against NATO low-level flight training over Nitassinan.

Although not related to the Inuit, the Sami people of Finland are also an Indigenous People of the Arctic region of Europe, similarly divided in modern times across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. They face challenges similar to those faced by the Inuit for recognition of their rights and sovereignty. These will no doubt be exacerbated now that Norway, Sweden and Finland are all members of the U.S.-led NATO war alliance and have given their go-ahead for the widespread U.S./NATO militarization of Europe's Arctic by handing over territory for dozens of U.S. bases.

Yet Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy (AFP), announced by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly on December 6, ignores this reality of the Arctic, who lives there and their needs and concerns. Instead, the AFP is a scurrilous mixture of disinformation, false allegations, fairy tales and pure bunkum to justify what cannot be justified. The Global Affairs Canada press release announcing the Government of Canada's decision to give up its sovereignty over the Arctic makes it appear to be the most sensible thing to do.[1] It states: "The Arctic is experiencing major change. The shifting geopolitical landscape, evolving security threats and acceleration of climate change are impacting the Arctic in unique ways and highlight the need for strong Canadian leadership to respond to the changing reality in the region."

In an effort to give it legitimacy and credibility, the government hopes that nobody knows that what it calls consultations are phony exercises in public relations and false encounters. The press release says:

"The launch of the AFP is the culmination of months of extensive engagement with territorial and provincial governments and Inuit, First Nations and Métis. The AFP was also informed by consultations with the Kingdom of Denmark; Finland; Iceland; Norway; Sweden; and the United States, Canada's like-minded Arctic partners.

"The AFP is a comprehensive diplomatic strategy for Canada's engagement in and on the Arctic. It provides expanded presence and partnerships to address current needs and the flexibility to adapt to future challenges. This approach complements the 2019 Arctic and Northern Policy Framework (ANPF), and it will allow Canada to continue to safeguard its sovereignty, advance national interests and promote a stable, prosperous and secure Arctic based on a shared vision for the region's future.

"The AFP is composed of four foreign policy pillars: asserting Canada's sovereignty; advancing Canada's interests through pragmatic diplomacy; leadership on Arctic governance and multilateral challenges; and adopting a more inclusive approach to Arctic diplomacy."

For all those paying attention to Canada's role in international affairs and who aspire for it to be a force for peace, it is well known that Canada's foreign policy priorities are set by the U.S. The government's aims, said to be "safeguarding Canada's sovereignty and advancing its national interests," are a fraud. The AFP is premised on submitting Canada's sovereignty and national interests to an agenda dictated by the U.S. and NATO. The AFP is also based on bolstering U.S. military control over North America through the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is being "modernized" -- meaning further militarization of the Arctic -- as part of plans for confrontation with "foreign threats."[2]

It is in this vein that the AFP talks about the "North American Arctic," referring to "Alaska (the United States) in the west; northern Canada in the centre; and Greenland (the Kingdom of Denmark) in the east." Canada and Denmark are thus subsumed into the defence of U.S. national interests in the Arctic.

When it comes to Canada's Arctic, the main violators of Canadian sovereign and national interests in that region are the U.S. State Department and Pentagon, and the U.S.-led aggressive military alliance NATO. For decades U.S. nuclear subs have been prowling Canada's Arctic waters even when Canada was declaring its sovereignty over the Arctic. Yet Minister Joly, Minister of National Defence Bill Blair and other officials, in promoting the AFP, do not say a word about this.

Image charts U.S. submarine operations in the Arctic Archipelago, 1958-1982
(Source: Waldo K Lyon Papers)

B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber in Maintenance hangar in Goose Bay Air Base in Labrador, circa 1955. In this period Goose Bay Air Base became a key component in a NATO network of bases and radar sites.

Joly stated, "We are in a tough world, and we need to be tough in our response. Competition is growing across the globe, and the Arctic is not immune. Many countries, including non-Arctic states, aspire for a greater role in Arctic affairs. The evolving security and political realities in the region mean we need a new approach to advance our national interests and to ensure a stable, prosperous and secure Arctic, especially for the Northerners and the Indigenous Peoples who call Arctic home."

For his part, Blair, ever the Voice of America, said of the AFP: "Climate change is increasing access to Arctic resources and shipping lanes, enticing nations to the region and heightening competition. This evolving environment creates new security challenges. Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy responds to these growing challenges with a focus on asserting our sovereignty in the North, while supporting prosperity for those living there. This new policy complements our defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada's Defence, which will see us expand our presence in the North."

All of this verbiage regarding the need to be "tough" in the face of "heightening competition" and "new security challenges" are a euphemistic way to talk about the NATO agenda for war preparations and military confrontation with Russia and China, in lockstep with the U.S., without specifically naming them. However, the 37-page AFP itself is very preoccupied with presenting Russia and China as threats to justify the militarization of the Arctic.

The Global Affairs press release, and the AFP itself, speak about how the government has consulted the Indigenous Peoples of the north in working out the AFP, and that it recognizes their sovereignty and autonomy. Those consulted included the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) which deals directly with the federal government through the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, and Natan Obed, ITK President. Obed, in an interview on CBC Radio's The Current enthusiastically endorsed the AFP, saying that it will rectify the exclusion of the Inuit from having a say on matters of defence, security and sovereignty. He said this while acknowledging that the government has in the past used the Inuit as "pawns to assert Arctic sovereignty" and despite the fact the AFP does not even affirm Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic. Even though militarization of the Arctic is the centre piece of the AFP, Obed presented it in terms of "reconciliation" and "nation-building," claiming that it puts Inuit concerns front and centre. He spoke about how militarization of the Arctic with "mixed-use" infrastructure will be beneficial to communities that lack infrastructure. Canada's history and the reality of the AFP show that it has nothing to do with affirming Inuit rights, never mind defending Canada's sovereignty, but is a matter of bribes for funds and programs which in fact should be theirs by right.

In practice, the Trudeau Liberal government has made clear its pragmatism and lack of principles in its relations with Indigenous Peoples, where private interests always come first. Time and time again, consultations with Indigenous Peoples have been shown to be meaningless window dressing because the treaty and hereditary rights of Indigenous Peoples are not upheld as a matter of principle. All of this talk of consultations and inclusivity also covers up the longstanding rejection by the Indigenous Peoples of the north of the militarization of their territories.

A development is the establishment of the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence in Montreal that opened in October 2023. It purports to address the "growing effects of a changing climate [that] pose direct and indirect threats to human and national security worldwide." It is similarly couched in language about how climate change "can threaten human life and well-being" and "amplifies existing vulnerabilities" and "disproportionately impacts vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women and girls and Indigenous Peoples." Of course climate change is having a drastic effect on the Arctic and other parts of the world, but to think that the war alliance NATO -- and all the carnage and genocide its members oversee in Gaza and elsewhere -- can provide solutions to this, by militarizing the Arctic and other such undertakings, beggars belief.

Canadians and Quebeckers have stated over and over in a multitude of ways, the call to Make Canada a Zone for Peace. They do not want Canada hitched to the U.S. war chariot and want it to take an independent path that upholds international peace. Canada's new Arctic Foreign Policy is anathema to their aspirations.

Note

1. The Trudeau's government's declaration of subservience to U.S. interests is evidence of further integration of Canada into the U.S. war economy and preparations. Some previous governments paid lip service to Canada's sovereignty over its Arctic region, but overall the trend to integrate Canada into the U.S. war preparations has defined Canada's Arctic policy. The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006-2015) openly disagreed with the particular interests represented by the Obama administration. For instance, following the 2006 federal election campaign Harper pounced on comments by David Wilkins, U.S. ambassador to Canada at the time, who reaffirmed the long-standing assertion by the U.S. that the Northwest Passage is an international strait through which international shipping has the right of passage. Harper stated, "We have significant plans for national defence and for defence of our sovereignty, including Arctic sovereignty; it is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador from the United States."

In June 2000, the government of Jean Chrétien released its policy document, The Northern Dimension of Canada's Foreign Policy. It had four policy objectives: to enhance the security and prosperity of Canadians; assert and ensure the preservation of Canada's sovereignty; to establish the Circumpolar region as a vibrant geopolitical entity integrated into a rules-based international system; and to promote the human security of northerners and the sustainable development of the Arctic.

2. In June 2022, the Trudeau Liberal government announced that it would contribute to the modernization of NORAD to the tune of at least $40 billion over 20 years, to be spent on new weapons systems and military infrastructure, including forward operating bases in Inuvik, Yellowknife, Iqaluit and Goose Bay, with a permanent presence of Canadian and American soldiers at each base.

On March 24, 2023, during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Canada, he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement that said:

"Our highest priority is to protect our citizens and our sovereign territory. We will invest in the modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), including specifically:

"As part of a CAD$6.96 billion investment in surveillance system modernization, procuring and fielding two next generation Over-the-Horizon Radar (OTHR) systems covering the Arctic and Polar approaches, the first by 2028 to enhance early warning and domain awareness of North American approaches;

"CAD$7.3 billion in investments in the northern forward operating locations to support fifth generation aircraft and mobility/refueling assets, which capabilities should be in place prior to the arrival of the F-35 aircraft [in January 2023, Canada announced the purchase of 88 F-35s from Lockheed Martin for $19 billion to be delivered by the end of 2032 -- TML Ed. Note], including airfield improvements to accommodate aircraft personnel, fuel, and munitions, to ensure NORAD's ability to deter and defend against emerging threats to our air and sea space and compete with China and Russia for years to come.

"The Prime Minister confirmed that the funding for these investments would come from Canada's planned investments in defence infrastructure. These Canadian and U.S. efforts will bolster NORAD's ability to detect threats earlier and more precisely and respond effectively. In the face of global threats, the Leaders acknowledged the importance of investment in modern, ready, and capable forces in line with their commitments to NATO under the 2014 Wales Summit Defence Investment Pledge. Such investments enable effective contributions to NATO, United Nations, and other global missions."

New Defence Policy Steps Up
Militarization of the North

Click to enlarge.

Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy (AFP) is intended to complement the new defence policy for Canada released on April 8, called Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada's Defence. It replaces the previous policy of 2017 called Strong, Secure, Engaged.

It is part and parcel of the same agenda of militarization of the Arctic espoused in the AFP. In announcing the new defence policy, Defence Minister Bill Blair wrote:

"Canada is facing new and evolving security threats, including climate change and its impacts on our Arctic; threats from Russia, China, and others to the international rules that keep us all safe; and accelerating changes to the character of conflict.

"The most urgent and important task we face is protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic and northern regions, where the changing physical and geopolitical landscapes have created new threats to Canada and Canadians. This includes the need to upgrade our continental defences to deter threats or defeat them when necessary."

Blair announced that with the new defence policy will come "additional defence investments of $8.1 billion over five years and $73 billion over 20 years. These investments are expected to bring Canada's defence spending to GDP ratio to 1.76 per cent by 2029-30, a significant step forward in our efforts to reach our NATO commitment of two per cent."

The section of the AFP called "Leveraging diplomacy to support national defence and security" gives a summary of key defence and security investments (bold text is as in original):

"- Several military capabilities will play a key role in exercising Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic and northern waters, including Canada's six new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships; up to 15 new River Class Destroyers; 11 new MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones; up to 16 new P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft specialized in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare; and 88 new F-35A fighter aircraft.

"- Canada's $38.6 billion plan to modernize NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] will significantly enhance domain awareness in the Arctic and the North through the establishment of a new northern approaches surveillance system to complement the North Warning System and further investment in space-based surveillance. It also includes further investment in space-based polar communications; additional air-to-air refuelling aircraft to support and extend the reach of CAF operations -- and NORAD operations -- in Canada; additional and longer-range air-to-air missiles for Canada's fighter fleet; significant infrastructure upgrades at airfields used to support NORAD forward operations; and more than $4 billion in new funding for science and technology.

"- The defence policy update announced an additional $8.1 billion in spending over the next five years and $73 billion over the next 20 years to support Canada's national defence and security in the Arctic. This includes a new fleet of airborne early warning and control aircraft; specialized maritime sensors, including some that can be deployed by Harry DeWolf-class Arctic Offshore Patrol vessels; a new fleet of tactical helicopters; and a new satellite ground station in the Arctic to enhance the use of Canadian, U.S. and other Allied space capabilities.

"- The defence policy update will also establish a new network of Northern Operational Support Hubs to further enhance the CAF's presence, responsiveness and partnerships across the Arctic and the North and invest in multi-use infrastructure that also meets the needs of the territories, Indigenous Peoples and northern communities.

- In July 2024, Canada announced it would initiate new spending programs to put the country on track to reach NATO's target of two per cent of GDP spending by 2032. This will include the purchase of up to 12 conventionally powered, under-ice-capable submarines by the Royal Canadian Navy.

"- In 2024, the Government of Canada initiated the procurement of eight new icebreakers made in Canada to support Canadian Coast Guard operations in the Arctic, including two polar icebreakers that will enable year-round icebreaker presence in the Arctic. The icebreakers will contribute to the protection of the marine environment, the resupplying of communities and the collection of data that enhances Canada's maritime domain awareness in support of maritime safety and security, climate resilience and scientific research.

"- In July 2024, Canada, the United States and Finland announced an enhanced trilateral partnership called the ICE Pact. It is a collaborative effort to build best-in-class Arctic and polar icebreakers and other Arctic and polar capabilities in each of the countries by sharing expertise, information and capabilities. This partnership also bolsters the ability of like-minded nations to uphold international rules, norms and standards to ensure safety and to sustain peace and stability in the Arctic."

Longstanding Opposition to Militarization of Indigenous Territories

Mural in Montreal depicting the fight of the Innu to defend their homeland

One of the striking features about Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy is the claim that war preparations and militarization of northern Canada and Quebec have the approval of the Indigenous Peoples. This is literally whitewashing history and a cover-up of the longstanding opposition of Indigenous Peoples to the militarization of their lands, including in the far north. Below is an excerpt from an article by Brent Patterson written for Peace Brigades International on April 23, 2021, that gives some examples. The militarization of the north is sure to bring new hardships to the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, adding insult to the injuries already suffered under the colonial relations with the Canadian state.

Innu Resistance to Fighter Jets

Years ago, [Innu Elder Tshuakuesh Elizabeth] Penashue stated: "Canada sees our land as uninhabited land. It is inhabited by the Innu, and it is inhabited by wildlife."

Just last September, when announcing "air defence exercises" near Goose Bay, Labrador, the Department of National Defence confirmed Penashue's comment when it stated: "[The] exercise flights will be conducted over sparsely populated Arctic areas and at high altitudes where the public is not likely to hear or see them."

That "5 Wing Goose Bay" Air Base was established after World War II.

Penashue has stated: "In the years that the military has been in Goose Bay, the Innu's culture has collapsed. The use of our lands by others, without our being consulted, has caused stress in our family relationships and links to our family violence. The Innu did not welcome foreign domination. It happened against their will."

There was similarly no consultation about the NATO low-level flight testing for the cruise missile over Nitassinan that begin in the late 1980s.

During the resistance against that, Penashue noted: "I went to the bombing range with others. We put tents on the base to protest. We were jailed many times, in Goose Bay and Stephenville. We walked from Toronto to Ottawa, and they put us in jail there, too."

That low-level testing finally came to an end in 2005.

There have been other significant resistance struggles to Canadian military bases on Indigenous territories in this country.

Inuit occupy military runway in 1989 in opposition to militarization of their lands (top) and protest arrests of those who occupied the runway (bottom)

Undated news clipping from mid 1980s on Innu protests against NATO bombers. (click to enlarge)

Dene Lands in Alberta

Dene Su'lene' land defenders have stated: "In 1952, we were forcibly evicted from our homelands [so that 4 Wing Cold Lake could be constructed]."

"In Suckerville [on the shores of Primrose Lake], our people had a 7-day sit-in, refusing to leave. Reluctantly, after heavy coercion from the government, a deal was made."

They add: "Our people left peacefully under the understanding that this was to be a short-term lease purely for military use, and that the 4,490 square miles of land was to be returned or re-negotiated after 20 years."

Then in June 2001, Dene Su'lene' Warriors established a Peace Camp blockade 300 metres from the gate to the military base that also includes the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR) where live fire training exercises are conducted.

Land defender Brian Grandbois was one of the opponents of the military base at that time. In an interview, he told The Dominion: "My great-great-great-grandfather is buried there on a point on that lake where they bomb."

The Dene Warriors who set up the blockade stated: "They play with their air weapons and their fighter jets and all of their killing machines right on the homeland of the Dene who have confronted the giant military range by an unarmed peace camp."

In August 2020, the Minister of National Defence announced that a $9.2 million contract had been awarded for "the design of a new fighter jet facility at 4 Wing Cold Lake, one of two main operating bases for Canada's future fighter aircraft."

Cold Lake Weapons Range is built on Traditional Dene lands, shown in green (click to enlarge).

"Forward Operating Location" for Fighter Jets in Nunavut

Nunatsiaq News recently reported that a "forward operating location" in Iqaluit, Nunavut is being contemplated that "includes three hangars capable of housing F-18 fighter jets." This would be part of the "modernization" of NORAD.

This past January, the Royal Canadian Air Force conducted "High Arctic air training" exercises with two CF-18 fighter jets out of Iqaluit.

CF-18 on training flight out of Iqaluit, January 2021

Call to Make Arctic a Zone of Peace

In 1989, in a powerful statement that still resonates today, Mary Simon, then President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), wrote eloquently about the need to establish an Arctic Zone of Peace. She pointed out in her article that a vital starting point is to "recognize that vast regions in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland and eastern Siberia constitute first and foremost the Inuit homeland" and that Inuit people do not want their traditional territories treated as "a strategic military and combat zone between eastern and western alliances."[1]

Of course, today this same Mary Simon is Canada's Governor General which makes her Commander-in-Chief of Canada's Armed Forces. As such, she plays a major role in recognizing the importance of Canada's military at home and abroad and could no longer voice such opinions. Nonetheless, what is written in 1989 resonates today. She noted at that time that the Inuit people, who have lived in the circumpolar regions for thousands of years, are the Arctic's legitimate spokespersons. Because their lands and communities "transcend the boundaries of four countries" (i.e. U.S., Canada, Greenland (Denmark) and Russia), the Inuit are in "a unique position to promote peace, security and arms control objectives among Arctic states," she wrote.

"Any excessive military build-up in the North," she stated, "whether by the Soviet Union [which was still in existence then] or the United States, only serves to divide the Arctic, perpetuate East-West tensions and the arms race, and put our people on opposing sides."

From an Inuit viewpoint, an Arctic zone of peace would not allow nuclear weapons or testing of weapons of mass destruction, nor military activities that "disrupt or undermine the communities, territories, rights and security of aboriginal and other northern peoples." In that regard, safeguarding the Arctic environment "must take precedence over military exercises and activities."

It is unfortunate that today Simon is Commander-in-Chief of the very armed forces Canada is deploying in the arctic to establish U.S. hegemony and join in NATO military exercises targeting Russia and endangering the cause of world peace. Another reason that the U.S. wants control of the Canadian Arctic is to make sure the Northwest Passage cannot be used as a sea route between Europe and Asia, a route 7,000 kilometers shorter than that through the Panama Canal. Nonetheless the position the ICC took in 1989 when Simon was its Chair remains valid today.

Map of members of Inuit Circumpolar Conference

As a first step, the ICC proposed that Arctic nations must declare that an Arctic zone of peace should be a central objective for them, possibly brought about in stages. Furthermore, that from these countries, "there must be an express commitment that their future military and arms control policies will be consistent with the objective of a zone for peace" and that Canadian and Nordic state territory "must not be used by any country for offensive and destabilizing military purposes."

In addition, nuclear weapons and all air- and sea-launched cruise missiles must be banned and the naval uses of the Arctic reviewed, keeping in mind that "the principle of unrestricted 'freedom of navigation' on the high seas is out-dated and open to abuse by military powers."

An important step in reversing the trend of militarization would be to develop an "international legal framework that codifies offences against the peace and security of humankind" and that these standards would include such human rights "as the right to peace, the right to development and right to a safe and healthy environment."

In closing, on behalf of the ICC, Mary Simon urged "all Arctic governments, regardless of their military affiliation or nuclear status, to embrace the idea of an Arctic zone of peace," saying that for those whose ancestral home has always been the Arctic the future of the North merits no less!

Note

1. Mary Simon, "Toward an Arctic Zone of Peace: An Inuit Perspective," Peace Research, Vol. 21, No. 4 (November 1989). Canadian Mennonite University.

(Excerpted from "Get Canada Out of NATO!: Military Exercises in the Canadian Arctic," TML Monthly Number 2, March 2024.)

U.S. Plans for 47 Bases in Nordic Countries

On February 21, the Finnish website Naapuriseuran Sanomat published an article by Jaakko Laakso detailing how in the last two years, the Nordic countries -- Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway -- have handed over multiple sites for the U.S. to establish its military bases. Laakso was a Member of the Finnish Parliament and a member of its Defense Committee between 1991 and 2011. Laakso was also the vice-chairman of the Defense Committee between 1991 and 2007. Excerpts of the article follow below.

The United States is establishing a total of 47 bases in the Nordic countries.

The decision on military bases is based on the DCA agreements between the Nordic countries and the United States, i.e. the so-called defense cooperation agreements. Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark hand over their own areas to the sovereign use of the United States armed forces as base areas.

The DCA agreement is a bilateral military cooperation agreement between each of the Nordic countries with the United States. The agreements are a key part of the U.S.'s new strategic defense system, which primarily concerns the Arctic region, but also the Baltic Sea.

The United States does not hide in any way that the construction of a new network of bases in the Nordic countries is a matter of strategic deterrence, first of all against Russia, but also against China. China's interest in the Arctic region is said to have grown in recent years.

In the coming years, the United States is expected to transfer soldiers, weapons and weapon systems, as well as a large number of different logistics to the Nordic countries. It is also about pre-storage of heavy weapons and weapon systems in U.S. base areas. "Strategic deterrence" can also be used for an attack if necessary.

Finland, Sweden and Denmark each signed their own DCA agreement in December 2023. Norway already in 2022.

Fifteen (15) U.S. bases will be established in Finland, seventeen (17) in Sweden, three (3) in Denmark and twelve (12) in Norway.

Norway Has Removed and Relaxed Previous Restrictions on the Military Actions of NATO Countries

Norway was one of the founding members of the military alliance NATO in 1949. However, especially during the Cold War, the Norwegian government restricted the activities of foreign armed forces in certain parts of Norway in different ways. Norway also prohibited the placement of nuclear weapons on the country's territory during peacetime, as well as the establishment of NATO bases on its territory and the permanent presence of foreign soldiers in the country.

Nowadays, all previous restrictions unilaterally announced by Norway are like a line drawn in the water. Restrictions have never been jointly agreed with NATO.

[...]

Norway has changed its practices several times, but always in the same direction. A considerable part of the restrictions has been removed and the remaining restrictions have been relaxed.

The reason for the removal and loosening has been, above all, heavy pressure from NATO allies and especially from the United States. They were dissatisfied with the fact that some areas of Norway were completely closed to foreign forces and therefore joint military exercises with the Norwegian armed forces were not organized there either.

Finland Did Not Set a Single Restriction on NATO Membership

During the NATO membership process, Finland already removed its own restrictions on NATO countries' data collection from Russia. Finland has opened its airspace along its entire eastern border for signals intelligence flights by the U.S. and Swedish air forces, which map Russian military activity in the nearby areas.

[The Social Democrat government of Prime Minister Sanna Marini] allowed American intelligence planes to start regular flights along Finland's eastern border as early as March 2023.

Now Norway is also considering whether the restrictions imposed during the Cold War on the military activities of other NATO countries in the area of eastern Finnmarken near the Russian border are no longer appropriate at all.

In particular, Finland's NATO membership without any kind of reservations or boundary conditions seems to accelerate at least the complete dismantling of regional restrictions in Norway as well.

[...]

Above all, the United States is satisfied with the current direction of development. And that's why its armed forces have also gained access to large areas in Norway. In connection with the DCA agreement, the U.S. armed forces received four military areas for their sovereign use, and surprisingly in February 2024, eight more areas were announced where the U.S. can establish new bases.

[...]

Also for Britain a Base in Norway

In March last year, Britain also established a military base in northern Norway. The intention is to station there more or less permanently a thousand soldiers of the British marine special forces, or commandos.

The base is called Camp Viking and is used for arctic warfare training for British soldiers. Along with the British forces, it can also be used by other NATO countries. The British base is the so-called forward base and at the same time, if necessary, a logistical center for Arctic warfare.

The base of the British elite forces is 40 miles south of Tromsø near the small village of Överbygd. Next door is Norway's own Skold garrison.

[...]

Since Norway, according to its base policy, does not allow "permanent foreign troops" to be stationed in the country, the base agreements have been concluded for ten years. In the same way, DCA agreements with other Nordic countries, including Finland, are "temporary."

However, the contracts continue automatically, unless one of the contracting parties decides to terminate the contract one year before the end of the first contract period.

Russia Invited the Finnish Ambassador for an Interview Because
of the DCA Agreement

Finland decided to give no less than 15 of its own territories to the use of the United States armed forces and to the sovereign control of the United States by signing a military cooperation agreement, or DCA agreement, with the United States in December 2023. [...]

Immediately after the signing, the Russian Foreign Ministry invited the Finnish ambassador Antti Helanterän to discuss the agreement and the ambassador was asked to convey the Russian communication to the Finnish government.

Russia also considered it noteworthy that the U.S. armed forces coming to Finland were operating outside of Finnish legislation.

[Spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] Zakharova stated that the deployment of NATO's stronger military potential near Russia's borders poses a threat to Russia's security. According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia therefore does not intend to fail to respond to the "aggressive decisions" of Finland and its NATO allies with actions it deems necessary. The same is stated in the Russian communication.

Likewise, the responsibility for turning the "good neighborly area" into a "possible confrontation zone" rests entirely with Finland's current decision-makers.

Canadian and U.S. Military Bases in
"North American Arctic"

Canada

The Department of National Defence (DND) informs that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) "maintains a year-round presence in the Arctic through operations, exercises, and training activities. There are some 300 full-time military personnel in the North, alongside over 1,700 Canadian Rangers," part of the CAF's reserves, who "provide enabling assistance to northern operations and activities." Military exercises include the annual -- since 2007 -- Operation NANOOK, which DND calls the CAF's "signature northern operation comprised of a series of comprehensive activities designed to exercise the defence of Canada and to secure our northern regions. Op NANOOK takes place each year across Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Labrador. It features up to four deployments throughout the year."

DND notes that Canada has the following permanent military installations in the Arctic:

- "Joint Task Force North (JTF-N) in Yellowknife, along with 440 Transport Squadron RCAF, 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group Headquarters and a Company of reserve infantry. Team North has approximately 300 personnel, including two JTF-N detachments in Whitehorse and Iqaluit."

- The Canadian Army's Arctic Response Company Groups, which "are regionally-focused units capable of projecting to Canada's North to conduct sovereignty operations, facilitate disaster response support, and provide general assistance to other Governmental departments."

- Canadian Forces Station Alert, the northernmost CAF outpost; and

- Canadian Armed Forces Arctic Training Centre (CAFATC) in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, which provides a permanent location for training and operations in the High Arctic. The Canadian Army runs an annual Northern Exercise (NOREX) at CAFATC.

DND says that Canada "continue[s] to cooperate with the United States in the Arctic and hold various joint exercises that promote interoperability and shared expertise in northern operations." It adds that "Canada is making significant strategic investments to enhance northern defence capabilities, including through Strong, Secure, Engaged and NORAD modernization commitments."

DND says it "also has a number of assets used by NORAD, including the North Warning System, and three Forward Operating Locations in Yellowknife, Inuvik, and Iqaluit, which can accommodate fighter aircraft and other assets supporting NORAD operational requirements and exercises on a temporary basis.

"Through NORAD modernization, National Defence is investing in upgrading the Forward Operating Locations, as well as Goose Bay [Labrador]. This will support a more robust NORAD and CAF presence when needed, with potential opportunities for multipurpose infrastructure at these sites that could benefit local communities, including Indigenous partners.

United States

The U.S. has nine Arctic bases, all located in Alaska, with about 6,000 personnel each for a total of roughly 54,000 personnel. They are:

- Eielson Air Force Base, in North Pole, Alaska, near Fairbanks, used as a training ground for the Air Force;

- Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base, on the northeast side of Anchorage, home to more than 10,000 troops and reservists, making it the largest;

- Clear Space Force Station, in Denali Borough, whose duties include early detection capabilities of ballistic missiles and intercontinental nuclear ballistic missiles;

- Fort Wainwright, used for weapons testing under extreme Arctic weather conditions, is one of the biggest training facilities for the Armed Forces in Alaska;

- Fort Greely, located in Fairbanks, a base where many anti-ballistic missiles are tested and launched;

- ISC Kodiak Coast Guard Base, on Kodiak Island;

- Marine Safety Unit Valdez Coast Guard Base which, among other things, is responsible for ice patrolling missions in the north; and

- USCG Juneau, situated east of the Gulf of Alaska at the state capital.

Arctic Foreign Policy Document

Canada's 37-page Arctic Foreign Policy (AFP) is divided into several sections: Forewords; Executive Summary; Strategic Challenges in the Arctic; Arctic Foreign Policy Pillars; and Conclusions.

From the Forewords written by Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly and Defence Minister Bill Blair, it is immediately evident that the AFP is not about upholding peace or ensuring security for all circumpolar nations, or engaging on the basis of mutual benefit with countries that are interested in what the region has to offer humanity. It is about carving out an exclusion zone they called the "North American Arctic" with U.S. hegemonic interests at its centre. It repeatedly and specifically targets Russia and China as inherently hostile and existential threats to the "liberal-rules-based international system." The countries that espouse this so-called rules-based international system are the very same that are fueling the U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza, which the peoples of the world vehemently oppose. It is not in their interests or the interests of working people in Canada and Quebec to defend such profoundly inhuman arrangements.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, in her Foreword, claims that "the guardrails that we have depended on to prevent and resolve conflict [in the Arctic and northern regions] have weakened." Joly cites the proxy war in Ukraine instigated by the U.S./NATO that is aimed at encircling Russia. She calls it "Russia's illegal war in Ukraine," saying the situation has made cooperation with Russia "on Arctic issues exceedingly difficult for the foreseeable future. Uncertainty and unpredictability are creating economic consequences that Canadians are facing everyday." In fact, Russia held the rotating chair of the Arctic Council from 2021 to 2023, but was effectively barred from carrying out its duties by the other seven council members -- Canada, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. -- who cited its special military operation in Ukraine.

Joly's Foreword echoes the language of the Five Eyes security agencies in talking about "foreign influence." She writes: "Threats to Canada's security are no longer bound by geography; climate change is accelerating rapidly; and non-Arctic states, including China, are also seeking greater influence in the governance of the Arctic. To respond, Canada must be strong in the North American Arctic, and it requires deeper collaboration with its greatest ally, the United States. Canada must also maintain strong ties with its five Nordic allies, which are now also all NATO members." In other words, the North American Arctic is a regional bloc of the war alliance NATO.

Defence Minister Bill Blair in his Foreword elaborates on how the AFP is part and parcel of U.S./NATO war preparations in the Arctic. He states:

"The Arctic Foreign Policy complements the work and investments outlined in our new defence policy update Our North, Strong and Free, which was developed in part as a response to the emerging threats in the Arctic and around the world. Our North, Strong and Free focuses on Canadian values and strengths while underpinning our Arctic and Northern sovereignty, strengthening our diplomatic influence, and leveraging our world-leading cyber and space talent. It reinforces our capabilities and capacity in the region, in partnership with those who live there.

"Canada remains committed to contributing to NATO and NORAD's awareness of the threat environment across the Arctic region, including in the North American Arctic. We likewise support the continued leadership of like-minded Arctic states on matters of security and defence.

"The Arctic security and continental defence investments made in Our North, Strong and Free and NORAD Modernization support NATO's deterrence and defence agenda by protecting the Alliance's Northern and Western flanks. It ensures that Canada can engage in the world and deploy from a secure base in support of NATO allies, when needed."

The Foreword from Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal proclaims how the AFP builds on the International Chapter of the 2019 Arctic and Northern Policy Framework (ANFP), which he says was "co-developed with over 25 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis governments, organizations, and territorial and provincial governments." All of it to say that there is no contradiction between the war aims of the AFP and the Indigenous Peoples of the north.

The Executive Summary indicates that as part of the AFP, Canada will:

"- appoint an Arctic ambassador

- open a new consulate in Anchorage, Alaska

- open a new consulate in Nuuk, Greenland

- initiate an Arctic security dialogue with the ministers of foreign affairs of like-minded states in the Arctic

- expand information sharing with relevant territorial and provincial governments and Indigenous leaders on emerging and developing international Arctic security trends, including foreign interference threats

- support science and research coordination initiatives with foreign policy considerations as related to research security and science in the Arctic

- launch boundary negotiations with the United States regarding the Beaufort Sea and finalize the implementation of the boundary agreement between Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark regarding Tartupaluk (Hans Island)"

The section of the AFP called "Strategic challenges in the Arctic" outlines five major points:

1. Russia since 2022
2. Evolving security threats across the Arctic
3. Adapting to new dynamics for Arctic governance
4. Climate change: the overarching threat
5. Increasing challenges to Arctic states' primacy

The section is full of the usual disinformation about the U.S./NATO proxy war in Ukraine. It says that because of this, "Canada must be clear-eyed about the implications of its geographic proximity to Russia."

It goes on to decry cooperation between Russia and China on a thinly-veiled Cold War anti-communist basis:

"Russia's historic posture has been to ensure sovereignty and control over its own Arctic region and to limit the role of non-Arctic states in Arctic affairs. However, because of sanctions and of its massive expenditures on its illegal war against Ukraine, Russia is increasingly reliant on China to fund and support the development of its projects in the Arctic. These include investments in Arctic research, oil and gas development, ports and other critical infrastructure. We anticipate this trend will continue and lead to increased activity by China in the Russian Arctic.

"Russia and China are aligned in their desire to undermine the liberal-rules-based international system [...]"

The section entitled "Evolving security threats across the Arctic" talks about how "the risk of military attack in the North American Arctic remains low." It immediately launches into fearmongering based on claims of Russian and Chinese threats that it cannot substantiate, à la Chicken Little -- Russia and China exist and have their own interests and carry out their independent activities on this basis, therefore the sky must be falling. The AFP claims, "Canada is seeing a number of potential threats, including increased Russian activity in Canadian air approaches, China's regular deployment of dual-use -- having both research and military application -- research vessels and surveillance platforms to collect data, and a general increase in Arctic maritime activity."

Despite all the talk about sovereignty and national interests, the entire AFP is based on the premise that Canada's security is based on being absorbed into the U.S.: "Close partnership with the United States is essential to the maintenance of a secure, strong and well-defended North American homeland, on which the two countries' mutual prosperity depends." This concept of a North American Homeland and its defence is utterly foreign to ordinary working people in Canada and Quebec. It is not going to fly.

In the section "Adapting to new dynamics for Arctic governance," Canada talks about the Arctic Council as "the pre-eminent forum for international Arctic cooperation and governance. It brings together the eight Arctic states, the six Permanent Participant organizations representing Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, and observers to address sustainable development and the environmental protection of the Arctic." Again, Russia is singled out, and it says that "like-minded countries are taking coordinated action to ensure it is not business as usual with Russia" and that "Canada will not allow Russia to undermine, through its actions, the pillars of international cooperation in the Arctic."

The section "Climate change: the overarching threat" says that "Climate change is both the most pressing and the most proximate threat to Canada's security in the Arctic and the people who live there. Its causes and effects are not bound by countries' official borders." Besides the obvious effects on the natural environment and communities of the north, the AFP continues its fearmongering about other countries: "With retreating sea ice and new technologies improving navigation and accessibility, foreign activity in the Arctic will continue to increase, bringing with it related safety, security and environmental challenges. With other Arctic states, Canada must be prepared to respond."

The section "Increasing challenges to Arctic states' primacy" has a particular anti-China focus as a threat to the North American Arctic. The AFP claims:

"China seeks to shape the international order into a more permissive environment for interests and values that increasingly deviate from Canada's commitment to a rules-based international system. China can be expected to use all the tools at its disposal to advance its geopolitical interests, including in the Arctic. Canada will challenge China when it ought to and cooperate when its interests align with China's."

Suffice to say, that the entire AFP carries on in this vein of upholding U.S. imperialist aims and dedicating public monies and Canada's resources to the militarization of the Arctic. That because the U.S. is the indispensable nation, there is no concept of Canada's sovereignty, security and national interests in the Arctic (or anywhere else) that is not subsumed within U.S. aims for the "North American Arctic."

To read the AFP in full, click here.

From Bad to Worse -- Federal and Provincial Immigration Plans

Immigration Minister Briefs Parliamentary
Standing Committee

– Diane Johnston –

International students and community members mark 100 days of protest encampment in Brampton demanding justice for international students and rejecting government plans to have work permits of hundreds of thousands of students now in Canada expire by the end of 2025, when they will face deportation. December 7, 2024.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller appeared before the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) on November 25 to discuss the work his government is doing with regard to Canada's immigration system. His briefing confirmed how self-serving the government is in how it uses and discards those it brings to Canada, its utter disregard for human rights and the lives of human beings and their families.

Miller admits from the get-go the government's aim is to bring "the world's best and brightest to study and work in Canada." He opened his presentation of the "2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan and the supplementary estimates (B)," by explaining: "In response to the recent global pandemic and labour shortages, we implemented temporary measures to attract some of the world's best and brightest to study and work in Canada, among other things. These measures have helped us navigate a really challenging period, avoid a recession and accelerate our recovery."

He next set up the government's argument, that was then and this is now and they are no longer needed. He put it this way:

"Today Canada's economy has evolved. While newcomers remain essential to our economy and are filling critical roles in health care, trades and other sectors, we do recognize the need to pause population growth and return it to pre-pandemic levels. That is why we've taken a comprehensive approach to protecting the integrity of our immigration system and ensuring sustainable growth."

Not a word about the human beings involved and their needs. It is all about convenience. According to Miller, for the first time, the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan "includes targets for temporary residents, including foreign students and temporary foreign workers, as well as permanent resident targets." He said that this approach "takes economic needs into consideration and alleviates the current pressures on housing, infrastructure and, obviously, social services."

Activists who work in the field of supporting the rights of migrants and international students who the government is mistreating point out the reason the Trudeau government is doing this now. They say it is only because the Trudeau government stands thoroughly exposed in its abuse of international students, temporary foreign workers and asylum seekers who are deprived of their rights and then blamed for the government's own anti-social offensive. Having broken every promise made to international students, temporary foreign workers and undocumented workers, and failed in its responsibilities to uphold the right to housing, education, health care and other social services, the Trudeau government is trying to lay the blame for the consequences of its anti-social offensive on migrants, refugees and international students.

The Minister noted that in terms of Supplementary Estimates, the main measures concern the Quebec government which he said is "facing disproportionate pressure to welcome asylum claimants." He said that this is why the Trudeau government has allocated $750 million to reimburse it, informing that the "supplementary estimates (B) provide for 91 per cent of that amount."

Miller went on to say that through his government's Interim Housing Assistance Plan, "we're reimbursing provinces, territories and municipalities for providing housing to asylum seekers, especially during the winter months." No mention of how asylum seekers house themselves during the rest of the year.

He also informed that through the Interim Federal Health Benefit Program, "we're providing necessary health care to refugees and asylum seekers until they are eligible for provincial or territorial coverage."

As for the increasing number of international students making asylum claims, he said there's "very little hope, given their conditions." Nonetheless, "they are entitled to a form of due process in this country." As for the streamlining of that process, he encouraged everyone to tune in over "the next few weeks as we propose more amendments to the immigration system and the asylum system."[1]

Day 100 marked at Brampton encampment, December 7, 2024

Miller then recalled that every other party in the House of Commons had "voted down" the Trudeau government's asylum reforms in the 2024 federal budget. He commented that the reforms were similar to those the Conservative Party proposed years earlier, but now as an election ploy, the Conservatives had chosen to "play politics about it."

The Trudeau government is in complete denial about the genocide taking place in Gaza and the bankruptcy of the so-called temporary special measures it brought in to supposedly assist the extended families of Palestinian Canadians there. Salma Zahid, the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Scarborough Centre, asked the Minister if there would be a similar program for the extended families of Lebanese Canadians to Canada.

Miller's response was that Lebanon is unique, in that there is a "very large and significant number of Canadian citizens and permanent residents" so the government's "focus needs to remain on them and the resources necessary to evacuate them, should the situation get worse."

As for Lebanese citizens presently in Canada, the Minister informed he had announced "a number of measures" such as "to extend their visas" and that "There's been an administrative deferral of removals to Lebanon."

MP Zahid then switched subjects and highlighted the fact that the supplementary estimates B included "funding for the interim federal health program" and asked about the importance of estimate requests and the potential consequences if they were not approved.

Miller responded that there would be "some pretty devastating consequences" in a number of circumstances "with regard to the interim health benefits" for those seeking asylum and that "we have to make sure that they are not denied medical coverage while we migrate them into the provincial systems." He informed that approval had to be given by mid-December. [Parliament finally approved the $21.6 billion in government spending in a late vote in the House of Commons on December 10, on the final day the funds could be voted on -- TML Ed.]

Another issue of capital importance, the Minister continued, "because we made the commitment to the Government of Quebec -- is to reimburse Quebec for some of the expenses it has had in taking on a disproportionate burden of the asylum seekers who have come into the country."

"In the supplementary estimates (B), there is also funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program," Zahid noted, requesting that the Minister elaborate on the assistance his government has provided to cities such as Toronto.

"There is a natural flow of people towards the big city centres," Miller commented. "With big airports, such as Pearson and Trudeau, migrants either move into Montreal or flow into Toronto and move increasingly towards Ontario." He said, "We have to make sure not only that the Government of Ontario is at the table but also that we are supporting municipalities that are shouldering a lot of this burden without the fiscal levers that provinces and the federal government would have."

For a government which has thoroughly integrated Canada into the U.S. war machine, provides billions in pay-the-rich schemes to the biggest monopolies and does the bidding of the global financial oligarchy to call the migrants who contribute so much to the Canadian economy and social fabric a burden is rich indeed.

Note

1. Asylum claims from international students total 33,985 from 2018-2024 out of 1,747,940 study permits, or 1.94 per cent of all international students. The number of asylum applications has increased in recent years, along with the number of international students. In 2024 around 14,000 students applied for asylum. It is hardly a surprise that the number of asylum claims has increased given the wars, conflicts and humanitarian crises in the world. Nor is it surprising given the desperate situation which the institutions and the governments with their false promises have imposed on international students. Their families indebted, facing exorbitant tuition, rent and other costs of living, international students cannot take a break from study to earn money or they will be deported. "We want you to stay," the international students were told, and now the government is saying, "We no longer want you once you have graduated, paid exorbitant tuition fees, worked as low paid workers and been exploited to the bone." It is the governments and institutions which must be held accountable for fraud, not the international students.

(With files from Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, CBC News.)

Quebec Government Passes Legislation to
"Improve the Regulatory Scheme Governing International Students"

The Quebec National Assembly on December 5 passed into law Bill 74, An Act mainly to improve the regulatory scheme governing international students.

The draft legislation was introduced in the National Assembly on October 10 by Jean-François Roberge, the newly-minted Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration, named to this post September 5. Some of the other offices Roberge holds are Minister of the French Language, Minister Responsible for Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie, Minister Responsible for Democratic Institutions, Minister Responsible for Access to Information and the Protection of Personal Information, and Minister Responsible for Laicity.

Most of the focus on the bill has been on international students and correcting a situation where so-called bad actors (including certain institutions) are taking them to the cleaners financially, while offering them false hope of studying in Quebec and settling there permanently. The legislation, however, does much more than that. It affects temporary and permanent immigration overall, which includes not only international students, but also refugee claimants, temporary foreign workers and others.

The operative words in the law's title are "mainly" and "regulatory scheme." Through the legislation, the Legault government is seeking to strengthen executive rule by bypassing the National Assembly with regard to temporary immigration and permanent residency. In certain cases, it will not even publish some of its decisions through regulation in the Gazette officielle du Québec.[1]

At a press conference when Roberge introduced the bill, he presented it within the context that there are over 600,000 officially recorded non-permanent or temporary immigrants in Quebec (not to mention all the undocumented persons of which there is no official record).

He informed that between 2014 and 2024, the number of foreign students in Quebec had jumped from 50,000 to over 120,000, a 140 per cent increase. He did not mention that his own government allowed them all in. Some 80 per cent of all these students in Quebec are attending post-secondary education establishments, such as CEGEPs and universities; 10 per cent are in vocational training; and the remainder (the sons and daughters of temporary immigrants) are in elementary and high schools.

The Immigration Minister then dived into examples. Within a period of a year and a half, each of two smaller private establishments had increased their international student component by over 245 per cent. He explained how the legislation would assist in eliminating certain bad actors who prey on international students by holding out the promise of permanent residence [as if his or the federal government are not past masters at such practices -- TML Ed. Note].

Roberge also raised the need to preserve the vitality of the French language. He revealed that in 2023, 58.7 per cent of all international students in Quebec resided in the Greater Montreal area, with the remainder broadly spread across various Quebec regions. While ever the protector of the French language in words, Roberge continues to cut French courses for temporary immigrants while at the same time denying this is the case.

The Minister has no qualms about his government having no plan in place to provide the services and housing required to address the impact of the influx of international students and temporary foreign workers on Quebec society. Nor do they consider this manna from heaven for the rich a problem, even though they are being forced by real life itself to face the crisis in health care, education, and housing, etc. for the whole society. They cannot even imagine that the large corporations, who end up hiring international students, should be part of the equation to pay for their fees, as it is they who are the prime benefactors of their acquired knowledge. Instead, they blame temporary migrants, mainly asylum seekers, for the crisis in social programs that is the direct result of their own anti-social agenda of cuts and privatization.

The Minister described the legislation as providing his government more leeway in its choices, with new levers enabling it to obtain more information regarding students, and setting the number of applications and acceptances with more agility, based on regions, learning levels, institutions, programs, the "vitality of institutions," and the preservation of study programs for the regions. He did not provide any information as to the number of international students who would be cut, saying only that it would be "adequate" and that the government must act quickly, with a first reduction in September 2025.

Rather than acknowledge that his own government also bears responsibility for the dramatic increase in international students, he claimed his government was missing "the legislative tools" to deal with the issue properly and with precision.

Although Roberge's introductory remarks focused on international students, one journalist pointed to a proposed amendment to the Québec Immigration Act. It reads in part, "A decision is made taking into account, in particular, the guidelines and objectives set out in the annual immigration plan, economic and labour needs, the need to promote diversity in the origin of applications for selection, humanitarian considerations, any situation that could compromise the health, safety or well-being of immigrants, Quebec's capacity to receive and integrate immigrants or the public interest." The journalist then gave the example of people coming here to study who then make a refugee claim.

Roberge said that once the "legislative tools" are in place, the government wants to ensure that people coming to Quebec do not do so under a false pretext. Specifically with regard to students, he added: "We want to admit foreign students who will come here to help us address our issues in public services and allow us to maintain programs in the regions." He said they are to "enable us to maintain our fields of excellence" as well as "to go into sectors where we have huge shortages" and "reinforce the quality of the French language."

"We want students who are foreign students," he exclaimed, "not refugee claimants who use student visas to claim asylum!"

When asked if such practices could be banned, the Minister responded that things would be analyzed, with part of that falling under federal government responsibility. He said that he has been in talks on this with the federal ministers of Immigration, Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Notes

1. Under Section 104 of the Quebec Immigration Act, a regulation made under certain sections of the Act "is not subject to the publication requirement set out in section 8 of the Regulations Act that "Every proposed regulation shall be published in the Gazette officielle du Québec." As well, regulations made under such sections, are not subject to section 17 of the Regulations Act that "A regulation comes into force 15 days after the date of its publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec or on any later date indicated in the regulation or in the Act under which it is made or approved." Instead, under Section 104, such a section comes "into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec or any later date set in the regulation."

Through Bill 74, Sections 9 and 10 of the Quebec Immigration Act are now included with those under the provisions of Section 104.

Section 9 states that "For each class, the Government may, by regulation, determine immigration programs and, for each program, the selection conditions and any selection criteria applicable to foreign nationals." Section 10 states, "To stay or settle in Quebec, foreign nationals belonging to one of the classes listed in sections 6 and 7 of the Quebec Immigration Act must file an application with the Minister under an immigration program, unless they are covered by an exemption provided for by government regulation." Section 6 includes temporary foreign workers and international students as classes of foreign nationals wishing to stay temporarily in Quebec. Section 7 enumerates classes of foreign nationals wishing to settle permanently in Québec as the economic class, the family class and the humanitarian class.

(Source: National Assembly of Québec, LégisQuébec)

International Migrants Day Actions Across Canada

Migrant Workers Demand Their Rights Be Respected by Canada

The International Migrants Alliance--Canada, together with the Migrant Rights Network and others, organized actions across Canada on December 18, International Migrants Day, demanding that Canada respect the rights of migrant workers. Actions took place in Saguenay-Chicoutimi, Rimouski, Quebec City and Montreal, as well as in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

Canada's racist immigration policies were vigorously opposed, as were the recent changes to reduce the number of immigrants and international students, temporary foreign workers and refugees that Canada will accept. Participants in the actions demanded the reversal of these unjust government policies. They also demanded the recognition and guarantee of the rights of migrants to safe working conditions, wages that enable them and their families to live, and social programs such as childcare, health care, and social supports.

The recent announcement that Canada will spend $1.3 billion to boost border security was also denounced. Immigrants, refugees and international students do not make society less secure, in fact the opposite is true, but this campaign aims to criminalize migrants and asylum seekers to appease incoming U.S. President Donald Trump and further integrate Canada into the U.S. war economy and "security" apparatus.

Speakers at the events also pointed out that Canada, in lockstep with the U.S. imperialists, engages in acts of aggression and war that drive people from their homes, creating the refugee crisis, but takes no responsibility for the consequences of its acts. Instead the Canadian government is attacking those who come to Canada seeking refuge, safety and security.

The plight of international students was also highlighted at the actions. International students spoke out about being enticed to come to Canada with a promise of permanent residency. Based on this promise, their families made great sacrifices to send them to Canada where they face a different and brutal reality. Speakers noted that international students contribute more than $31 billion dollars to the Canadian economy annually and perform many of the jobs that enable the economy to function. Recent changes to the rules governing international students will mean that the work permits of hundreds of thousands now in Canada will expire by the end of 2025 and they will face deportation. Speakers denounced these brutal and arbitrary changes and government and media statements which openly blame international students and migrant workers for the crises in housing, education and health care. This is disinformation to cover up the fact that these crises are the result of decades of anti-social wrecking of social programs by governments themselves which serve narrow private interests.

The actions affirmed that migrant workers, part of the Canadian working class, are standing up for their rights as human beings and demanding that the Canadian state uphold their rights.

Actions in Montreal

Two actions were held in Montreal on December 18. The first was a militant press conference outside federal government immigration offices at Complexe Guy-Favreau, organized by the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC-CTI). The action highlighted the enormous contributions migrant workers, international students, refugees, refugee claimants and undocumented workers make to Canadian society and demanded that governments and the monopoly media end their vicious attacks on the most vulnerable sections of the people.

One of the speakers was Denis Bolduc, Secretary-General of the Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ). He condemned the closed work permits most migrant workers are forced to work under. Equating them with a form of modern slavery, he declared, "There can't be two classes of workers in Quebec."[1] Adding insult to injury, the FTQ reported that the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government announced on International Migrants Day that it is suspending acceptance of applications under its Program for Refugees Abroad (Collective Sponsorship) until June 30, 2025, through a Ministerial Order.

Denis Bolduc, Secretary-General of the Quebec Federation of Labour; Claire Launay, President of Quebec Is Us Too (LQCNA)

The press conference was also addressed by Claire Launay, President of the advocacy group Quebec Is Us Too (LQCNA), who pointed out "There's been an accumulation of anti-immigration measures by both the Quebec and federal governments" and that her organization is "trying to raise awareness of the assault we've been under." She added that "This last year and a half has been especially hard" for immigrants, accusing governments of using them "as a scapegoat for their own policy shortcomings," whether in housing, health care or education.[2]

Other organizations represented at the press conference included Migrante Quebec, the Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (RHFW),[3] Amnistie Internationale Canada Francophone,[4] and the Roundtable of Organizations Serving Refugees and Immigrants (TCRI).[5]

Following the press conference, participants marched to the Quebec government immigration offices on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, where they listened to a number of testimonials. Sergio, a migrant worker from Brazil noted: "We often hear anti-immigrant discourse in the media aimed at dividing and blaming us for all the problems. In 2022, I remember one of the politicians saying that 80 per cent of immigrants don't work." Sergio said, "Look around you. All you see here -- the streets, schools, hospitals, buildings and even the MIFI [Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration] offices -- these were all built with immigrant workers. We are part of this society. We're here in the schools, hospitals, on worksites, in commerce. Without us, this society would shut down."[6]

At 4:00 pm on the same day, various representatives of organizations working in defence of migrants, took their turn at the mic at the Metro Parc-Ex. Maxime Thibault-Leblanc from Assistance Networks for Migrant Agricultural Workers in Quebec (RATTMAQ) informed that it was 50 years ago, in 1974, that Canada first signed an agreement with Mexico to have Mexicans work in Quebec's agricultural sector.[7] The agreement has seen workers in Quebec and Canada paid poverty-level wages for decades. He added that agricultural production in Quebec has always depended on the exploitation of these workers who spend months labouring here every year.

For 50 years, he continued, governments have kept these workers away from the rest of society, excluded from it, kept them from settling here permanently. RATTMAQ's work with migrant agricultural workers, he noted, reveals the bankruptcy of the systems, which can be seen through workers' complaints, their distress and precarity. He demanded access to permanent residence and the right to unionization.

Sohnia Karamat Ali of the Parc Extension Action Committee (CAPE) described Parc Extension as a "very diverse neighbourhood which has continuously received different waves of migrants [from] across the globe."[8] She decried the failure of the state over the years to offer decent, affordable housing to immigrants across Quebec and Canada.

"They are not just fighting for decent housing," she said of migrants fighting for immigration status. She pointed out that "under neo-liberal capitalism," governments do not uphold the rights of the marginalized and of workers, fundamental rights that belong to everyone, regardless of status. "Here, today," she said, "we strongly support this regularization campaign ... and demand social housing for all low income tenants." She said that "instead of blaming immigration or immigrants for the housing crisis," governments must provide all the basic fundamental rights to all human beings and provide a path to permanent residence.

Far from migrant labour being the cause of the economic crisis, said an organizer with Migrante Quebec, "it has often been the lifeblood that keeps the economy running, as was certainly demonstrated during the pandemic." She continued, "Migrants and refugees have the right to stand up for their rights, and the working people of Canada must recognize that their struggle is linked to the same fight." She demanded that the Canadian government "end its exploiting of international students, refugees and migrant workers," and that employers who exploit migrant workers be sanctioned with "real penalties."

She concluded, "Canada must take responsibility for its role in displacing people globally and stop using migration as a tool of capitalist destruction. We stand in solidarity with the workers, both migrant and Canadian born, in the fight against the system that exploits us all. Today, we say Nothing moves without us! We are workers! We are not disposable!"[9]

Chaudière-Appalaches

Toronto

Notes

1. "18 décembre: Journée internationale des migrants," FTQ, December 18, 2024.

2. Le Québec c'est nous aussi, December 18, 2024.

3. "End Migrant Worker Unfreedom Strategic Litigation: Constitutional Class Action," Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers.

4. "Protect the human rights of migrants," Amnistie internationale Canada francophone.

5. Table de concertation des organismes au servicedes personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI).

6. See TCRI video here.

7. Réseau d'Aide aux Travailleuses et Travailleurs Migrants Agricoles du Québec, December 19, 2024.

8. Comité d'action de Parc-Extension, Nothing Moves Without Us, December 18, 2024.

9. Migrante Quebec, Nothing Moves Without Us, December 18, 2024.

(Photos and screen shots:TML, Le Québec c'est nous aussi, FTQ, CSN, Migrante Quebec )

Broad Support for Demand "Status For All!"

Toronto, December 18, 2024

Many organizations, among them trade unions, spoke out to defend the rights of migrant workers on International Migrant's Day -- December 18. The following are what some of them had to say on this occasion.

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

"CUPE supports migrant workers and allies seeking justice and organizing to end precarious living and working conditions... Canada should welcome more immigrants as future citizens ... as part of a strong and progressive immigration program. Around the world, more than 280 million people, including over 35 million refugees, have left their home countries and are migrants. These growing numbers reflect the many injustices at the root of the global migration crisis. These include growing inequality, poverty, unemployment, corruption and foreign intervention, the climate crisis, and war. Migrants have relentlessly fought for their rights.

"International Migrants Day is a day to renew our collective work to build a better world where workers are not forced to leave their homes in search of a job, where everyone has dignity and respect at work and in all aspects of their lives, and where migrant workers do not face exploitation because of their precarious immigration status."

United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW)

"UFCW Canada has been an advocate and ally in the fight to protect and advance the rights of migrant workers for more than two decades. With our various national community partners and allies, we have been raising the exploitation of migrant workers as a human rights travesty that must be acknowledged and corrected.... In the courts, on the streets, in the political arena and through social and traditional media, and with our various national community partners and allies, we have committed to raise the exploitation of migrant workers in Canada as unacceptable. There is a thirsty movement of workers and activists coming together demanding that the Canadian embarrassment that is the Temporary Foreign Worker Program be replaced with a permanent residency strategy...

"On International Migrants Day, we salute our migrant sisters and brothers for their dedication and hard work in order to make their lives and our lives better. We honour their personal sacrifices and struggles to provide for their families. We admire our migrant Brothers and Sisters for their commitment, perseverance and determination to win many battles despite all odds. Most of all, on December 18 we express our gratitude for the inspiration their courage provides in the fight to end human rights injustice and exploitation."

Yukon Federation of Labour (YFL)

"Currently, Canada's migrant worker streams create and reinforce a system in which migrant workers are made vulnerable to exploitation and precarity. Employers have pushed for the creation and expansion of migrant worker programs with closed work permits, designed to prioritize their own interests over those of workers. These streams bind low-wage migrant workers to specific employers, offering no pathway to permanent residency. This stark power imbalance leaves migrant workers highly vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse, with little to no recourse.

"Under the constant threat of deportation, workers are often unable to leave their jobs or challenge unfair and unsafe labour practices. They often endure poor and dangerous working conditions, racism, discrimination, wage theft, and are denied fundamental human and labour rights, trapping them in involuntary servitude."

The YFL also demands that the government replace employer-specific work permits with open work permits; provide permanent residency opportunities for low-wage workers; and provide permanent residency opportunities for former low-wage workers who are undocumented.

Unifor

"It is clear that Canada's immigration system is not working. Temporary foreign worker programs and the exploitation of international students have created a two-tiered labour market where low-wage employers can exploit vulnerable workers. This system must change. We need a sustainable and human rights-based approach to immigration that prioritizes permanent residency, family reunification, equal labour rights and protections, and asylum for those fleeing persecution and violence. On this International Migrants Day, Unifor reaffirms our commitment to stand in solidarity with migrants across Canada and around the world.

"We call on governments to enact policies that uplift and protect migrants, not scapegoat them. It is only by uniting workers -- regardless of status -- that we can build a society where everyone can thrive with dignity, fairness, and respect. Migrants are not to blame for the failures of governments or the greed of corporations. They are our neighbours, our co-workers and our friends. They are integral to the fabric of Canada, and the struggles of migrant peoples are inseparable from those of all working people. Together, we will continue to fight for justice and equity for all."

National Farmer's Union

"Migrant farm workers are vital to our farms and communities, but they face exploitation and exclusion under Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker program. Addressing these injustices requires solidarity and collective action. Farmers are under pressure from rising costs, labour shortages, and market instability, while migrant workers endure unsafe conditions, low pay, and a lack of legal protections. Both farmers and migrant farm workers face systems that prioritize corporate profits over people... Migrant workers are partners, not competitors, in sustaining Canada's farms and rural economies.

"Farmers understand the difficulty of finding skilled labour and have long advocated for migrant workers' inclusion. Migrant workers contribute to food production, pay taxes, and enrich communities, yet are denied the right to fully participate in Canadian society. It's time to take action.

"We call on all Canadians to support permanent residency for all migrant workers. Granting permanent status would ensure migrant farm workers can advocate for fair treatment without fear. Doing so will strengthen their rights and the stability of Canada's farms."

Unveiling of Anti-Communist Memorial

Shameful Memorial with U.S./NATO Anti-Communist Revival of Nazi Collaborators Written All Over It

– Hilary LeBlanc –

The shameful memorial to honour Nazis and Nazi collaborators was unveiled in Ottawa on December 12, at 9:00 am, at the Garden of the Provinces and Territories on Wellington Street. It is reported that Liberal MP Yvan Baker of Etobicoke Centre was supposed to speak at the opening, but did not show up. In fact any and all representatives of the Trudeau Liberal government were pointedly absent from the unveiling ceremony. Baker later claimed in an email to CBC News that he did attend a private ceremony "along with members of Tribute to Liberty, a Canadian veteran, survivors and representatives of many communities in Canada," adding, "I have been a longstanding advocate for this project, and I am proud that the government of Canada provided $6 million in funding towards this project."

Robert Tmej, a board member of Tribute to Liberty which originally instigated the monument, expressed his disappointment that the Prime Minister "cannot, or chose, not to be here." Omitting to mention why no names are featured on the memorial to begin with, Tribute to Liberty chair Ludwik Klimkowski stated that the names of those being honoured would be added to the site by next year. On this crucial matter, Tmej arrogantly stated: "People who sought refuge in Canada cannot be considered as fascists or Nazis just because either the government or researchers didn't do their job well enough to determine who these people were."

Their statements have been contradicted by Canadian Heritage. Charles Thibault-Béland, press secretary to Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, said in an email that no specific timeline has been agreed to by the federal government "as we are still conducting due diligence on the names." This refers to the fact that the names submitted are largely those of known Nazis, Waffen SS and Nazi collaborators who committed crimes against humanity during the Second World War.

In October 2024, a report prepared by the Department of Canadian Heritage was made public. It recommended that 332 of the 550 names planned to go on the memorial be removed because of their Nazi connections, or because they had no connection to Canada. It pointed out that in 2021, officials from Global Affairs Canada told Canadian Heritage that many anti-communist and anti-Soviet advocates and fighters were also active Nazi collaborators who committed documented massacres.

All the noise about the names serves to divert attention from the fact that it is not just the names which bring infamy, but the monument itself which is the product of Nazi forces brought to the U.S. and Canada, Argentina and other Latin American countries by U.S. and Canadian governments. The brief account found at the end of this article titled History of the World Anti-Communist League 1945-85 makes it abundantly clear that none of the Nazi actors involved are in any way supported by the Canadian people who have always militantly opposed attempts by Canada's political police to float fascist and Nazi groups which incite passions and launch racist and fascist attacks against the people with the support of the state.[1]

Canada's Attempt to Whitewash Its Falsification of History Continues

Canada has gone to great lengths since World War II to cover up that it gave refuge to Nazis and their collaborators after the war. Furthermore, today, it does everything to disinform public opinion about its ties with the neo-Nazis who it helped put into power in Ukraine.

Those involved with the project to erect this anti-communist monument in Ottawa are precisely the reactionary scum given safe haven and used to block social progress after World War II. They make up the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) and similar anti-democratic, anti-people organizations, as the history of the WACL confirms. Reducing the matter to a few names and their removal in no way wipes out the black stain that the WACL and their ilk have imposed on the peoples of the world since World War II.

Chrystia Freeland's claims that information about her close links with Nazi-collaborators of yesteryear and neo-Nazis of today is Russian disinformation -- despite the fact that the links are well documented, pictures and all -- are part and parcel of Canada's attempts to revive Nazi collaborators.

Discussion is silenced on the role Freeland has played, with Prime Minister Trudeau and all the cartel parties with seats in the Parliament cheerleading at her side, to bring the organization of these Nazis and Nazi-collaborators, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), right into government circles. In fact, many of the Liberals that have given their support for this anti-communist monument but were too cowardly to show their faces at its unveiling, are hailing Freeland as a wonderful leader, giving her standing ovations and even promoting her as a good fit to be Canada's next Prime Minister.

They will surely live to rue the day they gave her standing ovations, just as they regretted giving the proud member of the Waffen SS Yaroslav Hunka standing ovations in the Parliament on September 22, 2023.

So too others from the ranks of official circles, including Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, Bob Rae, Irwin Cotler, amongst others, were too cowardly to show their faces at this shameful unveiling. This does not stop them from either supporting the U.S./Zionist genocide going on in Gaza or doing nothing to oppose it or to oppose Canada's support for the corrupt Zelensky government in Ukraine taken over by the U.S./NATO-financed neo-Nazis with Canada's full collaboration.

Everything will be revealed in due course, including why it cost $7.5 million to erect this despicable monument, who decided the government could contribute $6 million when the Nazi-loving organization Tribute to Liberty was unable to raise money from Canadians, and what are the political affiliations of the donors Tribute to Liberty did manage to get donations from.

Also to be revealed is the destination of all the public money the government has given the Ukrainian government since the Maidan Coup in 2014 and the period in which it conducted massacres against the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass and the crimes it has committed since then in efforts to isolate and defeat Russia.

Besides the sordid credentials of all those involved with Tribute to Liberty, the government of Canada's "partner" in this shameful venture, a name that frequently crops up in support of the memorial on the basis of the most blatant falsifications of history is that of Marcus Kolga. Kolga is a senior fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) which promotes him as follows:

"Marcus Kolga is an international award winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, digital communications strategist, and a leading Canadian expert on Russian and Central and Eastern European issues. Marcus has a focus on communications and media strategies as tools of foreign policy and defence, and continues to write commentary for national and international media including the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. He is the co-founder and publisher of UpNorth.eu, an online magazine that features analysis and political and cultural news from the Nordic and Baltic region. He frequently comments on Russian, Eastern and Central European issues on North American radio and television and at foreign policy conferences. Marcus is involved with international human rights organizations and national political organizations. In 2008 he spearheaded an effort to make August 23rd, the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a Canadian national day of remembrance for the European victims of Nazism and communism -- Black Ribbon Day -- by drafting a parliamentary resolution that was introduced and passed by Hon. Bob Rae. In 2015, Marcus was awarded the Estonian Order of the White Star by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves."

In a December 12 article published in the Ottawa Citizen, referring to the period of the Second World War, Kolga asserts: "Our collective grasp of European history remains shallow. We too often cling to an oversimplified and chauvinistic Anglo-Saxon narrative of the Second World War, casting the Soviet Union as an ally without acknowledging its joint aggression with Nazi Germany." Kolga goes on to accuse the "Kremlin's propaganda machine" of dehumanizing "Eastern and Central European refugees, portraying them as enemies of Canada" and of falsely claiming "that resisting Soviet colonialism was tantamount to fascism."

In a 2019 article meant to be a rebuttal of a David Pugliese article entitled "Nazi whitewash gathers momentum as memory of the Holocaust fades," Kolga states: "Any attempts to use history and these victims to drive wedges between Canadian communities or to erode trust in Canada's trans-Atlantic relations should be viewed with skepticism. The actions of fringe far-right groups should be strongly condemned, but they are the actions of a few, not entire nations, and should not be used as justification to terminate Canada's participation in NATO's Enhance Forward Presence in Latvia or Operation UNIFIER in Ukraine, as some writers have suggested." Kolga also refers to information about Chrystia Freeland's Nazi grandfather as a "smear campaign targeting Chrystia Freeland for her strong positions on Russia."

Kolga is also credited with leading "the Canadian civil society campaign for Magnitsky sanctions legislation" and continues "to advocate on behalf of human rights victims around the world."[2] He claims to be an expert on "Russian disinformation" and to have helped lead a 2008 effort to make August 23 a National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Nazism and Communism in Europe.

Research partners of the MLI include the U.S. Department of State Global Engagement Center in Washington, DC, the NATO StratCom Center of Excellence in Riga, the Vilnius Institute, the EU Eastern Stratcom/EUvsDisinformation (Brussels) and the Embassy of the United States.

Through a global network of such "partners," the MLI's Disinformation Watch "monitors for mis/disinformation narratives online and on social media, foreign state-sponsored platforms, accounts on social media platforms that share narratives aligned with malign foreign regimes, and third language media in Canada and elsewhere that promote narratives that align with malign foreign regimes."

A U.S./NATO spy network by any other name!

To date, no names have appeared on the anti-communist memorial, but it definitely has U.S./NATO's warmongering anti-communism and anti-Russia campaign written all over it. The presence of this despicable monument, on Wellington Street no less, is an attempt on Canada's part to escape history but it is a black stain on Canada's reputation that it will not be able to wash away.

Notes

1. History of the World Anti-Communist League (Part 1: 1945-85)

2. Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) S.C. 2017, c. 21

Assented to 2017-10-18, "An Act to provide for the taking of restrictive measures in respect of foreign nationals responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights and to make related amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act."

Quebec Government's Pay-the-Rich Schemes

Corruption of Cartel Party Governments
Further Revealed

– Christine Dandenault –

On December 14, the Journal de Montréal published an investigative article on the "aid" provided to businesses by the Legault government since it came to power in 2018.

The Le Journal reports:

"Quebec taxpayers' money has literally been raining down on businesses since François Legault came to power, while his government has given them 67 per cent more financial aid than Philippe Couillard's government provided.

"From October 2018 to last June, the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE), headed by Pierre Fitzgibbon, awarded more than $14.9 billion in aid of all kinds to businesses, investment funds and non-profit organizations.

"In less than six years, the MEIE has therefore invested more in businesses than it would cost to build 370 primary schools (using an average price of $40 million per project)."

The list of the 50 largest MEIE beneficiaries of state aid, which includes the total amounts received in loans, investments and subsidies since October 2018, has been published and can be viewed here.

According to the article, the average monthly total paid in loans, subsidies and various investments from the MEIE is more than $216 million. Annually, government expenditures amount to more than $1.6 billion. Northvolt, which tops the list, having received $508 million, just filed for bankruptcy protection. The battery sector, with financial support from the federal government, Investissement Québec and others of over $1.3 billion, is the sector that has received the most aid from the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, more than forestry ($1.2 billion) and aeronautics ($1.2 billion including the $413 million granted to Airbus last July).

"Let us note that of the $14.9 billion in business aid granted by the CAQ government, nearly $5.5 billion (37 per cent) was granted outside of standardized programs, under exceptions authorized for 'projects that are of significant economic interest to Quebec,'" the article adds.

Workers know from their own experience that the claim that these handouts to businesses are to ensure job creation, is a total fraud that creates growing insecurity in their lives. They are left at the mercy of these large companies that come and go, with all the blackmail they use to enrich themselves and the complicity of the government. Workers have their own experience of the consequences of paying the rich as an economic development strategy, as well as the false dichotomy between environmental protection and job creation, and deeper integration of Canada into the U.S. war economy.

What is needed is a new direction for the economy, a change of direction to focus on nation-building and meeting the needs of the people. The people must become the decision-makers to make this happen. Narrow private interests, often foreign, must be replaced as the decision-makers concerning the use of Quebec's vast resources, what Quebec produces and the trade relations it establishes with other countries.

(With files from Le Journal, Bureau d'enquête, MEIE; translated from original French by TML)

Britain

Farmers Protest Against Labour Government's Inheritance Tax Changes

Farmers' tractor rally in Whitehall, London, December 11, 2024

Farmers across Britain have been protesting against the government's inheritance tax changes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The Labour Government has imposed a 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural assets exceeding £1 million. The increase is set to take effect in April 2026.

A fundamental issue facing the farmers, as is the case with the working people across England, Scotland and Wales as well as the north of Ireland which the British rulers continue to declare belongs to them, is the seizure of the decision-making power on all matters of concern by narrow private interests. This is what the Labour Party represents no less than the other cartel parties which are presented as "choices" when people participate in electing new governments.

The pay-the-rich policy will force farming families to sell all or parts of their farms to pay the new tax bills, threatening to destabilize small to medium-sized farms, which will in turn disproportionately affect rural communities reliant on farming.

On November 19, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) organized thousands of farmers to demonstrate outside Parliament in London. The event included lobbying MPs with 1,800 NFU members meeting with them to urge policy reversals. The event also included holding public demonstrations where protesters staged symbolic actions, such as leading children on toy tractors and wearing T-shirts bearing slogans. Though not officially part of this action, some protesters also drove tractors through Westminster.

On December 11 more than 600 tractors paraded through Westminster in a noisy protest against the Autumn Budget's impact on farming. Organized by Save British Farming and Kent Fairness for Farmers, the rally showcased the growing frustration of farmers who believe government policies threaten the future of British agriculture and their livelihoods.

Farmers travelled from as far afield as Exmoor, Worcestershire, Somerset and the Isle of Wight. Although the NFU did not officially participate, its president, Tom Bradshaw, voiced support for the cause, acknowledging the strong feelings within the agricultural community and urging the government to take note.

Farmers Weekly reported: "Simultaneously, farmers in Yorkshire and Wales organized their own protests, amplifying the call for change. In York, more than 120 tractors filled the city centre in a rally headlined 'Save Family Farms.' Meanwhile, Welsh farmers gathered outside the Senedd in Cardiff, decrying the Welsh Labour administration's policies, which they say threaten farming."

The protests over the tax changes come in the wake of actions held earlier in the year to demand support for food production and to express concerns about the future of agriculture.[1]

The farming crisis is growing in Britain and across Europe, with rising costs for energy, fertilizers, and transport, while farm-gate prices are dropping. The agribusiness oligopolies have the power to manipulate prices from land and other raw resources to livestock, feed, and fertilizers, while supermarkets fix prices below the cost of production. In their drive to take over the land and production, oligopolies drive smaller producers out of business.

The competition for markets and control over regions and trade routes is also reaching unprecedented levels, also closely linked with war preparations. U.S./NATO sanctions and embargoes on Russian oil and gas have been a factor, while fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia have been a subject of contention, as has the waiving of quotas and duties on Ukrainian produce.

But farmers in India, the European countries, the U.S., Canada and all over the world are rising to defend their farms and demand control over the decisions which affect their lives. Recent actions include Bulgarian farmers blocking roads in Sofia to demand government support for rising energy and fertilizer costs and for relief from EU regulations. Farmers in France, Italy and Greece staged demonstrations against agricultural policies, cheap imports, and rising costs.

Despite the destruction of productive forces, farming is still crucial for food production, with over half of food consumed in Britain being produced in the country.[2] These productive forces should not be further destroyed; destruction of the land and productive forces is an extremely dangerous trend carrying the real threat of starvation.

The issue raises the question of who owns the land. What purposes does it serve, whose interests are being put forward? Competing parts of the international oligarchy and the oligopolies in agribusiness are seizing control of the land, usurping the decision-making power to pass anti-social measures such as these increases in the inheritance tax in Britain. It is also a fact that "the Crown" and aristocracy own the lion's share of the land, which they "inherit" since medieval times.

Workers' Weekly, the newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) points out: "The inheritance tax protests highlight growing tensions between Britain's farming community and the gatekeepers of power in parliament, as small and medium-sized farmers are evidently marginalized from decision-making along with all other sections of the working people. The need for a decision-making role for those working the land, and for their concerns to be heard, and people to organize themselves to address the crisis in food and other sectors is crucial. The struggle of farmers and farm labourers is just; their problems are part of the problems of society in conditions of generalized chaos and destruction that all people face. It is agricultural workers who hold the solutions to the problems of food production; what they lack is the political power."

Notes

1. "Farmers across Britain and Europe are Joining Together to Fight for their Rights," Workers' Weekly, March 30, 2024.

2. Britain imported 46 per cent of food consumed in 2020; 54 per cent was produced in the country. See "An Overview of the UK's Food Imports," SSO International Forwarding, September 28, 2023.

(With files from Workers' Weekly, NFU, Politico, The Standard, The Independent, Farmers Weekly)

India

Indian Farmers Stand Resolute Against Injustice

– J. Singh –

Farmers on march from Shambhu border to Delhi, December 6, 2024

Security forces and police attacked a group of 101 Indian farmers with tear gas shells on December 14 when they tried to cross the barricades erected on the Punjab and Haryana borders as they made their way on foot to the capital Delhi to present their demands. The battle continued all day. They had been similarly blocked December 6 and 8. Farmers state that they will not give up their fight for their rights.

Social organizations in Haryana in a unanimous decision declared their support for the farmers' demands, which include the Minimum Support Price. They said that they stand with the farmers who have announced they are marching to Delhi to present their demands and to show the whole world that the government of India has repeatedly betrayed them. The leaders of various community organizations pointed out that the government wants to steal the farmers' lands and turn these over to the corporations. It is a life and death struggle for the villages and farmers of India.

Farmers at a Mahapanchayat (mass meeting) in Greater Noida condemned the decision to hand over Uttar Pradesh's electricity system to private owners. The government of Uttar Pradesh is planning to give its power companies to the private sector using public-private partnerships. At a meeting in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, it was pointed out that farmers have consistently agitated through the Karamukhedi Electricity Movement against the policies of the government on electricity issues. The first attempt to privatize electricity, in 2001, failed. In 2009, the then state government gave the Kanpur and Agra electricity system to Torrent Power, but in 2015 the subsequent state government had to cancel the agreement due to the people's opposition. In 2013, the electricity system of Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Moradabad and Meerut city was handed over to private hands but later had to be withdrawn due to protest.

December 6 marked the 32nd anniversary of the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Broad state-organized and sanctioned communal violence by the Indian ruling elite and their state headed by the Congress government in Delhi accompanied the destruction, egged on by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thousands of people were killed. Analysts at the time pointed out that it was a distraction and diversion organized by the rulers in order to impose their neo-liberal offensive on the people of India through policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization. Imposing this diversion, anarchy and violence, the governments of Narasimha Rao, Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh carried out their neo-liberal offensive against the people and the natural environment as well.

Today, such activities, which have never stopped, are again being organized using various organs of the state to attack the unity of the people and the unity of the farmers, workers and other toilers, who are fighting for the affirmation of their rights and the rights of all. More than 30 years of neo-liberal offensive have led to devastation, destruction and immiseration of the people while enriching the heads of huge corporations such as Adani and Ambani. The ruling elite is using the courts and other agencies to carry out its anti-people agenda.

December 3 marked the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy, also known as India's Chernobyl, a corporate crime committed when Union Carbide ran the plant in Bhopal. Thousands of people died during the night as they slept due to the gas leak, while many others still face health issues and children continue to be born with birth defects. The Central Government of India at the time and governments to this day continue to white-wash that crime and to protect corporate criminals such as Dow Chemical, which bought Union Carbide.

Rally on 40th anniversary of Bhopal tragedy.

The Indian ruling elite is so much in denial about basic facts that they refuse to take any serious action against the pollution created by their policies in service of the corporations. According to reports, more than 2 million people die every year due to pollution but the corporate criminals and functionaries of the state refuse to do anything.

December 1, was the 138th birth anniversary of the great anti-colonial fighter Raja Mahendra Pratap. On December 1, 1915 he established the first Provisional Government of India at Kabul in Afghanistan as a government-in-exile of Free Hindustan, with himself as President, Maulana Barkatullah as Prime Minister, and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi as Home Minister. This government declared jihad on the British.

Raja Mahendra Pratap was one of the leaders of the Ghadar Party which fought for Indian freedom. He formed the original Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) in 1915 in Kabul which was supported by many nations including Japan. In 1911 he had taken part in the Balkan War along with his fellow students at the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1932. He formed the Executive Board of India in Japan in 1940 during the Second World War.

(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)

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Protest at the Goose Bay Air Force Base in 1988 against NATO low-level flight training over Nitassinan.

Image charts U.S. submarine operations in the Arctic Archipelago, 1958-1982(Source: Waldo K Lyon Papers)

B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber in Maintenance hangar in Goose Bay Air Base in Labrador, circa 1955. In this period Goose Bay Air Base became a key component in a NATO network of bases and radar sites.

Note

On March 24, 2023, during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Canada, he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement that said:

"Our highest priority is to protect our citizens and our sovereign territory. We will invest in the modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), including specifically:

"As part of a CAD$6.96 billion investment in surveillance system modernization, procuring and fielding two next generation Over-the-Horizon Radar (OTHR) systems covering the Arctic and Polar approaches, the first by 2028 to enhance early warning and domain awareness of North American approaches;

Click to enlarge.

Mural in Montreal depicting the fight of the Innu to defend their homeland

Innu Resistance to Fighter Jets

Inuit occupy military runway in 1989 in opposition to militarization of their lands (top) and protest arrests of those who occupied the runway (bottom)

Undated news clipping from mid 1980s on Innu protests against NATO bombers. (click to enlarge)

Dene Lands in Alberta

Cold Lake Weapons Range is built on Traditional Dene lands, shown in green (click to enlarge).

"Forward Operating Location" for Fighter Jets in Nunavut

CF-18 on training flight out of Iqaluit, January 2021

Map of members of Inuit Circumpolar Conference

Note

1. Mary Simon, "Toward an Arctic Zone of Peace: An Inuit Perspective," Peace Research, Vol. 21, No. 4 (November 1989). Canadian Mennonite University.

Norway Has Removed and Relaxed Previous Restrictions on the Military Actions of NATO Countries

Finland Did Not Set a Single Restriction on NATO Membership

Also for Britain a Base in Norway

Russia Invited the Finnish Ambassador for an Interview Because of the DCA Agreement

Canada

United States

Day 100 marked at Brampton encampment, December 7, 2024

(With files from Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, CBC News.)

Notes

Through Bill 74, Sections 9 and 10 of the Quebec Immigration Act are now included with those under the provisions of Section 104.

(Source: National Assembly of Québec, LégisQuébec)

Actions in Montreal

Denis Bolduc, Secretary-General of the Quebec Federation of Labour; Claire Launay, President of Quebec Is Us Too (LQCNA)

Chaudière-Appalaches

Toronto

Notes

1. "18 décembre: Journée internationale des migrants," FTQ, December 18, 2024.

2. Le Québec c'est nous aussi, December 18, 2024.

3. "End Migrant Worker Unfreedom Strategic Litigation: Constitutional Class Action," Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers.

4. "Protect the human rights of migrants," Amnistie internationale Canada francophone.

5. Table de concertation des organismes au servicedes personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI).

6. See TCRI video here.

7. Réseau d'Aide aux Travailleuses et Travailleurs Migrants Agricoles du Québec, December 19, 2024.

8. Comité d'action de Parc-Extension, Nothing Moves Without Us, December 18, 2024.

9. Migrante Quebec, Nothing Moves Without Us, December 18, 2024.

(Photos and screen shots:TML, Le Québec c'est nous aussi, FTQ, CSN, Migrante Quebec )

Toronto, December 18, 2024

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW)

Yukon Federation of Labour (YFL)

Unifor

National Farmer's Union

Canada's Attempt to Whitewash Its Falsification of History Continues

Notes

1. History of the World Anti-Communist League (Part 1: 1945-85)

2. Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) S.C. 2017, c. 21

(With files from Le Journal, Bureau d'enquête, MEIE; translated from original French by TML)

Farmers' tractor rally in Whitehall, London, December 11, 2024

Notes

1. "Farmers across Britain and Europe are Joining Together to Fight for their Rights," Workers' Weekly, March 30, 2024.

2. Britain imported 46 per cent of food consumed in 2020; 54 per cent was produced in the country. See "An Overview of the UK's Food Imports," SSO International Forwarding, September 28, 2023.

(With files from Workers' Weekly, NFU, Politico, The Standard, The Independent, Farmers Weekly)

Farmers on march from Shambhu border to Delhi, December 6, 2024

Rally on 40th anniversary of Bhopal tragedy.

Image charts U.S. submarine operations in the Arctic Archipelago, 1958-1982
(Source: Waldo K Lyon Papers)

Russia Invited the Finnish Ambassador for an Interview Because
of the DCA Agreement