CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:

HUNDREDS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF STEELWORKERS' STRIKE AGAINST VALE INCO:

The following item from the Sudbury Star came to Molly's attention via the strike support blog Fair Deal Now set up by the USWs who are on strike in Ontario against Vale Inco. The only disturbing part of this event is how Jack Layton managed to make it a partisan political event. It has to be expected I guess. The chances of an NDP federal government in Canada are, of course, remote beyond imagining, but should such an unlikely event ever occur there is little doubt that labour would find a NDP in power far less of a friend than they might imagine now.

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Feds must 'stand up for North's resources':
RALLY: Jack Layton's message for Sudbury
Posted By CAROL MULLIGAN, THE SUDBURY STAR
It started out as a rally for laid-off Xstrata Nickel workers and striking Steelworkers, but it turned into a get Tony Clement event attended by more than 500 people.

Many in the crowd hoisted signs bearing the Industry minister's face crossed out with a large red X and bearing slogans deriding him for his remarks about Sudbury and Vale Inco last week.

The rally was planned before Clement told The Sudbury Star that Sudbury faced becoming the Valley of Death if Companhia Vale do Rio Doce had not purchased Inco Ltd. in 2006. (Ahh, those loose Conservative lips. One imagines that Clements will have to spend at least three days in Sneaky Stevie's Chamber of Torture for accidentally saying what all the Conservatives actually think. Apparently, after the thumbscrews were applied Clements admitted that his comments were "boneheaded"- See the Fair Deal Now website. Poor Sneaky Stevie; just when he convinced one troglodyte in his party to say nothing another pops up)

Friday, members of Mine Mill Local 598/CAW, among the almost 700 who lost their jobs with Xstrata in February, marched alongside USW Local 6500 members who took to the picket line July 13.

The labour event began with rousing speeches from New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton and USW international president Leo Gerard at Copper Cliff's McClelland Arena and moved over to the picket line at Vale Inco's Copper Cliff smelter.

One theme was solidarity, regardless of one's sex, race, age or union affiliation. The other was how the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has let Sudburians down by allowing resources to be sold to foreign companies and not making them keep their promises.
Layton warned Canadians to pay attention to what is happening in Sudbury.

"We see time and time again, and all too often, these foreign multinationals come in and with the permission of the government, buy up Canadian companies and then begin to throw people out of work. They did it with softwood industry," said Layton.

He took aim at Clement for his comments about Sudbury.

"When you have a representative of the Government of Canada insulting the people of the North, it's not a good day. We say it's time for him to take it back and say he is sorry to the people of Northern Ontario."

Layton called on Harper to get rid of Clement, "and put someone in who will stand up" for Canada.

"But I've got to tell you," said Layton. "I'm not holding my breath." He urged the crowd to vote against the Conservatives and "throw the bums out" in the next federal election.

Layton told the crowd how Clement is "now saying that it (was) a boneheaded remark. That's the first time I've agreed with him in months," said Layton.

"I'll tell you what was boneheaded. It was that ... (these) bone-headed Conservatives signed an agreement that allowed companies to come in and do damage to this part of the country and do damage to this community. That, as far as I'm concerned, is against the law."

Gerard said what Vale Inco is doing by seeking concessions from more than 3,000 maintenance and production workers is "really gutting the standard of living of our community."

The future of Sudbury "rests on our making sure our government stands up for our resources. These resources and the wealth they create should not be flying from here to Switzerland and Brazil. They ought to be spent in this community."

Gerard welcomed members of USW Local 1005 in Hamilton to the rally, as well as members of other unions and Sudburians not associated with the labour movement.

Local 598 president Richard Paquin said the rally was an important one.

Xstrata Nickel, which promised the federal government there would be no layoffs for three years when it purchased Falconbridge, laid off 55% of its workforce in February.

Saturday is the third anniversary of Xstrata's agreement with Investment Canada.

Paquin told the crowd how his union chartered eight buses to visit Clement's constituency office in Huntsville and later met with him on Parliament Hill.

"Unfortunately for us, we weren't able to get what we were looking for. But you know what we did? We opened the door for other companies," said Paquin, referring to the federal government taking U. S. Steel to court.

"Why didn't (Clement) do that for us in Sudbury? Is that because we're here in Northern Ontario? I sure hope not. Everybody should be treated the same."

Patricia Christopher, a teacher at Cyril Varney Public School and a member of the Elementary Teachers' Federation, attended the rally, waving her union flag.

"We think it is important to be supportive of our brothers and sisters in the union cause. Personally I think it's just immoral what's happening here with Vale Inco workers. They certainly have been given a raw deal."

Susan Thornton attended the rally with her brother, Kenny Rouse of Sudbury, and sister Marlene Seymour of Elliot Lake.

Thornton's husband, Glen, was among those laid off at Xstrata in February. Thornton was laid off years ago in Elliot Lake and the family moved to Oshawa, where he was laid off two years ago. They returned to Sudbury and he began working for Xstrata "in the mines because everything was going good two years ago."

Her husband has been called back to work at Xstrata temporarily, said Thornton. "He might be good 'til November, he might not. It's always up in the air, day by day."

Brouse, an underground development miner on strike from Vale Inco's Frood-Stobie Mine, said this strike is different from others he has been on in 20 years with the company.

"There's a lot of greedy people in this world. How much is enough?"

He said he thought his union was in for a long strike. "I think we're both pigheaded, but I'm more pigheaded."

When asked what he thought about Clement and his comments about Vale Inco, Brouse said: "It makes me feel like this guy should be out of a job, not me."

At the Copper Cliff smelter picket line, Paquin president Local 6500 with a cheque for $5,000 from Mine Mill Local 598/CAW. He also warned that his union's contract expires in February and it is likely to follow the same path as Steelworkers.

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Molly Postscript:

Rumours that Jack Layton had to be revived after his speech by an emergency medical shipment of white wine and quiche are, of course, just that- rumours.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW:

It's now 11:22 pm here in that throbbing centre of the universe known as Winnipeg, and the Canadian election has been decided. a tiny few seats may change hands as late polls come in or in later recounts, but the essential features of the new Parliament is pretty much obvious.

At the dissolution of the last parliament the standings were as follows: CONS: 124, LIB 103, BLOC 51, NDP 29, IND 1. The standings at this time are CONS 143, LIB 77, BLOC 49, NDP 37, IND 2.

The Conservatives increased their seat total but still fell short of the 155 seats they would need to form a majority government. This is Sneaky Stevie's second kick at the can, and in other parties the knives might be sharpened, but unseating Harper would be a task of the magnitude of unseating Stalin. Both are supreme masters of the art of the apparat. No doubt Harper himself was more or less to blame for the inability to reach a majority with his remarks on "youth crime" and "culture" that basically demolished Conservative chances in Québec. What was remarkable was the fact that the Conservatives held on to their 10 Québec seats, as indications were that they were likely to crash and burn entirely. Without the remarks it would have been likely that the Tories would have achieved their majority via new seats in La Belle Province. One wonders if Harper ever actually studied the career of Stalin, as his "centrist" (in the world of the Conservative Party) politics are almost a carbon copy of those of Uncle Joe. This even goes as far as his retinue of former Right and Left Opposition figures, now cringing before the Dear Leader and begging what political survival they can inside the party.

Harper's mastery of party conspiracy was actually what did him in. He calculated rightly that it was time to throw a bone to the lock-em-up and damn thet culture feller wing of his party, but he paid too much attention to them and failed to take account of the feelings of the general population in Québec. This arrogance will eventually be Harper's undoing, but not this time around. While the man is a true master of party conspiracy he has at least the same contempt for the ordinary citizen as displayed by a university leftist. One can even imagine that he has great contempt for his own supporters. So Stevie slide in by the skin of his teeth, but the fact that he couldn't win a majority even when facing a formless Liberal Party, riven by deep hatreds, touting an incomprehensible "platform" that was totally overtaken by international economic events and led by a man with all the charisma of vanilla pudding will eventually tell on him.

The Liberals are, of course, the great losers in this election, and it's quite appropriate that the vote was counted on a Full Moon night. The party wolves are howling for Dion's blood as we speak. Look for the other Stephan to be gone in less than a year. If anybody crashed and burned tonight it was "Canada's Natural Governing Party". They managed to avoid disaster in Québec, probably due to a last minute drop in BQ support, but they flamed out in Ontario, their other remaining base.

The NDP gained seats but with a minimal gain in the popular vote. Layton failed to achieve his actual goal, of becoming the official opposition, and it's unlikely the same opportunity will arise again in the near future. The NDP's future will depend upon how "painlessly" the Liberals can remove Dion and rebuild. Their success in this is anybody's guess, as there is no other Canadian party as deeply divided as the Liberals. As to the old ex-Maoist Duceppe his time has probably come as well. The BLOC had a great lead in the last two weeks of the campaign, and it essentially evaporated on election night. Duceppe has already expressed his desire to leave federal politics, and it's unlikely that he will stay on for long. The Greens also lost heavily by not winning anything, even though they got some respectable vote tallies in some constituencies. It's hard to say how long they can go on cruising on taxpayer funds for the votes they receive while never actually becoming a real party. Don't expect, however, any great recriminations against their leader, Elizabeth May. The present "state of the Greens" is the result of a long fought out struggle between their left and right wings, and the right wing won handily. The left wing of the Greens basically consists of those whose politics could be summed up as "fad following", and it is hardly to be expected that they could mount a serious challenge to the present ruling clique.

So that's where we are in Canada today. A minority government is actually the best of all possible outcomes. The need to cooperate and compromise will prevent Sneaky Stevie from trying to implement his wilder ideas. In perilous economic times no country needs to be governed ideologically, especially if the ideology is the same one that sunk the US economy. So keep on smiling. The world goes on, and so does the Ottawa circus.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

HARPER-SECRET AGENDAS AND IMAGE POLISHING:

The "double header" debates are over. Molly began by watching the US vice-presidential candidates debate in the vain hope that Palin would pull out a real howler- grist for my joke mill. The ins and outs of the "ins", however, made this a time waster. Palin didn't fall flat on her face as I'd hoped. In this she was helped by her opponent Biden who had obviously been "over-coached" by his handlers to "not appear like a pitbull" (without lipstick). After watching him fumble the ball three times, missing great opportunities to play the good old game of "got you now you son of a bitch", I realized that Palin wasn't going to provide any amusement. Biden hardly spoke about Palin at all, mostly concentrating on McCain and his more than fuzzy "record" of how and when he voted in this that and the other thing over the past two decades. Too many "nerve tonics" I guess. Biden hardly noticed that McCain was not at the other podium and that his debate opponent was like a battleship with most of its armour missing and half its guns inoperative. It's probably a matter of "staying on script", and far be it for Molly to try and outguess the fine manipulators of public opinion that the Democrats have hired- the best that multi-millions can buy.

But speaking about "scripts" I then turned to the Canadian debate out of boredom. Something actually happened there. There was actually "real debate", if emotional heat (outside of Even-Steven Harper who had his spiel down to a tee, and displayed all of the emotion of Data on Star Trek, The Next Generation). Good plan actually. One wonders how many "nerve tonics" Sneaky Stevie took before the show. The probable answer is "zero" as Harper is undoubtedly the most hardened liar in the pack, and he can control himself to the millimeter. It's entirely possible that the term "psychopath" could apply to Harper. His style suggests the ability to lie with a straight face and feel absolutely no nervousness about such. This impression is more than reinforced by his record in government. It's interesting that he is able to mount simultaneous lies directed at both his left and right wing flanks.

As usual Duceppe came across as the most intelligent of the candidates. Too bad he sits on top of a machine devoted to a hopeless cause, but I guess that he is used to such a position being the ex-Maoist that he is. In terms of pure "reptilian cunning" he could best Sneaky Stevie in a one on one easily, but he hardly is in such a position. The Canadian debate rapidly became boring as well. The highlight was when Layton turned on Dion, basically making him cringe. One could almost hear the whimpery voice coming out of the side of his mouth-one could definitely see the pained expression on his face as Layton interrupted him, caught him in a boo-boo, and simply "took over" the situation. Jumping Jack definitely came across as much "tougher" than Dion, and much more able to stand up to the Great Satan Stevie who wants to offer more and more Canadian bodies on the altars of American wars.

But the amusement was short lived. After that high point it was all downhill. Layton scored the best opposition points on his attacks on the economy, but Sneaky Stevie "cooled his way through". No knock-out punches here. Dingbat Dion was way out of his league. Mealy-Mouthed May was a non-entity, as befits somebody who used to be one of Brian Mulroney's advisers, made sweetheart deals with the present Liberals (as part of a plot to undermine the NDP as the "left party"), and was part and parcel of a "capture attempt" on the Canadian Green Party that has thoroughly and permanently marginalized its "left" elements.

Still, a large number of Canadians are gradually coming to an "anyone but Harper" position. There are good reasons for this, as the following article from the Harper Index points out.

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Hidden-agenda concerns keep Conservatives from majority :
Only ten percent in poll think Harper has told them the whole truth about his plans.
OTTAWA, October 3, 2008:

Stephen Harper attempted in the federal leaders' debate last night to dispel the fear many Canadians have that he has a hidden ideological agenda that will not come into full view until he has a majority government.

Despite a political career built on contempt for public services, marketing boards, social programs and unions, Harper steered a cautious path during his two-plus years of minority government, avoiding hot-button social issues. In last night's debate, he boasted about having increased spending on social programs as Prime Minister.

"There's no ideological agenda there," he claimed, about cuts to some arts programs while increasing funding to others. Later he chided the other leaders about funding he said his government had put into economic development. "This is hardly a laissez-faire attitude."

Harper knows that Canadians are concerned about what may be, as Jack Layton put it in the debate, under Harper's blue sweater. (This was a reference to Harper's attempts to soften his image in this campaign by appearing in sweaters rather than suits.)

A May poll by Vector Research™ was one of many that have pointed to the distrust many voters feel for Harper. "Some people feel that Harper has a hidden agenda and that if the Conservatives win a majority government in the next federal election he will do things he did not talk about in the election campaign," said Vector's Marc Zwelling.

"Forty two percent of Canadians, including 46 percent of the women we talked to, told us they feel Harper is holding back or covering up information about a lot of his plans that voters ought to know."

Only ten percent of those polled thought that Harper has told the voters the whole truth about his plans.

In a September 29 poll, two thirds of respondents said they thought a Harper majority government would expand the role of private health care, something Harper downplayed last night and throughout the campaign.

Harper's debate strategy confirmed what many observers have written, that he is running to attract voters in the political centre and establish a long-term majority by staying relaxed and in control, with barely a hint of ideology. He never used right-wing catch-phrases like "privatize," "war on terror," or "war on drugs," nor did he refer to religion, morality or any of the other ideas that would mark him as a right-winger. He boasted he does not use private health care.

The often-aggressive Harper took a much more subdued tone in the debates than he often does in the House. Both in the debate and through most of his tightly-scripted and heavily-guarded campaign, Harper has managed to skirt discussion of issues that provoked much of the distrust he now encounters.

Dozens of trust-disturbing incidents and policies from the past two years might have been raised that weren't: including a government culture of authoritarianism, blocking access to public documents, a revolving door between the government and top corporate lobbyists, tying the hands of future governments with secret deals like the SPP and TILMA. The Harper government's ideological attacks on Canadian Wheat Board haven't achieved much campaign notice. The politicization and muzzling of the public service did not come up in the debate. Neither did the government's outright hostility to the news media and its relentless attempts to control their access to government officials.

The final vote on October 14 will tell whether his performance last night and throughout the campaign successfully assured voters he is a moderate without a hidden agenda.