In
early June, antipoverty activists trashed the constituency office of Ontario
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. They overturned desks, smashed glass and threw a
microwave oven out of the building in what they called a “mock eviction.” They
were protesting the fact that 2,000 people are evicted from their homes every
month in the province of Ontario, Canada’s largest province.
Activists from the Ontario Coalition against Poverty called the action an
“office eviction.” Welcome to post-Quebec City Ontario. OCAP is planning to
bring the fury of the anti-globalization movement home. Here is how OCAP
describes their campaign on their web site (www.ocap.ca)
First of all, the underlying motivation behind this campaign is a determination
to fight to win. All challenges to Harris (Mike Harris, right-wing Premer of
Ontario) so far… have been limited by the notion that it is possible to somehow
get the Government to listen and change course. We say that such appeals are
futile. The Tories (Conservatives) can’t be reasoned with or convinced to change
their policies by means of moral pressure. To stop them, we must mobilize in a
fashion that creates a political crisis and brings the Government to its knees.
OCAP, which organized a militant demonstration that turned violent on the steps
of the Ontario legislature last June 15, is bringing those confrontational
tactics closer to politicians’ homes. They are talking about a campaign of
economic disruption that would include school and workplace walk outs, blockades
and other direct action. And they might have a lot of allies. Over the last
month in Ontario, the devastation wrought by the Harris government is becoming
clearer and clearer. The poor were Harris’s first target. Harris combined
massive cuts to social assistance with a campaign of verbal abuse and forced
workfare against poor people. Ontario is so militant about its refusal to spend
any money on social housing that it is actually refusing money offered by the
федерална влада.
Сега
seniors are joining the poor on Harris’s hit list. A government appointed task
force conducted by those radical social activists Price Waterhouse Coopers
reported that there’s not enough money or staff for home care in Ontario and
that waiting lists are excessive. Two weeks before the report was issued, Harris
capped funding for home care at last year’s level.
Почетна
care is the most humane and caring of our health care services. Last year it was
home care workers who helped my father die in dignity at home where he wanted to
be and my 90 year old mother cope with his death. Putting him in a home would
have been an agony to my parents and an even greater expense to the state.
On
Tuesday, Harris told protesting seniors to shut up and be grateful they live in
the wonderful province of Ontario. `I would say to seniors in Ontario Thank God
you live in Ontario, the best province with the best services anywhere I know of
in the world.” ‘
Така
this week, People for Education revealed that Ontario is developing a two tiered
education system Parents in rich neighbourhoods are able to fundraise to replace
the cuts to education “Ontario parents raised approximately $33million this
year….parents who can afford it can augment what is missing in the system with
fundraising for textbooks, classroom supplies and library books, ” say the
group. The province can afford massive tax cuts for the rich but no text books
for public education. In Canada, the public school system still serves more than
90% of the population. The Harris Conservative seem bound and determined to
change that.
Потоа
in hearings on the controversial tax credit proposed for private schools, we
found out that the education minister had no research exploring the impact of
such a move on public education. Ideology and politics drive this government’s
agenda, they barely consider the social costs On June 16 youth groups are
organizing a free concert against Harris’s 60 hour work week. The new labour
legislation passed but not yet proclaimed not only increases work time, it also
makes it more difficult to qualify for overtime pay and permits employers to
schedule 12 days in a row of work without a break. OCAP may find more allies
than they think in their campaign to force Harris from office. It’s true that he
was elected. But he didn’t promise to wreck education, home care, labour
standards and public education in his election campaign, if memory serves.
на
same factors that drove thousands of youths to confront tear gas hurling riot
police could very well drive poor people, seniors, aboriginal people, high
school students, teachers, and workers in Ontario to make life for the Harris
government very difficult indeed.
Допаѓа
in Quebec City, the state came down quite heavily on OCAP protesters. OCAP
leaders John Clarke and Sean Lee-Popham have both been denied bail in their
first bail hearing. While charged with nothing more serious than mischief, both
have already been in jail for almost one month. Most labour unions came out in
solidarity with OCAP, especially once bail was denied. However, Canada’s most
militant union the Canadian Auto Workers is proposing to withdraw its funding of
OCAP over differences concerning tactics. Like in the anti-globalization
movement, confrontational or even violent tactics create divisions in the
движење.
OCAP
would argue the real violence is being perpetrated by the state against poor
people. They feel confrontational tactics are the only way to fight back
effectively. Bringing the energy and militancy of the anti-globalization
movement home is what OCAP is trying to do. If Harris keeps up his arrogant
attacks on just about everything people in Ontario hold near and dear, OCAP may
very well succeed.