Let’s Unite and March for the Future!

May 1st – International Workers Day

From the The Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) (Canada)


On May 1st in Montreal , we will take to the streets as proletarians, workers, migrants and youth to celebrate the International Workers’ Day, joining hundreds of thousands of others around the world. We will walk behind the banner “May 1st: March for Workers’ and Poor Peoples’ Struggle Against Capitalism!”

The slogan of this internationalist demonstration clearly announces who we support and who we must unite against. On May 1st, our unity with the workers and the poor extends to those who live around the world, whether in Québec, or in Canada , or in every other country. And our fight “against capitalism” likewise extends to bourgeoisie worldwide, whether in Québec , Canada , and everywhere else.

This internationalism has been overshadowed by the Québec provincial elections these past few weeks, as the mass media focused almost all of their attention on this one province. However, thanks to one little issue—the hysteria on “reasonable accommodation”—we were all reminded that we live in a much larger world, far larger than the boundaries of this province, or even this country. “Our” governments say they are working on our behalf, when in reality they work only for the rich capitalists and ruling bourgeoisie, whose interests clash with the interests of our own class: the class of poor and exploited workers, whether they live here in Québec, or elsewhere in the world.

It’s obvious that the leaders and big capitalists of the United States of America are at the head of the most powerful gang of rich criminals on the planet. We shouldn’t be fooled, however, into thinking that this gang is not also comprised of the ruling classes of all of the G8 countries, including Canada . These gangsters hide themselves throughout the world, in the most expensive mansions, in the tallest skyscrapers, and in the most well-protected bunkers. But even with their suits that cost more than the average worker’s yearly earnings, they are still criminals, who are directly responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 Iraqis. They are responsible for the chaos and destruction that plagues the world today, particularly in Afghanistan , where “our” government—really, the government of the rich—is more actively involved in the occupation than any other nation. These global criminals are directly responsible for the exploitation and oppression of the poorest countries, whether economically or militarily. They crush and abuse the people of the world, the peasants, the workers, and their families—people who are no different than us. And this is how it’s been for some time.

In September 2001, the imperialist propaganda machine initiated a campaign of defamation by labeling any form of resistance against capitalist domination as “terrorism.” Thanks to this extensive campaign, the destructiveness of imperialism has been shrouded behind catch-phrases like “liberation,” “democracy” and “progress.” The reality of their global assault against the economy, the environment and the innocents of the poorest countries of the world has been hidden. This non-stop propaganda has, over the past five years, been used to justify illegal wars, such as in Iraq , in Lebanon and in Palestine . It has also provoked an increase in social repression, racism, intolerance and discrimination in the imperialist countries, at the expense of migrant communities who come from the Middle East .

Consider the state-led repression in the suburbs of Paris; the unjustified police raids in migrant neighborhoods of London; the suspicion and persecution being fueled by the media here in Québec and Canada, which led to the arrest of a group of teenagers who the RCMP paraded around as “terrorists” and an example of the necessity of state racism; the constant reminders of the threat of lacking security at airports and metro stations based on “plots” and “secret plans” that have never actually been proven. On top of that, we now have Québec’s “reasonable accommodation” fiasco, with our own local media scrambling like headless chickens about women wearing veils at the ballot box.

Now that they’ve let the dog loose by implanting the threat of terrorism—with Muslims communities being the main victims—the bourgeoisie PR gurus have lost control. The racists and the populists in the media are adding to this sensationalism by creating a broad fear of anything alien to “Canadian” culture. They blow non-existent stories out of proportion, all the while failing to report the real stories of death and suffering, which are being played out around the world in the name of Canada . On May 1st we will tell them: get off this fear-mongering about Hijabs! Let’s fight against the real criminals!

1,000 reasons to walk on May 1st:

• We must pursue internationalism and support our brothers and sisters who live and suffer in countries being oppressed by Canadian imperialism. This internationalism has been forgotten for far too long by the self-centered trade unions. It is more important than ever for us to reaffirm our solidarity with those who struggle for the most basic rights in Iraq , Afghanistan , Iran , Palestine —for all who are under attack by imperialist invaders. Canada, Out of Afghanistan ! Imperialists, Out of Iraq !

• While we unite against the imperialist war in Afghanistan , we must also acknowledge, and expose, another kind of war, a propaganda war waged by our media and the state, against our brothers and sisters coming from Iraq , Lebanon , Afghanistan , Pakistan , India , Algeria , the Philippines , and from every other country of the world. We live and work the same as they do, in our factories, our warehouses, our workshops and stores, while the rich capitalists make profit at everybody’s expense. Workers of all countries, united against racism and exploitation!

• As we wrote last fall in our document “How We Intend To Fight” 1 to support the creation of the Revolutionary Communist Party here in Canada, “the number of proletarians, workers, employees, farm workers is greater than ever before in history.” The document also states: “Seizing the world from the bottom up—that is to say, from proletarians’ outlook—means taking action that will have impact and it is during times of crisis, and through struggle that changes in the world take place.” We have two choices: we can choose to allow the bourgeoisie to continue leading this world into chaos, which we see happening today; or we can choose to wage the “fight of poor and of workers against capitalism!,” as our May 1st slogan says. We can choose to join the struggle of those who are already waging this fight, such as the Maoists in Nepal , India , or the Philippines . This is the struggle led by the RCP in Canada , and the struggle that will be waged over the coming weeks, months and years, to transform the capitalist crisis into a struggle to radically change bourgeois society, and come to a world with no classes and no exploitation. Destroy capitalism and fight for socialism! Together, united for May 1st!