Help grow Rebel Youth magazine

Dear friends and comrades,

By now many of you will have seen a copy of the new issue of Rebel Youth magazine. Lot's of positive feedback has been streaming in from around the country as Clubs begin the important work of distribution. This is the eighth issue of Rebel Youth that we have published, and we are proud to say that our magazine is continuing to improve as is the level of participation from YCL members and friends in the process of producing the magazine. This issue carries lots of really great content including coverage of the coup in Honduras, socialist democracy in Cuba, the struggles of young workers and students around Canada, and more.

Rebel Youth is starting to become more and more well known amongst progressive youth. With our goal of new issue to be released in January, and a fast approaching December 1st submission deadline, we have a two-fold task in front of us in the coming month.

First of all, it's time to distribute and aggressively promote Rebel Youth. YCL Clubs around the country will be busily ensuring that Rebel Youth gets into the hands of rebel youths. This issue should also be the issue that really starts to build our subscription base in a significant way, an absolute necessity in the process to building Rebel Youth into a regular and self-sustaining publication. You can help too!

We ask our members, friends, and supporters to purchase a subscription to Rebel Youth. It's only $12 for one year and every cent helps us to ensure the continued and improved publication of the magazine. Please consider how you, or your Club, can help. Do you have a subscription? Have you sold any subscriptions?

Fundraisers are another great way to raise money for Rebel Youth. You might
be surprised how many people will help us publish Rebel Youth if given the opportunity. It doesn't have to mean renting a hall and holding a huge event, even small events and small amounts raised make a difference.

Secondly, there is no time to lose in preparing content for the next issue. The YCL is in the process of creating and seeking out content for issue number nine. The deadline for content submissions is December 1st which will leave just over one month for proofreading, editing, layout and printing. All of these can be time consuming so it is very important that content is submitted on time in order for us to stay on track!

Content can include articles on local, provincial, federal, national or international issues. You can submit cultural content or reviews of music, movies, books etc. as well as art, poetry, letters to the editor, you name it. Write while you fight! YCL Clubs should discussion what they can do to make this coming issue an success. But it's not limited to members, we welcome the submissions of all our readers. Send your submissions to rebelyouth@ycl-ljc.ca

With issues eight and nine we are building on the frequency of the magazines publication. It's up to all of us to continue to drive this process forward by distributing and raising the profile of the magazine, raising the funds, collecting the subscriptions and contributing to the collective process of creating and publishing the magazine.

Another way to help Rebel Youth magazine is to read and promote the Rebel Youth blog, which contains a wealth of great, frequently updated content. The blog's readership is growing and you can help! It can be as simple as posting a story on the blog to your Facebook profile. Check out the Rebel Youth blog at http://www.rebelyouth-magazine.blogspot.com/

Rebel Youth is Canada's only Marxist-Leninist, pan-Canadian, bi-lingual,
youth and student magazine. Whether you are a YCL member, a subscriber or frequent reader, or a fellow activist, we look forward to hearing from you and invite you to help us build the magazine that fights for peace, jobs, education, and socialism on every page and in every issue!

In solidarity,

Stephen Von Sychowski
Rebel Youth Content Editor

Demand Climate Action

1. IN THE NEWS: Activists demand climate action
2. YCL IN MOTION
3. INTERNATIONAL
4. RY BLOG: Highlights

ACTIVISTS DEMAND CLIMATE ACTION
Al Jazeera English
Oct. 25, 2009

Thousands of people have gathered for protests in more than 180
countries, calling for international action to curb the emissions
causing global warming. The International Day of Climate Action
focused on the number 350, referring to 350 parts per million (ppm) of
CO2 in the atmosphere which some scientists say must not be exceeded
to avoid runaway global warming.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yjyy6m6

1. Why are people around the world rallying around a scientific
data-point? Do you think debate around climate change has shifted in
the past five to ten years? How or how not?
2. The article notes that “industrialized” countries are not willing
to establish ambitious targets. Many commentators in the corporate
media however point to China and India’s economies as the emerging
culprit for global warming. What do you think?
3. Is climate change related to imperialism? What is at stake for
working people?

YCL IN MOTION

YCLers in BC have been busy postering up a storm and making new
recruits in Kamloops and Prince George. The YCL is also active
supporting a fledgling youth committee for the local anti-war
coalition, including promoting and participating in a conference
organized by the World Peace Forum in Vancouver.

YCLers in Ontario are starting planning on a November Young Worker’s
conference in Hamilton at Solidarity House. Proposed topics include
the situation of young workers across Canada and Internationally,
struggles of the unemployed, and the Communists in the Labour
movement.

INTERNATIONAL

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Obama has produced
commentary from many peoples. We present here links to the World
Federation of Democratic Youth’s statement
(http://tinyurl.com/yhxfe9w) and commentary by Fidel
(http://tinyurl.com/yjcgded).

The YCL-LJC news bulletin will be carrying announcements about the
meeting of Worker’s and Communist Parties in New Delhi next month.
Miguel Figueroa, leader of the Communist Party of Canada, will be
attending the meeting which is to examine “The international
capitalist crisis, the workers’ and peoples’ struggle, the
alternatives and the role of the communist and working class
movement."

RY BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

1. Special focus on Honduras

The Honduran coup regime has hires the services of Chlopak, Leonard,
Schechter & Associates, a Washington DC based public relations firm,
to clean up its image.

http://tinyurl.com/ry-honduras

2. The spirit of Hip Hop thrives in Cuba

Loud chunks of laughter are erupting from around the theatre. The
music is blaring hard and heavy, and every track is received like an
anthem — hands are thrown into the air and girls stand on bench seats
to dance…

http://tinyurl.com/ry-cuba

3. Campaign to free Ahmad Saadat:

As actions across Palestine and around the world in support of
imprisoned Palestinian national leader Ahmad Sa'adat continue, the
illegitimate Israeli occupation military court in Bir Saba today
extended Sa'adat's isolation for six additional months.

http://tinyurl.com/ry-saadat

Access to education is our right

DROP FEES, RAISE WAGES
UNITE AND FIGHT!

YCL Toronto, Oct. 09

Maybe you are a student in high school worried about the cost of college or a trade. Perhaps you’re a young single parent anxious about rising student debt and the future for your child. You could be a second-year university student, angered by your loans disappearing into ridiculously over-priced books, a recent grad getting collection agency calls, or a young worker blocked from education by low wages or layoffs.

We live in a very rich country. But tens of millions of people are struggling against an economic crisis we didn’t make, while our right of access to post-secondary education is stolen.

Fewer and fewer people can afford post-secondary education -- and unless we rise up in a bold, united campaign we'll get a dangerously worsening deal. A major think tank recently said universities should raise fees by 25%, under the pretext of the recession. Some University Presidents (like at UofT) openly call for fee deregulation, mass privatization and reduced access, reflecting big business’ view, provincial governments, and the Harper Conservatives: US-style education, for rich kids only.

Despite the economic crisis, most corporations are posting huge profits. Meanwhile, prices keep rising -- tuition 4x faster than inflation. Wages don't keep up. Not one penny of bail-out money has been called back, but government wages a dirty campaign demanding industrial and unionized workers surrender hard-fought pension and wage gains.

The growing gap between the rich and the poor exposes a class system, rotten with racism and sexism, where tuition fees are yet another user fee on a service that should be free.

MYTHS & FACTS

"Students can afford to pay more."

Fewer youth are going to school because of rising fees. A Sept 09 report described "pools" of working class high school students who can't go to college. Money is the main barrier to access.

"We can't afford to reduce fees."

It is a question of priorities. The imperialist and war in Afghanistan, rejected by Canadians, has a 20 bil. price tag. Cut military spending in half! Troops out now! Reverse the steady reduction of corporate taxes and raise business tax (students in BC will soon pay more in tuition than corporations pay in tax). And nationalizing Canada's energy industry could eliminate all fees and pay for accessible public child care.

"Education is a privilege"

This is a snobs argument. The UN Declaration of Human Rights says education is a right and should be free where countries can afford it (and it is in capitalist Norway and socialist Cuba). That right cannot be denied us.

"Let the market decide"

That means putting the decision into the hands of big business. The economic crisis shows the market has failed. Corporations need an educated workforce but they don't want to pay for it. Nor do they need everyone to be educated: for example all this talk of "cheapening" or "inflation" of degrees is the capitalist class talking about their agenda. Education is not a commodity.

"Campaigning won't do anything"
Students in Quebec blocked an aggressive attack on access in 2005 through mass action united with labour. The history of tuition fee reductions (like in Newfoundland today) is a tale of protests and petitions. Struggle is the only way forward and it needs *you* to be strong, broad, diverse, and militant enough to win.


DROP FEES – RAISE WAGES

The YCL supports the CFS reduce or Drop-Fees campaigns. Today, over a million are unemployed. Youth unemployment is a record 20 per cent. Few can get Employment Insurance. Comprehensive policies based on people’s needs not corporate greed are urgent: raising minimum wage (we say to $16!), EI access (eliminating all barriers, covering everyone for the full duration of unemployment at 90% of former earnings) and jobs (ie. a green industrial plan & plant closure legislation with teeth, massive affordable housing and infrastructure construction). Access to education from cradle to grave is a universal fight, a fight for equity and anti-racist campaigners, for the women's movement, and for our class, the working class. We can't limit the battleground to campus.

Across the country students are fighting with allies to reduce tuition. These are serious and genuine efforts. It needs you to grow, to make our sentiment for lower fees resonate with government. We can't just lobby. There must be an expanding and broadening fight back and tactics moving the most people forward – assemblies, more demos, sit ins, or walk outs.

LIFT THE CAP NOW!

Racist policies against Aboriginal students hurt the entire movement. Education is a human right – and for First Nations a treaty right. But in ‘96 the Federal government imposed a 2% cap on all basic core services funding increases breaking the Treaties. Rising numbers of Aboriginal youth seek degrees. 50%+ of the aboriginal population is under 25. There are long waiting lists for First Nations youth to attend post-secondary; non-status and Metis people don’t get any funding, while facing the same racism. We must lift the cap (and take emergency action to improve Aboriginal peoples social & economic conditions; full recognition of sovereignty and self-determination for aboriginal nations.)

ELIMINATE FEES: THE YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE’S CAMPAIGN

To really win advances in favour of students and all the working people, we need to drop fees altogether, create a system of grants, and abolish loans and all student debt. This international fight has seen encouraging developments in Germany, South Africa, and across Latin America just this year.

We must also expel corporate profiteers and the military from our campuses -- directing research towards benefit of peace and people’s needs, not profit.

And we need to guarantee the right of students to organize without interference -- contrary to the escalating dangerous attack on student unions, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Public Interest Research Groups, and Palestinian solidarity groups orchestrated by the Harper Conservatives, in collusion with top various university administrators, and the police, sometimes bringing in unwarranted and heavy-handed disciplinary and legal charges against activists.)

Lobbying and November’s mass demo can and should grow into a bold, broad, united mass struggle brining the pressure of all youth, parents, trade unionists against the government, and powerful big business. Through united, militant struggle, bigger demands can be won.

ABOUT THE YCL

As capitalism enters another dangerous time of crisis the demand for a better alternative that puts people and the environment before profits is echoing around the world. Now is the time to join the fight back!

The Young Communist League – la Ligue de la Jeunesse Communiste is Canada’s oldest organization of revolutionary youth. Formed in 1923, we struggled against the Great Depression, sent brigades to the Spanish civil war, resisted the cold war, and rallied for peace and nuclear disarmament. We fought racism, sexism, homophobia. We helped build today’s student movement.

Today, the YCL-LJC is made up of school and community clubs across the country, including Quebec, campaigning for immediate anti-war and pro-youth policies. We publish Rebel Youth Magazine three-times a year, and members of the Canadian Peace Congress, Canadian Network on Cuba, and the World Federation of Democratic Youth. We fight for real change and for socialism.

Economic Recovery? LOL!

1. IN THE NEWS: ECONOMIC RECOVERY?
2. YCL IN ACTION
3. INTERNATIONAL
4. RY BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

Please note that we have recently had a virus hit our email list. This
has been a one-time problem and we are investigating it with google
groups. Please disregard messages not sent from the YCL-LJC.

1. ECONOMIC RECOVERY? FOR WHOM?

Sam Hammond, Peoples Voice

It used to be in earlier society that a cobbler made shoes. After the
rise of capitalism with its class exploitation, relations of
production and market competition, the manufacture of shoes occupies
thousands of people. This is because capital, in its drive to cheapen
production costs and dominate markets, accelerates a division of
labour into smaller and smaller units, each with lesser but more
specialized skills. In turn, this accelerates the competition of
labour, the competition between workers, especially in an environment
where there are large pools of surplus labour (the unemployed) banging
at the doors of workplaces and offering cheaper rates than those
already inside. It is precisely this phenomenon that drives capital to
cheapen labour and create unemployment.

Read more: tinyurl.com/y9ecyah

For discussion:

1. Do you think the economy is getting better? How is the "recovery"
impacting you and your friends?
2. What do you think of the claim that rising unemployment and
recovery can co-exist? Does it make sense? why or why not?
3. The article ends: "As a class, what do we need to resist and
maintain ourselves? Competition or co-operation? Cannibalism, raiding
and exclusion, or unity and inclusion" That is the question that begs
for a debate. What do you think?"

2. YCL IN ACTION

YCLers in British Columbia have been joining the protests against the
HST - Harmonized Sales Tax - which will unfairly make working people
pay more for goods and services. The YCL has issued a statement which
is on the ycl-ljc.blogspot.com site.

The LJC-Q is now out on the streets selling copies of Jeuness
Militante, which has now published its second issue. Check out a copy
online: http://yclljc-magazine.blogspot.com/

Members of the YCL Ontario are getting ready for the 2nd Tri-lateral
peace conference, bringing together delegates from Mexico, Canada,
Cuba and the United States. The conference is taking place Oct. 2-4th
in Toronto. The slogan is Unity for Peace, solidarity, sovereignty,
and the rights of working people. Because of the important speakers
and travel costs, the conference fee is quite high -- but join the YCL
delegation, help out in the kitchen, and get in for the price of a
donation! All progressive youth welcome. For more details see:
http://www.canadianpeacecongress.ca/upload/Trilateral%20Registration.pdf
Last week Rebel Youth magazine went to the printers. The plates were
burnt this week and by next week copies will have arrived in Vancouver
and Toronto for cross-Canada distribution!

3. INTERNATIONAL

Read three statements by the World Federation of Democratic Youth
about the situation of the young communists in Jordan, the Philippines
and Bahrain: http://ycl-ljc.blogspot.com/

4. RY BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

- Fast way to pressure the Canadian government on Honduras
- Free Mohamed Now! (Palestine prisoner solidarity)
- Remembering Antonio Agostinho Neto, Angolan Patriot

Three statements by WFDY

For the immediate release of Noriel Rodriguez!

The World Federation of Democratic Youth strongly condemns the abduction of Noriel Rodriguez in Cagayan by the suspected extra-orbiter elements of the deceitful Arroyo regime. We think it is severe attack against the freedom of progressive individual that he gets for his decent opinion for justice, equity and people’s welfare.

The whereabouts of Mr. Norial is not yet confirmed since a week. According to the ANAKBAYAN confirmation a gang of four armed men in civilian clothes abducted him on 7th of September, 2009 are the suspected of Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army stationed at San Jose, Gonzalo.
We demand the government in our strongest term the immediate release of Mr. Noriel and to bear the accountability to punish the culprits behind this atrocity.

We strongly denounce such extra judicial act of the regime that flagrantly violates the human rights and it own law. We appeal to all youth and student organizations around the globe to support the cause raised by our member organization ANAKBAYAN, Philippines by extending the solidarity campaign for immediate release of Mr. Noriel.

Democratic rights for Bahraini students and youth!

Last week witnessed a sad moment for the Bahraini youth and students as the University of Bahrain took an aggressive decision against a student activist Noor Hussain, member of Shabeeba Society of Bahrain, our member organization of WFDY.Comrade Noor Hussain was leading the Student List inside the university and working for the rights of the students for public free education. Continuous Harassments from the administration lead to escalating confrontation that resulted in the expulsion of comrade Noor from her course of study and considering her failing in her classes.

Once again we witness an aggression against the basic rights of public action and student activism in a country that has declared previously that it guarantees the rights of expression of its entire people since the reconciliation in the mid nineties. This aggressive decision is a critical drawback in the countries record and is one more form of oppression and exploitation of the Bahraini people.
We call the University of Bahrain to immediately restore the rights of comrade Noor and letting her back successfully to her classes.

We also call the authorities in Bahrain to take their responsibilities in guaranteeing the basic democratic rights of their youth and students.

WFDY asks all its member organizations to express their solidarity with the democratic rights in Bahrain and around the world

Solidarity towards the Jordanian communists!

In the month of Ramadan, celebrated now by Muslims around the world, the clerics of several mosques in Jordan oriented their speeches against communism and against the struggles of our comrades in Jordan. A campaign of hatred and illusion was launched by the clerics against the secular and democratic forces in Jordan, particularly the communists there in an organized aggression.

The role of the authorities remains suspicious especially that it prevents the clerics from saying any political comment when it comes to criticizing the government policies and loyal parties, while it remains silent despite strong statements and calls of division, sectarian intolerance and hatred against the progressive forces.

WFDY expresses its solidarity with the democratic movement in Jordan and with the Jordanian communists who face now an aggression to destroy their image as a progressive and democratic secular party struggling for the interests of all the Jordanian people.

WFDY calls the Jordanian government to take action and prevent the clerics from interfering in politics, particularly stopping the waves of aggression and hatred against the democratic movement.

WFDY asks its members to show support and condemn the sectarian practices against the democratic movement in Jordan and the Arab world, and also condemn the suspicious silence of the Jordanian government towards those attacks.

Labour Day

On the occasion of Labour Day the Young Communist League of Canada greets the young workers with solidarity and militancy. Canada is one of the few countries in the world that does not celebrate the workers holiday on May 1, but every holiday we have fought for and deserve.

On Labour Day 2009 we view the situation of the young workers as very dire. Across our country minimum wages are poverty wages, youth unemployment is the highest since figures began to be recorded, tuition is on the rise, and social services and union contracts are under attack. This is taking place in the context of the sellout of our jobs and our countries sovereignty through de-industrialization, free trade pacts, and deep integration with the United States.

All of this is part of the offensive of capital aimed at making the working people, including young workers, pay for the deepening global economic crisis that they created. This economic crash, which is the worst of its kind since the Great Depression of the 1930’s, is merely a symptom of a system in crisis.

Today the ruling class and its governments and political parties in Canada and around the world are scrambling to find new ways to patch up their crisis ridden system. This Labour Day, while we celebrate the struggles and the victories of Canada’s working class movement, we should do so with a consciousness of the need to continue that movement in a united and militant way today.

Together, the working class, youth, and students, could defeat the anti-worker Harper Tories. Together, we could put an end to this capitalist system and to the exploitation, poverty and misery that is breeds.

We won’t pay for their crisis! Let’s unite a fight back!

Central Executive Cmte, YCL-LJC
September 2009

YCL-LJC Newsletter

1. IN THE NEWS
2. ELECTION… OR NOT?
3. YCL IN ACTION

Our activist list has been quite for two weeks but that doesn’t mean the movement has! To catch-up we’ll be issuing a double edition of our weekly email, with more next week.

1. IN THE NEWS

Gender Attack on South African Caster Semenya by the International Association of Athletics Federation: Daylight Racism

The World Federation of Democratic Youth has been deeply angered, saddened and astonished following the racist and imperialistic attack on South Africa’s 800m World Champion Caster Semenya by the International Association of Athletics Federation recently in Berlin, German. Such attacks on African people have persisted over the years, and we strongly condemn such a racist tendency by the organizers of this athletics federation.

Read more: tinyurl.com/ld9ovd
RY Blog commentary by Canadian trans-activist: tinyurl.com/m2mars

2. ELECTION … OR NOT?

Will Canada be going to the polls in a few weeks? What does all this mean for youth and students? The Canadian website “Cut me slice: for a people’s response to the economic crisis” is currently running a poll. It asks “Which summer movie title do you think best describes Canadian politics?”

Perhaps it’s “Land of the Lost.”

As Parliament returns, Harper’s government is on wobbly legs. But now the New Democratic Party has indicated it would support the ruling Harper Conservative’s ‘thin gruel offer’ on Employment Insurance. The thin gruel is to provide temporary, additional EI benefits to workers who have worked and paid into EI for seven of the past ten years and who collected no more than 35 weeks of benefits in the last five years.

Read more: tinyurl.com/nvjhd8

3. YCL IN ACTION

- La Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Québec recently held a joint school with the Communist Party. Over fifteen people came, with about half from the League. Discussions took place from morning to night about the economic crisis, the state and revolution, and feminism and the women’s movement.

- La Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Québec has also published it’s second French-language magazine, Jeunesse Militante. This issue features articles on: the attack on Quebec student aid, police brutality, the Cuban missile crisis, global warming and the Inuit nation, and cultural reviews. Check out a copy online: http://yclljc-magazine.blogspot.com/

- The YCL Central Cmte met this past week and discussed campaign action, the youth and student movement, as well as Rebel Youth. Next week a full issue of the email newsletter will focus on the CC report.

- By the end of the month we hope to launch our fully re-designed website integrating content such as Youtubes, our blogs, as well as extra resource material and other information. We’ve had the current one for about three years, this will be the next step in a several year process of getting a better site.

Gender Attack on South African Caster Semenya by the International Association of Athletics Federation: Daylight Racism

The World Federation of Democratic Youth has been deeply angered, saddened and astonished following the racist and imperialistic attack on South Africa’s 800m World Champion Caster Semenya by the International Association of Athletics Federation recently in Berlin, German. Such attacks on African people have persisted over the years, and we strongly condemn such a racist tendency by the organizers of this athletics federation.

It was not only racist or sexist attack to the South African and African citizens; but it was also a direct vilification of heavy magnitude to Caster Semenya’s parents and herself as an individual thus grossly and intensively undermining her God given talent.

Today, the African people will proudly join fellow South African’s and will rise to the occasion in celebrating the success of Caster who is a proud African daughter. It surprises that up to now, neo-colonialist interests still gatecrash and continue to be dragged into the sporting world.

Gender identification doesn’t require super-powered-technology, but gender can be determined within a mere blink of the eye. So does it need a rocket scientist to determine the gender of a human being? We wonder.

Unrepentant imperialist organizations must desist from racism and treating Africans (Black) as if they came to this earth through the back door or through an abnormal and non-existent labour process. Africa is not a laboratory for experimenting racist and imperialistic attitudes; it is a continent with united and peace loving citizens who always strive for one hundred percent economic empowerment and development through total control and ownership of their God given resources.

We call upon all progressive youth organizations to echo their voices in denouncing this racist, un-African, un-human, dubious and uncultured daylight attack on Semenya which proves beyond reasonable doubt that whims of darkness and racists still operate in this so called “ Global World”

WFDY HQ - CC
Budapest
25 August 2009

L’Attaque de Genre Menée par l’Association Internationale de la Fédération d’Athlétiques Contre la Sud Africaine Championne Caster Semenya: un Racisme

La Fédération Mondiale de la Jeunesse Démocratique (FMJD) a été gravement irritée, attristée, et étonnée par l’attaque raciste et impérialiste menée par l'Association internationale de Fédération d'Athlétisme récemment à Berlin, Allemagne contre la Championne du monde de 800 m de l'Afrique du Sud Caster Semenya. Plusieurs attaques de ce genre contre le peuple africain ont persisté au cours des années et nous condamnons fortement une tendance si raciste menée par les organisateurs de cette fédération d'athlétisme.

Cette attaque n’est pas seulement raciste et sexiste guidée contre l’Afrique du Sud et son peuple mais en plus elle représente une médisance directe aux parents de la championne et à Caster Semanya même, puisqu’elle mine grossièrement de son inné talent.

Aujourd’hui, le peuple Africain joindra fièrement le peuple de l’Afrique du Sud pour saisir l’occasion et célébrer le succès de Caster, la fière championne Africaine. Ce qui nous surprend c’est que, jusqu’à nos jours là, les intérêts néo-colonialistes s’introduisent encore subitement et s’impliquent même au monde sportif.

En plus, l’identification du genre d’une personne n’a pas besoin d’une technologie énorme, au contraire ça peut être déterminé en un clin d’œil. Alors a-t-on besoin d’un géni pour déterminer le genre d’un être humain? On se demande.

Les organisations impérialistes, qui poursuivent leur assaut sans remord, doivent cesser de traiter le peuple Africain (la race Noire) comme s’ils étaient d’une race inférieure et comme s’ils ne méritaient pas les mêmes droits que les leurs. L’Afrique n’est pas un laboratoire qui sert bien à expérimenter l’attitude raciste et impérialiste de ces organisations ; c’est un continent unissant un peuple paisible et affectueux qui lutte toujours pour gagner un control total sur ses ressources, qui garantira un cent pour cent de progrès économique.

Ainsi on hâte toutes les organisations progressives à transmettre leur protestation contre la raciste, inafricaine, inhumaine, et non cultivée flagrante attaque contre Semenya. Tout cela ne fait que prouver que les caprices du racisme sont toujours incarné dans ce soi-disant Monde Global.

FMJD HQ-CC

Budapest
25 Août 2009

Stop the BC Harmonized Sales Tax

As the economic crisis continues to endanger jobs and force down wages British Columbians are faced with another attack. On July 23th, 2009 the right-wing B.C. Liberal government announced its intention to implement a Harmonized Sales Tax by July 1st, 2010. Despite explicit promises not to introduce such a tax during the last provincial election in May, the Liberal government persists in forcing working class British Columbians to pay for the failing capitalist economy.

The Harmonized Sales Tax combines two taxes, the Provincial Sales Tax and the federal Goods and Services Tax, into one federally administered sales tax. When this takes place, almost everything which PST does not apply to will see a 7% increase in cost. Among these are some of the most important parts a working class family's budget such as: residential fuels (electricity, natural gas) and heating, food products, non-prescription medication, work-related safety equipment, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and household maintenance such as renovations and painting. Even grieving families will now pay 7% more at a funeral home.

The Harmonized Tax system puts a massive weight on working people in British Columbia. Northern B.C.ers who are seeing forestry jobs lost and already pay far more for many essential products will now see home heating costs increase dramatically. Commuters in urban areas will see bicycles and bicycle repairs jump in price, which continues the B.C. Liberal policy of profits before people and the environment.

Youth will be affected drastically by the new system. Movies and theatre tickets, repairs for home appliances, and other costs often born by young people will increase substantially. Even school supplies will see a 7% increase in cost when students already pay a criminal tuition fee to attend college or university. While the Liberals refuse to raise minimum wage or legislate a living wage system they continue to increase taxes on those who fall below the poverty line.

To add insult to injury the B.C. Liberal government will receive a 1.6 billion dollar payout from the federal Conservative government to implement this system. As working people try to balance meager budgets the provincial sellout continues. If it was not clear before, British Columbians now know exactly how much they sell for in the capitalist market.

BC Provincial Committee, August 2009

WFDY Statement Against anti-communism and all kind of anti-democratic measures

Monday, August 24, 2009

On the day of today, the European Union is calling upon all European people to celebrate the so called “Europe- wide Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism”, following the anti-communist and anti- democratic
resolutions approved by the European Parliament.

This measure is, once again, a step towards the criminalization of the communist ideal and an attempt to make equivalent the fascist ideology to the ideology of peace, freedom and democracy, the communist ideology.

Furthermore, it is a complete hypocrisy for a structure as European Union to
raise the “flag of democracy”, when itself is imposing for the third time now an European Constitution that has already been rejected two times by the peoples; a structure as European Union that supports the role of NATO and aims to strengthen bounds with this international killing and destroying machine that over the last 60 years has supported all fascist regimes of Europe; a structure as European Union that has everyday stronger economical and political bounds with the Zionist state of Israel, that slaughters and humiliates the Palestinian people in their own land; a structure as European Union, that lets that in its inside there is a youth, democratic, peace loving organization be banned just because of their communist ideology (namely, the Communist Youth Union of Czech Republic).

To the Members of the European Parliament who approved this resolution and to all those who decide to join this dark celebration we remind that it was the Western European countries and USA (the so called “democratic countries”), who took no hesitation to bring back to power the high ranking officers of the former fascist armies.

Moreover, it is important to remind that two thirds of all battle fronts that
allowed the world to defeat Hitler’s army were on Eastern Europe and, most of them, conducted by the Soviet Union.

Such processes of comparing Fascist regimes to the socialist oriented societies, namely Soviet Union, are manoeuvres of deceiving and distraction from the agonizing imperialist powers.

Today, as in the past, imperialism is creating means, strategies and subjective conditions to persecute communist, progressive and anti-imperialist forces, particularly in the moment lived now, when the international financial crisis has brought up even more clearly the unsolvable contradictions of imperialism as an upper stage of the capitalist system. Imperialism knows that its survival, or the delay of its end, depends on confusing the youth and people of the world, preventing them to realize that only by struggling and rallying under the anti-imperialist organizations they can hope for a truly and long lasting peaceful and fair future.

WFDY draws the attention to the ongoing crimes and massacres against mankind that deserve not only analysis but concrete action from all possible democratic means, such as the massacre of the Palestinian and Saharan
people, the constant persecutions to all democrats in Colombia, Burma, Swaziland, Philippines and others as well as the completely outraging situation of coup d’état in Honduras.

WFDY calls upon all its member and friend organizations to denounce the anti-communist attack being launched and to continue their struggle for democracy and freedom, alongside with all elements that a constitute a truly democratic state, as universal access to education, employment, health, food, culture and sports, which is very far from being the reality inside the European Union member states and many others in the world.

Budapest, August 23, 2009
The CC/HQ of WFDY

Greetings to the Young New Democrats Convention

August 13, 2009

Dear New Democratic Youth of Canada Executive,

Greetings from the Young Communist Leauge – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada, on the occasion of your HFX09 YOUTH, the NDP Federal Youth convention starting today!

We write to you in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue. In our view, your convention comes at a critical time for the youth and student movement across Canada. Our world’s environment is seriously threatened, our generation is undergoing the most intense and dangerous economic crisis we’ve ever seen, and an aggressively pro-big business government – the Harper Conservatives – is in power.

Tens of thousands of young people are unemployed. Many haven’t found a job this summer. Fewer still will obtain well-paying, meaningful, and safe full-time work. In Toronto, youth unemployment is pushing 20 per cent. Aboriginal youth, young women, youth of colour (especially Afro-Canadian youth) and non-status youth are severely hit. Employment Insurance denies most young applicants, including farm-worker youth, and is meagre at best.

In this crisis, have any of the municipal, provincial and federal governments moved to close the wage gap between women and men, massively build affordable housing, legislate a minimum wage above poverty, or make car insurance and public transit more accessible to youth? Student debt hit $13 billion this January. With the exception of Newfoundland, most provinces are increasing tuition and ancillary fees, while commercializing education. (Sadly that includes Gary Doer’s Manitoba, and Darrell Dexter’s provincial platform astoundingly called for tax cuts to students, not reduced tuition).

We are interested in your reflections; our experience is that the young workers and students across Canada genuinely resent being forced to pay for a crisis that we didn’t create – a crisis caused by capitalism. The also youth disagree with the billions of dollars wasted on the imperialist war in Afghanistan, and even the general direction of our largely US-written foreign policy (currently tacitly supporting the illegal Honduran coup).

For our part, we stand with all those who envision a new future without hunger, misery, ignorance, exploitation and suffering, without capitalism and imperialism. We know that we are not alone. Our organization’s perspective is for a socialist Canada, where the people own the economy and society is based on ecology and human need, not corporate greed. For us, this goal is urgently linked with the efforts of young people, with the labour and all people’s movements, to strive for a much better deal – not just in the Parliament but especially on the streets, in the schools, in workplaces. We think you would agree that way forward includes struggle and protests, requiring bold and energetic unity.

The YCL has great respect for the countless honest, good-hearted NDY’ers who are outstanding activists. Although occasionally – like the battle to de-federate Simon Fraser University from the Canadian Federation of Students – we find young NDPers are sadly both sides of the fight, the big picture of the NDP youth is an organization with many progressive militants working hard in the fight-back as individuals. It is our hope that the New Democratic Youth will deepen its participation as an organization in the many campaigns of English-speaking Canadian, Québécois, Aboriginal and Acadian youth.

We know many others agree that the movement would be made stronger if, with all the radical and spirited enthusiasm that burns within youth, the NDY consciously brought its membership into campaigns. Could the NDY dauntlessly and publicly support progressive causes like the immediate call for the restoration of democratically elected Honduran President Zelaya, or actions like the Troops Out of Afghanistan Now, against military recruitment, solidarity with Palestine and Haiti, to raise the minimum wage above the poverty line, expand and transform EI, for universal, public, quality childcare, or to immediately reduce and then eliminate tuition fees, and close the scandalous gap in Aboriginal education funding? This is not the place for a complete list of the youth struggles, but what possibilities exist for the NDY consciously helping movements, as an organization, to mobilize in unions and on campus?

The call for united action is all the more imperative give the renewed gross and anti-democratic attempts at manipulating student politics engendered by the Conservative Party youth.

Our local clubs are open to working with any youth organization, including the NDY, towards a progressive agenda. We warmly welcome any discussions, debate and joint action that builds a broader, more powerful youth and student movement. These debates and actions are not sufficiently comprehensive and pan-Canadian, but they are vigorous and on-going among the English-speaking Canadian, Québécois, Aboriginal and Acadian youth. In the face of such serious threats to our generation, to take a different approach than unity and struggle, we think, would be disastrous for the youth.

Again, on behalf of the Central Executive Committee of the Young Communist League of Canada – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada, we wish your delegates and new executive best luck for a successful convention that is militant, dynamic, and committed to building a Canada of peace, democracy, ecology, employment, and full sovereignty – and a better world.

Yours in friendship and struggle,




Johan Boyden
General Secretary, YCL-LJC


Cc:

YND Co-Chair Rachel Gotthilf
YND Co-Chair Marie-Pier René
Secretary Meghan Mitchell
Treasurer Anand Sharma
Policy Director Erica Martin
Communications Director Bryan Young,
Outreach Director John Tzupa,
Francophone Director Jean-Francois Paradis,
Labour Director Erin Sikora,
Disability Rights Director Nathan Hauch,
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgendered and Queer Director Andrew Brett,
Women’s Director Fiona Shiells,
Aboriginal Director Mitchell Anderson

YCL Newsletter

YCL BC School a big hit!

The Sunshine Coast was a little more Red than usual this BC Day long
weekend as the Young Communist League (YCL) held their annual Summer
Camp in Sechelt. Over 20 youth from across the province attended the
camp this year where they learned, discussed, and had fun. It was the
largest event of its kind held since the YCL began to re-organize in
BC over five years ago.

“It can be hard to get young people out to a four day long event,”
said YCL BC Organizer Stephen Von Sychowski. “I think the growth can
be attributed to the increase in size and activity of the League in BC
as well as to the radicalization of youth in the face of war, student
debt and the capitalist economic crisis. Capitalism is again producing
its own gravediggers.” At least years Summer Camp, Trail was the
newest addition to the list of YCL Clubs being built up across Canada.
This year it was Kamloops. Both Clubs sent delegations to this years
Summer Camp.

Under the scorching hot sun the attendees studied a variety of topics
including the economic crisis and the fightback, the environmental
crisis, what socialism is and why it is necessary, current events in
Latin America, and more. But it wasn’t all study, there was also lots
of time for fun. After educational sessions were finished it was off
to the beach to relax, swim, and enjoy the rest of the day.
“I came here to learn about Marxism,” said one camp attendee, “but I
left not just with new knowledge but also with new friends and
memories of an awesome weekend.”

The East Coast camp in Antigonish has been postponed. Next week the
YCL Ontario will be holding its summer school, for more info:
ycl_ontario@ycl-ljc.ca

On 64 years of the USA nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan)

Today is the 64th complete year of the launching of the first nuclear bomb in the History of mankind, in Nagasaki, Japan. This crime, which was soon after repeated in Nagasaki, demonstrated the inhuman and brutal character of imperialism, and its main interpreter over the last 64 years: the United States of America.

The launching of nuclear bombs over the already surrendered state of Japan was no more than a political and military sign of USA’s imperialist wish for worldwide domination.

Both the sign and the attempts of domination caused millions of wounded and dead, brought starvation, destruction and misery to many people, destroyed the right of millions of young people to have a school, a hospital, a job, a cultural centre or a sports pitch.

During this time the only thing that allowed mankind to stop the imperialist greed of USA, and later European Union and Japan (the main imperialist poles), was its organized struggle and resistance.

Only the resistance and struggle of the people have avoided even more brutal wars and even more militarization. Only the organized struggle of the people have made it possible for so many countries and peoples to be free, independent and sovereign, despite the continuous threats, blackmail and interventions of imperialism.

Today, more than ever, it is crucial a shift in the world’s policies. WFDY calls upon all its member and friend organizations to rally their efforts and unite their strengths to, with their struggle, make a real change possible for mankind, for a world where demilitarization is a fact and not rhetoric, where peace is a reality and not slogan, and where friendship and cooperation are honest between peoples and states, unlike the exploiting policies conducted by USA, European Union and Japan in its manipulation and despise of the United Nations and the International Law.

The CC/HQ of WFDY
Budapest, August 6, 2009

City of Guelph: put Nature and People before Profit!

STOP CRIMINALIZING ENVIRONMENTALISTS!
YCL-Guelph

On Monday July 27th at 6:30am, a group of protesters set up camp on the proposed Hanlon Creek Business Park development (HCBP), successfully shutting down construction on the site. This development has been subject to heated community debate since 1993 however, the City of Guelph has recently pushed ahead with the first phase of the construction.

Despite the broad public outcry, the City has not properly addressed warnings by environmentalists and community members. The land in question is home to one of Southern Ontario's last surviving Old Growth Forests and situated on the Paris-Galt Moraine which is essential to the integrity of the surrounding area's drinking water. The HCBP site contains provincially significant wetlands as well as protected species. Environmentalists, scientists and community members agree that the supposed precautions taken by the City are not stringent enough to ensure that significant damage is not done to the land, its resources and ecosystems. THE FAILURE OF THE CITY TO PROPERLY ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS WAS THE REAL CAUSE OF THE WORK STOPPAGE. Direct action was the only way to ensure that work was stopped and democratic debate about the development was continued.

The City and its corporate friends have continued to frame the opposition to the Business Park as opposition to providing jobs to the community. Guelph is facing a jobs crisis. We have lost over 2 000 manufacturing jobs in Guelph since the capitalist crisis hit last year. Guelph is a university town and the recession has also hit students hard and making secondary education even less accessible to working-class youth. This past Friday, Statistics Canada released figures showing that student unemployment hit 20.9 per cent in July — the highest jobless rate since the agency began collecting comparable data in 1977.

So does this mean that ecological destruction is necessary in order to pull us out of the recession/depression? THE HCBP IS NOT A SOLUTION FOR GUELPH'S WORKING CLASS, YOUTH AND STUDENTS. The tenants that the HCBP hopes to attract are biotechnology, agri-science firms, and other corporate evil-doers. It is unlikely that any of Guelph's recently unemployed manufacturing workers would be eligible for a research position in these offices and its industrial section will not be built up for years, if ever. Furthermore, Guelph has 175 brownfields that can be cleaned up and re-developed (former industrial/commercial sites that may be toxified and are now unused).

Unfortunately, Capital sees brownfields as less profitable than new development on a 'greenfield'. The municipality and other levels of government need to stand up to unrestrained capitalist greed and demand that development is done in a responsible way. YCL-Guelph affirms its support in the struggle for meaningful, decent paying jobs as well as for environmental sustainability and conservation.

PUT PEOPLE AND NATURE BEFORE PROFIT!

YCL-GUELPH STANDS IN FULL SOLIDARITY WITH THE LAND DEFENDERS AT THE HCBP SITE AND DEMANDS THAT THE CITY STOP IT'S EFFORTS AT INTIMIDATION AND CRIMINALIZATION. The City's attitude towards the protesters on the site has not been to negotiate towards a resolution but to use the threats of a 5 million dollar lawsuit, and charges of 'Nuisance', the ‘Criminal Offence of Mischief,’ the ‘Criminal Offence of Intimidation,’ the ‘Criminal Offence of Extortion,’ and ‘Inducing Breach of Contract’, to intimidate the peaceful protesters. These brave people have put themselves on the line in the struggle against anarchic and destructive capitalist development. Many of the people who have been singled out by the City and now face the 5 million dollar law-suit are friends and allies of the YCL.

Please join the friends of the "Land Defenders", community supporters and YCL-Guelph tomorrow, Monday August 10th.

@10 am - Superior Court (74 Woolwich St).
@ 6pm - Rally at city hall (1 Carden st.)

Celebrating 50 Years of Cuba Revolution!

This July 26, the Young Communist League of Canada - la Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada, sends its greetings and stands in solidarity with the people of Cuba. This "Moncada Day" has special meaning for Cubans and friends of Cuba everywhere, as it is the 50th anniversary of the victory of the Cuban Revolution. The movement that grew into the triumphant Revolution was born on the 26th of July, 1953 when Fidel and Raul Castro and around 160 other brave revolutionaries attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. This was the first armed resistance to the corrupt and brutal, US-backed, Batista regime, carried out by the "Movimiento 26 Julio".

The YCL-LJC Canada wishes to send a special greeting to the Youth of Cuba and to the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas. We acknowledge the vanguard role the youth play in the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban people's struggle for socialism and against imperialism. This was no different 56 years ago when the attack on the Moncada barracks was carried out. The revolutionaries that participated were overwhelmingly young farmers, workers and students and in unity with the working-class. The average age was 26, the same age as their leader Fidel Castro. Today we salute the example set by those brave revolutionaries.

The Moncada attack was not an immediate victory for the Movimiento 26 Julio, but it was the first battle in a long people's struggle against the strangle-hold of imperialism. After Fidel was arrested and imprisoned, he published his famous defence speech entitled "History will Absolve Me". With 50 years of history written about the heroic Cuban Revolution, Castro and his Moncada comrades have been absolved one-thousand times over. By continuing to maintain friendly relations with Cuba, Canada affirms its sovereignty in foreign policy (which in all other areas is authored by Washington -- like Palestine, Colombia or Canada’s imperialist war in Afghanistan).

The bravery and heroism of their people continues, symbolized by the Cuba Five – five men unjustly imprisoned in US jails for fighting CIA-backed terrorism on their Island. We salute the Five, reaffirm our demand to free them, and cheer-on Cuba's achievements in education, health care and international solidarity which have shown the world that socialism is both possible and necessary to end war, environmental destruction and economic injustice.

The Young Communist League of Canada joins the friends of Cuba from around the world in saying:

"VIVA LA REVOLUCION CUBANA Y EL MOVIMIENTO DEL 26!"


YCL-LJC CEC

July WFDY News

Dear Comrades and friends,

We are pleased to circulate the July 2009 newsletter of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, which can be downloaded at:

http://www.wfdy.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/wfdy-news-july-2009-digital.pdf

The newsletters main editorial follows.

- YCL-LJC

EDITORIAL - JULY 2009 - WFDY NEWS

July, the hot weather month is also a hot month for antiimperialist struggle. Around the world WFDY organizations started their summer plans including camps, festivals and youth events. In Cyprus EDON celebrated its festival with a new taste this time,
especially after the winning of presidency last year. New challenges face the movement now after being in power, but till now it proves to be fruitful with AKEL and the left forces taking more than 35 % of the votes in the European elections, thus improving their share of votes, and this only happened to a single party in power, that party is AKEL.

In Africa, this month celebrated the birth of the symbol of the liberation struggle Nilson Mandela, and our organizations across the continent continue their struggle with the same spirit of struggle towards complete independence from imperialist implications after getting liberated of its direct occupation in the past century.

WFDY also visited Asia, participating in an international forum of All China Youth Federation in Beijing and meeting many officials of the organization. WFDY also visited Vietnam, DPRK Korea and Japan in a series of meetings with our member organizations in this important region in the world. We expect this visit to come out with important results in the near future and further strengthen the relations and the anti-imperialist struggle in the region.

In the Middle East, the political situation is always tense and delicate, but this month carried a shameful declaration of the Kingdom of Bahrain expressing the will to open the relations with the Zionist state of Israel.

This is a very bad move that neglects the right of the Palestinian people to have an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return of the refugees to their lands. Any compromise with Israel that doesn't include those rights of the Palestinian people is a betrayal that we condemn and refuse.

Elections in Lebanon was another form of political fraud, where the campaign of both coalitions, March8 and March

14, the pro-Syrian and pro-American groups did cost about 700 million dollars, almost the same amount of the campaign of the US elections knowing that Lebanon is 100 times less populated than US!! With huge funding from abroad, especially from Saudi Arabia, the March 14 coalition managed to get about 60,000 immigrants fully paid for travel and hotel for a full week to vote in the delicate and balanced regions and this led to their victory in the overall results. Lebanon will go again into 4 years of a pro-American government and a crippled “opposition” that only seeks compromises and shares in the government.

On the other hand, during the same month, the campaign to free Ahmad Saadat, General Secretary of PFLP detained in Israel, presented a statement in front of the UN General Secretary and asked the UN to take its responsibilities for the freedom of the Palestinian detainees. WFDY joined this campaign and issued a statement of solidarity earlier this month.

In Latin America, the movement against the illegal coup in Honduras is still rising and everyday there are more pressures on the military to quit and let the democratically elected leader to come back to power. WFDY continues its solidarity and close look for the situation and studies possible moves in solidarity with the Honduran people in the next months

Happy Pride '09 Canada!

Joint Statement of the Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League

The Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League
proudly salute LGBTQ workers and activists, Egale and other community
advocates throughout Canada and in Quebec, safer queer-positive
schools, and corporate-free space on Pride Day!
We say: No Pride in the international criminalizing of sexual
orientation, sexual expression and gender identity! No Pride in War or
Corporate Plunder!

Pride events this summer are celebrating welcome progress towards
greater equality and social justice. Communists are active players in
Canada's various LGBTQ and queer* identified communities. Together we
stand proudly in solidarity with all LGBTQ allies and activists
marking Pride 2009.

Globally celebrations are marking the anniversary of the
"Stonewall Riots" in Manhattan. A show of working class resistance,
the first scuffles were reported to be initiated by local homeless and
unemployed queer youth - patrons of the Stonewall Inn. 40 years on we
are bombarded with both encouraging and alarming headlines:

* Many more queer-positive environments are available to us in the public realm.
* Initial but promising signs on the left to re-integrate the fight
for justice and the fight against homophobia.
* Increasing numbers of trade unions now have active Pride and LGBTQ caucuses.
* High schools are launching gay-straight alliances, safe school
spaces and "Pride proms".
* Sex-reassignment surgery is at least partially covered under some
provincial health insurance plans.

These legal, political and cultural victories are the hard-won
results of decades of efforts by the LGBTQ community and allies.

However,

* California has overturned the same-sex marriage ruling, despite
equality gains in other states and in Canada.
* The Harper Tories still hope to reverse queer rights if they win a
majority government.
* The Right continue to scapegoat the LGBTQ community and racialised
groups, to divide working class resistance against finance capital,
corporate bailouts and global environmental plunder.
* The politics of Pride events are skewed by corporate sponsorship,
and with a handful of notable exceptions, military opportunism
And there's more. Despite Canada's welcoming image,
* queer youth in Toronto and Montreal seeking asylum from persecution
in other countries are being extradited.
* HIV-positive men still face barriers to travel across the Canada-US border
* LGBTQ secondary students, (over two-thirds in a recent survey)
report feeling unsafe at school, (compared to 1 in 5 straight
students).
* Prosecutors are unwilling to prosecute vicious gay-bashings in
Vancouver as hate crimes.

Globally,

* violent public expressions of homophobia are on the rise.
* the struggle to end the decriminalization of sexual orientation and
sexual expression faces stubborn resistance.
* working class queer people suffer especially vicious discrimination,
and as women and racialized communities bear the severe brunt of
neoliberal economic and social policies.
* ILGA, the association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersexed
peoples reports that 90 United Nations member states still criminalize
consensual same-sex acts among adults.
* In seven countries, legal punishment for homosexuality still
includes the death penalty.
* In many countries, such laws drive women, men and youth underground
to hide from fear of exposure and censure.

But important progress for LGBTQ equality is being achieved in
countries such as Cuba, South Africa and Nicaragua. The myth that
queer rights can only be won in wealthy capitalist countries is
shattered by these advances, and by the reality that homophobic and
racist concepts are exported from North America and Europe.

Despite the cultural and legal shift in favour of equality and
diversity, homophobia and transphobia remain tenaciously powerful
within the Canadian state. Behind his mask and 50s sweaters, Stephen
Harper's anti-equality positions are clear. The Tory leader:

* voted against same-sex marriage.
* has left his options open on abortion if he wins a majority.
* snubbed the 2007 international AIDS conference in Toronto.
* has appointed anti-choice, anti-gay judges to provincial courts.
* includes "Focus on the Family" zealots among top Tory advisors.
* pushes through regressive tax changes to promote the patriarchal family model.
* has gutted Status of Women Canada and bars the use of government
funding to promote equality.
* criminalized youth by raising the age of consent to 16 and limited
young people's access to condoms and abortions.
* allows Canada Customs to seize literature ordered by bookstores
which serve the LGBT community.

At a time when the so-called "war on terror" is used to remove
civil liberties for racialized communities, we need to remind each
other that "an injury to one is an injury to all." Just like racism,
sexism, and national chauvinism, homophobia and transphobia are
weapons to divide working people. Despite this effort, most Canadians
support equality and human rights. These must now be expanded to
include full legal and political protections for sexual orientation
and expression, and gender identity.

This demand is a vital part of the wider movement to drive the
Harper Tories out of power. Today the ruling class is using the
economic meltdown to carry out a vicious assault on working class and
unemployed queers and the entire labour movement. A cover as well to
reverse hard-won social equality gains. A broad democratic and social
resistance is going to be needed to block and reverse this corporate
agenda. Together, we must build a powerful coalition around a genuine
people's alternative to this crisis - a common front of Aboriginal
peoples, youth and students, women, seniors, immigrant and racialized
communities, environmentalists, labour, peace activists, the LGBTQ
community, farmers, and many other allies.

Ultimately, this struggle in our communities and workplaces, and
at the ballot box, will defeat the right and open the door to a
people's coalition government. The goal of the Communist Party is to
win fuller social freedom and genuine people's power in a socialist
Canada, where our economy will be owned by all and democratically
controlled. It will then become possible to eradicate the intersecting
forms of exploitation and oppression which we face today, while
defending our sovereignty and protecting our common environment.

(* a note on "queer": Queer is a term widely used by lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgendered, inter-sex, queer, questioning and
two-spirited communities to describe the richly diverse community as a
whole. The word unifies all the identities into one inclusive term. It
was meant to "take back" an otherwise derogatory, and formerly
spiteful word.)

FÊTE NATIONALE DU QUÉBEC

GREETINGS TO THE QUEBEC WORKING CLASS
[For English scroll down]

FÊTE NATIONALE DU QUÉBEC:
BONNE FÊTE À LA CLASSE OUVRIÈRE DU QUÉBEC
24 juin 2009

Déclaration conjointe du parti communiste du Québec (section du PCC)
et de la Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada

Le Parti communiste du Québec et la Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du
Canada tiennent à offrir leurs vœux de solidarité les plus chaleureux
aux travailleuses et aux travailleurs du Québec à l’occasion de leur
fête nationale.

Cette année, les Québécoises et les Québécois vont célébrer leur fête
nationale dans le contexte de la plus grave crise économique mondiale
du capitalisme depuis les années 1930. L’OCDE composé d’une trentaine
de pays les plus riches sur la planète prévoit que d’ici 2010, 57
millions de personnes auront perdus leurs emplois dans ses
pays-membres et que la crise risque de s’approfondir et de perdurer
encore quelques années. On évalue que présentement, plus d’un milliard
de personnes dans le monde sont sous-alimentées à cause de cette
crise.

Au Québec aussi des dizaines de milliers de travailleuses et de
travailleurs perdent leurs emplois et sont réduits au chômage. Des
régions entières sont dévastées. Le gouvernement refuse malgré tout de
rendre plus accessible l’assurance-emploi. Les salaires et les
conditions de travail de celles et ceux qui ont encore un emploi sont
lourdement attaqués par les capitalistes voraces qui cherchent à
profiter de cette situation pour augmenter leurs taux de profit. La
jeunesse ouvrière est particulièrement victime de ces attaques
subissant historiquement des taux de chômage plus élevés et une plus
grande précarité en emploi.

La nécessité d’en finir avec le système capitaliste responsable de
tant de malheurs s’impose de plus en plus comme une évidence. Mais en
même temps, il se pose aussi au Québec, la question nationale.
Le peuple du Québec constitue une nation dont les droits sont niés
depuis la conquête de la Nouvelle-France par l’Angleterre en 1763,
d’abord par les colonialistes britanniques et ensuite par la
bourgeoisie canadienne.

La reconnaissance formelle l’année dernière du statut de nation par le
gouvernement conservateur de Harper ne fut qu’une manœuvre
électoraliste qui n’a rien réglé. Les Conservateurs l’ont d’ailleurs
prouvé eux-mêmes à l’automne 2008 lorsqu’ils se sont lancés dans une
campagne chauvine anti-Québec à travers le Canada pour attaquer la
coalition des partis d’opposition qui menaçaient de les renverser. Le
gouvernement canadien ne reconnaît toujours pas les droits nationaux
du Québec, dont celui de constituer un État indépendant et souverain.
À ses yeux, le Québec doit demeurer une province comme les autres.
Aujourd’hui, cette négation du droit du Québec à l’autodétermination
est l’essence de l’oppression nationale qu’il subi. Cette oppression
nationale soulève l’indignation du peuple québécois et a engendré
depuis les années 60 le mouvement souverainiste ou indépendantiste
dirigé par la bourgeoisie et la petite-bourgeoisie québécoise.
Cette bourgeoisie représentée politiquement principalement par le
Parti Québécois souhaite entraîner tout le peuple du Québec derrière
elle, en appui à sa solution de la question qui se résume à la
constitution d’un nouvel état capitaliste et impérialiste qu’elle
contrôlerait entièrement et qui maintiendrait, pour son plus grand
bénéfice, l’essentiel des manifestations d’oppression et
d’exploitation que subit la classe ouvrière québécoise.

Les communistes considèrent qu’embarquer dans la lutte de la
bourgeoisie québécoise pour faire un État séparé implique
nécessairement de reléguer au second plan et de laisser sur la glace
la lutte qui correspond véritablement aux intérêts de la classe
ouvrière, la lutte pour le socialisme c’est-à-dire une société dirigée
directement par la classe ouvrière pour le bénéfice de la grande
majorité du peuple travailleur.

La lutte pour le socialisme exige que la classe ouvrière, composée de
diverses nationalités au Canada, soit unie face à son ennemie, la
classe des capitalistes, canadiens, québécois et étrangers, pour lui
arracher le pouvoir d’État à la grandeur du pays. L’indépendance du
Québec non seulement affaiblirait cette lutte pour le socialisme mais
risquerait de renforcer la domination de l’impérialisme américain sur
le Québec et le reste du Canada.

C’est pour promouvoir cette unité nécessaire que les communistes
militent activement au sein de la classe ouvrière multinationale du
Canada en proposant un programme de réformes démocratiques et
constitutionnelles qui garantiraient la pleine égalité de toutes les
nations au Canada, notamment, une nouvelle constitution basée sur un
partenariat égal et volontaire du Québec et du Canada anglophone, et
garantissant les droits nationaux des peuples autochtones.

VIVE LA CLASSE OUVRIÈRE DU QUÉBEC !
VIVE LA LUTTE POUR LE SOCIALISME !
GREETINGS TO THE QUEBEC WORKING CLASS

Fête nationale du Québec

The Communist Party of Quebec and the League of Communist Youth of
Canada would like to extend their wishes of warm solidarity to the
workers in Quebec on the occasion of their National Day.

This year, Quebecers will celebrate their national holiday in the
context of the most serious economic crisis of global capitalism since
the 1930s. The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development consisting of thirty richest countries on the planet)
projects that by 2010, 57 million people will have lost their jobs in
its member countries and that the crisis could deepen and endure a few
more years. It is estimated that currently over one billion people
worldwide are malnourished because of this crisis.

In Quebec tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs or have
reduced employment. Entire regions have been devastated. The federal
Harper Conservative government still refuses to make it more
accessible Employment Insurance. Wages and working conditions of those
who still have jobs are heavily attacked by greedy capitalists who
seek to take advantage of this situation to increase their rate of
profit. Young workers are a particular victim of these attacks
undergoing historically higher unemployment and greater job
insecurity.

The need to end the capitalist system which is responsible for this
misfortune is becoming very clear. But at the same time, the nation
question also arises in Quebec.

The people of Quebec are a nation whose rights have been denied since
the conquest of New France by England in 1763, first by the British
colonialists and later by the Canadian bourgeoisie.

The formal recognition last year of nationhood by the Harper
Conservative government was only an election manoeuvre that did not
settle anything. The Conservatives have also proven themselves in the
fall of 2008 when they embarked on a campaign chauvinistic anti-Quebec
in Canada to attack the coalition of opposition parties that
threatened to topple them. The Canadian government still does not
recognize the national rights of Quebec, including that of being a
sovereign and independent state. In their eyes, Quebec should remain a
province like the others.

Today, this denial of the right of Quebec to self-determination is the
essence of national oppression Quebec has suffered. This national
oppression raises the indignation of the people of Quebec; for 60
years the movement for independence or sovereignty has been led by the
Québécoise bourgeoisie and the petty-bourgeoisie.

The bourgeoisie politically represented, mainly, by the Parti
Québécois wants to lead all the people of Quebec behind it, to support
the solution of the question that boils down to building a new state –
capitalist and imperialist – they control and to continue, to its
greatest benefit, most of the manifestations of oppression and
exploitation suffered by the working class in Quebec.

The Communists considers that to embark on the fight of the
bourgeoisie to make Quebec a separate country necessarily relegates to
second place and leaves “on ice” the fight that truly interests of the
working class, the struggle for socialism – a society directed by the
working class for the benefit of the vast majority of working people.

The struggle for socialism requires that the working class, composed
of various nationalities in Canada, united against the enemy, the
capitalist class, Canadian, Quebec and abroad, for state power across
the country. The independence of Quebec not only weakens the struggle
for socialism, but could strengthen the dominance of U.S. imperialism
on Quebec and the rest of Canada.

To promote this necessary unity that the Communists are active in the
multinational working class in Canada offering a program of democratic
and constitutional reforms that would guarantee full equality of all
nations in Canada, including a new constitution based on an equal and
voluntary union Quebec and English Canada, including the right to
separate, and guaranteeing the national rights of Aborignal nations.

Long live the working class of Quebec!
LONG LIVE THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIALISM!

Communist Party of Quebec (section of the CPC-PCC)
Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Quebec
Young Communist Leauge of Canada - Central Executive

On World Environment Day

Central Executive Committee of the YCL-LJC

The Young Communist League of Canada - La Ligue de la Jeunesse communiste du
Canada draws attention to World Environment Day, organized by the United
Nations since 1972 and celebrated on June 5 in more than 100 countries.
As the youth realize, there is now no doubt we are experiencing a grave
ecological crisis characterized by climate change. In fifty years, the
capitalist system has managed to load the air with gas emissions because of
an economy dependent on oil, clear-cut forests, pollute almost all water
systems with pesticides because of agro-industry, and transformer large
territories into garbage dumps because of the wasteful market. Imperialist
war has caused ecocide.

The first victims of the global ecological crisis are the poor, women,
Indigenous peoples, and the labouring masses. The poor suffer more from
this crisis because their livelihoods are linked more closely to local
ecosystems. Women and indigenous peoples often live under very precarious
conditions which makes them even more vulnerable.

Also for workers. According to a 2001 World Bank report "Among the direct
effects (climate change) is the increase in diseases and deaths related to
temperature. Waves of intense heat and long duration, associated with
moisture, could raise the rates of morbidity and mortality, particularly
among the urban poor and the elderly. Another direct effect is the increase
in the number of deaths and injuries caused by extreme events such as
floods, landslides or storms. In recent years, over 96% of deaths caused by
disasters occurred in developing countries."

We reject the idea that "everyone is to blame also for the environmental
crisis,” which obscures the class-essence of the problem. Canadian companies
and their state are complicit in the destruction of the environment; ie.,
Canadian mining companies in Latin America. As Naomi Klein and others have
documented, imperialism has transformed these ecological disasters into a
source of profits.

The ecosystems now under threat are at the base of all economies. Capitalism
has only one watchword: the maximum profit. Demanding the preservation of
our environment, youth today combat the serious consequences of this rotten
system. Increasing numbers of young people support "green jobs,” public
transport, strict regulations against corporate pollution, nationalization
of energy, and peace. But the capitalist system can not be reformed enough
to integrate environmental sustainability into its production and
administration. We need the democratic planning of society for the benefit
of the people. This is a mass struggle requiring unity among those who fight
for the environment and the working class, which leads inevitably to
socialism!

------------------------------------

À propos de la journée mondiale de l'environnement
Comité exécutif central de la YCL-LJC

The Young Communist League of Canada - La Ligue de la Jeunesse communiste du
Canada souligne la journée mondiale de l'environnement organisée par les
Nations unies depuis 1972 et célébrée le 5 juin chaque année dans plus de
100 pays.

Comme les jeunes le réalise, il n'y a aujourd'hui plus de doute pour
personne, nous traversons une grave crise écologique caractérisée par les
changements climatiques. En cinquante ans, le système capitaliste a réussi à
charger l'air de gaz a effet de serre avec une économie dépendante du
pétrole, à raser une grande partie de nos forêts, à polluer quasiment la
totalité des cours d'eau avec des pesticides pour une agriculture de masse
plus productive et a transformer de larges territoires en dépotoir au nom
d'une consommation toujours plus grande. De plus, les guerres imprérialiste
ont causé un véritable écocide.

Les premières victimes de la crise écologique globale sont les masses
pauvres, les femmes, les ouvriers et les peuples autochtones. Les plus
pauvres souffrent davantage de cette crise car leurs moyens de subsistances
sont liés de façon plus étroite aux écosystèmes locaux. Les femmes et les
peuples autochtones vivent souvent sous des conditions déjà très précaires
ce qui les rend encore plus vulnérables.

Selon un rapport de la Banque mondiale en 2001 «Parmi les effets directs
(des changements climatiques) figure la hausse des maladies et des décès
liés à la température. Des vagues de chaleur intenses et de longue durée,
associées à l'humidité, pourraient faire monter les taux de morbidité et de
mortalité, particulièrement parmi les pauvres des villes et les personnes
âgées. Un autre effet direct est l'augmentation du nombre de décès et de
blessures causés par des événements extrêmes tels que des inondations, des
glissements de terrain ou des tempêtes. Au cours des dernières années, plus
de 96 % des décès dus à des catastrophes naturelles ont eu lieu dans des
pays en développement . »

Nous rejetons l'idée qui veut que « chacun est à blâmer également » pour la
crise environnemental, ce qui voile le fond du problème, la question de
classe. Les compagnies canadiennes et l'État canadien sont complices dans la
destruction de l'environnement, comme par exemple, les compagnies
d'extraction minière canadiennes en Amérique latine. Ainsi que Naomi Klein
et d'autres l'ont documenté, l'impérialisme a transformé ces désastres
écologiques en source de profits.

Ces écosystèmes aujourd'hui en danger sont à la base de toutes économies.
Mais le système capitalisme n'a qu'un seul mot d'ordre : le profit maximum.
En exigeant la sauvegarde de notre environnement, la jeunesse d'aujourd'hui
combat les conséquences graves de ce système pourri. De plus en plus de
jeunes supporte l'idée d'avoir plus «d'emplois verts», plus de transports
collectifs, une règlementation sévère contre la pollution des compagnies, la
paix et la nationalisation des ressources énergétique. Mais jamais le
système capitaliste ne se reformera suffisamment pour intégrer la pérennité
de l'environnement dans sa façon de produire et d'exploiter. Il faut
maintenant que la société prennent démocratiquement en main l'économie
mondiale et qu'elle la planifie pour le bénéfice du peuple. C'est une lutte
de masse exigeant l'unité entre ceux et celles qui luttent pour
l'environnement et la classe ouvrière, et qui mènera inévitablement au
socialisme.