Recently the media has focused extensively on Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford’s proposed cuts to the student nutrition programs. At the time of writing, it seems as if Ford has been forced to back off owing to the howl of outrage this proposal produced. A ten per cent cut would mean 58 of its 669 programs would be closed, affecting about fourteen thousand children. The city is considering cutting $380 000 from its annul $3.8 million contribution to nutrition programs which cost a total of $12 million to run, the rest coming from the province and donations. To put it...
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As anyone can clearly see, the world is heading closer to the brink of environmental and financial disaster brought about by the rapacious and ruthless nature of capitalism. In such disturbing times, it is refreshing to see two movements appear that are saying, in effect, “wait a minute, there is a way out”. I refer to Democracy Now and the Occupy Movements. Both have spread rapidly and globally, particularly the Occupy Movement, and both are unlike anything else yet seen under capitalism, apart from socialism. They cannot be compared to the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s,...
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The Toronto Star (6/March/2010) asks “Who will be tomorrow’s Builders?” It goes on to list the famous men (no women!) who have “built” the great concert halls, university colleges and other public and private buildings of Toronto. Maybe I have missed something here. I thought builders wore jeans and hard hats and poured the foundations, and framed the buildings and plumbed, wired, and finished them. The former group only wear suits and sit on their backsides. Do we really have to wait around for these useless idlers to get anything done? Many people have lost their homes in this...
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Under Capitalism When the lead smelters came to Jiyhuan, China, the workers rejoiced for the new jobs, the infrastructure upgrades, the new cultural hall, and the new basketball stadium. The lead smelters also brought lead poisoning. Jiyhuan’s blue skies have gone, its fruits and vegetables are stunted, its children and workers poisoned. The story details the medical troubles of worker, Li Yingfu who had half of his stomach removed. The follow-up story reported that he had died. In India, ten-year-old Muna gets up at dawn to go to the field to collect melon-size rocks to take to the crushing...
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For some years the city of Mississauga, Ontario, has been held up as an example of how efficiently a city can be run, inferring that it is the incompetence of other jurisdictions that prevent them being run prosperously. While its next-door neighbour, Toronto, has had its financial woes for twenty years, Mississauga went without a single tax increase between 1991 and 2001 and, in fact, Mississauga has not borrowed money since 1978. A low business tax encouraged companies to relocate from Toronto, and new developments were constantly being built, bringing in more revenue. Now, however, things are not so...
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Canada is now a superpower in the African mining sector. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources Canada , only the Republic of South Africa, with over 35% of assets and investments, is just ahead of Canada in the African mining industry. But with South Africa’s assets concentrated on its own territory, Canada dominates the rest of the continent. In 2001, Canadian companies have operations in 35 countries. 91% of Canadian investments were concentrated in eight countries, with the order of countries’ importance being the following: South Africa (25.6%), DR Congo (17.8%), Madagascar (13.8%), Zambia (9.9%), Tanzania (9.5%), Ghana...
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Capitalism has a nasty habit of suddenly laying a ton of grief on unsuspecting members of the working class. A typical example is when the employees of Consumers Glass in Etobicoke, Ontario, were recently told the plant was going to be shut down just two weeks after they had negotiated a union contract. But the explosion at the Sunrise Propane yard in Toronto on August 10 takes some beating. This happened at 4 am in a heavily populated residential area. 12 000 people living in a 1.6 kilometre radius were evacuated, many clad only in night clothes. A 25-year...
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In the wake of the Brian Mulroney/Karl Heinz Schreiber scandal there has been an outpouring of emotion concerning politicians in general and Mulroney in particular. This has reached such an extent that on December 15th the Toronto Star published the results of an Angus Reid strategies poll showing how Canadians felt about ex-prime ministers Trudeau, Chretien and Mulroney. The headlines read, PMs evoke fear, love, loathing. The results were charted, supporters and opponents checking off their feelings about them: love, joy, wonder, optimism, acceptance, no feelings, surprise, sadness, displeasure, shame, anger, contempt, disgust, and so on read the poll....
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The Magna Corporation is the largest supplier of parts to the auto industry in Canada. It employs more workers than GM Canada, all non-union and all working below union rates putting downward pressure on wages in the industry. (It will come as no surprise that CEO Stronach takes home higher than union wages – $100 million over the last three years!). The company represents a significant challenge to the Canadian Auto Workers’ Union (CAW) and a potentially large source of dues revenue. But the deal that was struck between CAW president Hargrove and Stronach has provoked strong reaction. Here’s...
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Imagine is the magazine of our Canadian Companion Party – the SPC. In this issue they celebrate “100 Years For Socialism”
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