Oust the Harper Conservatives on Friday June 19th

Statement of Canadians for Peace & Socialism:

Oust the Harper Conservatives on Friday June 19^th

June 15, 2009

Canadians for Peace and Socialism

The New Democratic Party and the Bloc will vote to defeat the Parliamentary budget estimates on Friday June 19^th. Pressure on the Ignatieff Liberals to join them can defeat the minority Harper Conservatives and bring on a federal election. An election would present the opportunity to a majority of Canadians who are the victims of right-wing policies of depression and imperialist war to fight for peace and a real economic reform program for the people.

The defeat of the Harper Conservatives remains the key to moving Parliamentary politics away from its right wing reactionary malaise. That is what should be worked for � the defeat of the Harper Government and shifting politics away from the extreme right. A defeat for Harper would have the effect of renewing the confidence of millions who at present feel powerless to change government.

All the Parliamentary leaders, including the NDP are saying that Canadians do not want an election! How do they know that? That kind of �group-speak� is promoted by the Harper brain trust as an argument to remain in power. Let the people decided that question not pollsters and the media.

Even if it could be proven that Canadians don�t want an election that does not mean that the people approve of the Harper government and are prepared to tolerate its big business corporate agenda indefinitely. Quite the opposite! A majority of Canadians continue to reject the Harper Conservatives and would welcome an opportunity to oust them from office.

The possibility still exists to defeat the Harper Conservatives without an election and to replace it with a coalition government of Liberal, NDP and Bloc members. Only the political will do it is lacking. It will not be a surprise if the Ignatieff Liberals run for cover on Friday and opt for months of collusion with the Harper Conservatives. If they do that they will be further discredited as they were when they reneged on the coalition agreement they had signed with NDP and the Bloc. Spinelessness is not a political asset.

The Ignatieff Liberals hesitate to defeat the minority Harper Government because they have one eye on the people but the other on finance capital. The big investor classes and the banks fear political instability. There is no appetite on Bay Street at the Bank of Canada, at the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Petroleum Club in Calgary and among their parasitical hangers on, for weakening the corporate grip on the federal treasury and overall fiscal policy in the midst of a depression. Foreign and domestic capital is satisfied with Harper. Finance Minister Flaherty has carried out the instructions of the IMF to the letter. The bulk of the nation�s wealth has been transferred to the banks and a so-called stimulus package is being doled out to further entrench Conservative power over the state.

It is clear that Ignatieff wants power but seeks to evade a confrontation with big capital. Ignatieff wants a coronation. He expects to be reworded by big business for derailing the Liberal NDP Bloc coalition that months ago could have ousted the Harper regime. He is casting about for some other favours he can deliver to big business to ensure that he will be anointed.

What does the left and the organized labour and people�s movement have to fear from an election? Nothing! An election would be welcomed as the opportunity to present labour�s program to the people. The conditions are changing every day, and there is a more receptive political environment to fight for a working class alternative of economic reform and peace.

It is better for the working class at this juncture to be embattled and drawn more actively into politics than to be sidelined and passive. It is clear that the economic interests of workers and farmers cannot be advanced without engaging at a higher level of political struggle for a people�s economic alternative. A federal election would afford that opportunity.

Left Turn Canada!