Turn Left Virez À Gauche Spring/ Voice of the NDP Socialist Caucus / Voix Du Caucus Socialiste NPD $2 Printemps 2016
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Turn Left Virez à gauche Spring/ Voice of the NDP Socialist Caucus / Voix du caucus socialiste NPD $2 Printemps 2016 Our lives are worth more than their profits CREATE PUBLICLY-OWNED PHARMACARE FOR ALL Inside: Time for NDP Leadership Review ‘Leap’ Forward with Socialist Policies opular discontent with the green energy is tied to a vague hope exchange. History shows they obtained it status quo has an inspiring new that communities will “create innovative by the dispossessing the original peoples voice. Sponsored by an array of ownership structures.” of the continent and by the exploiting Canadian cultural and political But how exactly would that put many generations of workers. Pcritics of the establishment, “The Leap a dent in the capacity of Big Oil and Gas Obscured is the fact that a Manifesto” is a sweeping indictment of to obstruct change? How would that even modern socio-economic aristocracy the system. begin to fund new energy technologies, controls the state – which is poised to Leap initiators include Bruce build energy efficient homes or retrofit put down any serious challenge to the Cockburn, Charles Taylor, Clayton Ruby, existing housing, much less pay for more corporate agenda. Remember the War Hassan Yussuff, David Suzuki, Judy high speed rail and mass urban public Measures Act? The G20 protests in Rebick, Leonard Cohen, Maude Barlow, transit? Toronto? Government strike breaking? Michael Ondaatje, Naomi Klein, Neil Killer cops and racial carding? Law C-51? Young, Sarah Polley, Tantoo Cardinal, That’s no reason to despair - just and Thomas King. Joined by over 30,000 to prepare. endorsers, they decry “deepening “The Socialist Caucus In other words, to truly Leap poverty and inequality” and denounce is pleased to support forward it will be necessary to make a “Canada’s record on climate change (as) The Leap Manifesto. social revolution. It will be necessary a crime against humanity’s future.” to win unions and the NDP to socialist They envision a society More than a single-issue policies, on the road to creating a working “powered entirely by truly just renewable campaign, the Socialist class movement that is capable of avoiding energy”, connected by “accessible Caucus fights year- the snares of opportunism. Needed is a public transit”, and involving a transition round for anti-austerity, movement that can take the working class designed to put an end to racial and to power on the basis of work place and gender inequality. socialist policies and neighbourhood structures that will put But the ‘leap’ they ask us to take actions in the unions Canada’s superficial dollar-democracy carefully side-steps the issue of political and the NDP.” to shame. Now that would be a Leap power – who has it, and how to change it. forward. Sadly, the Manifesto doesn’t In the meantime, proponents of name the problem. In that regard, The Leap Manifesto should join with the its proponents fall short of the At the same time, where the NDP Socialist Caucus to educate and pronouncements of Catholic Pope manifesto rejects “austerity” it does offer organize the three million NDP voters to Francis. He boldly calls capitalist greed a glimpse of a new path. It projects an fight for socialist change. “the dung of the devil.” end to fossil fuel subsidies, and the need The Socialist Caucus is pleased The Manifesto’s more to begin to steeply tax giant corporations to support The Leap Manifesto. More reticent approach leads to a string and wealthy people. That is a very good than a single-issue campaign, the SC fights of disappointments. Its demand that conversation starter. year-round for anti-austerity, socialist the rights of First Nations peoples However, Leap is mum on policies and actions in the unions and the be respected concludes with a limp how politically to wage the assault on NDP. The result will be a broader base for plea: to implement the United Nations concentrated wealth and power, much the radical change that is so desperately Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous less how to sustain it. Ignored is the fact needed. n Peoples. that a few super-rich families own the Its call for a shift to sustainable, means of production, distribution and 02 Turn Left/Virez à gauche Cover page graphic by Freepik.com Photo: Government of BC No Reconciliation without Justice hat will come of By Elizabeth indigenous self-government, faces the massive report Byce sharp resistance from the Canadian of the Truth and establishment. Not only from WReconciliation In 2008 then- pipeline companies, energy resource Commission (TRC), which Prime Minister industries and mining rms, staunch investigated the cultural genocide Stephen Harper resistance will come from the ruling inicted by the Canadian federal apologized rich as a class, and from the state government on indigenous peoples? for the “great that guards their interests. Will its 94 specic recommendations harm” caused by Mass protest actions of the bear any fruit? Ottawa’s racist kind initiated by Idle No More put The TRC deserves praise for campaign “to the issue of missing and murdered raising awareness of the horrendous take the Indian out of the child”, indigenous women onto the political suffering of the 150,000 indigenous suppressing native languages, agenda. children who were torn from their culture and identity. Many more such actions, communities between 1883 and The TRC justly demands in partnership with labour unions, 1996 and placed in residential much more than an ofcial apology. social justice and environmental schools. As many as 6,000 of them Its call for “mutual respect” is movements, will be required. In fact, died of malnutrition, tuberculosis, embodied in the idea of a nation-to- the re-distribution of wealth and inuenza and other diseases. nation relationship between Canada power necessary to end the present Thousands were buried, forgotten, in and 1.4 million indigenous peoples. colonial arrangement entails nothing unmarked graves. The survivors had That means honouring native land less than a revolution to abolish to live with the painful memories of rights, and providing funding for monopoly business control of the physical, emotional and sexual abuse health, housing and education. economy. n that was rampant in the federally- Fullment of those goals, not as an funded, church-run schools. act of charity, but on a foundation of Turn Left/Virez à gauche 03 Turn Left Virez à gauche Published by the NDP Socialist Caucus Editorial Board: Elizabeth Byce www.ndpsocialists.ca Julius Arscott Barry Weisleder Editor and Designer: Sean Cain John Orrett Produced by union labour Learning from Mistakes and Moving Forward By Sean Cain movements and activists, taking up But even these policies aren’t the causes of public ownership and enough. The party must engage The great economic democracy, and just as activists and social movements like Irish writer and importantly, choosing leaders who never before, and run aggressive, socialist George represent working class, socialist populist campaigns that challenge Bernard Shaw once values. This is the direction the NDP corporate power, growing inequality wrote that success must take to remain relevant and win and the unjust structures of the doesn’t consist back power. capitalist system itself. in never making Being honest about the Besides being a political party, mistakes, but in spending we plan to undertake in the NDP must also become a fully never making the same one twice. government, for example, on new participatory movement, in Parliament, Printed below is the front programs like universal child care or workplaces and the streets. cover page from the Fall 2014 edition pharmacare, must be accompanied The NDP Socialist Caucus, of Turn Left Magazine. The NDP by openly declaring where we plan to along with Momentum, is presenting Socialist Caucus has said for years raise the money to afford them. a team of candidates for NDP Federal that taking the NDP away from its And this means not Executive and Council, and we believe democratic socialist roots will not only running away from talk about taxes the policies and reforms we are alienate our base of supporters and and economics. It entails being running on will help the party move in working class voters, but allow the straightforward – and proud – of that direction. Liberals to stake out our territory on wanting to raise taxes on the very These include inviting more the Left and win votes on our issues. rich and corporations, undoing unions, community organizations and As New Democrats know three decades of wholly inequitable social justice groups to afliate with all too well, this is exactly what (and unproductive, for that matter) the NDP and participate in party happened during the 2015 federal tax reforms by the Liberals and activities. They also entail making election, and even the corporate Conservatives. conventions more nancially accessible media, from so-called “progressive” to wage earners and the poor, with newspapers through to right-wing, low registration fees. And at those business-oriented publications, are in conventions, a large majority of time agreement. should be devoted to policy debate. This has also occurred with Likewise, the main themes social democratic parties throughout and priorities for each NDP election Europe that have followed the centrist, campaign should be drawn from the “Third Way” election model, and the policies debated and adopted at those results have been similarly disastrous. conventions. In several countries, these parties This is what the NDP needs have been eclipsed by newly-formed to do to regain progressive voters left-wing parties and movements in lost to the Liberal Party, or to not membership, activism and electoral voting at all. It can’t just be a party, support. Several of them barely but a participatory, activist movement maintain a mere whisper of their that stands for one day establishing a former strength.