Asylum seekers and the hypocrisy of Canadian imperialism
- Details
- Joel Bergman
There has been a recent increase in the number of people crossing the U.S.-Canadian border seeking asylum in Canada. Right-wing nationalists in Quebec and Conservatives in English Canada have been using this question in a disgusting manner to sow fear and division, claiming that the border is a “sieve” and that “we shouldn't have to pay” for the influx of refugees, etc. These very same people maintain the hypocritical stance of supporting corporate bailouts and cuts to public services while claiming that there is no money to help people fleeing the racist demagogue south of the border. They also conveniently ignore the dastardly role that Canadian imperialism played in destabilizing Haiti.
Three years ago, the police murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO brought to the surface the brutality faced by the black and poor population of the city of St. Louis and its surrounding suburbs. Now, the city finds itself in the news again with a murderous police officer at the center of the story.
Fightback is supporting Niki Ashton in the NDP leadership race as the best opportunity to advance socialist ideas within the party. But as NDP members receive their leadership voting ballots, many are considering who to place as second preference. Fightback is recommending that those who have been enthused by Ashton’s candidacy, and who want to fight for socialism, do not issue a second preference in the vote. Instead, make a clear statement and continue the fight for socialist ideas inside and outside the party.
11 September, the national holiday of Catalonia, saw a round of mass protests and rallies for the right to self-determination of Catalonia and against the banning of the referendum by the central government. In the morning, there were several gatherings by various political parties. In the afternoon, there was a huge pro-independence demonstration, which according to the police, was attended by one million people. In the evening, a mass rally was held by the radical left, pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), under the slogan of “self-determination: independence, socialism, feminism”.
On Wednesday, September 13th, the Socialist Fightback club in Hamilton was hosting an “Introduction to Marxism” discussion group at the Mills Library on McMaster University. This meeting was directed towards new students who had just started their school terms and who we had been leafleting over the previous two weeks.
With the start of the new school term, local chapters of the Socialist Fightback Students (SFS) have been actively reaching out on the campuses to sign-up new members, distribute Marxist literature and hold our first events. Hundreds of students have signed-up and the end-of-week pub nights held in Toronto and Montreal were big successes. Additionally, the beginning of the week was marked by sizeable Labour Day parades in which impressive interventions were organized by Fightback.
