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Socialist Action/Ligue pour L'Action Socialiste is a cross-country revolutionary socialist organization with members and supporters actively fighting for a Workers' Agenda in the unions, in the labour-based New Democratic Party, anti-poverty and feminist movements, against the global corporate trade deals, and for environmental protection and solidarity with the struggles of working people and the oppressed worldwide. Socialist Action is in political solidarity with the Fourth International, the global Trotskyist movement active on every continent and for over 65 years in the forefront of workers' struggles against imperialism and Stalinism.

Socialist Action is based on the democratic principle of full membership debate on programme and strategy, followed by unity in action. We are fighting for a world fit for human beings, and for a mass revolutionary party to lead the struggle to victory. If you agree with what we stand for, we invite you to join us!

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�Toronto Conference Will Be a Hit: �A World in Revolt� is shaping up to be the hit international left educational gathering of the Spring season.� Sub-titled �Prospects for Socialism in the 21^st Century�, the conference set for Toronto, Canada, May 22-25, now has an agenda packed with topics and speakers sure to stimulate critical thinking and action for a long time to come.� continued

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�La Lutte Palestinienne Toujours A L�Ordre Du Jour: La lutte de lib�ration nationale palestinienne est encore � l�ordre du jour malgr� la f�rocit� et la brutalit� de la machine de guerre isra�lienne largement financ�e par l�imp�rialisme am�ricain. Au cours de l��t� 2006, la bande de Gaza a �t� soumise � une attaque militaire de grande envergure de la part de l�arm�e isra�lienne qui a d�truit notamment l�unique centrale �lectrique de Gaza en plus de tuer un grand nombre de civils palestiniens. La guerre d�Isra�l contre la bande de Gaza a �t� quelque peu occult�e par les m�dias bourgeois occidentaux � cause de la guerre contre le Liban qui a �t� �galement profond�ment meurtri�re et destructrice. Encore une fois l��tat sioniste a joui d�une impunit� totale en perp�trant ses innombrables crimes de guerre.� continued

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�Federal Budget & the Afghanistan War: Paralyzed by fear of electoral defeat, and out-maneuvered by the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party displayed cowardice, and �principles� made of play dough.� continued

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�Canadian Corporate Profits Soar: Not in the least deterred by the widely predicted North American recession, Canadian corporations recorded operating profits of $262.5 billion, led by banks, retailers, wholesalers and petroleum refiners.� continued

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�NATO Projects Biggest Heroin Harvest of All Times: Just to remind its U.K. readers of the �noble cause� for which British troops are occupying, killing people and getting killed in Afghanistan, London�s �The Daily Mail� reported in February:� continued

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��A World in Revolt� Conf. Set for Toronto, May 22-25: You won't want to miss this.� Four days of stimulating, enriching political education, discussions and debates on the biggest issues facing humanity.� Get set for an exciting tri-national revolutionary socialist conference titled "A World in Revolt:� Prospects for Socialism in the 21st Century", to be held in Toronto, Canada, May 22-25, 2008.� continued

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�Trade Unionists Must Be the Agents for Human Survival: It is easy to forget that this �universal agreement� you speak of is in fact only very recent. It was the IPCC�s 4th Assessment Report, published less than a year ago, which drove the final nail into the coffin of climate skepticism. Up until then public opinion was seriously divided on the issue, even among sections of the left, and this was mainly due to the massive PR effort of the fossil fuel and auto industries.Of course, the vested interests that promoted climate skepticism for so many years still exist, and they are as rich and powerful as ever. Only the other day, Royal Dutch Shell posted profits of �13.9 billion for 2007 (which works out at over �1.5 million per hour) � the biggest profit ever recorded for a UK company. continued

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�Canadian Sweatshop Operator in Haiti Reports Banner Year: The Canadian government's involvement in the ongoing United Nations' military occupation of Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is not confined to picking up the slack of its imperial allies, and it is certainly not about humanitarian aid.� But it is at least partly about fostering conditions conducive to Canadian corporate profiteering.� continued

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�Pakistan � Refusing to Break With Feudal Traditions:� The Pakistan People�s Party central executive committee approved the appointment of Bilawal Asif Zardari, unanimously in its meeting on 30th December at Nuedero Sind. He is son of Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated on 27 December, nominated him.� continued

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�CAW Sell-Out Spreads: A news release issued on January 15 by the Service Employee's International Union reveals that an organization funded by the CAW has reached a Magna-style sweetheart deal with Hallmark Housekeeping Services Inc, a large janitorial company.� The deal could thwart the SEIU's Justice for Janitors campaign which had signed up over 1000 Hallmark workers in the Toronto area in a legitimate unionization bid.� continued

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�Che Lives: To commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the death of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara in 2007, and the eightieth anniversary of his birth in 2008, author Richard L. Harris, a professor of global studies at California State University, persuaded his publisher to issue a new edition of �Death of a Revolutionary � Che Guevara's Last Mission� (W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2007, 315 pages, $20 in Canada).� continued

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�Norm Hacking 1950-2007: Toronto�s folk music scene lost a living legend when Norm Hacking passed away on November 25.� The songwriter, performer, poet, columnist and irrepressible romantic died of heart failure at his home in Toronto.� continued

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�CAW Delegates Drink the Magna Cool-Aid: Following a four-hour debate, delegates to the Canadian Auto Workers Council voted in Toronto on December 7 to endorse the union's 'Framework of Fairness' Agreement with auto parts giant Magna.� The company's voluntary union recognition deal sees the CAW abandon the right to strike and give up the election of local worker reps. in Magna plants in favour of a 'selection' process in which management has an equal say.� continued

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�The Mounties Almost Always Zap Their Man: The stun gun death of a Polish immigrant on October 14 at the hands of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has drawn worldwide condemnation.� At least seven official investigations are underway into the electronic weapon and its increasing use by cops.� continued

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�NDP Defeated in Saskatchewan: Sixteen years of New Democratic Party government in the western prairie province of Saskatchewan ended on November 7 when the right wing Saskatchewan Party captured 37 seats to the NDP�s 21.� continued

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�What Happened to Employment Insurance? The workers� movement fought for and won employment insurance (E.I.) some 50 years ago to help workers survive bouts of unemployment.� But by making it much harder for unemployed Canadians to qualify for benefits, Ottawa turned E.I. into a rich revenue stream that contributed more than 70 per cent of the funds required to balance the budget in the 1997-98 fiscal year, according to a new study.� continued

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�Momentum Grows in Bid to Free the Cuban 5: The largest North American conference yet held in the ongoing campaign to free the five Cuban political prisoners, imprisoned nearly a decade in the United States for their anti-terrorist activities, took place in Toronto, November 9-10.� Participants came from across English Canada, Quebec, the U.S., Argentina and Cuba.� continued

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�Liberals Win Majority in Ontario: The Oct. 10 election in Canada�s most populous province delivered a reprieve to a promise-breaker, a rebuke to a reactionary initiative, and a big blow to democratic electoral reform.� Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty got off rather easy after four years of violating his own pledges not to raise taxes (he imposed a special health premium) and to rescue municipalities and school boards from insolvency. Despite a drop in its share of the vote from 47 to 42 per cent, the Liberal Party won 71 seats in the legislature, two more than in 2003. continued

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�CAW Surrender to Magna Endangers Right to Strike: Widely seen as a shameless dues-grab, the deal between the Canadian Auto Workers� Union and the Canada-based auto parts giant Magna International to �unionize� the employees minus the right to strike, and sans shop floor elections, has rocked the labour movement. It is a tragic sign of where the CAW is going, with profound implications for the entire workers� movement.� continued

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�Behind Tory, NDP Gains in Quebec: Political spin-doctors have been busy since the three federal by-elections in Quebec.� On September 17 the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party won one seat each, and the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois held on to Saint Hyacinthe-Bagot.� continued

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�Drop Charges Against Shawn Brant: Mohawk activist Shawn Brant, 44, was granted bail, on appeal, on August 30 by Justice Robert Fournier, but not without strict conditions.� These include confinement of Brant to his house for 30 days, no participation in protests, a weekly visit to the provincial police, plus $100,000 in collateral posted by his mother and a family friend. continued

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�Nunavut�s Housing Crisis Causes Lung Disease: The housing crisis in Canada�s northernmost territory, Nunavut, has been blamed for a range of social problems from poor school performance to family violence.� Now a new study points to it as the cause of the highest rate of hospital admissions in the world for infants with respiratory infections.� continued

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�Unionization Rate in Canada 2.5 Times U.S. Rate: Statistics Canada reports that during the first half of 2007, union membership in Canada increased by 72,000 to 4.2 million.� The rate of unionization remained at 29.7 per cent, with a wide disparity between the public sector (71.7 per cent) and the private sector (17 per cent).� Overall, decreases were seen in Quebec, Saskatchewan and in Alberta (despite its current oil-based economic boom), while increases in union strength were registered in the seven other provinces.� continued

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�Of Soaring Loons & Dirty Dollars: For the first time in 31 years, the Canadian dollar (affectionately known as the �loonie� after the bird etched on the coin) is at, or above par with the U.S. greenback.� continued

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�Corporate Takeovers: Lately, some die-hard Canadian nationalists, including top flight business executives, have been wringing their hands over the so-called �hollowing out� of the country�s corporate landscape due to foreign buy-outs.� continued

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�Seniors Fear for Their Future: One-third of Canada�s senior and near-senior citizens fear that they will outlive their bank accounts, and half of those over 60 are employed because they say they need the money, according to a poll by Decima Research released in July. continued

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�Ontario Votes on Oct. 10: Municipal services are in crisis. Public education is threatened with further fragmentation and cuts. Aboriginal communities are besieged by wealthy developers. Medical drug prices continue to soar. Job loss, poverty and homelessness are on the rise. Global warming is unchecked, propelling humanity towards an unprecedented catastrophe. Crucial issues are at stake in the Ontario provincial election set for Oct. 10, 2007. continued

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�Bitter Fruits of Afghan War: Heroin from Afghanistan, a country where over 2500 Canadian soldiers serve in an imperialist occupation, is increasingly making its way to Canada and poses a direct threat to the public, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.� continued

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�Bahman Moayedi 1944-2007: Over 120 friends, family and political comrades of Bahman Moayedi gathered to celebrate his life on April 1 at an Iranian restaurant in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto.� We were drawn together by the stunning, sudden loss of someone so animated by love, honesty, human solidarity and a relentless drive for social justice.� continued

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�Sept. 26 Protest to Target Poverty in Ontario: Plans for a convergence of feeder marches culminating in a massive demonstration and rally at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on September 26 are proceeding apace, fueled by reports of deepening child poverty and a crisis in Ontario�s disability support programme.� continued

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�Black Lacks the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: It�s not so much that he stole.� It�s that he did it with unbridled arrogance, unapologetic zeal, and lavish ostentation.� Now that Conrad Black, a.k.a. Baron Black of Crossharbour, former CEO of Hollinger International, is a convicted felon four times over, facing up to 35 years in an American jail, the capitalist media chooses to dwell on... his hubris.� continued

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��Soft Cop� Harper Fools Few in Haiti & Latin America: When Canada�s Prime Minister Stephen Harper completed his tour of Latin America and the Caribbean with a brief stopover in Haiti on July 20, he yielded a revealing photo-op.� The picture published in the Toronto Star showed Harper posing with a wan smile amidst a number of Haitian patients and relatives at a Canadian-funded hospital in the impoverished slum of Cite Soleil.� The Haitians seem to be completely ignoring Harper, fixing their weary gaze in other directions.� continued

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�Corporate Takeovers: Lately, some die-hard Canadian nationalists, including top-flight business executives, have been wringing their hands over the so-called �hollowing out� of the country�s corporate landscape due to foreign buy-outs.� continued

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�Seniors Fear for their Future: One-third of Canada�s senior and near-senior citizens fear that they will outlive their bank accounts, and half of those over 60 are employed because they say they need the money, according to a poll by Decima Research released in July.� continued

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�Harper�s Worthless Concession on Afghan War: Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper�s pledge not to extend the Canadian military intervention in Afghanistan beyond the February 2009 deadline without the agreement of all parties in Parliament, isn�t worth the proverbial paper on which it is printed.

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�Good Advice for Tony Blair: As rumours first circulated that retiring British Prime Minister Tony Blair would become �a peace envoy to the Middle East,� some alternative suggestions surfaced for the warmonger�s political afterlife.

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�Grim Forecast for Canada-U.S. Climate: By the end of the 21st century, fires will destroy twice as much forest every year in Canada, 20 per cent of the icy Arctic will be greened by tundra, and Great Lakes water levels will be significantly lower. All this is according to the second report this year from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), issued in April.� continued

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�The Rocky Road of Democratic Reform: Next Oct. 10, Ontario voters will be asked if they support replacing the first-past-the-post system with Mixed-Member Proportional Representation, as recommended overwhelmingly in April by the Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform.� continued

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��Socialist� Hargrove Gifts Liberal McGuinty: Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers� Union (CAW), calls himself "a socialist without a home". So, where has our homeless leftist been lately? He has gone from backing Paul Martin�s federal Liberal candidates to endorsing Ontario Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty.� continued

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�Payday Loan Sharks Circling: Usury is making a comeback. Since Canada�s chartered banks pulled out of low-income neighborhoods in the late 1990s, payday loan companies filled the void.�� These storefront outlets charge borrowing rates as high as 1000 per cent to clients desperate to avoid eviction, keep bill collectors at bay, or get through emergencies. The two biggest companies, Money Mart and Rentcash, operate 650 outlets. There are hundreds of small firms.� continued

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�Socialism 2007 Conference a Big Success: Over sixty people crowded into the Free Times Cafe in Toronto's historic garment district on the evening of April 29 to celebrate International Workers' Day with Socialist Action, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, the Free the Cuba Five Committee, the Toronto Haiti Action Committee and the NDP Socialist Caucus.� Top quality live music and theatre performances, greetings, speeches and a raffle made for a memorable, quick-paced celebration.� continued

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�York Univ. Protester Wins Free Speech Fight: Pro-Palestinian activist Daniel Freeman-Maloy will be back at Toronto�s York University this fall, louder and more determined than ever to build a movement against war and occupation, following a dual victory over university officials.� continued

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�Farmers Squeezed by Rising Costs: Canada�s farms are dwindling in number and almost half of those that remain cannot cover their expenses, according to Statistics Canada.� The number of farms declined by 7% in the past five years, leaving 17,550 fewer farms and 19,140 fewer farmers, according to a census agriculture report released in May. The drop was most pronounced in Newfoundland and Labrador, which lost 13% of its farms, and Saskatchewan, where the numbers fell by 12%.� However, the total farm area in the country remained virtually unchanged at 67.6 million hectares. The report attributes that consistency to the �resilience� of farmers finding new ways to work, and to the growth of larger farms.� continued

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�McBreakfast Could Kill You: A single fast food meal can cause your blood pressure to spike, says a new University of Calgary study.� And such an instant jump could be a key to how high-fat meals produce heart disease over time, according to the lead researcher.� continued

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�Female Graduates Get Paid Less: �Nowadays, women outnumber men at universities, overall they get better grades, and yet women get paid less than men after graduation.� Surprising to many is not the well-documented existence of the income gap, but that it starts so soon.� continued

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�NDP Wins Historic 3^rd Majority in Manitoba: �The labour-based New Democratic Party in Manitoba won a historic third majority government in the province's 39th general election on May 22.� The NDP, under Leader Gary Doer, elected 36 members, equaling a record set by the Conservatives under premier Duff Roblin in the 1960s.� continued

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�Canadian Corporate Profits Reach Record High: �When defenders of private enterprise tell you business cannot afford to pay decent wages and benefits today, please tell them this:� Canadian corporations achieved record-high operating profits of $231.7 billion in 2006, according to Statistics Canada data released on February 22.� continued

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�Minimum Wage Campaign on the Rise: �The campaign to raise the minimum wage, long advocated by socialists and anti-poverty groups, and now spearheaded by the New Democratic Party and local labour councils, is registering important gains.� continued

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�Review of �The God Delusion�: �Although humanity is more secular in outlook than ever before, religious fundamentalism remains an ideological bulwark of the imperial agenda, and sadly, also a refuge for the oppressed. Christian opponents of abortion and stem cell research in the U.S. are in the front ranks of enthusiasts for the Iraq war, capital punishment, and George W. Bush.

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�Ammunition Against the Empire: �Need a crash course on the present state of the world? Want to untangle the terminology, separate the victims from the victimizers, understand the dynamics of unilateralism, and deduce what can be done about it all? I'd like to introduce you to a small literary arsenal.� A good place to begin is the book Hugo Chavez recommended to the world from the podium of the United Nations last September.� continued

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�James P. Cannon As We Knew Him: �This re-discovered book is a very pleasant surprise indeed. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the connection between revolutionary socialist principles, programme and organization. During my vacation reading time, I approached it as a light literary bridge between weightier tomes. I imagined it as a collection of tributes and accolades by admirers, but found it to be much more than that.�� continued

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�Stephane Dion, the Chameleon With a Past: �The come-from-behind win of Stephane Dion at the federal Liberal leadership convention in early December rattled the party�s establishment and boosted Liberals in opinion polls. To capture the crown Dion, the 51-year-old former Universite de Montreal political science professor turned-politician, wrapped himself in the green flag. He tried to sound like an innovator in his appeal to the 4,600 delegates, knowing that the scandal-plagued party was desperate for a radical make over. And he worked hard to downplay his notorious hostility to Quebec national rights.� continued

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�Le Qu�bec et La Question Nationale dans L��tat Canadien:� L�ACAE, l�Alliance canadienne des associations �tudiantes, le groupe f�d�ral �tudiant de pression, a �t� fond�e dans un effort de diviser le mouvement �tudiant, alors que la F�d�ration canadienne commen�ait � montrer son pouvoir r�el dans ses mobilisations �tudiantes. L�ACAE a initi� sa premi�re campagne, intitul�e ��L��ducation construit une nation��, autour de 1994. Elle voyait �a comme un moment crucial pour avoir une ��unit� nationale��. continuez

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�Quebec NDP Convention Hears a �Leftist� Layton:� When Jack Layton addressed the Convention of the Federal NDP-Quebec section on Nov. 12 his remarks on Afghanistan were better than I expected.

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�Canadian Imperialism Doing Fine, Thanks:� Corporate giants headquartered in Canada are significantly larger and more numerous than they were 20 years ago, according to the University of Toronto�s Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (don�t ya just love the name?).� In 1985, thirty-three Canadian companies ranked among the top five in the world in their particular business. Now, the Canadian corporate elite has more than doubled its global impact, with 72 companies that lead the world.� continued

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�Toronto Activists Celebrate Venezuela Election Win: �Over 120 people crowded the Concord Cafe in downtown Toronto on December 5 for an evening of music, drinks and speeches to celebrate the Dec. 3 election victory of Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution (Chavez won 63% of the votes cast) in Venezuela. The event was broadly co-sponsored, including by the Venezuela We are with you Coalition, the Hands Off Venezuela campaign, the Latin American Solidarity Coalition, and the Manuelita Saenz and Louis Riel Bolivarian Circles. The gathering was addressed by representatives of the sponsoring groups, by official emissaries of the Venezuelan and Cuban consulates in Toronto, the president of the Canadian Arab Federation, and spokespersons for the Toronto Haiti Action Committee, a Chilean-Mapuche peoples' solidarity group, and some political organizations.� continued

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�L�Ind�pendence du Qu�bec Encore � L�Oordre du Jour:� Quoique incompr�hensible � de nombreuses personnes au Canada anglais, la question de l�ind�pendance nationale du Qu�bec continue de peser lourdement dans la vie politique de cette province et du Canada tout entier. Que les �lections f�d�rales du 23 janvier am�nent ou non un autre gouvernement minoritaire, une chose est claire�: le Qu�bec et le reste du Canada vivent dans des univers politiques diff�rents et le gouffre entre eux va en s��largissant.� continuez

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