The Young Communist League supports the struggle of Franco-Ontarian youth mobilized for the defense of their language rights and calls on its members as well as progressives, unions, student associations, community groups, etc. to affirm their solidarity with the demands of Franco-Ontarians.
With Doug Ford’s so-called “Free Speech Directive”, democracy on Campus is under severe attack.
Despite its name, purposely chosen to confuse people, this directive has little to do with freedom of speech. Instead, it is crafted to open universities’ doors wide open for ultra-right forces to propagate their bigoted and inflammatory speech, targeting progressive student groups and people, including student and labour unions on campus, and jeopardizing the independence of universities.
The YCL-LJC joins forces with organizations across Ontario to denounce the so-called “free speech” directive passed by Doug Ford’s provincial government and urges all progressive and democratic students to oppose and resist this directive by all means possible. We encourage young people across Canada to express their solidarity with students in Ontario.
Passed in August, this directive purports to defend freedom of expression in Ontario universities by denying funding to those who, by January 1, have not complied with the directive through bylaws, policies, or other mechanisms designed to counter any restrictions on this right; a fundamental principle already protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Those deemed to have violated said policies would also be subject to individual punishment by the school. The HEQCO (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario) is tasked with auditing the performance of this resolution – if the school is deemed not to have sufficiently enforced these policies, the HEQCO may report this to the Ontario government, which will then threaten their funding. This use of funding as leverage for compliance with government policy is undemocratic and unconstitutional.
La YCL-LJC joint sa voix aux organisations dénonçant la directive sur la « liberté d’expression » votée par le gouvernement conservateur de l’Ontario et enjoint tous les étudiant.es et jeunes progressistes et démocrates à s’opposer et à résister contre cette loi par tous les moyens possible. Nous encourageons également les jeunes du reste du Canada à exprimer leur solidarité envers leurs confrères et consoeurs de l’Ontario.
Votée en aout dernier, cette loi feint défendre la liberté d’expression dans les universités ontariennes en sanctionnant financièrement celles qui, d’ici le 1er janvier prochain, ne se seraient pas dotées de règlements ou autres mécanismes destinés à contrer toute restriction à ce droit fondamental pourtant déjà protégé par la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés. Ceux et celles qui l’enfreindraient seraient également susceptibles de sanctions individuelles par leur établissement. Le Conseil ontarien de la qualité de l’enseignement supérieur (COQES) aura pour tâche de s’assurer de la bonne application de cette directive. Un établissement qui serait considéré comme ayant appliqué la directive de façon laxiste serait dénoncé auprès du gouvernement et son financement s’en retrouverait entamé. Cette utilisation du chantage financier est antidémocratique et anticonstitutionnelle.
May, 2017
Last week, the Young Communist League of Canada held its 27th Central Convention, the largest of the four conventions since its re-founding in 2007. From May 19 to 22, thirty-five delegates, plus alternates and observers attended from Montréal, Toronto, Guelph, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria to reiterate our commitment to working class struggle and move forward with our strategies to build socialism in Canada. We dedicated these three days to exchange, discuss, debate and learn from the struggles carried out by young communists throughout the country.
Central Executive Committee, YCL-LJC
October 2015
The Young Communist League of Canada welcomes the defeat of the Harper Conservatives in the federal election, but recognizes the immediate need to intensify the youth and student struggle against the new Liberal version of the big business agenda.
YCL-LJC Central Committee Report on the 2015 Federal Election
Central Committee – April 5, 2015
Almost a decade of Conservative rule in Canada has brought war, austerity and crises.
After 9 years of the Harper government’s rule, the upcoming Federal election, whether in the Spring or the Fall, marks an important opportunity for the YCL-LJC in their struggle for peace, jobs, the environment and democracy, as well as the broader struggle for socialism.
The Young Communist League of Canada salutes the hard work of its members and friends during the year of 2014 and looks forward to the advancement of the struggles of the youth and student movement in 2015.
For the ruling class and their governments at the federal and provincial levels, 2014 was a year of continuing down the dangerous path of austerity and war. We saw the Conservative Party reach new lows in terms of fomenting occupation and reaction abroad; supporting a neo-Nazi backed government in Ukraine, wholeheartedly defending Israel’s massacre of more than 2000 Palestinians during the summer and joining in on the third invasion of Iraq this fall.
Central Executive Committee, YCL-LJC
August, 2014
The Young Communist League – ligue de la jeunesse communiste (YCL-LJC) welcomes and actively supports the convening of the People’s Social Forum. We see this meeting of the labour movement, Indigenous activists, feminists, environmentalists, immigrant rights activists, and youth and student activists as a very useful tool in building unity in the struggle against big business and their puppet austerity governments across Canada. With participation from Quebec labour and social movements and Indigenous communities, as well as English-speaking Canada, the Forum gives us the opportunity to build unity based on equality between nations within the borders of Canada.
Central Executive Committee, YCL-LJC
February, 2012
Young Communist League demands a Charter of Youth Rights, not Corporate Rights
Shrouded in secrecy, the Harper Conservative government, the European Union, and major trans-national corporations recently concluded the final round of negotiations for the largest free-trade agreement in Canada’s history since NAFTA.