Op ed by May Chiu, Québec solidaire candidate in the riding of Outremont

We put our faith in “experts” who seemed to know more about the economy than we did: high-profile economists, finance gurus and professional speculators. We figured that if the goliaths of the economy put their heads together and pulled the right levers, wealth for all would follow. (Keep reading…)

WorldWideSocialistWeb 20 August 2008

In the wake of the riot that erupted earlier this month in the north end of Montreal after the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old immigrant from Honduras, the big business media are trying to whitewash the killing and cover up the social roots of the underlying repression of minority youth. (Keep reading…)

Special to Canadian Dimension April 12, 2008

Over the past century, a line has divided the left around the world. On one side sit “progressive forces” willing to support imperialism and war, usually in return for a “seat at the table” or some other perk of power. The most discussed example of Left support for imperialism was at the beginning of the First World War when most parties of the Second International sided with their own ruling class and governments in the slaughter that followed. On the other side of the Left divide, are those individuals and organizations that take a principled position in favour of real democracy for all the world’s people and oppose imperialism and colonialism in all its forms, especially when it is their ruling class involved. Some might say the former is the “pretend Left” and the later the “authentic Left.” (Keep reading…)

February 29 2008:     http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=626

Quebec’s well-deserved reputation as having the most progressive labour laws on the continent has taken a hit after a recent Quebec Court of Appeal ruling determined that Wal-Mart Canada Corp. did not transgress the province’s Labour Code when it closed down a store shortly after employees became the first to earn union accreditation in North America. (Keep reading…)

Canadian Dimension magazine, January/February 2008

The debate in Quebec over reasonable accommodations is, in reality, one of national identity and how to both construct and integrate this young, still-evolving nation. Never before — at least in recent history — has the tension between the Canadian model of multiculturalism and Quebec’s pursuit of the intercultural model been as strong. (Keep reading…)

The Dominion NOVEMBER 29, 2007

As anti-racist, anti-colonial feminists in Québec, we have serious misgivings about the Commission de Consultation sur les pratiques d’accommodement reliées aux différences culturelles. The Conseil du statut de la femme du Québec (CSF) has proposed that the Québec Charter be changed so as to accord the right of gender equality relative priority over the right to religious expression and to ban the wearing of “ostentatious” religious symbols in public institutions by public employees. Our concern is that the Commission and the CSF’s subsequent intervention pave the way for legislation that will restrict rather than enhance the rights of women. We invite you to join us in questioning the exclusionary structure of the Commission, the assumptions it supports, and the negative impact it is likely to have on women’s lives. (Keep reading…)

Rabble.ca, August 28, 2007

Vastly exceeding the predictions of organizers, more than 5,000 people participated in the first Quebec Social Forum (FSQ) in Montreal last weekend. It was the largest gathering of the Left in the history of Quebec. (Keep reading…)

Rabble.ca March 27, 2007

The results of the Quebec election open the door for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act on a proposal he made a few days before Quebeckers voted that has fateful, long-term implications. (Keep reading…)

The old politics and certainties of the Québec left have now been pronounced dead. Monday’s election sealed what has become apparent in recent months: Quebec has reached its “Mike Harris moment”, the victory of neoliberalism in the political and ideological spheres. The three main parties — the Liberals, Action Démocratique du Québec, and Parti Québécois — split the vote almost evenly, with the ADQ and the PQ leading among francophone voters. But the numbers do not tell the decisiveness of the result. (Keep reading…)

Special to Canadian Dimension magazine March 27,2007

First, the stats:

– Liberals (PLQ) re-elected, this time as a minority government, with 48 seats, the conservative Action Démocratique du Québec (ADQ) becoming Official Opposition with 41 seats, and the Parti Québécois reduced to third-party status with 36 seats. (Keep reading…)