The NDP leadership race suddenly seems like a very long, drawn-out affair. Initially, there was much outrage, especially from Thomas Mulcair, at the suggestion that the party go along with what Jack Layton seemed to want: an earlier leadership convention in January. But now many in the party, lead by Winnipeg MP Pat Martin, worry that the party's performance in the Commons is suffering because many of its strongest MPs are out of their critic roles and pre-occupied with the race.
A couple of polls suggest the NDP is slipping and the Liberals are gaining at their expense, with the pollsters musing about the impact of the race as well. One poll in particular should cause the party concern as it hints at a more serious cause for declining support: Canadians' increasing worry about the economy.
Never again can the world be told by the custodians of the old that the people cannot be relied upon to write the contract between citizens and government, and write it well.
Iceland's fate epitomizes the tragedy of ‘constitutional democracies’ as they have been variously practiced and imposed in recent times: whereby the writing of a constitution by the people is considered the revolutionary exception, and not the rule. Never before has a ‘peacetime’ state constitution been drafted by an Assembly of ordinary citizens. Never before has a constitution’s fundamental values framework been ‘crowd-sourced’. Never before has a constitution been produced under the intense gaze of a population, scrutinising each draft as it is uploaded onto a website, watching meetings beamed live on the internet, with publics relaying feedback for improvement in real time. Never before has so much been at stake in the peacetime re-drafting of a constitution in such circumstances, and never before have citizens had such a stake in the process of its creation. Never again can the world be told by the custodians of the old that the people cannot be relied upon to write the contract between citizens and government, and write it well.
In what follows I hope to make up for the faintly patronising tone struck by other[12] accounts dealing with this event. There are, I would argue, in fact, serious lessons to be learned from Iceland that may also be applicable to other, larger states.
Leo Panitch is a political economist and theorist based at York University, Toronto, and is co-editor of Socialist Register. His latest book (with co-author Sam Gindin) is The Making of Global Capitalism will be out in the Spring of 2012.
Stephanie Ross teaches in the Department of Labour Studies at York University, Toronto, and is the co-director of the Centre for Research on Work and Society.
Albert Scharenberg is a political scientist and historian and is the Head of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. He is a lecturer in politics and American Studies at the Free University of Berlin.
Bill Fletcher is a longtime labour and international activist and the former President and chief executive officer of TransAfrica Forum. He is the executive editor of the Black Commentator, and founder of the Center for Labor Renewal. He is co-author (along with Fernando Gapasin) of Solidarity Divided.
Part 5 includes a selection of Q+A responses by all the presenters.
Sponsored by the the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Socialist Project.
When I was in graduate school in the 1990s, the most difficult book to find in the library was Antonio Gramsci’s ‘prison notes’ (as we called them). This elusive book attracted all the theoretically-minded students, from anthropology to geography, political science and beyond. It was whispered that Gramsci’s notes revealed a Marxism that was open to anyone. They seemed to hold the promise of bridging impossible chasms: matter and ideas, theory and practice, Marx and Foucault—even Derrida and Lenin. Unfortunately our library had only two copies, and one was always ‘missing’ (no doubt ‘liberated’ by a very ‘open’ Marxist), and the other was always checked out. The challenge of obtaining these notes, like the brutal conditions under which they were written, gave the book an unmistakable glamour. It was as if Gramsci’s notes held the key to all your theoretical problems—if only you could get hold of them.
Kramer, Reinhold and Tom Mitchell. 2010.When the State Trembled: How A.J. Andrews and the Citizens’ Committee Broke the Winnipeg General Strike. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
It would be an understatement to say that the history of the Canadian left has lost its lustre; it would be an overstatement to say that its lustre has been restored by When the State Trembled and Seeing Reds. Nonetheless, the fortuitous publication of these two books in the same year raises the profile of a history whose lessons Canadians can ill afford to forget.
When the State Trembled is a “local” history placed in national and international contexts, while Seeing Reds is a national and international treatment whose central event is that “local” strike in Winnipeg in 1919. The interplay of the local, national and international on the one hand, and of the two books themselves on the other, means that both works are well worth reading, and even more worth reading together.
Canada's spy agency relied so heavily on information gleaned from torture that is ability to protect Canadian would be harmed if it weren't allowed to do so, a letter from a CSIS head indicated.
The letter, obtained by the Montreal Gazette, was sent from then- CSIS Director Jim Judd to then-Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, in January of 2008, as the government was preparing new legislation on national security certificates (NSLs).
Judd warned that an amendment to the new law, which would prevent the use of torture to issue NSLs, could "render unsustainable the current security certificate proceedings."
NSLs allow Canadian authorities to detain non-citizens indefinitely without trial, where evidence exists that they are a national security risk. A cabinet minister must sign off on any use of an NSL.
If the NSL amendment were interpreted to mean that Canada could not rely on evidence initially obtained from governments that may have tortured, and then independently corroborated, "the Government's ability to act in the interest of public safety on threat-related information or advice provided by CSIS could be significantly and negatively affected," the letter stated, CSIS memo shows Canada's reliance on torture
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be officially created on Saturday during the final session of the Summit of heads of State and Government of the region, gathered since December 2 in this capital with that purpose.
Defined by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as the future great center for regional power of the 21st century, the high-level forum will approve today the Caracas Declaration, a document that will define the political budget of a bloc for integration, development and peace.
For years, the New Democrats have avoided talking seriously about the economy, relying instead on bromides like “helping working families” or “putting people ahead of profits.” With the world in crisis, they no longer have that luxury.
Still, Canada’s official Opposition is coming to the topic nervously. On the eve of the NDP’s major leadership debate over economic policy, only two of nine candidates — Toronto MP Peggy Nash and former party president Brian Topp — have tried to articulate a broad view.
Wow! Glorious and Free! That’s Canada, thanks to our courageous and brave military warriors who defeated the nasty Gaddafi despot. Even before the ceremonial proceedings that were televised live in Canada, the announcer had gushed that Canada’s mission in Libya was “quick and dirty” and was “a good day for Canada.”
As most people know, Canada played a significant role in the aerial bombing of Libya, and as a finale for the mission, the military occupied the Senate Chambers for a publicity and reward ceremony for our Canadian “heroes” on Thursday, November 24. The public was not welcome; this was a private stage for the Conservative government to hog the media spotlight.
The tents are gone, but the Occupy Saskatoon movement is just getting started.
Occupy Saskatoon was evicted from Gabriel Dumont Park on Nov. 14, but a week later about 60 people involved in the movement gathered in a general assembly to discuss the future of Occupy Saskatoon. They’re planning workshops on anti-oppression and direct action training on Dec. 10, for UN International Human Rights Day; they’re looking for a free, public space to hold their general assemblies; and they’re continuing to help those members without homes.
By the time this issue hits the streets, arguments should’ve wrapped up in Court of Queen’s Bench in a huge case being waged by Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and two dozen affiliated unions against the Brad Wall government.
At stake is the constitutionality of two pieces of legislation passed in 2008.
Bill 5 (Public Service Essential Services Act) empowered public service employers in areas like health and security to designate employees as essential to their operation. Once designated, the employees lose the right to strike as part of collective bargaining. Bill 6 (Trade Union Amendment Act) rejigged longstanding rules around union certification, permitting employers to communicate with employees during union drives, and changing the voting requirements, generally making union certification more difficult.
The Green Party of Saskatchewan has a proposal for the responsible use of revenue from natural resources in the province. Party Leader Victor Lau says a minimum of 18 percent of resource revenue should be placed in a resource fund, similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund. Oil revenue is set aside in the Alaskan fund for future generations of citizens, and is used to provide dividends to the adult citizens of Alaska. Annual payouts to citizens have ranged up to $2,000 U.S. per person.
Lau likes the idea of a Resource Fund for Saskatchewan, because it preserves the benefits of our province’s growing economy for future generations, “Alaska is showing Saskatchewan the way, in terms of how resource revenue can be made available for all present and future Saskatchewan citizens.” Lau says, “Saskatchewan citizens own the natural resources in our province. Therefore Saskatchewan citizens have a right to enjoy the benefits of that ownership directly through a Guaranteed Livable Income."
Lau says the provincial government always needs to have enough revenue to ensure that the provincial budget is never in deficit. “By ensuring there is always enough resource revenue to balance the budget while eliminating poverty through a guaranteed income, we move towards the goal of One Saskatchewan," states Lau. " Resource revenue is a blessing, not something our province should ever take for granted” says Lau.
Amnesty International condemned Saudi Arabia for conducting a campaign of repression to stave off the threat of the pro-democracy Arab Spring that has engulfed the region, a newly-published report said.
"The last nine months has seen a new wave of repression in Saudi Arabia as authorities have cracked down on protesters and reformists on security grounds," the rights watchdog said in a statement issued late Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia has moved to squash any chance of the Arab Spring reaching the kingdom, launching a crackdown on protesters and reformists throughout the country, Philip Luther, Amnesty's director for the Middle East and North Africa, said.
Stumbling left-wing partnerships and a Cold War drama are preoccupying the social democrats while the rest of Europe scrambles to solve the euro crisis
Having to horse-trade with two parties to the left of the Social Democrats has made the first two months of government a mixed experience for the new prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, as she battles to pull through the day-to-day business of her government.
The Socialist People’s Party (SF) is a part of the government and leader Villy Søvndal became foreign minister after the September election. In spite of its somewhat archaic name, SF is a pragmatic left-wing party corresponding more or less with the Green Party in Germany.
When I was in graduate school in the 1990s, the most difficult book to find in the library was Antonio Gramsci’s ‘prison notes’ (as we called them). This elusive book attracted all the theoretically-minded students, from anthropology to geography, political science and beyond. It was whispered that Gramsci’s notes revealed a Marxism that was open to anyone. They seemed to hold the promise of bridging impossible chasms: matter and ideas, theory and practice, Marx and Foucault—even Derrida and Lenin. Unfortunately our library had only two copies, and one was always ‘missing’ (no doubt ‘liberated’ by a very ‘open’ Marxist), and the other was always checked out. The challenge of obtaining these notes, like the brutal conditions under which they were written, gave the book an unmistakable glamour. It was as if Gramsci’s notes held the key to all your theoretical problems—if only you could get hold of them.
Reviewed by Peter Campbell
Canada's spy agency relied so heavily on information gleaned from torture that is ability to protect Canadian would be harmed if it weren't allowed to do so, a letter from a CSIS head indicated.
Amnesty International condemned Saudi Arabia for conducting a campaign of repression to stave off the threat of the pro-democracy Arab Spring that has engulfed the region, a newly-published report said.
Stumbling left-wing partnerships and a Cold War drama are preoccupying the social democrats while the rest of Europe scrambles to solve the euro crisis
