Communist Party of Canada 35th Central Convention

Feb. 2-4, 2007, Toronto, Ontario

Special Resolutions
1) Close Guantanamo North - Abolish "Security Certificates"
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada demands the closure of the "Guantanamo North" facility, where three men are imprisoned under the undemocratic "Security Certificate" secret trial process, without knowledge of the accusations against them.
Guantanamo North, officially known as the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, is a special $3.2 million six-unit prison inside Millhaven Penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario. Since late November and early December of 2006, detainees Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Mahjoub, and Hassan Almrei have been on fluid-only hunger strikes to protest the inhumane conditions of their detention, including drastic over- and under-heating problems, continued denial of medical care, and a punitive atmosphere of incessant humiliation, all of which constitute illegal forms of torture. A group of almost 70 health workers and organizations, including the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, has expressed grave concern that the prison is failing to provide proper medical monitoring of the hunger strike, and the three men are now in dire physical condition.
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Stockwell Day has refused to meet with representatives of the prisoners, despite growing anger across Canada and internationally over this scandalous violation of the basic principles of justice. These men have been jailed for years without charge on secret suspicions neither they nor their lawyers are allowed to see. All have been fighting deportation to torture, the fate of Maher Arar and of countless other victims of the racist and xenophobic "war on terror" whipped up by the governments and corporate media of the U.S., Canada and other countries involved in the imperialist wars of aggression and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Canadian state has a long history of using such "emergency" laws to target alleged "threats to security." On several occasions, the War Measures Act and similar laws were invoked to jail and deport members of the Communist Party as well as other groups. Today, the climate of fear generated by the “war on terror” is being used to justify the gutting of civil and democratic rights, and to divide workers on the basis of religion or ethnic background. For example, the arrest of seventeen Muslim men in Toronto in 2006 came just before the scheduled five-year review of Bill C-36, the draconian “Anti-Terrorism Act” passed in 2001, which was renewed with only perfunctory debate in Parliament.
We join with many others in calling on the federal government to close the "Guantanamo North" prison, abolish the abusive security certificate regime, free those imprisoned under this measure or provide them with a fair and open trial, and end the deplorable policy of deporting people to torture.

2) A call for fair voting and electoral equality
With the next federal election widely expected in the spring of 2007, the burning issues of fair voting and electoral equality are again on the agenda.
Canada is on the verge of a yet another election in which the outdated, undemocratic "first past the post" system guarantees a distorted outcome, one in which the votes of millions of Canadians will not be reflected in the next House of Commons. All Canadians, and in particular those who support one of the progressive smaller political parties, are faced with the virtual certainty that the exclusive club of larger parties will continue to win nearly every seat. For many voters, "first past the post" elections become an exercise in deciding which candidate has the best chance to defeat the most reactionary party, rather than an expression of support for the policies of a party reflecting their own views. Only the shift to proportional representation can address this fundamental flaw in our electoral system, and the Communist Party of Canada will continue to make the demand for PR a key element in our call for democratic renewal.
Our party will also continue to work with other small parties and democratic forces to achieve further progressive electoral reforms. Recent court decisions, in particular the Supreme Court's final ruling in the Figueroa case, make it clear that discrimination against smaller parties on the basis of their size is illegal. It is therefore outrageous that the Harper Conservatives have appealed the decision by Ontario Superior Court Judge Ted Matlow, who ruled last fall that the law providing $1.75 per vote each year only to those parties which receive over 2% of the total federal vote, is discriminatory and that all registered parties must receive this funding retroactively. As in the Figueroa case, it appears that the federal government intends to appeal every court ruling against such discrimination; in fact, this appeal is just one of the tactics being used to squeeze small parties, such as the recent changes to electoral finance regulations which limit fundraising even while access to public funding is denied. On this issue, the Harper government is in conflict both with public opinion and the Supreme Court of Canada. The CPC and the other parties involved in this case will continue to carry it forward. We appeal to Canadians to put pressure on Parliament to drop this undemocratic and discriminatory provision, and to make this an important issue in the next election campaign.
We also urge the Broadcasting Arbitrator to act on the spirit of these legal rulings, by awarding equitable free broadcast time to all registered political parties. Unless minority parties have genuine access to bring our policies to voters, democracy is largely reduced to a game in which the parties supported by the big corporations have an almost unbeatable advantage in the corporate media and ultimately at the polls. The Communist Party will continue to fight for equitable access to free broadcast time for all parties, both in the arena of public opinion, and if necessary through further legal action.


3) Greetings to Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz
Dear Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz,
Delegates to the 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada are unanimous in sending you revolutionary greetings and our best wishes for the full recovery of your health. Cuba today is a beacon to the world, a shining illustration of how a society can be built on the basis of social justice, democracy and protection of the environment, rather than exploitation and oppression. At a time when our country is engaged in the dirty war of occupation in Afghanistan led by the reactionary government of the United States, Cuba is living proof that even a small country can play a profound role in the struggle for a world of peace and cooperation rather than militarist aggression. We are certain that the liberating example of the "first free territory of the Americas" will continue, and that socialism in Cuba will move from strength to strength in the years to come.
Our Party has stood in solidarity with the Cuban Revolution from the very beginning, defending Cuba and doing everything in our ability to build the friendship of the Cuban and Canadian peoples, and to support campaigns such as the struggle to win freedom for the heroic Cuban Five. We have always been inspired by the courage and dignity of the Cuban people, and by your exemplary leadership of the Revolution in the face of enormous imperialist pressures.
We are confident that you, Comrade Fidel, will continue to play your role in the Revolution. We salute your many contributions to Cuba and to the world, and we send our warmest greetings to you and to our fraternal comrades of the Communist Party of Cuba!

4) Defend universal, public health care!
Canada’s publicly-delivered and funded, not-for-profit, single-tier health care system is one of the most outstanding social achievements won by the working class and its allies during the 20th century. The universal Medicare program is one of the main defences of Canadian workers against contract concessions, in contrast to the situation in the United States, where the monstrous cost of supplying health coverage, especially to pensioners, has been used as a bludgeon against trade unions to force concessions going far beyond medical benefits.
The past decade or more has seen a mounting attack on Medicare, Canada’s largest federal transfer payment, led by the provincial governments of BC, Ontario and Alberta, while federal governments do little or nothing to stop them. The attack aims at both public delivery as well as insurance (Medicare). Taking advantage of the longer waiting times which result from government underfunding of health services, the corporate health privatizers continue to open new private clinics and to press for P3s, claiming that these measures will relieve pressures on the health care system; in reality, this process drains valuable resources from the public system while enriching the corporate interests which form the “medical-industrial complex” and creating a two-tier system.
Public campaigns by the health coalitions and the labour movement have won some victories in this struggle, stopping the two-tiering Copeman clinics in Ontario and the “Urgent Care Centre” in Vancouver, and halting the 'Third Way' in Alberta. But with numerous P3 privatization hospital projects in BC and Ontario, Bill 33 in Quebec (legalizing private insurance), the election of a two-tier advocate as head of the Canadian Medical Association, and the deliberate non-enforcement of the Canada Health Act, Medicare is facing its most deadly threat ever.
As we confront this threat, we recall the proud legacy of our comrade Dr. Norman Bethune, the famous surgeon who initiated one of the earliest campaigns for universal medicare. Bethune’s slogan was “take the private economic profit out of health care.”
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada reiterates our full support for labour-community campaigns to reverse the spread of US-style two-tier health care. We will continue to do everything in our ability to resist this attack, both in the extra-parliamentary arena and in the upcoming federal and provincial elections. Provincial attacks on Medicare must be blocked, and the federal government must be forced to strengthen and enforce the Canada Health Act and to commit to a major reinvestment in the health system. The Drug Patent Act, which guarantees mega-profits for the big drug companies and higher health care costs, must be scrapped in favour of a publicly-owned pharmaceutical industry. Finally, we call for the introduction of universal eye-, pharma- and dental care as part of an expanded universal Medicare system.

5) Scrap the "No Fly List"
The federal government's new "specified persons list" ("no-fly list") is a serious violation of the rights of Canadians to privacy and freedom of movement. This completely unjustified measure cannot be "improved" or "perfected"; it is a fundamental attack on the vital civil liberties of all who live in or travel through Canada.
The Communist Party of Canada demands that the list be scrapped immediately and permanently. We stress that this "list" deflects attention from the real source of terrorism in the world today - the brutal wars of aggression and occupation conducted by US imperialism and its allies, which are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people during the past five years alone. Instead, the "no fly list" is part of the increasing web of measures which deepen our country's participation in the so-called "war on terror," which in reality imposes a regime of militarist violence on the rest of the planet.
The Canadian state has a long and infamous history of using the "security threat" argument to target and scapegoat sections of the population in order to protect the interests of the capitalists who control wealth and power in this country. This tactic has often been used against the Communist Party itself, which has faced illegality, deportation, jailings, and other forms of repression of our members, as well as against other socialists and progressives, whose only "crime" has been to help organize militant struggles in the defence of the working people and oppressed minorities in Canada and around the world. On other occasions, the state has blatantly removed the rights of entire groups of people on the basis of ethnic origin, falsely alleging that they constituted a danger to the security of Canada. These anti-democratic and racist actions are intended to divide and weaken the working class, while doing nothing to protect the country against alleged "threats."
The "specified persons list" follows the same pattern as this lengthy record of abuses. The case of Maher Arar illustrates that complete innocence of any wrongdoing is no defence against arbitrary seizure and deportation to torture, purely on the basis of inclusion on "lookout lists" maintained by the Canadian and US states. The new program, which comes into force in March 2007 for domestic flights and in June for international flights, could cost up to $270 million annually. The list will be established using a database which allows the government access to 34 categories of information, including the passenger's name, birthdate, gender, citizenship, itinerary, seat assignment and ticket payment. Airport officials screen all passengers who appear to be at least 12 years old, prevent boarding by those whose names match those of a "specified person," and notify the RCMP and airport police in such cases. Based on the experience of recent years, it seems certain that people from the Muslim and Arab communities will be heavily represented on the "specified persons list," but other categories of people will also be included, since the RCMP and CSIS will gather names on the basis of extremely broad "guidelines" which are wide open to police abuse. The list will inevitably expand, just as the numbers of Canadians targeted by the RCMP in past decades eventually climbed to nearly one million names.
Canadian airlines are already using the badly-flawed US watch lists for flights to the United States, and will continue to do so even after the Canadian list is activated. Other expansions of this so-called "protection plan" are being prepared, such as full video surveillance of bus and rail systems.
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada condemns the "no fly list" and all other attacks on civil liberties which are being implemented in the name of the "war on terror." We join with all Canadians who oppose this dangerous and growing assault on democracy and human rights across the so-called "democratic Western world." We demand instead that Canada give full support to genuine international cooperation towards the reduction of military spending, nuclear disarmament, and other peace-building measures which will increase the security of all peoples and nations.

6) Solidarity with the Palestinian people – End the occupation!
This year will mark two tragic anniversaries – the 60th year since the Nakba, the violent dispossession and expulsion of Palestinians during the formation of Israel in 1947, and the 40th year since the 1967 war which ended with the Israeli occupation of further Palestinian territories, and the subsequent Zionist policy of ever-expanding settlements on Palestinian land. The ongoing refusal by Israel and its imperialist backers to accept a truly independent and viable Palestinian state is increasingly recognized by world public opinion as the greatest single obstacle to lasting peace in the Middle East. The occupation of Palestine is also a major factor in the threat of a new and wider war with the potential for terrifying consequences on a global scale.
Defying world opinion, the Israeli state maintains its policy of military terrorism against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Since the start of the latest Israeli war against Gaza last June, there have been some 200 civilian deaths in the territory, and over 1,000 more wounded, callously shrugged off by Israeli Prime Minister Olmert as "mistakes" in the pursuit of “militants.” Israel also refuses to stop construction of the “separation wall,” which is bringing more and more of the West Bank under Israeli occupation, despite the International Court of Justice ruling that this wall is illegal. By withholding funds from the democratically-elected Hamas government of the Palestinian Authority, Israel has compounded its destruction of the Palestinian economy, with horrendous results for the living standards and social programs of the people.
While many countries have condemned Israel's occupation and its war against Lebanon last summer, Canada's Conservative government refuses to express any criticism of the Israeli regime.
This Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada renews our historic position of full solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people, and pledges to continue to support solidarity campaigns initiated by the labour movement and other friends of the Palestinians, including the boycott of Israeli products. We demand that the Harper government end its support for Israeli aggression, and its shameful participation in the boycott of the elected government of the Palestinian Authority, a policy which brings death and destruction, not peace and justice. Repression, aggression and war will never subdue a determined people who have every right to resist occupation and to demand self-determination.
Genuine and enduring peace in the Middle East will not be achieved until Israel accepts the United Nations resolutions which demand its withdrawal from all territories occupied during and since the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem, tears down its apartheid wall, and accepts the Palestinian right of return.

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7) Solidarity with the Six Nations of the Grand River
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada salutes the Six Nations of the Grand River and their land reclamation struggle, which has a long and determined history.
The Iroquois Confederacy established Nation to Nation alliances with the British Crown through the Colonial administration of British North America. The alliances were formalized in Nation to Nation Treaties between the Iroquois Confederacy (known informally as Six Nations) and the British Crown. As a result of their alliance with the British Crown, Confederacy lands south of the Great Lakes during the U.S. War of Independence were threatened, which prompted the negotiated grant of the Haldimand Tract in 1784. The British Crown negotiated a grant of land six miles on both sides of the Grand River from the source in central Ontario to the mouth where it empties into Lake Erie. This grant was between allies in compensation for losses suffered by the Confederacy. There were many other lands of the Iroquois Confederacy held long before European intrusion in what is now Ontario and Quebec. The lands of the Haldimand Tract became known as the Six Nations of the Grand River. At the time of confederation, the Dominion of Canada became the equal partner on the British side of these treaties as the inheritors of British treaty responsibilities. In the last 223 years the Haldimand Tract has been reduced to less than 5% of its original 950,000 acres. Most of this loss was through corrupt government officials, illegal seizure by intruders and the policies of attrition, exploitation and racism applied by generations of Canadian governments.
The historic reclamation of the “Douglas Creek Estates” by the Six Nations since February 28th, 2006, in Caledonia, Ontario, and the recent reclamation of the Ohsweken Council House, their traditional seat of governance from which they were physically driven out in 1924, is reaffirmation of their national sovereignty and their determination to force the government of Canada to honour the legal treaties made between nations and inherited by the government of Canada. The Iroquois Confederacy has never given up their sovereignty. The courageous struggle at Oka in 1990, the historic “Douglas Creek” reclamation, and the developing resistance to a new land grab at Deseronto, are all part of traditional determination by Six Nations to protect their independence and sovereignty, to deal as a nation with the government of Canada and reclaim what is legally theirs historically in law and by any just moral standards. The Communist Party of Canada supports the swift and just settlement of claims of Aboriginal people across Canada. We are very aware of the history of colonial repression, ethnic cleansing, cultural and physical genocide that are part of the Canadian heritage and must be redressed, and we call for urgent action to prevent further racist attacks on the Six Nations at Caledonia. We demand that the government of Canada make just reparations to Aboriginal people a priority, and that adherence to international law and adherence to United Nations recommendations be stated immediately as a minimum policy and implemented as a priority while negotiations proceed.
This 35th Convention of the Communist Party of Canada reaffirms the support for Aboriginal people that is as old as our Party. We respect and support the struggle of Aboriginal people everywhere in Canada to exercise their right to self-government, to have political, economic and cultural control over their territories, and to be equal partners with the other nations in a new “made-in-Canada” Constitution.

8) Oppose Cuts to Women’s Equality Programs
For over a century, full gender equality has been a historic demand of the working class and democratic movements in Canada, led by determined and courageous women and with the support of the trade unions and left forces. Today, all past gains towards such equality are under fire by the Harper Conservatives and their far-right allies.
This wide-ranging anti-equality offensive reflects the powerful influence of REAL Women, Focus on the Family, and fundamentalist religious groups. These forces demand the reversal of historic gains towards pay equity, public child care, reproductive rights, women's shelters, and the elimination of all progressive social programs, in favour of a purely market-based capitalist economy. In essence, this is an agenda to impose a reactionary, patriarchal family model on society, including steps to push women out of the workforce and public life, and back into a purely domestic role.
This “back to the past” campaign dovetails with the Conservative cutbacks, which are accelerating the push by most federal and provincial governments in recent years to eliminate funding for women's centres and organizations. The voices of working class and poor women, Aboriginal women and other women of colour who advocate for systemic changes to help achieve a more equal and just society, are being silenced by governments.
The claims by right-wing forces that full equality has been achieved are false. The wage gap between men and women in Canada remains at about thirty percent. The lack of progress towards gender equality was addressed in 2003 by a committee of the United Nations, which recommended that Canada accelerate efforts to eliminate the systemic discrimination faced by Aboriginal women, combat high levels of poverty among particular groups of women, fund civil legal aid, effectively address violence against women, improve maternity and parental benefits, change immigration laws to respect the rights of live-in caregivers, and ensure a more equitable participation of women in political institutions.
In the January 2006 election, Stephen Harper pledged to act on these issues. Instead, his government has slashed funding for Status of Women Canada, barred funding for women's groups which advocate and lobby for equality, and cancelled the Court Challenges Program. The Tories refuse to act on pay equity, and cancelled the pan-Canadian child care program, cutting $1.2 billion annually to provinces and territories for child care services. While cutting vital services for women, the Conservatives are pouring billions of dollars into military spending, for operations such as the mission in Afghanistan, which props up one group of warlords while doing nothing to support the real needs of the women of that country. If the Conservatives win a majority in Parliament, the next step will be a push by anti-equality groups to begin removing women's reproductive rights.
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada condemns the Harper government's attacks on women's equality rights, which are an assault on the working class as a whole, since gains towards gender equality strengthen the unity of all workers against exploitation and oppression. Our Party continues to give full support to the struggles to reverse these attacks, and to the struggle to defeat the Conservatives in the impending federal election. We pledge our solidarity with efforts to build a powerful and united movement of women's organizations and all equality-seeking groups to defend and advance the rights of women. Our goal remains the elimination of capitalist exploitation and all forms of oppression, a socialist world in which peace, freedom and equality are the rights of all.

9) Save the Canadian Wheat Board - Fire Chuck Strahl!
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada condemns the dictatorial assault on the Canadian Wheat Board and prairie grain farmers by the Harper Conservatives, who aim to dismantle the single-desk selling authority of the CWB.
We call for the immediate resignation of Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl, who is imposing the agenda of the transnational grain monopolies and other powerful agribusiness forces based mainly in the United States.
The Conservative government refuses to accept that it is bound by the CWB Act, even after MPs voted 149-111 on Oct. 25 to defeat a private member's bill that would have removed the single desk authority of the CWB. On November 1, the House of Commons voted 155-121 for an Opposition motion calling for a producer vote on any changes to the CWB. Now, Strahl is fixing the upcoming vote by grain producers to achieve his desired result, in direct violation of Section 47.1 of the CWB Act.
Minister Strahl has prohibited CWB directors and staff from defending the Board's role as the single-desk seller of Western Canadian wheat and barley, and replaced pro-CWB directors with opponents of the Board.
During the CWB election last fall, Strahl issued an order to remove on spurious grounds 36 percent of Western Canada grain growers - 16,269 farmers - from the list of eligible voters. Despite Strahl's blatant interference, including active campaigning for anti-CWB candidates, farmers returned pro-CWB directors in four out of five districts. Now, Strahl is moving to stack the Wheat Board with political appointments, and has fired CWB CEO Adrian Measner.
The Canadian Wheat Board has been a critical element of past reforms won by prairie farmers and their allies to defend small producers and rural communities against the big monopolies which dominate agriculture. The attack on the CWB's single-desk selling authority is equivalent to ripping up every collective bargaining agreement in the country, on the grounds that workers "deserve" the right to market their skills to a wider variety of employers.
In the name of "moving to marketing choice," the Harper Tories are acting as mouthpieces for the largest grain farmers and the agribusiness monopolies. Without the Wheat Board to provide the best price to all producers, thousands of smaller farm families will be squeezed off the land by mega-farm operations, with negative consequences for Canada's food security, and for communities across the region. Canadian grain will go south to bolster the export quality of inferior US grain, and BC's grain handling port facilities will lose valuable jobs.
The Conservative campaign to kill the Wheat Board is a gross violation of democracy, and a vicious attack against the working people of Western Canada. We urge all supporters of democracy and Canadian sovereignty to join with the farm and labour movements to resist this attack, and in the coming election to defeat all candidates who refuse to give full support to the Canadian Wheat Board!

10) Lift the Ban on the KSM!
The Czech Communist Youth Union (KSM) is the genuine, democratic revolutionary communist organization of the Czech youth, which fights for the interests and rights of youth and for socialism. During the last year, the KSM has faced increasing attacks and suppression from the Czech Ministry of the Interior which has culminated in the banning of the organization. This 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada stands in full and open solidarity with the ongoing struggle of the KSM against the authoritarian, fascistic anti-communist attempts of the Czech Government to squelch dissent and demolish the communist movement in the Czech Republic.

11) Solidarity with the people of Colombia
The 35th Central Convention of the Communist Party of Canada reaffirms our support for the struggle being waged by the working class and peasants and their allies against the corrupt fascist-like ruling class in Colombia. We denounce US and Canadian support for the current Colombian state and its criminal capitalist class. We declare our deep solidarity with the peasants and workers led by the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army). We demand that the Canadian state’s list of “terrorist” organizations, which includes both the FARC-EP and the ELN, be scrapped. Long live the struggle for socialism in the Americas and the world!

12) March 17 Day of Action: Canada, U.S. and NATO out of Afghanistan! U.S. out of Iraq!
The protests that will take place across Canada on Saturday, March 17 are crucial efforts to mobilize opposition against the imperialist U.S.-led occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Particularly, they will be important to unite Canadians against our country’s bloody role in Afghanistan’s occupation and as a step towards defeating the Harper Tory government’s entire far-right pro-war agenda.
This 35th Convention of the Communist Party of Canada commits every member to work heart and soul to create the largest and broadest possible mobilization on that day. The day of action is being called by the Canadian Peace Alliance and Collectif Échec à la guerre; respectively, the largest umbrella organizations of peace-supporting groups in Canada and Québec. The3 day of action has the support of a broad range of organizations and movements.
The vital issue for Communist Party clubs, committees and organizers is to mobilize the labour movement and to build support for the protests among Aboriginal people, youth, students, women and immigrant groups. Some important religious denominations that were active in the successful protests keep Canada out of the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003 still need to be activated.
The challenge is to broaden support and ensure that war and occupations become an even greater, burning pivotal issue. Large protests will help to demonstrate that Canadians reject the dangerous, servile support to U.S. imperialism given by the pro-war political parties in Parliament.
The October 25 cross-Canada protests against the occupation of Afghanistan took place in 40 towns and cities under the leadership of the CPA, Collectif Échec à la guerre, Canadian Labour Congress and Canadian Muslim Congress. The Communist Party welcomes this development, especially the active participation of the labour movement, and calls on the CLC to asl oppose the huge and dangerous hikes in Canada’s military spending.
The Communist Party urges the CLC and its affiliates to campaign long and hard for the goal of making Canada a voice against war and occupation, building on the CLC’s “Five Priorities” for working families political campaign during last year’s election.
Concerned about the growing opposition to Afghanistan’s occupation, the Harper Tories are carrying on an expensive propaganda campaign of their own. Using crude and deceptive propaganda, the pro-war campaign includes staged rallies, planted opinions in the media, and speech-making by military officers.
Support for the Afghanistan mission plummeted after Canadian troops were re-deployed in 2006 to Kandahar, where armed resistance to the occupation is high. The massive upsurge by the U.S. anti-war movement against the unpopular U.S. occupation of Iraq has helped to inspire Canadian opposition.
The Harper Tory minority government won a close 149 to 145 vote in May or last year to extend the Afghanistan mission for two years until 2009. The motion passed with the support of 30 Liberal MPs, led mainly by Michael Ignatieff, now the Liberal Party’s deputy leader, and because of the absence of 14 other MPs from Parliament.
Parliamentary Opposition parties have since then refused either to oppose the mission’s extension or to call for the return of the troops. Regrettably this includes the federal NDP caucus, which is ignoring the 90 percent vote at last fall’s NDP convention to bring Canadian troops back.
NDP leader Jack Layton and his caucus have overturned their own demand for the return of troops by February 2007. Layton now wants to re-deploy Canadian troops within Afghanistan for “peaceful” reconstruction work. NDP Manitoba Premier Gary Doer is also publicly declaring his support for Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
These are unacceptable concessions to U.S./NATO imperialism, which is striving to maintain foreign occupying forces in Afghanistan. The Green Party has adopted a similar policy.
Larger, more powerful and broader protests are needed to demand Parliamentary parties adopt deadlines for bringing Canadian troops home. Mass protests will help to raise the occupation as a key issue and spark more meaningful differences among the federal opposition parties. Most importantly, mass protests will help to isolate and defeat the servile, far-right, pro-war Harper Tories.


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