Voice of Revolution

Gulf Coast Action March 14-19

Veterans and Survivors to March for Justice

Veterans, military families and Katrina survivors are taking action on the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq to demand an end to war and affirm the right of Katrina survivors to return and rebuild. On the initiative of the Mobile, Alabama chapter of Veterans for Peace, people will march from Mobile, down Gulf Coast Highway 90 to New Orleans. The march will go through many cities and towns like Waveland, Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, devastated by Katrina and the on-going government-organized disaster in its aftermath. The aim is to unite the many survivors and veterans and all concerned in the work of the people themselves to rebuild and organize for their rights. A Buffalo contingent is also being organized.

March organizers issued the following statement:

“The shocking images of devastation in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may be fading from television news, but the crisis on the Gulf Coast is still with us. It is like the government’s ban on filming the planes unloading flag-draped coffins at Dover Air Force Base — pictures or no, U.S. troops and Iraqis are still dying, day in and day out.

“The corporate media has not done much in-depth reporting that shows the connection between a multi--trillion -dollar illegal war abroad and the shameful failure of our government’s moral, economic, and political response to Katrina. Everyday people in this country, however, sense that they are connected.

“Military families and veterans of Iraq, Vietnam and other military adventures, together with hurricane survivors, intend to make that connection crystal clear on an epic march down Gulf Coast Highway 90, heading into the heart of New Orleans on the third anniversary of the war. The ongoing crisis on the Gulf Coast and the connection that Dr. King made between the “giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation” will be impossible to ignore.

“At the call of the Mobile, Alabama chapter of Veterans For Peace, members of VFP, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out will conduct a six-day, 135-mile march from Mobile across Mississippi to New Orleans. Thousands of hurricane survivors and community residents along the route are expected to walk with us.

“The marching veterans and military families aim to build relationships with the surviving members of communities devastated by the Katrina-Rita disaster. Our actions will proclaim our solidarity with them, not only as acute victims of a “natural” disaster but also of structural racism in the United States.

“As we walk down the coastal highway, veterans who have ourselves been the instruments of death and destruction abroad and who have become witnesses against war as a matter of conscience, will speak out and act as a conscience for the nation in a region of the deep South still shaped by slavery, segregation and the monumental freedom struggles of the 1960s.

“For veterans this will be both a spiritual pilgrimage and a political action. We will demand real empowerment for Gulf Coast hurricane survivors and for the Iraqi people. We will demand the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq. Bring Them Home Now! And as they come back, we demand decent health care, employment, housing and education for them, including Depleted Uranium testing and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) treatment.

“We will demand that the U.S. government provide funds for all Katrina families to be reunited and returned to their homes. Bring Them Home Now! And we demand that hurricane survivors have the right to plan their future free from the dictates of the corporations and their politician front men in Washington, DC and on the state and local level, too.

“This march is a reminder to the leadership of the U.S., regardless of party affiliation, that the majority of American people now oppose the war. “Staying the course” while people continue to die and while resources spent on an unjust and failed policy are desperately needed in the Gulf Coast of the United States is simply not acceptable.”

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New Orleans MLK March

Residents Vow Not to Wait for City or FEMA to Rebuild

- People’s Hurricane Relief Fund & Oversight Coalition -

More than100 residents of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward took to the street this morning in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., flanked by crowds of supporters. The residents — some of whom have been rebuilding their houses in spite of City threats of demolition, others still stranded in exile who traveled home for the celebration day — marched, sang and orated in a direct challenge to Mayor Nagin’s plan to raze the neighborhood.

“One of the lessons we learned from Katrina is that the government abandoned us, left us here to die. We had to depend upon ourselves to save ourselves. And today we know we have to depend on ourselves and our unity to rebuild our homes and our lives, even against the government’s wishes,” said Malcolm Suber, a resident and community organizer with the People’s Hurricane Relief Coalition. “We’re here carrying on the work of Dr. King. Just as he stood against government oppression of Black people and the unjust war in Vietnam, we stand today against the attacks on people of New Orleans and Iraq.”

The Lower Ninth Ward community has already begun to rebuild homes, and is making independent plans to reopen the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. But many residents are scrambling to find temporary housing that will allow them to begin reconstruction, since the City and FEMA have failed to provide it. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has also so far refused to deploy its resources to remove arsenic- and diesel-infused sediment around the city.

Residents questioned the rush to seal the fate of the Lower Ninth Ward and other historically Black or low-income areas, and challenged Mayor Nagin to bring New Orleanians home before setting deadlines for communities to regroup and assess their capacity to rebuild. While the City has found funds and sufficient infrastructure to plan for a commercial Mardi Gras, it has not produced shelter or any other support for residents trying to return.

Unsurprised at government failures, residents pointed to a longer, pre-Katrina history of abuses. “The people who caused this man-made disaster are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Port of New Orleans, which fought so hard to keep the Mississippi Gulf Outlet open, and the maritime industry, who tried to keep the channel open and prevailed. They are responsible. They need to be held accountable,” said Pam Deshiell, a Ninth Ward resident leader.

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Bay Area Evacuees Council

Katrina Evacuees Denounce FEMA & Relief Agencies

The Hurricane Evacuees Council-Bay Area (HECBA) held a press conference January 19, to oppose FEMA evictions of evacuees from hotels and motels and the on-going housing crisis faced by evacuees in the Bay Area and elsewhere. California is now home to more than 14,000 evacuees. San Francisco has about 600 and Alameda County, 1700.HECBA also demanded accountability for the millions of dollars going to relief agencies and that the government look into the insurance company scams, where homeowners are being refused coverage. They stood with those in New Orleans resisting the bulldozing of the lower 9th Ward. Below is an excerpt of the press release from HECBA for the event and their on-going demands.

“Hundreds of Bay Area evacuees have been left destitute, in temporary housing, without obligatory FEMA payments or compensation and without assistance to rebuild their homes and lives. Evacuees want to know what has happened to the millions of dollars given to relief agencies by the generosity of those who saw the suffering of people in the Superdome and others left to die in filthy toxic water and on rooftops, people who were overwhelming Black and poor. How much has gone to evacuees and how much to administrative costs?

“At HECBA meetings, evacuees from Louisiana and the Gulf region tell stories of abuse by FEMA and other agencies:

“Marilyn Taylor, a single mother of four children will be evicted from her hotel in February. She has not had an income since the hurricane and her time is taken up going from agency to agency receiving small amounts of help with food and cash. Her daughter is on track to graduate from high school in June so she needs to live close to the hotel where she has been housed since September.

“Bertrand Todd, a student from Jackson, MS was told by FEMA to track down his landlord in New Orleans before he will qualify for FEMA money, which he has no way of doing. FEMA has made no effort to find his landlord and now he faces eviction from the hotel on February 7 because he cannot get the ‘authorization code’ from FEMA which is needed to extend his stay in the hotel.

“CC Campbell-Rock’s family lost a house and two cars in New Orleans. They had thousands of dollars of water damage in their home, lost all of their home office equipment, and as a result, their ability to earn an income. They are not getting assistance from home insurance, and will have no access to flood insurance money to rebuild/repair since the flood insurance was sent to the mortgage company who used it to cover mortgage payments.

“Gloria S. Brown a 74-year-old woman who swam seven blocks with her dog in toxic flood water and then fought to keep him alive has been separated from her precious companion because animals are not allowed in the flat where she is housed. She has now been promised housing but has no idea when that will happen. Her house in New Orleans is marked for demolition and she has had problems getting airfare home, tracking down what insurance she is eligible for and more. Her cell phone bills have been over $900 due to her receiving the run around from FEMA and the Red Cross. […]

“Evacuees describe calling FEMA after midnight to speak to a ‘person’ because that is the only time they can get through. Often they are on hold for 45 to 90 minutes, and people are rude and ‘speak to us as if we are criminals, then they hang up on us.’

“HECBA made a request to the San Francisco Hurricane Katrina Long Term Recovery Committee for a center to be set up where evacuees could go and get all the services they need in one visit, but were turned down and instead the Committee is proposing yet another phone line for evacuees to call. This is despite the millions in funding their organizations have received.

“Here is a list of what national agencies who are operating in the Bay Area have received recently from the $60 million FEMA grant to United Methodists Committee on Relief/Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (UMCOR/NVOAD) for Katrina related case management:

Agency & approximate grant amount:

• Salvation Army: $12,626,054
• Catholic Charities: $12,201,927
• Lutheran Disaster Response: $6,250,000
• National Disability Rights Network: $5,417,219
• Boat People: $4,438,649
• Volunteers of America: $6,000,000

“HEBCA is calling for accountability and transparency for all monies from government and non-governmental organizations that is supposed to be for Katrina relief. HECBA is demanding to know how much of this money goes directly to evacuees and how much for administrative costs.

Demands of the Hurricane Evacuees Council/ Bay Area

Among the demands of HECBA are:

We demand real housing

• stop all evictions of people from hotels and other housing; stop all threats of eviction by the Red Cross, FEMA and other government bodies;
• more resources for housing which must be provided immediately and permanent housing must be prioritized by FEMA; displaced evacuees must have access to Section 8 housing and resources should not be distributed based on income (former or present);
• debt relief, a hold on mortgage payments on damaged or destroyed homes and compensation for losses incurred;
• home insurers must be held accountable and an immediate investigation be made into their denial of coverage to Katrina/Rita victims;
• flood insurance must go to -homeowners to repair and rebuild not to mortgage companies to pay off mortgages on damaged or destroyed homes;

We demand the information we need

• wide circulation by all city agencies, FEMA and non-governmental organizations of what resources and services evacuees are entitled to; all evacuees and those providing services to evacuees must have copies; resource lists should include city agencies, what they are responsible for providing, a person’s name to call and emergency contact number;
• wide distribution of a list of where to get free or discounted meals;

We demand help with transportation

• free of cost Municipal buses, AC and Golden Gate transit system passes, BART tickets, and Amtrak tickets for evacuees and their children; Para-transit should be made available to anyone who needs it;
• access to California drivers licenses;

We demand the money and resources we are entitled to

• in the richest country in the world, all evacuees must get at least the $4350 they were promised and entitled to which many have not gotten;
• immediate access to Cal-works/welfare, food stamps, medical care and housing for all survivors;
• legal and other services and aid must be made available to evacuees;

We demand work for those who want it

• everyone who can and wants to should have the opportunity to have a job/waged work at a decent wage; all evacuees must have immediate access to an income including for their unwaged caring and survival work;

We demand quality family care

• access to free quality childcare, elder care and quality education for our children; address any needs people have related to the trauma of this experience;

We demand no discrimination

• no discrimination based on sex, race, age, economic, background, immigration and other legal or social status, sexual orientation, disability, etc;

We demand full accountability

• accountability and transparency for all monies from government and non-governmental organizations; how much did the Red Cross, United Way, FEMA, the City of San Francisco and other Bay Area cities receive for evacuees’ relief; how much money has come in and how is it being spent; how much of it is going to salaries and other administrative costs and how much goes to evacuees.

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ACORN Preserves 200th House in New Orleans!

- Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) -

Last Saturday, ACORN President Maude Hurd, members of ACORN’s national Executive Board, ACORN Services workers, and volunteers gathered to celebrate the preservation of Mr. and Mrs. William Ord’s home at 2201 Arts St, which marks the 200th house to be gutted and cleaned by ACORN’s Home Clean-out Demonstration Program. Since late November, ACORN Services workers have been tarping damaged roofs, gutting drywall, and offering mold remediation to homeowners in low and moderate income neighborhoods in New Orleans. In January, these crews were joined by student volunteers who spent their semester breaks helping New Orleans rebuild. Already, 200 volunteers have committed to coming in January, and 500 more are scheduled for March.

As the first phase of ACORN’s comprehensive rebuilding plan for New Orleans, the Clean-out Demonstration saves the homes of low and moderate income families and sends the message that our communities are coming home to rebuild. With the assistance of visiting students and other volunteers, ACORN Services work crews are completing 3 to 5 houses per day and plan to preserve 1,000 homes by March. In cities across the nation, ACORN Katrina Survivors Association organizers are spreading the word about the program and obtaining clearance from displaced residents so ACORN Services crews can begin work.

ACORN is one of several organizations in New Orleans defending the right to housing and organizing to rebuild. For more information see www.acorn.org, as well as commongroundrelief.org and communitylaborunited.net.

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HANO Provides Housing for Home Depot

Housing Authority Denies Public Housing to Residents

- Fair Housing Action Center -

The Fair Housing Action Center (FHAC) announces it opposition to the decision by the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) to lease property located in the former C.J. Peete housing development to Home Depot. The vacant land is a prime location for the development of housing, be it placement of FEMA trailers or development of permanent affordable housing.

In response to HANO’s decision, FHAC submitted the following letter to the editor of the [New Orleans] Times Picayune:

Affordable Housing for Home Depot

Nearly 90 percent of public housing residents remain displaced after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Moreover, less than ten percent of the more than 9,000 Section 8 voucher holders have obtained housing in New Orleans. HANO’s failure has done little more than fuel New Orleans’ affordable -housing crisis.

However, HANO has succeeded in finding someone a home: Home Depot. At its board meeting, HANO announced and then approved over strong objection its decision to lease property located in the former C.J. Peete housing development to Home Depot. The vacant land is a prime location for the development of housing, be it placement of FEMA trailers or development of permanent affordable housing. Instead, HANO denied New Orleanians desperately in need of affordable housing, in favor of Home Depot.

Further, HANO’s lease with Home Depot for an initial period of 364 days blatantly circumvents the regulatory requirement of a public disposition and comment period required for 1-year leases. Apparently HANO’s mandate to provide affordable housing to poor New Orleans residents is a thing of the past.

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City Agrees to Notify Homeowners

Bulldozing Halted by Ninth Ward Victory

New Orleans residents succeeding in blocking bulldozing of their homes and communities. Residents challenging the city’s attempt to bulldoze their homes without notice won a settlement signed Friday, January 13 which recognizes that all people are entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard, prior to any property being taken.

Efforts by government at all levels to bulldoze homes in the lower 9th Ward are widely seen as land-grabs in an area with majority African American homeownership. The lawsuit to block bulldozing, brought on behalf of a class of approximately 5500 -homeowners and organizational plaintiffs (People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, ACORN, Hope House, Common Ground Collective, Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Council, New Life Intracostal CDC), now requires notice to homeowners whose homes pose an “imminent danger,” even those that are in the right of way. The city originally said they would not provide any notice at all.

The city’s notification prior to demolition is as follows:

Properties that are in the street must have 7-day notice (117 homes). Properties on the sidewalk or in a neighbor’s yard will get 10 days. For the other 1,975 that are in danger of collapse but not off foundations, a 30-day notice must be given.

“Notice” means an ad placed in The Times Picayune newspaper, a letter mailed to the last known address, a listing placed on the city website and a toll-free number that homeowners can call to find out whether their property is slated for demolition.

People remain vigilant that people’s homes and whole blocks could still be bulldozed and are organizing to ensure they have their say in the rebuilding of New Orleans.

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Radio Program Assists Survivors

Keeping New Orleans United

Katrina survivors were first left to die then forcibly scattered across the country by the government. In many cases families were forcibly separated by the government, who sent them in different directions and then refused to inform families the location of their loved ones. An estimated 3,000 people still remain unaccounted for, many of them children. For some families, they still do not even know if mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandmothers and fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, are even alive. Even now funerals are occurring on a regular basis for Katrina victims. To counter this destruction and devastation by governments at all levels, one of New Orleans’ radio stations has organized a nationwide broadcast to survivors across the country, using the Internet.

Hip-hop station KNOU HOT, 104.5 FM, launched its national “Keeping New Orleans United!” broadcast on Dec. 23. The station, forced to move to Atlanta after Katrina, transformed itself into a national station in order to reach the hundreds of thousands of New Orleans evacuees scattered across the country. Their morning show is dedicated to providing information, including -locating family members, assistance with finding homes and securing government resources as well as announcements on the reopening of businesses so people can know to return to their jobs.

“It’s time for the hip-hop generation to use the power of our music and the Internet to rebuild our community one beat at a time,” said Jeffery “Big Herc” Reese, production manager and host of KNOU’s popular morning show. “Since the Katrina disaster caused many of our people to be taken away from the station,” added Reese, “we decided to use the Internet to take the station to the people and give them the critical information they desperately need to rebuild their lives.”

KNOU cut back on their music programming to devote the majority of their morning drive time to assisting and uniting the people of New Orleans. The station continues to be a main source of information and views for Katrina survivors.

For more information on KNOU’s Keeping New Orleans United! Campaign, contact Monica Horne at (504) 833-4456, ext. 206, or monicahorne@hot1045no.com.

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Justice After Katrina

Reconstruction Workers Challenge Extortion by City Officials & “Labor Coyotes”

Apache Nation members, brought to a largely-immigrant workers’ camp by a “herder” or “labor coyote” who brokered a deal with New Orleans officials, are now being told they owe money to the city. They are being faced with eviction from a city labor camp. The camp is made up of tents and is without electricity and water. The Apaches, along with many workers brought in from Mexico and elsewhere, are forced to live in these camps and pay rent while doing construction work. Now they face eviction.

The workers called a public meeting to protest the evictions and together work out their plans for resistance. They denounced the inhumane living conditions in the camp, which houses approximately 150-200 FEMA- and city-employed day laborers.

Workers report that they are not receiving their wages. They also said the city is demanding back rent for periods when they were not even present in the camps. They are also being charged a second time for a month of rent already paid to the city. The city denied them any receipt at the time and now is again demanding rent. No written notice of the amount due has been provided to the workers, nor has any official information about how or to whom payments should be made. However, police are expected to evict them. Workers continue to organize and are standing together with residents and Katrina survivors in defending the right to housing for all.

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Al Awda, Palestine Right of Return Coalition

Stop Funding Racism! Build Levees, Not Walls!

The Al Awda, Palestine Right of Return has recently launched a campaign to demand that Congress stop funding Israel and its Apartheid Wall. They are defending the right of return for Katrina survivors and all those forced to flee their homelands due to natural or man-made disasters. They bring out that this right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by the United States. We reprint excerpts of their statement below, edited for space.

“As our brothers and sisters in New Orleans and the Gulf States struggle to rebuild their lives from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and while the White House has indicated that the Federal funds assigned for hurricane recovery are not enough, Israel is demanding additional billions of dollars from the U.S. administration for the expansion of Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land. These Israeli demands come after Congress had already awarded one third of the total foreign aid budget to affluent Israel, which is also heavily subsidized with tax-deductible contributions.

“Now, as African American and other hurricane victims in Louisiana and -Mississippi face eviction from emergency housing and endless delays in obtaining building permits, frequently failing to receive straight answers from the government as to when or whether the ruined levee system will be rebuilt, Israel is insisting that our Congress appropriate billions of our tax dollars for planned Israeli developments on land where Palestinians now live and have lived for generations. The people living on these lands in the Jaleel (Galilee) and Naqab (Negev) regions are to be evicted and replaced with Jewish-only settlements and segregated roads, water systems and industrial areas built with these U.S. tax dollars.

“Some of these funds will also be used to extend the illegal Annexation Wall, a 26 foot high, 400 mile long concrete and barbed wire structure meant to keep Palestinians penned up in their towns and villages, or force them off their land entirely.” Major Palestinian towns including Qalquilya, Tulkarem and Bethlehem have already been imprisoned this way, using U.S. tax dollars.”

Al Awda is demanding that public funds be used to rebuild the levees and devastated communities of Louisiana and Mississippi and that funding for Israel be stopped.

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MLPC Leader Congratulates Candidates on Participation in Federal Election

On election night, leader of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada Sandra L. Smith warmly congratulated MLPC candidates and the party's organizations across the country on their successful participation in the 39th federal election.

"The response to the participation of the MLPC and the caliber of the interventions of the party's candidates has been highly appreciated by an ever increasing number of people," Sandra said. She referred to the sleight increase in the number of votes cast in favor of MLPC candidates but, most importantly, to the increasing number of letters and other expressions of support and appreciation for the serious contribution of the Marxist-Leninists to the political life of the country.

"In spite of the concerted marginalization of small parties and independents by the electoral process itself, the Marxist-Leninists made great contributions in candidate debates and through their own discussion forums and other interventions," Sandra said. "They contribute to providing electors with the opportunity to cast informed votes, get informed about what is at stake in the election and specifically raise the real issues facing the working class and people."

Sandra emphasized the need to find the ways and means to step up the tempo of the party's constant work and the work to elaborate its program Stop Paying the Rich -- Increase Funding for Social Programs! Everyone should go all out to oppose the massive disinformation campaign about what the Canadian ruling class and its political parties have in store for the people, she said.

"With these election results, the new arrangements which permit all the institutions of the state to act with impunity and deprive the people of the ability to exercise their rights are bound to increase," Sandra said.

She called on the Marxist-Leninist Party Clubs to involve all those concerned about this in political affairs discussions. "This is so people can investigate and inform themselves about what the new arrangements are all about and the urgency for the people to organize themselves politically so that they can effectively affirm their rights and not permit Canada to play an aggressive role abroad and criminalize the youth, workers and national minorities at home," she said.

The MLPC is now receiving initial observations about the election results from its candidates, supporters and members of the public. It will continue to use its website to carry the discussion on the results as well as on the battles that lie ahead under the new Conservative minority government for which the people should prepare.

The MLPC joins its national leader in urging the workers, youth and people across the country to actively participate in giving their views and conducting their own inquiries amongst their peers on the significance of the election results and what the new arrangements being brought in by the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP will mean to their lives.

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Significance of the Canadian Election Results

Interview with MLPC Leader Sandra L. Smith

We reprint below an interview with Sandra L. Smith, national leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist). The interview was done by The Marxist-Leninist Daily (TML), on-line daily newspaper of CPC(M-L). For election purposes, CPC (M-L) is registered as the Marxist Leninist Party of Canada (MLPC).

TML: What in your opinion is the significance of the election results?

Sandra L. Smith: They are very significant from the point of view of the arrangements that the ruling class in Canada is making to restructure the state and put things in order in a manner that favors the interests of the monopolies engaged in global competition. The role they want Canada to play in that competition is very important.

The election was very hard fought. There was a lot at stake. If you look at the statements of the leaders of the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, overall, as things developed within the situation, they were quite satisfied with the results.

Of course, the Conservatives were bordering on euphoria and some even hoped for a majority but they were quite satisfied that they achieved 10 of the 12 seats they were after in Quebec. They have MPs in nine of Canada's 10 provinces -- all except PEI. They took all the seats in Alberta, 17 in British Columbia, eight in Manitoba and 12 in Saskatchewan. This led Harper to declare that his party is now truly national and that Quebec and the west are represented in Ottawa. The fact that they received a tenuous minority -- 124 seats -- and have no representatives from Canada's largest cities -- Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver -- has not dampened their enthusiasm.

Harper's declaration that his government will stand for "change and accountability" has largely received a favorable reception and been "corroborated" by the pundits and media. Only for the workers and people across the country is this conception of change and accountability a threatening prospect. However, the electoral process and media make sure their concerns are not considered.

The Liberals went from 135 seats to 103, which was less of a loss than predicted. They also have representatives in nine of the provinces, all of them except Alberta. What is interesting, however, is the configuration of right-wing ministers who were not defeated, including Belinda Stronach, as well as the election of Michael Ignatieff. Their stands on border security, Canada's role abroad and the abrogation of rights in the name of security definitely tells us something about the kind of leadership race that is in the offing -- what kind of renewal the Liberal Party has in mind.

With the media presenting the Harper Conservatives as non-extremist and the Liberals having a bunch of extremists as their representatives, it will be interesting to see how between them they reconfigure what they claim are Canadian values of tolerance, balance and so on.

As for the NDP, it also got what it wanted for purposes of presenting itself as the party that puts people first. It got Trinity-Spadina, which was hard fought, as well as industrial areas such as Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie. It is shut out of Quebec and, interestingly enough, Saskatchewan, besides Newfoundland, PEI and Alberta. But it has representatives in five provinces and one territory.

During the post-election commentary, one of the pundits made a very interesting statement. He said that the aim of the NDP now is to replace the Liberals as Canada's left of center party and contend directly with the Conservatives as Canada's right of center party. This is perhaps only a wannabe-scenario following the example of Tony Blair's New Labor party. Nonetheless, it holds nothing good for Canadian working people. Anyhow, the NDP went from 19 to 29 seats. This wasn't quite the 30-plus they were after to claim the balance of power but they got what they wanted.

The Bloc also got what was possible within the situation. They were not in a position to reverse the whole-scale intervention of the Canadian establishment to elect Conservatives in Quebec, but where they worked to get elected -- such as establishing a base in the Outaouais by getting Gatineau, and defeating Pierre Pettigrew in Papineau and Liza Frulla in Jeanne-Le Ber -- they did. The re-election of Liberal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre in Outremont was expected given all the efforts made by the alliance of the Liberals and NDP along with some of the Quebec old left.

So, the first point I think is important is for the workers and people of the country to really take stock of what was at stake in the election. The ruling class of Canada really went after these results. Even though one suspects that a Conservative majority would have been more to their liking, they achieved what they paid and organized for. As I said before, it was a very hard fought election.

One thing that should be kept very much in mind in considering the results of the election is that in Canada we do not have what they call free and fair elections. By no description of the word free or the word fair can they be called free and fair.

In fact, there was so much at stake that according to not a few commentators, even the RCMP, one of the institutions of the state, intervened in the election. Repeated references were made which claim that it was as of the point the RCMP launched its income trust probe that the fortunes of the Liberals became irreversible. If it's the case that this was part of the strategy of specific interests behind the RCMP and the ruling circles to get rid of the Martin Liberals -- once it became clear that they could not distance themselves from the corruption that emerged under Jean Chrétien -- then it is an even greater scandal, in democratic terms, than the sponsorship scandal. But while all kinds of media pundits make the observation, they do not seem to take it very seriously.

Keeping in mind how elections are being held in all the countries where the Anglo-American imperialists have a stake and can play a role, such interference by the police arm of the state would not be unexpected but nonetheless it is a real indictment of the electoral system.

TML: What would you say were some of the major issues in the election?

SLS: The election was driven by two main preoccupations of the ruling circles in Canada. One was the determination to re-establish the equilibrium in the Parliament that was lost in the 1993 election when the old Conservative Party was decimated and the Bloc became the official opposition. At that time the Reform Party with also only a regional base dominated the west.

The old equilibrium and arrangement whereby the government consisted of a party with a national base in power and a party with a national base in opposition was lost. Since then, every attempt has been made to re-establish it that led to the corruption scandals.

In this same vein, Canadian federalism as it exists today is not an example of a modern federation. It is in a deep crisis from which it cannot extricate itself. Only those who have an interest in modern definitions and the recognition of rights can sort out the problem.

The federation is still based on 1867 power-sharing arrangements at a time the needs of nation-building were subordinate to the British empire to stop the annexation of its dominions north of the 49th parallel. Although these arrangements have been amended over the years, they no longer correspond with the needs of the big bourgeoisie to do as it pleases, let alone with the needs of the working class and people.

Furthermore, since the Canadian ruling class adopted the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. in 1989, the trend of integration is leading to the increasing annexation of Canada to the U.S. The original nation-building project at the time the bourgeoisie constituted itself as the nation was carried out within the framework of opposing annexation. If this is no longer the context, one has to question what nation-building project the ruling circles are talking about.

The second main preoccupation is the accommodation of the agenda coming out of the United States.

TML: Promises to renew federalism were raised repeatedly during the election with specific reference to Quebec. What is your view on this?

SLS: The manner in which the issue was raised shows that the ruling class is preparing another assault against the legal and democratic rights of the Quebec people in particular, but also against the people of the entire country. The refusal of the ruling class to renew the constitutional arrangements on a modern basis is leading it into deeper crisis and history keeps repeating itself in the form of scandals, corruption, etc.

The Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, in order to push their 19th century notion of king and country, ignore that the Quebec people want to enter into new relations as a sovereign nation. They continue to look at the Quebec nation as a subject people, as they do towards others in the rest of the country.

In fact, while the Canadian Constitution still rests on the notion of two founding peoples, today, administrative accommodation has de facto violated its very basis. Now the notion is of 10 provinces, not of two founding nations. This is why Quebec has declared that the Constitution as it stands today is in contempt of itself. It is in fact a dead letter.

The notion of a province as applied to Quebec is not merely a reference to an administrative unit. It is also used to perpetuate the notion of a subject people. To suggest some separatist forces concocted this issue on a whim "to break up the country" is ridiculous. It is an historic problem which requires an historic, nation-building solution. Such a solution can only be provided on a creative, forward-looking basis by vesting the sovereign decision-making power in the people of not only Quebec but of the entire country. They should be informed about what is at stake so they can take informed, progressive stands.

The ruling class keeps the Quebec issue on the backburner and whenever the crisis facing the political system becomes acute, it brings the Quebec issue to a boil. It inflames passions and tries to create a backlash against Quebec in the rest of Canada as well as within Quebec itself. It divides people between so-called federalists and separatists. It creates illusions that the ruling circles are interested in renewing federalism in a manner which favours the people. This is not the case.

TML: During the election, we were told that Stephen Harper stands for "open federalism" and decentralization. In his victory speech, he said that Canadians had "voted for change" in electing a Conservative government. He highlighted various topics within this including accountability, "Canadian values," the law and order agenda and so on. But he also said: "Perhaps most importantly, we will begin the task of re-building federalism in the province of Quebec.... Our government will build a new and dynamic voice for federalism in Quebec."

What is all this talk about "open federalism" and decentralization versus a strong central state?

SLS: Both "open federalism" and decentralization have to do with the restructuring of the state that is taking place in countries around the world to comply with the dictate of the monopolies to compete effectively in a neo-liberal global market. In Canada, it is very linked to the demand for a United States of North American Monopolies to dominate the world. This gives rise to issues which juxtapose the modern need for a strong central state with demands for decentralization.

The Liberals wanted to confine the debate to this issue alone. The Conservatives even presented decentralization as a gift to the people of Quebec, as long as they forego the option to declare their sovereignty. This is obvious in Harper's repeated statement that the government should ignore the presence of the Bloc Québécois in Parliament and instead work with the federalist government in Quebec -- the Charest Liberals -- which is perfectly willing to cooperate.

This whole debate over centralization and decentralization has more to do with backroom maneuvers to eliminate the responsibility of states toward the security and well-being of the people. This includes not only issues related to healthcare, education and the internal security of the people, but also issues related to war and peace and the external security of the people. In other words, this debate -- actually it is disinformation -- serves to drown the central issues of the need to provide social programs, how the society is developed and who controls our resources and the state treasury, as well as issues such as war and peace, security and the international rule of law.

These days any crime is presented under the veneer of high ideals so long as it favours making the monopolies more competitive in the global market. It shows that a profound discussion is required on how to modernize the nation-state so that it serves and provides for its people and contributes to the same internationally. Unless the nations of the world can meet the requirements of peace and their own social, economic, cultural and political development, the future is grim and dangerous.

TML: How did the federalist parties specifically approach the issue of Quebec and federalism?

SLS: They certainly didn't present a plan of action that was democratic or one that gives a vision on the basis of which to move forward. This was glaring during the French-language leaders' debate on January 10.

Liberal leader Paul Martin said that Quebeckers are isolated from power with the present set up where there are so many MPs from the Bloc. He said that the Bloc, being in the opposition, is impotent when it comes to ensuring that the government does not go to war in Iraq or refuses to participate in ballistic missile defense, for example. Only a government in power can do that, he said.

Leaving aside the fraudulent suggestion that the Martin Liberals aren't involved in Bush's "war on terror," let us deal with Martin's status quo solution for a "flexible federalism" with a "strong Quebec" and his statement that it is the "Quebec specificity" that is making Canada the country it is. Martin argued that Canadians must accept that the most important issue is that the competition is with foreign powers, namely India and China, and not inside the country. All Canadians have to pull together to make Canada great and competitive, he said. The problem with the Bloc is that "they always choose separatism" when the federal government wants to give something to Quebec, he said, giving the example of the amended Liberal-NDP budget.

"Flexible federalism," he explained, is when federal-provincial agreements can be reached like the accords on healthcare and childcare, through which Quebec and other provinces are said to receive large amounts of money. He also said this includes "asymetric federalism," which his government had already practiced with the agreement on healthcare where there are clauses specific to Quebec. In other words, it is a scheme whereby the ability of the federal government to disperse money is used as a bargaining chip to advance a particular agenda, blackmail the people, sow confusion on how they can provide themselves with stability, etc. It has nothing to do with guaranteeing the rights of the people.

To Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe's argument that Quebec is already entitled to that money and does not want to have Ottawa interfering in its jurisdiction, Martin replied that Canada has a role as a central government. He said that any Prime Minister of Canada would have the responsibility to make Canada a strong central government. The example he gave was quite astounding given all the others he could have mentioned. He said that it is the Canadian government which tests drugs before they are allowed to be used in the country. He had nothing to say about the role of the central government in ensuring the well-being of all such as through equalization payments or about guaranteeing the rights of all at a Canadian standard of living no matter where they live in the country, their age, gender, wealth or ability. When it comes to the role of the central government of a federation, this is a crucial domestic issue, in addition to the country's role internationally to uphold international rule of law.

Martin said nothing to elucidate why he thinks the Quebec issue persists or to acknowledge how disastrous the Liberal policy on Quebec has proven to be, or why he thinks more of this policy will solve the problem of Quebec's place in Canada or preserve the unity of Canada.

The leader of the Conservative Party, Stephen Harper, is as incapable of speaking rationally. He said he recognizes that there is fiscal imbalance between the federal government and the provinces, a reference to the large federal surpluses vis-à-vis a lack of funding of the provinces. Harper said he's the one who will sort it out. He repeated, directly addressing Duceppe, that there is "no use complaining about fiscal imbalance" -- just elect him and work with him and he will sort out the problem.

Harper also said he wants to give Quebec more powers, for example, to participate in certain international fora, which the Liberals did anyway, such as in the Francophonie or UNESCO where cultural issues are paramount. This policy which allegedly accommodates Quebec has nothing to do with the substantive issue of recognizing its right to self-determination.

Harper's main argument was that Quebeckers are isolated because Duceppe does not want to be in power in Ottawa, so he is not able to deliver. You have to be the governing party to deliver, he argued, adding that the Quebec representation in Ottawa is corrupted because it does not really represent federalism in Quebec. He said that he agrees with Duceppe that there should not be illegal federalist activities in Quebec but Ottawa and the Liberal provincial government have the right to promote federalism in Quebec. (This was a reference to the investigation on Option Canada for violations of the Quebec Election Act during the 1995 referendum.)

All of this begs the answer to the question of how Harper's conception of "open federalism" will renew federalism as opposed to facilitate Canada's annexation holus bolus to the United States. It totally obscures what interests the Conservatives serve and how the arrangements Harper advocates will facilitate those interests.

The media played a despicable role promoting this as an alternative to renew federalism while refusing to inform the public as to what this programs represents.

The leader of the New Democratic Party, Jack Layton, basically said that sovereignty is an old debate that diverts attention from the real issues, such as childcare. As far as Quebec is concerned, he said he would like to have a "project that creates the winning conditions for Canada in Quebec."

Layton also put forward a policy to appease Quebec which was just about as paternalistic and insulting one could get. He proposed a policy of reconciliation with Quebeckers on the basis of eliminating corruption and patronage and recognizing values that are dear to Quebeckers such as "generosity," "childcare," etc. In other words, Layton is satisfied with repeating a dogmatic rendering about the need for a strong central government to justify denying the right of the Quebec people to exercise their sovereignty.

The issue is that one can have a federation comprised of a free and equal union of its constituent parts with a strong and able central government which in no way tramples the rights of those constituent parts. Such a federation would use the power of the central government to use the strength and wealth of the whole to affirm the rights of the constituent parts. None of this is even considered.

In other words, to keep an ongoing clash between a strong central government and decentralization shows a perfidious hidden agenda of conflicting monopoly interests vying for control of the state treasury and resources of the nation for private gain.

TML: How did the Bloc respond to all of this?

SLS: There is little profound discussion in the ranks of the Bloc about these issues. The youth of Quebec are trying to remedy this problem.

During the debate, Duceppe said that he is guided only by the defense of the interests of Quebec and that within this he wants to foster friendship towards the Canadian people and Canada.

"But Quebec is different," he said, "Quebec is a nation and it needs its own state."

Duceppe said that he is opposed to politics which cut off your nose to spite your face, for instance to reject a policy that could be good for Quebec because it comes from the Liberals or the Conservatives. He said that he welcomed the fact that Martin acknowledged that Quebec is a nation (Martin was forced to make that statement when put on the spot by Duceppe) and also that Martin and Harper now recognize fiscal imbalance, especially Harper who made a commitment to solve it. But he pointed out that Harper still needs to come out with something concrete on the issue of fiscal imbalance.

In his closing remarks at the debate, Duceppe said that he is aware that the federalist parties, in some circumstances, are capable of doing very bad things but he is ready to cooperate if something they propose is positive for Quebec. He is on guard to defend the interests of Quebec, he said.

TML: What is your view on this whole discourse?

SLS: That particular debate and the entire discourse on Quebec showed that the way these federalist parties are positioning themselves to deal with Quebec will further exacerbate the crisis of federalism. Ignoring the need for a modern Constitution which as its first principle enshrines the right of Quebec to self-determination, the hereditary rights of the First Nations and the citizenship rights of all Canadians and instead impose law and order agendas and incite passions is a disaster in the making. All notions of privileges or declaring who and what are legitimate on the basis of agreement with what are called Canadian values must be eliminated. It is not an academic question.

To carry on blaming Quebec sovereigntists for "breaking up the country" is diversionary and a fraudulent, crisis-ridden stand.

TML: Would you say that the presence of the Bloc is positive?

SLS: So long as the Canadian ruling class refuses to renew federalism on the basis of a democratic plan and vision, the people have to find a way to deprive those with political power of the power they wield to do as they please. The Bloc presence in Parliament has been an obstacle to negating the Quebec nation. It is not the Bloc which is isolating Quebec.

The arrangement upon which the Canadian federation was founded has become obsolete and requires renewal. The Bloc presence in Ottawa is a response to the crisis. Its presence forcefully puts on the agenda the need to deal with the obstacle imposed by the old arrangements of the 19th century empire-builders. The defenders of the status quo who refuse any and all discussion on this issue since the failure of the Charlottetown and Meech Lake accords are now forced to claim they have a plan to fix it, since as long as the Quebec issue is not settled, no political party will be able to claim to "govern Canada from sea to sea."

TML: How does the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada propose to deal with all of this?

SLS: The MLPC has already given the call nationwide for the working class to constitute itself as the nation and vest sovereignty in the people. This is a program for the renewal of the political process, renewal of the federation and a change in the direction of the economy so that the government cannot use its power to pay the rich but instead must guarantee rights. Our party works with the people to create the means by which they can exercise the power to decide their future. During the election we called on the people to vote for candidates that defend that position. We are organizing the youth to inform themselves on these matters and prepare to be leaders of a different future which favours the people.

Furthermore, it is essential to combat the disinformation about the role of Quebec in the Canadian federation and about the strengths and weaknesses of the federation itself. What problems does it face? How can these problems be sorted out? We are tackling these issues.

The attempts to divide and disinform the people are greater than ever. The aim is to prevent the working class and people of the entire country from putting their own interests on the agenda on an organized basis in opposition to the neo-liberal, anti-social offensive. We are also tackling this issue.

We are doing a lot of theoretical work on matters related to the political system, rights and nation-building.

The capitalist notion of a nation-state is not only myopic as it is connected directly with the narrow interests of a small ruling elite, but it also belongs to a bygone era. As capital and production become more and more concentrated and globalized, the bourgeoisie considers the very notion of a nation as outmoded. This is seen in agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and all the security arrangements since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. It includes not just the "smart borders" but also the integration of the armed forces and so on, as well as all the anti-labor legislation.

Through the anti-social offensive and the phony controversy between a strong central state and decentralization, those in power are destroying the social and national fabric. In fact, while they sell-out the human and natural resources of the nation, they actually use the nation-state to facilitate and channel this plunder.

Workers must appreciate that the concept of the nation is not outmoded. It is precisely on the basis of constituting themselves as the nation -- that is, engaging in nation-building on the basis of an economy and domestic and foreign policies geared to guarantee the rights of all -- that they can reverse the annexationist trend, the destruction of the social fabric and the dangers of fascism and war. It is only by acting in this manner that the working class can defend its own interests at this time. The interests of the working class are synonymous with those of the nation and it is up to the workers to ensure that the working class plays its independent and leading role in society.

TML: Let's talk further about the Harper agenda. His victory speech was titled "Canadians Choose Change and Accountability." What is your initial impression of what he said in that speech?

SLS: Besides other things, Harper said: "To those around the world who have followed the campaign, our message is the same -- the result tonight signals a change of government, not a change of country. We will stay the course of balanced budgets, low inflation, debt repayment, and economic stability. We will continue to help defend our values and democratic ideals around the globe. As so courageously demonstrated by those young Canadian soldiers who are serving, and who have sacrificed, in Afghanistan. While always charting a path in the best interests of Canada, we will seek to work cooperatively with our friends and allies, and constructively with all nations of the world."

With this Harper asserts that whatever is addressed to Canadians is a signal to U.S., friends and allies; it is the same message. All talk of values and democratic ideals is directed towards geopolitical considerations and staying the course of the neo-liberal agenda. "Defense" of these values and agenda will be by means of militarism and aggression, the exemplar being Afghanistan, under the aegis of U.S. or other military or economic blocs.

The means of carrying out these policies will be by "charting a path in the best interests of Canada... work[ing] cooperatively with our friends and allies, and constructively with all nations of the world." Note how he uses the mysterious language of dividing the world into friends and enemies and the geopolitical positioning of the Canadian state -- the "best interests of Canada."

Harper is asserting the claims of raison d'état -- reason of state -- of a narrow, self-serving minority based on the expansion of executive power and the bureaucracy. Since Harper's message is the "same" within Canada and internationally, no covering up and obscuring the actual situation at home and abroad can prevent the obvious, and honest, inference that the "best interests of Canada" are neither the same as the many different interests of individual Canadians and their collectives nor of the general interests of the society. Similarly, the many conflicting interests worldwide cannot be reconciled with the assertion of the narrow, factional interests of a minority of Canadians nor with their arbitrary division of the world into "friends and allies" -- those who cooperate, those who will accept their "constructive" intentions. It is in this assertion of "sameness of message" that the mysteries of state reveal themselves and become much less mysterious.

At the conclusion of an election that results in a minority government, how can the views of the electorate, with all their conflicting interests, passions, their desire for change, for a renewed society which cares for the well-being of its members, for peace and justice, etc. be reconciled with the claims of a mandate by a small party faction? How will the pressing questions of war and peace, a secure livelihood, sovereignty and annexation, environmental crisis, etc. be worked out? Who will decide and how will they decide on these and other important questions? By what mechanisms and arrangements? How is it that a tiny party faction in a minority government, or a combination of tiny factions, can decide to look at the world in terms of their own narrow interests, while the issue is one of intervening in world affairs (and domestic affairs for that matter) on the basis of principled positions, not from the standpoint of friends and enemies?

We can infer that Harper this will carry out his agenda by virtue of the royal prerogative, and herein lies the answer to all mysteries. However, there are many who may not find this a virtue, nor find it in line with their values and conscience. And it is here that lies the answer to providing a solution to the problem of how the royal prerogative is used against the interests of the peoples at home and abroad.

To be continued