Mark Ferguson, the president of CUPE local 416, which represents 6,000 outside municipal workers in Toronto, emerged Sunday morning to announce that his bargaining team and the City of Toronto had reached a tentative settlement, preventing a lockout that was to commence that same day.  Although very little details have yet emerged of the agreement, it appears that the union leadership made "numerous concessions" that may cost thousands of jobs for outside public sector workers, and may weaken the resistance to capitalist austerity.

The recession following the 2008 banking crisis hit Alberta with mass service cuts and lost jobs.  Now, the Alberta ruling class, including the new premier, Alison Redford, pretend that the crisis never happened.  However, behind this happy façade, mass attacks are being prepared against Alberta workers.  As was demonstrated with the popularity of the Occupy movements in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta workers can be mobilized in a fight back against capitalist austerity.

In very quick succession, the bad news continues to rain down from the different layers of government in Ontario.  The Rob Ford municipal government in Toronto is making no effort to hide the fact that they are preparing a long lockout of city workers in January 2012.  Meanwhile, the provincial Liberals’ throne speech outlined historic cuts in provincial spending — even greater than those seen in the Mike Harris days. As 2011 comes to a close, it is appearing that Ontario workers will have the fight of their lives on hand in 2012.

The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) was decimated in Vancouver’s civic election on 19th November.  COPE lost both of its seats on city council, all of its seats on the parks board, and only managed to hang on to one seat on the school board.  Former city councillors Ellen Woodsworth and David Cadman were both quick to point the finger at prominent radical Tim Louis for the loss; in fact, the precise opposite is true.  It was years of tail-ending of Vision Vancouver by Woodsworth and Cadman that cost COPE the election.

The federal Conservative government has announced that it will dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board.  This is an attack on the viability of family farming in Canada and will only benefit the large multi-national agro-corporations. By extension, it is also an attack on all who work for a living: the youth, workers, and even small business owners. We must save the Wheat Board from this attack.

Judging from last night’s Ontario election results, it would not appear that we are currently living in the most turbulent time in several generations.  The disappointing campaigns of the three political parties — the Liberals, Tories, and NDP — carried through into the election where, for the first time in Ontario history, less than half of eligible voters found a reason to cast a ballot.  The CBC was vindicated in their decision to give preference to the Leafs’ 2-0 shutout of the Habs and punting election coverage to CBC News Network. The ineptness of the Liberals and Tories should come as no surprise; it is hard to build a campaign around cuts and austerity.  However, as we warned earlier, the NDP ruined all of the goodwill built up in the months before and squandered the opportunity to organize an opposition to the capitalist austerity that is to come.

At the time of writing, we are past the halfway mark of Ontario’s provincial election.  Many may find it surprising as this has probably been one of the most boring elections in recent memory, and largely ignored by most people.  Given the absence of any real platforms or solutions proposed for the crisis of capitalism, it is no wonder that people are paying more attention to Rob Ford, or even the Leafs’ training camp, than what the provincial party leaders are saying.  This includes the NDP who, up until this point, look like they are going to squander a wonderful opportunity to represent the interests of working-class Ontarians in the fight back against austerity.

On Saturday, 10th September, approximately 500 people attended a gathering at Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto to challenge the austerity cuts being put forward by Mayor Rob Ford. It was an impressive gathering with a large diversity of people, a visible fighting spirit, and a keen interest in politics by those in attendance. The attendance of this meeting shows the great potential and willingness of Toronto residents to fight against the upcoming cuts. We believe, however, that our friends at the Stop the Cuts Network made important mistakes that will seriously weaken the great potential of this gathering, and that an orientation to the workers' mass organizations is crucial in building up to a one-day Toronto general strike to reverse the cuts.

The International Marxist Tendency (Quebec), an organized collective within Quebec solidaire, has recently published an open letter aimed at activists within QS and the NDP, pushing for a united front against austerity.  The NDP, QS, and the trade unions are all organizations which can serve to unite the workers' resistance against the coming attacks by the Liberals and Parti Quebecois.

Ontario's provincial election is now in full swing.  Working-class Ontarians will have the opportunity to end 16 years of attacks by the Conservatives and Liberals — the parties of the Bay Street bosses.  We must use this election not only to push the NDP to stand on a solid socialist program, but to also build and strengthen a grassroots movement in the workplaces, campuses, and neighbourhoods — one that is capable of carrying out the necessary struggle against austerity and cuts.