Letter to Rebel Youth: is the Quebec Student's struggle against corruption?

Headlines like these chauvinistically
confuse the problem of corruption with the
identify and people of Quebec (ie. Bon Homme) 

A reader writes:  I was wondering if you'd be able to offer some insight into the recent movement in Quebec.  Out here in Ontario the image the media portrays, and from what I've gathered from online forums, is that it was originally tuition hikes that were the issue, but now it has transitioned to bill 78 and protesting corruption in the province altogether. If the protest is now about overall corruption, a lot of people outside of Quebec are either going to dismiss it as being a cop out, or at least wonder why that wasn't the message from the beginning.  If the issue really was about corruption in Quebec (which I no doubt believe is true, and I believe should be the primary concern), why didn't the movement state that was the issue from the beginning? Did the student organizations say they were protesting the fees not only because they believe in free education, but because there is a bigger issue here? The media didn't show any sign of that being the case, nor did any french protesters that I have spoken to through text or online, so I have to admit I'm a little skeptical. However, I do want to understand this issue as much as possible, so any insight would be appreciated! 

Dear reader,

Thank you for your question. In our view, there is something of a political communication disconnect between Quebec and the Rest Of Canada which has to do with the National Question in Canada and the unequal historic status of Quebec in confederation. A positive sign of the student demonstrations is that, as your letter shows, more and more forces are reaching out in solidarity and trying to overcome this barrier, find the truth beyond what the corporate media says, and draw inspiration from the protests.

It is true number of streams of opposition to the current government have run together with the student protests, but we think you maybe mistaken in your initial conclusions.

YCL in Action

Here are some recent activities by members of the YCL-LJC across Canada:

• YCLers from Hamilton joined a solidarity demonstration to demand justice for the Six Nations in Grand River Territory. Read a report-back by YCL Hamilton activist Rick Gunderman in People's Voice newspaper here.
• Members of the YCL in Vancouver, British Columbia are planning a Socialist Youth Conference. You can get involved and register by connecting over facebook at this link.
• Members of the LJC-Q in Montreal have been active protesting the repressive Quebec Law 78 (which we have described here and released the following statement about here) and working to support and build the campaigns of the Quebec students and for a general strike in Quebec.

Activists in Quebec respond to debates on strategy and tactics

The massive mobilization of students in Quebec has
generated interest across Canada and around
the world, with many asking -- what can we do?!

This letter is in response to a recent call to criticize the Canadian Federation of Students, and demand this student union in Ontario call a general student strike. That letter can be read here.

We write as student activists in Québec who have been involved in organizing the 2011-2012 general student strike - on both anglophone and francophone campuses.

We are ecstatic to hear that so many students in English Canada are building a campaign to mobilize similar strikes in Ontario and elsewhere. We are heartened by the outpouring of solidarity, and we believe that the best way that students outside Québec can join the movement is by mobilizing strikes from the ground up in their own communities.

Open Letter to the CFS assumes that strikes can be organized by “elected student leaders” and masterminded provincially, if not nationally. Certainly, the Federation can and must support strike initiatives. However, these have to be built from the ground up and through structures of direct democracy - specifically, general assemblies which are fully empowered to make real decisions. This is something that we have learned again and again in Québec, and this method of organizing has consistently proven to be the only way to build viable strike movements. Students feel a sense of ownership over movements created this way, which cannot be undermined by claims of a minority imposing their will on a majority.

The problem is capitalism

People's Voice Editorial

There are a variety of explanations for the neoliberal agenda which continues to drive working people into poverty, credit card debt, homelessness and despair - and for the best way to reverse this attack.

     The latest moves by the Harper Tories offer a good example of this debate. The federal government's changes to immigration policies will bring in more temporary workers, and allow employers to pay such workers 15% below prevailing wage rates. Meanwhile, so-called "reforms" to the Employment Insurance program will compel workers to accept unsuitable job offers outside their home areas.

     The labour movement and its allies have condemned these anti-working class measures. As CLC Secretary-Treasurer Hassan Yussuff warns, such policies put downward pressure on all workers' wages.

     But some critics have offered ideas for "better" ways to improve to generate economic growth. Others argue that the Tories are somehow "misguided" or "uncaring".

Report-back on anti-NATO protests in Chicago

Protesters in Chicago march against NATO

By United National Anti-War Coalition

Led by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, 15,000 people took to the streets of Chicago to protest on May 20, the opening day of the NATO summit.

The demonstration was the largest antiwar demonstration in the U.S. in several years. The mass demonstration was the culmination of a week of activity against NATO and the G8 summits.

Both summit meetings were originally planned for Chicago, but as protest organizing gained momentum, the G8 summit was moved to Camp David while the NATO summit was reduced to only two days from the week long summits originally planned.

As the summit approached, the May 20 demonstration gained impressive support from many diverse groups, including Jesse Jackson and Operation PUSH, area unions including many SEIU locals, the Chicago Teachers Union, UE locals, National Nurses United, and many others.  Peace organizations, community organizations and Occupy groups from around the country supported the actions, as did groups from many countries around the world.

Original stats

A critical perspective on the Houla massacre

Whomever is responsible for the Houla
massacre, it is difficult for us not to see
imperialism's outcry as crocodile tears

Stephen Gowans,
Reprinted from What's Left  
Syrian government forces may or may not have been responsible for the killing of 108 civilians at Houla. Witness accounts point to militias that may have been acting independently of the Syrian government. One account describes the killings as avenging a rebel sectarian attack on an Alawite village.

All the same, no witness account has been independently verified. The events are, in the words of a UN monitor, “murky”.

The US government, nevertheless, has reached far beyond the evidence to blame the Syrian government for the atrocity, a brazenly hypocritical public relations assault on Syria. In light of the serial massacre of hundreds of Pakistani and Afghan civilians, including children, by US drone strikes, the US government has no credibility as a self-appointed champion of the innocent.

Examining the conflict with reference to US foreign policy goals, and the objectives of other parties, it is likely that the Assad government’s opponents are depending on armed conflict and the exploitation of the public relations opportunities the conflict provides to meet their goal of regime change.

Damascus, on the other hand, has more to gain from working out a modus vivende with its internal opposition than trying to win a shooting war with armed rebels that have the backing of the formidable diplomatic and material resources of the United States and wealthy Gulf petro-monarchies.