Solidarity with the Student Encampments! 

Freedom for Palestine! 

The Young Communist League – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste (YCL-LJC) extends our solidarity and militant greetings to the students on campuses across the country fighting for freedom in Palestine. 

The YCL-LJC welcomes the continuation of the solidarity struggle with the Palestinian people.

The world demands a ceasefire, a political and diplomatic solution to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. In response, Canada and the imperialist countries continue to reaffirm the myth of Israel’s right to defend itself. Let us be clear, there is no right to occupation, let alone a right to commit genocide. The imperialists do so in a context where the danger of globalized conflict is growing daily, particularly in the Middle East, but also elsewhere in the world. 

The mainstream corporate media in this country says the conflict that has killed 40,000 people, including 20,000 children in Gaza, began on October 7th. They do so to obscure more than a century of struggle for national liberation. The ruling class tries to criminalize any expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle. The YCL-LJC denounces the attempts by the bourgeois media to frame international solidarity by peace loving forces as anti-democratic and war-mongering. 

We condemn the repression and use of force against peaceful protestors. 

The struggle of the Palestinian people is neither ethnic nor religious. This is a fight of national liberation directed against the plans of Western imperialism in the region and against its global hegemony. It is a fight for peace and international solidarity, and that is why it disturbs the warmongers, especially in a context where Western imperialists such as Canada are called to increase their military budgets.

Students, faculty, and campus workers have long been mobilized for solidarity with the cause of Palestinian liberation. A significant resurgence in the movement on campuses began in the 2007/8 school year when several local assemblies at university and Cégep campuses across Quebec voted to support the Boycott Divestment Sanction (BDS) campaign against Israel.  The organized campaign was supported by Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ) Quebec’s largest college level teachers union. The campaign reached a new level when the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ), the historic student union that led the 2005 and 2012 student strikes, voted to support the international BDS campaign at a Quebec-wide level in 2008. 

Students in English speaking Canada followed the lead from the Quebec student movement, with at least 16 student unions in the rest of Canada passing resolutions in support of the Palestinian people’s cause and some if not all aspects of the BDS movement from 2012-17. 

The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario assembly in 2014 (CFS-O) representing 300 000+ members passed a resolution endorsing the BDS campaign. This was followed by a winning motion at the CFS annual general meeting in 2018.

In 2022 alone students at Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, McGill, Concordia, and University of Toronto passed resolutions in support of the struggle of the Palestinian people and against the apartheid and occupation of Israel. This included motions calling for boycotts and/or divestments of Israel. 

This year, the Université du Québec à Montréal became the first university in Canada to have all of its student unions adopt BDS mandates.

The resolutions and motions have required immense levels of organization from students. Passing BDS endorsements have led to attacks from administrations on student democracy, including the withholding of dues in some cases. But with the brutal war on Gaza and the increased drive for settlements in the West Bank, students across Canada have answered the call and once again began to mobilize for the liberation of the Palestinian people. 

We reiterate our statement from October of last year: “We recognize ourselves in neither the ideology nor the methods of Hamas. However, we understand that its popular support is the result of decades of Zionist colonization, invasion, occupation and blockade, with the tacit support of Western governments, the manifest failure of the Oslo Accords and an ossified Palestinian Authority riddled with internal contradictions … We therefore denounce all forces that try to shift the burden of these attacks onto the Palestinian resistance, and reiterate our demands for the creation as soon as possible of a viable Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the guarantee of the 1948 refugees’ right of return, and the dismantling of all Zionist settlements (illegal under international law). These demands may not solve the entire Palestinian problem, but they are the only ones that could pave the way for a lasting solution to this conflict. Finally, we offer our full solidarity to our sister organizations in Palestine and throughout the region”

The YCL-LJC as a member of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, the largest anti imperialist youth organization in the world, reiterates the demands from our sister organisations in Palestine, such as the General Union of Palestinian Students. At our 2023 Central Convention, the highest decision making body of the YCL-LJC, we prioritized building the BDS and solidarity with Palestine movement in Canada, and exposing the profiteering of the Canadian capitalist monopolies in occupied Palestine. We commit ourselves and call on all democratic, working-class forces, unions, progressives; all supporters of true lasting world peace from coast to coast to intensify this fight and to demand:

– The creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with UN resolutions;

– The guarantee of the right of return of the refugees of 1948;

– The denuclearization of Israel and the end of the apartheid regime;

– The severance of commercial and diplomatic relations between Canada and Israel, starting with an embargo on the shipment of weapons and military equipment, and including academic boycotts, as long as the occupation continues;

–  Canada’s positioning in favor of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on the part of Israel;

–  Furthermore we call for Canada to withdraw from all military alliances such as NATO and NORAD and to end the senseless arms race by slashing the military budget by 75% and investing the savings into universal public social services such as free post-secondary education for all 

Palestine will live, Palestine will win!

May Day Greetings from the YCL-LJC 

Let us Take up the Fight for a Life With a Future!

Comrade workers! May Day is coming, the day when the workers of all lands celebrate their awakening to a class-conscious life, their solidarity in the struggle against all coercion and oppression of man by man, the struggle to free the toiling millions from hunger, poverty, and humiliation. 

Two worlds stand facing each other in this great struggle: the world of capital and the world of labour, the world of exploitation and slavery and the world of brotherhood and freedom.

Lenin, April 1904 

On behalf of the Central Committee of the Young Communist League – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste, we extend our solidarity and militant greetings to the working-class youth and popular masses in Canada who have moved into action to fight for concessions from the boss class. 

This International Workers’ Day, we honour the legacy of the workers who took to the streets of Chicago in 1886 to struggle for an eight-hour work day for all waged workers. As well, we remember and recognize those who have come before us and made great sacrifices to advance the workers’ struggle in Canada: the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919; the Cape Breton coal miners strikes of 1922-25; the Bienfiat coal miners strike of 1931; the Battle of Ballantyne Pier in 1935; the On-to-Ottawa Trek in 1935; the Windsor Ford Strike of 1945; the Asbestos miners’ strike of 1949; the Reesor Siding strike of 1963; the first Quebec Common Front of 1972; the country-wide strike against wage controls in 1976; the Canadian Union of Postal Workers strike of 1981; and many other workers’ struggles that won rights and gains for the whole working class as well as the popular masses.

History teaches us that anything the working class has gained was the result of arduous struggle in conflict with the capitalists. Ultimately, the history of the labour movement in the 20th century shows us that the working class as the most progressive force in society, can, with its allies in the popular masses, triumph over the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and build a new society based on the maxim: from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs. 

Last year we saw a wave of strikes across the country. The labour movement is answering the call in the face of the onslaught of the monopolies. The increased militancy amongst workers is resulting in gains for the class and the popular masses. 

We witnessed wage settlements in collectively bargained agreements jump from an average of 1.6% in 2020 to 3.7% in 2023. The last time wage settlements averaged 3.6% was in 1991, over 30 years ago. The large jump in wages was hard-fought for by growing combativeness in organized labour. Although 3.7% does not meet the rising inflation and cost of living, this increase in wage settlements is a reflection of the militancy in the labour movement in the face of the dire economic situation across the country. 

There is an obvious link between the increase in wage settlements and the wave of strikes across the country last year. 2023 saw the highest number of workdays lost to work stoppages since 2005. There were 2.2 million workdays lost in the first 9 months of 2023. Including the historic Common Front strikes in Quebec last fall involving 560,000 strikers, the total number exceeds 2.5 million workdays lost. This is a sign that the sleeping giant is awakening and moving into action and onto the offensive after decades of slumber.

This year has seen more positive developments in the workers movement. Most notable are the large organizing drives taking place across the country. The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) in Quebec has submitted an application for recognition of an Amazon warehouse in Laval. At Amazon warehouses in New Westminster and Delta, B.C., Unifor, the largest private sector union in the country, has public organizing drives ongoing. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers continues to organise app-based gig workers despite undemocratic maneuvers by the United Food and Commercial Workers to sign a secret agreement with Uber without any say from Uber workers. Overall, the combination of labour disputes and organizing drives is an important step forward for the organized labour movement in Canada that has been shrinking for decades. 

The system that is producing staggering inflation on basic necessities while wages stagnate is the same system that pits workers against each other on the battlefield in wars over resources and markets. This is imperialism, the final stage of capitalism. Imperialism is immersed in incurable contradictions and crises. Therefore, the ruling class looks to maintain and even increase the rate of profit. The imperialist forces seek to maintain their dominance in the current escalation of imperialist tensions, aggressions, occupation, and wars over the redistribution of the world and natural resources, on the one hand; and, on the other hand, the increase in the exploitation and oppression of the working class and its youth through the direct and indirect attack on wages and on our political, social, and labour rights.

This International Workers’ Day, the YCL-LJC continues to call for an increased struggle for labour rights. We carry forward the demands for a living wage, safe working conditions, the right to not cross a picket line, the right to secondary pickets at an employer who conducts business with an employer with which a union has a dispute, anti-scab laws, card check certification for unions where a union is automatically recognised when a majority of workers sign a union card, pensions, universal social services, an end to the temporary foreign workers program where migrant workers do not receive full labour rights, the right to political strikes outside of bargaining, and full employment for all. These demands take the struggle to the monopolies and challenge the record profits they have extracted since the pandemic. 

Workers of the world, unite!

An illustration of a row of red carnations. They are drawn in a very brush-like style and have blotches of reds and greens for colour.

Salutations du Premier mai de la YCL-LJC

Reprenons la lutte pour un lendemain

Camarades ouvriers ! Voici le premier mai, jour où les ouvriers de tous les pays célèbrent leur éveil à une vie consciente, célèbrent leur union dans la lutte contre toute violence et toute oppression de l’homme par l’homme, dans la lutte qui doit affranchir des millions de travailleurs de la faim, de la misère et de l’humiliation. Deux mondes s’affrontent dans cette grande lutte : le monde du capital et le monde du travail ; le monde de l’exploitation et de l’esclavage et le monde de la fraternité et de la liberté.

Lénine, avril 1904

Au nom du Comité central de la Ligue de la jeunesse communiste, nous adressons notre solidarité et nos salutations militantes à la jeunesse de la classe ouvrière et aux masses populaires du Canada qui sont passées à l’action pour réclamer des concessions de la classe patronale.

En cette Journée internationale des travailleuses et des travailleurs, nous honorons l’héritage des travailleurs qui sont descendus dans les rues de Chicago en 1886 pour lutter en faveur d’une journée de travail de huit heures pour tous les salariés. Nous nous souvenons également de ceux qui nous ont précédés et qui ont consenti de grands sacrifices pour faire avancer la lutte des travailleurs au Canada : la grève générale de Winnipeg en 1919 ; les grèves des mineurs de charbon du Cap-Breton en 1922-1925 ; la grève des mineurs de charbon de Bienfiat en 1931 ; la bataille du quai Ballantyne en 1935 ; la Marche sur Ottawa en 1935 ; la grève de Ford de Windsor en 1945 ; la grève de Reesor Siding en 1963 ; le premier Front commun du Québec en 1972 ; la grève nationale contre le contrôle des salaires en 1976 ; la grève du Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des postes en 1981 ; et bien d’autres luttes ouvrières qui ont permis à l’ensemble de la classe ouvrière et aux masses populaires de conquérir des droits.

L’histoire nous enseigne que tout ce que la classe ouvrière a gagné est le résultat d’une lutte ardue contre les capitalistes. En fin de compte, l’histoire du mouvement ouvrier au 20e siècle nous montre que la classe ouvrière, en tant que force la plus progressiste de la société, peut, avec ses alliés des masses populaires, triompher de la dictature de la bourgeoisie et construire une nouvelle société basée sur la maxime : de chacun selon ses capacités, à chacun selon ses besoins.

L’année dernière, nous avons assisté à une vague de grèves dans tout le pays. Le mouvement syndical répond à l’appel face à l’assaut des monopoles. Le militantisme accru des travailleurs se traduit par des gains pour la classe et les masses populaires.

Nous avons vu les augmentations salariales dans les conventions collectives passer d’une moyenne de 1,6 % en 2020 à 3,7 % en 2023. La dernière fois que ces augmentations ont atteint une moyenne de 3,6 %, c’était en 1991, il y a plus de 30 ans. Cette forte hausse des salaires a été obtenue de haute lutte grâce à la combativité croissante des organisations syndicales. Bien que 3,7 % ne suffisent pas à compenser la hausse de l’inflation et du coût de la vie, ces accords reflètent le militantisme du mouvement syndical face à la situation économique désastreuse qui règne dans le pays.

Il existe un lien évident entre les augmentations salariales et la vague de grèves qui s’est abattue sur le pays l’année dernière. En 2023, le nombre de jours de travail perdus en raison d’arrêts de travail a été le plus élevé depuis 2005. Il y a eu 2,2 millions de journées de travail perdues au cours des neuf premiers mois de 2023. Si l’on inclut les grèves historiques du Front commun au Québec l’automne dernier, qui ont mobilisé 560 000 grévistes, le nombre total dépasse les 2,5 millions de journées de travail perdues. C’est un signe que le géant endormi se réveille et passe à l’offensive après des décennies de sommeil.

Cette année, le mouvement ouvrier a connu d’autres développements positifs. Les plus notables sont les grandes campagnes de syndicalisation qui ont lieu dans tout le pays. La Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) a déposé une demande de reconnaissance d’un entrepôt d’Amazon à Laval. Dans les entrepôts d’Amazon à New Westminster et à Delta, en Colombie-Britannique, Unifor, le plus grand syndicat du secteur privé du pays, mène des campagnes de syndicalisation. Le Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des postes continue d’organiser les travailleurs itinérants basés sur des applications, malgré les manœuvres antidémocratiques du Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses unis de l’alimentation et du commerce, qui a signé un accord secret avec Uber sans que les travailleurs d’Uber n’aient leur mot à dire. Dans l’ensemble, la combinaison des conflits de travail et des campagnes de syndicalisation constitue une avancée importante pour le mouvement syndical au Canada, qui était en décroissance depuis des décennies.

Le système qui produit une inflation vertigineuse sur les biens de première nécessité alors que les salaires stagnent est le même que celui qui dresse les travailleurs les uns contre les autres sur le champ de bataille dans des guerres pour les ressources et les marchés. Il s’agit de l’impérialisme, stade ultime du capitalisme. L’impérialisme est plongé dans des contradictions et des crises incurables. C’est pourquoi la classe dirigeante cherche à maintenir et même à augmenter le taux de profit. Les forces impérialistes cherchent à maintenir leur domination dans l’escalade actuelle des tensions, agressions, occupations et guerres impérialistes pour la redistribution du monde et des ressources naturelles, d’une part, et, d’autre part, l’augmentation de l’exploitation et de l’oppression de la classe ouvrière et de sa jeunesse par les attaques directes et indirectes sur nos salaires et nos droits politiques, sociaux et du travail.

En cette journée internationale des travailleuses et des travailleurs, le YCL-LJC continue d’appeler à une lutte accrue pour les droits des travailleurs. Nous continuons à revendiquer un salaire décent, des conditions de travail sûres, le droit de ne pas franchir un piquet de grève, le droit à des piquets de grève secondaires chez un employeur qui fait des affaires avec un employeur avec lequel un syndicat a un différend, des lois anti-briseurs de grève, l’accréditation des syndicats sur vérification des cartes où un syndicat est automatiquement reconnu lorsqu’une majorité de travailleurs signe une carte syndicale, des pensions, des services sociaux universels, la fin du programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires où les travailleurs migrants ne bénéficient pas de tous les droits du travail, le droit à des grèves politiques en dehors de la négociation, et le plein emploi pour tous. Ces revendications portent la lutte contre les monopoles et remettent en cause les profits records qu’ils ont engrangés depuis la pandémie.

Prolétaires de tous les pays, unissez-vous!