30 Relay October/November 2004 Neoliberalism, the Liberals and Living Wages

By Greg Albo It is now one year since On- The continuance of the cial coalitions, and union-community tario gave the hard right Tories of neoliberal juggernaut during the first campaigns that have waned in re- and the boot year of the McGuinty government cent years. In particular, targeting from office. Dalton McGuinty’s Lib- was precisely the theme of a Social- clear campaign objectives that could eral Party, not unlike their Federal ist Project Forum held at Ryerson be leveraged into wider movement counterparts under Prime Minister University on September 15, with building was noted. The wider politi- , pledged an end to the several of the most important move- cal impasse of the left, particularly cutbacks and a return to a responsi- ment activists in today. the deplorable state of the left and ble ‘caring’ Ontario. To be banished Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health rebuilding projects, could also not be from public discourse was the ‘poor- Coalition addressed the continued avoided, in the eyes of many. To this bashing’, ‘Native-bashing’, and ‘un- privatization push in the health sec- end, several fightbacks of CUPE in ion-bashing’ that characterized the tor despite the accords being the education sector and the Health Harris years of government – the reached by the Federal and provin- Coalitions politicization of P3 ‘divided province’ strategy of the cial governments in . With hospitals have been critical beacons good risk-taking entrepreneurial one in seven in Ontario living in pov- of light. Ontarions against the welfare-de- erty, Kim Fry of the Ontario Coalition It is important that the living pendent, ever-complaining and lazy for Social Justice made the case of wage campaigns developing in the rest. Punitive austerity was the how little the Ontario government has province gather a similar momen- theme of the day – a theme that could done to address poverty in Ontario, tum. These have taken to date the find certain neoliberal origins in the with social assistance rate increases form of the OCSJ’s Ontario Needs a Social Contract of ’s NDP barely meeting inflation, and the Raise project, with many community government. In contrast, McGuinty increase in the minimum wage not groups and union locals doing edu- promised to pursue a ‘one province’ coming close to meeting the loss of cational and campaign work on wel- strategy, conjuring up again the old purchasing power through the fare rates, minimum wages, disabil- ghosts of social partnership, 1990s. Mary Catherine McCarthy of ity rates, the child benefit clawback, consultations, community hearings. CUPE continued the indictment not- and, in some cases, union organiz- But with little actually to offer, after ing that the problems of contracting ing. This is an important project the incredibly opportunistic and out and public service cutbacks which the left needs to get behind to shortsighted decision to sign a pact plague the public sector across On- begin reforming the social unionism with the devil on earth – the Ontario tario, provincially and municipally. and movements that neoliberalism Taxpayer’s Federation – McGuinty’s And Bryan Evans of Ryerson Univer- has done so much to curtail. Many government has only offered shared sity and the Socialist Project traced groups have planned demonstra- austerity. Ontario politics now has a out some of the neoliberal tions, educationals and other events new discourse and the repetitive continuities recurring in public policy on October 2nd to mark the one year chant that ‘we are all in it together’ in across different political regimes. anniversary of the McGuinty regime, facing the government’s fiscal The left now needs to see insistent that poverty be addressed, shortfall, as if the pain of curtailing neoliberalism not as just mistaken against all the dashed hopes that is social spending is felt as equally by policies, this or that government, but to date the government’s main Barbara Amiel and Conrad Black as the way power is organized in our accomplishment. the homeless under the Bathurst St. society today. Check out www.ocsj.ca for more overpass and the seniors waiting for All the speakers raised the information.  medical services in Elliot Lake. importance of re-establishing the so-