One of the most important reforms won by Canadian workers, public medicare, is coming under relentless attack by government austerity programs.  Recent provincial budget decisions in Ontario, for example, have cut $3-billion from health spending, which is putting the health of Canadians at extreme risk — especially those from the most marginalized sectors of society.  For the sake of our own health, we need to put a halt to the austerity agenda.

April 27 marked the first demonstration of the spring season in Montreal. Tens of thousands of people gathered from across Quebec in a protest called by the main workers' unions against the Employment Insurance (EI) reform put forward by the Harper government. The draconian measures are meant to push unemployment recipients back onto the job market at reduced pay. These measures are being resisted by workers across the country, and the weekend’s demonstration in Montreal was a good beginning for the movement. We must extend the fight against austerity at federal and provincial levels, and the student strike last year has shown us that militant action is the only way to win.

Negotiations for the Canadian-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) are being conducted by the Harper government in secret. The agreement, if passed in its current form, would not only be full of the same flaws that have marred previous Canadian free trade agreements, but would introduce a few special problems of its own. The NDP, as the party that represents Canadian workers, must oppose the CETA and oppose capitalist free trade agreements. There is nothing positive in this agreement for Canadian workers.

The Senate is often an afterthought in the minds of people in Canada, with most writing off this body as inconsequential to the everyday life of the working class. Normally, the extravagant privileges of Canada’s unelected senators are written off by the media and other commentators as an unfortunate quirk of Canada’s parliamentary system.  However, this time around, this sort of tactic is not working; the wave of scandal is sticking and there appears to be a new popular groundswell to finally abolish the Canadian Senate.  What has been the change this time around compared to previous scandals?

Strict new changes to Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) program took effect across the country on Jan. 6. The Conservatives’ plans to “reform” EI have been public knowledge since the Harper government tabled its last federal budget in March. Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley claimed the new changes merely clarify what is expected from EI claimants and help better connect job applicants to available work. In reality, they represent the latest attempt by the Canadian bourgeoisie to make workers pay for the ongoing capitalist crisis through austerity and a reduction of the social wage.

Every day, new figures and stories come out describing Europe’s decay into virtual anarchy.  Once known for providing its workers with a relatively stable standard of living, one European country after another is pushed into crisis and austerity, provoking social explosions across the continent. The Canadian ruling class, on the other hand, has taken a certain satisfaction in asserting that this country is above the European fray.  Do these claims actually have any weight?  Or, does the Canadian economy have the same underlying weaknesses that have brought European capitalism to its knees? How close is Canada to a Europe-style meltdown?

Before Parliament was dismissed for the summer, the federal Conservative government was being rocked by the scandal surrounding the government’s purchase of the infamous F-35 fighter jets.  At the same time as the federal Tories are crying poor and demanding historic cuts from workers across Canada, the government is trying to hide the fact that they they fabricated the original public costs of the jets, and are prepared to pay nearly $30-billion for the fighter planes.  The F-35 scandal not only reveals the incompetence of the Conservatives, but what the genuine priorities are for the ruling class.

In the fall of 2008, as the financial crisis was just starting to impact the United States, the Harper government was lauding Canadian banks as the “soundest in the world.” This was to become a well-rehearsed and well-worn talking point for government and corporate mouthpieces throughout the duration of the 2008-10 recession. However, a recent study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reveals a staunchly different picture. Massive government bailouts were dolled out to the country's largest banks to the tune of $114-billion of public money being pumped into the financial institutions.

The relentless austerity measures currently being visited upon the Canadian working class are typically justified by the mantra, “There is no money.”  We are constantly told that all levels of government are broke, spending cuts are needed, and that workers must tighten their belts and permanently accept a lower standard of living. But for the state security apparatus, things are very different. Despite an apparently desperate need to cut public spending, the Conservative government plans to massively increase spending on domestic and foreign defence.  None of this security spending will aid working-class people; instead, it is very likely that our own money will be used against us in our attempts to fight austerity.

Maybe it was the high Swiss altitude, or perhaps the high of being amongst the world’s most successful capitalists, that caused Prime Minister Stephen Harper to give some uncharacteristically candid reflections on his agenda for 2012 in his address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After several minutes of trumpeting Canada’s relative economic success compared to other G20 countries, a comparison similar to being the thinnest person at fat camp, Harper got down to business.