Alberta Working Class Affirms the Rights of All

March for What Matters a Great Success

Edmonton, February 27

As the United Conservative Party government of Jason Kenney brought down its anti-social and anti-worker budget on February 27, thousands of people converged on the legislature. March for What Matters was conceived by a group of Edmonton teachers who issued the call for people to "March for What Matters." And march they did. Teachers in their thousands, education workers, parents, health care workers, doctors, youth and students, seniors, artists, Indigenous people, and working people from every sector came to speak out on what matters to them and to society.

The march began at the Edmonton Convention Centre where the Greater Edmonton Teachers' Convention was taking place and proceeded down Jasper Avenue and then to the legislature. More and more people joined as they finished work or school, with at least 10,000 people assembling at the legislature to hear speaker after speaker express the resolve of their collectives to oppose the Kenney government's stepped up anti-social offensive, to call for increased funding for social programs, and to oppose attacks on the right to speak and organize such as Bill 1.

Edmonton, February 27

March For What Matters actions were also held in Calgary and across the province on February 29, showing the same energy, determination and spirit. In Calgary, the first rallying point was Western Canada High School, where educators and public sector workers spoke about the right to public education, children's right to a future, and against the mass layoffs just announced for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. "We need teachers, we need books, we need the money that Kenney took," they chanted. The next rallying point was the Sheldon Chumir Urgent Care Centre where health care union leaders spoke about the impact of the anti-social offensive on those in care and their families, and called for adequate funding for health care. As more people joined, the march grew to more than 2,000 people as it proceeded to City Hall, where a sea of signs expressed what matters and the claims that people are laying. Rallies also took place on March 29 in Banff, Fort MacMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Red Deer, and Slave Lake.

Claims from whatever quarter that paying the rich will "stimulate the economy" and bring prosperity are in tatters. The UCP's determination to restructure Alberta so no vestige of a public authority is left is meeting a wall of resistance. March for What Matters actions expressed the growing resistance and deep commitment of the people of Alberta to oppose Kenney's wrecking, and to speak in their own name about what matters, including increased funding for education, health and social programs. Congratulations to the organizers and all who participated!

Calgary, February 29