SPC Newsletters Jan-Mar

[Socialist Party Head Office]

THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF CANADA

 

General Secretary's Report for January 2017

 

Email Report

 

– Imagine Winter 2016 released December 5. Visit our website for downloading https://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/

– WSP (India) EC meeting minutes No. 170, December 4, 2016, received with thanks.

– WSP (India) 1000 copies of History of Economics: A Scientigfic Investigation into the Political Economy and Its Swindler 'Economics' published. 50.00 Rupees/CD$1-1.50.

Contact E-mail: wspindia@hotmail.com; Website: http://www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org for more information to purchase.

– Red Lion Press (re)publishing Bill Pritchard's autobiography, entitled

Revolutionary Socialist: Life of the Socialist Party of Canada and the OBU, 1910-1922; Fred Casey's Thinking: An Introduction To Its History and Science; and, Method in Thinking: An Introduction to Dialectics.

Costs: $3 for Pritchard, $6 each for the Casey's plus postage costs.

Contact E-mail: redlionpress@hotmail.com – for more information to purchase or enquire with

the publisher: https://web.facebook.com/search/more/?q=Larry+Gambone&init=public

Good of the Movement

– Two introductory packages sent out; one new member application request.

– Toronto Branch public meeting held Thursday, December 29, 2016, The Second Cup Coffee House 324 Bloor St W, Toronto.

– Winter socialist discussion meetings (Toronto) – see Toronto Branch Facebook for details

https://web.facebook.com/Toronto-Branch-Socialist-Party-of-Canada-1120836671294008/ & our website https://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/

– Socialist Party of Canada Facebook public page https://web.facebook.com/socialistpartycanada/ & members' page https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012582758245

– Imagine Sring 2017: expected distribution May 2017.

– New Toronto Branch email (June 2016): "Socialist Party of Canada Toronto Branch"<spctorontobranch@gmail.com>

– Socialist education site for redistribution & hyperlinking, S. Shenfield (WSPUS) http://www.whatissocialism.net/

GAC Elections 2017-2019

– Awaiting mailed-in ballots sent by December 31, 2016; results to be tallied January 8th, 2017.

– Headquarter location by acclamation, Victoria BC.

Finances – Stationary: $0.75; photocopies: $2.60; post: $4.80.

Food For Thought

• Two events, separated by a century, came across the this writer's attention recently and each underscore the fact that capitalism cannot change. On November 11, U.N. officials said that Daesh militants have killed “scores of civilians” in Mosul in recent days, sometimes using children as executioners and have used chemical agents agents Iraq and Kurdish troops. Videos posted by Daesh showed children between ten and fourteen years of age shooting civilians accused of disloyalty. A mass grave discovered on November 7 by Iraqi troops was only many of large scale killings. It contained at least 100 corpses, but it was reported Daesh fighters have dumped bodies down a well at a cement factory yard and at several other locations including the Mosul airport and in the Tigris.

As horrifying as this is it pales in comparison to the other “event.” A recent book, A Future Without Hate or Need – The Promise of the Jewish Left in Canada, by Ester Reiter, focuses on the history of secular Jewish movements in Canada (www.btlbooks.com)

When children played with rubber balls in their schools, secular Jewish teachers taught them where they were produced, to quote, “. . . before colonialism, tribes in the Congo lived peacefully, surviving from cattle grazing and gathering. In the nineteenth century the Belgian whites appeared. They taught the “Negroes” how to extract precious metals such as gold and copper. The Congo became a colony of Belgium in 1884, although Belgium is less than half its size. From a population of twenty million in 1908, by 1911 there were only eight million Congolese. Twelve million people died in a three year period. The Belgians enslaved the Congolese to extract rubber, killing whole families who refused to comply. A contemporary report said “. . . if a worker tries to run away the Belgian overseer punishes not only the family, but the whole village. Children and women are whipped, entire villages are burned, in order to frighten the others. The Belgian merchants and the Belgian King are the richest in the country. When children use rubber they need to remember the life of the black slaves who live so far from us.”It's enough to make anyone with a love of humanity to cry out: “When will it end?” – the answer being it won't – At least not as long as the despicable apology for an economic system we lie under lasts.

• In Georgia and Tennessee there seems no end in sight for the drought. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said about 300 of the states 480 water serving systems are suffering moderate to exceptional drought. Watering lawns and washing cars is restricted in some parts of the south and more severe water limits will be imposed if the drought continues. In some areas Beaver dams have been demolished to increase water flow. About 10.000 skiers go to Beech Mountain, North Carolina, on weekends, but now there is no snow, there are no skiers, so the economy of the town suffers. Kevin Chambers of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, said hewasn't sure they will have enough water to get through the winter – yet still the highly paid mouthpieces of the capitalist class in the U.S. declare in their infinite wisdom that there is no global warming problem.

• The Trudeau government has approved a major pipeline project to transport Alberta's bitumen to British Columbia's coast. The 6.8 billion Trans-Mountain project would add 980 kilometers of new pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby to open a new route to the Pacific for the Alberta oil sands. This project faces strong opposition from Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Liberal MPs from BC and First Nations representatives on the grounds (no pun intended) that it is unsafe. As if that will stop them. The capitalist class in its voracious race for profits has been stealing and destroying Aboriginals lands since the days since the days of Columbus – it 'aint gonna stop now!

• Drivers and cyclists who work for Uber Eats in Toronto received E-mails on November 29 that the company will cut their wages from 30 to 50 per cent.All Uber delivery people are contractors. Prior to the changes cyclists would get $6.50 when they picked up an order, a fee that added up if they picked up multiple orders from the same restaurant, and $1.85 per kilometer of distance travelled. Uber would then take 35 per cent of the total delivery fee as its cut. Now they will get $2.90 for a pick up regardless of how many meals the cyclist may pick up. The distance rate is now $1.05 per kilometer, but (big surprise) Uber's 35 per cent cut remains the same. The only funny thing is the company refers to the contractors as ''partners''- yes the working class have soooo much in common with their exploiters.

• First the good news, the Canadian labour market added 10,700 jobs in November and the unemployment rate dropped from 7 per cent to 6.8., according to Stats-Canada. The bad news is the economy added 19,400 part time jobs, but shed 8,700 full time ones – do the math. So more and more workers have to exist on part time work, the equivalent of a pay cut. Nor is the 6.8 per cent figure accurate. Many have used up their unemployment insurance and have given up searching for work. So don't expect things to get better under capitalism 'cos they won't.

• California State government recently passed tough clean air rules mandating that Auto-Makers sell only nonpolluting vehicles there. Nine other states have followed suit. This means that GM stands to lose $9,000 on every Chevrolet Bolt that leaves its showroom once the all electric sub-compact starts rolling out. So here we have a contradiction – a government has passed a law which makes it difficult for capitalists to make a profit. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

• On December I, Justin Trudeau, understandably, had a meeting with some fellow reformists, the editorial board of the Toronto Star. Among the pearls of wisdom the PM spoke we find this little goodie,''Unless we make significant changes around who gets the benefit of economic growth – unless we are much better about including everyone in the success of the country – then people will start to lash out. We Socialists know who gets the benefit of economic growth and it sure as hell 'aint the working class who should be the ones to lash out, and they can start that by working for Socialism.

• An SPCer recently met a lady who asks people for eye-glasses they no longer use. She gives them to the Lions' Club which finds senior citizens who can't afford glasses and can use them. This shows how nothing has changed. Engels, in his, The Condition Of The Working Class In England, makes it clear that when it comes to charity the working class looks after its own, because, lets face it, the capitalists don't give a crap.

• Overdose deaths in the city of Toronto have leaped 77per cent in a decade, to 258 in 2014, from 146 in 2004. The deaths have been driven by the rise of Opoids like Fentanyl and Heroin, according to the Board Of Health, which plans to improve monitoring the places where overdoses occur and ease access to Naloxone, an antidote. Councillor Joe Cressy, the chairman of Toronto's drug strategy, wants to see drugs brought into supervised injection sites. Cressy said,''We have a rapidly escalating overdose crisis facing the city of Toronto, the province and Canada. Traces of Fentanyl which can be very deadly in very small doses are turning up in other drugs and many users don't know exactly what they're taking. The issue received national attention earlier this year when a Kamloops, BC, man died after overdosing on Cocaine laced with Fentanyl, at a wedding. ''If we are going to prevent the scale of an overdose crisis we've seen in Western Canada, we need to move quicker now'', said Cressy. Toronto City Council has approved three injection sites and is awaiting for Federal approval and Provincial funding. Notice, nowhere does any one suggest there may be something wrong in a society that drives people to drugs and that just maybe needs changing – no way Jose! No Sir – intellectual giants like Mr. Cressy and his buddies on the Council try to contain the problem within society as it exists which is self defeating.

• A typical Canadian family will spend about $420 more on groceries next year, suggests a report by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, which was released on December 5. Food inflation will increase in 2017, driven by a falling loonie and Donald Trump's first year in office. Food prices are expected to rise between 3 and 5 per cent, with meat, especially chicken and pork, vegetables, fish and other sea food among those that are projected to jump by 4 to 6 per cent. So, obviously life 'aint getting any easier under crapitalism is it dear friends?, so why not chuck it into the trash can of history.

• Vladimir Putin is seizing on Trumps pledge to reverse US policy on Syria to press for a military victory that could mark Russia's return as a great power rival in the middle east. Assad’s military backed by Russian firepower and Iranian trained soldiers had, by late November retaken Aleppo. This shows that the fall of the Soviet Union didn't change anything fundamentally. There are still two Capitalist superpowers struggling for global control and there is no reason the working class, anywhere, should support either.

• A survey conducted by Forum Research Inc. and provided exclusively to The Toronto Star, described homelessness as a severe problem in Toronto. The survey, in which 1,080 people were questioned, revealed that a third if them thought there should be more shelters. Others said shelters were not the answer, which is pure genius. They thought that income equality would solve it and the Government should tackle the problem and, ''Improve the many economic challenges and conditions that lead to people losing their homes.” No one said a radical change in the fundamentals of society would be the answer. Wake up and smell the coffee guys!

• Reports are coming in that call centre employees, which number about 175,000 in Canada, are being exposed to racial and sexist abuse on the phone. One said, ''I've been asked if I am in Canada, or if I'm Canadian. In addition there is sometimes swearing, racial slurs, threats of violence, or even sexually explicit comments.'' One call worker in Vancouver was asked what colour were the panties she was wearing. Another who is Black, received a call saying,''Thank God I'm talking to a white person.'' The United Steelworkers Local 1744, which represents 10,000 call centre workers, is launching a campaign called,''Hang Up On Abuse,''urging employers and governments to protect workers. Better to launch a campaign to get a new society where such sickness and abuse won't exist.

• Two short articles in the Toronto Star of December 3 focused on violence against women. A new E.U. Survey disclosed that 27% of Europeans say there are circumstances that make sex without consent justifiable, like drunkenness for example. Lillia Mouline, a T.V. host for Moroccan state television, caused an online uproar prompting an apology from the station. Ms. Mouline gave advice on how to use cosmetics to hide domestic violence, saying “Use foundation with yellow in it. If you use the white one, your red punch marks will always show.” Though the reaction to Ms. Mouline's comments are understandable and though domestic violence and rape are inexcusable, nevertheless violence take many forms. The violence of the capitalist class in its blatant genocide of indigenous people, because it wanted their lands (and still does) is contemptible. The violence of workers fighting and killing each other in wars so their bosses can amass fat profits is also contemptible. In a socialist society all the economic pressures that drives capitalists and workers to commit violent acts will no longer exist. We cannot say there will be no personal violence, but we can say it will be considerably less, and any who commit such acts, as a result of bad mental health, will get all the help they need.

• The Toronto Star of November 28 focused on an analysis of poverty in Toronto. This was as a result of a reportby social policy expert John Stapleton ad research analysts Alexa Brigs and Celia Lee. Th is was the first of its kind on a major Canadian city. Their findings were that the cost of poverty to the city of Toronto is between $4.4 billion and $5.5 billion a year. This includes added health care, policing and depressed economic productivity for the city's 265,000 families living in poverty. The annual impact of poverty on crime in Toronto is $436 million. The public health related cost of poverty is $730 million. The cost of hospital stays related to poverty is $237 million. Lost income due to poverty is $2.9 billion to $4 billion. Forgone taxes due to poverty $322 million to $345 million. Though no figures were shown relating to child poverty, the report mentioned Toronto was the child poverty capital of Canada. So what does Mr. Stapleton suggest? “The conclusions are clear: investing in poverty prevention would be less costly in the long run than spending to marginally mitigate on-going poverty in perpetuity.” The city of Toronto has been fighting poverty for years and it's gotten worse. It's as logical as logic gets. If the economy goes down, businesses go broke, taxes aren't getting paid. This is not to say there is no poverty when capitalism has one of its boom periods, but it is to say that for as long as capitalism lasts poverty will too.

Gustav's Gems

Continuing with selections from the works of the Marxist historian Gustav Bang's The Rise of Capitalism, there is a section in which he analyzes the aftermath of the capitalists' capture of political power in Europe in the midnineteenth century:

“The proletariat had been betrayed and they knew it. They began to perceive that only through independent action could they make any progress. For obviously any cooperation with the bourgeoisie ran counter to all common sense, since the interests of the two classes were diametrically opposite. The capitalists were given added political power without the slightest gain to the workers – the circumstances attending the latter would be no less oppressive and slavebound.The capitalists, with the aid of the workers, had acquired new, powerful political means that could be used with equal effectiveness against the workers below and the landed aristocracy above. The emancipation of the working class must be its own class conscious work.” Our opponents on the left sneer at our insistence on the necessity of capturing political power, but, as Dr. Bang shows, the capitalists found it necessary, and used it against their class above and below.

 

For socialism, Steve and John.

[Socialist Party Head Office]

THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF CANADAGeneral Secretary's Report for February 2017Email Report- Imagine Winter 2016 released December 5. Visit our website for downloading https://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/- WSP (India) EC meeting minutes No. 171, December 4, 2016, received with thanks.- WSP (India) 1000 copies of History of Economics: A Scientigfic Investigation into the Political Economy and Its Swindler 'Economics' published. 50.00 Rupees/CD$1-1.50. Contact E-mail: wspindia@hotmail.com; Website:www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org for more information to purchase.- Red Lion Press (re)publishing Bill Pritchard's autobiography, entitled Revolutionary Socialist:Life of the Socialist Party of Canada and the OBU, 1910-1922; Fred Casey's Thinking: An Introduction To Its History and Science; and, Method in Thinking: An Introduction to Dialectics. Costs: $3 for Pritchard, $6 each for the Casey's plus postage costs. Contact E-mail: redlionpress@hotmail.com – for more information to purchase or enquire with the publisher: https://web.facebook.com/search/more/?q=Larry+Gambone&init=publicGood of the Movement- Three introductory packages and one member application sent out.- Toronto Branch public meeting held Wednesday, January 25th.- Spring socialist discussion meetings until May 2017, Toronto Branch: February 22, March 29, April 26, May 24, The Second Cup Coffee House, 324 Bloor St., Toronto. Communications to: spctorontobranch@gmail.com– see Toronto Branch Facebook for further details: https://web.facebook.com/Toronto-Branch-Socialist-Party-of-Canada-1120836671294008/ & our website https://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/- Socialist Party of Canada Facebook public page https://web.facebook.com/socialistpartycanada/ & members' page https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012582758245- Imagine Spring 2017: expected distribution May 2017 – (members, please send in your submissions and ideas!).- Socialist education site for redistribution & hyperlinking, S. Shenfield (WSPUS) http://www.whatissocialism.net/GAC Elections 2017-2019- Very low vote turn out re: December 31, 2016 GAC election – votes cast withdrawn by balloting members. Current GAC requesting presently serving GAC members acknowledge intent to serve within 90 days of January 15th, 2017 or seat(s) to be deemed vacant and filled by awaiting members wishing to serve on GAC.- Headquarter location remains Victoria BC.Finances – Stationary: nil; photocopies: $6.78; post: $9.30.Food For Thought• As we are all aware, the dominating event in recent months is that the good citizens of the Divided States of America have seem unfit to elect as president a great brain, who is loaded down with couth and charm. This brief article was written on January 25th; by the time you read it, he may well have done many more stupid things. "Exactly" what will occur, we don't know, because capitalism is an unplanned, anarchic system where sanity is proverbially told to get out of town. Be that as it may, we can make a vague forecast of what decisions Trump may make and what problems he will have to deal with. He may well, as he said, abolish NAFTA and kill the proposed Trans-Pacific partnership, which, since Canada is a big trading partner with the U.S, will cause loss of jobs here. Furthermore, a trade war will harm the interests of American capitalism. Will that stop our lad? Perhaps, even he isn't crazy! Or is he? We'll have to wait and see. There's been plenty of talk about the Trump-Putin mutual admiration society, but Russia is reemerging as a global super-power and economic realities must, inevitably, hit home. Didn't that old lush Winnie Churchill praise Hitler to the skies during the 1930s? Again, we'll have to wait and see. No relationship is more important to the interests of U.S capitalism than China. Yet, no country has been attacked more by Trump. Why? Only he knows that. Trump, recently, spoke directly to the leader of Taiwan and indicated he would scrap the "One China Policy", if the U.S. doesn't get a better deal with China. Challenging China over Taiwan would risk war. Just how gung-ho is our lad? Far right political parties in Europe will probably make election gains by propagating racism. How this will affect the U.S. we don't know but these populist movements may lean towards him, considering he won by playing up to the same sentiments. Trump said, he will scrap America's nuclear agreement with Iran. He obviously doesn't trust Iran and who can blame him? Could this result in a nuclear war? Who at this time can tell? But we can't rule out the possibility. If there is one, it may be started by the North Koreans. Kim Jong Un said, on January 1st, that soon they will be able to fire a long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead into the U.S.- and a very happy New Year to you, sir! Trump's response was a tweet, saying, "This won't happen". Thanks Donny, you're so reassuring.Trump is obsessed by Islamic terror, but has given no details how to deal with it. If he moves the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Palestinians will go ballistic, both figuratively and literally. Trump has made no secret he doesn't give a 'rat's behind' for the threat of global warming, which is increasing, becoming less of a threat than a reality. So we can't expect anything positive there. On the home front, Trump said he will reduce crime, but again, gave no clear indication how. He said he will reduce unemployment, but if he scraps free-trade, he will make it worse.Trump, like other presidents, has his advisors, but any advice from them will be within the framework of what they consider best for U.S. capitalism. The moot question, is, "To what extent do individuals make a difference?" A smarter guy than me, once said, "Men make history, but from the conditions to hand." Or, something to that effect. Put it this way – the tailor makes the suit, but, not the cloth. Our comrades in the U.K. are only too well aware of this. During WWII, Britain's Interior Minister, Herbert Morrison, could have shut down the British party. They wouldn't have been able to do anything about it and no one would have protested. Morrison was a humane man, attempting to administrate an inhumane system. As a WWI conscientious objector, there was a certain empathy there, so he allowed the SP to propagate and attack both sides in the war. Though individuals make a difference concerning details, they make none concerning fundamentals, nor can they.No one knows exactly what will happen under Donny baby, maybe he doesn't, but we do know what won't. There will be no change in the class basis of society. The capitalist class will continue to own the tools of production, while the working class continue to be exploited by them, (that is, those who still have jobs) with all the consequent misery this causes. Nor, would it have been different if Hillary had won. Trump's ranting "America First", is so much hot air to convince the American working class they have something in common with those who exploit them.The time is long overdue for the working class to stop saying let's vote for this or that candidate. How about making things a whole lot better? This can be done by "not" voting for individuals as such, but electing a majority of socialist deputies, with a mandate to make the tools of production the property of all. Then we could have done with war, poverty, unemployment, planned obsolescence, famine, preventable diseases, epidemics and destruction of the environment. Also, no one would think of electing goofball politicians, or even smart ones, who's sole intention is to keep us exploited.• On Jan. 12 incoming secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, promised a hard-line stance towards Russia, which conflicted sharply with Obama's and Trump's approach. Tillerson, a former CEO with Exxon Mobil, called Russia a danger to the U.S. and said he would keep U.S. sanctions in place and consider new penalties related to Russian meddling in the election, (if they did). He criticized Obama's sanctions on Russia, which cost Exxon hundreds of Millions of dollars – need I say more?• Canadians who want to meet Justin Trudeau during his road tour of town halls are being asked to register their personal details with Liberal M.P.s. To quote Conservative M.P. Candice Bergen,''Do not call it open town hall when its actually a Liberal rally. Its not at all the back-to-the-people tour the Prime Minister described.'' That's what I like about Crapitalism – its so open and democratic.• The province of Ontario ''officially'' gives $61 million a year in grants to help marginalized students in Toronto. A report released on January 12, by ''Social Planning Toronto'', claims that half of that money isn't being spent on them and is instead diverted to cover other expenses, as the cash strapped Toronto District School Board struggles to balance its budget. According to Sean Meagher, director of Social Planning Toronto,''This is the first time we've had absolutely rock solid numbers that no one can refute because they are the TDSB's own numbers''. So as always under Capitalism it comes down to money, which is another good argument in favour of a society without any.• On December 16 Venezuela became a country without cash. The most widely used banknote, the 100 Bolivar, which had previously been worth 2 American cents, went out of circulation. Higher denomination bills which were meant to replace it had not arrived at the banks and no explanation was given. This meant people looking to buy groceries were out of luck as banks had run out of lower denomination bills like 20 and 50 Bolivar notes. There were no political protests as people scrambled to figure a way of fulfilling their needs in a country operating without money, but with a price tag on everything they would want. And this in a country that claims to be a Socialist one – how ridiculous can it get? Its shades of the runaway inflation in Germany in the early 20's, when workers were paid four times a day. Its obvious nothing changes under Capitalism, so why don't we all work for its abolition?• In Toronto, unionized city garbage collectors said they would fight Mayor John Torys efforts to outsource 200 of their jobs. Matt Figliano,Vice-President of CUPE local 416, which represents the affected workers, said they have an anti-privatization,''Kicked To The Curb'', lobbying campaign. Before Toronto amalgamated in 1997, Etobicoke outsourced its garbage. In 2012 the then Mayor, Rob Ford, convinced council to contract out the rest of the city's west half, which saved them $11 million a year. The city is in debt, therefore it wants to save money, but workers don't want to lose their jobs – a typical capitalist situation. Years ago when the economy was buoyant, a job in the government usually meant job security, which today no longer exists.• On December 23, three Canadian soldiers said they had endured years of racist abuse, including slurs about Aboriginals and Blacks that were ignored by their superior officers. The three have filed a lawsuit against the military in Federal court in Halifax. They claim they were exposed to verbal taunts, racial epithets and insults to family members. A Black soldier claimed someone threw bananas at his wife. Their officers brushed aside their complaints and told them not to file any suits. If all this is true, it goes to show that even when one is prepared to fight to defend and advance the interests of the capitalist class he is still treated with contempt. If anything is contemptible it's the capitalist system.• On December 18 the Toronto Star focused on insurance claims made against General Electric in Peterborough, Ontario. Over the last ten years more than half of the 660 occupational disease claims, including brain, bowl and lung cancer, have been denied. Workers at GE are exposed to high levels of cancer causing substances such as Trichloroethylene, Asbestos and Lead. When they try to prove their cases to Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board they are confronted with delay, bureaucracy, callousness and disappointment. One can hardly expect a Board, created by a government which is there to protect the interests of the Capitalist Class, to be unbiased. This is not to say bias is necessarily a bad thing. Some bias in the direction of a society where the above situation could not exist would be welcomed.• Indian chiefs from Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. said, on January 11, that enviromentalists everywhere were impressed by Justin Trudeau's comments at International talks in Paris, in late 2015. To quote activist Jane Fonda,''we all thought, what a cool guy, what a disappointment. He talked so beautifully of the need to meet the requirements of the climate treaty and to respect and hold to the treaties with indigenous people. Such a heroic stance he took there and yet he has betrayed every one of the things he committed to in Paris." Last year Trudeau approved plans to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain Line between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C. And approved plans to replace Endbridge's line between Edmonton and Superior, Wisconsin, but he pushed ahead with a national carbon price and rejected Endbridge's proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline. The compromise did not please Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C, Indian Chiefs, ''I share the bitter disappointment. He failed to restructure the National Energy Board or environmental assessment hearings into major resource projects''. Fonda added,''There’s going to be more poor people if the likes of your Prime Minister and our President-Elect have their way – a lot of poor sick people''.If the capitalist class and governments which maintain the status-quo consider the extraction and transportation of certain raw materials to be profit yielding they will go ahead and to hell with the environment and all who live there, indigenous or not. Protests wont accomplish anything – Revolution will.• On January 18, on the CBC news, they provided the statistics of drug related deaths, recently in BC. 142 died in December and 914 in 2016, which is an 80 per cent increase from 2015. What a sick, empty, meaningless society we live in that would make anyone turn to and get hooked on narcotics. Its time to get rid of it.• Regular readers of this column may recall an item some while back about the claw on garbage collection trucks which can be operated by the driver making it unnecessary for a guy to lift and unload bins. At the time there were still a two man team on the truck. Recently, in Mississauga, Ontario, this writer noticed there was just one guy. Under capitalism progress is a two edged sword.• About 100 people were missing in December and feared dead after two shipwrecks off Italy raised the total of deaths among migrants on the Mediterranean Sea in 2016 to 5000 – a new annual record, United Nations Agencies said on December 23. Deaths linked to Mediterranean crossings by migrants spiked in 2016. In 2015 more than one million crossed the sea, with 3771 deaths recorded. In 2016 about 360,000 people have crossed, most between Libya and Italy, but there have been far more deaths, probably due to overcrowding on unseaworthy vessels. As long as capitalism lasts folks will always flee from its more troubled spots, hoping to find a place where they can be exploited without a war raging around them.• The recent movie ''Hidden Figures'', which depicts the successful battle of three coloured women for recognition when working on NASA's space program in the early 1960's is excellent. Since one is a mathematician, one an engineer and the other a computer specialist, each have to fight their separate battles. The movie is totally absorbing, especially as its a true story. Though one can applaud the breaking down of barriers and consequently raising the status of people who had previously been dumped on, wouldn't it be better to have a world where there were no barriers to break down because no one was getting dumped on?• The Toronto Transit Commission are increasing security on buses and streetcars in the hope that riders won't spit on drivers. In 2016 there were 285 assaults on transit operators in Toronto, a number that doesn't include verbal abuse. 34 per cent of assaults were by spitting, 31 per cent were a slap on the hand and 37 per cent a punch in the face. In a December pilot project called Bus Stop, constables boarded 400 buses on 400 lines. Most of the disputes were about fares, but nevertheless it's a clear indication that capitalist society is breaking down more and more every day.• In January Toronto officials announced plans to double the amount of cameras at intersections, which is currently at 77. The expansion is part of the city's new $80 million road safety plan, which Mayor John Tory has championed with the aim of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries. Methods of surveillance always start in a way the public as a whole find acceptable. In the U.S. it was supposedly to ''combat terrorism''. All these techniques can and will be used to crush opposition to capitalism, but it won't do them a bit of good when the vast majority vote to end it.• The Earth heated up to a third straight record hot year in 2016, with scientists blaming man made global warming – no kidding! Figures released by the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration revealed that the average global temperature was 14.84 Celsius, beating the previous year by 0.04,Celsius. This shows that what has been done to decrease global warming is too little too late. As long as profits are made capitalism rushes pell mell to its own destruction and that of the rest of us.Gustav's GemsIn his work "The Rise of Capitalism", Dr. Bang analyzes the collapse of the Chartist Movement. This was the great movement for universal suffrage in Britain in the 19th century."That happened which had to happen. Chartism had to terminate. It had to do so because, historically, it was not in consonance with the evolutionary stage of the period. Capitalism was not sufficiently ripe for overthrow. It was in its ascendancy, both as regards inner and external development. It had barely put the first lap behind, and it was to pass through a series of phases before the germs of its dissolution could manifest themselves. Preparations for its coming collapse could be made, the collapse could be hastened, but this could be done only by the workers gaining in strength, organizationally, tactically, and in consistent progress, and in the measure that the bourgeoisie became weakened. A big victory that in itself, meant a definite step toward a new social order, could not yet be won." Today, capitalism has developed to the extent that it is ripe to be overthrown. Has the world's working class themselves become more educated about how it should be overthrown? Or indeed, do they think it needs to be overthrown?They need to wake up PDQ, before the affects of capitalism destroy life on this planet. For socialism, Steve and John.

[Socialist Party Head Office]

THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF CANADA General Secretary's Report for March 2017 Email Report – WSP (India) EC meeting minutes No. 172, February 5, 2016, received with thanks.- General Secretary, Binay Sarkar, WSP (India): Announcement of WSP (India) Spring School 4 March, Saturday, 2PM – 8PM & Annual Conference 5 March, Sunday: In two sessions: 2PM – 8PM- The World Socialist Party (India) Discussion Forum and the website February 2017 standing at 1,896 membership: http://www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org- Academia.edu WSP (India) growth 36,882,115 academics May 1, 2016 to 47,416,419 February 2017 – World Socialist Party (US) seeking application for membership template for WSPUS records: forwarded.- Cormade Matt Culbert (SPGB Blog Committee) requests SPC members to use our Imagine Blog, dormant since November 2010. Suggestion is for members to post several times per week, including some of our well appreciated. Food for Thought comments from Steve, as the blog is well positioned for internet traffic. Members, please write in and use this free site, which can be found at The Imagine Blog http://imaginespc.blogspot.co.uk/- Imagine Winter 2016. Visit our website for downloadinghttps://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/Good of the Movement- Two introductory packages and one member application sent out.- Toronto Branch public meeting held Wednesday, February 22nd 6:30pm to 8:30pm.- Spring socialist discussion meetings until May 2017, Toronto Branch: February 22, March 29, April 26, May 24, The Second Cup Coffee House, 324 Bloor St., Toronto. Communications to: spctorontobranch@gmail.com– see Toronto Branch Facebook for further details: https://web.facebook.com/Toronto-Branch-Socialist-Party-of-Canada-1120836671294008/ & our website https://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/- Socialist Party of Canada Facebook public page https://web.facebook.com/socialistpartycanada/ & members' page https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012582758245- Letter from Penelope White, USA. Seeking connection with SPC and support her disability. General secretary replied, including WSPUS website and contact details.- Imagine Spring 2017: expected distribution May 2017 – (members, please send in your submissions and ideas!).- Socialist education site for redistribution & hyperlinking, S. Shenfield (WSPUS) http://www.whatissocialism.net/Finances – Stationary, nil; photocopies, $3.71; post, $3.60. Special renewal cost for SPC post box: $170.10. A second post forwarding expenditure of $250.95 for 12 months and $161.65 for 4 months, due March 1, 2017, was recommended and resolved by the treasurer and general secretary to not be renewed as our new post box address has been active for well over a year.Dues – Several dues have been paid, but most stand in arrears. Members in financial circumstances inhibiting dues payment may seek waiver – please contact our treasurer and/or general secretary. Other members please note dues are a modest $25 per year, or $2 per month and are required for post, photocopies, public meeting expenses, and internet services.Food for Thought● In a recent episode of "Foyle's War" on TV Ontario, the main protagonist, Foyle, has to investigate the production, in the U.K., of German war materials – Yes, you read it right! Based on a true story, and English-based subsidiary of, American-owned, Standard Oil, was producing fuel for German planes, both before and after Pearl Harbor. They shipped it in barrels, labeled 'whisky' to Tenerife, from where they were loaded onto German ships. The Luftwaffe needed the fuel to continue bombing Britain. As one of the company's owners said, "We don't care how we make a profit, business is business."● According to an issue of Canadian Jewish News, February 2, 2017, a few hours before Trump's inauguration, Obama ordered $221million to be given to the Palestinians. One needn't be brilliant to figure how they'll spend it. Then 'genius-head' Trump, bans immigration from countries whose populations he dislikes. The fact that these deals may not go through, isn't the point, which is, they would like them to. So, we have two guys working at the most important job in the world, one after the other, taking action that will harm people. This is clearly indicative to how low things have sunk under capitalism. So, let's help it sink a little lower – right into the garbage can of history.● On CBC News of February 8, 2017, they announced that in the last four years, seventy thousand jobs in manufacturing and farming, have been lost to technology, in Canada alone. One forty-seven-year old sheet metal worker, who had once made $37.00 an hour, was struggling to support his two daughters on Employment Insurance and struggling even more, with his self-esteem, or lack of. As Charlie Chaplin said in, The Great Dictator, "Machinery that creates abundance has left us in want." The trouble is, it needn't be that way and we "can" do something about it.● For eighteen years, "Dangerous Dans" has been selling burgers in Toronto's east end, but will close on May 28, 2017, because its landlord, Pizza Nova, raised its rent 80%. To quote owner, James McKinnon, "If I opened seven days a week, four in the morning until late at night, I would generate enough revenue, but it would kill me." A spokesman for Pizza Nova said, "Any proposed increase is in line with market rates." This writer is so bewildered. They told me, anyone can become his/her own boss, under capitalism and make it. Do you think I was conned?● The Canadian capitalist class, is not optimistic about Ontario's economic future. The annual report of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, released on February 7, 2017, said, "There is a confidence gap between our members organizational and provincial economic outlooks". Only 24% of their members, who were surveyed last fall, expressed optimism; to quote, "Diminished profitability, lower labour market participation and sluggish market activity have resulted in a risk-averse atmosphere in which businesses are disinclined to grow production." So if the capitalists have little optimism, why should we have any?● Soon it will no longer be a crime in Russia to beat a family member, as long as you don't cause bodily harm. On January 27, 2017, the state duma, voted 380 – 3 to decriminalize battery on family members that doesn't cause bodily harm. Instead it will mean a fine, or a 15 day sentence. Critics of the new law, said it would encourage domestic violence, (no kidding). Statistics show that 40% of all violent crimes in Russian, are within the family. Russian police are reluctant to react, regarding their intervention as meddling in family matters. It would be easy enough for socialists to advocate harsher measures in dealing with those guilty of spousal and child abuse, but that wouldn't be the point; which is the establishment of a society where the economic pressures that cause families to break down (of which this is a symptom) won't exist.● Canadian officials are now seeing a sharp increase in the amount of refugees illegally crossing the U.S. Border to avoid deportation from the U.S. In Quebec alone, the amount has tripled in the last year to 1,280 from 424. Some who crossed into Manitoba in freezing weather have been treated for frostbite. A pregnant woman said she was afraid to deliver in the U.S. Under the U.S. – Canada pact introduced in 2004, refugees cannot make asylum claims in both countries. As the weather gets warmer more are expected to cross into Canada. So too put it bluntly, Canada will soon have a refugee crisis like some European countries have now. Once again, capitalism creates problems it can't solve.● Increases in the cost of transportation and shelter, drove the inflation rate up 1.5% in Canada in December, according to figures released by Statistics Canada on January 20th. A decrease in the cost of food in December (the third consecutive month) helped keep the overall increase in consumer expenses lower than expected. Economists had predicted a 1.7% increase. The Consumer Price Index in Ontario was up 2% from 2015, driven by an 11.2% surge in prices for electricity and a 7.4% increase in the cost of buying a home. So, there it is folks, slight improvements like the decline in the cost of food do minimal good. We socialists want to do maximum good, such as, abolishing the source of the above figures.● It is generally assumed that unemployment and homelessness go hand-in-hand, but it ain't necessarily so. An article in the Toronto Star of February 11, 2017, which focused on homeless shelters, reported that four men, who sleep at the Bloor Street West Shelter, in Toronto, have jobs. One said, "We just can't afford to rent." With the average one-bedroom apartment rent in Toronto at $1,130.00 a month, it's no wonder. The wait-list for Toronto Community Housing, has topped 180,000 and is in massive need of repairs. Mayor, John Tory, has pressed Ottawa and the province to each kick-in a third of the repair bill of, $2.6 billion, but, "No firm commitments have materialized." Councillor, Kristyn Wong-Tam, said that, "Emergency shelters are at best a Band-Aid solution. When that becomes their permanent address, that is a system fail. They have given up hope on affordable housing and are living in shelters." There are different estimates of how many sleep on Toronto's streets, but it is known, that 80 died on them in 2016. Our well-meaning friend is right, it is a system-fail. The only solution is a better one.● Almost every day the Toronto Transit Commission is in the news and it's never anything positive. At present passengers pay a flat-rate fare, which TTC spokesman, Brad Ross, said is "Very user-friendly." It won't stay that way if the recommendation in a 2016 report is enacted, which is to pay by the distance travelled. This is being considered by Metrolinx, the provincial organization that oversees transit in the Greater Toronto Area. At present, the matter is under discussion. Mayor, Tory, said the present price-structure is unfair, which implies that paying by distance is fair. This must be of concern to people with low incomes, but of one thing we can be absolutely sure – if this deal goes through, it will make life harder for the workers affected.● In July, commuters in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, will still be taking taxis, but those that fly. Passenger drones capable of carrying a single rider, will fly above the skyscrapers at the push of a button. This is part of the city's plan to increase driver-less technology. The city already operates the world's longest driverless subway system. In October, the city signed a deal with the Los Angeles-based, "Hyperloop One", to study the potential for a Hyperloop, which is a vacuum-like tube, through which a vehicle travels faster than airliners, between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It sounds great and the technology is great, but its affect won't be when, like so many of capitalism's inventions, it puts the working guy out of a job.● For months now, the Federal Government has been considering selling Canada's major airports to private investors as a way to raise billions of dollars. Airports and airlines are against such moves, saying it would drive up passenger's fares, like they really care. The National Airline Council of Canada, representing airlines, such as Air Canada and WestJet, said, airport privatization," would fail the most elementary test of stewardship of the public interest." In all probability some of their highly-paid executives would be out of a job, and in all certainty many members of the lower income groups of the working class would be out of a job and would be affected a lot worse.● On Valentine's Day, the RCMP appropriately warned anyone using APPS or websites in their search for love, to be cautious. Last year, 748 people lost more than $17 million to on-line dating scams. Some were cheated out of more than $100,000 and many were too embarrassed to report it. Scammers create on-line profiles to gain someone's trust, then ask for money, often claiming to be faced with an emergency, the RCMP said. It is despicable that the de-humanizing aspects of life under capitalism, would make anyone so devoid of conscience, they would prey on people's loneliness and then hurt them, but nevertheless, let's bear in mind that this is illegal robbery – there's enough legal robbery going on, every moment of every day.● On February 14, 2017, Toronto judge, Edward Belobaba, found in favour of survivors of the round-up of Indian children, in their suit against the Federal Government. Between 1965 and 1984, 16,000 Indian children on reserves, were placed in non-indigenous care. In his report, Belobaba said, "The uncontroverted evidence of the plaintiff's experts, is that the loss of their aboriginal identity left the children fundamentally disoriented, with a reduced ability to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. The loss of identity resulted in psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, unemployment, violence and numerous suicides." Belobaba's next step will be to, "assess the damages the government owes to the plaintiff." The real damage has already been done. The capitalist class forces everyone to conform to their scheme of things, regardless of the misery it causes. When Robert Tressel referred to capitalism as, "That atrocious system," it was a masterpiece of under-statement.● Starbucks much – ballyhooed mobile ordering system has brought a painful side-effect to the coffee giant – traffic jams at the pick-up counter. Because customers are now able to order and pay for coffee via their phones, many head straight to the part of the cafe where it's handed out. This has created pile-ups and frustrated some customers enough that they've cancelled their orders. The company's management had predicted sales would rise from eight to ten percent in the last quarter, instead, it was 3% which isn't considered good enough. This is very small potatoes as far as these things go, but nevertheless, it's always amusing to see capitalists cause stupid problems for themselves.● On April 16th, Turkey is set to hold a referendum on switching to a presidential system – a move critics fear would put too much power into the hands of Mr. Erdogan. The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, said Turkey's lack of media freedoms and freedom of expression has reached "alarming levels." He also criticized the imprisonment of journalists, the erosion of the independence of the judiciary, the use of defamation laws used to silence critics, censorship on the internet and the use of state resources to favour progovernment media. Shades of Hitler and his thugs, subverting the Weimar Republic . . .Though political and parliamentary democracy has its uses, in the final analysis, there is only one form of democracy worth working for – economic democracy. To achieve that, you must first abolish capitalism. ● We've all heard about the allegations that the Russians interfered with the U.S. election and we know that Trump fired two guys in his cabinet. What the media haven't covered much is what he's done for the "little guy" who voted for him, considering, his was a populist victory. Farmers and ranchers, though not little guys, did vote for him in hopes of less regulation and lower taxes. Trump's decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have reduced tariffs and strengthened economic ties with the capitalist class in eleven other countries, will costthe agriculture industry $4.4 billion a year in potential sales, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the biggest U.S. farmer group. As for the "real" little guy, let's hear from California-Based Worker's Rights advocate, Carmen Rojas, who says "If we had been living in an overcast period for working people in the U.S., we are about to enter into a dark, dark, period."Gone is Trump's first pick for labour, Secretary, Andrew Pudzer, who withdrew his nomination on February 16th, after hearing Trump trash minimum wage hikes and overtime protections. A review of the Department of Labour's website reveal that many posts about protecting precarious workers, enforcing labour laws and cracking down on wage theft, have vanished from the website. Other disappearances are an executive order from the Obama administration that would have raised the minimum wage of Federal contractors to $10.10 an hour. This would have given 200,00 low wage workers a raise. Other links to the Department of Labor blog posts, also appear to be broken, especially on issues related to wage theft and employee misclassification, which is the practice of wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors to avoid legal obligations, like paying minimum wage. No one at the White House has asked why these pages have vanished. One thing you can be sure of, is that, the self-styled champion of the forgotten American, has forgotten him. GUSTAV'S GEMSIn his work, "The Rise of Capitalism", Dr. Bang effectively deals with the myth that capitalist and worker have anything in common, economically."The claim is false, as are all the claims by which the capitalist class justifies its right to existence. Ignored is the fact that labour power is a nature-endowed possession that cannot be separated from the person of the worker, whereas, capital is dependent and in flux, never attached to any particular person. Labour power and its possessor, the worker, cannot be separated, while on the contrary, capital is only accidentally attached to the person of the individual capitalist. Under the present system of capitalism, the workers cannot do without capital, that is, the means of production. But, they can quite well do without the capitalists! The latter, however, are powerless without the workers, that is, workers who produce surplus value for them.Every struggle by the workers against the introduction of improved means of production is reactionary and doomed to defeat in advance. The struggle against their capitalist application, however, is a natural and essential characteristic of the modern class struggle. The magnitude of surplus value points to the limitations within which the workers can achieve gains under the capitalist system. The socializing of the means of production points the road to their ultimate emancipation."For socialism, Steve and John.Socialist literature for your interest & edification- WSP (India) History of Economics: A Scientigfic Investigation into the Political Economy and Its Swindler 'Economics' published. 50.00 Rupees/CD$1-1.50.Contact E-mail: wspindia@hotmail.com; Website: http://www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org for more information to purchase.- Red Lion Press (re)publishing Bill Pritchard's autobiography, entitled Revolutionary Socialist: Life of the Socialist Party of Canada and the OBU, 1910-1922.  Fred Casey's Thinking: An Introduction To Its History and Science.Method in Thinking: An Introduction to Dialectics.Costs: $3 for Pritchard, $6 each for the Casey's plus postage costs.Contact E-mail: redlionpress@hotmail.com – for more information to purchase or enquire with the publisher: https://web.facebook.com/search/more/?q=Larry+Gambone&init=public

[alanjjohnstone]

Has the SPGB ordered copies of Pritchard and Casey's book and will there be an advert in the Standard for them.

[Author]

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