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March 7, 2014 - No. 24
All Out to Make International
Women's Day a Success!
Support the Cause of Women for
Their Empowerment and Emancipation!
All
Out
to
Make
International
Women's
Day
a Success!
• Support the Cause of Women for Their
Empowerment and Emancipation!
• Harper Government's Suspect Enthusiasm for
International Women's Day
- Christine Dandenault
• Our Future Lies in the Fight for the Rights
of All! - Janice Murray
• Women Lead in the Fight Against the Austerity
Agenda and for Rights
- Christine Nugent
• All Out for March 8, International Women's
Day! - Statement of IWD Edmonton
All Out to Make International Women's Day
a Success!
Support the Cause of Women for
Their Empowerment and
Emancipation!
 International Woman's Day
is an occasion for the entire humanity to reaffirm the necessity to
bring about the profound changes required to create a world in which
women's rights are recognized. Women's rights entail far more than just
equal civil rights at a time even these are given perfunctory standing
and
they are not even recognized in far too many countries. Besides
recognizing women's civil rights, women must be provided with
everything they require to participate in all aspects of life on an
equal basis. Women's rights must be provided with the economic, social,
cultural and political conditions women and children
and all members of society require to flourish. Their rights require
constitutional guarantees together with enabling legislation and
conditions, so that the equality of women becomes a reality and their
emancipation becomes the true mark of a progressive society.
This world is suffering terribly from the retreat of
revolution in which private monopoly interests have taken over entire
governments, privatized the affairs of state, and subjected countries
which exercise their sovereign rights to terrorist insurgencies,
aggression and war. The U.S. superpower is colluding and
contending with the European Union and the big powers which comprise
it,
to establish its domination over Europe and Asia, both of them using
NATO to threaten the peoples everywhere. Meanwhile the U.S. also seeks
to impose its dictate over Latin America and the Caribbean, all in the
name of democracy and
human rights. Canada has been integrated into the U.S. war machine, its
economy wrecked and the rights of its working people trampled
underfoot. Across Canada and all over the world, women and children
bear the brunt of the anti-social offensive of the big powers.
The alternative is clear, defended by those who stand up
for the sovereign right to say No! under what have become the most
complex circumstances. In this battle, women stand second to none. No
Means No! is their rallying cry. Only if the word No! has meaning and
the conditions are established for women
to exercise control over their lives, can the word Yes have meaning as
well.
On the occasion of International Women's Day 2014, the
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) salutes the fighting women
everywhere. Join them every day in the battle for democracy and the
battle for rights!
All Out to Celebrate International
Women's Day!
All
Out to Support the Struggle of Women
for Their Empowerment and Emancipation!
Harper Government's Suspect Enthusiasm for
International Women's Day
- Christine Dandenault -
The Harper government, via the Status of Women Canada,
announced
that its theme for International Women's Day this year is "Strong
Women, Strong Canada, Canadian Women -- Creating Jobs One Business at a
Time." The Status of Women Canada website states, "This theme
highlights the important
role women entrepreneurs play in driving growth, creating jobs, and
fostering innovation in the Canadian economy. During International
Women's Week (March 2 to 8, 2014) Canadians will have the opportunity
to celebrate, and reflect on the contributions of women entrepreneurs,
as well as consider the challenges
women face when starting and growing their own businesses."
 Thus, the Canadian
government has found a ready-made subject
for March 8
this year. The problem is certainly not those women who start
businesses and the difficulties they encounter. The problem is the
government's enthusiasm to make the question of entrepreneurs the theme
for March 8, thus eliminating the
thousands of women who are fighting on this day to defend their right
to a fulfilling human existence.
Women have made many advances in recent decades to open
society's
path to progress by their active participation in all spheres of life
and they continue to do so. Today they are fighting for a pro-social
program because the Harper government pushes its anti-social program.
The Harper government's canned
slogan will not succeed in covering up this anti-social agenda and
women's fight to oppose it.
The best business in today's society is to develop an
economy and
public institutions whose purpose is to meet the needs of women,
children, the elderly and all the various collectives. Today, the fight
is for a public post office, against the Employment Insurance reform,
for justice for missing and murdered Aboriginal
girls and women. Today, the fight is to modernize the political process
so that the people can exercise control over matters that affect their
lives and the living conditions of women and children.
It can be said with confidence that the theme of Status
of Women
Canada will be rejected with contempt by women from one end of the
country to the other. The thousands of women from across Canada and
Quebec standing up to affirm their rights on March 8 will be the
fitting reply to Harper and Company!
Our Future Lies in the Fight for the Rights of All!
- Janice Murray -
  
Women have celebrated International Women's Day for more
than a century as a day that recognizes women taking action on an
organized basis to affirm their collective right to fully participate
in all aspects of economic, social, political and cultural life. In
particular it
recognizes their striving to empower themselves
politically, within the fight of the working class for its emancipation.
As we celebrate International Women's Day 2014,
collective rights are under unprecedented attack by the Harper
dictatorship and governments at all levels in their rush to dismantle
the public authority and turn over all the resources of the society to
private interests. This is the case whether we talk about the
rights of workers to collectively organize and defend their conditions
of work, remuneration and safety, or about the collectives of the
unemployed, injured workers, and others including the indigenous
peoples. More and more laws are being passed to interfere with how
collectives organize themselves and conduct
their affairs. In this the Harper government is using its fraudulently
acquired majority in the Parliament to pass omnibus bills over which
nobody can exercise control. He and his provincial counterparts are
providing themselves with the power to act with impunity in defence of
private interests. The ferocity of the
anti-social agendas they are pushing is such that it hits at the very
right to be of Canadians and their collectives. Anyone who takes a
stand against the wrecking of the society is targeted for attack.
Far from backing down in the face of this attempt to
crush the collectives of the people and leave everyone as
disarticulated powerless individuals, more and more collectives are
taking up the problem of how to defend their rights. They are
presenting their demands within the context of what are the needs of
a modern society that puts the human factor in first place. Industrial
and public sector workers, Aboriginal nations, women and youth,
scientists and veterans are taking a stand in defence of their
collective rights and those of the future generations. They are
rejecting the marginalization of their collectives and their
demands as those of special interests or as something to be granted or
not at the whim of those in power.
In terms of the collective of women, since coming to
power in 2006 the Harper dictatorship, its parade of anti-women
Ministers of the Status of Women and governments at all levels
continue to dismantle arrangements that provide even a minimum of
security. It has pushed the line that women are already
equal, a claim which is put to shame so long as women dominate the
sectors which are most impoverished, exploited and oppressed. Based on
this bogus claim the government has cut funding for any organizations
that assist women to assert their just claims on the society. To this
day the Harper government stubbornly
refuses to call a National Enquiry into the disappearance and murder of
thousands of women, the majority of whom are Aboriginal. This alone
sends the clear message that as far as the Harper dictatorship is
concerned women are fair game and are to fend for themselves. Canadian
women say No! they will never
submit to this dictate.
Faced with the urgent need to stop the wrecking of
society by the Harper dictatorship and Quebec and provincial
governments in the service of monopoly interests people are getting
together in their collectives to work out how to change the situation.
What tactics do we need to Stop Harper, to block the austerity
agenda, whether to vote in this or that election and if so, who to vote
for, how to be effective -- these are all discussions taking place in
the collectives of fighting people. Women are front and centre in this
developing collective action to make themselves a factor and deprive
the powers that be of their power to deprive
us of our rights.
The neo-liberal block put in the way is the pressure
that we should divide ourselves on the basis of partisan politics,
choosing the lesser of two evils, the effect of which is to demobilize
and paralyze us. At the same time, people are bombarded with theories
about "income inequality" and that the problem is we
need more taxes, that the services we require are just not affordable
or that workers are a cost that must be "minimized." All of this goes
against workers' own experience. Workers know that they are what makes
the society work, and their labour time applied to the bounty of Mother
Earth gives rise to all real value.
Their experience tells them that no headway will be made by lining up
behind one or another version of the same anti-social agenda.
On the occasion of International Women's Day 2014, women
must step up the fight to reject the imposition of neo-liberal theories
and definitions and to build the committees for people's empowerment.
By uniting in action to implement plans we set for ourselves, relying
on our own collective experience and
developing confidence through implementing the plan and assessing
actions to see how to proceed, we can prevail.
Women's Future Lies in the Fight for the
Rights of All!
Women Lead in the Fight Against the
Austerity Agenda
and for Rights
- Christine Nugent -
International Women's Day offers a time to reflect on
the role that women play in society and the fight for rights. People
have come to the conclusion that they do not agree with the austerity
agenda of governments both federally and provincially. They are taking
up organizing resistance to the attacks on their health care, education
and other social programs; their right to a
livelihood, public safety and security in retirement. They are opposing
the
pay-the-rich schemes that serve monopoly right over public right.
In Ontario, women in their
organizations, teachers and education workers, injured workers, trade
unions, childcare advocates, immigrant and anti-poverty groups,
seniors, health care workers and others are opposing the actions of
governments that are hitting at that which is important in the
functioning of a modern
society. They are demanding their rights to collective bargaining,
pensions, affordable childcare and housing, a living wage and health
care. Women, as part of the working class and people, demand
these rights as the producers of wealth and services that society needs
to exist whether in the private or public sector.
They are demanding control of the wealth produced and a say in the
direction of the economy. They are rejecting all theories that say that
workers are a cost of production are dispelling the neo-liberal outlook
that the services people require are not affordable.
In the Ontario by-elections
women have played a key role in fighting against those politicians who
are upholding the capital centred outlook of enforcing cuts to social
programs in order to pay off debts and make available huge amount of
capital to the financial oligarchy and monopolies claiming they are
needed
economic policies. Meanwhile the conditions facing the people are
worsening. Whatever is in the interests of the monopolies is always on
the government agenda. They never have to wait for the approval of
anyone as the political system provides for their needs while the
people are told to wait for balanced budgets
or the next election and voice their opposition at the ballot box.
Women are interested in opening up a path for progress
and they will continue to take the lead in organizing to empower
themselves and others to defeat those who stand in the way of rights
and a society fit for humans. In this way political representatives
will come forward who will unite the people who are
active and fighting to defeat the austerity agenda which is causing
havoc in people's lives.
The theme for this year's Toronto International Women's
Day Rally and March is "Women Taking Power." How are women doing this?
This is an important discussion facing the movement. Women are leading
as part of the fight for rights to ensure that the popular will becomes
the legal will; that the people
have the authority to ensure the realization of rights as a guarantee.
Working on how to do this is on the agenda for women as part of the
working people, youth and seniors. The initiative must be kept in their
hands. This takes place under difficult conditions whereby governments
use measures to sow doubt and
negate the people's ability to think. They do everything in their power
to suppress organized opposition and resistance to the cuts to social
programs, to the needs of society as outlined by the people themselves.
Governments use phony consultations cloaked in consensus
building which results in dictate and the negation of the demands
people have worked out. This was clearly seen in the Ontario
government's
fraudulent "Consensus Report" on Minimum Wage. The government
implemented a pro-poverty solution and the popular
demands of the people were ignored. The government's aim is to instill
powerlessness in collectives of people who are fighting. Whether in
education, child care, justice for injured workers, community health
care, housing, wages or pensions, their aim is to disempower and
suppress any organized opposition to their
austerity agenda and to impose their dictate by imposing laws,
"modernization" Acts and regulations to provide funds in service of the
financial oligarchy and monopolies.
Women are leaders in opposing this wrecking of society
and are discussing how to open a path for progress and what tactics are
needed in by-elections, general election and the upcoming federal
election. They are discussing how to be effective in ensuring that
people are activated and engaged in deciding themselves
the way forward to ensure the rights of all.
Join
in!
Build
Committees
for
People's
Empowerment!
No! to the Austerity Agenda!
Stop Paying the Rich! Increase Investments in Social Programs!
Our Security Lies in the Fight for the Rights of All
All Out for March 8, International Women's Day!
- Statement of IWD Edmonton, March 1,
2014 -
Women stand in the forefront of all the struggles for
rights, in Canada and the world over. For more than 100 years, on March
8 women have taken political action on an organized basis to affirm
their rights and for empowerment. On March 8, International Women's
Day, we will join millions of women around
the world who mobilize on IWD. Join in!
We are marching to oppose
the austerity agenda of
Harper, Redford and other governments, and their assault on public
services and the people who provide them, a majority of whom are women.
We demand that governments defend the public good and provide the
funding required for the social programs and
services which people need. This includes the right to health care,
care and security for seniors, childcare, education and recreation for
children and youth, and all the things human beings require to
flourish. No more privatization and wrecking of social programs to pay
the rich! Hands off public sector pensions! Yes
to pensions for all! Save our public post office!
We are marching to demand justice for murdered and
missing women! We condemn the racist and sexist government policies
which help perpetuate this violence, police negligence and the
indifference of the Harper government. We demand funding as a right for
the programs women need including sexual assault
centres, shelters and affordable housing.
We are marching to affirm new nation-to-nation relations
between First Nations and Métis and Canadians. We say no! to
Canada's ongoing colonial relationship with First Nations and
Métis peoples which has denied women their traditional place of
honour and leadership, a place which women have reclaimed
as they stand in the forefront of the struggles to defend the rights of
all.
 We are marching to express our
unity with women the
world over, especially those in the war-torn countries of the world and
all who face and resist imperialist aggression, occupation, intrigue
and threats. We stand with the women of Asia, Africa, Latin America and
the Caribbean who are fighting for their rights
and from whose sweat and blood the global monopolies and big powers and
countries such as Canada steal immense wealth. We oppose the Harper
government's worker-trafficking and demand that the temporary foreign
workers and live-in caregivers' programs be ended and replaced with
permanent residency for
temporary and undocumented workers on the basis of Status for All!
We are marching as one with women in Canada and the
world who are fighting to achieve their rights, and establish a humane
and modern world based on the affirmation of the rights of all! Bring
your banners and signs which highlight your work and demands! Bring
your co-workers and families -- all are
welcome!
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/IWDEdmonton,
email:
Edmontoniwd@gmail.com,
or contact
Merryn at 780-910-1951.
Read The Marxist-Leninist
Daily
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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