YCL BC on Gordon Campbell resignation

November 4, 2010
STATEMENT OF THE YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE - BC PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Young Communist League celebrates today alongside our fellow British Columbians. The resignation of Gordon Campbell, anti-worker, anti-youth Premier, has been a long and hard fought campaign of many. For the exiting Campbell we say, "Good riddance".

Working people in British Columbia may have one less corporate lackey in the Legislature, but the fight continues. The BC Liberal government supported Campbell on each and every draconian labour law to come to the legislature in nearly a decade. Within the government there are those equally committed to advancing the interests of the capitalist class as Campbell was - this cannot be tolerated. Now is the time to increase political activity and block the development of the BC Liberal agenda.

British Columbians shouldn't have to wait for a year to abolish the HST. We say the people have already spoken, abolish the HST now! Youth need increased wages, reduced tuition, and better access to education immediately. The YCL calls for the immediate in-statement of a 16$ minimum wage indexed to inflation. Cost for post-secondary education must be halved including tuition, books, dormitories and rent, and food. Grants must take the place of loans, and all student debt must be cleared. Anti-environment schemes like "run of the river" private power must be canceled.

Simply because Gordon Campbell has left office does not mean that the BC Liberal government will abandon its destructive neo-liberal principles. A new Premier with similar goals and politics is certain to replace him as long as the Liberal Party remains in power. Waiting for the next round of elections to take action will mean the continuation of Campbell's hated policies in the interim. The fight must be in the streets to make the changes necessary, British Columbians must vote with their feet!

Statement by the Communist Party of British Columbia on the resignation of Gordon Campbell

The three terms of the Campbell Liberals have been characterized by implementing the lowest taxes for the wealthy and corporations in North America at the expense of the standard of living, wages and social programs of BC residents. His forced resignation is a compliment to a tenacious and awakened electorate who has had enough.

In his devotion to corporate welfare Gordon Campbell kept the minimum wage at the lowest level in Canada while presiding over an economy where the top ten CEO’s collectively in 2009 earned $70 million dollars. Upon the imbalanced scales of extreme wealth and extreme poverty Gordon Campbell’s weight was always on the side of extreme wealth.

For seven years British Columbia has had the worst child poverty in Canada. After nine years of tuition fee increases BC takes in more from tuition fees than it does from corporate taxation. The massive privatization of Healthcare services, with parallel cutbacks in quality and accessibility, has channeled hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into corporate bank accounts while rolling back healthcare wages 15% and then freezing them at that level.

The Campbell Liberals repeatedly broke election promises that had value to the public and steadfastly adhered to every policy that gave away public resources to private business. They have brought almost every school board in BC into funding crisis that has put 200 schools on the closure list so far. They broke their promise not to privatize BC Rail and in the corrupted bidding process implicated cabinet ministers in a scandal currently hidden behind two scapegoats and a plea bargain that hides the extent and involvement of elected officials in betrayal and corruption.

The Campbell Liberals have gutted the Environmental Assessment Act and created Cabinet powers that overrule municipal by-laws and autonomy to the point that municipalities can only govern if they don’t interfere with corporate interests. They cut the transfer of gambling profits to Charities and the Arts from 33% to 10%. They made massive funding cuts to Women’s Shelters, closed down homeless hostels and cut and slashed their way through almost every social or special needs program in the province.

For Gordon Campbell to whine about a vindictive public and the strain on his family after ruining so many lives is typical of the arrogance and contempt he and his government have exercised. The NDP MLA’s and Party Leader who stroke him on his way out with platitudes about “years of public service” should tell the truth and expose the years of “corporate service” if they don’t want to appear as members of the same club.

Gordon Campbell was not brought down by the parliamentary opposition; he was not brought down by a caucus revolt. He was brought down by massive public rejection of the Liberal Government’s record of lies broken promises and deceit that made it impossible for him to continue. The HST debacle and the transfer of $1.6 billion from the public to the private purse has become the catalyst, the glue of all the diverse forces screaming betrayal. The historic pending referendum is evidence of the public rage.

Gordon Campbell is going, he should be gone and his entire caucus that supported him doggedly should leave with him.

* 30 -

Solidarity with the comrades of the Communist Youth of Ecuador

On Monday, October 25 at the University of Guayaquil (Ecuador), Comrade Secretary General of the Ecuadorian Communist Youth Edwin Perez Chévez was brutally assaulted by mercenaries of the most reactionary sector of society in this country.

As a result of the attack, after several days in coma, the comrade has died.

We denounce the aggression against this comrade; this was no accident. It was part of a planned campaign of persecution orchestrated by those who last September 30 tried to destroy the popular process overthrowing the president-elect Rafael Correa.

This campaign is targeting the brave revolutionaries who are working to make possible a new future for the people of Ecuador.

This is the latest aggression of the imperialist strategy in Latin America to strangle the forces advancing an alternative to U.S. hegemony – a campaign which has included the coup in Honduras, the decades-long atrocities committed by the military and paramilitaries in Colombia, the bombings, sabotage and economic blockade against Cuba, and the subversive campaign against the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela including the coup attempt, and the expansion of U.S. military bases and political tensions along the Colombia/Venezuelan border frontier.

For all this we declare that the only way to achieve freedom and sovereignty of the people is to fight against imperialism’s attempt to impose its interests around the world, either through direct military intervention or through the use of locally-based mercenaries.

The Communist Youth Collective (of Spain) expresses its full solidarity with all the comrades of the Communist Youth Ecuadorian and especially with the family of Comrade Edwin.