No. 9September 12, 2019
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43rd General Election Gets Underway
Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada to Field 50 Candidates in 2019 Federal Election
— Press Release —
September 11, 2019 10:00 am – The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada (MLPC), the name under which the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) is registered with Elections Canada, is fielding 50 candidates in the 2019 Federal Election. The 25 women and 25 men, working people from various sectors of the economy, will represent the MLPC in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
During the elections, the MLPC will continue its work of organizing Canadians for democratic renewal, a new direction for the economy and to establish an anti-war government. Under the banner of “Empower Yourself Now!” the MLPC candidates will speak in their own name about conditions of work and life, and call on the electorate to do the same. They will discuss solutions with Canadians to the problems people face and elaborate the MLPC platform to Humanize the Natural and Social Environment.
National Leader Anna Di Carlo says, “The approach of the MLPC and its candidates is to create new political arrangements to replace those of the crisis-ridden party-dominated system. Instead of being passive observers to a show of electoral shenanigans, working people can create their own political organizations, enabling them to work out their own stands and speak in their own name. The approach is a practical rejection of an obsolete process that brings elites to power to ‘represent’ the people, speak in their name and rule over them.”
For the list of Marxist-Leninist Party candidates click here.
The Truth of the Matter
An Ipsos poll released on September 5 says that 67 per cent of those surveyed believe that “Canada’s Economy is Rigged to Advantage the Rich and Powerful,” an increase of eight points since Ipsos last posed the question in 2016.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “Traditional Parties and Politicians Don’t Care About People Like Me.”
Prior to the release of this survey, on August 26, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue reported on a 61-page study it conducted titled State of Democracy + Appeal of Populism. It said that a “solid majority [61 per cent] believe government puts establishment interests ahead of ordinary Canadians.” “Canadians believe that government is insensitive to what citizens think. A solid majority (70 per cent) say elected officials don’t care what ordinary Canadians think, and more than six-in-ten feel government ignores their interests in favour of the establishment,” the Wosk Centre for Dialogue reported.
These two investigations do not deplore the state of Canada’s democratic institutions and the fraud of holding elections between leaders and parties nobody trusts. Their alleged concern is to understand why Canadians are prone to populism! The Wosk Centre study, funded in part by the Government of Canada, was begun in 2017, as part of a larger project to work “with governments and organizations across Canada to understand how different forms of democratic engagement can better serve residents to increase levels of democratic commitment and participation.” The Wosk Centre for Dialogue described the survey as one of the most comprehensive ever on the topic.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the parties which form the cartel party system are now running around the country each declaring they represent what Canadians stand for. It shows that this election promises to be a disgraceful spectacle which will not resolve any problems facing Canadians, let alone the crisis in which the democratic institutions are mired. It all makes the message the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada is giving on point — which is that Canadians are quite capable of speaking in their own name and are doing so more and more. The role the MLPC has given itself in this election is to encourage Canadians to speak in their own name and close their ears to the nonsense talk of those who call themselves leaders as well as the media and pundits. All of them decide “the issues” and then declare that we have a choice. Enough!
Workers Speak Out About Their Concerns
Quebec Construction Workers Call for Reinstatement
of Crane Operators Training Program
At a press conference on July 17, construction workers who are members of the FTQ-Construction union demanded the Quebec government reinstate the mandatory 870-hour professional training course for crane operators, and that it be provided in an educational setting with professional instructors.
The Quebec government and the Quebec Construction Commission (CCQ) in defiance of the wishes of workers and their unions removed the compulsory vocational training requirement for crane operators in May 2018 and replaced it with a much less stringent 150-hour training program delivered on the job site as a responsibility of the construction employer. They also greatly reduced the specific mandatory training and regulation for the operation of boom trucks with a maximum 30-tonne capacity to an 80-hour course, even though these cranes have a history of overturning the most frequently and causing the most damage.
FTQ-Construction members held their press conference to remind the Quebec Minister of Labour that construction workers in all trades oppose the weakening of the regulations dealing with crane operator training. They explained that not only did the government and CCQ introduce the changes unilaterally, without the input and consent of the workers involved, but that the weakened regulation endangers the lives of all construction workers as well as the public.
François Patry, President of Local 9 of the National Brotherhood of Carpenters and a spokesperson for the workers, made the following important comments at the press conference: “For us, who represent over 70,000 workers in various construction trades, one death is one too many! We formally request that Minister Jean Boulet maintain the vocational training program adopted in 1997 because it reduced the number of deaths per year involving cranes by 66 per cent. Were the Minister to allow pilot training to be reduced to have more planes in the sky, it would be nonsensical. This, however, is what he has done in the construction industry.
“The construction industry is an industry that kills and injures workers. Although we represent only five per cent of the workforce in Quebec, we account for 25 per cent of all work-related deaths each year. Decisions are taken without factoring in construction worksite accident prevention. Consideration is given to the requirements of production and of profitability, however prevention gets eliminated. One such example is the Minister’s decision to remove the requirement for the Vocational Studies Diploma in the training of crane operators. Training is an integral part of prevention on construction sites. Cranes are important equipment on construction sites, which ensure that headway is made on the job. They lift very heavy loads. All workers on construction sites are at risk, including carpenters, labourers, electricians, all the trades, which is why we strongly support what the crane operators are doing. They are not alone.
“It is not easy on a job site to say No to an employer, that the work is not safe and that I am not going to do it. The more you are told during vocational training that such and such cannot be done for all the reasons given to you, the more arguments you have to tell the employer that you are not going to do that work and your arguments are also backed by your union. You are not alone. That is an integral part of prevention.”
During the press conference glaziers, heavy machine operators and workers from other trades made it clear that all construction workers are behind the crane operators, and that the safety of workers and of the public comes first. A principle at stake is that the people who do the work and their organizations must have a say and give their consent on matters that directly concern them and their work.
We Need Discussion on the Development of Regional and Local Economies
— A Miner in Abitibi, Quebec —
During this election, workers and communities must discuss the issue of the development of regional and local economies. Take Abitibi, for example. It is a mining and forestry resource region. However, what we require is a much more diversified economy than what we have right now. This means doing more processing of the raw materials in the region instead of simply shipping them out with as little transformation as possible.
More specifically, it means investing some of the value created by the extraction sector to diversify the economies of those regions such as Abitibi. Right now, much of the value created through our resource extraction work is being taken out of the regional and local economies and sent abroad to fill the coffers of the monopolies that dominate the industry.
We need to think about reinvesting the value we produce, so that other sectors of the economy are developed, along with social programs and public services, so that our seniors, injured workers and the most vulnerable are adequately cared for. Communities will be better off and the people will have a more stable life. These investments have to start from somewhere. One thing is certain, we cannot let the monopolies decide everything, as is the case right now.
The old notion of a resource region as a repository of natural resources that are to be extracted only when the monopolies decide it is worthwhile or that projects and installations can be closed down when they no longer serve monopoly interests must be put to rest once and for all. We must find the means for workers and regional and local communities to exercise more control over the development of their economies.
In my opinion, discussing these issues during the upcoming election will put us on a proper footing to move forward with our own concerns and our own way of seeing things.
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