The origins of racism

Racism is so embedded in our society that many people assume it has always existed. But, says Yuri Prasad, it is really a modern phenomenon that developed with capitalism

Yuri Prasad

The plague of racism continues to scar the world that we live in, even though there is no scientific basis whatsoever for the division of society into races. Race is a social construct that benefits our rulers.

The idea that people with different skin colours have different ideas and interests is a “common sense” one. The implication of this for many people is that prejudice is natural, and that any attempt to get rid of it is doomed. If this were true, racism would be a feature of all human societies in history. But this was not the case.

People in the ancient world did not regard skin colour as any more important than hair colour. Tomb paintings from ancient Egypt depict light, brown and black figures in a fairly random way. The Greeks and Romans did not believe that white skins were inherently superior. In fact, we can be almost certain that the Roman emperor Septimius Severus was black.

As the Trinidadian Marxist scholar CLR James put it, “Historically it is pretty well proved now that the ancient Greeks and Romans knew nothing about race. They had another standard—civilized and barbarian—and you could have white skin and be a barbarian and be black and civilized.”

And early explorers from medieval Europe did not believe their societies were necessarily superior to those that they visited. In 1600 a Dutch trader entering the city of Benin in west Africa wrote, “The city looks very big when you go into it. The houses in the town stand in good order as our Dutch houses are. These people are in no way inferior to the Dutch in cleanliness. They wash and scrub their houses so well that these are as polished as a looking glass.”

All sorts of prejudices thrived in pre-capitalist societies, such as the ignorance and suspicion of strangers. But racism differs from these. Racism exists where an entire group of people is systematically discriminated against on the basis of characteristics they are said to share. In some, but not all, circumstances the group is defined by certain physical characteristics, like skin colour.

The development of such a structured prejudice did not exist prior to capitalism, and a key phase within it—the transatlantic slave trade. Forms of slavery had existed in medieval societies all over the world. Between the tenth and sixteenth centuries, the chief source of slaves in western Europe was eastern Europe—the word “slave” comes from the word “Slav.”

But the slave trade took off on a massive scale when Portugal, Holland, England and France began growing sugar and tobacco in their colonies in the seventeenth century. These crops required an enormous amount of labour. At first plantation owners used “indentured servants” from Europe to provide it. These white-skinned debt-slaves were contracted to work for no wages for three to five years. Few survived that long. Soon the demand for labour was such that owners looked to Africa to supplement their numbers.

By 1653 African slaves in Barbados outnumbered white labourers by almost three to one. And while there were only 22,400 black people in the southern colonies of North America in 1700, there were 409,500 by 1770.

It is a common argument that slavery was the result of a racist worldview. Black historian Eric Williams challenged this. He wrote, “Slavery was not born of racism—rather, racism was the consequence of slavery.”
The slave traders and owners had previously looked to ancient Greek and Roman texts to justify their actions. These had suggested that the enslavement of those captured in “just wars”  was legitimate. But it was difficult to stretch that definition to the hundreds of thousands now being transported in the most horrific of conditions from Africa.

The thinkers of the European Enlightenment, who held that all men were created equal, were in a quandary. How could they explain away the fact that their prosperity was based on the enslavement of millions of people—and that those slaves were worked to death? In addition there was the problem of white indentured labourers making common cause with slaves and idigenous peoples to run away or attack their masters.
In response the plantation owners developed laws that outlawed association between white and black people. A new theory—that black people were not human beings, but were a sub-species more akin to animals—was developed to justify slavery. In 1771, the English philosopher David Hume wrote, “I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the Whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white. No ingenious manufacturers among them, no arts, no sciences.”

He was one of many who gave racism a “scientific” gloss. Soon theories abounded in which all peoples of the earth could be described as “white,” “black,” “brown,” “red” or “yellow.” These arbitrary categories were then placed in hierarchical order, with whites at the top.

Nevertheless, a powerful movement against slavery grew. On the plantations rebellions increasingly took on an insurrectionary character. In slave-holding nations, such as England and France, working-class opposition to the trade became increasingly militant.

The planters used the most barbaric repression to deter resistance. Slaves in Barbados who rebelled were punished by “nailing them down on the ground with crooked sticks on every limb, and then applying fire by degrees from feet and hands, burning them gradually up the head, whereby their pains are extravagant.” Those whose profits depended on slavery resorted to all manner of slurs in a vain attempt to resist abolition.
Racism did more than justify the oppression of black slaves. It also served as a means of dividing the poor by tying the interests of impoverished white farmers to those of the slave‑owning white elite. Racism offered destitute whites the idea that they were supposedly superior to slaves, even if their conditions were not all that different. This reduced the chances of class conflict.

Frederick Douglass, the great anti-slavery campaigner, noted, “The hostility between the whites and blacks of the [U.S.] South is easily explained. It has its root and sap in the relation of slavery, and was incited on both sides by the poor whites and blacks by putting enmity between them. They divided both to conquer each.”

The “usefulness” of racism to the capitalist class is the chief reason why the ideology survived the end of the slave trade in the nineteenth century. It is a means to divide the poor and to divert their attention away from the real causes of their misery.

Now the domination of the world by a handful of European powers, or “Europeanized” powers such as the U.S., was justified by a racist assumption that whites should “civilize” colonial nations. According to Rudyard Kipling, the poet of British Empire, this was the “White Man’s Burden.”

Racism got a further theoretical boost from a form of “science” that distorted Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Now the different races were said to be suited to differing roles in society because of a difference in their biologies.

While the forms of racism have changed over the centuries, it remains a fundamental part of capitalist society today. Despite the great efforts of the bosses, racism was never automatically accepted by the working class—neither in days of slavery nor in much more recent times. Peter Fryer documents hundreds of acts of resistance to racism in his outstanding book, Staying Power: The history of black people in Britain.
One such episode is a mass meeting organized by radicals in Sheffield in 1794. Thousands of artisans unanimously passed a resolution calling for emancipation of black slaves. “Wishing to be rid of the weight of oppression under which we groan, we are induced to compassionate those who groan also,” declared the Yorkshiremen, before pledging to “avenge peacefully ages of wrongs done to our Negro Bretheren.” Since the days of slavery, the battle to “avenge the wrongs” of racism has been a continual theme in British working-class politics.

The long tradition of militant resistance to racism remains the best answer to those who try to excuse prejudice by claiming that it is just part of human nature.

This article originally appeared in Socialist Worker (UK) on July 9, 2011:
www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=25296

The Egyptian Revolution: What’s next?

After the fall of Mubarak, the movement enters its second phase

Jesse McLaren

Despite the removal of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, his regime is still intact: the emergency laws and military trials of civilians are still in effect; police cracked down on demonstrators on Nakba Day and beat a bus driver to death in June; the regime recently arrested journalist Rasha Azab and interrogated journalist and activist Hossam el-Hamalawy; the regime censored murals commemorating martyrs and arrested the street artist Ganzeer for producing an image that criticizes Egypt’s military dictatorship.

Like the decade of struggle leading up the revolution, these political questions are part and parcel of social and economic demands. Workers are demanding a monthly minimum wage of 1,200 Egyptian pounds ($200). Women demonstrated in Tahrir on International Women’s Day for government-funded childcare, an end to discrimination in hiring and promotions, and an end to sexual harassment and violence against women. Peasants have begun reclaiming the land. In early June families of martyrs demanding justice joined a sit-in by homeless people demanding housing.

But these demands challenge the military regime and the corporations that support them, which persist despite Mubarak’s overthrow. As a striking doctor said, “Every percentage point for increasing health care will come from the budget of the Ministry of Interior and other parts of the oppressive machine.” The same economic crisis that contributed to the revolution is driving a deeper wedge between political reforms gained and the social and economic demands that have yet to be met. The stock market even panicked at a raise in the minimum wage to 700 pounds.

The Arab Spring is a huge threat to Western imperialism in the region, and the counter-revolution is taking a variety of forms: direct military intervention in Libya, indirect intervention through Saudi Arabia in Bahrain, and a combination of weapons sales and “financial aid” in Egypt. But with the Eurozone in crisis, the funds are relatively small for such a large and strategic country as Egypt, and the government was just forced to reject the loan, citing the “pressure of public opinion.” Meanwhile the internal counter-revolution in Egypt is based on a combination of co-opting and attacking the revolution.

While corporations and the regime are claiming the mantle of the revolution—on murals and posters—they are attacking the strength and unity on which the revolution depends. One of the first acts of the military regime after the fall of Mubarak was to ban strikes that helped drive him from power, and since then it has broken up sit-ins and harassed union activists in education and transportation. It has also overseen attacks on the International Women’s Day March—including subjecting women to virginity tests—and the burning of a Coptic church.

The regime has accused striking doctors (who earn less than $3 per day) of being traitors to the revolution, while the state-controlled trade unions have accused the independent trade unions of being “counter-revolutionary among the workers.” Just as Stalin’s counter-revolution used the language of socialism, so the military regime in Egypt is using the language of revolution in an attempt to undermine the movement for change.
The leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood is complicit with the military regime in its quest for power, using religious language to call off demonstrations. But many of its membership, particularly the youth, were radicalized by the revolution and continue to demonstrate.

In this context workers’ struggles are key to counter divisions and push the revolution forward. As Hossam el-Hamalawy wrote in the Guardian:

“Many are disappointed with Egypt’s progress—me less so because I never had high expectations from an army takeover. But two things have changed in Egypt in the past 100 days which give me hope, and both relate to the fact that the revolution is unfinished.

“The first is that mass strikes are continuing. The second is that workers have taken the step of establishing independent trade unions, which I believe are the silver bullet for any dictatorship.
“Attempts are already under way by middle-class activists to place limits on this revolution and ensure it remains only within the realm of formal political institutions. But the main part of any revolution has to be socio-economic emancipation for the citizens of a country.

“So this is phase two of the revolution, the phase of socio-economic change. What we need to do now is take Tahrir to the factories, the universities, the workplaces. In every single institution in this country there is a mini-Mubarak who needs to be overthrown. In every institution there are figures from the old state security regime who need to be overthrown.”

In neighbourhoods the Popular Committees to Defend the Revolution have continued to advocate for better services and to remove corrupt officials. In workplaces more than 150 independent unions have formed since the fall of Mubarak—from textile and aluminum workers, to postal and hospital workers, and even workers who issue marriage licenses. In March doctors organized national strikes demanding better wages for all workers, the removal of corrupt officials, and an increase in the health budget from 3 to 15 per cent of GDP. On March 25 an independent union uniting all hospital workers was launched in Cairo, and three days later the hospital director resigned. In April postal workers from across Egypt met to organize an independent union.

According to Adil Hisham, a postal worker: “Alongside supporting workers’ demands, we’ll be working on setting up our independent union as quickly as possible. … Now is the time for workers in Egypt to set up independent organizations to defend themselves from the bosses’ attacks, and to unite their demands in the wake of the victory of the revolution which opened the door to all workers to get organized and speak with one voice.”

On May Day, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Unions mobilized the first national public demonstration for workers in over 60 years, and the Democratic Workers’ Party was launched to represent workers demands: raise the minimum wage, remove corrupt managers, renationalize privatized industries, and end Egypt’s ties with Israel.

In the first week of June there were strikes or protests by flight attendants, petrol workers, subway workers, and Parliament workers, while a pharmacists’ union formed. Meanwhile protesters marked the anniversary of the death of Khaled Said by chanting outside the Interior Ministry and spray-painting his face all over the notorious building—while vans full of riot police watched passively. Suez Canal workers went on strike for two weeks. In mid-June hundreds of British trade unionists sent a solidarity message, demanding the Egyptian regime respect the right to strike and protest, and the British government stop selling weapons used to suppress strikes and protests.

The Egyptian Revolution is inspiring people all over the world. Shortly after the fall of Mubarak workers in Wisconsin occupied the Capitol Building, inspired by the revolution and received solidarity messages from Egypt. Then Tahrir arrived in Madrid as tens of thousands occupied the main square against austerity. In Canada Parliamentary page Brigette DePape interrupted the Throne Speech calling for an Arab Spring in Canada.

Though our conditions are different, we too have been inspired by Palestinian resistance and mobilized against the Iraq War; we too are mobilizing against police indifference and injustice, from the missing and murdered Aboriginal women to the mass arrests at the G20; we too have lived through a generation of neoliberal policies, and are facing an austerity agenda; we too are facing attacks on our trade unions, but are starting to fight back.

That’s why we need to learn more from the Egyptian Revolution. As an Egyptian activist said recently, “If you’re inspired by our Arab revolutions, do as we did. You need one. I know you need one. And we need you to do one. It’s not just an Arab Spring, it’s a world spring.”

Jesse McLaren recently spent one week in Cairo for a conference about the Arab revolutions. This article originally appeared on Your Heart’s on the Left on June 26, 2011: yourheartsontheleft.blogspot.com

Ontario: the land of the high fees

Annie Burns-Pieper

As the winter semester is coming to an end, you may be sitting down and taking a look at your finances. If you think this is a scary prospect, you’re not alone.

Over the past two decades, tuition fees have increased dramatically in Canada. This has primarily been a result of cuts in transfer payments from the government to universities. Although the picture is different across the provinces, there continues to be a tension between institutions and students when it comes to financing post- secondary education.

Last month McGill University was in the news. It was fined $2.1 million, to be taken from provincial subsidies, for charging MBA students nine times the provincial limit. The university argued that the fees were necessary to improve the program. McGill plans to increase MBA tuition for the next academic year by $3,000.

Like McGill, other universities have adopted the privatization model: Queen’s University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Western Ontario. By privatizing these MBA programs, universities can bypass provincial limits for tuition fees. This has made these programs the most expensive in the country. MBA programs averaged $28,773 a year for an Executive Master of Business Administration.

Another headline from March was that Dalhousie University would be selling ten seats in its medicine program to Saudi students for $75,000 each. The response from the institution was that this was necessary in order to improve the program. Recruiting international students who pay much higher tuition fees is another strategy universities are using to fund programs. Canada receives large numbers of students from China, South Korea, the United States, India and France.

Even though Canadian students pay less for tuition, students in Ontario are paying the highest undergraduate and graduate tuition fees in the country. Undergraduate students in Ontario are paying an average of $6,307 a year, almost $800 more than the province with the second highest tuition, New Brunswick, according to Statistics Canada. The provinces where undergrads pay the lowest tuition are Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. Students in Quebec actually pay almost one third of the tuition Ontario students pay, $2,415 and $6,307 respectively.

Students in Ontario have also seen the biggest increase in tuition fees from 2009/10 to 2010/2011. Tuition has risen by 5.4 per cent in undergraduate programs. Last year Nova Scotia was the only province in which tuition fees were reduced, by an average of $257 for this academic year.

On average in Canada, graduate students pay similar fees to undergraduates. Students in graduate programs pay the most in Nova Scotia, an average of $7,350 a year, and Ontario, an average of $6,917 a year. Again, Ontario had the largest increase in tuition: this time, a 10.7 per cent increase over the 2009/2010 academic year.

Although tuition fees in Quebec have been frozen for all but 10 of the past 43 years, they are set to increase for the 2011/12 academic year. Fees will rise by $325 a year, over five years. This will bring tuition fees to $3,793 per year for Quebec residents, which would still leave the province with some of the lowest tuition fees in the country if changes are not made by other provinces to reduce tuition.

Young people in Canada collectively have over $13 billion of federal student debt. That number doesn’t include money owed to provincial student loans, to their families or to credit cards or student lines of credit.

Debt and fear of debt have been shown to be deterrents for people from low- and middle-income families to attend university, according to the Canadian Federation of Students. Research from the University of British Columbia has shown that higher debt also correlates with the non-completion of degrees.

The problem is that continued increases in tuition fees have the potential to change the demographics of Canadian universities. Universities will have to find a solution, which allows for the improvement of programs but also provides access to higher education for students from all income groups.

Royal Wedding Excitement

“Waity Katie” waits no more

Priyanka Jain

I’ve always been a big dreamer. Besides being a journalism student, I fantasize about many other aspects of my life. Growing up, I was convinced I was going to be famous. I can’t really tell you what kind of famous, but let’s just say when I watched a Broadway show, I envisioned the main girl to be me. When I watched American Idol, the winner (not contestant) was me.

Well, fame hasn’t exactly found me yet. But that’s okay, because Kate Middleton has reassured me that my normal life could suddenly change, all in the name of love.

I must say, the future Queen has done quite well for herself. Not only did she catch the eye of a charming young man, but she managed to score the future King – now that’s something to be proud of. On April 29, Kate Middleton will have her fairy tale wedding, and people all around the world will be tuning in to be part of the celebration.

There has been a lot of hype around wedding preparation, as everything is being done in privacy, and will be revealed the day of. This includes the guest list, the kind of cutlery that will be used, the hymns that will be sung, the famous performers, and most notably, Middleton’s wedding dress. I wonder if they will go as far as having a back-up wedding dress in case the original gets stolen, like they did for Princess Diana. Apparently, there will be at least two security guards guarding the dress.

Although reports have said that Middleton and William want to keep their wedding simple and have only close family and friends attend, realistically, that won’t be happening. There is no way the future King will be able to pull off an average and intimate wedding, regardless of the fact that his future wife is not royalty.

It really is a matter of “Go big or go home” for the couple. April 29 has even been made a public holiday. Not many people can say a national holiday was made in honour of their wedding day. Then again, we are talking about the future King and his wife.

I do wonder however, how daunting this all must be for Middleton. She was an average girl who fell in love with a prince while studying at university. And now, eight years later, she’s accustomed to the aristocratic lifestyle, and is expected to present herself to perfection. She must watch her language, maintain proper etiquette, and of course, adopt the traditional conservative dress sense.

That said, however, not every girl can say she’s found her prince charming. Kate is a very lucky girl. She’s about to witness her very own fairytale wedding; better than the movies, and more magical than Disneyland, I bet.

It looks as if I’ll have to settle for Prince Harry now, if I want any chance at making my grand entrance in front of millions on my wedding day. “Princess Priyanka” – that has a nice ring to it, I think. I wonder if I can opt-out of those oversized feathery hats…

Recruiters Dig Digital Dirt on Job Seekers

Hafsa Mulla

Most job applicants have a standard checklist before a job interview: prim business attire, luminously thorough résumé, and a stellar combination of zest and intelligence. However, if tweaking your Facebook profile for potential faux pas hasn’t made the cut, maybe it should.

While you settle comfortably into the digital age, it’s safe to say that your online presence has now become a virtual imprint that shadows you to an interview. It is your subliminal curriculum vitae.

As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, many employers are utilizing these sites to screen potential job seekers. So, if your status update reveals you had a solid Saturday night coupled with gory comments, this could be potential grounds for your rejection letter.

According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, 45 per cent of employers use leading social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to screen job candidates. The study also found that 35 per cent of employers disregarded candidates based on racy content uncovered on leading social networking sites.

“While résumés and interviews do give you a bit of an insight to a person, they can also be a façade,” says Fashion Editor of ANOKHI magazine, Jacqueline Parrish. “People’s unguarded social media profiles, however, provide you with a raw look at the job seeker as people rarely censor their social media sites. Their profiles tend to be a direct reflection of them.”

Provocative photos and references to drinking and drug use are the key-contributing factors in the hiring process after online-screening. However, many of us are oblivious to the fact that poor online communication skills are also a stumbling block.

A hyper-articulate twitter timeline can polish one’s virtual persona, and in the same light, it can cause damage through inappropriate twitter feeds. “A quick Google search of a candidate – whom I had pegged as a potential intern – revealed tweets that looked ‘lyk ths’ via Twitter,” says Jacqueline. “Suffice to say, I wasn’t impressed and decided to disqualify her.”

This is another rationale for dismissal: the discrepancies that appear between qualifications posted online and the candidate’s actual résumé. A virtual fib is more than just a social blunder; it is impermissible.

While most of these issues are primary hindrances that keep us from landing our dream job, what many of us need to realize is that these drawbacks are easily avoidable.

Tweak your privacy settings with just a scroll and a click and tailor them according to what is considered tasteful. “If you know that there is inappropriate content that could potentially harm your chances of employment, change your privacy settings and searchability,” says Jacqueline. “These options are provided for a reason.”

In contrast, you can leverage the social media explosion to your advantage. Why not treat these outlets as self-selling-tools to project a positive image to your prospective employers that will encourage them to hire you?

Facebook allows you to advertise your professional qualifications and personal interests, a feature that can help convey a dynamic image. Create a field-centric group that can help you establish relationships with recruiters, leaders, and so forth. Be selective about accepting friends and frequently scan comments made by others. Set a default picture in good taste and police your profile. It is after all, a branding power of sorts.

Twitter allows you to follow anyone under the sun. Why not follow inspirational leaders and the head honchos in your field? Concoct your tweets in a profound manner that generate targeted following while documenting refined and thought-provoking ideas.

LinkedIn is specifically tailored for job seekers, companies, and recruiters. “Keep it reserved and utilize it as a tool for employment,” says Jacqueline, “and don’t forget to be honest, there’s no need to overstate your qualifications.”

And lastly, check the gist of your online reputation and discover what a simple Google search reveals about you.

We live in a digital age that has made information easily accessible. With a simple click of a button an individual’s social life can be completely exposed, for better or worse. The unfortunate truth for every job seeker is that it doesn’t just boil down to conventional tactics anymore (i.e. sugar coating your résumé and putting your best foot forward). After all, there are thousands of applicants competing for a single coveted position and your employer is merely testing the waters to see if you are able to represent the company in a dignified manner.

Essentially you’re left with an unavoidable choice between two alternatives – to eliminate your digital faux pas entirely or create your professional image via various networking sites. But one thing is for sure: technological and social networking advancements offering up-to-the-minute information are fast growing, leading to increased concerns about privacy issues. Your job, as an applicant, is to ensure you sweep those digital dust bunnies to the best of your ability.

Kenney’s leaked ethnic media strategy points to a politics of contradiction

Manori Ravindran, Culture Editor

Jason Kenney is a busy man.

He’s been getting paint all over himself at Hindu Holi celebrations, attending Purim festivals, and chowing down on the “best tandoori fish ever” with South Asian supporters. Like a trail of pakoras, the Twitter feed of the citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism minister tells a colourful tale of life in office.

Normally, it’s easy to see through enthusiastic tweets from busy-body politicians. But ever since the “Conservative Ethnic Paid Media Strategy” was leaked, it’s clear that those 140 character-long messages are part of a Conservative scheme that is anything but pro-newcomer.

In early March, a party memo from Kenney’s office was delivered to various Conservative riding associations, seeking donations to pay for partisan ad campaigns targeting specific ethnic communities branded as “Target Ridings – Very Ethnic.” Unfortunately, one of these letters was accidentally sent to New Democratic Party MP Linda Duncan instead of intended recipient Conservative MP John Duncan.

The letter, penned by Kasra Nejatian, multicultural affairs director for Kenney, said that the party required “an additional $200,000” to make the campaign a success. The attached PowerPoint slides provided a “take-away” message saying, “There are lots of ethnic voters. There will be quite a few more soon. They live where we need to win.”

The letter violated strict rules prohibiting the use of government resources to promote party interests. Nejatian quickly resigned, appearing before an ethics committee on March 21, incidentally the International Day for the Eradication of Racial Discrimination, saying, “I am deeply sorry that my carelessness could cause a further distrust in public institutions.”

For most political observers, the leaked documents were a mere technicality, and Kenney had only to apologize for incorrect letterhead. Some were even intrigued by the rare glimpse into back-door political dealings.

But for others, the Conservative snafu confirms what they already recognize about Kenney’s enthusing over cultural celebrations and religious festivals: The minister’s sweet tweets are a means to a political end. Given Canada’s migrant population, the “ethnic vote” is a reality for most political groups, who feel they must appeal to ethnic communities in order to amass support. What is disturbing about the leaked memo, however, is that it revealed the unabashed calculations that go into such strategies, this one targeting South Asian and Chinese communities, in particular.

One presentation slide said, “If GTA South Asians were to form a city, it would be the third largest city in the country.” The statistic intends to evoke a sense of alarm, while neglecting to mention that members of these communities are also Canadians. A sample script of the proposed ads also relied on unfair stereotypes of ethnic communities, juxtaposing a voiceover reading “Belief in hard work” over an image of an “Indo-Canadian working.”

Harsha Walia is a Vancouver-based organizer for No One Is Illegal, a refugee rights and migrant justice organization. She says she’s not surprised by what was uncovered in the memo. “The documents revealed a lot of things that we’ve been observing already. The way they…build business strategies. I don’t think it’s shocking for people in that way. What was shocking was that people are getting played.”

Walia and NOII have been protesting Kenney for several years, most recently staging a protest at a Vancouver citizenship ceremony in which the minister was announcing the updated citizenship guide. Walia says every political party tries to reconcile the contradiction of trying to appease migrant communities while maintaining an anti-immigrant agenda.

In Kenney’s case, there is a considerable disconnect between his political actions and his community involvement.

In February, the immigration minister announced that Canada had welcomed its highest number of legal immigrants in more than 50 years, with numbers 60 per cent higher than levels in the 1990s. “While other Western countries cut back on immigration during the recession, our government kept legal immigration levels high,” he said.

The numbers, however, tell a different story.

Levels of both economic migrants and temporary foreign workers have risen by over 43,000. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program looks to fill labour shortages where no suitable Canadian workers or permanent residents are supposedly available. The program has been criticized for poor working conditions and lack of rights afforded to workers. Only recently – in light of a spring election – did Kenney announce changes to the program, including assessments of job offers; a two-year suspension for employers failing to offer proper wages, working conditions, and occupation; and a four-year limit on the time period workers can work in Canada before going back to their country of origin.

Since 2006, there has been a large decrease in family-class immigrants, with 10,000 fewer people being accepted into Canada in 2010. During that period, the number of refugees accepted also dropped by almost 8,000. With more refugee system reforms on the way, this number will likely increase. The proposed Bill C-49, for example, will make participation in human smuggling a criminal offense. Asylum seekers suspected of using a smuggler may be detained for the first year after arrival with no chance of review. They won’t have the right to appeal a negative decision, and will be denied permanent residency for five years after obtaining refugee status.

Interestingly, while toting this anti-immigrant agenda, the minister conducts roundtables in ethnic communities, speaks exclusively to ethnic media, and maintains an online profile that is so multicultural, it’s scary. So, how is he getting away with it?

Walia says it boils down to cross-politics. The reality of people coming to Canada and living in absolute poverty is less true for certain communities, she says. In fact, some ethnic groups aspiring towards middle-class values are attracted to Kenney’s platform of gearing immigration towards capital.

“Cross-politics is a big issue because Kenney caters to a business elite. In B.C., for example, a lot of communities are benefiting from temporary worker programs. Those farms in B.C. are owned by South Asians.”

Now that their plans are out in the open, it’s hard to tell whether the ads outlined in the Conservative Ethnic Paid Media Strategy will be as effective in appealing to migrant communities. And then there’s always the chance the memo may not have made a difference to community members who wholeheartedly subscribe to Kenney’s politics.

What is clear, however, is the take-away message the Conservatives forgot to include in the presentation: the unfortunate truth that migrant communities do not merit the respect afforded to other Canadians.

Is it too soon for me to worry about my pension?

Ruane Remy

Students cannot afford to burden themselves financially by saving for pensions, and yet they can’t afford not to understand how it all works. When you know what to do with money to maximize its benefit (when you actually have it), you’re ahead of the game.

I visited my financial advisor to discuss pensions and he asked me if I had a boyfriend. What my relationship status had to do with pension planning, I was unsure of at the time. What I was certain about is that the last thing on my mind, with student loans looming over me, was pensions. But my parents are fewer than two decades away from retirement, and I began to wonder if thinking about pension planning at my age would avoid stress when I reach theirs.

Retirement age in Canada is 65, but average life expectancy is 78 for men and 83 for women. That is 13 to 17 to years after people stop working. By the time my generation gets there, life expectancy may increase.

Let’s say I wanted to marry that boyfriend while I’m young or wanted to fund other goals. Unwise spending could affect my financial health in old age. By then I could be too tired and unhealthy to work or I may rather spend time socializing and making up for all those parties I skipped in my youth to study.

Whether I’m young or old, leisure costs money and so do regular living expenses like rent. Both are difficult to fund if I’m retired and no longer work to replenish savings. There are government regulated systems to save me from complete poverty if I am terrible at saving, but inflation, which is currently around 2.5 per cent in Canada, will devalue the dollar from what it is when I originally earn it. I would need to compensate with extra funds. There are ways to save on my own, which supplement government run social security, so I have a chance at that relaxed life seniors with money enjoy.

According to the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canada Pension Plan allows 4.95 per cent of my gross annual income to be deducted up to the limit of $47,200. Ever since I started working in high school, I contributed to my pension with every paycheck, as long as I was not self-employed. My employer matches the contribution. If I’m self-employed I have to ensure both halves of my contribution are made (Quebec has its own equivalent to the CPP.).

As of September 2010, the average monthly CPP payment for retirement pension was $504.50. If you’re between the age of 18 and 25 and your parent or guardian received money from CPP, you may be eligible for some of those funds.

Then there is Old Age Security pension. It doesn’t depend on how much money you make in your lifetime, but on your residency status in Canada: you must be a citizen or a legal resident. To receive OAS, you must be at the age of retirement. You can qualify for full or partial security. How long you’ve lived in Canada after age 18 factors in, along with living in countries Canada has social security agreements with. As of September 2010, the average monthly OAS payment was $490.47.

One way of supplementing CPP and OAS is to save with the Retirement Registered Savings Plan. As students, RRSPs can be a financial drain, especially when students must pay tuition. Don’t forget living expenses, traveling costs and mounting student debt. At some point, however, we all graduate.

The first step is to go see a financial advisor. Banks offer these services for free. He or she will encourage you to get a Financial Health Check, which is bank lingo for assessing your income versus your expenses. For example, if you win the lottery and have $50,000 but you are $40,000 in debt you’re only $10,000 richer. Your advisor will help you keep things in perspective.

RRSPs are the most beneficial if you have money to manipulate. The RRSP works in relation to the tax system to save money if you know to which tax bracket you belong. The money you contribute to your RRSP becomes non-taxable income. You can contribute, within government regulations, enough to decrease your taxable income bracket, causing you to pay a lower tax percentage.

Then you’re age 65 and retired and getting CPP, OAS, and perhaps funds from an employer pension plan assuming the company is still viable, but it’s not enough. You withdraw from your RRSP to supplement your income. All the money you receive, including your RRSP, is taxable. But since your total taxable income – CPP, OAS, RRSP – will most likely be significantly decreased from what you made pre-retirement, the tax percentage will not be as high. You’ll be paying less tax in the short and long term.

Plus the money you put away will earn interest. Withdrawing it before age 65 may cause financial planning problems specific to RRSP rules.

I can barely see beyond my next tuition payment. According to my financial advisor, the key to saving for anything is discipline, skimping on comforts I can live without in my youth so I don’t lack what I shouldn’t be without in my old age. Along the way, I must avoid plunging myself into unnecessary debt, like taking on loans to pay for that marriage to the boyfriend my financial advisor asked about.

Retirement may be decades away, but we need to monitor it now to ensure we know how it works and to make sure the social security plans in place can maximize their benefit for us. Changes to social security now most likely will not help grandma and grandpa, but they can help mom and dad, as well as you and me.

For more information about pensions, please visit the Canadian Labour Congress: www.canadianlabour.ca/issues/pensions-retirement

International Women’s Day

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”ＭＳ 明朝”; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 0 16778247 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”ＭＳ 明朝”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

Erin Byrnes

The one hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day, brought crowds out onto the streets of Toronto to celebrate a human rights struggle marked by victory and also enduring and deep rooted inequalities. Huge crowds rallied at a University of Toronto lecture hall to hear speakers, drummers and musicians on March 8, 2011. The theme of this years march was “Our City, Our Services, Our Future,” and the message was loud and clear.

On the streets they chanted “Ford says Cut backs,” to the reply “We say fight back.” The crowd marched east on Bloor and south on Young to Gould, where the march ended at a fair the Ryerson Student Union.

Activist Cherie McDonald reminded people that that four days earlier, the forces of disputed Cote D’Ivoire President Alassane fired on an assembly of unarmed women, some holding three branches symbolizing peace, killing at least six. In solidarity with these women and those around the world who still struggle for basic rights, she told the marchers to not tire and keep marching, despite the cold gray day. ”Today is the beginning of our fight.”

The originary roots of the labour movement were sustained as workers proudly wore their union colors on bandanas, buttons, paintings, sandwich boards, banners and even a felt collage. Carrying signs, paintings, masks, a giant coat hanger, megaphones, children, flowers, and the responsibility to the next generation of girls; women, men and children gathered in solidarity, sometimes behind the banners of their respective organizations.

Many of these organizations represented groups of immigrant women, a labour force vulnerable to exploitation. Working by piece and contract, most garment and home-workers are immigrant women who get irregular work, poor pay and no benefits this unregulated industry. Domestic workers and non-status women are at particular risk of abuse.

100 years ago women mobilized to fight for their rights, propelled in part by horrific working conditions exposed when The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. 146 New York garment workers, mostly women were locked in the burning building and died. Most of the people who perished were typical of the low-paying and non-unionized labour force at the factory. They were young women, recent Jewish immigrants who burned to death or jumped to their deaths from the 9^th floor, where managers had locked all exits to avoid theft or people taking breaks .

While manufacturing jobs are leaving Toronto, poorly paid and unsafe work still exists and still falls on the backs of immigrant women. In a city renowned for its diversity, new immigrants still make up the working class and are being pushed further from the core of the city and all of the resources it offers.

In a letter to Ford, the International Women’s Day Committee write “ As girls and women living in Toronto, we depend on accessible, affordable, public services to fully engage as equals in our communities. To this day, decades after pay equality legislation, women in Canada only make 75 cents to every dollar that every man makes. Proposed cuts to transit, affordable housing, and recreational centres will disproportionately affect women from low income and other marginalized groups, and only further isolate the majority of us from the city.”

Activist and newly minted Member of Parliament Rathikia Sitsabaisesan says, “Ford autocratically decided to stop Light rail transit in its tracks.” She says that many newcomers and immigrants can’t afford to live in the city and that cuts to transport will isolate people in the suburbs from city services. She says that Ford is leaving Scarborough out. “WE (Scarborough) deserve to have reliable transit , deserve to be left not waiting.”

The organizing committee say that 24% of women in Toronto live below the poverty line. “ At a time when the federal government is making cuts to immigrant services, men and women, now more than ever need our city to prioritize affordable access to publicly funded community and recreational centres. The current labour force depends greatly on women who are newcomers, immigrants, and migrant workers.”

Rob Ford has promised more cuts to the city’s budget, many of which will be made at the expense of municipal, public and social services.

Wisconsin rising

Ariel Troster

When I woke up on Thursday morning, I had no idea that I would be going to sleep in Madison, Wisconsin. When my boss wandered into my office that morning and asked me if I was willing to hop a plane and join a Canadian union delegation in solidarity with the thousands of workers who had been occupying the state capital for 10 days, I didn’t think twice.

Just the day before, I had clipped a photo from the newspaper—one of the rare images of the Madison uprising to appear in the Canadian media. It shows hundreds of people crammed into the capital building, holding signs that say “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” and “Hands off unions!” It made a stunning picture. It was even more breathtaking in real life.

When I walked down the streets of Madison on Friday morning, I felt like I had been transported to Toronto in the mid-90s. Thousands of people were marching down the streets, heading to the State Capitol building. There wasn’t a riot cop in sight. It reminded me of the early days of the anti-Mike Harris protests when I was in high school: Overwhelming hope in the face of grim political prospects.

And the prospects are grim indeed. If Governor Scott Walker’s budget bill passes, Wisconsin workers will lose the right to bargain collectively anything other than wages. It will mean an immediate end to workplace rights for thousands of public sector workers. But luckily, Wisconsonites aren’t taking this lightly.

The Capitol building felt surreal when I entered it on Friday. Roughly 2,000 people had been occupying the building for the last two weeks. University students showed up with air mattresses and crock-pots, taking residence in Senators’ offices. Thousands of people have pitched in to help—cooking meals, ordering food to be delivered (lots of pizzas from the now famous Ian’s), and setting up a first aid station and pharmacy. The walls of the building were papered with hundreds of posters and messages of solidarity.

And all day, people marched into the Capitol. The crowd in the rotunda parted and groups of workers marched through the middle of the building. Firefighters, led by bagpipes, cut a slice through the throngs of cheering bystanders. Pipe fitters, power workers, nurses, teachers: everyone seemed to be carrying a sign that described the value of their labour. Lots of people brought their kids, giving the protest the feeling of a giant field trip. In fact, the state had to close schools last week, because so many teachers were taking their students to the capital, providing real-life lessons in the practice of solidarity.

In every coffee shop and on every street corner, people were talking about unions. I overheard snippets of conversation about spouses who had been laid off, families terrified of losing all sources of income, workers infuriated that their government was playing political games with their future.

The protest sign that broke my heart was the one that said, “I will give everything for Wisconsin. Except my rights.” And that pretty much summed it up. The unions have agreed to absolutely every concession demanded by the state, except the proposal to eliminate collective bargaining. This is literally the last straw. If they lose this, then all of their workplace rights will be obliterated in a split second.

But I am convinced that they can win. I have never seen such a unanimous display of solidarity and determination in my life. There were 150,000 people in the streets of Madison on Saturday. Every time a new group of workers marched by, the crowd broke into their favourite cheer, “Thank you! Thank you!” They thanked the teachers who take care of their kids, the maintenance staff that keep their hospitals clean, the power workers who keep the lights on, the administrative employees who mail them their tax forms.

There wasn’t a riot shield or baton in sight. It was the diametric opposite of what I saw at the G8/G20 in Toronto last summer. No horses trampling civilians, no “kettling,” no tear gas, no arrests. There were signs all over the Capitol building, politely asking people not to deface public monuments. There wasn’t a lick of graffiti on any of the walls. Police officers welcomed people into the building and even joined the occupation on Friday night when the state ordered them to evacuate the students.

Governor Walker has ordered the Capitol building to be locked down, in an effort to force the protestors out. This has led some Democratic Senators to set up shop outside the building.

The spirit of unity in Wisconsin was infectious and undeniable. The attack on workers is a global problem. People are being forced to pay for an economic crisis that they didn’t create, fuelled by rampant speculation, bank bail-outs and corporate tax cuts. As we head into another federal budget season here in Canada, we will see cuts to public sector jobs and more malicious rhetoric about unions. But I will carry a piece of Wisconsin in my heart for a very long time.

We are all Wisconsin.

Ariel Troster is a writer, editor, organizer, and activist in Ottawa. Her article appeared on rabble.ca on March 3, 2011: www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/ariel-troster/2011/03/wisconsin-rising

How can we aid Libya’s freedom movement?

Yes to solidarity, no to military intervention

John Riddell

The brutal massacres of civilians in Libya at the order of the country’s dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, have shocked the world. His air force has carried out air strikes against unarmed civilians. On February 25, Qaddafi followers aimed murderous fire on anti-government protests in his last stronghold, Tripoli. The government declares its intention of reconquering the country in civil war.

What can we in Canada do to end the killings?

On February 26, the United Nations Security Council voted for sanctions against the Libyan regime, including an arms embargo and  the freezing of assets of Qaddafi and his family. These measures are hardly more than cosmetic, serving to polish up great-power credentials.

Four days earlier, the New Democratic Party called for stronger action, advocating that Canada press the United Nations to “establish a no-fly zone in Libya’s airspace.”The “no-fly” proposal conjures up the vision of a protective hand stretched over Libya’s troubled skies. But as Robert Dreyfuss commented in the Nation February 23, it is a dangerous idea.

“A no-fly zone is worthless unless the United States is prepared to back it up with overwhelming military force,” Dreyfuss says. In other words, U.S. fighters would invade Libyan airspace and shoot down any aircraft they find there. A no-fly zone is an act of war.

We know the logic of such actions from Iraq, where a U.S.-imposed no-fly zone was an initial step toward a murderous all-out assault.

Significantly, few calls for military intervention have been heard from Libya, a symptom of the imperialists’ lack of influence in an insurgent movement that seems mindful of the need to protect national sovereignty.

Solidarity

Nor were such calls made when Libyan-Canadians and their supporters rallied in Vancouver and Toronto February 26. Some of the signs carried by the 500 Toronto protesters read, “No Libyan blood for Libyan oil,” “Freedom for the Arab world; kick out dictators.” Actions took place in at least seven other cities.

A statement by the Toronto Arab Solidarity Campaign, organizer of the action there, commented, “It is imperative that no military intervention is undertaken under the pretext of protecting the Libyan people… Decisions to support Libyans must be based on the demands of Libyans themselves and not on the agendas of international alliances.” TASC consists of about a dozen Arab-Canadian organizations as well as Toronto Stop the War Coalition.

Similar actions took place in seven other cities.

Derrick O’Keefe, an organizer of the Vancouver action and co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance, said the CPA “wanted to make clear that we would strongly warn against … any kind of NATO military intervention.” [4] Sending in NATO “would be like calling the arsonist to put out the fire,” O’Keefe told this writer. He pointed to the example of Iraq, where “the oil fields were protected while hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed.”

Some writers have suggested that concern with intervention is misplaced. “We don’t believe, truly, that NATO is going to invade Libya,” write Santiago Alba Rico and Alma Allende in Rebelión. Raising this spectre “has the effect of entangling and blurring the anti-imperialist camp.” The authors enumerate the Qaddafi regime’s many recent services to imperialism, including its active participation in George Bush’s “war on terror” and setting up “concentration camps where thousands of Africans headed for Europe are held.”

Alba Rico and Allende have their facts right but draw the wrong conclusion.

In an earlier period, the imperialist powers were at odds with the Qaddafi government, vilifying and harassing it. Indeed, in 1986 the British and U.S. governments carried out a brutal airstrike against the country, in which 60 Libyans were killed and 40 aircraft destroyed. But those days ended long ago. In recent years, the Qaddafi regime has been on the best of terms with the NATO powers.

Canadian complicity

Canada has long been complicit in supporting the Qaddafi regime – in fact, Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has been building a $275-million jail in Tripoli.

According to U.S. State Department cables revealed by WikiLeaks, Petro-Canada paid Qaddafi and his cronies a $1-billion “signing bonus” to obtain rights to extract Libyan oil for 30 years. These rights now belong to Suncor, one of Canada’s largest energy companies.

It is not the Qaddafi regime that worries Stephen Harper and his allies, but a revolutionary people’s movement aiming to overthrow the dictatorship. To the NATO powers, that spells “instability” and an insecure oil supply. If they intervene, it will be in an attempt to quell the insurgent movement and reassert control in the guise of a new client regime. And Qaddafi’s murderous war against his people, if it continues, offers the NATO powers an opening for such an intervention.

As the British Stop the War Coalition notes, “Such interference over the last century is the root of the region’s troubles…. The future of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen and all the other states facing popular uprisings must be determined by the people of these countries alone.”

So far, the Libyan protesters have showed great courage and resourcefulness, winning control over a large part of the country.

The Libyan insurgents have not yet enjoyed the political freedom to chart a new course for their country. The immediate results of their struggle are unpredictable. But the broader significance of their movement is already clear. It forms part of the great rising of Arab peoples, whose aims are democracy, human rights, popular sovereignty, and a chance to struggle for social justice.

Their victory in this difficult struggle would give a mighty impetus to the movements for liberation throughout the region. The Arab revolution has already changed course of history. It is this great uprising, not the initiatives of Canadian and allied governments, that points toward a better future for the Arab peoples and the world. The Libyan and other Arab insurgents deserve our full support.

John Riddell is co-editor of Socialist Voice and a Toronto-based solidarity activist. This article originally appeared in The Bullet on March 1, 2011: www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/472.php.

« Previous Page — Next Page »