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Statements Ontario

Solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the fight against racist policing in Ontario

The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) stands in full solidarity with the ongoing actions of Black Lives Matter-Toronto and the struggle against racist policing and anti-Black racism in Ontario.

We salute the recent victories that were a result of a Black Lives Matter-Toronto’s March 19th-April 4th Tent City outside Police Headquarters in downtown Toronto. This bold and necessary action resulted in the reinstatement of the full length of Afrofest, which was previously cut in length due to anti-Black racism, and some commitments from Toronto City Hall and the Premier to review the Special Investigation Unit which is supposed to investigate murders, sexual assaults, and assault resulting in serious injuries perpetrated by the police.

BLM-TO has shown that unity and militancy can win, even in the face of police repression, cold weather, racist media reports, and intimidation from the racist far-right. This struggle, initiated by young Black organizers, involving broad sections of the Black community in Toronto, and also allies, including the labour movement and students, promises to continue. (more…)

By admin, ago

The 2014 Budget: “People’s Needs, Not Corporate Greed! Another Ontario is Possible!”

The 2014 provincial budget was clearly an election budget aimed to position the Liberals to the left of the NDP on a range of social policy issues. These include the proposed defined benefit pension plan, increases to the child benefit program and the extension of free dental services to impoverished children, cost of living increases to the minimum wage, a small increase to single recipients of Ontario Works, and small wage increases to Personal Support Workers.

The 10-year, $29 billion investment in infrastructure renewal and jobs, a portion of which were to be earmarked for youth employment, would have provided significant economic stimulus and jobs, and improved urban and inter-urban public transportation. $11.4 billion was set aside for hospital construction, and another $11.1 billion for School Boards to repair aging schools and build new ones.

The budget also proposed a miniscule corporate tax increase, eliminating the tax break of 7% on the first $500,000 of income (currently taxed at the small business tax rate of 4.5%). It also projected a small tax increase for the 2% of the population with incomes over $150,000.

But the budget was clearly a Big Business budget, with privatization at the core of the funding proposals, the transformation of many public services into private public partnerships (AFR’s), and the promise of future deep cuts to the corporate tax rate, from the current 11.5% down to 10%. Public sector layoffs and wage cuts are built-in, implicit in a package that contains continued restraints to operating budgets in hospitals and healthcare, public and post-secondary education, and social programs. This is the Drummond Report, implemented over 10 years. (more…)

By admin, ago