Reconciliation means acknowledging genocide and taking action to end colonialism

 Posted on June 24, 2015
Jun 242015
 

Resolution adopted by the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, June 13-14, 2015, Toronto

The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission chaired by Justice Murray Sinclair is an important milestone in the struggle to achieve reconciliation and to overcome the legacy of racist colonial policies imposed upon Aboriginal peoples by the European imperialist powers and later by the Canadian capitalist state. The Communist Party of Canada welcomes the TRC report and pledges our support for its 94 recommendations, which would be a significant step towards full equality, and social justice for Aboriginal peoples. We also express full support for demands to extend the truth and reconciliation process to include the impact of the “day schools” attended by thousands of Metis and First Nations children.

As the summary report of the TRC states:

For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide.”

This conclusion is firmly based on the facts and on international law, which recognizes several categories of genocide, including the mass killing of members of a targeted group (physical genocide); and destruction of structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group (cultural genocide). Continue reading »

Confronting racism and facism

 Posted on June 18, 2015
Jun 182015
 

Seemingly unconnected events sometimes reveal patterns which are not immediately obvious. One such pattern is the re-emergence of racist and fascist ideas which had been consigned to history.

South of the border, the mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston – the historic church of slave revolt hero Denmark Vesey – was not the act of a disturbed individual. The killer openly upheld the centuries-long “tradition” of white supremacy, which includes countless murders, rapes, lynchings and police killings against Black Americans. The Civil War victory over the southern slavocrats was not enough to root out their inhuman ideology, which survives in a modern United States where corporate profits are boosted by the exploitation and oppression of racialized minorities. Continue reading »

70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi-fascism

 Posted on May 9, 2015
May 092015
 

Joint Resolution adopted by Communist and Workers’ Parties, May, 2015

The liberation of Berlin by Soviet troops in May of 1945 marks the victory of the peoples in World War II and the defeat of Nazi-fascism – the most violent form of class domination generated by capitalism and the direct cause of the war and of the death of tens of millions of human beings.

The decisive role in the victory of May 9, 1945 was played by the Soviet Union, its people and Red Army, under the leadership of its Communist Party. It was on the Eastern Front that the major battles which determined the outcome of World War II were fought. To mark the 70th anniversary of the Victory is to recall and celebrate the heroism, the courage and determination of millions of Soviet men and women who, at the cost of enormous sacrifice and of over 27 million dead, resisted and fought, giving a decisive contribution to the defeat of the Nazi-fascist barbarity. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Victory is to remember and praise the heroism, courage and determination of millions of other resistance fighters and anti-fascist strugglers from all over the world who dedicated and committed their lives to the struggle for Victory. Continue reading »

Empowering women, empowering humanity

 Posted on March 2, 2015
Mar 022015
 

IWD 2015 greetings from the Communist Party of Canada

March 8, International Women’s Day, is a time to celebrate our historic struggles for equality, and to unite around today’s challenges. On IWD 2015, the Communist Party of Canada extends our warm solidarity to all who stand for peace, equality, democracy and social progress.

In September 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. 30,000 activists held a parallel Forum, while government representatives from 189 countries hammered out the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Despite its shortcomings, the document was amazingly comprehensive, covering women and the environment, economy, education, health, armed conflict, and much more. Continue reading »

Émancipation des femmes, émancipation de l’humanité

 Posted on March 2, 2015
Mar 022015
 

Salutations du Parti communiste du Canada à l’occasion de la JIF 2015.

Le  8 mars, Journée internationale des femmes, est une occasion de célébrer nos luttes historiques pour l’égalité et de s’unir pour relever les défis d’aujourd’hui. À l’occasion de la JIF 2015, le Parti communiste du Canada exprime sa solidarité la plus chaleureuse envers toutes celles et ceux qui se dressent en faveur de la paix, l’égalité, la démocratie et le progrès social.

En Septembre 1995, la quatrième Conférence mondiale sur les femmes s’est tenue à Beijing. 30 000 militantes avaient organisé un Forum parallèle, tandis que les représentantes des gouvernements de 189 pays élaboraient la Déclaration de Beijing et le Programme d’action. Malgré ses lacunes, le document était étonnamment complet, couvrant les femmes et l’environnement, l’économie, l’éducation, la santé, les conflits armés, et bien plus encore. Continue reading »

Dîtes au parlement qu’il doit défaire le projet de loi d’État policier C-51 !

 Posted on February 4, 2015
Feb 042015
 

Déclaration du Comité exécutif central du Parti communiste du Canada, le 5 février 2015

Partout au Canada, l’alarme est sonnée contre le projet de loi C-51, la soi-disant « Loi anti-terroriste 2015 », qui donne à l’État canadien de nouveaux pouvoirs pour criminaliser la dissidence publique. En premier lieu, il vise celles et ceux qui sont critiques des politiques d’austérité néolibérales, de la destruction de l’environnement, et de la guerre impérialiste. Ce dangereux projet de loi conservateur aiderait en outre à transformer le SCRS en une force de police secrète, échappant au contrôle du public ou même du Parlement. Le Parti communiste du Canada soutient que le projet de loi C-51 ne peut pas être « amendé » ou « amélioré »; il doit être rejeté par le Parlement, et le SCRS lui-même devrait être démantelé et non pas renforcé.

Ce projet de loi constitue peut-être la plus grave menace pour la liberté d’expression et pour les libertés civiles au Canada depuis l’époque de la Loi des mesures de guerre qui, de la Première Guerre mondiale jusqu’aux années 1970, a été proclamée à plusieurs reprises par les gouvernements afin de suspendre les droits démocratiques, permettant des incarcérations massives de groupes ethniques particuliers, de communistes, de dirigeantes et de dirigeants syndicaux et d’un large éventail de forces démocratiques au Québec, jusqu’à ce qu’elle fusse finalement abrogée par le Parlement en réponse à une large pression publique. Continue reading »

À propos de l’expansion de la « guerre au terrorisme » : Unissons-nous pour défendre la démocratie, la paix et l’égalité

 Posted on January 7, 2015
Jan 072015
 

Depuis les terribles événements survenus à Paris le 7 Janvier et les jours suivants, politiciens et grands médias des pays membres de l’OTAN, dont le Canada, tonnent que «nous devons tous nous unir» en réponse à une soi-disant «déclaration de guerre» de groupes religieux extrémistes. Mais sous le couvert de «sauvegarder nos libertés contre le terrorisme», le gouvernement d’Harper et les autres gouvernements occidentaux se lancent dans une escalade de militarisme et d’agressions à l’étranger, et rognent davantage les libertés démocratiques – en particulier le droit à la dissidence – au pays.

Pour être clair, le Parti communiste du Canada condamne catégoriquement toutes les actions terroristes, qu’elles soient commises par des individus, des mouvements ou des États impérialistes. Comme nous l’avons dit immédiatement après les événements du 11 septembre 2001, «les actions terroristes sapent la lutte pour un changement progressiste; elles mettent sur la touche et neutralisent le mouvement des masses, créent la peur et désorientent la riposte populaire, et fournissent à l’impérialisme et à la réaction un puissant prétexte pour intensifier la répression». Continue reading »

We stood with Mandela in the struggle to defeat apartheid

 Posted on January 10, 2014
Jan 102014
 

The death of Nelson Mandela on December 5 marked the loss of an outstanding leader in the struggle for human liberation. But for millions of people around the world, it was also an occasion to celebrate Mandela’s remarkable contributions.

Many political activists who came into the Communist Party of Canada and other progressive movements during the past half century or more were dedicated supporters of the anti-apartheid struggle led by the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe, the South African Communist Party, COSATU, and other organizations. Continue reading »

Solidarity with Elsipogtog!

 Posted on October 22, 2013
Oct 222013
 

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People’s Voice newspaper commentary

The shocking attack on Oct. 17 by RCMP officers against anti-fracking protesters in New Brunswick sends a clear signal that the Canadian state and the Harper Conservative government want to smash the growing resistance by Aboriginal peoples, environmentalists and other forces which oppose the destructive profiteering of transnational energy monopolies, such as the Houston-based Southwest Energy company (SWN).

People’s Voice and the Communist Party of Canada join with all democratic and progressive people in condemning this brutal police violence. The Oct. 21 decision by the Court of Queen’s Bench to lift SWN’s injunction, which had been filed to end the blockade protecting Mi’kmaq traditional territory from fracking, is a major victory, and makes clear that the RCMP attack was completely unjustified. Continue reading »

No to “Values Charter”

 Posted on September 25, 2013
Sep 252013
 

No to Divisions! Yes to working class unity!

Debates are raging in Québec over the “Charter of Québec Values” which the Parti Québécois government officially made public on Sept. 10, but whose content had been published for the most part by the media several days previously.

In all likelihood, the government itself orchestrated these leaks in the media, to evaluate the impact that the project would have with the electorate. Last May, the Government conducted a survey which showed the support of a majority of citizens for a framework of “reasonable accommodations”. On that occasion, the minister responsible, Bernard Drainville, announced that the “secular charter” promised during the previous election campaign would instead become one of “Québec values.”

MG0911003A_.inddEssentially, the project contains five propositions revolving around two principal aspects: the establishment of tags to manage requests for religious accommodations and, secondly, the declaration of neutrality of the State, in particular prohibiting all public employees from wearing “ostentatious” religious symbols.

In the latter case, it is proposed to allow CEGEPS, universities, health and social service establishments and municipalities to be exempt from this ban during a transitional period of two five-year terms. However, this aspect remains by far the most controversial because it violates fundamental rights. Continue reading »

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