September 1, 2015
The Communist Party reacted angrily today to the abject failure of the main political parties to address the deepening economic crisis in Canada with any meaningful policies promote growth and create permanent, well-paying jobs for working people across the country.
Statistics Canada confirmed earlier today that the Canadian economy is now officially in recession, marked by two consecutive quarters of GDP decline.
“PM Harper is in complete denial over the depth of the crisis. He is in fantasyland if he thinks that Canadians really believe ‘all is well’ with the Tories’ stewardship of the economy,” Communist Party leader Miguel Figueroa said.
“But the other ‘pretenders to the throne’ – Trudeau and Mulcair – while eager to cast blame, offer no substantial alternatives of their own to stimulate growth, to narrow the widening disparities between the super-rich and the vast majority of working people, or to boost job creation.”
“They all race about, claiming to be the best managers of this crisis-ridden system of capitalism,” Figueroa added. “And they all cling to the same neo-liberal dogma of ‘fiscal restraint’, ‘balancing the books’, tax cuts and incentives for business, and pro-corporate trade pacts like NAFTA, the TPP and CETA.”
“But none are prepared to support measures to improve the living conditions of working people forced to pay for this crisis through austerity policies shoved down their throats by every level of government.”
“And none of them are prepared to admit the obvious truth – that global capitalism is in a profound and worsening economic, social and environmental crisis ever since 2008, and that all the so-called remedies employed by capitalist governments everywhere – including here in Canada – have only served to make the crisis deeper and more intractable.”
“Meanwhile, employment becomes ever more precarious for millions of workers, the quality and universality of basic public services like healthcare and education continue to decline, militarism grows along with Canada’s involvement in foreign wars of aggression, and the global environment deteriorates under the impact of climate change.”
The Communist Party calls for a major turn in public policy to address the crisis, a program for fundamental change serving the needs of working people, not the big banks and corporations:
- a “Jobs First” strategy to rebuild manufacturing and value-added industries; an increase in the minimum wage to $20/hr.;
- the introduction of a Guaranteed Annual Income to raise everyone out of poverty;
- massive investments in affordable social housing and public infrastructure;
- improved public pensions, including substantially higher CPP benefits;
- the expansion of Medicare to include universal pharmacare, dental and eye care, and long-term care, the introduction of a universal, affordable and publicly-administrated childcare program, and the reduction and elimination of tuition for post-secondary education; and
- emergency legislation to slash greenhouse gas emissions, major investments in renewable energy and conservation programs, and a substantial expansion of urban mass transit.”
“These and other measures we call for in our ‘people’s alternative’ platform would create millions of permanent, well-paying jobs, and raise the real living standards of all working people across the country,” Figueroa added. “And we can pay for these measures by doubling the corporate tax rate, nationalizing oil and other natural resources, and cutting the military budget by 75%.”
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For more information, visit the Communist Party’s website at www.communist-party.ca, or contact our main office at 290A Danforth Ave., Toronto, ON M4K 1N6; 416-469-2446; or info@cpc-pcc.ca.
Authorized by the Chief Agent, CPC. Autorisé par l’agent principal du PCC