Anti-scab legislation in Manitoba - it doesn't exist

59 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2009-03-12 15:42

genstrike

Wow, the Free Press managed to get something at least half right.

Quote:

Usually companies hire replacement workers quietly, knowing it's frowned upon by even the most lukewarm union supporter and knowing it exacerbates ill will between union and management.

Not Safeway. They took out quarter-page ads and held a job fair at a Polo Park hotel.

Anyway, that all begs the question - why does an NDP government led by the former boss of one of the province's most powerful unions not have anti-scab legislation?

Good question, especially when a major employer is preparing for a strike by hiring scabs.

I guess the answer to that would be that the government listens more to the business community than it does to labour and community groups.

Thu, 2009-03-12 17:14

madmax

Sounds like Safeway is going to win.

Sun, 2009-03-15 17:14

al-Qa'bong

Sounds like I'm going to keep buying my groceries at the Co-op.

Sun, 2009-03-15 17:28

Unionist

Manitoba labour law used to contain some variant of "hot goods" protection. Do you know genstrike (or anyone else) if that still exists? Wish I could be more specific, but it's an old memory.

Sun, 2009-03-15 21:35

Fidel

Anti-scab resolution on agenda for Manitoba NDP

Quote:

Other resolutions call for labour courses to be taught in high school and post-secondary institutions and for an apology to leaders of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

Winnipeg (3 March 2009) - Anti-scab legislation, and teaching labour in the schools, will be on the agenda when the Manitoba New Democratic Party meets this weekend for its provincial convention.

Among a total of 250 resolutions put forward for the March 6-8 gathering is a proposal calling on the provincial NDP government to prohibit the use of scab workers — strikebreakers — during legal strikes.

The resolution notes that the number and duration of strikes has been reduced in the only two provinces where such legislation exists - Quebec and B.C.

Meanwhile, a number of other resolutions call on the province to provide high school and post-secondary labour courses on the role that unions play in society. Such courses are needed to counter anti-union bias in the mainstream media, the resolutions argue.

The Brandon West constituency is proposing that labour history be made mandatory for Grade 9 students while the Interlake constituency is calling on the government to offer courses focusing on labour standards, trade unions, collective bargaining and labour rights. Workplace health and safety should be taught in schools, delegates will be told.

In additon, several Winnipeg area ridings are urging the province in another resolution to apologize to — and to exonerate — leaders of the historic 1919 Winnipeg General Strike in which a number of labour's leading voices were arrested, prosecuted and jailed for their role in what proved to be a pivotal chapter in the Canada's labour history.

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:25

genstrike

LOL!

Anti-scab legislation has been on the agenda for convention resolutions for years. Every year it is passed and then the year goes by with no anti-scab legislation. Because convention resolutions mean jack shit, the only people whose opinions matter in Manitoba are Gary Doer, his closest advisors, and the business community which has had Doer's ear since he got elected.

Besides, this year's convention was a joke, with the party brass and staffers scheming with the MFL brass to pass resolutions attacking students. I wasn't there, but I heard from a friend that some MYNDers were so disillunsioned with the party that they were ripping up their memberships on the convention floor.

Gary Doer wrote:
"Before the election I was asked by the business community 'Are you going to bring in anti-scab' and I said no,"

http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/09/20/mb_labour092000.html

In 2000:

Quote:
The Federation of Labour has once again put anti-scab legislation on the agenda at its annual convention in Brandon later this week.

2004:

Quote:

At the March 2004 Manitoba NDP convention, a huge majority of delegates endorsed resolutions supporting anti-scab legislation and calling for the Labour Board to have the power to approve automatic certification in situations where 50% plus one of members in a bargaining unit signed union cards. These proposals were not new; they have been party policy for many years. Nor was there anything new about Premier Doer’s response to these resolutions. On the contrary, when he was asked by Winnipeg Free Press reporters for his reaction, he declared that he was opposed to anti-scab legislation and saw no need to reduce the threshold for automatic certification from 65% to 50% plus one.

http://newsocialist.org/newsite/index.php?id=167

But hey, maybe in 2009 Gary Doer will change his mind. But I'm not holding my breath.

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:35

Aristotleded24

UFCW is reporting an 83% vote in favour of ratification.

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:37

genstrike

Aristotleded24 wrote:
UFCW is reporting an 83% vote in favour of ratification.

Yeah, but knowing how the UFCW operates in Manitoba, the contract probably sucks.

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:51

Fidel

At least they have some labour issues to deal with in Manitoba. No need for scabs in Iceland, or Liberal Ontariario with all the surplus workers and people of leisure created in recent months

Manitoba looks to Iceland for construction workers

Icelanders are feeling the effects of the neoliberal voodoo

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:51

#10

Unionist

I found it!!

Quote:
15(1) An employee who is in a unit of employees of an employer in respect of which there is a collective agreement in force and who refuses to perform work which would directly facilitate the operation or business of another employer whose employees within Canada are locked out or on a legal strike is not by reason of that refusal in breach of the collective agreement or of any term or condition of his employment and is not, by reason of that refusal, subject to any disciplinary action by the employer or the bargaining agent that is a party to the collective agreement.

[url=http://www.canlii.org/mb/laws/sta/l-10/20080616/whole.html][color=red]Ma... Labour Relations Act[/color][/url]

I don't know if any other jurisdiction has that. Do workers in Manitoba realize this section exists? Do they realize that unionized employees can refuse to handle hot goods, scab, etc. for another employer during a legal strike or lockout? It doesn't stop scabbing, but it can have an effect.

Of course, it would help if the MFL organized solidarity actions and hot goods boycotts with this legal underpinning, but from what genstrike is saying, that sounds unlikely.

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:55

#11

Aristotleded24

Fidel wrote:

At least they have some labour issues to deal with in Manitoba. No need for scabs in Iceland, or Liberal Ontariario with all the surplus workers and people of leisure created in recent months

Manitoba looks to Iceland for construction workers

So Fidel, why is Manitoba importing workers from Iceland when poverty persists among people who live here? Why not come down and I'll show you the less-fortunate people you trip over in the streets of downtown Winnipeg?

Sun, 2009-03-15 23:59

#12

Aristotleded24

Unionist wrote:
Of course, it would help if the MFL organized solidarity actions and hot goods boycotts with this legal underpinning, but from what genstrike is saying, that sounds unlikely.

The MFL thinks that all you have to do is have a perpetual NDP government (which is ridiculous, as in a multi-party the government will change hands from time to time) and they can talk to the powerful people and all will be well.

The worst part is they openly admit to these kinds of dishonest tactics and wonder why people are uniterested in politics.

Mon, 2009-03-16 00:08

#13

Fidel

Aristotleded24 wrote:
Fidel wrote:

At least they have some labour issues to deal with in Manitoba. No need for scabs in Iceland, or Liberal Ontariario with all the surplus workers and people of leisure created in recent months

Manitoba looks to Iceland for construction workers

So Fidel, why is Manitoba importing workers from Iceland when poverty persists among people who live here? Why not come down and I'll show you the less-fortunate people you trip over in the streets of downtown Winnipeg?

They need skilled workers, and money for jobs training to EI accessibility in Canada have been clawed back by the feds since Paulie Pockets. $130 billion dollare infrastructure deficit across Canada since the neoliberal witchdoctors began practising 2nd hand ideology in this Northern Puerto Rico. I never usually have to remind NDPers of this though, because they know all about the Liberals and what theyve pulled on workers in this country.

Of course, it would never dawn on those concerned that child poverty is a problem that persists across Canada regardless of provincial politics, and especially since 1991 when Ottawa began with the neoliberalorama and slashing tens of billions of dollars from social transfers to the provinces and territories.

Of 30 capitalist OECD countries, Canada ranks 25th for social spending.

Mon, 2009-03-16 00:20

#14

genstrike

Fidel wrote:

At least they have some labour issues to deal with in Manitoba

Try telling that to the next worker you see on the picket lines...

Mon, 2009-03-16 01:00

#15

Fidel

genstrike wrote:
Fidel wrote:

At least they have some labour issues to deal with in Manitoba

Try telling that to the next worker you see on the picket lines...

It took one NDP government to declare anti-scab law in Canada's largest province.

Nowadays they just legislate them back to work here in Liberal Ontario.

Wed, 2009-03-18 00:50

#16

Aristotleded24

Fidel wrote:
It took one NDP government to declare anti-scab law in Canada's largest province.

And it wasn't Gary Doer's NDP. As genstrike pointed out, there is no possibility of ever getting anti-scab under this current government because Doer himself said it will not happen.

Wed, 2009-03-18 03:32

#17

Fidel

Aristotleded24 wrote:

Fidel wrote:
It took one NDP government to declare anti-scab law in Canada's largest province.

And it wasn't Gary Doer's NDP. As genstrike pointed out, there is no possibility of ever getting anti-scab under this current government because Doer himself said it will not happen.

Theyre a lot more reliant on corporations and private sector ownership of the economy since Philmon conservatives began selling off publicly owned moneymakers in Manitoba, and less reliant on federal transfers since the neoliberal 80's and 90's. Same is true of Saskatchewan.

And as I was saying in another thread on a related matter when asked why small prairie provincial economies sandwiched between two of Canada's largest prov. economies dont just raise corporate income taxes to increase government revenues, it's because they are small provincial economies. There has been a race to the bottom with interprovincial competition to attract and maintain businesses and jobs.

Ottawa has the real clout to raise corporate tax revenues, as well as overall taxation across the country, and with that money the power to invest in people and infrastructure, the very things which appeal to capitalists wanting to invest in a country with productive and highly skilled labour. But the feds have been feigning impotence since Mulroney due to an ideology which says let big business work wonders and crap blunders. And as it turns out, this ideology failed around the world a number of times from last century to this one. It doesnt work any better today than it did in 1929 America, 1985 Chile, 1987 America. 1990s Russia and S. Africa and so on.

Fri, 2009-05-08 03:17

#18

bush is gone ha...

Fidel, in Manitoba, the NDP is not socialist, they even hate it if you call them that.

So I assume they are Liberal party No.2

where I worked people were new to the country or if born and raised here, were not schooled in labour laws and rights. So, many were fired for talking union, getting injured or hospitalised etc. Laws are not enforced, Years ago (2003 I think) I went to the labour board and asked for some info on workers getting canned for getting diagnosed with something and the first thing they said was if there was a union. I said no, and that is why this shit is going on. He just said sorry not my job and sent me away. I went to Employment standards and they just gave me a pamphlet telling me that yes I am owed unpaid stuff. Needless to say with no way to fight I got ill and quit in 2004.

That bureaucratic shit rubbed me the wrong way and this is what my impression of middle class, government, NDP, and business unionism. My former co-workers hated the NDP, and politics in general because of bitter experience.

Fri, 2009-05-08 03:27

#19

Fidel

You should think about moving to Liberal BC or Ontario, or even Conservative Alberta - all provinces where [url=http://www.mromagazine.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=98620&issue=04132009]... rates[/url] have risen above that of NDP Manitoba's - an NDP province with one of the lowest costs of living in Canada.

Fri, 2009-05-08 08:48

#20

Unionist

bush is gone happy happy happy wrote:

That bureaucratic shit rubbed me the wrong way and this is what my impression of middle class, government, NDP, and business unionism. My former co-workers hated the NDP, and politics in general because of bitter experience.

You heard what Fidel said. Tell your co-workers how lucky they are.

Fri, 2009-05-08 13:01

#21

Fidel

[url=http://www.psac-afpc.org/news/2007/issues/20070410-e.shtml]See how MPs voted on the third reading of Bill C-257 defeated on March 21, 2007[/url]

All NDP MP's consistently voted for anti-scab legislation through all three readings of the bill. Not so for Liberal MP abstainers when rubber met pavement.

Fri, 2009-05-08 13:32

#22

Michelle

What does that have to do with Manitoba?

Fri, 2009-05-08 13:47

#23

Fidel

Michelle wrote:

What does that have to do with Manitoba?

Is Manitoba considered a country separate from Canada? Because If passed at the federal level, anti-scab would have dealt with any and all economic sectors affected by Canadian Labour Code. But Liberals who pretended to be for anti-scab fell off the wagon when it came to voting with the Tories and against such progressive labour legislation. And C257 would have affected all provinces and territories equally so as not to create scab labour disadvantages in one province over another.

Fri, 2009-05-08 14:04

#24

Michelle

What does that have to do with the Manitoba NDP not putting such legislation forth?

Fri, 2009-05-08 14:35

#25

Unionist

Fidel is right. When in opposition, the NDP always votes the right way.

ETA: I guess I should point out that the above is sarcasm. Fidel's point about the federal NDP voting (like the BQ) consistently in favour of anti-scab legislation merely highlights the utter hypocrisy of the Manitoba and Saskatchewan parties. As for Fidel's claim that a federal ban would be of some overarching consequence, that's just plain nutty. Fewer than 10 percent of workers would be affected. A ban in Ontario alone would exceed that.

Fri, 2009-05-08 14:56

#26

Fidel

Michelle wrote:

What does that have to do with the Manitoba NDP not putting such legislation forth?

Manitoba's is a small prairie provincial economy forced to compete for jobs with much larger economies to the east and west. This is the way it is since top-down from Ottawa neoliberal agenda was set in motion by Mulroney and expanded under successive federal Liberal governments.

At the same time, 80% of Canadian provinces have no anti-scab legislation in place, so it's not like Manitoba's NDP is unique in this regard. The only two provinces which do are BC(Harcourt's NDP) and PQ with BC's large resource economy not in direct competition for oil and gas sector jobs with Alberta next door. We need federal anti-scab legislation in place to exert pressure on all provinces simultaneously to enact provincial level laws, as well as to avoid encouraging dog-eat-dog competition for jobs between provinces when one province attempts to take a lead on progressive labour legislation, like Rae's NDP government in 1990s Ontario. There are consequences for anti-scab in one province and not others, if its not done fairly and in unison, is what I'm saying. No one asks why the current onus for enacting anti-scab should be placed with small prairie economies to lead the way for the other 90% of workers in Canada or whatever the number is.

These anti-provincial NDP arguments tend to follow the same formula. We tend to be encouraged by posters like the above to accept things at face value about provincial NDP governments without understanding the top-down nature of the neoliberal order of things in our Northern Puerto Rico since Mulroney, Chretien and so on.

In 2007, [url=http://www.dangrice.com/?q=node/68]BC Green Party Candidate Democracy Dan[/url] said:

Quote:
With our garbage collectors and other civic employees going on strike in Vancouver, it is time that British Columbia (and Canada) set up labour courts as they have in Sweden. Neither employers nor unions seem to be able negotiate in good faith, and a permanent, publicly funded court of labour would take the heat of the bargaining process and ensure stability in this country. There would be no need for anti-scab laws, as strikes and lockouts would be a thing of the past and it would remove biased politicians from the process. There would be a judicial representative as well as representative chosen by labour balanced by a representative chosen from business community. Neither would be able to participate if they or a family member worked for the company or involved directly in the dispute.

Fri, 2009-05-08 16:07

#27

Unionist

Fidel wrote:
Manitoba's is a small prairie provincial economy forced to compete for jobs with much larger economies to the east and west.

Good point. Maybe if Manitoba repealed public auto insurance and home care, they could be even more competitive.

Fri, 2009-05-08 16:22

#28

Fidel

Unionist wrote:

Fidel wrote:
Manitoba's is a small prairie provincial economy forced to compete for jobs with much larger economies to the east and west.

Good point. Maybe if Manitoba repealed public auto insurance and home care, they could be even more competitive.

Manitoba's public auto insurance was in place years before Liberals and Tories sold Canadians down the river with CUSFTA-NAFTA, and now with the Campbell Liberals pushing TILMA.

[url=http://www.nupge.ca/news_2008/n23se08b.htm]Larry Brown for NUPGE said:[/url]

Quote:

We've always known that NAFTA, and all the other trade deals our governments have signed on to, act as a huge brake on the development of new public programs. The government of New Brunswick backed off introducing public auto insurance because this would have opened them up to a NAFTA challenge. If we succeed in getting a new national Pharmacare program we will have to fight U.S. drug companies and insurance companies who will argue that their inalienable right to gouge consumers is being compromised, which is not allowed under NAFTA or other trade deals.

Progressives, repeat after me, "I refuse to continue making lame excuses for our rightwing ideologues in Ottawa since 25 years ago."

Fri, 2009-05-08 16:31

#29

Unionist

If the NDP takes power in Ottawa, they'll have to abolish medicare, EI, the CPP, the Charter, the Canada Labour Code, and same-sex marriage - otherwise watch those jobs and investments flow south.

It's probably not safe to elect an NDP government federally or provincially until we have the strongest economy in the world. Then we could maybe afford a few social reforms without risking instant catastrophic economic collapse.

Thanks for helping me see it so clearly.

Fri, 2009-05-08 16:51

#30

Fidel

Unionist wrote:

If the NDP takes power in Ottawa, they'll have to abolish medicare, EI, the CPP, the Charter, the Canada Labour Code, and same-sex marriage - otherwise watch those jobs and investments flow south.

That makes no sense whatsoever. Try this on for size:

Imagine, if you will, several twigs hung out to dry in the summer heat. Any of the twigs alone can easily be broken in two by someone using just their fingers.

But gather a few dozen twigs and tie them together in a tight bundle, and then try to break them using your hands.

United we stand, divided we fall. And our two old line parties have worked oh-so diligently in dividing Canadian provincial interests(and those of workers) against the other. We need strong national leadership in Ottawa which has been missing for too many decades in a row on account of their following second-hand neoliberal ideology now falling down around everyone's ears as far as the wind blows.

The same goes for workers across Canada, if bound and protected by a single strand of national policy instead of each province left to fend for themselves in a North American world where powerful corporations operate at supranational levels, and especially so since our rigthwing ideologues signed trade deals 1989 and 1994 which put Canada's provinces at great disadvantage for creating made-in-Canada economic and social policies.

Fri, 2009-05-08 17:16

#31

Unionist

Fidel wrote:

Imagine, if you will, several twigs hung out to dry in the summer heat. Any of the twigs alone can easily be broken in two by someone using just their fingers.

Ok, got it now. The Manitoba NDP is like one of those twigs. If they enact anti-scab legislation, all alone, they'll be broken in two. Right?

Fri, 2009-05-08 17:27

#32

Fidel

Unionist wrote:

Fidel wrote:

Imagine, if you will, several twigs hung out to dry in the summer heat. Any of the twigs alone can easily be broken in two by someone using just their fingers.

Ok, got it now. The Manitoba NDP is like one of those twigs. If they enact anti-scab legislation, all alone, they'll be broken in two. Right?

In the context of the size of provincial economies on either side of Manitoba and the likelihood for certain kinds of jobs to be shifted in either direction given certain incentives to do so, Manitoba is the smallest twig laid out to dry on the picnic table. Big old Ontario has no such law since Harris reversed the NDP's anti-scab legislation, and Saskatchewan is the next smallest prairie twig vulnerable to certain Darwinian forces emanating from Alberta to their west.

Fri, 2009-05-08 17:32

#33

Unionist

Right, well, that's what I said. In unity there is strength. In the absence of unity, capitulation is in order.

Fri, 2009-05-08 17:53

#34

Fidel

[url=http://jobsworthfightingfor.ca/factsheets/online/british_columbia_albert... TILMA fact sheet[/url]

Quote:
Labour standards and related measures are explicitly included as general exceptions to TILMA, but due to the limited scope of this exception there is a serious risk that it will be limited to the labour mobility provisions of TILMA. This would allow companies to challenge measures, such as a ban on the use of replacement workers or any other labour standard, as impairing or restricting their trade and investment rights.

While Liberal and Tory governments in BC and Alberta collude to undermine workers' rights in those two larger provincial economies, Manitoba's NDP has refused to sign-on to these fascist NAFTA-lite agreements.

Fri, 2009-05-08 18:16

#35

Unionist

This month is the 90th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike. Those workers took to the streets and fought, without any guarantee of success. One of their leaders was J.S. Woodsworth. He and they didn't say, "wait till we come to power federally"; "wait till we're stronger"; "let's be nice to the mega-wealthy so we can attract investment".

It would be fitting if the Manitoba government did something pro-worker this month to commemorate that historic struggle.

I'm not holding my breath.

Fri, 2009-05-08 18:35

#36

Fidel

Woodsworth never heard of NAFTA or neoliberal voodoo then either.

And in the same vein, I'll ignore everything youve said in kind. No more NAFTA conspiracy theories from me. It's all good. I'll now restart the actual thread topic of discussion with, That Bahahahad NDP government in Manitoba ... Carry on.

Fri, 2009-05-08 18:40

#37

Unionist

I wonder how it feels - judging people by who they are, rather than by what they do.

Fri, 2009-05-08 18:52

#38

remind

I wasn't holding my breath either on the International Day of Mourning for workers of the world who lost their lives on the job.

Fri, 2009-05-08 19:16

#39

Unionist

[url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/replacement-worker-legislation-la... the March Safeway strike[/color][/url]

Quote:
Company job fairs promising replacement workers $11 an hour -- a wage higher than the starting rate for union members -- have riled the United Food and Commercial Workers and renewed calls for replacement-worker laws in Manitoba. [...]

"Maybe the government really needs to pass anti-scab legislation to stop this," said [UFCW spokesperson Blake] Crothers.

B.C. and Quebec are the only provices that have replacement-worker legislation.

When asked why Manitoba's NDP government has no such legislation, a spokeswoman for Labour Minister Nancy Allan said [b][i]"The minister is unable to comment on legislation that does not exist."[/i][/b]

Fri, 2009-05-08 19:46

#40

Fidel

Are you sure your babble handle isnt, Divisionist, with a capital D?

Fri, 2009-05-08 19:49

#41

Fidel

Union workers in Liberal BC are living a fool's paradise with Campbell's TILMA designed to lay waste to the BCNDP's anti-scab law at some point.

Fri, 2009-05-08 23:42

#42

Fidel

Unionist wrote:
It's probably not safe to elect an NDP government federally or provincially until we have the strongest economy in the world. Then we could maybe afford a few social reforms without risking instant catastrophic economic collapse.

Thanks for helping me see it so clearly.

Larry Brown, myself, dozens of NAFTA lawyers and federal Liberals who let the wool be pulled over eyes by the Yanquis have no idea what youre talking about.

FYI, the general overall view on the left is that Canada has always had the natural resource wealth to pay for social programs. The feds choose not to raise overall taxation to even the OECD average level, and Canada is no where close to the EU-15 average. It's not a matter of whether the economy is strong enough - Canada's economy has returned to hewer and drawer status as of 2005, with a prior period of neoliberal adventurism into service sector and "information economy" that never was, and is now going away. The second-hand neoliberal ideology is not working for Canadians, who live in a rich country and not enjoying one of the highest rates of lowly paid employment among richest countries. The Liberals and Tories have fumbled the ball on the economy, once again. The two old line parties were fresh out of made-in-Canada approaches to mixed market economies about three decades ago.

Social democracy is never going to materialize in Canada without strong federal government in Ottawa. We need a federal NDP government if Canada is to be a social democracy the likes of Sweden and Norway and Dennmark ruled by social democrats in power or in strong political opposition roles for a long time running.

Fri, 2009-05-08 23:43

#43

Unionist

Premier Gary Doer, September 2000 wrote:

"Before the election I was asked by the business community 'Are you going to bring in anti-scab' and I said no," says Premier Gary Doer.

And a promise is a promise.

Fri, 2009-05-08 23:52

#44

Fidel

I wish there was an ignore feature with this new forum s/w. It would make it so much easier for people like me who realize we're sometimes arguing with people who dont give a damn.

Fri, 2009-05-08 23:56

#45

Unionist

Fidel, this thread is about the Manitoba NDP being in power most of the time since 1969 and never enacting anti-scab legislation. If talking about that distresses you (as it should), perhaps you stepped into the wrong thread? I lived there, I was a member of that party, and the way Gary Doer talks is indistinguishable from any two-bit Liberal. We've had better NDP governments and leaders in Manitoba in the past, and I fervently hope we'll have better ones in the future - but it won't happen by suckholing and covering up and shutting one's eyes and calling names at anyone who speaks the truth.

Sat, 2009-05-09 00:18

#46

genstrike

Unionist wrote:

Premier Gary Doer, September 2000 wrote:

"Before the election I was asked by the business community 'Are you going to bring in anti-scab' and I said no," says Premier Gary Doer.

And a promise is a promise.

Except when Doer is promising to continue the tuition freeze. Then a promise is "open to interpretation"

Sat, 2009-05-09 00:27

#47

Fidel

It's like youve been asleep since 1984.

[url=http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/bullet139.html]Socialist Project, Canada[/url]

Quote:
The fundamental premise of the postwar 'social contract' in Canada, as elsewhere among the northern capitalist states, was establishing some minimal floor of social and economic security. The period of post-war and depression reconstruction was best captured by the 1943 Report on Social Security which would inform the next 30 years of largely federally-driven welfare state building in Canada. This redistributional bargain was built into the institutions of federalism in Canada, particularly through federal transfers but also by Federal government administrative and policy oversight.

Today, in contrast, the Harper government is proposing to build on the defunding and deconstruction which took place under the Mulroney and Chrétien governments. Together these governments brought Canadians a deepening insecurity through the effective constitutionalization of free trade and an unprecedented retreat of the federal state from the funding of social programs. Recent suggestions that the provinces may be provided more economic autonomy is a program to further constrain what is left of the Canadian social security state. As it is the social program fabric of Canada, given that the provinces are responsible for program delivery, is increasingly a hodge-podge of unequal access, quality and coverage. Greater decentralization without fiscal capacity, that is the ability to fund programs, will assuredly translate into greater inequality. No doubt, as has been the case elsewhere, devolution to subnational levels of government, whether local or provincial, sets the stage for a race to the bottom as these jurisdictions compete with each other to win investment and curry favour with capital by cutting taxes and rolling back social security.

The centralizing agenda of Harper's Conservative government, particularly as it relates to political and state personnel, has its counterpart in this decentralizing agenda with respect to social and redistributional policies. It is one of the key areas that Canadian neoliberals are keen to act further upon. This is framed in terms of the Conservative's 'strict constitutionalism' in assessing the federal division of powers in Canada: the federal government should not be involved in policy areas, such as health, education, welfare, culture, that are allocated as provincial powers in the Canadian constitution. This is the neoliberal competition state further displacing the welfare state. It is also Harper's vision for Canada, and forms the basis for the Conservative election platform.

Sat, 2009-05-09 00:28

#48

genstrike

Fidel wrote:

I wish there was an ignore feature with this new forum s/w. It would make it so much easier for people like me who realize we're sometimes arguing with people who dont give a damn.

You could always ignore people. That works too.

Sat, 2009-05-09 00:29

#49

Fidel

And which federal party does the Canadian Federation of Students give highest marks to?

Sat, 2009-05-09 00:33

#50

Fidel

genstrike wrote:

Fidel wrote:

I wish there was an ignore feature with this new forum s/w. It would make it so much easier for people like me who realize we're sometimes arguing with people who dont give a damn.

You could always ignore people. That works too.

I can do it to a point except when rabid anti-NDPers post false or misleading information. Then youre cruisin for a bruisin'

Sat, 2009-05-09 00:36

#51

Unionist

Ok, children, today we're going to learn the letter "H".

What do you call someone who supports anti-scab legislation federally, but not in Manitoba?

Anti-scab legislation in Manitoba - it doesn't exist

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