Canadian state
New labour radicalism in Ontario
SOCIALIST Labour, feminist and radical news and
Challenge analysis for English Canada. Socialist
Challenge stands for independent working class action, internationalism, and self determination for the Quebecois and aboriginal peoples
$12 per year in Canada.
PO Box 4955, Vancouver V6B 4A6.
IN JUNE 1995, THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC government of Ontario, Canada's most populous and industrialized province went down to a crushing electoral defeat at the hands of the
Conservative Party. Neo-liberal deficit reduction with its panoply of vicious cuts to social services, the health system, education, childcare, workers' and women's rights became the order of the day for the new government led by Premier Mike Harris. Coming on top of the federal government's attack's on immigrants, social welfare and unemployment, the right-wing anti-labour, anti working class offensive provoked at least a very large segment of the union and community movements into what is potentially the largest mobilization in the history of
English Canada since the poststrike wave of 1946-48 war
Throughout all of the fall, there were numerous protests and mobilizations led by anti-poverty, childcare and other community-based organizations. Then, in spite of existence of the sharp divisions among organized labour - fundamentally along public versus private sector lines the
Ontario
Federation of Labour organized a one day general strike in the usually conservative small city of
London on December 11
1995.
The federal and provincial civil service, municipal elementary, workers, secondary and college-level teachers and support staff were joined by the Canadian
Auto Workers local unions in the region in what some hope will prove to be ageneral rehearsal for much broader strikes in other cities and regions. Most recently, on January 13th, the Catholic teachers' federation, an unaffiliated union not particularly noted for either militancy or radicalism called a demonstration on the theme of "cuts hurt kids" which drew some 37,000 participants: considerably more than their total provincial membership. The refusal of three large private sector unions, the Steelworkers, the Food and Commercial Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paper Workers to take part in the mobilizations has however been a serious
7112345
000000 14468%Coppose weakening factor. The next round in the mobilizations is likely to be a strike in mid to late February by the provincial civil servants, organized by the Ontario Public Service Employees'
Union (OPSEU).
Although the civil servants have only recently won the right to strike and do not have a tradition of militant job action, they are facing an election promise by theConservative Party to fire 13,000 of them or more than 20%.
So far this right-wing government has kept all of its promises to slash and burn. At the same time, workers at Toronto Hydro-Electric have also voted to strike.If either or both of these two strikes are successful in at least winning partial victories, they are likely to be followed over the spring by Ontario Hydro as a whole, municipal workers, teachers at all differen levels and others sections of the broader public sector.
In September, the Canadian
Auto Workers are expected to strike against General Motors in
Ontario and Quebec
Although there has been some joint mobilizing with the community-based organizations, no broad democratic coalition between organized labour unemployed and or precarious workers, particularly immigrant workers and women, has yet seen the light of day.
Such a coalition would
•to be almost a seem precondition for stopping the neo-liberal offensive and could make possible a real, and not symbolic, general strike.
* by Michel Lafitte
International Viewpoint n°274 31
would be a co-edition with the
Resist Catalan COCAD preparatory committee, the IIRE, and a number of organisations in
French COCAD publications.
Congress of the Fourth International, held
This new brochure should help extend the campaign in the in 1995, are now available in English,
English-speaking countries, French and Spanish, for £5/$10/60FF plus particularly in the Third World. 10% postage charge for orders of four
We are currently investigating copies or less. Order from your local agent, the possibilities of a similar brochure in Castilian. This or directly from International Viewpoint.
32 International Viewpoint February 1996
Latin America.
voted to continue financial support, so that the paper can be published on a regular basis.
An international trade union conference is planned in Tuzla
The French version of "World
Bank, IMF, WTO: Enough!" will be published in book form at