MONITORCanadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, January/February 2016 New OS/OS Out Now

“This issue of Our Schools/Our Selves is an opportunity to explore much of what has resulted from the fallout of more than a decade of neglect, downloading and diminishment. Topics include: how communities are fighting back against attacks on public education; the use of arts to explore issues of social justice and labour history; the eects of misogyny in our society, legal systems and educational institutions; restorative justice; teaching students about sustainability, belonging and autonomy through a school garden; and the impact of neoliberalism (and how to resist it) on public schools and universities.” Erika Shaker, Director of the Education Project at the CCPA and Executive Editor of Our Schools/Our Selves THE FALL 2015 ISSUE OF OUR SCHOOLS/OUR SELVES (VOL. 25, NO. 1) IS AVAILABLE FOR $15 FROM THE CCPA’S ONLINE BOOKSTORE. BUY YOUR COPY AT WWW.POLICYALTERNATIVES.CA. January/February 2016

9/ Election Redux Perspectives on how we should make sense of the new political moment in Canada.

18/ Apploitation and Alienation How Silicon Valley CEOs are lowering working standards one burrito delivery at a time.

48/ A South African Lesson in Neoliberalism University students are pushing back against ANC corruption.

2 /CONTRIBUTORS 3 /EDITORIAL 4 /LETTERS 5 /BEHIND THE NUMBERS 8 /NEW FROM THE CCPA 26 /INDEX 47 /GOOD NEWS 51 /BOOKS 55 /FILM Contributors

VOL. 22, NO. 5 John Akpata Karl Flecker Richard Nimijean ISSN 1198-497X is an Ottawa-based spoken is an immigrant employment is a professor in the School of CANADA POST PUBLICATION 40009942 word artist and longtime consultant and has served Canadian Studies at Carleton member of the Marijuana as the national director of University. His teaching CCPA MONITOR IS PUBLISHED SIX TIMES Party of Canada. He has run human rights/anti-racism and research examine the A YEAR BY THE CANADIAN CENTRE federally in Ottawa in each for the Canadian Labour phenomenon of branding FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES. election since 2004. Congress. Canada and the politics of the brand state, including the Sheila Block Efe Can Gürcan THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE CCPA intersections of Canadian is a senior economist with the is an instructor and PhD. MONITOR ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS politics and society, national Ontario office of the Canadian candidate in sociology at AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT identity and public policy. Centre for Policy Alternatives Simon Fraser University, and THE VIEWS OF THE CCPA. (CCPA-Ontario). the author (with Efe Peker) Gerardo Otero PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK TO of the book Challenging is a professor of international Andrew Callaway Neoliberalism at Turkey’s Gezi studies and sociology at [email protected]. is an independent San Park: From Private Discontent Simon Fraser University, Francisco-based filmmaker. EDITOR: STUART TREW to Collective Class Action and the author of Farewell Mostly he directs, but he’s SENIOR DESIGNER: TIM SCARTH (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). to the Peasantry? Political also a cinematographer and LAYOUT: SUSAN PURTELL Class Formation in Rural editor, always thinking about Alex Hemingway Mexico (Westview 1999). He EDITORIAL BOARD: BRUCE CAMPBELL, the underlying story. He is the Andrew Jackson has published numerous KERRI-ANNE FINN, SETH KLEIN, KATE MCINTURFF, recently started podcasting, Progressive Economics Intern scholarly articles, chapters ERIKA SHAKER, EMILY TURK producing a multi-part show with the CCPA. He is also a and books about the political called Instaserfs about life as PhD candidate in political CCPA NATIONAL OFFICE: economy of agriculture and a “sharing economy” worker in science and SSHRC doctoral 500-251 BANK ST., OTTAWA, ON K2P 1X3 food, civil society and the the Bay Area. fellow at UBC. TEL: 613-563-1341 | FAX: 613-233-1458 state in Mexico and Latin [email protected] Davis Ballantyne Carr Asad Ismi America. His latest article WWW.POLICYALTERNATIVES.CA is a communications writes about international (2015) is “The Neoliberal Diet and Inequality in the United TWITTER: @CCPA assistant with the CCPA politics for the Monitor, and a freelance community specializing in the destructive States,” published in Social FACEBOOK.COM/POLICYALTERNATIVES manager and graphic impact of U.S. and Canadian Science & Medicine. designer. imperialism on the Global CCPA BC OFFICE: Dianah Smith South, and the resistance of 1400-207 WEST HASTINGS ST., Robert Chernomas is a writer and arts educator Southern people to it. VANCOUVER, BC V6B 1H7 is a professor of economics facilitating writing workshops TEL: 604-801-5121 | FAX: 604-801-5122 at the University of Fiona Jeffries in schools and community [email protected] Manitoba, the author, is an Ottawa-based academic settings. She co-ordinates with Ian Hudson, of the working in the autonomist a community arts festival in CCPA MANITOBA OFFICE: forthcoming Economics in tradition. Her writing Toronto and is an Occasional UNIT 205-765 MAIN ST., WINNIPEG, MB R2W 3N5 the 21st Century: A Critical and research focuses on Teacher with the Toronto TEL: 204-927-3200 | FAX: 204-927-3201 Perspective (University of questions of social fear, District School Board. Toronto Press, 2016), and a precarity, repression, [email protected] Paul Weinberg research associate with the resistance, commoning and is a Hamilton, Ontario-based CCPA NOVA SCOT IA OFFICE: CCPA-Manitoba. care amidst the neoliberal freelance writer. His work P.O. BOX 8355, HALIFAX, NS B3K 5M1 enclosures. She has published Stephen Dale appears in NOW Toronto and TEL: 902-240-0926 on a wide range of topics is an Ottawa author of four Rabble.ca. [email protected] including political violence, books including Noble feminist politics, media and Illusions: Young Canada Goes CCPA ONTARIO OFFICE: gender violence, urban social to War (Fernwood Books, 10 DUNDAS STREET EAST, struggles, and insecurity 2014). P.O. BOX 47129, TORONTO, ON, M5B 0A1 culture. Jeffries’ 2015 book, TEL: 416-598-5985 Pierre Ducasse Nothing to Lose but Our Fear, [email protected] is the co-author, with was published by Between Tom Vouloumanos, of the the Lines in Canada and Zed Maura Doyle CCPA SASKATCHEWAN OFFICE: book Pour une économie Books in the U.K. This month’s cover illustration 2ND FLOOR, 2138 MCINTYRE STREET démocratique (For a is by Maura Doyle, an Ottawa- Kate McInturff REGINA, SK S4P 2R7 Democratic Economy), based interdisciplinary artist is a senior researcher with TEL: 306-924-3372 | FAX: 306-586-5177 published in French in 2013. with a focus on sculpture, the CCPA and director of [email protected] He has longtime experience ceramics, video, drawing, the Making Women Count with the co-operative, social artists’ books and multiples. project. economy and community Her work often explores movements, as well as with the interactions between the NDP, and currently works nature and culture and the within the labour movement. independent life of objects. Editorial Stuart Trew Not working

EW YEAR, NEW government, same io Common Front that looks beyond Nor will there be a truly binding complicated problems. Capital the 2008 crisis to long-term struc- international treaty that might have investment in the petroleum tural failings in the economy. The forced our federal and provincial gov- industry was cut in half be- share of the Ontario workforce earn- ernments away from fossil-fuel de- tween 2014 and 2015—from $81 ing minimum wage has grown more pendence and down a more stable, billion to $45 billion, according than fivefold since 1997, for example, low-emissions, high-employment Nto the Canadian Association of Petro- while inequality—between rich and path (see Marc Lee on page 6). Like leum Producers—largely due to col- poor, and in the wages of men and most other countries, Canada has lapsing oil prices, which hit US$22 per women—remains stubbornly high committed to developing a plan for re- barrel for some Canadian producers (see Kate McInturff on page 42). We ducing emissions that will help keep by the end of the year. The resulting should probably not be surprised, the global temperature rise below 1.5 job losses are keeping unemployment then, that ride-sharing apps like Uber degrees Celsius. But the post-Paris above 7%, with especially harsh im- and other “gig economy” services are line in Ottawa is much the same as pacts in Alberta, where the bust may so popular in the province. It may be it was over the past decade: respon- have contributed to a surge in suicides alienating, disruptive, low-paid work sible resource development. In an ar- during the first half of 2015, accord- for those shuttling around or buying ticle headlined “Oil patch not terri- ing to Calgary social workers. Gov- frozen yogurt for the relatively well- bly anxious about Paris Agreement,” ernment forecasts are banking on to-do, but it risks becoming the only CAPP CEO Tim McMillan told CBC he improvement, though the executive gig in town (see Andrew Callaway’s expects “that with the investments director of the International Energy feature on on page 18). we’re seeing today on the technolo- Agency says he sees “very few rea- By some accounts, growth is ex- gy side that we’ll be able to produce sons” why things would pick up for pected to improve across Canada this more energy with less greenhouse the sector in 2016. year, even in Alberta. And there are gases into the future.” That looks, at More than ever these are not lo- signs the bottoming-out of the loo- best, like an emissions standstill for calized problems for Canada. A re- nie as it tracks oil prices south may Canada, while burning tar sands ex- cent study from Capital Econom- finally start to have a positive im- ports will register as a positive on the ics warns job creation for those in pact exports after a year of consec- carbon balance sheets of importing the so-called prime working age co- utively high monthly trade deficits. countries. Surely there’s a way to di- hort (between 25 and 54) is stagnant, To the extent new manufacturing rect the same innovative energy to- and that the number of high-paying contracts are attached to future re- ward less destructive and more job-in- jobs shrank in 2015 for the first time covery in highly polluting tar sands tensive ventures. since the Great Recession. “There’s extraction, we might reasonably ask This issue of the Monitor presents also a slowdown in hiring profession- if these are the type of good jobs we a snapshot of how people are work- al, technical and scientific jobs,” the should be cheerleading. When 500 ing—or not—in Canada today and study’s author, David Madani, told workers at Hamilton’s National Steel where the right policy, regulation or CBC in November. “And while we’re Car plant are laid off, as they were in social movement demands could im- watching an expected fallout in en- December (due to low demand for oil- prove lives. From rights for sex work- ergy, we’re not seeing some positive by-rail cars), should we be relieved ers and new immigrants, to options offset from other sectors like manu- when a tar sands or U.S. shale oil re- for democratizing our workspaces, facturing.” Canada’s economy is pro- bound brings them back to work? to grappling with the coming wave ducing jobs, they are just frequently (Paul Weinberg writes about some in automation, these articles explore of the part-time variety, or otherwise of Hamilton’s other steel woes on some of the significant glitches in not very well paid. page 35.) Like I said, complicated prob- our economy, problems that won’t Ontarians are finding it relatively lems—and problems “sunny ways” or fix themselves by praying for high- more difficult to find full-time work optimism or even “the market” won’t er oil prices. than other parts of the country, ac- solve on their own. Feedback: monitor@policyalter- cording to a 2015 report by the Ontar- natives.ca. 3 him to death. The meaning of the cenotaph. the ripe resource plums FeedbackLetters execution, one can say, was But to call it a military whisked away, and rural carried out 26 years later in target—I question the use towns are left high and that same city of Paris, on of that description. dry, often with declining other writers, in the offices population and no tax base. Vivien Hosteller, Cobalt, Ont. of Charlie Hebdo. Even today, city capital Editor’s response: I agree colonizes the countryside What does Clare Mian mean with you the term was exactly as nations did in the when she writes that the unfortunately ambiguous. days of empire. That’s just executioners “were Muslims I used “military targets” not fair. City and country born in France of parents to refer to the military need each other equally. from French colonies”? That personnel who were The partnership should be they were avenging the apparently the initial equal. Venture capital that sins of French colonialism, targets of both attacks, plans to profit by taking or even that French not their locations, but country resources should MONITORCanadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, November/December 2015 colonialism can explain their that was not clear. pay for rural communal and blind hatred of free speech? environmental degradation There is only so much that as part of the cost of CANADA AND CLIMATE our own faults can explain. CHANGE Rural Canada and business. Governments It is important to examine infrastructure spending need to look carefully at what we did wrong and are their own policies to assure doing wrong, and to practise ities smell the city/country equity. what we preach. It is equally possibility of federal important, as we assume C Just as important, help in rebuilding old and moral responsibility for our governments and Agency and terror overworked infrastructure. actions, that we assign it to corporations must transfer I wish them well. However, others. challenging, high-salary n her review essay (“We most Canadian cities are jobs into the country to are here because you Raphaël Fischler, richer than the surrounding I make rural youngsters were there,” November- Montreal, Que. rural regions. Cities are excited about staying December 2015), Clare where capital lives. Much home. It’s no good to tell Mian explains what private capital has come them to compete with responsibility we bear for Cenotaph no military target from money-market risk- nomadic city workers the current mess in the taking. The tangible goods for the skidder-operator Middle East and for anti- n your editorial in the undergirding the whole and drill-rig jobs. Right Western anger. We are November-December speculative structure, I now, many administrative now seeing the results of Monitor you write, however, come out of and professional jobs decades of wrong foreign “Following the attacks countrysides either nearby associated with resource and domestic policies. Yet against military targets in or half a world away. extraction are done by Mian’s analysis is biased, Ottawa and Quebec…” I Globally traded grains, commuting or short- if not prejudiced, because had to think, what is the petroleum, coal, timber, assignment city people. it takes away agency and editor writing about? Then water, hydropower, and The world is due for a responsibility from those I realized that you were major tourism hot spots century of restoration of who try to terrorize us. referring to the cenotaph are examples. The flow of city and country alike. (National War Memorial) wealth for my entire 80+ Contemporary terrorism is The restoration of the at Elgin and Wellington. years has been from rural not only political; it is also countryside and its Since when is it a “military” places into cities. If cities religious. And religious communities depends on target? haven’t been smart enough fanaticism is not just a knowledge of rural places or gutsy enough to tax product of colonialism; its The reason the two soldiers accumulated over years of private wealth sufficiently bloody expression cannot were on guard was to have residency by people who to keep neighbourhoods be explained simply by a human presence at the call them home. No such and infrastructure in good a desire to take revenge. cenotaph because, about savvy builds up if young shape, I’m sorry. Ayatollah Khomeini was five years ago, there were people have to leave to given refuge and protection people urinating against I feel a lot more empathy better themselves. in Paris for many years. the base of the statue— toward rural places. Their Bob Weeden, Salt Spring After his return to Iran, people in military uniforms share of “development” Island, B.C. when Salman Rushdie would help to educate the is low-paying jobs while put a human face on the general population who they last. The countryside Send us your feedback and thoughts: Prophet, he condemned were not aware of the is degraded ecologically, [email protected] 4 Behind the Numbers

STUART TREW AND SCOTT SINCLAIR mitments. But history, and U.S. insist- ence the deal must be accepted “as ne- gotiated,” may force us to temper our expectations about whether a mean- TPP NEEDS REAL CHANGE ingful process is forthcoming. For example, despite positive com- ments from Canada’s new trade min- ister, Chrystia Freeland, that it is “not fter his first formal meeting with ernment admitted damage to Canadi- my job right now to convince anybody Canada’s new prime minister at an interests by offering compensation TPP is good,” there has been no clear the end of November, U.S. Pres- packages for the auto and dairy sec- indication about what a public review ident Barack Obama made ei- tors for the losses they are expected might look like beyond parliamentary ther a bold or banal observa- to suffer. We can also look forward to hearings. The government is running tion about how Prime Minis- growth hormones in our milk thanks to out of time to perform a meaningful Ater Trudeau will handle the 12-nation a Canada-U.S. side-deal on the even- consultation on the TPP given Oba- Trans-Pacific Partnership deal (TPP), tual mutual recognition of standards ma’s stated intention to sign the final concluded in early October, in the mid- for dairy products. deal in New Zealand at the beginning dle of an election campaign, by a par- Former Research in Motion CEO of February. ty that now finds itself on the Opposi- Jim Balsillie fears the TPP’s intellec- In the throne speech, the govern- tion benches. tual property rights chapter will cost ment was keen to portray itself as “We are both soon to be signatories the Canadian economy billions, turning breaking from the Conservative re- to the TPP agreement,” Obama told re- the country into a “permanent under- gime’s heavy-handed and closed ap- porters in Manila. “I know Justin has to class” when it comes to tech innova- proach. It would not bode well for the agree with what’s happened, but we tion. Pharmacare and access-to-medi- openness agenda if Canada bows to think that after that process has taken cine advocates worry new patent rules U.S. pressure and signs the TPP while place, Canada, the United States and will lock in already exorbitant prices the pubic consultation process has the other countries that are here can paid for prescription drugs in Cana- barely started. This would merely con- establish the high-standards agree- da and make life-saving medicine un- tinue the Harper government’s practice ment that protects labour, protects affordable in other TPP countries like of tabling international agreements in the environment, protects the kind of Vietnam and Malaysia. Parliament prior to ratification, which high value–added goods and services Obviously, a public review is bad- remains the exclusive prerogative of that we both excel in.” ly needed. The TPP was concluded in cabinet. Obama’s words were carefully cho- the dying days of a “caretaker” govern- sen to reflect the values in the Liberal ment desperate to shake up a falter- platform—good for the Earth, good for ing election campaign. Constitution- the middle class, good for workers— al experts held that this maneuvering but also to counter solid opposition to could only pass muster if a new feder- Obama wants Trudeau to trust the TPP among Democratic support- al government was genuinely able to him on the TPP. ers (from U.S. labour and environmen- reverse Conservatives death-bed com- Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press tal movements) who know better. In truth, the TPP cannot be called progressive in any universe. It is a re- gressive last-century free trade agree- ment that will entrench the market power of the largest investors, export- ers, and patent and copyright holders at the expense of consumers and cit- izens. “Climate change” is not men- tioned once in its 6,000+ pages. The environmental and labour chapters will be almost impossible to enforce. As if there was any doubt who re- ally benefits from the TPP, the United States Trade Representative has brand- ed it a “Made in America” deal. Made, that is, by and for U.S. corporate inter- ests. Even the outgoing Harper gov- 5 Typically, legislation is introduced to private profitmaking. Both of these TPP. The two issues are even related, in the House of Commons that would concerns apply equally to the TPP. given the TPP may include unanticipat- implement a specific trade agreement In the Harper majority years, al- ed new restrictions on what the prov- or investment treaty, followed by a sec- though opposition parties tried their inces and federal government can do ond-reading debate where MPs have best to get critical witnesses before the to meet Canada’s obligations to reduce an opportunity to convince each oth- trade committee, their concerns would carbon emissions, or to help us transi- er that it’s a good or bad deal. The rat- be purged from the official report. In tion off fossil fuels. ifying legislation then heads to trade the end, the record would show near Trudeau would not lose any stature in- committee where witnesses are called unanimous support for a given trade ternationally or domestically by inform- to testify on the specifics of the deal. deal, with high praise from a range of ing TPP partner countries that Canada We have both appeared before parlia- business lobbies. A final third-reading cannot sign or be bound by the agree- mentary committees during this stage vote in Parliament, Senate endorse- ment as negotiated until our domestic to challenge some of the worst aspects ment and royal assent made the deal review is completed, and that public in- of Canada’s recent trade agreements. final for perpetuity. put could result in Canadian demands Things like investor–state dispute set- Can we expect more from the new- for changes. The Malaysian government tlement provisions, which create a ly elected Liberal government? It’s still has suggested ratification is not guar- private court system for investors to hard to tell. We should definitely ask for anteed, and members of the U.S. Con- challenge public policy decisions, or a better review process, especially for gress continue to bicker about wheth- the need to create allowances for pub- an agreement as imposing as the TPP. er it goes far enough or too far in are- lic procurement as a job-creation and So what might that process look like? as like patent protections for biologic development tool for local and provin- An agreement that purports to set drugs. Popular support for the TPP is not cial governments. binding rules for regulating commerce as high at home as the former govern- During hearings into the Canada–EU in the 21st century deserves public ment or business groups probably ex- trade deal, we urged the government hearings across the country. Showing pected. A wrong step on this early test to reject long protections for Big Phar- his commitment to collaborative pol- for the Trudeau regime could be dam- ma and copyright holders that result icy-making, Trudeau invited the prov- aging to the new government.

in higher costs for consumers, and to inces to join him in Paris for this year’s STUART TREW IS THE SENIOR EDITOR OF THE MONITOR. fully exclude public services from the international climate talks. He could FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @STUJT. SCOTT SINCLAIR DIRECTS THE CCPA’S TRADE AND INVESTMENT reach of chapters in CETA designed to equally invite them to help him co-or- RESEARCH PROJECT. force open certain sectors or activities dinate national consultations on the

MARC LEE But as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We have a piece of paper that represents a statement of grand ambition, but it REACTING TO THE PARIS lacks the commitments from countries to make it happen, and is absent the enforcement teeth one would see in, AGREEMENT say, a trade and investment agreement. When it comes to commerce, for ex- ample, one government can challenge another to live up to its trade and in- rom the outset, the Paris climate be we can put a lid on global warming vestment commitments. In many bilat- talks were never about “saving and keep the worst damage at bay. eral and regional trade and investment the planet.” Our spinning hunk Time will tell. agreements, corporations can sue gov- of rock has been around billions The Paris Agreement on climate ernments directly for perceived injustic- of years and will continue to sup- change is historic and an important es. Contrast that with the section in the port diverse life forms long after step forward on this pressing collective Paris Agreement on the dilution of loss Fhumans no longer roam it. The ques- action problem. After 21 years of meet- and damage, which excludes liability tion is whether we have a planet that ings, all countries have now signed on and compensation. Ditto for failure to can support human life over the long and pledged to turn away from fossil fu- include Indigenous rights, since it is In- term, in something close to the style els. There is some hard science baked digenous people around the world who with which we have become accus- in to the agreement that implies (but are on the frontlines of battles against tomed. does not overtly state) decarbonization fossil fuel and mining extraction. The answer is that if countries go or 100% renewables by 2050. There is a Many actors on this stage have a back and deliver on their commitments, ratcheting mechanism whereby coun- stake in claiming victory after Paris. and if they table more ambitious pol- tries must tighten up their commit- Don’t listen to them. The real test will icies in the coming years, then may- ments every five years. be what happens in the financial mar- 6 kets. Will there be a sell-off of fossil fuel EVE-LYNE COUTURIER stocks because the world has now rec- ognized the vast majority of reserves need to stay underground, and that, therefore, the business plans of the BOARDROOM BUDDIES “carbon majors” are inconsistent with new international law? Or will it just be back to business as usual? Another series of tests will be around f I say “economic elite in Quebec,” 13 over some careers, and not limited whether new LNG terminals or bitumen who comes to mind? Media mogul to a single industry. pipelines get approved in 2016. The em- Pierre-Karl Péladeau, more common- Take Robert Chevrier, the most influ- phasis of the (largely voluntary) Paris ly referred to as PKP? The Desmarais ential person in Quebec according to Agreement is on reducing consumption family at the head of Power Corpora- our ranking. He served on the boards of fossil fuels, but many jurisdictions tion? Maybe former Caisse de Dépôt of hardware chains Rona and Riche- have been seeking to push more fossil ICEO Michael Sabia? The names Rob- lieu, tech firm CGI, the Bank of Mon- fuel reserves onto world markets even ert Chevrier, André Bérard or Michel treal, and publishing company Trans- amid low commodity prices. This plays Labonté probably never crossed your continental to name but a few. Even into “all of the above” political commit- mind. That’s perfectly normal: you’ve though these corporations cover very ments—climate action on one hand, never heard of them. different areas, Chevrier has claimed “a and boosting oil and gas production Despite not being household names, bank is a distribution business [much on the other. they are very influential in Quebec. Their like] a supermarket.” While it is heartwarming that leaders work is done in the shadows as board Feeding people? Lending money? Cre- recognized the need for greater ambi- members for listed companies. A new ating journalistic content? It all comes tion in the form of a 1.5-degree target IRIS report, Interconnexions, attempts to down to the same old “business” of dis- for global temperature increases it is trace the contours of a tightly knit net- tribution. The same can be said of the not clear that politicians and negotia- work in which the same people come public sector where directors are cross- tors really get what that entails. Miss- up over and over again. So, who are the ing over more and more from the pri- ing from the agreement is a coherent top board members in Quebec? vate sector, or circulating from one in- carbon budget framework stating the To draw up our ranking, we start- stitution to the other as if a mega-hospi- total amount of carbon we can “safely” ed with the top 30 listed companies tal, Hydro-Québec and a symphonic or- use before exceeding 1.5 degrees Cel- in Quebec. We then found the names chestra were all one and the same thing. sius. Pre-Paris estimates put the com- of all their board members and tried How are people picked to serve on mitments already on the table at be- to figure out how these people were these boards? For starters, it helps to ing more consistent with three or more connected to one another through be part of the network. Afterwards, it degrees. The negotiations themselves various companies and other connec- all depends on the company’s needs. rendered the previous two-degree tar- tions. This allowed us to produce a list Does it wish to make acquisitions? Does get near impossible, so there is no way of 37 individuals who stood out as hav- it need cash or credit? Someone from a we can even contemplate a 1.5-degree ing the most influence. On average, bank could be an important asset. Does target without serious measures to these people currently serve on three it want to expand its market, to be able keep carbon in the ground. listed-company boards as well as three to sell its products to other companies? After two decades of dithering in five- other companies that are not listed. Then it’s best to find new board members star hotels in the capitals of the world, This list leads us to a few conclu- from these other companies to optimize this appears to be the best that our po- sions. First, influential individuals are market integration. Does the company litical leaders are able to do. One won- surprisingly alike. To everyone’s sur- need to lobby the government? A former ders how much worse the agreement prise (or not), they are mostly white senior official or elected official would could have been had the Harper gov- men, aged 65 on average, and include be best suited in that case. ernment still been in power. a high concentration of accountants It’s plain to see: good company man- What happens next will make all the and lawyers. Diversity is hardly a top agement comes down to cultivating the difference. Prime Minister Trudeau priority for this group. right friendships. As the head of the In- committed to meeting with the Their trajectories are also rather sim- stitute on Governance of Private and premiers within 90 days of Paris to ilar. Nearly half of these people have Public Organizations (IGOPP), Michel develop a pan-Canadian plan of ac- held office in the public sector as a Nadeau, himself puts it: “A board is a tion. It will be up to Canadians to en- high-ranking official, member of an ad- group of 15 people who talk straight, who sure our country moves beyond vague visory committee, or elected represent- speak frankly amongst friends, know- commitments toward effective cli- ative. The revolving-door phenomenon ing that they will be making decisions.” mate policies. can also be observed when examining EVE-LYNE COUTURIER IS A RESEARCHER WITH L’INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE ET D’INFORMATIONS SOCIO- MARC LEE IS A SENIOR ECONOMIST WITH THE CCPA-BC. the other companies to which these in- ÉCONOMIQUES (IRIS), A PARTNER ORGANIZATION FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @MARCLEECCPA. dividuals are connected—as many as OF THE CCPA IN QUEBEC, AND SITS ON THE CCPA’S MEMBERS COUNCIL.

7 New from immediately upon arrival in Stronger Together: students who went to Canada, as is already done Nova Scotia APB six countries in a search in Ontario; and registering for promising practices the CCPA he Nova Scotia migrant employers and in long-term residential office of the CCPA recruiters, as in Manitoba, care for the elderly. Treleased its 2016 so they can be held It presents concrete Alternative Provincial accountable if they violate examples of how long-term Budget, called Stronger workers’ rights. care might be organized Together, on December 7 and undertaken in ways during provincial budget that respect the needs consultations—to make A new CCPA podcast of residents, families, sure the public had access workers and managers, The CCPA has a podcast! to better information based on statistical data Davis Carr and Alex about the consequences Change B.C. labour laws that confirms Canada Hemingway conceived, of government budgetary for farm workers can afford better, more produced and co-host decisions, and the full responsive long-term care. ased on interviews with the 20-minute program range of choices possible. Promising Practices in 200 farm workers, as they’re calling alt.policy, “It is no longer tolerable for Long-Term Care is available Bwell as representatives which is available from the our government to make for free download at www. from industry, advocates Multimedia & Interactive decisions as if economic policyalternatives.ca. and civil servants, a new section of the CCPA prosperity, social justice study from the CCPA-BC website or by subscribing and environmental finds that most British to the podcast in iTunes protection cannot coexist,” Finding Canada’s Columbia farm workers says Christine Saulnier, energy brokers are subject to hazardous director of the CCPA-Nova conditions including Scotia and co-ordinator ho is behind the unsafe transportation, of the provincial APB, wheel of fossil substandard living now in its 15th year. “This Wfuel extraction in conditions, long work alternative budget shows Western Canada and what hours and dangerous how the province can influence do they wield? equipment, while get ahead of the wave by These are the central employment standards building a carbon price into questions driving a six- for the agricultural its priorities,” adds AFB year research and public sector are only loosely working group member engagement initiative, enforced. Citizenship Kate Ervine, a professor Mapping the Power of and Precarious Labour in at Saint Mary’s University, the Carbon-Extractive Canadian Agriculture, by (search alt.policy). In each since this would “provide Corporate Resource Gerardo Otero of Simon episode, the co-hosts additional income support Sector, funded by a Fraser University and Kerry demystify the big policy for lower-income Nova $2.5 million partnership Preibisch at the University questions of the day, and Scotians that more than grant awarded by the of Guelph, makes several share their interviews offsets the potential cost.” Social Sciences and recommendations for and discussion with the Humanities Research improving working CCPA’s intrepid research Council of Canada. The conditions, including by: team. Episode 1 features Lessons on initiative, which is led by granting immigrant status an interview with CCPA long-term care the University of Victoria, to farm workers on arrival Economist Marc Lee the CCPA’s B.C. and n December 1, the (workers would then have about the Paris climate Saskatchewan offices, and CCPA released a short a path to citizenship after talks, while Carr shares the Parkland Institute at Obook on long-term care three years if they choose her thoughts on the the University of Alberta, in Canada edited by Donna to apply); establishing an “nannygate” scandal. Have was announced in mid- Baines of the University of employment compliance questions for our policy November. Sydney and Pat Armstrong team whose mandate experts you’d like answered of York University in would include random on alt.policy? Send a Toronto. Promising spot-checks at worksites message to podcast@ Practices in Long-Term to enforce employment policyalternatives.ca. Care: Ideas Worth Sharing standards; reforming B.C.’s reports on the findings For more reports, commentary Medical Services Plan so of an international team and infographics from the CCPA’s that agricultural workers of 26 researchers and national and provincial offices, visit receive health coverage more than 50 graduate www.policyalternatives.ca. 8 ELECTION REDUX: MAKING SENSE OF THE NEW POLITICAL MOMENT

Erika Shaker The giddiness continued into Decem- They’re not naïve. Many of them went ber: the mandatory long-form census through the earlier rounds of auster- would be reinstituted; the words “cli- ity under the Chrétien-Martin Liber- Avoiding the mate change” were added to the envi- als, and they’re fully aware that this ronment minister’s title; a First Nations is a temporary state of euphoria. But trap of high woman was appointed federal justice they’re also realizing how deeply they minister; nice things are being said to a had internalized a negative sense of shell-shocked public service; the Cana- self-worth and, more disturbingly, how hopes and low dian Labour Congress was addressed so much of this happened without our by a sitting PM for the first time since realizing it, or even with our tacit ac- standards Diefenbaker; the National Press Thea- ceptance. We were the proverbial frogs tre was opened up and aired-out for a in boiling water. press conference; government scien- This is the space the new Liberal gov- tists are talking about their research N OCTOBER 19, after the longest cam- ernment inhabits—the space between to the media. And of course there are paign in recent history, the Lib- extremely high hopes for what a new the selfies, selfies and more selfies. O erals under Justin Trudeau were administration can bring and exceed- elected to a majority government in “Canada is back!” announced Justin ingly low standards that were forcibly a crimson haze of Trudeaumania 2.0, to the world. But are we? And back to downgraded over the past nine years. Jack-Layton-esque hope/change/opti- what, exactly? It’s a dangerous combination, mak- mism branding, and anti-Harper senti- ing basic civility and common courte- Don’t get me wrong. I think another ment (or, perhaps more accurately, fear sy look groundbreaking when what we four years of Conservative government of what a re-elected Conservative gov- truly need are groundbreaking new pol- would have been devastating to what ernment would mean). Lifelong Liber- icies for new challenges. remained of our political and social in- als, self-defined progressives, and first- frastructure. But I also think it’s a mis- We are emerging from what’s been re- time voters threw their support behind take for progressives, or anyone reel- ferred to as a “lost decade.” But it’s a the party with the greatest momentum ing from the reduction of the NDP to mistake to think that merely “undo- and who most unapologetically trum- third-party status, to condemn or belit- ing the damage” of the Harper Con- peted the message “we’re the oppo- tle those who are experiencing a sense servatives is all that’s required to re- site of Harper.” of relief or warm familiarity. turn Canada to its honourable repu- Two weeks later, Canadians were treat- tation, assuming such a thing ever re- For the foreseeable future, the Liber- ed to the master-crafted swearing-in of ally existed. Because let’s be honest: al government has at its disposal a the gender-balanced cabinet and new, 10 years ago, we were already disap- deep well of desire on the part of Ca- youthful, highly photogenic prime min- pointing, coasting on the fumes of a nadians to feel better (let alone good) ister against a backdrop of a perfect, romanticized and whitewashed Pear- about this country after nearly a dec- blue-skied autumn day. Within hours, sonian/Trudeau Sr.-esque vision of a ade of just feeling embarrassed, if not promises were being made about a new country that had by then been com- depressed. As a friend in the public ser- “tone” for government. Justin Trudeau pletely transformed by neoliberalism. vice explained, “We don’t expect this practically body-surfed into crowds of By 2015, however, we had become em- to be perfect, and of course it’s not go- onlookers, and journalists marvelled barrassing to boot. ing to last forever. But it feels so good at their proximity to a real-life PM af- to just not feel so bad about ourselves We are certainly dealing with the fall- ter years of being kept at a safe dis- and the work we do.” out of a decade-long concerted and tance from his hermetically sealed unapologetic attack on Charter rights, predecessor. I’ve talked to a number of public serv- equality, people living in poverty, racial- ants who have echoed that sentiment. 9 ized people and First Nations, women, act on our own behalf and in solidari- ulative uses of fear represent a form of the environment, science and data, food ty with others. political opportunism: a politics of fear security, basic safety regulations, the can only stand a chance if it is deployed This is partly why relief was palpable public service and our social programs. on a social order that has already been across the country in October when But as our 42nd Parliament gets start- rendered amenable to it. the “politics of fear” appeared to suf- ed, let’s not pretend the decade prior to fer a major blow at the polls. Leading The last decades of neoliberal econom- this one—replete with tax cuts, slashed up to the federal election, the Con- ic restructuring have arguably ushered spending and the loosening of funding servative government had engaged into Canada a social order that is highly requirements—did not have much the in toxic efforts to designate Muslims, susceptible to a politics of fear. Drastic same effect. socialists, environmentalists, union- cuts to social assistance, health care, The stakes are so much higher now— ists, Indigenous land defenders, po- education, housing, public broadcast- locally, nationally, and globally. Let’s litical nonconformists, the poor, refu- ing and social services have made more hope we don’t truly think that a re- gees and others as threats to securi- and more people increasingly vulnera- turn to our pre-Harper state of disap- ty and prosperity. During the long fall ble to the vagaries of life. At the same pointment is anywhere near enough. campaign, party strategists hoped the time, there has been a powerful pull to- Let’s hope that the rhetoric (or thea- same messaging would distract, cow ward an increasingly authoritarian, pu- tre) of change isn’t seen as a conven- and marginalize opposition, thus as- nitive politics of law and order, which ient, feel-good substitute for the meas- suring another majority Conservative has caused a sharp uptick in prison ureable, targeted, enforceable actions government in Ottawa. populations and the number of peo- required to address the inconvenient ple entangled in the criminal justice The turn to a politics of fear was not truths of our time. system, as legal aid programs are sub- original or surprising. Recall the chilling jected to drastic budget cuts. Let’s hope—no, let’s prove that our effects of George W. Bush’s bellicose standards haven’t fallen that far. threat, “You are either with us or you In short, the Canadian state’s pursuit are with the terrorists,” issued imme- of neoliberal dogma has created a sit- diately after the 2001 attacks on New uation where aspirations to social se- York City and Washington, D.C. Coin- curity are eclipsed by ever-more pu- ciding as it did with the peak of the nitive notions of security—a process global justice movement, 9/11 provid- that has been described as a transi- ed the Bush administration the perfect tion from the welfare state to a penal pretext to demonize any sort of oppo- or even warfare state. Nearly 100,000 sition to its neoconservative program migrants to Canada were jailed with- of free trade and war. Many people un- out charge between 2006 and 2014, a derstandably became reluctant to par- period that also saw a significant in- Fiona Jeffries ticipate in protests for fear of being tar- crease in the use by Canadian employ- geted by sweeping new anti-terror laws. ers of temporary migrant workers with Several marches and political events far fewer rights than citizens or perma- It will take were called off by organizers. nent residents. General Augusto Pinochet’s dictator- At the level of the individual, the ef- more than ship in Chile provides another infa- fect of all these changes is experi- mous example of the deployment of enced as a spike in depression, anx- political fear in an effort to hold onto iety and the incidence of suicide. Re- one election power. After violently overthrowing a searchers studying­ the psychosocial democratically elected government effects of austerity have found dramat- to defeat the in 1973, Pinochet’s U.S.-backed regime ic increases in physical and social suf- engaged in widespread scapegoating fering everywhere neoliberal structur- and violent persecution of dissent, un- al adjustment is applied. Making mat- politics of fear dermining any opposition to its brutal ters worse, the endless celebration rule and weaving panic deep into the of acquisitive individualism, competi- fabric of everyday life. This strategy of tion and meritocratic success means HERE IS AN old French aphorism that fear helped Pinochet stay in power for not only that people experience some- continues to resonate in our time: 16 years and turn Chile into the world’s times radically diminished material se- T “Fear is the deadliest assassin; it first laboratory for neoliberalism. curity, but also that they are made to does not kill but it keeps you from liv- feel singularly responsible for their sit- These and countless other examples il- ing.” Pervasive fear corrodes our most uation and their fate. lustrate how those in power can some- precious capacities—our sociality, our times successfully use fear as a tool to We know how dangerous fear is. It caus- ability to think, and our disposition to obtain support or at least passive con- es people to turn inward, and ignites sent from the public. But such manip- irrational passions like xenophobia 10 and the endless designation of new “Ultimately,” she said, “the power of [an- enemies. Such negative emotions are Fear induces feelings of ti-fascist] movements allowed people recognizable in the burning down of in them to overcome their fear of be- mosques, or amplified calls for closed isolation, helplessness ing part of a struggle. They formed a borders and preventative detention in and vulnerability collective identity, a history that went the aftermath of terror attacks. beyond them. This meant that the al- ways-looming possibility of their de- During times of economic precarious- to forces that are struction was not devastating or para- ness, we recognize a similar pattern in manifestly outside our lyzing in the sense that one may think the impulse to dispense love and care it would be.” in exclusively privatized and thus po- personal control. litically corrosive ways. Making fear What enables people to carry on de- pervasive induces feelings of isola- spite their fear, according to Federici, tion, helplessness and vulnerability is the political act of building up so- to forces that are manifestly outside cial relationships and dense solidari- our personal control. For these rea- ties. And perhaps one of the reasons sons, it is important to pay attention North American publics are so vulner- to people’s concerted efforts to resist able to political fear is that we have not such politics. taken that alternative project as seri- ously as we should. It was heartening to see the many as- sertive and often hilarious critiques of The political organizing that led to the Conservative fear mongering during rejection of four more years of Harper this past electoral campaign. Grass- dia attention and public debate about government was a good start. But we roots responses to the government’s what the disciplinary action might say should keep in mind that the decisive regressively opportunistic “Barbaric about the Conservative government’s turn to neoliberalism in Canada came Practices Tip Line,” for example, were strangulation of free speech and dis- at the hands of a previous Liberal gov- politically astute and brave. Critics sent. Turner’s case resonated because ernment elected on a platform of state urged people to call the phone line and people could see in it a disturbing pat- intervention toward job creation and condemn the dangerous effects of the tern of intimidation within the public poverty reduction. government’s neoliberal policies and sector emanating from the Prime Min- Reneging on campaign promises, for- its disregard for the fate of Indigenous ister’s Office. mer prime minister Jean Chrétien and women in Canada. The line was flood- Symbolic acts of resistance like the his finance minister, Paul Martin, bent ed with reports of the barbaric “cultur- “Harperman” performance and the de- to Bay Street pressure by granting mas- al practices” of policy-makers that fa- tournement of the “Barbaric Practices sive tax cuts while retaining the regres- cilitated rising homelessness, endem- Tip Line” are examples of vital efforts to sive GST, introducing drastic reforms ic violence against women, ecological resist harmful political manipulation of to the unemployment insurance sys- destruction and mounting inequality. our democratic process. But the Harp- tem, and slashing government spend- The suspension of federal government er government’s ability to stay in power ing for federal programs and transfer scientist Tony Turner for his anti–Harp- for almost 10 years shows that resist- payments to the provinces for health er government folk song “Harperman” ance needs to focus not only on those care, education and social assistance. brought the more subtle and insidious deploying such strategies, but also on It was these policies that created the effects of the politics of fear into sharp the material conditions that enable po- context in which a politics of fear could relief. Turner posted a performance of litical fear to flourish. be so brazenly deployed. “Harperman” to YouTube in the sum- When I interviewed the feminist polit- Supporting the organizing efforts of mer of 2015. It went viral as the elec- ical philosopher Silvia Federici for my marginalized communities and those tion campaign heated up, drawing gov- book, Nothing to Lose but Our Fear, bearing the biggest brunt of austerity, ernment backlash (and large numbers she talked about growing up in Italy defending workers’ rights, creating ef- of fans) for lyrics like “the smarmy smile during the Second World War in a re- fective means to voice opposition to is a thin veneer/ for who preaches the gion known for its concentrated resist- regressive policies, resisting militariza- politics of fear.” Eventually, Turner was ance to the fascist movement and Be- tion and repression, and building long- suspended for allegedly breeching the nito Mussolini’s dictatorship. Federici term networks of solidarity and mu- government’s values and ethics code told me how she learned about the im- tual aid should become urgent priori- for public servants. portance of creating a collective pol- ties under a new Liberal government. Being a few months away from retire- itics of resistance to fear, one that is It is the one necessary ingredient for ment, Turner opted to leave his job at built around networks of mutual sup- opposing the reproduction of a social Environment Canada early rather than port and a sense that a life of struggle order that turns fear into an effective wait out the investigation into his sus- against fascism was a collective effort tool of domination. pension. But the case sparked me- that transcended the individual. 11 In the end, the Conservative base re- this version of events, as a break from mained loyal, comfortable in its con- the economic orthodoxy of the other viction only one party is really interest- parties. I’m not so sure. ed in protecting Canada and Canadi- Trudeau’s promise to spend the Cana- ans. But the vagaries of the first-past- dian economy into shape was popu- the-post system were always going to lar, but he was careful not to propose condemn the Conservatives to minor- a bigger or more activist government. ity status at best. By mid-campaign, Contrary to how it was framed in the it became apparent the anti-Harper media, this was not an attempt to out- vote was firm. Richard Nimijean flank Mulcair on the left. For years, On election day, enough new voters many mainstream economists have came out to dislodge the Conserva- been urging governments toward defi- Electoral tives—voters who rejected the divi- cit-backed stimulus spending. And the sive and mean-spirited thrust of Harp- NDP offered arguably the more pro- er’s campaign and governing style. So gressive platform on daycare and a reform will why did the Liberals—and not the NDP, number of other issues. who were leading in the polls for some It was more the case that the NDP, by time—benefit from this surge? test Trudeau’s playing the “credible economic manag- The campaign slogans of the Liberals ers” card to combat the usual attacks leadership, and (“Real Change”) and the NDP (“Ready that they were tax-and-spend-social- for Change”) both identified the de- ists, only fed a new media narrative that sire of a majority of Canadians for a equated balanced budgets with auster- his values new government. The proliferation of ity economics, which in turn contribut- strategic voting websites and discus- ed to Mulcair losing the change vote. sions on social media about the fear The vision associated with Trudeau was N THE MAY-JUNE 2015 issue of the Mon- of splitting the vote showed how se- where many voters wanted Canada to itor I argued that because the three rious people were in this conviction: be: more socially liberal with a mildly I major parties were so similar on eco- if they had to compromise on a candi- activist government. nomic issues, values politics would date, they did not want their change Another explanation of what happened be a key factor in deciding the out- vote to be for naught. to the NDP focused on Mulcair’s strong come of the federal election. I predict- Clearly, the Liberals profited from position in support of a woman’s right ed the main question would be wheth- their energetic and (let’s be honest) to wear the niqab during citizenship er “Harper’s campaign of fear, flag-wav- young leader. Unlike the other guys, ceremonies when the province his ing and defending Canadian interests Trudeau seemed to enjoy campaign- party swept in 2011 (Quebec) seemed and values” would win out over the ing; he connected better with voters, to hold the opposite view. Here, again, mainstream or pragmatic policies of and appeared to embody the progres- I’m not convinced. the NDP and Liberals. sive platform the Liberals were selling. As a Québécois, I’ve never felt the NDP And so it was. Conservative actions and This, combined with a clear vision of had deep roots in the province. Let’s the election results speak for them- Canadianism (“A Canadian is a Cana- not forget that Quebec has a long his- selves. Their inability to rise in the polls dian is a Canadian”), secured the val- tory of switching parties suddenly and despite an extended campaign—from ues debate for Trudeau. in droves: Diefenbaker in ‘58, Mulroney all accounts designed to drain oppo- So why did the NDP drop so suddenly in ‘84, Bouchard in ‘93, and Layton in sition bank accounts—distracted the in the polls? One media narrative sug- ‘11. As for the niqab, it might have stim- party’s messaging away from supposed gested a key to Trudeau’s victory was ulated Conservative voters, and the strong points: prime ministerial lead- a public rejection of the austerity pol- Bloc played it up in disturbing ways, ership, the economy and security. A icies inherent in NDP and Conserva- but Trudeau was as clear as Mulcair lengthy campaign also risked destabi- tive vows to balance the budget. Me- on the issue, notably in his March 2015 lization by unforeseen “events.” For ex- dia questioning of the NDP econom- speech on liberty to the McGill Insti- ample, when the Canadian public burst ic platform intensified: how could a tute for the Study of Canada. with compassion for three-year-old ref- party that promised to balance the ugee Alan Kurdi, found dead on a Turk- I think many Québécois voters were books afford an expansive program? ish beach, the Conservative campaign looking for a winner to defeat Harp- Meanwhile, Trudeau’s mid-campaign responded with bilious talk of banning er; issues of policy, whether econom- promise that a Liberal government the niqab and opening snitch lines for ic or security-related (e.g., the C-51 an- would incur a series of deficits to pay “barbaric” cultural practices. It was at ti-terrorism legislation), were second- for strategic investments, announced that point we knew the election was ary. As Greg Lyle argued on TVO’s The when the NDP doubled down on its up for grabs. Agenda, the NDP’s support was drop- balanced-budget pledge, was seen, in 12 ping in the province before the niqab al plan made sense economically and For the NDP, it is not enough to claim became such a political hot potato. If socially. So while Trudeau couldn’t beat to be progressive. The party needs to that support moved to the Liberals and Harper on perceptions of being a good square its genuine belief in a more pro- not the Bloc it was because of the ap- economic manager, Martin could—an gressive society with the economics re- parent Liberal concern with real eco- asset the Liberals used to their full ad- quired to get Canada there. Values mat- nomic change, suggested the pollster. vantage. ter to voters, but these too emerge from policy, which are a reflection of ideol- Others polls point to this being a coun- However, remember that less than two ogy. Mulcair discovered this the hard trywide feeling. EKOS asked Canadi- years after the 1993 election we were way. The party’s debate over campaign ans between October 8 and 12 what hearing about debt walls and New Zea- strategy and the way forward will de- the most important factor was in de- land, with the Wall Street Journal re- termine if the NDP can again become ciding their vote: 47% said they would ferring to Canada as an “an honorary a major force in federal politics. vote for the party that reflected their member of the Third World.” This led values; 63% valued an active govern- to the full-blown implementation of Trudeau, on the other hand, needs to ment. “It was pretty clear that the val- a neoliberal agenda and some of the learn from Obama’s mistakes. To be fair, ues vision that Justin Trudeau and the harshest austerity budgets we have a Canadian prime minister can move Liberals were offering up, backed up ever seen. Despite a much different things forward more easily than the U.S. with an accounting framework that economic situation, with much low- president. But Obama lost much of his says we actually are going to find the er levels of national debt, is it too ex- base by not even signalling that key is- money to do this, is what won this elec- treme or too soon to predict that some- sues, climate change high among them, tion for them,” said EKOS President thing similar could take place under a were important to him. Only now, late Frank Graves in November. Trudeau majority? into his second and last term, has the president become more aggressive and So in the end, the two change slogans The backtracking has already started. progressive. Trudeau will have to decide were not simply twists on words: they In its first month in power, the Liberals how much of a progressive he wants to signalled to Canadians how the par- lowered expectations about Canada’s be—in his policy choices and how he ties read the mood of the electorate. climate change targets and then large- communicates them. The NDP wanted to present an image ly adopted the Harper government’s of a competent government that was strategy of fronting provincial efforts to As for the Conservatives, while many progressive. The Liberals gambled that lower emissions, while improving Cana- sympathizers have suggested the par- Canadians wanted something more da’s reputation, during the Paris climate ty’s message was right but the tone than a nice version of the Harper gov- talks. On November 20, Finance Minis- was not, others criticized the Harp- ernment. With their new majority, the ter Bill Morneau announced he’d looked er government for its preoccupation question now becomes how commit- at the books and—surprise, surprise— with strategy and hyper-partisanship ted the Liberals actually are to “real there is less money available than the over advancing a small-c conservative change.” previous gang let on. agenda. It was always going to be a fine line for the Conservatives, since mov- On election night, several observers Following the election, Rabble.ca col- ing too far in either direction—too fo- said Justin Trudeau’s victory, and all umnist Duncan Cameron cogently ar- cused on winning, too conservative— the talk of “sunny ways,” reminded them gued the Liberals are as committed to could put an end to the dream of re- of father Pierre’s comeback victory in balancing the budget and restricted placing the Liberals as Canada’s dom- the 1980 election. To me it looked more borrowing as the parties they beat at inant political party. like 1993, when centrists and the cen- the polls, meaning “the Trudeau gov- tre-left felt a similar euphoria at hav- ernment has adopted a conservative In fact, in the current electoral system, ing wiped the Progressive Conserva- vision that limits, voluntarily, the abil- there is little incentive for any party to tives off the electoral map. Things will ity of government to help out, when adopt a more ideological position. How be better, a friend told me back then. what is needed is bold policies that Trudeau handles electoral reform— Justin Trudeau’s “sunny ways” was an create good jobs.” he stated this would be the last elec- updated version of Jean Chrétien’s tion held under the first-past-the-post This should all be a reminder that eco- “Vive le Canada.” system—will therefore be key. Will he nomic ideology matters; it still informs use majority government to advance There are other interesting parallels: what governments do. But in our era of his preferred option of a ranked-ballot Chrétien said he’d cancel the “Cadillac branded politics, the communication system? (According to University of helicopters,” Trudeau won’t buy F-35s. of what that ideology means is just as Calgary political scientist Paul Fairie, Both promised strategic investment critical. For the Liberals, a successful this would have produced an even larg- in infrastructure to address structur- campaign based on “real change” will er Liberal majority in October.) Or will al weakness in the economy and fight lead to disillusionment if their poli- Trudeau compromise and go with the stagnation. In 1993, the Liberal “red cies ultimately reflect the neoliberal NDP’s preference for proportional rep- book” laid out a vision of a more pro- status quo. resentation? gressive Canada. In 2015, Paul Martin Jr. reassured Canadians the new Liber- 13 Canada needs a new way to vote, an “legalize” or “decriminalize.” Running ing 40 grams per month, must register added benefit of which would be to put as a candidate for the Marijuana Party, with a health ministry database. In or- an end to punditry’s calls for a united as I did again in 2015 in Ottawa Centre, der to undercut organized crime, the left (preceded, as these were, by calls to seemed a moot point to others. During price of marijuana is kept at the equiv- unite the right). Such calls are byprod- the campaign the only question people alent of $1 per gram. ucts of an electoral system that favours had for me was “Why run at all?” On February 6, 2015, the 70th anniver- concentrated vote-targeting and the di- Marijuana prohibition is the political sary of the birth of Nesta Robert Mar- lution of coherent ideological stands. football in that much-loved Peanuts ley, Jamaica decriminalized ganja. Pos- Under either of the electoral systems sketch. Charlie Brown is at the ready, session of 56 grams (two ounces) can on the table, it is reasonable to assume with Justin Trudeau teeing up his life result in a fine of $5, but no arrest or clear ideological positions geared to at- affirming kick. The ball has been pulled criminal record. Citizens may grow five tracting supporters will become more away before by prime ministers John plants at home, and adult Rastafarians important in future elections than stra- Turner, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin. may use ganja for sacramental purpos- tegic considerations played out over Stephen Harper brought in mandato- es for the first time in history. Foreign- hundreds of ridings. ry minimums at the criminal end, and ers that have a prescription or licence Just as with economic ideology and tried to sabotage Health Canada’s li- for medicinal marijuana will be able to how it is communicated, Trudeau’s de- censing system at the medicinal end. get a permit that allows them to pur- cision on electoral reform will speak The Harper regime was out of step with chase two ounces of local medicinal volumes about what type of leader he what is going on in the rest of the world. marijuana to be used during their stay. really is and wants to be. Although the infrastructure and poli- In 2001, Portugal decriminalized her- cies in Jamaica are unclear, there is a oin, cocaine and cannabis. It remains Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal a crime to profit from the sale or dis- Task Force hammering out the details. tribution of illegal drugs, but the user was not criminalized for possession. If And of course there is the United States a person is found with less than a 10- of America. Already 17 states have me- day supply, they must meet a three-per- dicinal marijuana. Oregon, Alaska, son Commission for the Dissuasion Washington, D.C. and Colorado have of Drug Addiction, usually made up of all embraced recreational marijuana a lawyer, a doctor and a social work- at the state level. Let’s thank Wash- er. The commission will recommend ington first. John Akpata treatment, a minor fine or, as in most In 2013, D.C. police arrested 1,215 peo- cases, no penalty at all. ple for marijuana possession, more There are just In 1990, 1% of the Portuguese popula- than 90% of them black even though tion was addicted to heroin. Portugal Blacks use marijuana at the same rate now has the lowest addiction rate of as anybody else. It became a civil rights and unjust ways illegal drugs in all of Europe. After 14 issue, with activists pushing for de- decriminalized years, overall rates of criminalization in July of 2014 before to legalize drug use, drug addiction, drug over- switching their demands to legaliza- dose, HIV and accidental death have tion. In 2014, D.C. Police arrested sev- all gone down. Following Portugal’s en people for drug possession. marijuana lead, the governments of Spain and Colorado followed this example and ful- Italy have also decriminalized. Copen- ly embraced recreational marijuana. In hagen’s city government announced in 2014, Colorado, a state with a popula- ECAUSE IT’S 2015.” The definitive 2014 the beginning of a three-year pi- tion of just under 5.5 million, collected mic-drop political punctuation. lot project to test whether municipal- US$44 million in tax revenue from mari- So easy to execute when per- ities could take over the growing and “B juana. As of 2015, Colorado brings in fectly placed. I have finished speak- distribution of cannabis. In 2015, Ire- roughly US$10 million per month from ing, and no one else shall speak after land also announced it would decrim- a marijuana tax—more than comes in me. The new “Just Watch Me.” I love it. inalize based on the Portugal model. from alcohol sales. For the past two years, in my political In December of 2013, Uruguay became Canada’s illegal marijuana industry has world, marijuana activists have en- the first country to legalize marijuana. been valued at over $7 billion annual- dorsed Justin Trudeau as the way to Citizens there are allowed to grow six ly, with some estimating $21 billion. legalize marijuana in Canada. Vote Lib- plants at home, and can participate in Twenty per cent of Canadians admit eral, no matter what, and they are going private grow clubs if they want to grow they have used marijuana in the past to legalize. That was the message, loud more. All sales must go through gov- year; more than 30% say they would and clear. Only the Conservatives were ernment-run dispensaries, while con- use it if legalized. Police in Canada re- against marijuana. All other parties said sumers, who are restricted to purchas- 14 port a marijuana possession incident ational market of $2 billion is waiting. for growers, and compassion clubs to every nine minutes in 2014—a 30% in- Legalize. Make it rain. But do it right. augment the medicinal system. crease since Stephen Harper came to After the election, building on my ques- I believe marijuana prohibition to be power in 2006. tion at the Carleton debate, I updated a racist, “old stock,” biased and preju- The war on drugs has been an abject my Facebook status with six points I be- diced war on non-violent people, target- failure. It has cost human lives, millions lieve must be part of any legislation or ing and most adversely affecting peo- of hours of police and court time, mil- policy to legalize marijuana. They were: ple of low income. I do not know how lions of years of jail and prison time, and to write policy or legislation for interna- 1. First Nations people shall not be in- billions of tax dollars. There is no reef- tional, TSX-listed corporations so they terfered with by any police force or gov- er madness, only organized systems can operate their multi-million-dollar ernment agent in their nations or with- of violence and oppression—some of grow operations and grow their stock. in their territory; it criminal, some government-based— And it seems problematic to me that to prevent people from using plants. 2. Police must immediately cease and businessmen among Canada’s 1% will desist all actions, including fines, fees, be the ones to profit from growing, cul- There are now dozens of models of le- penalties and charges, against mari- tivating and selling marijuana for profit, galization and decriminalization we juana growers and users of marijuana; while hundreds of people that I have could follow. They would all reduce met, and who voted for me in this and harm and be incredibly lucrative, not 3. Any person in prison or under house past elections, have had their lives ru- just as tax revenue, but by encourag- arrest for a marijuana-related offence ined by the same system. ing an industry of recreational and must be released immediately, and they tourist marijuana that would put even must be compensated; To decriminalize usually means leaving more money into the economy. Justin the end user alone and going after the 4. All criminal records for marijuana-re- Trudeau’s mandate letter to Jody Wil- importer, manufacturer or distributor. lated offences must be expunged im- son-Raybould directed Canada’s new To legalize usually means creating a mediately; justice minister and attorney general system that is regulated for health and to “create a federal-provincial-territo- 5. Any and all cases currently before the safety standards, and taxed. But legal- rial process that will lead to the legal- court for cultivation or possession will izing also means tough restrictions on ization and regulation of marijuana,” be dismissed immediately; and anybody that does not follow the policy. just as his party platform had promised. 6. No Canadian citizen will be treat- Canada is a marijuana exporting coun- “So why run?” asked a group of Carle- ed with any less consideration than try and has some of the highest rates ton University students during a candi- Justin Trudeau himself, who was not of consumption of marijuana on earth. dates debate. Though I was not invited fired or forced to resign, not charged, It is possible to have a system that ac- to join the panel, which included Can- arrested or subject to a raid, did not commodates the ethical growing of ada’s future environment minister, the have his children taken away, kept his marijuana and empowers the citizen moderators permitted me to ask one passport and was allowed to travel to to be able to use this plant to the full- question from the floor. the U.S. and back despite admitting he est potential. Medicinal, yes. Recrea- had smoked marijuana recreationally. tional, of course. And don’t forget in- “In order to legalize or decriminalize, dustrial: using hemp for fuel, textiles are you prepared to let people out of On writing this article, I realized this and construction could help rejuve- jail, expunge their criminal record, end list was missing one item, which shall nate or replace Canada’s weakening all police action for marijuana, end all be the capstone: forestry industry. court action against marijuana, and 7. Home cultivation of plants for per- when all is said and done, how many As a political candidate since 2004, I sonal, medicinal and recreational use plants can I grow?” I asked. have had many meetings with Elec- must be included in the new legisla- tions Canada officials prior to and -af There were cheers, laughter and ap- tion. This would include private clubs ter the election as part of an adviso- plause, but also shock from the pan- ry committee. We fight, we bicker, we el. No candidate had ever been asked argue, we compare notes. At the last that before. It doesn’t matter what their one there was much less hostility. Many answers were. The policy has yet to told me marijuana activists should de- be written. clare victory. When I raised my vision The day after the election, medicinal Canada is a marijuana for a just legalization, one that would marijuana companies did well on the not let the corporate players crowd TSX. Canopy Growth Corp. (Tweed Mari- exporting country and everyone else, one committee mem- juana) saw stocks increase 9%, Met- ber suggested I make an appointment trum’s jumped 8%, and Aphria Inc. add- has some of the highest with the prime minister himself, to sit ed 5% to the value of its stock. The me- rates of consumption of down, break bread, have a real tête-à- dicinal marijuana industry is estimated tête. “Don’t take no for an answer” they to reach $100 million annually; a recre- marijuana on earth. said. “Because it’s 2015.” 15 In the News Gerardo Otero and Efe Can Gürcan The Arab Spring and the Syrian refugee crisis

HE SYRIAN REFUGEE crisis was one zation and the extent of meddling widespread anger about the perceived of the most heated debates in by Western powers. Islamization of society embedded in 2015 with no sign of cooling In Egypt the most mobilized sectors proposed constitutional reforms. The down in the new year. In Par- of civil society were not the best or- new government soon faced more is, the November attacks, which ganized. The Muslim Brotherhood, a protests attended by millions. killed more than 100 people, latecomer to the protests, effectively Eventually, the Muslim Brother- Ttriggered an official state of emer- capitalized on the mass gatherings in hood experience ended in tragedy gency; in the north of France, refu- Cairo’s Tahrir Square that would ul- as the military decided to forcibly re- gee camps were burned in retalia- timately topple Hosni Mubarak. The move Morsi less than a year after his tion. These events have produced a Egyptian military, a very strong in- election as president. With consider- worldwide escalation in responses to stitution with deep-seated econom- able popular support, the July 2013 the Syrian civil war, with myriad per- ic interests, played an important role. coup d’état restored military rule to spectives on how to handle the con- Mubarak became a sacrificial lamb in Egypt, and with more authoritarian tinued exodus of refugees to Europe lieu of pacification. undertones than even during Mubar- and elsewhere. The negotiated transition to elec- ak’s time. The new regime’s geopoliti- It is essential to understand that toral democracy was a triumph not cal strategy has put it somewhere be- the Syrian crisis is not only about for the mobilized liberal and social- tween Russia and the United States on Syria, and that the Syria-related con- ist elements of Egypt’s Arab Spring, foreign policy questions. Despite its flicts are not reducible to mere reli- but—at least at first—for the Muslim friendly relationship with the former, gious conflicts and humanitarian con- Brotherhood, whose candidate was Egypt’s military involvement next to cerns. We are observing a violent con- elected president. Mohamed Morsi’s Saudi Arabia in Yemen would certain- test for state power that has resulted new government faced serious eco- ly contribute to the further destabi- in grave human tragedy. Ultimately, nomic adversity, which added fuel to lization of the region. Canada’s position on this crisis will Libya’s Arab Spring was very dif- be viable only if we can accommodate ferent from both the Tunisian and the recent history of the Arab Spring Egyptian experiences after the first and its sequels, and accept that West- social mobilizations. For one thing, ern intervention is a major cause of there were no significant groups or- current troubles more than a path to ganized in urban centres that could de-escalation. sustain mass gatherings, and much of The Arab Spring was initially a the country’s sparse rural population hopeful phenomenon of social mo- is structured along tribal lines. When bilization against authoritarian re- The Harper government elements from Moammar Gadhafi’s gimes in a number of North African army presumably joined the protests, and Middle Eastern countries. In De- was oddly concerned it became an excuse for his regime cember 2010, Tunisian working class to respond with violent repression. and civic organizations massed after with whether the Western powers became heavily the self-immolation of a street ven- Syrian refugees involved at this point, imposing and dor who had been repressed by po- enforcing a no-fly zone and other- lice forces. Social mobilization was headed to Canada wise providing military support that so vigorous and united in its aims would ultimately result in the killing that the president was forced to re- owned a business of Gadhafi. (Many Western-backed sign after three weeks. Inspired by mercenaries in Libya would eventu- this success, similar mobilizations be- prior to fleeing— ally move on to the Syria campaign.) gan in Egypt, Libya, Syria and else- more a utilitarian than The country remains mired in a civil where. They differed importantly in war that has produced tens of thou- their degree of civil society organi- humanitarian criterion. sands of casualties. 16 Likewise, Syria’s uprising turned into a violent civil war in 2011, facil- itated by the authoritarian nature of the Syrian state and its brutal re- sponse to peaceful protests. But be- ing more complex and capitalistically developed than Libya, Syria has inter- national allegiances with Iran, Russia and China. The persistent support of these allies has prevented an all-out intervention by Western powers led by the United States, the United King- dom and France, which are involved in a proxy war, supporting “moder- ate” opponents of the Bashar al-As- sad regime. Non-Syrian radical Islamists, much bolder since the U.S. invasion of and war against Iraq, now dominate re- sistance movements in Syria. The Western-supported proxy war, on the other hand, was met by Iran and Russia at the request of the Assad government, which further escalat- ed the conflict situation. The three- Granted, there are differing degrees opment—young, educated, entrepre- way stalemate after four-and-a-half of urgency, but how are destination neurial members of society. years of civil war has caused the dis- countries to judge such nuance in an Canadian public opinion has been placement, both internal and inter- emergency? bombarded with messages that en- national, of about 11 million Syrians The Harper government was odd- courage donations and sponsorship of representing more than half the to- ly concerned with whether the Syri- Syrian refugees. Such charity-centred tal population. About 250,000 people an refugees headed to Canada owned and individualistic solutions, while have lost their lives. a business prior to fleeing—more a well-meaning, distract from the root Most of Syria’s refugees have moved utilitarian than humanitarian cri- causes of the problem: U.S. interven- into surrounding countries including terion. This was consistent with mi- tion and the imposition of “democra- Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. But a gration debates in advanced capital- cy” by force in the Middle East and growing number are travelling to the ist countries preoccupied with the North Africa since 2003, with no re- European Union, dividing its constit- utility of supplementing low birth gard for sovereignty, whether nation- uent governments and popular opin- rates with immigration to sustain al or popular. This is not only a con- ion on how to deal with an exception- economic growth. The incoming Lib- tradiction in terms, but also a trag- ally high (and high-profile) level of eral government appears to have re- ic political, geopolitical and humani- migration. The public discussion is moved some of the problematic cri- tarian failure. framed as a question of the most ap- teria on refugee selection from Syr- Beyond charity, Canadian civil so- propriate response to a humanitari- ia, but the underlying assumptions ciety should be prepared to consider an crisis, as if the exodus were a nat- about the economic usefulness of mi- Canadian co-operation with Russia, ural disaster, which ignores geopo- gration are still there. as proposed by former prime minis- litical causes. Political dialogue also The nativist or xenophobic position ter Jean Chrétien on October 1, with concerns itself mainly with econom- opposes new immigrants, as is cur- a view toward a negotiated peace set- ic matters: are the refugees good or rently the case with Poland, accepting tlement. The added benefit of such bad for growth? only Christian refugees from Syria. a move is to position Canada as part For example, European govern- More to the left of the political spec- of a stable multipolar global order, ments ask whether the incoming Syr- trum, migrants are welcome as long rather than to push us toward a new ians should be treated like econom- as they are guaranteed to enjoy the Cold War. The Arab Spring objectives ic migrants or political refugees. The same labour rights as the rest of the of replacing tyranny with popular underlying assumption of this ques- labour force in the receiving nation. government obviously must remain tion is that the second group is more For the countries of origin, there are dominant. However, there is no evi- legitimate than the first when the real challenges associated with pop- dence a protracted military interven- fact is almost everyone who choos- ulation flight, namely the draining tion would be any more successful es to leave their country does so be- away of a source of sustainable devel- in this regard than it was in Afghan- cause their livelihoods are at stake. istan, Iraq or Libya. 17 Andrew Callaway Apploitation in a city of instaserfs How the “sharing economy” has turned San Francisco into a dystopia for the working class

ILLUSTRATION BY REMIE GEOFFROI

18 F YOU SPEND enough time in San Francisco, you’ll notice sharing economy workers everywhere.

While you’re waiting to get some food, look for the most Ifrantic person in the lineup and you can bet they’re work- ing with an app. Some of them are colour-coded: workers in orange T-shirts are with Caviar, a food delivery app; those in green represent Instacart, an app for deliver- ing groceries. The blue jackets riding Razor scooters are with Luxe—if you’re still driving yourself around this city, these app workers will park your car. In the Bay Area, there are thousands of such people running through the aisles, fidgeting in line and racing against the clock. They spend most of their time in cars, where it can be harder to spot them. Oftentimes they’re double-parked in the bike lane, picking up a burrito from inside an adjacent restaurant or waiting for a passenger to come down from the apartment on top. If you look close- ly, you’ll see a placard in the window that says Uber or a glowing pink moustache indicating they drive around Lyft’s passengers. Last summer, I was one of them. Oh, Canada! I’m writing you from Berkeley, California to warn you about this thing called “the sharing econo- my.” Since no one is really sharing anything, many of us prefer the term “the exploitation economy,” but due to its prevalence many in the Bay Area simply think of it as “the economy.” Whatever you want to call it, the basic idea is that customers can outsource all the work or chores they don’t want to do to somebody else in their area. You can be chauffeured around the city while some- body picks up and launders your dirty underwear. You can have groceries delivered to your door and your bath- room given that deep clean that you don’t have time to do yourself. The best part is you can do it all on your phone! Sharing economy companies promise their customers all the luxuries of the rich and famous—and they can do 19 that by taking advantage of the sys- didn’t care about the cosmetic dam- er app’s business model looks some- tem and, in some cases, bending or age to my car. After submitting my thing like this: simply avoiding labour laws. insurance info, and going for a quick 1) When introducing your app into I know this because I spent a month drive around the block with another a new city, take heavy losses by driving, shopping and in other ways Lyft driver (to prove the car actually over-paying drivers and under-charg- serving the users of apps like Uber, works), I was good to go. ing customers. Lyft, Postmates and Instacart. I re- I was excited to get started. I like corded the whole thing for a podcast talking to people, and in the movies 2) Offer drivers cash bonuses to get called Benjamen Walker’s Theory of being a taxi driver always seemed re- their friends to sign up. Everything. Benjamen wanted to see ally interesting. Almost everybody I 3) Once you’ve got a steady supply of what it was like to work for an app, picked up was great, but it is a prob- drivers invested in the app, start low- but he didn’t want to do the work lem when the passengers aren’t cool, ering their pay. himself. In the spirit of the sharing like the group of racist, self-righteous economy, he convinced me to “part- venture capitalist bros who smoked The companies don’t send out an apol- ner” with him. There is so much ri- in my car. If I was really running my ogetic email letting drivers know a diculous stuff I can’t get to in this own business, I could have let them pay cut is on the way. It happens in- short space that you should listen know I thought they were all assholes, conspicuously through “upgrades” to to my full adventures online at www. but with Lyft, and a lot of other apps, the app, which can often change fare sharingeconomy.fail or by searching the customers are rating you. And if and payment rates. Only drivers with for “Instaserfs.” your average rating falls below 4.7 out enough extra time to carefully ana- I signed up for as many sharing of 5 stars you are removed from the lyze their earnings will notice that the economy jobs as I could, but they’re platform—fired. new terms don’t work in their favour. not really jobs. I was never an employ- Whether it’s Uber, Lyft or any oth- After enough pay cuts, some will quit, ee; I was a “partner,” or a “hero” or even er ride-share app, when you’re in the but many in the workforce buy cars a “ninja” depending on the app. Shar- car, the passengers have the control. specifically to become a part of the ing economy companies are just mid- The rating system is essential to the sharing economy and end up stuck, dlemen, connecting independent con- sharing economy’s ability to function continuing to work for less money or tractors to customers. When I signed because the companies aren’t legally switching to one of the other apps. up to work with (not for) these apps, allowed to train their independent Independent contractors are al- I was essentially starting my own contractors like they would employ- lowed to work for as many companies ride-sharing/courier business. ees. They test the workers in the field as they want, but Lyft doesn’t want As a freelance filmmaker, I knew the and drop those who get low ratings, you driving for Uber and vice versa. deal: being your own boss is a big re- which passengers can give for any In January 2015, Uber announced it sponsibility. In the U.S., we independ- reason. The venture capitalists, for would guarantee earnings of between ent contractors have to pay an addi- example, told me they didn’t like driv- $10 and $26 an hour depending on tional self-employment tax and we ers who had a hard time with English. peak hours. But to qualify you have have to find our own health insurance. Defenders of the sharing econo- to accept 90% of all ride requests, ac- We’re also not guaranteed a minimum my often tell me they’ve talked to cept one ride per hour and be online wage. As sharing economy workers, a driver who loves it! Many drivers for 50 minutes of each hour worked. we use our own cars, which means do, but consider that, as a passenger, Lyft has a similar deal where you can paying for our own gas and mainte- you’re going to be rating your inter- earn a 10% bonus for driving 30 hours nance costs. We are on our own. view subject, and that anything un- in a week, a 20% bonus for working We do still have a boss. It just isn’t der five stars will bring the driver one 40 hours a week, and a 30% bonus for a person. It’s an algorithm. step closer to getting kicked off the driving 50 hours a week. The idea is to platform. That can have some impli- reward loyalty and prevent drivers Becoming a five-star driver cations as far as how honest drivers from having Uber and Lyft open at are when their passengers ask about the same time. The thing is, if you’re t is generally quite easy to become how much they like it. Depressing working 40 or 50 hours a week with I an Uber driver; all you need is a rel- workers don’t get high ratings. No- one company, that looks a lot less like atively new car and a driver’s license. body wants to feel guilty about us- a gig and a lot more like full-time em- Unfortunately, my 2012 Scion xB has ing an app they like. ployment. a few scratches on the passenger Realistically, people aren’t driving side. Uber’s car inspectors told me around strangers because they love it. Connecting to the workforce it wouldn’t have been a problem had They do it because they need to earn the scratches been on the driver’s side, a living and it’s been hard in America n Los Angeles, September 2014, a but they would be too visible to cus- since 2008. Workers are grateful for I group of Lyft drivers burned their tomers, so I was rejected! I turned to what they can get and here it’s the pink mustaches in protest of the pay Lyft—essentially an Uber clone and companies who have all the control. cuts. These kinds of actions aren’t just as popular in the Bay Area. They The standard ride-sharing or couri- very common because most of us 20 don’t know our co-workers and there work. There are plenty of screenshots law if that’s what you’ve got to do to is no physical location to congregate. showing that some are making less get the order done on time. Lyft doesn’t allow their drivers at the than minimum wage. head office. The main place for “shar- One way to ensure you won’t make True efficiency ing economy” workers to connect is a lot of money over a shift is to accept through online forums and Facebook orders for Postmates’ “promotional of- hen you start a shift driving for groups. All of the apps out there have fers.” One time, I entered a self-serve W Uber, the first thing you do is look at least one and my favourite is the frozen yogurt shop (for the third time for hotspots. Drivers and customers Postmates Couriers group. that day) and saw two people franti- have different interfaces on their Postmates is a delivery app. As a cally looking from their phones to the phones. For drivers, a red area on the customer, you can order anything you display of toppings. I started making map supposedly identifies where the want and have it delivered to your the frozen yogurt combination listed most people are (or will be) requesting house within an hour. Most often, on my phone when I heard, “you guys rides, so you drive to that area hop- people are ordering food, but every don’t have any raspberries?!” He was ing to find a passenger. But since all once and a while you’ll get an order also a Postmate. When the answer the available Uber drivers are mov- for Whip-It canisters or an HDMI ca- came back (they had run out of rasp- ing to the same places, the red zones ble. It seems like a relatively simple berries), the three of us realized that can change before you get to them. job, but it actually can be quite a chal- we were all in the same boat and took Why doesn’t Uber just tell its driv- lenge, which is why it’s important to a moment to commiserate. ers exactly where rides are needed? have a community of drivers that can “Postmates?” Giving direct orders would trans- learn from each other. “Yeah, hold on, I’m gonna call my form their independent contractors The official Postmates courier customer.” into employees with rights and ben- group on Facebook is fairly innocu- Both of their customers asked for efits. The result is a system that is ous, made up mostly of people ask- a substitute topping. Mine wanted much less efficient (for the drivers) ing for advice on how to make more to cancel the order. But I had already than it should be simply because the money and some posting their earn- started filling a cup with froyo! The ride-share app companies want to ings with pride. The responses are all cashier was looking at me. What was avoid the responsibilities of being optimistic and inspirational, making I supposed to do? I threw on some full-blown employers. Postmates seem like a pretty decent M&Ms and bought it for myself. I had Postmates once allowed their driv- gig. So I was surprised when I joined to run—if you want to make more ers to see the details of an order be- the unofficial Postmates group, which than minimum wage working for fore accepting a job. This was great restricts membership to couriers, and Postmates you have to “stack” orders, for couriers because we could esti- the very first thing I saw was this which means accepting a new job be- mate how much money we would pinned message from the moderator: fore you finish the one you’re work- make on an order. It also meant we ing on. There was only 45 minutes could reject bad jobs, which creat- Be mindful that there are people left before a guy across town need- ed a situation where it could take a in this group spying for corporate. ed a burrito in his hand. long time—or even be impossible— Your words in here can lead to I ended up having to take on all to find a courier who would accept a your being suspended or banned kinds of little expenses like these. It’s low-paying job. Postmates responded from the platform. We do our best part of the risk of starting your own by “updating” the app to a “blind sys- to keep any corporate employees business. That time, I just had to buy tem” in which we could still accept or out but that is a near impossible a $3 froyo but it can be a lot worse reject jobs, but without enough in- task. We don’t want to see anyone (parking tickets in San Francisco can formation to determine whether it get banned from the platform over be over $80). Oftentimes you have to would be worth our time or not (e.g., a Facebook post so please give choose between parking illegally or a huge grocery store order). To make your words thought before hitting being late with an order. sure we accept jobs quickly without post. One Postmates employee suggested analyzing them, the app plays an ex- Yes, people have been kicked off Post- I park in driveways because I would tremely loud and annoying beeping mates for complaining. I’ve talked to be less likely to get a ticket than if I noise designed specifically to har- them. And yes, the official Postmates double-parked. When I stopped by the ass couriers into submitting to the courier group on Facebook is censored Postmates office to ask if they reim- algorithm. to erase anything that could be per- burse tickets (they don’t), they gave One of the best companies I worked ceived as a complaint. But more im- me a parking placard that would in- for is called Washio. I picked up dirty portantly it’s clear that Postmates is form meter monitors I was a Postmate laundry and delivered clean laundry. not preparing its workers for the re- who would be right back to move my It was the best paying and least stress- alities of life as an independent con- car. All the risk falls onto the worker ful of all the apps I worked with that tractor. Many are shocked about how and the company is free of liability— month because there was no illusion much they have to pay in taxes and despite the placard being an explicit of choice. Washio tells you exactly how little they’re making doing the suggestion that it’s okay to break the what to do and you do it. It is simple 21 is that using sharing economy services can breed contempt for the workers. One creepy Uber driver can nurture disdain for all the lowly drivers. You never even have to see the person who is cleaning your house or your clothes. Plenty of people requested that I drop off their food at the door. Custom- ers grow to love apps that make the worker anonymous. That way, you don’t have to feel guilty about hav- ing servants. The most common defence of the sharing economy I hear is, “if it’s so bad, why are so many people doing it?” Many do it out of desperation. I’ve talked to a number of drivers who will work over 30 hours every weekend in addition to a full-time job just to have enough money to pay rent and take care of their kids. It can also seem like you’re making a lot more money than you really are if you’re not diligent- ly adding up your expenses, many of ILLUSTRATION BY THEO MOUDAKIS / THE TORONTO STAR which are invisible. For example, taxes aren’t taken out of your paycheck, so and honest. But it also betrays the disclosed amount after a year and a when April comes around it can be a spirit of the independent contrac- half of litigation. shock to discover how much you owe. tor, and that’s important for a num- Your auto insurance company can On the other hand, the sharing ber of reasons. terminate your policy if they discov- economy can be a great thing for In the United States, as I suspect er you are driving passengers or car- some of the workers. If you listen to in Canada, all the worker protections go for profit. I know this because I the third episode of the “Instaserfs” in our legal code are specifically de- called mine to say I was “thinking series you will meet Brooklyn, an signed to help employees. For exam- about” signing up for Uber. They told amazing TaskRabbit worker I hired ple, employers are required to pay a me not to, since I’d be driving with- to help me finish the show. She quit minimum wage, to provide medical out coverage. Hopefully, they’ll nev- a six-figure salary to pursue her pas- insurance, and to supply certain ben- er hear the podcast! sion (a fashion blog at www.boisclub. efits such as sick days. By pretend- com) She can do that and still pay the ing that their employees are actual- Regulators! Mount up. rent because of the flexibility she en- ly self-starting entrepreneurs, shar- joys as an independent contractor. ing economy companies can avoid ome simple Google searches led me But she is legitimately an entrepre- these obligations and save an enor- S to a number of articles about Can- neur, not the average sharing econ- mous amount of money in the pro- ada’s response to the sharing econo- omy worker. cess—savings that are both passed my. I can see you’re struggling with There is a place in this world for the on to the customer and pocketed in Uber in particular, from Vancouver sharing economy, and it could be a profits. It sounds great until you ask to Halifax, and the word that keeps beautiful thing, but where I live these about things like insurance. popping up is “regulation.” companies run the show. There are no True story: an Uber driver hits a I understand that it’s hard not to rules. The apps are breaking the spirit six-year-old girl in the crosswalk and give in to the lower prices and the con- of the law by abusing the independ- kills her. Uber doesn’t take responsi- venience of getting whatever you want ent contractor loophole and actively bility because the driver wasn’t car- on demand with an app. It’s kind of encourage (e.g., through dubious car rying a passenger at the time and so awesome, actually! But I would argue placards) actually breaking the law. technically wasn’t working for Uber. that the exploitation economy is just But it will only ever be the workers, His insurance company, on the other as unhealthy and dehumanizing for not the companies, who are punished. hand, doesn’t cover the accident be- the customers as it is for the workers. If you’re going to let the sharing econ- cause by working for Uber without a Postmates couriers are told that it omy into your country, dear Canada, commercial driving insurance policy is strictly against the rules to shake please take control of the situation. he was violating the terms of the poli- a customer’s hand. Like all rules, this Don’t just let the invisible hand lead cy he did have. Uber settled for an un- didn’t come from nowhere. The truth you wherever it wants you to go. 22 Apploitation in Canada Stephen Dale How do we protect “gig” workers?

IM HUDAK HAS seen the future, omy” as self-directed, empowered “en- Almost half of precariously employed and it is Uber. trepreneurs” who can work their way workers say their unpredictable work Ontario should “send a signal to riches on their own terms. schedule disrupts their family life. that we are an economy that is McMaster University labour stud- But perhaps the most prominent open for innovators, for new ies professor Wayne Lewchuk says we hallmark of precarious employment ideas, and would take a lead- need to look past this hype and ac- is that even those workers on longer- Ting role in supporting technology,” re- knowledge the conditions that gave term contracts who are reasonably paid marked the former Progressive Con- rise to app-centric employers if we are less likely to have access to benefits. servative leader in late 2015. The prov- are ever going to deal with the chal- “Most people on contract who are ince could do that, he said, by pass- lenges they pose to the social and eco- classified as employees might be en- ing laws encouraging the spread of nomic security of workers in Canada. titled to CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) Uber-like app-based businesses that Enterprises like Uber or TaskRab- and unemployment insurance, al- link contract service providers to con- bit “aren’t at all different from a temp though the chances of collecting un- sumers through their phones. employment agency, other than it’s employment insurance these days are Uber, the renegade ride provider all done online,” says Lewchuk. The practically zero. But they wouldn’t be that has municipalities across Cana- recent growth of the “gig economy” getting employer-funded benefits like da scrambling to revise their taxi by- reflects neither the brilliance of the pension or healthcare,” says Lewchuk. laws, is the best-known emissary of the technology nor the novelty of the “On the other hand, if they are classi- so-called “sharing” or “gig economy.” business model, but rather the more fied as self-employed, they don’t even But Uber is just the tip of the iceberg. mundane reality that “there are lots get any of the government benefits.” In the U.S., a multitude of companies of people who are desperate for work.” This is precisely why companies like with names like TaskRabbit, Zaarly, And while they are often portrayed Uber classify their workforce as inde- Postmates (Canadian version: SkipThe- as bringing revolutionary change to pendent contractors. It lets app-based Dishes) and Kitchensurfing, many of the workplace, Lewchuk insists Uber- service providers get out of paying ben- them based in Silicon Valley, are mar- style companies are just more of the efits while washing their hands of the shalling an army of casual employees same—“a new variant” of an ongoing responsibility of administering govern- waiting to be dispatched, via text mes- and well-established trend where sta- ment programs or underwriting cap- sage, to do a few hours’ work picking ble employment is being replaced by ital costs (such as cars, gasoline and up fast-food orders, cooking in some- precarious contract work. maintenance if the service involves one’s home, doing laundry, pet-sitting Leaving aside the matter of wag- delivery). Meanwhile, the firms take a or performing some other daily chore es (gig workers often earn less than considerable percentage of all transac- their app users would rather not do. minimum wage) this trend toward tions between app users and workers. Hudak’s glee that this new work mod- precarious employment has already This business strategy is not unas- el, already well established and grow- had a significant impact on the way sailable. A California judge recently ing in major U.S. cities, may soon take Canadians work and live. agreed to hear a class action suit from root in Canada mirrors the enthusiasm A 2015 study, written by Lewchuk a group of Uber drivers who want to be of his ideological brethren. for the United Way, found that 52% of recognized as employees of the com- Presidential hopeful Marco Ru- workers in the Greater Toronto and pany and entitled to benefits. Mean- bio, for example, in his eagerness to Hamilton Area hold temporary, con- while, courts in the same state ruled make Republican inroads in staunch- tract or part-time positions, with pro- in 2014 that FedEx could not treat its ly Democratic Silicon Valley, has de- found personal consequences. Precar- couriers as independent contractors. clared “the on-demand economy is a iously employed workers are twice as The bottom line for all precarious- miracle that only American free en- likely to report mental health problems, ly employed people, says Lewchuk, is terprise could produce.” There’s also six times as likely to delay starting re- that “whether you are a freelancer or no shortage of hyperbole coming from lationships, and three times more like- an Uber driver, you don’t have a per- the industry itself, which likes to por- ly to delay having children than work- manent relationship with an employer, tray the foot soldiers of the “gig econ- ers in secure, full-time employment. and therefore you don’t have any buff- 23 er from the instability that’s inherent ing beyond the media-related work- in a market economy.” Or, as U.S. Sen- The trend toward force; for example, there is a UNI- ator Mark Warner expressed it, “these precarious employment FOR community chapter represent- [gig economy] workers exist on a high ing ministers and other faith work- wire, with no safety net below them.” has already had a ers employed by the United Church. Rectifying this situation, accord- Lewchuk stresses that improved ing to Lewchuk, requires an under- significant impact on standards for precariously employed standing of how the previous social workers inevitably hinge on govern- contract unravelled, while leaving in the way Canadians work ments creating the conditions for those place a set of legal and social provi- and live. initiatives to succeed. He cites as an ex- sions that are inadequate for today’s ample the provision of health insurance workplace realities. for previously uninsured restaurant He says the fracturing of the “great workers in San Francisco. There, the city social compromise” coming out of working conditions” that employers passed a law requiring that businesses the Depression and Second World would be obligated to adhere to. pay health premiums for their workers. War, whereby companies agreed to But for contract employees to gain While restaurants have the option of supplement government health and that kind of representation there funding the program through a sur- pension plans designed for a primar- must be an enabling legal framework charge on customer bills, or absorbing ily full-time workforce, has made it in place. In its submission to Ontario’s the costs as part of their general over- necessary to fortify the state’s social Changing Workplace Review, which head, what makes the program work safety net and find new vehicles for is looking into labour code reforms is that employers are legally obligat- delivering supplementary benefits. that would better respond to cur- ed to fund their workers’ health care. The good news is that models for rent workplace conditions, UNIFOR It also seems essential, in this era of providing those benefits already ex- has proposed several measures that casual and contract work, to update ist. In the building trades, for example, would give leverage to advocates for and strengthen government-run so- where electricians or carpenters work casual and contract workers. cial programs introduced in an era on a succession of projects for differ- For one, the union calls for govern- when full-time employment, often ent firms, the norm has long been for ment-mandated sectoral councils, with only one company, was the norm construction unions to provide work- made up of labour organizations, in- for a large number of people. A sup- er training, and to collect fees from the dependent contractors and employ- plementary, government-adminis- companies that allow them to admin- ers, charged with establishing a mini- tered pension plan to augment the ister benefits on behalf of their mem- mum pay scale and discouraging “com- CPP, under active consideration in bers. Unions take on the same roles in petition based on low wages and pre- Ontario and endorsed in principle the theatre and film worlds. carious working conditions.” by other provinces, seems a logical “Those are also project based,” ex- The UNIFOR submission also pro- response to the widespread disap- plains Lewchuk. “A film comes in and poses the application of the “Status pearance of workplace pension plans. it needs a crew. People work on the of the Artist” model in dealings with “That’s definitely the right thing crew and when the film is done the freelancers such as media workers. to do,” says Lewchuk. “But bringing operation vaporizes.” This model requires employers to self-employed people into the scheme Leslie Dyson, B.C.-based president meet with an organization deemed is still a challenge. Ontario is strug- of the Canadian Freelance Union by the Labour Relations Board to rep- gling with how a self-employed per- (CFU), envisions a day when her or- resent workers in a specific sector to son would deduct their pension con- ganization will assume the same func- negotiate a standard agreement that tributions from their income. Does tion within its corner of the contract must be respected by the employer the Uber driver charge customers a worker universe. Chartered in 2009, in transactions with any contractor. surcharge for pension contributions?” and operating as a “community chap- Dyson says she thinks these mech- Dyson is convinced the acutely felt ter” of UNIFOR, the CFU represents a anisms could be extended across the need for “gig economy” workers, free- wide number of communications-re- country, and that they would be of lancers and contract employees to gain lated professionals including writers, clear benefit to workers in a wide greater security indicates that multi- editors, illustrators, web developers range of industries. She also envisions ple efforts—new organizing drives for and designers, and project managers. the “community chapter” model “be- new forms of labour organizations, bet- Currently, the union offers benefits ing really effective for other people ter legislation, new obligations for em- like insurance, although “we’re not big who don’t have any protection, maybe ployers—are required simultaneously. enough yet to offer a pension plan,” says even Uber drivers,” since it combines “Everybody has that sense of inse- Dyson. Ultimately, she adds, the organ- the organizational strength of a big curity now,” she says. “I don’t know ization hopes to take a role in collective union like UNIFOR with the famili- any­body who doesn’t feel that they bargaining, sitting down with “non-un- arity of chapter officials with specif- can be easily replaced. I don’t know ionized workers and industry people ic conditions in their own industry. an­ybody­ who feels ‘I’m untouch- to set minimum standards of pay and Dyson reports the model is spread- able.’” 24 Zero-Hour Contracts Sheila Block Ending on-call scheduling and unpaid overtime

HE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT is in the % share of employees with unpredictable schedules, Ontario (2014) midst of a review of its labour legislation. It is considering <$11/hour amendments “to best protect workers while supporting busi- 62.9% nesses in our changing econ- Tomy.” Among the workplace trends $11 $15/hour the government is examining are the increase in temporary, involuntary 42.3% Total Workforce and part-time work, the rising prom- inence of the service industries, glo- >$15/hour 31.4% balization, technological change and greater workplace diversity. 23.4% In a Behind the Numbers blog post in September, I suggested that this im- portant review would do well to look at two new developments in U.S. la- bour market policies: unpredictable market conditions in the U.S. are also of the border. Currently in the U.S., if work schedules, and the rise in un- putting pressure on employers to im- you are classified as a manager and paid overtime. prove working conditions. you make more than US$23,660 a year A number of major retailers in the Unpredictable work schedules don’t (below the federal poverty line for a U.S. are moving to end on-call sched- stop at the border. In fact, many low- family of four) you are not entitled to uling. Also known as “zero-hour con- wage workers in Ontario and across overtime pay. President Obama has tracts,” the on-call system requires Canada face the same kind of uncer- proposed changes that would more workers to be available to work, but tainty on the job. than double this threshold, which with no guarantee they will be called In 2014, 63% of minimum-wage would have a particularly positive with a shift and no compensation workers in Ontario had jobs where impact on managers in the retail and when they are not needed. hours varied from week to week (see restaurant industries. For retail workers it means not graph). The situation is slightly better Overtime rules differ in Ontario, knowing how much you will earn for those earning between $11 and $15 but here, too, managers and supervi- from week to week, which limits your an hour (42% of workers in this group sors are not eligible for overtime pay. ability to work other jobs and creates had unpredictable hours). In sharp That can be justified for middle man- a great deal of uncertainty for family contrast, only 23.4% of workers who agers whose median earnings are more life. For example, how do you arrange made more than $15 an hour had var- than $40 an hour. But supervisors in for child care in case you are called iable schedules. food services with median earnings into work? How do you pay for it if Advocates in Ontario, like the Work- of $12.50 an hour, and in retail where the call doesn’t come? ers’ Action Centre, have proposed they are $15 an hour, should be eligible Major retailers in the U.S. are recon- changes to the Employment Stand- for overtime. The proposal in the On- sidering the practice, but not because ards Act that would address this issue. tario’s Changing Workplace Review to they woke up one morning and decid- They include requiring two weeks’ repeal overtime exemptions and spe- ed they needed to be better employ- advance posting of work schedules, cial rules would address this issue. ers. Groups including the National mandatory compensation if schedules By mirroring progressive changes Employment Law Project have been are changed within that two-week in U.S. labour market policies, Ontar- organizing around this issue. It re- period, and protection from repris- io has an opportunity to make imme- sulted in a number of state govern- als if workers request different hours. diate, concrete improvements in the ments proposing legislation to end On the second issue of unpaid over- lives of low-wage workers and their on-call scheduling. Improving labour time, there are also lessons from south families. It should take it. 25 Youth unemployment is services (including 90% Median wages are lowest The Index 13.3% nationally. of women). By industry, in accommodation and wholesale and retail trade food services ($12/hour) A snapshot of the The unemployment is the biggest employer and highest in utilities Canadian workforce rate has declined from (15% of the workforce), ($36/hour). Men receive its recent high of 8.3% Compiled by Hadrian followed by health care a higher median wage in 2009, but that’s Mertins-Kirkwood and social assistance than women ($23/hour vs. partly because many (12%) and manufacturing $20/hour) and full-time unemployed people have (10%). employees receive a higher given up looking for work. median wage than part- The participation rate Some industries in Canada time employees ($23/hour (percentage of population are highly gendered. Men vs. $13/hour). Provincially, in the workforce) has are overrepresented in Alberta has the highest actually declined since construction (88% of There are 18 million median wage ($25/hour) 2009, from 67.6% to 66% workers in the industry working people in Canada, and Prince Edward Island today. are male) and resources according to the latest has the lowest ($17.50/ (81%), while women are estimates, out of a total Underemployment (where hour). overrepresented in health population of nearly 36 workers are overqualified care (82% of workers in the Among working people, million. Who are they? for their current position industry are female) and median employment What do they do? Where or wish they could work education (68%). income (earnings before and why? more hours) is a related government transfers concern. By some Manufacturing and 11.6 million people in or taxes) is $32,400 measures, there are 1.4 agriculture are the only Canada are employed in per year. There is a big million underemployed industries in Canada to the private sector (65% gap in median annual workers in Canada. For experience an absolute of all workers), while the employment income workers under the age of decline in employment public sector accounts between men ($38,700) 25, the underemployment over the past three for another 3.6 million and women ($27,000). rate is as high as 28%. decades—they employ (20%). The other 2.7 million There is also a big gap 330,000 and 159,000 fewer workers (15%) are self- Of the 3.4 million people between Alberta ($41,700) people today, respectively, employed. working part time, 936,000 and P.E.I. ($25,700). than they did in 1987. (27%) are doing so 81% of Canadians work full Health care has seen the In comparison, the median involuntarily. For people time and the rest work part biggest increase—there pay of Canada’s top 100 working part time in their time. 35% of workers are are 1 million more health- CEOs is $7.7 million and prime working years (ages salaried and the rest are related jobs today than rising. The average top 25–54), 38% wish they paid by the hour. there were in in the 1980s. CEO earns as much by were working full time. lunch on January 2nd as the Although most workers The median wage in 78% of workers in Canada average Canadian worker are Canadian citizens Canada is $21/hour. are employed in the earns all year. or permanent residents, there are more than Employment in Canada's five biggest industries 380,000 temporary (Total employed, thousands) migrant workers in 3000 Canada, accounting for Trade (wholesale & retail) about 2% of the workforce. 2500 Healthcare and Not everyone who wants social assistance a job has one. 1.3 million 2000 people in Canada are Manufacturing out of work and the 1500 Construction unemployment rate is Professional hovering around 7%. services Among the provinces, 1000 the unemployment rate is highest in Newfoundland 500 and Labrador (13%) and 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2014 lowest in Manitoba (5.3%).

SOURCES Statistics Canada CANSIM tables 111-0024, 282-0012, 282-0014, 282-0087, 282-0089 and 282-0072; Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, “The hidden growth of Canada’s migrant workforce,” in The Harper Record 2008–2015, eds. Teresa Healy & Stuart Trew, CCPA (October 2015); “Underemployment is Canada’s Real Labour Market Challenge,” Canadian Labour Congress Research Note (March 2014); Hugh Mackenzie, “Glory Days: CEO Pay in Canada Soaring to Pre-Recession Highs,” CCPA (January 2015).

26 Work & Immigration Karl Flecker New country, new job — new risks

DUARDO IS SUFFERING from a repet- matically affecting the composition al, that does not mirror the jobs they itive strain injury. Working at of the labour force, according to Sta- left behind in terms of qualifications. Costco, stocking shelves, mov- tistics Canada. Projections show that “These workers end up doing jobs ing large boxes of everything he by 2030 or sooner, immigrants will be they have never done before, often never eats, he jokes, is not what the principal source for growing the involving manual, heavy and repeti- he planned to do with his Eu- population. tive work and with little knowledge Eropean training in logistics manage- Eduardo and Aishay’s experiences of the hazards, tools, or machinery ment. New to Canada, he realized a are unfortunately typical for most im- associated with the work,” she says. survival job was likely necessary un- migrants. Those who arrived in the Research statistics paint an equally til his credentials could be recognized. 1990s and 2000s, particularly those grim picture. Ninety per cent of im- No one told him it would take so long, from racialized groups, are more like- migrant workplace injuries require cost so much, and despite his training ly than Canadian-born workers to end medical attention, compared to 65% and experience still leave him with- up in precarious, low-wage jobs. This for other workers. out a job in his field. Manually moving includes factory work, restaurants, Newcomers are more likely than foodstuffs has left him injured with hotels and retail stores. Many high- Canadian-born workers to be em- no choice but to keep working or lose skilled immigrants are more educat- ployed in jobs with a high number the income he needs to stay afloat. ed and experienced than their Cana- of workplace health and safety haz- Aishay can’t hide her depression. Her dian peers. ards. Recent immigrants are also less face no longer suggests she is an inter- But due to employers’ discomfort likely to access compensation after a nationally trained doctor with years with international experience and workplace injury. In addition, IWH re- of experience in women’s health. Like qualifications, and/or having differ- searchers have found newcomers are many others, she found the credential ent levels of language proficiency, often unfamiliar with workplace safe- recognition process lengthy, expensive and/or an absence of Canadian work ty protections and the workplace inju- and systemically biased against new- experience (often nothing more than ry claim and compensation processes. comers. Her savings ran low, leaving a proxy for xenophobia), immigrants Additionally, immigrant workers no choice but to take a job serving cof- endure the survival job to support who are not proficient in English or fee at Tim’s. Adjusting to this new sta- themselves and their families. French are more likely to make mis- tus in the Canadian job market hurts Immigrant workers are amongst takes on incident/injury forms, or to in ways she never imagined. Canada’s most vulnerable when it misunderstand an adjudicator or em- These are just a few of the stories of comes to their health and safety on ployer, which can sometimes make many newcomers to Canada, be they the job. Research findings from the them appear unco-operative. IWH permanent residents, refugees or tem- Institute for Work and Health (IWH) has also documented systemic prob- porary migrant workers who increas- point to three main reasons for this lems such as inconsistent or a total ingly are the face of our workforce. growing reality: not knowing their lack of interpretation services at the The last reliable census data from legal rights, working in jobs without correct time in the workplace safety 2006 found that one in five Canadian experience or hazard-specific train- compensation process, which leads workers is an immigrant. In the ear- ing, and being unlikely to raise health to further problems. ly 2000s, immigrants accounted for and safety concerns for fear of losing IWH researchers also found cases 80% of net labour growth. In about the job that is keeping them afloat. of workplace injuries involving im- the same amount of time it takes to While these factors also apply to migrants where employers offered af- pay off a new car loan we will become many Canadian-born workers, par- fected workers time off rather than 100% dependent on immigrants for ticularly young workers, Dr. Agniesz- filing a workplace injury report. In growing the labour force. ka Kosny from IWH notes an impor- other instances, employers misled im- With 47% of the workforce already tant difference: immigrants, by virtue migrants about their rights or told the at 65 or nearing that mark, and a con- of their status as newcomers to Cana- worker to return to work or be fired. sistent downward trend line of natu- da, tend to find employment, particu- The necessity for a paycheque ral births, demographic change is dra- larly in the early years of their arriv- leaves newcomers with few options 27 but to keep working, and limited op- assist in the development of acces- Truth, reconciliation, tions create risks. sible and multilingual information A 2011 study examined for the first about employment standards, oc- and employment time the relationship between work- cupational health and safety rights place injuries, education and job mis- and the workers compensation pro- equality match. It revealed that recent immi- cess. By working together unions can grants who have higher educational help add these components to immi- “In 2009, the Métis unemployment rate qualifications than required for the grant and settlement agencies’ job for persons aged 25 to 54 was 9.4%, job are more than three times as like- search and language training class- while the non-Aboriginal rate was 7.0%. ly to report a workplace injury as an es offered to all newcomers prepar- In 2006, the Inuit unemployment rate immigrant with five years’ experience ing to enter the labour force. In re- was 19%. The true rates of unemploy- (in the new country) who is not over- turn, unions get an early start at or- ment for people living on reserves are qualified for their job. ganizing these workers. difficult to ascertain because of limit- Another study explored how Governments also have increased ed data collection. over-qualification among new im- obligations that could include the migrants affects general and mental following: “Aboriginal people also have incomes health. Using data from a Longitudi- well below their non-Aboriginal coun- Rigorously targeting workplaces nal Survey of Immigrants to Canada ͸ terparts. with high concentrations of immi- administered by Statistics Canada, grant and other vulnerable workers “The median income for Aboriginal the study found that employed immi- for health and safety inspections, and people in 2006 was 30% lower than grants who worked in their field be- requiring that employers implement the median income for non-Aborigi- fore coming to Canada were in good effective injury prevention programs. nal workers ($18,962 versus $27,097, health upon arrival, but the impact respectively). The gap narrows when of enduring the survival job situation ͸ Greater protections for injured Aboriginal people obtain a universi- resulted in declines in mental health workers who file claims, including ty degree, which they do at a far lower with “persistent feelings of sadness, multilingual access to legal informa- rate. Not surprisingly, the child pover- depression or loneliness.” tion and access to alternative income ty rate for Aboriginal children is also The IWH lead researcher on the support programs once injured. very high—40%, compared with 17% study, Cynthia Chen, points out that Offering professional-level interpre- for all children in Canada. The income immigrants receive very little infor- ͸ tation services at the onset of claims gap is pervasive: non-Aboriginal Cana- mation when applying to come to and periodically, throughout the pro- dians earn more than Aboriginal work- Canada about what type of work they cess, to improve workers’ understand- ers no matter whether they work on re- are likely to end up in and how long ing of their claim and outcomes. serves, off reserves, or in urban, rural, they may have to remain in jobs for or remote locations. which they are overqualified. Chen ͸ Properly advertising and promot- says the study “shows that unmet job ing WSIB services for newcomers in “The proportion of Aboriginal adults be- expectations increases the risk of de- order to overcome known barriers. low the poverty line, regardless of age cline in mental well-being over a rel- This requires collecting data on the and gender, is much higher than that of atively short time.” experiences of newcomers with the non-Aboriginal adults, with differences The fact that about half of recent system, since currently there is no way ranging from 7.8% for adult men aged immigrants end up working in jobs to identify claimants as immigrants. 65 or older, to 22.5% for adult women for which they are overqualified aged 65 or older. The depth of pover- A more efficient and timely creden- means not only that our economy is ͸ ty is also much greater, with Aborigi- tial recognition process designed for underutilizing their talents, it puts nal people having an average income skilled workers that would result in people at risk of both physical work- that falls further below the poverty line immigrant workers securing jobs in place injury and deleterious mental on average than that of non-Aboriginal their fields and commensurate with well-being. adults, and their poverty is more likely their international experiences and Changing this situation is possi- to have persisted for a significant pe- training. ble, but will require innovation, col- riod of time.” laboration and comprehensive pol- Without a comprehensive set of meas- Excerpt from the December 2015 final icy improvements. A labour move- ures to better protect our workforce, report of the Truth and Reconciliation ment concerned with protecting all with particular attention to vulnera- Commission, which, among its many workers, and particularly newcomers ble workers like Eduardo and Aishay, recommendations, calls upon the fed- who will make a major and growing we are putting people in harms way eral government “to develop with Abo- contribution to its numbers, needs and missing out an opportunity to or- riginal groups a joint strategy to elim- to strengthen its advocacy for immi- ganize and support a growing demo- inate educational and employment grant workers. graphic of the labour movement.

gaps between Aboriginal and non-Ab- Unions need to forge links with im- THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN RANKANDFILE.CA AND IS original Canadians.” migrant and settlement agencies to REPRINTED HERE WITH PERMISSION. 28 What’s Left is weekly digest of current news and events, curated by the good people at Citizens’ Press, which focuses on left-wing issues in Canada, im- portant international struggles, and useful analysis for workers and activists across the country. To subscribe to What’s Left, go to cpress.org/whatsleft. Here is an abridged sample of what you will receive minus the helpful links that come with each WHAT’S LEFT segment.

Flawless theft of a public company fices of the Korean Confederation of year cross-country consultation. Given Trade Unions (KCTU), the Korean Pub- changes to “essential services” legisla- iberal Premier Kathleen Wynne chan- lic Services, and the Transport Work- tion that ban an increasing number of nelled Margaret Thatcher in Novem- L ers’ Union (KPTU). Following an earli- CUPE members from striking, and the ber as the Ontario government finished er raid of the KPTU office, these latest growth of precarious employment and its initial public offering (IPO) for 15% actions resulted in police seizure of all the number of people living paycheque of Hydro One. No one agrees with the documentation relating to the People’s to paycheque, fiscal strain is becom- move, including the budget watch- Mass Mobilization that took place on ing an increasing barrier to engaging dog, independent finance experts, over November 14, the KPTU-TruckSol’s Safe in strike actions. As such, members 80% of the general public, and most of Rates Rally, the April 16 Sewol memo- are being asked how CUPE can best Wynne’s own party—and this has led rial event, and May Day. Not since the balance these priorities. The future of to a precipitous decline in the govern- end of the dictatorship in Korea has militant action within CUPE is at stake. ment’s approval ratings. Only continued the KCTU and its affiliates seen this If the union gets it right, it could lead public pressure and mass campaigns kind of state response to legitimate to a broader change in the way unions will halt the selloff of everything the protest against increasingly unpop- advance change for working people. public owns. ular policies. The violent actions of the government would seem to repre- Neuropolitics in the wild... Workers disciplined for sent a regression where the democra- watching, learning having opinions cy that Korean workers and common people won is, once again, moving to- ata has become a critical part of n this age of free speech, Canadians ward dictatorship. any political campaign. Information are still being punished for express- D I about who voted where, what they said ing their opinions outside of the work- on the doorstep, whether they donat- place. Even unionized employees are Fast food workers ed to a party, showed up to an event, being fired or disciplined for things strike in record numbers or liked a post on Facebook are now all they do, write or say when they’re off n Tuesday, November 10, exactly one being used by political campaigns to the clock—especially on social me- year from election day in the Unit- better shape messaging, mobilize sup- dia. Increasingly, employers are us- O ed States, low-wage workers were on porters and get out the vote on election ing surveillance to target employees strike in record numbers across the day. As the New York Times detailed in they dislike. Posts on social media are country. Their demands include in- a November 4 article, “neuromarket- being used to attack workers and fire creasing pay to a $15 minimum wage ing” or “neuropolitics” takes this data those who say things employers find and asserting their rights to organize collection a step further. By embrac- inappropriate. While in some extreme as unions. There is hope this move- ing technologies such as facial recog- cases a few workers have been disci- ment will expand and intensify in 2016, nition and biometric scanning, politi- plined for crossing the line and engag- forcing candidates to consider these cal parties, governments and compa- ing in harassment of their peers, this as priority issues in the U.S. election. nies are able to get live, visual feedback does not justify the zealous and unreg- from random, unknowing citizens en- ulated actions of employers. It will be countering political imagery and mes- critical for regulating bodies to tackle Canada’s largest union saging in their day-to-day lives. For in- the question of just what is appropri- debates resource allocation stance, by placing hidden cameras in ate in these circumstances. t its convention in early November, billboards, a political party can learn, in Athe Canadian Union of Public Em- real-time, how individuals react to dif- Korean police raids seek ployees debated the question of where ferent kinds of messaging. Already in to halt progressive organizing to focus the use of union dues, in cam- the wild, this technology is being used paigns or in strike support. Canada’s to choose candidates and shape polit- n the early morning of November 21, largest union decided to engage its ical messaging in dozens of countries, the South Korean police raided the of- I members on the issue during a two- including the United States. 29 Labour Rights Jenn Clamen and Kara Gillies When sex works Labour solidarity for sex workers has come a long way, but more can be done

N 2013, IN R. v. Bedford, the Supreme have made public their support for ter sense of what the work is about. Court of Canada declared three of total decriminalization. But why is Whether working in massage parlours, Canada’s prostitution laws uncon- sex work a union issue in particular? in strip clubs, on the street or in other stitutional, recognizing that crim- Sex work is rarely perceived as a locales, sex workers are providing ser- inal laws against prostitution con- form of work, but rather as a social vices of both a physical and emotional tribute to the harms perpetrated problem that requires elimination or nature as well as interacting with cli- Iagainst sex workers. The new sex containment. Sometimes this entails ents, colleagues, management, other work–related laws, introduced by the viewing sex work as a morality issue, third parties and the physical work en- Conservative government (Bill C-36) other times it involves constructing vironment. These interactions involve in 2014 in response to the ruling, bear sex work as a negative manifestation negotiating labour issues such as pay, a striking resemblance to the ones of women’s sexual exploitation or an work hours, services, professional re- that had been struck down a year individual pathology. While issues of sponsibilities, and occupational health prior, both in theory and application. economic insecurity and violence are and safety. Like workers in other sec- As the bill made its way through at play in some sex workers’ lives, they tors, those in sex work worry about low Parliament, many people and organi- do not define who sex workers are or wages, personal and workplace safety, zations allied with sex-worker rights what sex work is about. Instead, we the ability to take time off when they groups spoke up against it, including believe a more accurate definition is are sick, and access to state and employ- LGBT rights groups, AIDS service or- achieved by understanding sex work er benefits that enhance both their own ganizations, women’s groups, agen- the way the workers themselves ex- and their families’ wellbeing. cies working to end violence against perience it—as a means of generating Unfortunately, the stigma sur- women, and also, notably, unions. In income and supporting themselves, rounding most forms of sex work, Canada, sex workers have attempt- their families, their needs and their as- and the accompanying resistance to ed for years to garner the support of pirations. In a word, sex work is work. treating it as “real” work, have hin- the labour movement, and more re- Understanding sex work in these dered sex workers’ ability to access cently unions like CUPE and OPSEU terms is easier when we have a bet- basic labour rights, including those of minimum wage, reasonable hours, en- forceable contracts and secure work- ing environments. These obstacles are compounded by the continued criminalization of many aspects of sex work, especial- ly prostitution. The purchase of, com- munication for, advertising of and re- ceiving a material benefit from sexu- al services are all illegal. Sex workers are directly criminalized if they com- municate for work purposes in pub- lic places, as well as marginalized and subjected to violence and exploita- tion by criminal laws that make the actions of third parties and clients illegal. The absurdity of these prohi- bitions becomes clear when one con- templates their hypothetical applica- tion to other work sectors. Imagine working as a mechanic, but it being illegal for your customers to Tyler Anderson/National Post 30

Worker Co-ops Pierre Ducasse Democracy at work Happier and more productive workplaces are within reach

E SPEND A large portion of workforce or else all co-operative rep- Evidence shows co-determination our lives at work, much resentatives. MONDRAGON Corpora- with worker participation can en- more than in what we call tion of Spain is proof of how successful courage better labour relations, bet- social or political activities. this model can be. The half-century-old ter communication, and make it pos- We tend to believe that we group pulls together 260 co-operative sible to address problems before they live in a democratic socie- enterprises with collective revenues of proceed through the grievance pro- Wty, yet in most cases companies are nearly 12 billion euros ($17 billion) and cess. Importantly, it does so without organized according to an autocratic total employment of 75,000. affecting—and possibly enhances— model. Despite the many changes in There are also numerous examples corporate performance. Some of the our society since the Industrial Revo- of worker-recovered companies, most- top economies in the world, includ- lution, capitalism looks and behaves, ly in Latin America, but the idea is ing Germany, Finland and Sweden, with respect to labour relations, much spreading. These are private compa- are home to a large number of highly as it did 200 years ago—like a strug- nies that have been taken over by the productive co-determined companies. gle between a master and his or her workers, often after the owners closed If a German-style co-determination subordinates. Any project aiming to shop. Once democratized, worker-re- model cannot be achieved, there is a democratize our society and economy covered companies are more often than wealth of other management practic- must therefore confront the need to not successful. That being said, the es or structures that enable employ- democratize our workplaces. Though model does not easily apply in all cas- ee participation. Joint committees are no model is perfect, certain manage- es or countries. We therefore need to one simple means to address specific ment practices are better than others. consider hybrid or transitory models. issues like work schedules, production processes, health and safety rules, Worker co-operatives and Co-determination and training requirements, achieving bet- self-management participation ter work-life balance, being more en- vironmentally responsible, etc. Worker co-operatives and self-direct- One interesting alternative, quite ed enterprises are often considered to common in Germany and elsewhere Rethinking the role of unions be ideal forms of economic democra- in Europe, is called co-determina- cy. A worker co-operative is an enter- tion, which is sometimes mislabelled Unions are, by definition, readymade prise owned by the workforce. Im- co-management. In this model, em- tools for the democratization of the portant decisions are taken during ployees are represented on a com- workplace and the economy more meetings or assemblies based on the pany’s board of directors or on so- broadly. However, the labour move- principle of one member, one vote. called supervisory committees. There ment encompasses a wide variety of There are no distant shareholders; is sometimes equal representation of approaches and practices. Too fre- the workers are at once producers, owners and workers on these commit- quently they have settled for react- entrepreneurs and investors—truly tees, though the obligation normally ing to events and employer decisions their own bosses. applies only to larger companies (e.g., when a proactive stance and the pro- On a day-to-day basis, certain co-op- with 500 employees or more). posal of company-specific or indus- eratives operate like vertical organiza- try-wide solutions could be more ef- tions, with some employees specializ- fective in the long term. ing in management as they would in Protest and confrontation will al- a traditional private business model. ways be important strategies in the Others deploy a more self-directed fight for labour and democratic rights, management model where decisions but it is also important that we em- about operations (e.g., how work is or- We must aim for brace a participatory logic when ap- ganized, who will perform what tasks) propriate. Workers can and must act are made during assemblies or coun- significant employee positively within the workplace. And cils bringing together either the entire ownership of enterprises. this must be accompanied by change 32 in employer culture as well. Some In Quebec, the Laiterie de l’Out- will say, “That’s ridiculous! Our aouais is setting a strong exam- unions already have a hard time ple. The joint stock company was with the basics like negotiating set up less than 10 years ago af- a collective agreement and man- ter an existing dairy had closed aging grievances. Now you want down. The majority of stock is to add to that a whole new area held by private investors, but of tasks and structures?” 15% goes to a worker-sharehold- To that question I think we er co-operative and 15% to a con- must answer “yes.” The labour sumer co-operative. As such, even movement has taken a defensive if the business remains private, stance for too long; it is time to the dairy incorporates the phi- open up new fronts. Sometimes losophy and practices of co-op- the only way to keep a hold on erative culture. It is an all-round what we have is to go much fur- success story and a remarkable ther. If we win the issue of in- example of a “hybrid” ownership 44 Hours or Strike! creased employee participation in model in action. the workplace it will only increase A common retort to the con- Rarely do you come across fiction for young readers our chances of making gains on cept of joint ownership is that it where the backdrop is a labour dispute, let alone one more traditional demands for maintains and ultimately reinforc- as harsh and violent as the 1931 dressmakers’ strike in wages, pensions, benefits, etc. es capitalist modes of production. Toronto. In 44 hours or strike! (Second Story Press, 2015), That is not my intent here. I be- Anne Dublin has us follow two young Jewish sisters The issue of ownership lieve we must see these measures whose struggle ends up taking place as much within as transitory, potentially leading themselves as it does in the cold streets of Hogtown. Greater employee participation to greater control for workers and and the issue of ownership are even majority control in the long Sophie, 14, has just started working as a dressmaker distinct yet interrelated challeng- run. We need to start somewhere. under brutal conditions. She works 13-hour days, es. That is why, as we struggle but can’t work fast enough for the plant’s out-of-line for more democratic workplac- Conclusion foreman. Her older sister, Rose, drags Sophie to a es, we must also aim for whole union meeting where a hall of agitated women vote or at least significant employee Because we spend a large portion to go on strike. Hours, pay and workplace safety are ownership of the enterprises in of our lives at work, it is impossi- all at stake. which we work. ble to imagine a truly democrat- As the country grapples with the Depression, in a How do we get there? Employ- ic society without also democ- context where immigrants face stigma and resentment ee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) ratizing the workplace. Work is from all sides, Rose and Sophie walk a cold, windy offer one way in. The idea is that one of the vital components of picket line. Rose is arrested after stepping in to defend employees, as individuals, become human dignity; it is often what her workmate, who was fighting off scabs trying to shareholders of their companies, allows humans to develop their enter the factory, and gets thrown in jail. Sophie now earning stocks either automati- full potential and to feel they are faces the strike on her own, in addition to having to cally as a perk of employment or contributing positively to society. take care of her sick mother, a situation far beyond else in lieu of bonuses (or both). It is common sense that people her experience. In the United States, around 13.5 will be much happier, and more million workers are part of an productive, if they are respected The story combines many struggles—from working ESOP, which can have an impact and trusted to take a role in deci- poverty wages in sweatshop conditions to the life of on employee motivation as well sion-making. young immigrant women facing anti-Semitism—as the as overall corporate performance. Every structure has its strengths sisters navigate life-changing situations. Their story There is an even more inter- and weaknesses. Nonetheless, shows the many challenges and personal sacrifices esting model: worker-sharehold- research has demonstrated that that are sometimes necessary when fighting for the er co-operatives (WSCs). The log- more democracy at work comes greater collective good. ic is similar to an ESOP, but here with a number of benefits, includ- Though the result of the strike was not all that great, the the power is collective and uni- ing greater job satisfaction, better sisters prevail. Their fight, and a welcome intervention fied rather than individualized. labour relations, greater produc- by Emma Goldman near the end, strengthens their Workers invest in a co-operative, tivity, and even increased profits character, understanding and resolve to fight this and which itself becomes the share- for companies. It is surprising the other battles over their lifetime. 44 Hours or Strike! is holder. In the long run, this mod- issue, which should be central to a fast-paced and accessible read that serves as an el appears much more likely to our economic recovery, is not dis- introduction to solidarity, unions and the power of lead to majority takeovers, po- cussed more on the left (or any- sticking together. tentially igniting a revolution where else for that matter). What from within. are we waiting for? — Reviewed by Roxanne Dubois 33 Class & Politics Alex Hemingway Inequality, class and public policy

LONGSIDE GROWING INCOME ine- In his recent book, White-Collar Gov- like voter and social movement pres- quality, academic research ernment, Duke University political sci- sure, economic conditions, paid lobby- shows political inequality be- entist Nicholas Carnes shows that the ing and campaign donations. Still, as tween economic classes is also class backgrounds of politicians have the evidence bears out, there’s good expanding in the developed important policy implications. His reason to be concerned by the under- world. Princeton University large-scale study of U.S. congression- representation of working class pol- Apolitical scientist Martin Gilens re- al votes and other forms of legislative icy-makers, as well as of women and cently analyzed U.S. public opinion behaviour found that policy-makers marginalized groups. data on thousands of policy ques- frequently vote and act in line with The academic literature suggests tions ranging from economic and so- their economic class, even after ac- some possible reasons for the dearth cial policy to the military. Worrying- counting for partisan commitments. of working class representation. For ly, he found the policy preferences of For example, Carnes proposes that example, the recruitment networks of middle- and low-income Americans had their been a more proportionate political party gatekeepers likely in- bear almost no relationship to actual class makeup in Congress at the time, clude fewer people from the working policy outcomes (unless their prefer- the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which dispro- classes, just as evidence shows they ences happen to align with those of portionately benefited the affluent, include fewer women than men. Fur- the affluent). would have been voted down. Low thermore, gatekeepers seem to have a Instead, policy outcomes tend to fol- levels of working class representation modest bias against nominating can- low the preferences of high-income lead to less progressive outcomes on didates with blue-collar backgrounds, earners, regardless of the views of less economic policy and redistribution, according to evidence from a U.S.- advantaged groups. Gilens and Benja- including at the state and local level. based field experiment. Working class min Page of Northwestern University As part of my doctoral research, I’m candidates will also tend to be disad- call the phenomenon “economic-elite studying whether policy-makers’ class vantaged when nomination and elec- domination” in policy-making, while has this effect across a range of other tion races are expensive or time-con- other prominent political scientists like developed countries, including Canada, suming, leading to their not seeking Jacob Hacker of Yale and Paul Pierson Australia, Britain, Finland and Germa- office in the first place. at UC Berkeley are warning of a rising ny. I’ll also be analyzing whether the But working class people can run, “winner-take-all politics” in the U.S. class effect is stronger or weaker under win and become policy-makers, par- There are many potential causes different political and economic rules. ticularly with some encouragement of unequal policy influence, includ- While this type of class-based sta- and resources. Carnes highlights the ing class-based differences in vot- tistical research is relatively new, example of the New Jersey Labor Can- er turnout, lobbying, campaign do- there is already a well-developed lit- didate School, which provides organ- nations, and the structural power erature on other forms of “descriptive ized support and training for work- of wealth-holders over investment. representation,” a term that refers to er-politicians. The school reports an While each of these sources of pres- how well politicians personally reflect impressive 685 election victories (a sure on policy-makers deserves our at- the characteristics of a population. 76% success rate) at the state and lo- tention, we should also ask who the For example, the lack of women in cal level. A similar effort by the Cana- policy-makers are themselves. politics has been shown to affect how dian Women Voters Congress aims to The class backgrounds of poli- well women’s issues are represented increase the participation of women cy-makers do not tend to represent by policy-makers, and there is simi- in electoral politics. the broader population. In the U.S., lar evidence on the descriptive rep- The evidence shows working class for example, only about 2% of con- resentation of racialized minorities. policy-makers tend to be more reliable gresspersons elected in recent dec- To be sure, descriptive representa- advocates of progressive economic and ades came from working class oc- tion—whether of gender, race or redistributive policy—grist for the mill, cupations prior to entering politics. class—is not the only driver of poli- perhaps, for social movements in Can- Skewed patterns of class representa- cy-maker behaviour. Policy outcomes ada debating how to effectively engage tion are also found in Canada and the depend, as ever, on a range of impor- with parliamentary democracy. U.K., with lawyers, businesspeople tant individual characteristics includ- and other professionals filling most ing party affiliation, ideology and edu- seats in both parliaments. cation, as well as broader social forces 34 Manufacturing Matters Paul Weinberg Is this the end or rebirth for Stelco’s remaining steelworkers?

HE LABOUR DAY marchers were al government related to production a buyer can be found, at least for the out in force in Hamilton, On- levels, employment and investment, more modern Nanticoke plant. “My tario this September, with their US Steel was complaining a year lat- fear is that 15 months from now, US banners and other distinct par- er of a glut in global steel supply. It Steel Canada is back in the same place aphernalia to signify union alle- shut down its Canadian operations, and the judge will have no choice but giances. Conspicuously absent locked out workers and shifted pro- make the bankruptcy decision then.” Twas the usual clarion call in the ranks duction to U.S. steel mills. Aside from the Steelworkers, the of Local 1005 of the United Steelwork- The Harper government sued the company and (you would hope) the ers to save the city’s century-old Stel- firm for breach of its Investment Can- federal government, the Ontario gov- co factory, known since 2007 as US ada Act conditions, but dropped le- ernment and Hamilton city coun- Steel Canada, now under bankrupt- gal action after US Steel made fur- cil also have a stake in the fate of cy protection. ther, still secret promises to the gov- the steel plants, though, according “I noticed that the 1005 T-shirts at ernment in 2011. Since then, iron- and to Graefe, the main political concern Labour Day were not so much about steel-making operations at Hamilton seems to be how to avoid getting stuck the fight, and more about how you Works have ended permanently with replenishing the underfunded US could never steal their identity as a the shutting down of the blast fur- Steel Canada pension plan, report- steelworker,” says Peter Graefe, a po- nace, among other tribulations for ed to be $838 billion in deficit. (The litical scientist at McMaster Universi- local workers. province agreed in December to cover ty who was at the march. “Well, I saw The Canadian subsidiary filed for benefit costs until March 2016.) Like that as an admission of defeat, but bankruptcy protection in late 2014 Ottawa, the Wynne government in you don’t want to say that too loud.” (those hearings continue). Further- Toronto is just not interested in de- To be fair, this might be a reflection more, in an October 2015 decision, veloping a strategy to maintain and of the weakness of labour’s position Ontario Superior Court Justice Her- nurture the steel industry in Cana- in general in 2015. “I don’t like to use man Wilton-Siegel severed all legal da, he says, even when one solution the word ‘worried,’ because it gives a ties between the U.S. parent and US is staring them in the face. sense of hopelessness,” says 1005 Pres- Steel Canada. Equally controversial, In the early ‘90s, Bob Rae’s NDP gov- ident Gary Howe, whose local repre- the judge permitted US Steel Can- ernment helped fund and support a sents 600 active workers at US Steel ada to suspend paying health care USW-led worker buyout of the Algo- Canada’s Hamilton Works and the Ger- benefits to 21,000 retired workers ma steel operations in Sault Ste. Ma- man-owned Max Aicher North Amer- and property taxes to Hamilton and rie (bought by India-based Essar Steel ica, as well as over 8,000 pensioners in Haldimand County. in 2007). Graefe sees no political ap- the area. No matter how you squint, According to Marvin Ryder, a mar- petite for pursuing a similar plan in though, the situation for The Ham- keting professor at McMaster’s De- Hamilton and Nanticoke. mer’s unionized steelworkers is bad. Groote School of Business who has “It is a non-starter if the govern- Back in the early 1980s, the Hamil- been watching it all unfold, the Supe- ments aren’t willing to play,” he ex- ton-based Canadian company Stelco rior Court decision has turned what plains. “In 2008 to 2010, they might employed 26,000 workers. Today, as was US Steel Canada into a new Ca- have been more willing to try some- a branch plant of Pittsburgh-based nadian operation—a Stelco-2 if you thing in the wake of the financial cri- US Steel Corporation, operations are will—with an uncertain future. He sis and the questioning of the neo- a more automated at both the older is not sure it will be able to survive liberal consensus, although it would Hamilton Works plant and a newer, in a weak market that has seen the have taken a real push to make it hap- more modern Lake Erie Works in Nan- price of steel drop from $650 to $450 pen: occupation, community mobiliza- ticoke, south of Brantford. In total, per tonne in the last year. tion, etc. [by the Steelworkers]. More the plants employ about 2,200 people. Ryder argues US Steel Canada, in of a push than one might ever real- Things went sour for the steelwork- its present diminished form, “is a sick istically imagine. In 2015, that is not ers shortly after the takeover in 2007. company,” and that it might be better longer the case.” Despite making promises to the feder- for the bankruptcy to proceed so that 35 David Livingstone, professor emer- tant not to romanticize the old Stelco, ing into the Canadian operations at itus in social justice at the Universi- says Livingstone. The Canadian com- all,” he says. ty of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for pany’s history includes atrocious la- On top of the bankruptcy proceed- Studies in Education, accepts the mer- bour relations and a reluctance to in- ings and recent court-approved sev- it of a worker buyout and laments vest in technological innovation, un- erance of US Steel from its Canadi- that the union is not pushing the op- like Stelco’s Hamilton-based rival, the an subsidiary, a heated legal battle tion now. “In my mind [this is] a gigan- non-union Dofasco (now ArcelorMit- continues with respect to the secret tic failure of both imagination and tal Dofasco Hamilton). agreement between the firm and the courage,” he says. When the hedge fund Tricap sold Harper government in 2011. Though it Livingstone is the co-author of Stelco to US Steel Corporation in 2007 was raised locally by NDP and Liber- the 2011 book Manufacturing Melt- for about $2.2 billion, the union ap- al candidates in the federal election down: Reshaping Steel Work, a culmi- plauded. “When Stelco was sold and campaign, none of the three major nation of research on the Stelco/US US Steel came in, there were a lot of party leaders, including Prime Min- Steel Canada operation since the ear- people who were excited about US ister Justin Trudeau and NDP leader ly 1980s. He says the evidence proves Steel buying us. It was going to be Tom Mulcair, made any commitment a vital manufacturing sector and do- great for Hamilton. But it hasn’t been,” to opening up the agreement for pub- mestic steel industry go hand in hand says Howe, ruefully. lic scrutiny, notes Graefe. in ensuring a healthy economy. In the The federal government–approved “My view is that none of the par- book, steel is described as “the most purchase included a commitment to ties really want to do anything dras- essential material,” since you need produce 4.5 million tonnes of steel a tic, so the easiest thing is to criticize it to make everything from thumb year and maintain 3,100 employees in tacks to transport trucks, tin cans to the plants to be operated by US Steel transmission towers. “Without steel Canada. But according to Ryder, the the world we know would not exist.” U.S. parent company did not fore- Former Hamilton mayor Bob Bratina And though a domestic steel indus- see its business becoming more dif- speaks at a 10,000-strong rally in 2011 in try is preferable to a branch plant ver- ficult in the global recession the fol- support of locked-out US Steel workers. sion as exists in Canada, it’s impor- lowing year. “I think they regret buy- Ontario Federation of Labour

36 the Conservatives for doing it badly capacity by one transnational and we around Hamilton Works there are 400 without really saying what you would should expect little better from Es- people just keeping the fires burning do differently. I noticed that it is the sar, they argue. That’s because typ- and not really producing anything.” local [Hamilton area] candidates who ically in global companies the cru- Worker buyouts continue to be sup- wanted to open up the secret deal. But cial decisions about investment and ported at USW’s international office they made sure that Trudeau did not technological innovation are made in in Pittsburgh by the union’s president, say a thing. Much like Mulcair [who] the head office, based on changing- fi Leo Gerard (a Canadian), who played a more or less admitted that he didn’t nances and priorities. central role in the Algoma buyout dec- think you could open the deal.” Furthermore, Smith points out, US ades ago. Toward these goals, the un- Ryder warns we should not jump Steel did not establish any research ion has established a collaborative re- to conclusions about what is in the and development activity in its Ca- lationship with the largest worker co- secret agreement. nadian operation. Production was op in the world, Mondragon, which is “There are a lot of people who want stripped away from the Hamilton based in the Basque country in Spain. to give a very black hat to US Steel: and Nanticoke plants, and Stelco’s But the Canadian section of the you can’t trust them, they cheat, they customer lists and order books were steelworkers’ union continues to hold lie. And so the common wisdom is handed over to the Pittsburgh office its tongue on the subject. “It’s been dis- that they violated the second deal,” and US Steel’s American sales force. cussed, that’s all I can tell you right he says. “We don’t know [that]. If the “US Steel bought [Stelco] for one now,” says Howe, who is also bullish deal was made public we could [be] reason and that was to capture a cus- about the potential for a domestic accountable to it.” tomer base and the order list. And Canadian steel industry, pointing to But Ryder expects the new Liber- make those people comfortable deal- the new Liberal government’s infra- al government may be advised by its ing with US Steel people and then structure spending plans for bridges, lawyers not to divulge the contents shut this fucking plant,” says Smith. tunnels and other large projects that of the secret agreement. “This could As proof, he says US Steel is trying will all require steel. jeopardize a future ability to keep to move the finishing production lines Ryder says USW probably could these [kinds of] deals secret. Gener- out of Hamilton Works—those parts have made a bid for the old Stelco op- ally, businesses do not want to make responsible for producing high-val- erations last July and that the chance any deals with the government pub- ue steel components important to might arise again in the future. lic as they do not want competitors the auto industry, among others. “If “Now, I don’t know what its source to know the details.” you take that production out of that of funding would be. It would not like- At the moment, there is no bidding plant and transfer that to an Ameri- ly get a loan for $2 billion,” he says. “As process to find new buyers for US can plant, that is pretty well the last well, once it ‘owned’ the operations, it Steel Canada, but that could change. bullet in the head,” says Smith. would need to ‘operate’ the plant. Most One much discussed scenario is that Livingstone says a much better steelworkers focus on the steel pro- the Canadian operation could end up option to another foreign takeover duction side of the business but the in the hands of Essar, like its relatively would be to forge an independent Ca- union would also need to hire sales- successful Sault competitor. Former nadian steel company. The raw steel people and find buyers for its steel. USW research director Peter Warrian could be produced from coal, iron “There was never a question that says it is the best option even though and coke at Lake Erie Works, which US Steel Canada or Stelco could make Algoma is also going through bank- has its own blast furnace, while the steel. The problem has always been ruptcy protection. finishing work is accomplished in the finding buyers, and buyers willing to Essar’s Algoma plant and the old Hamilton Works plant. pay a price that allows the company Stelco operations are entirely com- “They could be an effective steel op- to be profitable.” plimentary, explains Warrian, now a eration for Canadians, and build the Meanwhile, just to make things senior research fellow at the Munk base for the reclamation of the Cana- more complicated, Graefe warns the School of Global Affairs at the Uni- dian steel industry,” he says. “That may entire Canadian steel industry will versity of Toronto. Algoma would sound like a dream at this point, but be affected if Canada signs and rat- make the slabs of steel then ship them the elements are there at Lake Erie ifies the Trans-Pacific Partnership by boat through the Great Lakes to for a separate and efficient steel pro- free trade agreement, which loosens the Stelco operation for processing. duction at the front end and in rela- the rules for auto parts made outside “It would continue Hamilton in the tionship to finishing facilities. Some of North America and Mexico in a way steel business and produce the larg- the finishing mills at Hamilton Works that can only encourage more off- er gains, long term, for the Hamilton could be resuscitated and that relies shoring to Mexican and Asian plants. economy,” he says. on the strengths of its two plants.” “I just think if TPP hits the parts Livingstone and his Manufacturing Instead, he adds, US Steel has been sector, that makes it harder for both Meltdown co-author Warren Smith (a winding down the Hamilton Works fa- Stelco and Arcelor [Dofasco’s parent former president of USW Local 1005) cility, while shipping the hot coils of company], given that their highest are opposed to such a plan. US Steel steel it produces at Lake Erie Works to value products is auto-grade steel,” Canada was robbed of its productive its U.S. plants for finishing. “If you go he explains. 37 Beyond Work-Life Balance Dianah Smith Racial and social inequality is alienating a “pushed out” workforce

E ARE RAISED to believe when in. We chafed throughout our educa- tion. But these conversations ended we finish school we will tion, especially during those four or once I entered the workforce. There get a job or profession and five years of high school. (Often, our seemed to be an unspoken belief that that with this job we will subsequent experience of the work- we were now all on a level playing be able to provide for our- ing world would feel similarly off.) I field—that we were now members selves and for our families. did not master most of these skills of the same group: working people. WIt is assumed, as a sign of success, we until my early teens. It meant that, I worked throughout my 20s, at one will want to leave our parents’ home until that point, I spent quite a bit of point leaving university to take a job and make our own way in the world. time on the “Thinking Chair” at the with a national youth organization. There is a tacit understanding that back of the class, or at the principal’s Most of my employment then was our lives should unfold relatively office, for infractions big and small. with small non-profits. In these first smoothly and that, maybe, we might I look back at my childhood self now “real” jobs I began to observe the un- even be happy. and see that my “acting out” was about spoken ways that power and privi- But if the ubiquitous “we” in that a kid trying to make sense of massive lege functioned, how some co-work- paragraph is assumed to be white, het- changes that she was experiencing, the ers were able to “volunteer” their time erosexual, middle class and able-bod- major one being a reunification with or work unpaid overtime, and how de- ied, what is the experience of school- my parents in Canada when I was six spite modest wages a few others were ing and work for those outside the after being raised by my extended fam- able to go on vacations or purchase dominant culture? How is happiness ily in Jamaica. I now also understand expensive name brands. This was defined and measured for them? that many of those big and small in- possible not because they were fru- As someone who is not a member fractions were a reaction to my invis- gal or good savers, but because they of the dominant culture, my experi- ibility as a poor, black immigrant kid. were still being financially support- ence of working life thus far has been By high school, the “Thinking Chair” ed by their parents (which was only mainly one of alienation: from self and principal’s office were no longer revealed to me much later). The rest (body, mind, spirit), from communi- my reality. I still often felt like I didn’t of us had no choice but to live within ty and from culture. This experience fit in, but instead of acting out I be- our means and again to wonder what stems from our society’s belief that came disengaged and, in my junior we were doing wrong. work is a neutral space where we are years, skipped the classes where I felt After completing a bachelor’s de- among equals. Current buzzwords the most unseen and unheard. gree, I applied to teachers college with such as “diversity” and “work-life bal- In university I and others began an explicit desire to work from an an- ance” only superficially address how to give voice to our experiences. My ti-oppressive, inclusive framework. power and privilege manifest in the classmates in the early- and mid-1990s, However, I was very surprised by the workplace. and some of our professors, were us- conservative attitudes of many of my Arguably, education at the prima- ing words such as privilege, power, peers there. Many believed “not see- ry and secondary levels teaches us, white supremacy, patriarchy, classism ing colour” was a positive approach among other things, how to sit still, and heterosexism. Students were de- when working with racialized stu- how to listen, how to do certain (often manding that our course readings bet- dents. Their idea of an anti-oppres- mundane and repetitive) tasks, and ter represent the student body. I be- sive, inclusive classroom was to treat how to at least fit in, if not get along, gan to learn about “the hidden curric- all students “the same.” Class stratifi- with others. These are all very trans- ulum,” about cultural capital and how cation and discrimination was bare- ferable skills for when we enter the socioeconomic status is a major deter- ly considered. world of work. minant of a person’s future outcomes. Although I was extremely frus- What about those of us who nev- These were not easy conversations. trated by these attitudes, I didn’t give er learned how to sit still or to listen? Many of my peers still believed their much thought to my relationships We were bored stiff with the mun- parents were successful because they with my future colleagues or what dane and repetitive tasks and often “worked hard,” not because of un- my experience would be like as an em- felt awkward, like we never quite fit earned privileges or their social loca- ployee. I knew we would not all be “on 38 the same page.” But I imagined that I only realized once I left my full- The term “pushed out” was coined once I started teaching I could close time teaching job that I also need- by researchers to describe the expe- my classroom door and impart the ed much more: a workplace where I rience of mainly poor and/or racial- lessons in the way I saw fit. I was 30 saw my lived experiences, and those ized students who leave school (drop when I completed my teaching degree of other marginalized people, rep- out) because they feel they do not fit and was hired as a full-time teacher resented and reflected in meaning- with the values or expectations or not long afterward. I passed the two- ful, respectful, deep (versus superfi- mechanisms of mainstream educa- year probationary period and became cial), non-exploitive, non-appropria- tion. As adults we have more agen- a full-time permanent teacher with tive ways. Ideally, I did not want to cy than students, but I feel the term the Toronto District School Board. be the only queer and/or black and/ also works for those of us on the Yet with each passing year I became or formerly working class staff mem- other side of the desk who “choose” more and more unhappy. During each ber in my school. I wanted celebration to switch to part-time work, or to break (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.), and representation of black culture leave our profession altogether be- I would almost always, with the rare to go beyond Black History Month or cause our values, desires and expec- exception, come down with a nasty Kwanzaa. I wanted the understanding tations did not fit the system. Per- cold or flu. Often I’d come home from that there was much more at stake in haps we, like those younger “drop- a hard day at school and, after a quick my relationship with students, par- outs,” might still be part of the sys- dinner (and marking and/or prepping ents and the larger community as an tem if there was a better “fit” for us. for the next day), plop down on the “out” queer black teacher, and that be- Until then, a system that assumes couch in front of the TV and not get ing “out” or coming out in school was a white, middle class, heterosexual, up again until after the 11 o’clock news. not just a matter of pride or a “teach- able-bodied norm will only reflect, If you asked me what was wrong I able moment.” privilege and perpetuate that norm. don’t think I would have been able After paying off my student loans, I Changing the culture of work is ex- to name it. decided to take an unpaid leave from tremely difficult as work is the means I knew I did not want to rush all full-time teaching. I worked for one se- by which each of us supports our- the time. I wanted to sleep until I felt mester and took the second semester selves and our family. Anything that rested (at least some days). I wanted off. I did this for two years and then threatens our individual well-being or to sometimes feel sunshine on my took a full year of unpaid leave. At that of our family is always conten- face in the park in the middle of the some level resigning from the profes- tious, but discussions about power afternoon. I wanted Sundays not to sion felt drastic, but it also felt liberat- and privilege need to be had for the be filled with dread. I wanted to shop ing. School had become a place where betterment of us all. The fact that for groceries, cook, do laundry and I had to put on armour. Each morn- the experiences and values of some spend time with my friends and fami- ing before I left home, I felt I had to members of society are represented, ly without feeling like they were using gird myself for the day. This protec- reflected and validated on an ongo- up precious time I needed for mark- tion and my ultimate “choice” to leave ing basis while those of others are ing, lesson planning and preparing was a form of survival. marginalized makes us all that much for the workweek. poorer in the end.

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ation-state boundaries no longer from forming independent organiza- sult. Many of the Indian workers who N contain the full range of the work- tions. Waves of activism in 2010, where were locked out fighting Maruti never ing class. Thanks to globalized capital- tens of thousands of workers in the got their jobs back. ism, it is more spread out and disunit- manufacturing sector went on strike, Despite weaknesses like these, the ed than ever before. The poorest work- demonstrated that parallel rank-and- underlying lesson in Southern Insur- ers, located in the Global South, create file workers’ organizations can have an gency is an important one: if the trade goods and services under the financial impact on slowing (or stopping) capi- union bureaucracy isn’t willing or able control of companies still largely head- tal production. By leveraging the con- to confront capitalism, activists may quartered in the Global North. For Im- straints on contractors, workers were need to organize around it, among the manuel Ness, their militancy and activ- rank-and-file. When workers build the ism present a fundamental challenge capacity among themselves to con- to capitalism. He examines the com- front power, they can pull leadership, position of this new globalized prole- which might have a tendency to be tariat, and chronicles emerging work- more conservative, toward action. This er struggles, in his new book, Southern is what grassroots power is all about— Insurgency: The Coming of the Global mobilizing the base and building the Working Class (Pluto Press). confidence and capacity of the lead- “At a time when academics are strug- ership to move together in the same gling to locate any sign of life among direction. amorphous working classes in Europe In Canada, there’s no better example and North America, worker struggles of this than in Quebec, where mem- are rampant throughout the South,” bers of the Common Front, represent- he writes, arguing the shift from man- ing public health care, social services ufacturing to service-sector employ- and education workers, are engaged in ment has contributed to labour’s dis- a battle that is determined to stop the organization in the Global North. Charest Liberal government’s austeri- Outside of Europe and North Amer- ty program. The strength of these mo- ica, though, manufacturing workers bilizations comes directly from mem- are at the heart of the struggles Ness able to slow down production and force bers who, in many parts of the prov- considers among the most exciting in the bosses to improve working condi- ince, are connected not just through the global labour movement. His first tions and wages—all outside the formal the Common Front, but also commu- case study examines how autowork- union structures to which they belong. nity solidarity efforts. While there still ers at the Maruti Suzuki plant in In- For Ness, this proves how new ways exists problems of democracy (e.g., dia took radical action to fight against of organizing and mobilizing are pos- decisions made at the leadership lev- precarious and part-time employment, sible, though we never quite learn ex- el that may be strategic but not driven and low wages. Ness says their dec- actly which struggles or tactics, most by democratic membership bodies), it ade-long struggle demonstrates that of them well-worn in North America remains the best example of what un- “newly proletarianized workers,” those and Europe, could be imported into a ions can achieve when the grassroots recently from rural communities who “post-industrial” Northern reality. Could are mobilized. have moved to work in urban factories, autoworkers in Oshawa take the same Most importantly, the Quebec mo- “gain class consciousness as quickly actions that workers in India took? bilization is building community pow- as veteran workers from the region.” Maybe, but the author never tries to er to continue to confront the Liberal This feeds back into the author’s main draw the potential parallels, content government even if bargaining commit- thesis that established unions are just to repeat the stodgy-North-versus-rad- tees accept new contracts for Com- too stodgy—either unwilling or incapa- ically-anti-capitalist-South dichotomy. mon Front members. The Liberals have ble of being the vehicle that confronts Look around: global capitalism constantly threatened workers with capitalism—and should therefore look slouches forward despite these un- back-to-work legislation, which will be south for more effective ways to do it. doubtedly important local instances costly to defy both for individual union Ness also examines the successful of class consciousness. Even in his members and unions themselves. Mov- organizing of Chinese workers despite case studies, it is debatable whether ing outside of the formal union struc- their membership in a statewide bu- or not all the workers who took radical ture might be exactly the way to con- reaucratic union that prohibits them action are materially better off as a -re tinue the fight against austerity. 41 Women’s Work Kate McInturff What’s it worth to you?

OMEN HAVE ALWAYS worked. have been largely stagnant over the nomic growth there is a fundamen- What has changed over past decades, family incomes have tal problem. At some point, we are go- the past 40 years is that kept pace in large part because wom- ing to run out of women. more and more women are en’s wages are making up the differ- Women currently make up 48% of being paid for their work. ence. Canada’s labour force. What happens What hasn’t changed is The experience of the global finan- when they make up 50%? Women are Wthat women continue to do more un- cial crisis in 2008 only solidified the in- over-represented in part-time work, paid work in the home than men do— terest of international economic insti- but the majority of the growth in twice as much work, actually. Jobs tutions in women’s work. Women re- women’s employment over the past that look most like unpaid work— turned to the workforce more quickly 30 years has been in full-time employ- 47% child care, for example—continue to after the economic downturn because ment. What happens when women’s 46% be among the lowest paying occupa- they were, and are, more likely to work full-time employment matches that 44% tions in Canada. Consider that a home in the kinds of jobs that were on offer of men? Women as a share 2011 child care provider will earn just over in 2009: part-time, precarious, mini- Finally, there are still only 24 hours 38% of the workforce 2000 $11,000 a year. Early childhood edu- mum-wage. Women played a distinct in a day, and as women spend more 1988 Share of income cators fare only slightly better with role in the global recovery because of and more of their time doing paid earned by women 38% median incomes just under $18,000. this swift return to paid work. Their work, there will be a point at which 35% Women are paid less than men in paid work was coupled with their con- some of that unpaid work is not go- 1976 almost every occupational category tribution of additional unpaid care ing to get done. (Indeed, the number 32% measured by Statistics Canada (469 work—filling the gap as governments of hours we spend on housework has of 500 occupations if you want to be withdrew social and health services gone down over the past two dec- precise). Yes, that’s even working full in the name of austerity. ades.) More importantly, the unpaid 23% time, full year, even with the same ex- Which is perhaps why I’m not care work that is not fungible (that perience and education as their male convinced yet that the World Bank diaper is not going to change itself) co-workers, even with university de- is a real sister in the struggle for gen- will have to be done by someone—in- grees. And it includes young, single der equality. Essentially, the positive creasingly that someone will get paid and/or childless women who have yet contribution women’s work made to for that work. to face the 8% motherhood penalty the economic recovery, and to sub- I could get excited about that devel- on their lifetime earnings. sequent economic growth in Cana- opment—the financial recognition of But wait—the past decade has seen da and around the world, was made the value of care work that women do economists and important financial possible by the marginalization of in the home—until I remember what institutions like the World Bank and those women within the paid work- we pay child care workers. Which sug- IMF start to wake up to the value of force and the continued expectation gests there are some social shifts that women’s work. “Look!” they said, “the that women will take on the majori- need to occur in how we think about rise of women’s participation in paid ty of unpaid care work. women and their work, and how we work is contributing to GDP growth From this perspective, women were value that contribution to the quali- in almost every country in the world!” good for Canada’s economic recovery ty of our daily lives as well as to our That goes for Canada too. The OECD because they are segregated into ser- community and our economy. went as far as to say that “rising fe- vice- and care-related occupations, As global financial institutions male participation in the labour force because they are twice as likely to come crashing bear-like through the has been the mainstay of per capita work for minimum wage, because feminist china shop, I suggest they real income growth [for Canada] over they are three times as likely to work ask not what women can do for the the last decade.” part time, and because they are will- economy but what the economy can Women’s paycheques have also ing and expected to take up ever-in- do for women. been essential in allowing Canadian creasing hours of unpaid care work. Consider this: we could pay wom- families to keep up with the increase Even from a purely instrumentalist en as much as we pay men. Closing in the cost of living. While male wages perspective on women’s role in eco- the wage gap would increase wom- 42 en’s wages, thereby increasing con- usually from someone who makes This signals a version of family life sumer spending and—voila!—con- 20% more than his female colleagues where unpaid work could potential- tribute to GDP growth. and is twice as likely to be promoted ly be shared more evenly. The expe- Oh, but the poor employers, you to senior management, even though rience of European countries echoes say. Won’t their profit margins be he is less likely to have a universi- that of Quebec, with the further in- shattered? ty degree. sight that men only take paternity Canadian corporations have come A further suggestion for consider- leave if it comes with a significant out the financial crisis with very nice- ation: value women’s work—paid and level of wage replacement. That is, ly feathered nests. Corporate tax re- unpaid. Until unpaid work is more only if it places a significant financial ductions and other financial conces- evenly distributed, women will con- value on their time and their work. sions offered in the name of stim- tinue to try to accommodate their If men and women start perform- ulating the economy have largely double burden of unpaid work by tak- ing identical unpaid work in the home, been banked by corporations rather ing jobs that are part time, or short there is potential for both the so- than reinvested in new equipment, term, or which offer shift work that cial value and the market value of machinery or increases in hiring or can be scheduled around their care that work to increase. That child care (gasp) wages. This suggests our larg- work. Hence the overrepresentation worker who spent two years training er corporations and institutions pub- of women in low-paying sectors of the to get her early childhood education lic and private are well positioned— economy where shift work is typical, degree might make enough to raise not to mention legally bound in the and jobs are largely part time. Charter—to close the wage gap. The Nearly a third of women who work resistance to doing so is not strict- ly financial. 46% 47% 44% Women as a share 2011 38% of the workforce 2000 1988 Share of income earned by women 38% 35% 1976 32%

her family income above the pover- 23% ty line. The skills required of a wom- part time do so because of a lack of an who has stayed out of paid work access to child care. Public invest- in order to raise three children (mul- First, businesses have to be ments in the affordability and avail- titasking, strategic planning, conflict convinced that the wage gap is a ability of child care will make it easi- management) might also be valued at thing, that it exists, which means er for women to take full-time work. a level that allows her to re-enter the facing the fact that at some point, Good for them, good for household workforce as the experienced work- someone, who may otherwise be a incomes, good for the economy. er that she is. perfectly nice person, has, perhaps However, this means recognizing I have argued at length and often unconsciously, made discriminato- that child care work is a public good, that we need policies in place to en- ry decisions. Decisions to offer men that it doesn’t undermine the choices sure women’s economic security and, higher starting salaries, higher-pro- of families about how to raise their yes, their economic independence. At file assignments and faster rates of children, but rather increases them. the same time, a true shift in the way promotion than women. It also means reimagining the role of we value women’s work, particularly Second, they have to be convinced women within a family—a shift of their care work, requires a recognition that discrimination is a bad thing deeply held personal beliefs. of our dependence upon that work. A (harmful to employee retention, It’s worth pointing out that the recognition that women’s work is not for example). Third, they have to be shift is happening. Not only out of merely valuable and skilled work, but convinced to track rates of pay and economic necessity, but also out of necessary. A recognition that means promotion. Fourth, they have to be that political shibboleth: choice. Ev- men picking up more hours of unpaid willing to be somewhat public about idence of this can be found (surpris- work at home and employers giving those rates of pay. ingly?) in the behavior of men. women a pay rise. Finally, corporations must be will- When Quebec introduced paid pa- Trust me, it’s worth it. ing to close the gaps where they find ternity leave (a supplemental bene- them—the point at which you will fit just for fathers), the share of fa- hear much discussion about “merit,” thers who took leave tripled, to 76%. 43 DAVIS BALLANTYNE CARR FEDUP WITH ON-THE-JOB SEXISM

exism and racism are big problems nent issues regarding sex, gender, and But Samantha cautioned about the S in the restaurant industry. On aver- race in the service industry.” Sexist res- potential for a database to stigmatize age, a female server will make 68% of a taurants are called out in anonymous establishments that have made real male server’s income. For black wom- tips while restaurants with more pos- efforts to correct their sexism or rac- en, the number drops to 60%. Wom- itive workspaces are recommended. ism problems. “The restaurant industry en are less likely to be found in high- FEDUP offers three questionnaires— rapidly changes,” she says. “So a res- er-paying jobs in the industry, with far one for customers, one for employees taurant could have a bad rep for a cou- more men than women holding pow- and one for employers—that can be ple months in the database, but it may erful position such as managers, own- printed out, filled in and sent back to not be reflective of the current atmos- ers and chefs. the site, which posts some testimoni- phere. It would have to be a very active Sexism in the industry was brought als online. The goal of the FEDUP pro- database to be authentic.” into the headlines last June when for- ject is to “provide a comprehensive and The FEDUP project has been on hi- mer pastry chef Kate Burnham filed accessible database of restaurant, cafe, atus since April 2015 while organiz- a complaint with the Ontario Human and eatery reviews based off of a thor- ers compile submissions for the data- Rights Tribunal for sexual harassment ough checklist that anyone can bring base. But it, and projects like it, show and abuse at the Weslodge tavern in along on an outing if they wish.” The the power of citizen reporting and Toronto where she worked between website also offers a glossary where demonstrate a unique way to lever- July 2012 and January 2014. Burnham terms such as “gender” and “discrimi- age technology to address discrimi- alleged she was constantly asked about nation” are explained. nation in the industry. Social media her sexuality and touched without con- I asked Samantha (not her real and the Internet help ordinary citi- sent by managers. She agreed to a con- name), a graduate student studying zens call out sexism and racism when fidential settlement with the owners of gender in media, about her long expe- it occurs (naming and shaming), forc- Weslodge in September. rience as a server. She told me other ing companies to respond to public Edmonton’s The Feminist Eatery Da- cities like Toronto could benefit from outcry and, ideally, change their pol- tabase – Undercover Project (FEDUP) a FEDUP-like service. “I would love to icies for the better. responds to this all too frequent dis- see this in Toronto. I think the checklist crimination in the biz. The group bills for diners is really adept at addressing itself as “a feminist approach to eat- micro-aggression nuances of the din- ing out that seeks to highlight promi- ing experience.”

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Send mail to 500-251 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1X3. FURTHER For more information, contact Jennie at 1-613-563-1341 ext. 305 or [email protected]. Work & Automation Robert Chernomas On the economic possibilities of a post-scarcity society

OR KARL MARX, capitalism not only distasteful and unjust they omy produced almost one-quarter fostered and ultimately limits the may be in themselves, because more goods and services than it did in productive capacity of the econo- they are tremendously useful in 1999, but with virtually the same num- my, but also shapes the character promoting the accumulation of ber of workers. “It’s as if $2.5 trillion of the humans who live within it. capital, we shall then be free, at worth of stuff—the equivalent of the He rejected the idea that egotisti- last, to discard. entire U.S. economy circa 1958—mate- Fcal self-interest was immutable human rialized out of thin air,” it read, lead- For both Marx and Keynes the cap- nature, rather we become this way in ing into a discussion about whether italist social order was a “most dis- a for-profit market economy that re- technology was killing jobs. tasteful,” but important, stage in hu- wards and reinforces the relentless pur- “In 2005, the average U.S. worker man history, a prequel to emanci- suit of self-interest, and punishes those could produce what would have re- pation from economic scarcity and forced into alienating forms of work. quired two people to do in 1970, what alienation. For both, capitalist stag- In 1930, at the beginning of the Great would have required four people in nation, depressions and barren eco- Depression, John Maynard Keynes 1940, and would have required six peo- nomic pursuits slowed the process to- wrote an essay called “Economic Pos- ple in 1910,” an economist told Business- ward emancipation by compounding sibilities for our Grandchildren.” He week, suggesting this is what progress permanent losses, now measured in also criticized the accumulation of looks like. For example, where in 1900, trillions of dollars, of forgone social- capital for its own sake, and tried to 41% of Americans worked on farms, less ly useful goods and services. envision what a post-scarcity society than 2% do today thanks to tractors In his new book, The Mythology of might look like 100 years hence (2030). and combines. This trend holds in oth- Work: How Capitalism Persists Despite Keynes is credited by many with sav- er sectors outside of manufacturing. Itself (Pluto Press), Peter Fleming re- ing capitalism from itself, but this pas- “So are robots getting all the good prises the idea that capitalism—the sage from his essay suggests the Brit- jobs?” asks the article. It is grist for work that produces the wealth of na- ish economist had an ulterior motive: Fleming’s ire about the absurdity of tions, for profit, in advanced capitalist the neoliberal mindset. If the object When the accumulation of societies—has outlived its usefulness. of production were wealth, not prof- wealth is no longer of high The book is full of anecdotes about its, then perhaps we should let the social importance, there will be how the nature of contemporary work robots have the jobs, while we enjoy great changes in the code of is as oppressive as it is non-produc- the goods and spare time to pursue morals…. The love of money as tive, much more about reproducing life without drudgery. Unfortunate- a possession—as distinguished neoliberal capitalism than doing an- ly, and as Businessweek concludes (in from the love of money as ything useful. His antidotes include the Keynesian tradition), today’s un- a means to the enjoyments a three-day workweek and a guaran- employment and stagnation are the and realities of life—will teed living wage. result of a shortage of demand that is be recognized for what it Is there a material basis for these slowing the economic progress repre- is, a somewhat disgusting proposals that would serve society in- sented by the growth in productivity. morbidity, one of those semi- dependent of capitalist interests? For And what of cash hoarding? Accord- criminal, semi-pathological example, where would the investment ing to James Henry, a senior advisor for propensities which one hands funds come from? And can we afford a the Tax Justice Network, “the world’s over with a shudder to the shorter workweek while maintaining super-rich have taken advantage of lax specialists in mental disease. or increasing the standard of living for tax rules to siphon off at least US$21 All kinds of social customs and the bottom 90% of income earners? trillion, and possibly as much as US$32 economic practices, affecting trillion, from their home countries and the distribution of wealth Do robots get all the good jobs? hide it abroad—a sum larger than the and of economic rewards entire American economy.” World GDP and penalties, which we now n January 2012, a Bloomberg Busi- is approximately US$70 trillion. Data maintain at all costs, however nessweek article noted the U.S. econ- I from the U.S. Internal Revenue Ser- 45 ing 599% in that time. According to A reduction in the bloated U.S. fi- economist Lester Thurow, U.S. real nancial, insurance, real estate, mili- per capita GDP rose 36% from 1973 tary, security, marketing and adver- to 1995, yet “the real hourly wages of tising sectors could reduce hours non-supervisory workers (those who of work without affecting the real don’t boss anyone else—a vast major- needs of citizens. Waste could also ity of the workforce) declined 14%.” be trimmed from the top of the U.S. In the decade beginning 1980, all health care system, which spends 50% earnings gains in the U.S. went to the more delivering health services than top 20% of income earners; 64% went any other country in the world with- to the already massively wealthy top out actually affecting patient care. 1%. In a rather stunning calculation, The wealth saved on these “slum- Joel Rogers, director of the Center lords” could be funnelled into criti- on Wisconsin Strategy, predicts that cally important climate-friendly pro- if wages tracked productivity, “medi- duction. A Cornell University press an family income in the U.S. would be release in March 2013 reported that about $20,000 higher today than it is.” by the year 2030 it will be possible to Elizabeth Warren wrote in 2001 that convert all of New York State’s ener- U.S. family finances are more fragile gy sources from natural gas, coal and than they had been for the previous fossil fuel to wind, water and sunlight. generation. In 2011, Robert Reich testi- This would stabilize electricity prices, fied to a U.S. Senate committee that in reduce power demand by about 37% the 2000s, the typical American worked and create thousands of permanent significantly longer hours than his or jobs. A series of reports out of the eco- her European or Japanese counterpart, nomics department at the Universi- and in fact “many more hours than the ty of Massachusetts Amherst pro- typical American middle-class family vides evidence that the same energy had worked in 1979—500 hours longer, policies could be applied almost any- Automated car manufacturing plant. a full 12 weeks more.” Americans were where through the right public pol- RicAguiar also sleeping between one and two icy and a focus on community own- hours less than they did in the 1960s. ership. The fact clean energy is more The notorious debt these people labour intensive than fossil fuels im- have accumulated keeps them work- bues such policies with a more criti- vice suggests that, globally, U.S. non- ing longer hours while reducing their cally important social end. financial companies hold approxi- future consumption, as the song says, In a fascinating forthcoming book, mately US$5 trillion in cash. Canadi- because they owe their souls to the The New Normal: Persistent Austerity, an companies are widely reported to company store. Declining Democracy, and the Privati- be holding about $635 billion, equal to zation of the State (Pluto Books), Alan one-third of the economy. Slumlords or a green economy? Nasser takes up this topic in depth. In all, trillions of dollars that could He asks why, with generations of ris- be available for productive invest- n November 2010, a New Yorker ar- ing productivity and an abundance ment are instead channelled into fi- I ticle by John Cassidy, “What Good of surplus for investment, with prof- nancial speculation and tax avoid- is Wall Street?”, quoted Lord Adair its up and wages down, is there not ance. If this money could be redi- Turner, then chairman of Britain’s an obvious alternative to austerity, rected, taxed, then spent on educa- since abolished Financial Services Au- inequality and economic stagnation. tion, a green economy, and research thority, describing a lot of what hap- At least in the industrialized world, and development, wage growth, a liv- pens on the world’s stock exchanges the evidence suggests we have solved ing wage for all, and a reduced work- as “socially useless activity.” Cassidy’s or could readily solve the problem of week are objectively possible. Instead, article reflects Fleming’s assessment production and sustainability. What the United States, as neoliberal post- of the neoliberal economic order. The remains is a seemingly insurmount- er child, has been moving in the oppo- oligarchs that run the City of London, able political problem—the prob- site direction for nearly four decades. Wall Street, and Bay Street in Toron- lem that generations after Marx and Economists Thomas Piketty and to are, he writes, “the financial equiv- Keynes we are still incapable of de- Emmanuel Saez provide evidence alent of slumlords or toll collectors manding our well-deserved share of that between 1973 and 2000, the aver- in pin-striped suits. If they retired the prosperity and spare time our la- age income of the bottom 90% of U.S. to their beach houses en masse, the bour power has produced. taxpayers fell by 7%. Incomes of the rest of the economy would be fine, or top 1% rose by 148%, the top 0.1% by perhaps even healthier.” 343%, and the top 0.01% by an amaz- 46 tonnes a year. President technique that separates working with communities The Good Obama’s Clean Power these elements at the near the reserve to News Page Plan requires states to cut source so they can be discourage people from carbon dioxide emissions recycled as fertilizer. The being recruited to work Compiled by by 32% from 2005 levels project won the American for poacher networks. Elaine Hughes by 2030. According to Society of Civil Engineers’ And endangered sturgeon the International Energy 2015 sustainable have returned to part of Agency, “renewables development award a Maine river that has contributed almost half because of its potential been accessible only of the world’s new power application in developing since late 2013 when the generation capacity in 2014 countries. In other good former Veazie Dam was and have already become news for clean water, the removed. The Penobscot the second largest source Blue Planet Project and River Restoration Project Solar-powered airport of electricity (after coal).” its allies were successful hopes it is a sign there inspires A U.S. study by Stanford’s in their campaign to will be new spawning Mark Jacobson and the include universal access this spring. Winnipeg aced with a huge University of California’s to water and sanitation students have produced increase in electricity Mark Delucchi describes in the UN’s Sustainable a Gete Okosomin, or “Big F rates that would choke how 139 countries could Development Goals (SDG) Old Squash,” from seeds its 2012 profits, Cochin generate all their energy blueprint for the next 15 recently discovered in International Airport from wind, solar and years, though “the true a clay pot the size of a (CIAL), India’s seventh hydro power by 2050, test of commitment to tennis ball, buried for busiest, decided to install creating a million jobs and the new global goals will 800 years underground more than 50,000 solar preventing three to four be implementation,” as on the Menominee Tribe panels from which 100% million premature deaths UN Secretary-General reservation in Wisconsin. of its power is now drawn. from air pollution in the Ban Ki-moon pointed Thought to be an extinct The company has spent process. And the Manila- out. In Connecticut, species, one of the seeds US$10.5 million on the based Asian Development Greenwich High School produced a specimen reno, but this cost will be Bank has announced it student Oliva Hallisey has measuring three feet recoverable in less than six will dedicate US$4 billion won the Google Science and weighing 18 pounds, years while taking 300,000 a year by 2020 toward Fair’s top prize (a $50,000 proving that heritage metric tonnes of carbon financing renewable scholarship) for creating a seeds can survive over out of the atmosphere— energy, energy efficiency, simple and cheap test to centuries and still remain the equivalent of planting sustainable transport detect Ebola in less than a viable food source, three million trees. All and smart-city projects, 30 minutes. / The Gainsville while providing a lesson India’s airports have since with an additional Sun, Blue Planet Project, in long-term food storage been instructed to install US$2 billion for resilient Business Insider from North American solar panels, beginning infrastructure and climate- Indigenous knowledge. with Bangalore and smart agriculture. / Nikkei Less poaching, more Meanwhile, Austria and Hyderabad, and airport Asian Review, EcoWatch, spawning Italy are taking advantage officials from Liberia, Scientific American, of new EU regulations Malaysia and Vietnam are Reuters outh Africa’s Black to opt out of growing showing interest in the Mamba anti-poaching genetically modified (GM) Cochin model. Meanwhile Researchers not S group has just won maize, joining Northern in the United States, pissing around the United Nations’ Ireland, Lithuania, 2015 was expected to be Champions of the Earth France, Greece, Latvia, a banner year for solar ost toilet water prize. The 23 women and Germany and Scotland. power. GTM Research and starts off drinkable, three men who make up South African regulators the Solar Energy Industries M but the urine that the group walk up to 20 km have rejected the sale Association (SEIA) have is eventually flushed is a day checking fences and of SpuntaG2 (a GM released a report showing responsible for 80% of looking for poacher trails potato), claiming it poses the country exceeded the nitrogen, 50% of the and camps. Operating in unacceptable risks to 20 gigawatts of installed phosphorus and 50% of the Balule Nature Reserve human and animal health. solar capacity in the first the pharmaceuticals that from which 1,215 rhinos / Associated Press, My half of last year, enough end up in our wastewater. were poached in 2014, Modern Met, Sustainable to power 4.6 million University of Florida Black Mamba has helped Pulse homes, reducing harmful researcher Treavor arrest six poachers and carbon emissions by more Boyer and his team of removed more than 1,000 than 25 million metric students have developed a snares from the area, while 47 International affairs Asad Ismi South African students take on neoliberalism and the ANC

OUTH AFRICAN STUDENTS shut dents and workers are the backbone African Trade Unions (COSATU), the down almost all of the coun- of these neoliberal ivory towers.” country’s largest labour federation. try’s universities this October At about 0.8% of GDP, the South The liberation movement that thrust during unprecedented nation- African state spends much less on the ANC into power had high expec- wide protests against a planned post-secondary education than the tations of economic as well as politi- 10% hike in tuition fees. Police OECD average (about 1.6%) and less cal revolution, with hopes the nation- Sfired tear gas and rubber bullets, and than it can probably afford. The pro- alization of the country’s exhaustive beat gathering students with trun- posed 10% increase in tuition fees natural resources would fuel social cheons, but were unable to suppress would have transferred more of the development. the movement. More than 10,000 peo- cost of a university education onto This vision was swiftly exchanged ple demonstrated in front of the na- students, bumping average fees to be- in the early 1990s for IMF loans at- tion’s parliament in Pretoria on Octo- tween $3,000 and $4,000 per year in tached to neoliberal handcuffs on the ber 23, forcing the African National a country where the median annual new government. As a result, prom- Congress (ANC) government to con- income is US$2,300, 53% of the popu- ises of free education and subsidized cede there would be no tuition fee in- lation lives in poverty, and 40% is un- housing, medical care, electricity and crease for 2016. employed. South Africa also suffers water remain largely unfulfilled, com- Emboldened by their victory, the one of the highest rates of inequali- pelling first workers and then stu- students continued to press the gov- ty in the world. dents to strike against the state to ernment on related demands such as The ANC, which has ruled South demand economic rights. an end to contracting out of poorly Africa for 21 years since Apartheid (in The situation for the country’s min- paid janitorial, cafeteria and securi- coalition with the Communist Par- ers is especially bleak. In August 2012, ty work positions within the univer- ty), portrays itself as leftist and has police cordoned off then fired on a sities. From the beginning, student the backing of the Congress of South group of striking workers from a plat- organizers insisted on linking their inum mine operated by the U.K.-based struggle to that of the working class. Lonmin in the northeastern town of Universities have reopened, but the Marikana. The event and its political students remain committed to this consequences are captured in graphic and a third demand for free educa- detail in the 2015 documentary, Min- tion and an end to tuition fees al- ANC promises of ers Shot Down, which is available for together. free viewing on YouTube. “The demonstrations have grown to With a death toll of 34, the Mari- be a national movement of solidari- free education kana massacre was the worst act of ty,” says Katlego Disemelo, a PhD can- violence by South African security didate at Johannesburg’s University and subsidized forces since 1960, when police killed of Witwatersrand (Wits) where the more than 60 people in a crowd of protests began. “Far too long have we several thousand protesting the seg- black and poor students languished housing, medical regationist pass laws. For many, it ex- under the yoke of perpetual struggle posed the failure of corporate-led re- just to get an education. That is the care, electricity source development and the corrup- chief impetus behind our struggle.” tion it is causing within the ANC and Disemelo, who continues to partic- government institutions. ipate in the student actions, tells me and water About a fifth of South African the #FeesMustFall and #InsourceOur- GDP is directly or indirectly gener- Workers movements, “have shone remain largely ated from mining, most of it by for- light on the heinous blight of insti- eign-owned companies, and it is to tutional racism and exploitation in protect these private investors that South African higher education. Stu- unfulfilled. the ANC has insisted on maintaining 48 a neoliberal regime that prioritizes the mining sector crash, corporate Students at Nelson Mandela competitive (low) wages, while ignor- profits were amongst the highest in Metropolitan University occupy the ing growing demands for nationaliza- the world, and last year Pricewater- streets of Port Elizabeth during an tion. Though the government insists houseCoopers named our corporate October 20, 2015 protest against a tuition its Black Empowerment Programs, elites the world’s most corrupt,” says fee increase. with their local content and employ- Patrick Bond, a professor of political The Herald/Eugene Coetzee/REX Shutterstock ment quotas for major projects, help economy at the University of KwaZu- capture more of the benefits of min- lu-Natal in Durban and author of the ing, targets for black ownership of re- book Looting Africa (2006). source companies have been missed, “The Marikana Massacre was a funds on his private house, suppos- and the industry continues to lobby consciousness-raiser, as are repeat- edly for security improvements. against having to meet them. ed threats by the credit rating agen- In one recent scandal—part of “a When mineral prices were high (be- cies to downgrade South Africa to running joke,” according to Bond—the tween 2002 and 2011) and the econ- junk status unless fiscal discipline and president tried to blame two army of- omy was expanding, the availabili- monetarist ideology are tightened.” ficers for a decision to allow the pow- ty of cheap credit limited social pro- Bond tells me President Jacob Zuma erful Gupta family to land their pri- tests. But with the collapse of raw and Deputy President Cyril Ramapho- vate jet at an air force base so fami- material prices globally, starting in sa (“the big business choice to be the ly members could attend a wedding. 2011, annual growth in South Afri- next president”) make up South Afri- The Guptas own coal and uranium ca fell to 1.5%, stimulating an explo- ca’s “core neoliberal bloc.” Both have mines in South Africa, and are wide- sion of protests all over the country been implicated in corruption scan- ly believed to hold too much influence as the country’s leaders appeared to dals, with the latter chairing a large over the appointment of government have no way of dealing with the se- cellphone company responsible for positions, including possibly that of vere economic crisis. “many financial misdeeds.” Zuma is Mosebenzi Zwane to mining minis- “The allegiance of the state’s eco- one of the 10 highest-paid national ter in September. nomic decision-makers to interna- leaders in the world, yet he felt en- For his part, Ramaphosa is worth tional and domestic finance and min- titled to spend $17 million in public an astounding $450 million, which ing capital is obvious enough. Until makes him the 42nd richest person 49 in Africa in 2015, according to Forbes leader Julius Malema was expelled Magazine. He was chairman of Shan- The student from the ANC Youth League in 2012 duka Group, an investment company for sowing divisions within the par- that indirectly owned 9% of Lonmin’s ty related to resource nationalization. shares at the time of the Marikana movement The internal committee that upheld massacre. Though an independent the decision was chaired by Ramapho- commission of inquiry cleared Rama- is intimately sa. Malema has loudly criticized both phosa of wrongdoing in June 2015, the white and black power structures he was promptly slapped with mur- in South Africa, and the EFF strong- der charges by the opposition Eco- connected to ly supported the students. nomic Freedom Fighters party (EFF) “But most importantly,” says Bond, in July. In November, families of the the broader “I’m increasingly impressed with the murdered miners filed a $95-million EFF’s ground troops, not just the two lawsuit against the man who could be dozen parliamentarians. In Novem- South Africa’s next president. social struggle ber, the leaders brought out 50,000 Bond points out how the 2015 red-shirted supporters to march more budget increases in government for wealth than 20 km from central Johannes- grants for the country’s poor do not burg targets like the South Africa Re- keep up with inflation, resulting in serve Bank and Chamber of Mines all an actual 3% drop in support. While redistribution. the way to the Sandton stock market. much of the population has to deal Their numbers and their demands for with frequent blackouts, the gov- nationalization scared the heck out ernment offers cheap power to the of the bourgeoisie.” world’s biggest mining company, BHP Also launching large-scale demon- Billiton. A prominent wealth manager For Disemelo, the student move- strations in Johannesburg has been declared the February budget was “a ment is intimately connected to the the National Union of Metal Work- lovely budget for offshore investors,” broader social struggle for wealth re- ers of South Africa (NUMSA). With with the country’s offshore allowance distribution and the reclamation of 350,000 members, it is the largest un- rising from R4-million (US$282,500) to national resources from the clutches ion in the country. And like the EFF, R10-million (US$706,500). “The immi- of a domestic and international elite. NUMSA has taken a radical left po- gration allowance is now up to R20 “During decolonization, the first sition, calling for nationalization of million (US$1,413,000) and corporates thing that people will demand is land. large companies and the mines. can take a billion (over US$70 million) As such, we demand access to the land NUMSA left COSATU in 2014 and offshore,” said the Citadel director in and its resources so that those who demanded Zuma’s resignation. Since February. have been previously dispossessed then, the labour start-up has been ex- Disemelo is similarly outraged by can begin to reap the rewards and re- ploring the possibility of founding the contrast between the ANC’s stat- sources which come from that land, a new socialist party to contest the ed priorities and its obvious corrup- such that they can live decent human ANC in elections. The union is cur- tion, as well as the way it panders to lives from and through it,” he says. rently focusing on creating a labour the country’s industrial and finan- “In this regard, I see no other way federation to rival COSATU. The stu- cial elite. “There are countless scan- but to nationalize the mines of South dent movement, the EFF and NUM- dals and exposés in the mainstream Africa so that its citizens can ulti- SA signify a revitalized South Afri- media every week about this or that mately reap the benefits therefrom. can left that may soon pose a seri- cabinet minister misappropriating As long as white global capital (and ous challenge to the ANC’s neoliber- state funds or outright stealing from its cronies) still greedily hold on to al hold on the country. the government’s coffers,” he tells me. the resources of this land, poverty, in- “The period ahead is at least going “But what is amazing is that most equality and exploitation will contin- to offer the prospect of a working South Africans now know this and ue to hold the majority of South Af- class steeped in left ideology decid- can see it with their own eyes. We are ricans in neocolonial and economic ing between institutions inside the no longer willing to sit back and be slavery. And one of the instruments ANC tradition versus those led by exploited for the gain of only a few. of such slavery is the outright deni- metalworkers and left social move- We have been sold out by the ANC al of basic and free education for all ments outside,” says Bond. “This is in exchange for their lavish houses, South Africans.” very welcome, because the prestige cars and clothing. Little do they real- Nationalization is also the platform of the ANC, plus the forcefulness of ize that the global white imperialist of the EFF, a breakaway faction from official Communist manoeuvres in capitalists who line their pockets, and the ANC that is challenging the par- the labour movement, have kept the whose financial interests they are so ty from the left. The EFF won 6% of bulk of the working class loyal to a keen to protect, will give them noth- the vote in the last election, giving it liberation movement that long ago ing more than crumbs.” 24 seats in parliament. Notably, EFF had ditched their interests.” 50 Books Reviewed by Frank Bayerl Ideas and inspirations

mentor in Toronto, Emil Fackenheim, chapters are concerned in some way and of Hannah Arendt, the scholar who with the process of thinking.) popularized the notion of the “banality The oral tradition involves inter- of evil.” Fackenheim regarded the Hol- action and dialogue, question and ocaust as a uniquely evil event in his- answer; it makes it more difficult to tory. Arendt also saw the Nazi exter- reach predetermined conclusions or mination project as unique, but oddly settle for easy solutions. Innis wanted counterproductive to the German war to see a balance restored between the effort and contrary to common sense. oral and written, a balance he felt had Salutin takes issue with the assump- been upset since the time of Guten- tions of both thinkers, writing that berg, leading to exaggerated individ- his own background makes him quite ualism and social disconnectedness. ready to assume human beings are ca- Salutin’s third and final essay in Part pable of the worst atrocities, simply for I focuses on philosopher Hans Jonas, a emotional or ideological gratification. refugee from Nazi Germany who saw In comparison, he traces both Facken- western philosophy, beginning with heim’s and Arendt’s ideas to their back- Plato and Christianity, as character- WHAT WAS I THINKING? ground in the bourgeois European cul- ized by a disdain for nature, or a feel- RICK SALUTIN ture of the early 20th century. As Salu- ing of superiority to it. Jonas instead tin puts it, “it seems useful to me to emphasized our rootedness in animal ECW Press (2015), 315 pages, $22.95 shed light on the origins of ideas, since life, hoping to undermine the percep- their meaning will be illuminated and tion of our own separateness from na- ICK SALUTIN IS probably well inflected by their provenance. It is an ture. Salutin leaves aside the implica- known to Monitor readers. The argument for the role of origins in ide- tions of this debate on, for example, political columnist, novelist, as, not for the invalidation of ideas by the environmental movement. He is playwright, and one-time stu- virtue of them having origins.” concerned here with Jonas’s forma- dent of philosophy and religion, Similarly, Salutin’s essay in this sec- tive influence on him when he was a has always championed leftist tion on psychotherapy begins with a graduate philosophy student in New Rcauses. We’ve known what he thinks long account of his responses and atti- York. As in the two previous chapters, about a number of issues going back tudes toward his therapists, with asides his engaging and conversational tone many decades. Now he wants us to un- on events in his personal life, only to counteracts any tendency toward ab- derstand why he thinks he thinks that lead to a fascinating summary of Har- stractness or dryness. way. What better way to do this than old Innis’s views on the oral tradition, Part II (The Things to Which We through a series of meandering essays? which Salutin sees surviving today in Attend) contains shorter, though no The essays in Part I of Salutin’s two forms: therapy and teaching. less readable and thought-provoking, book (What Shapes The Thinking?) Innis was the Canadian historian of essays on a variety of topics, includ- deal with the evolution of ideas about the fur trade who turned to what we ing Canadian nationalism vs. globali- the Holocaust, psychotherapy and the would now call media studies in his zation, and Salutin’s experience of a philosophy of Hans Jonas, one of his last years, which deeply influenced Haida potlatch (an anti-capitalist professors at the New School in New Marshall McLuhan. Innis saw the oral “scandal” you might expect the fed- York. While they start out in a high- and written traditions as two very dif- eral government to criminalize). He ly discursive manner, these three es- ferent ways of understanding the also talks about the mystery of teach- says eventually reach a tightly argued world and had a bias for the oral as be- ing and the central place of teachers conclusion that is well worth the di- ing closer to the natural structure of in the education system. versions and bypaths along the way. thought. (This brings us right back to In Part III Salutin goes into his life For example, Salutin examines the the title of Salutin’s book, all of whose experiences in a more personal way, thinking on the Holocaust of a former while Part IV collects and self-exam- 51 ines a selection of his own writings cas, Israel and Palestine, and the rela- he was allowed to appear in its pages; from his years as a columnist with the tionship between Brian Mulroney and equally obscure are the reasons they Globe and Mail, first as an arts and en- Karlheinz Schreiber. The columns are dropped him. In any case, the rela- tertainment writer and then as a polit- a bit dated, but redeemed by Salutin’s tionship endured for 20 years. Salu- ical commentator. These cover the 1995 explanations for why he chose them. tin has since switched to the Toron- Quebec referendum, Conrad Black and Salutin was always an anomaly at to Star where he is a much better fit Barbara Amiel, the demonstrations the Globe—the paper’s token leftist. ideologically and still writing acute at the Quebec Summit of the Ameri- He admits to never being sure why political commentary.

Reviewed by Larry Kuehn Threats from the digital underground

Sure, a self-starting coffee pot that dishwashers, and toys talking is ready when you get up, thermostats to each other and taking that balance comfort and energy effi- commands from the Internet, ciency, and a car that is already warm at large, we have provided by the time you head out into minus-20 attackers innumerable points degree weather sound convenient, but of contact to reach into our hardly essential or world-changing. lives and affect them for the Isn’t the Internet of Things really a worse. sell-job by the companies, like Cisco, Goodman’s title, Future Crimes, sug- that will profit the most? gests the nature of the problem. We Ever since hearing a tech enthusi- have built systems without adequate ast tell a group of teachers in Ecua- security; most of the “things” we are dor about this wonderful Internet connecting are totally vulnerable to of Things techno-future, I’ve been hacking. The refrigerator that tells you struck by how false the claims are while you’re grocery shopping what that “everyone” will be affected. How vegetables are in the crisper is a back many of those teachers’ students live door into the rest of your network. FUTURE CRIMES in poverty, their families with few if The significance of that open door any “things” that could plausibly be MARC GOODMAN grows as the technology develops, connected to the Internet? A cheap producing and connecting bionic body Doubleday Canada (2015), 464 pages, $34 cell phone maybe. A top-of-the-line parts, home robots, drones, algorith- (Paperback available January 2016) refrigerator? Almost certainly not. mic health care, stock trades and dat- However, Goodman is convincing ing, as well as driverless cars. Imagine ISASTER IS INEVITABLE. That is the when he warns that though everyone someone hacking in through your re- overwhelming feeling you get in may not benefit equally from the In- frigerator to turn off your car’s engine reading Future Crimes by secu- ternet of Things, all will be affected or apply the brakes while you are in rity technology specialist Marc because so much of the global econ- the middle of freeway traffic. Or don’t Goodman. Even his final sec- omy is already interconnected, and imagine, just read about it: “Hackers tion on “what we can do about technology is developing at an expo- remotely kill a Jeep on the highway— Dit” can’t counter the pessimism Good- nential rate. One gloomy section in with me in it,” wrote Andy Greenberg man generates in what precedes it. the middle of his 400-page work cap- in Wired magazine this past summer. The Internet of Things is a buz- tures the essence of this argument: “As the two hackers remotely toyed zword these days (see Vincent Mos- Creating the Internet of with the air-conditioning, radio, and co’s article in the November-Decem- Things holds the possibility windshield wipers, I mentally con- ber Monitor), hyped by tech promoters for immense improvements gratulated myself on my courage un- like Dave Evans, “futurist” at Cisco, a in our quality of life and the der pressure. That’s when they cut company that makes routers and oth- global economy.... Putting aside the transmission,” wrote Greenberg er components essential to a connect- major privacy concerns for the of the controlled experiment in mod- ed, “smart” Internet. It “will change moment, with billions of cars, ern meddling. “Immediately my accel- everything, including ourselves,” says coffee machines, buildings, erator stopped working. As I frantical- Evans, as quoted by Goodman. mobile phones, elevators, ly pressed the pedal and watched the

52 RPMs climb, the Jeep lost half its speed, REVIEWED BY JASON WENCZLER While arguing these recent trends then slowed to a crawl. This occurred in education are at odds with a demo- just as I reached a long overpass, with cratic conception of citizenship devel- no shoulder to offer an escape. The ex- Standardized tests opment, Westheimer points out that periment had ceased to be fun.” citizenship education continues to be Who might have an interest in hack- vs. the instruction of delivered in schools, in one form or an- ing us in this connected world? We other. Drawing on his own research, know our governments are among citizenship he outlines three different visions of them, thanks to the revelations of Ed- citizenship being advanced in today’s ward Snowdon. We know corporations schools: a personal responsibility ap- already collect as much information WHAT KIND OF CITIZEN? proach emphasising good character about us as they can, mostly for future EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN FOR THE and charity; a participatory approach marketing purposes. We may be less COMMON GOOD focused on learning to navigate and aware of what Goodman calls Crime, JOEL WESTHEIMER work within established institutions; Inc., a group of bad guys including the and a social justice approach focused punnily named Al-gorithm Capone. Teachers College Press (2015), 128 pages, $24.95 on identifying and challenging root We’re increasingly vulnerable to all causes to social problems. these groups as the technology evolves, S A TEACHER with an interest in While asserting his belief that de- now into “bio-computers and DNA hard engaging students on impor- mocracies are best served by a social drives.” Says science fiction author Wil- tant civic issues, I was excited justice orientation to citizenship edu- liam Gibson, “the future is here, it’s just to pick up Joel Westheimer’s cation, Westheimer says the primary not evenly distributed.” All of the tech- new book, What Kind of Citi- focus of most school-based programs nologies—and problems—listed in this zen? I’ve often enjoyed listen- is personal responsibility. Through- book already exist or are well along the Aing to him speak about education is- out the book, Westheimer provides developmental process. sues on CBC’s Ottawa Morning show, several U.S.-based examples of citi- Goodman tries to give us hope in the so I looked forward to reading about zenship programs from all three cat- final section of his book, described as his thoughts on citizenship education egories, including some exceptional “surviving progress.” He argues gov- in North American schools. programs in which schools have man- ernment should take an active role The book starts out by describing aged to effectively fuse a social justice in regulating the Internet of Things, the decline in teacher professional- and participatory approach. as the European Union is doing with ism in North America resulting from While What Kind of Citizen? is a its Data Protection Directive, which an increased focus by policy-mak- pleasurable and informative read, “enshrines privacy as a fundamental ers and legislators on standardized some might find its lack of Canadian right of all EU citizens,” and though testing. Faced with the predicament content disappointing. Westheimer its adoption of the “right to be forgot- of “scarce” funding linked to student seems to suggest the rise in standard- ten.” Encryption should be the de- performance on these tests, admin- ized testing and the attack on teach- fault for email and everything else istrators in many jurisdictions have er professionalism is a North Amer- shared over the network as well as forced teachers to shift a greater share ican phenomenon, but the examples on your hard drive. of their time and effort toward nu- he cites, including No Child Left Be- Education about cyber-dangers meracy and literacy at the expense of hind, Race to the Top and others, are should be a part of the school curric- other subject areas, including those drawn predominantly from the Unit- ulum, says Goodman, expanding on linked to the development of citizen- ed States. From my own experience the cyberbullying education that is ship (e.g., history, civics, geography). as a new teacher in the Canadian sys- becoming standard. A global rapid re- Moreover, due to the content-focus tem (I’ve taught for six years in the sponse team equivalent to the World of much standardized testing, less Ottawa area) I can honestly say that Health Organization should be cre- classroom time is now devoted to the I don’t experience a lot of the issues ated to respond to cyber-crime and types of rich and engaging tasks that described in the book. Standardized other cyber-threats. Crowdsourcing aid in the development of skills re- testing—which in Ontario is carried could be employed to take advantage lated to problem-solving and critical out every few years for math and lit- of mobs of privacy warriors wanting thinking. Instead of designing engag- eracy up to Grade 10—has had a min- to help, incentivized perhaps by “com- ing programs that reflect their own imal impact on my teaching. petitions for global security.” expertise, respond to the interests of Moreover, I’ve found that the cur- Future Crimes is an excellent com- their students and confront impor- riculum for my subject area is flexi- pendium of existing and future cy- tant contemporary issues, teachers ble and full of language related to in- ber issues. Unfortunately, Goodman are now forced to deliver prescribed, vestigation, problem-solving and crit- is more convincing in outlining our homogenized programs that empha- ical thinking. Furthermore, a number increasingly dangerous techno-fu- size the memorization and recall of of schools that I’ve taught at more re- ture than he is at giving hope for con- “facts” and the rote implementation cently boast administrators who en- trolling its negative aspects. of algorithms and formulae. courage progressive instructional ap- 53 proaches and pedagogical risk-taking. Dogs (1971). That Fruet previously co- In short, I think that the claims made wrote the audience-revered and criti- about the Canadian system—and for cally acclaimed Goin’ Down The Road me, the book more generally—could (1970) is mentioned almost immedi- have benefited from the inclusion of ately, effectively stripping away any more Canadian examples. snobbish impulse to pigeonhole the In closing, despite its decidedly U.S. domestic horror film as some kind of slant, What Kind of Citizen? is an ac- unsavory endeavor undertaken by cessible book on an important topic hacks with no artistic merit. that ultimately affects us all—the de- As promised in its title, seemingly velopment of citizenship in future gen- every aspect of the Canadian horror erations. While the takeaway for most Still from the tax shelter slasher film is covered in some way by the doz- readers will probably be the implica- Black Christmas (1974) en authors in this collection, including tions of standardized testing in Amer- strong contributions from editors Fre- ican schools, it’s most important con- itag and Loiselle. William Beard, a pro- tribution might be to educators who fessor of English and film studies at are thinking about ways to better in- produced some singular film works, the University of Alberta, covers the corporate citizenship education into from Denys Arcand’s The Decline of films of David Cronenberg—Canada’s their practice. It’s got me thinking the American Empire (1986) to Atom one horror director who eventually got Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter (1986). respect from critics at home, but not But for whatever reason the Canadian without a fight—focusing on the di- REVIEWED BY JEREMY MILKS horror film has faced very little aca- rector’s later work. It is nice to see less- demic scrutiny outside of a few sourc- er-known slasher films and Québécois es, notably Winnipeg director Caelum titles getting equal attention. The “unbearable Vatnsdal’s 2004 history, They Came Readers who may not be interest- From Within (ARP Books). Vatnsdal is ed in philosophizing about “national inside” of Canada’s represented here by a cleverly titled identity” in the genre fear not. Most essay, “Monsters up North: A Taxon- of these chapters get the balance just horror tradition omy of Terror,” which is complement- right, occasionally delving into psy- ed a few chapters later by Canadi- chological aspects, but also giving us an B-movie historian Paul Corupe’s doses of familiar film criticism, histo- THE CANADIAN HORROR FILM: brave assessment of Canada’s least ry and personal viewpoints that hang TERROR OF THE SOUL renowned (but probably most fun) together cohesively. EDITED BY GINA FREITAG AND period of horror filmmaking. Sean Moreland has a standout ANDRÉ LOISELLE In a section on the “Tax Shelter piece toward the end of the book, Slasher,” Corupe describes how “mer- which manages to put Ottawa film- University of Toronto Press (2015), 302 pages, $29.95 cenary producers heartlessly took maker Lee Demarbre’s ridiculously advantage of the generous tax de- violent 2009 opus Smash Cut (an ode N THE INTRODUCTION to their collec- ductions offered by the federal gov- to legendary B-movie director H.G. tion on Canadian horror, Gina Fre- ernment to fund useless pieces of Lewis) in a critical light. Moreland itag and André Loiselle forthrightly cinematic trash that tarnished the gets to the underlying intentions of set the tone and context of what’s to image of Canadian cinema at home boldly casting porn star Sasha Grey follow, telling of the shared Canadi- and abroad.” The sentence is deliv- in a lead role alongside the late David an neuroses, or “terror of the soul,” ered with a wink, as this era actu- Hess of Last House On The Left. It’s Ithat has afflicted this seemingly -po ally produced some of the wildest, in the quote from Lewis that opens lite society since the ships first landed. most uninhibited genre cinema in the film: “I see filmmaking as a busi- They begin with a famous Northrop Canada’s history, much of it consid- ness and pity anyone who regards it Frye quotation alluding to Canada’s ered classic by a growing B-movie fan as an art form.” “huge, unthinking, menacing, and for- base across the world. The Change- According to Moreland, Demarbre midable physical setting,” expanding ling (1979), Prom Night (1980) and My instinctively knows people will enjoy on this theme as the subconscious Bloody Valentine (1982) were all Ca- his film, “not from its terror, but from backdrop for Canada’s historic abil- nadian tax shelter babies. its deliberate terribleness.” From that ity to produce unsettling and often Corupe focuses in on director Wil- point of view we can cherish and rec- idiosyncratic horror films that earn liam Fruet’s infamously nasty Death ognize the cinematic value of a gen- accolades abroad, but largely indif- Weekend (1976), which matched and re that’s constantly derided, but also ferent or scathing reviews at home. some would say surpassed the slea- revel in the entertaining murk of an The schism created when dealing ziness of its American contemporar- intentional romp, with no conflicting with the “terrifying outside” by re- ies, Wes Craven’s Last House On The attitude. For a film fan, it’s a refresh- treating to the “unbearable inside” has Left (1972) and Sam Peckinpah’s Straw ing outlook. 54 Film Chandra Siddan That feeling called home The 13th Regent Park Film Festival

HIS GUY STOPPED in front of me and said, ‘Hey! Are you homeless?’ And I said ‘No, I am homefree!’” An ebul- lient street artist in Shelley Saywell’s 2015 documentary “TLowdown Tracks captures the change- able feelings one can have about so basic a necessity as home, incidental- ly the core theme of the 13th annual Regent Park Film Festival celebrat- ed in Toronto this November. Some of the films described here could still be touring Canadian theatres, but all will be available soon electronically if they are not already. The Regent Park Film Festival be- gan in 2003 (with my programming, Still from Kaaka Muttai, ternational corporate greed. The doc- I am proud to say, for the first four Tamil for “the crow’s egg” umentary, shot over five years, follows years), long before the planned revital- First Nations activists opposing the ization of the central Toronto neigh- De Beers diamond mine in Attawap- bourhood, and it continues to focus iskat, Northern Ontario and their on inner-city issues, migration, indi- eventual linking up with the Idle No geneity, multiculturalism, race, class, requited beauty as the work-ridden More movement. The title refers to affordable housing, sexuality and lo- populace trudges to its labours, but the Cree saying, “When the last tree is cal-global citizenship. Kudos to the crucial to their own survival as art- cut down, the last fish eaten and the board, staff and volunteers for con- ists, satisfying an urge to play so deep last stream poisoned, you will realize tinuing to keep the programming rel- that it defies the tribulations of the that you cannot eat money.” evant and the whole four-day festi- external world. Alongside features, a section called val entirely free (even if it means put- Shot by Deborah Parks, John Tran “Shorts: Testaments of Home” add- ting up with a corporate-friendly and Michael Grippo, Lowdown Tracks ed to the festival a dense program of opening night)! has an ineffable bleak beauty. Never documentary and fiction shorts on The winner of the Top 10 Audience have I seen the interstitial melanchol- a range of subjects: an Indigenous Favourite award at Hotdocs this year, ic outdoor spaces of Toronto repre- man cycling through his reserve as Lowdown Tracks explores the existen- sented so dynamically. And great mu- he remembers some of the women tial edges of the homeless life as ex- sic by the artists themselves, profes- who have gone missing (The Routes, perienced by five street artists. Sev- sionally recorded on camera with the by James McDougall); an Afghan cou- eral of them are either in between assistance of the artist-activist Lor- ple recreating Kabul in their backyard homes or in temporary housing sit- raine Segato, gives the film its com- garden in Canada (Seeds of the Past, uations, or simply living in a tent un- plex emotional atmosphere. Follow- by Aisha Jamal); three black trans men der the bridge. Musicians all, they face ing the screening, some of the art- talking about their relationships to the bureaucratic Catch 22 of requir- ists played to an admiring audience their urban environments (Passing, ing a busking licence which renders in the lobby of the Daniels Spectrum by Lucah Rosenberg and J. Mitch- them ineligible for disability assis- in Regent Park. ell Reed); a young Pakistani Canadi- tance. Their choice to sing while lit- After The Last River, by Victoria an woman exploring Karachi as an erally putting their bodies at risk is Lean, gave festivalgoers another vis- impressionistic collage (Seaview, by not just heroic, filling the air with un- ceral look at home—and its loss to in- Zinnia Naqvi); and a story of brother- 55 hood that transcended the Iran-Iraq Still from Lowdown Tracks. inalization and objectification of black war even while in the line of fire My( people, both men and women, as a pro- Brother, My Enemy, by Ann Shinn). cess of disenfranchisement ensuring And how can we talk about home their substantial exclusion from many without referring to its chief archi- the process, their developing desires public spaces. A criminal record, so tects, mothers? Motherhood sur- derail the class system in an uproari- easy to acquire for a black person, has faced as a condition of extreme sac- ous chain of events. If North Ameri- serious repercussions to their housing rifice in the primal space of home. can audiences are tempted to see this situation. Given that reality, Ali told In Holy Mother My Mother, director as a cute snapshot of some faraway the audience it is unacceptable that, Vivek Shraya shows us a portrait of place, we must remember that glob- as a condition of returning to the revi- his mother through her own tearful ally the slum (or “projects” or low-in- talized Regent Park apartments, resi- words as the family visits Mother come housing) is a universal politi- dents must have a clean slate. Goddess festivals during the Hindu cal space where poverty is contained, The programming of the Regent festival of Navrathri in India. In Ju- managed and observed by anxious Park Film Festival has always aimed lio, by Eui Yong Zong, a young woman mainstream stakeholders. It is a pris- to bridge newcomer communities, the becomes a kind of surrogate mother on of sorts, wherever it exists. Indigenous, the poor white, and oth- to her disabled brother after they are An unfortunately relevant screen- er marginalized groups—to open a fo- abandoned by both their parents. In ing of Home Feeling: The Struggle for rum for the negotiation of collective Abel’s Mom, a film by Sheena Robert- a Community, Jennifer Hodge’s 1983 notions of home independent from son and Richard Fung based on a fam- film about black life in Toronto’s Jane the dominant white settler capitalist ily story in Regent Park, we witness a and Finch neighbourhood, reminds perspective. This is especially poign- mother starve to feed her son. As in- us that police–resident conflict has ant for me because it was as a new im- spiring as all this sacrifice is, one can’t barely changed in 30 years. In a pan- migrant filmmaker myself that I initi- help observing that the idealization el following the screening, three To- ated the festival in November 2003— of motherhood and the oppression of ronto activists—Desmond Cole, Yu- with the support of York Universi- mothers seem directly proportional. fra Ali and Tomas Kanene, with mod- ty education professors Jeff Kugler The tender yet satirical representa- erator Anupa Mistry—discussed the and Harry Smaller—as a playful fo- tion of a slum in Chennai, India in racist practice of carding (demanding rum for diverse communities to come Kaaka Muttai( The Crow’s Egg in Eng- to see ID) by the Toronto police, the together, learn about each other and lish) is a rare treat of an independent Black Lives Matter movement and make new friends. As the 2015 festi- Tamil film. Written, shot and direct- the impact of gentrification in Re- val made obvious, it continues to be ed by M. Manikandhan, the film is a gent Park—a social housing develop- that and more under the current lead- hilarious view from below of class ment that has not escaped the city’s ership of Executive Director Ananya hierarchies in Chennai society. Two condo boom. Ohri, another York University alum- young boys collect coal to help their The conversation covered a lot of na and student of community cine- mother get their father out of jail. In ground, including the persistent crim- ma. Bravo! 56