Fred Wilson

Without Libby Davies, what course will the NDP chart?

rabble staff — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 15:09:20 +0000

Friday, December 12, 2014

Libby Davies will not run again in 2015. This puts one of the NDP's most secure seats in play, and leaves a gaping hole on the portside of the party.

The New Democratic Party's political boat is listing today with the announcement by Vancouver East MP Libby Davies that she will not seek re-election in 2015. Her departure from the caucus will not only put in play one of the most secure NDP seats in the country, but more importantly will leave a gaping hole on the portside of the party.

Northern Gateway approval: When oil industry decisions become the 'public interest'

fwilson — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 15:54:12 +0000

The National Energy Board has never rejected a major proposal from the oil industry, and so it really comes as no surprise that they have approved the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.

If there ever was or could be a pipeline that the NEB could have turned away from on the basis of a social consensus of Canadians, surely Gateway was that pipeline. But the NEB has just proven that it cares not a whit about how Canadians define the public interest. The NEB really has only one constituency that it considers relevant; that being, of course, the oil and gas industry.

The Line 9 connection to energy security and sustainability

fwilson — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 01:40:37 +0000

Activists and protests shook up the usually staid proceedings of the National Energy Board in Montreal and Toronto this month when the regulatory body and the battery of oil industry lawyers that follow it met to deal with Enbridge's proposal to reverse "Line 9B."

Harper launches his war on labour with passage of Bill 377

fwilson — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 05:33:16 +0000

Stephen Harper's class war against Canadian unions came out into the open Wednesday when the PM led the Conservative majority to pass the anti-labour bill C-377.

Every one of the 147 votes for the law that singles out union finances for discriminatory treatment by the government was cast by a Conservative. Every opposition MP and five Conservative backbenchers mustered 135 votes against.

Although technically a private members bill from B.C. Tory Russ Hiebert, there was never any doubt that the legislation was a government initiative. Opposition MPs had days earlier signalled to labour organizers that the vote on 377 was being informally whipped out of the PMO and was all but assured of passage.

Win on the canals

fwilson — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 20:31:29 +0000

I'ts not easy to slow down or alter the Conservative agenda, but it seems that a common front of residents, boaters, tourist operators, towns and villages, and the union representing Parks Canada workers have succeeded in saving the season for the historic Rideau and Trent Severn canals in 2013. This fight is far from over, but if the communities and organizations that came together to defend the canals remain united and stay vigiilant, this precious part of Canadian hertiage and identity may survive the Harper era.

Here is the statement issued by the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, a component of PSAC:

UCTE congratulates communities for keeping the canals and waterways open

Extreme weather and Conservative extremists a perfect storm for heritage waterways

fwilson — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:57:20 +0000

As the summer of 2012 recedes into memory, extreme events leave their mark on the land, the water and on the institutions that for millions are part of a shared Canadian experience. In Eastern Ontario, the summer was an extreme weather event which saw a level 2 drought. The drought was serious business for farmers and a lot of crops just didn't make it to harvest. For cottagers, boaters and outdoor recreation users, water levels dropped by half a metre or more.

Resilience and solidarity in labour's summer victory against Rio Tinto

fwilson — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:11:05 +0000

It's membership time. Cultivate Canada's media. Support rabble.ca. Become a member.

In the heat of an Eastern Canadian summer there is a blast of fresh air for the trade union movement with the decisive win by the United Steelworkers in the six month lockout at the hands of global mining giant Rio Tinto in Alma Quebec.

Mulcair and the new NDP: A time of change

fwilson — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:55:38 +0000

At times of significant political change, it always helps to wait a while before reaching ultimate conclusions. So it is with the election of Thomas Mulcair as the new leader of the New Democratic Party.

After four ballots and more than 24 hours of voting, there was a sense that something had changed when Tom Mulcair emerged the winner. At 57 per cent his victory was hardly decisive, but it was nonetheless a clear win which allowed the convention to close ranks and for all camps to pledge unity and support for the new leader.

RIP Frank Kennedy. We aren't making labour leaders like him these days

fwilson — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:08:23 +0000

There will be a memorial on March 4 at Vancouver's Maritime Labour Centre for Frank Kennedy. B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair and MP Libby Davies will be among those honouring one of the great trade unionists and civic leaders that I have known.

Frank Kennedy's death leaves a hollow spot in my political soul, because we just don't seem to be making leaders of his calibre these days. Frank won't be remembered for lobbying governments or administrating the union while a battle raged outside his door. He took the labour movement head on into the fights that mattered, and he had a unique ability and passion for linking labour with community and social movements.

Caterpillar and Rio Tinto lockouts force unions into underdog fight against global capital

fwilson — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:48:58 +0000

In Alma, Quebec, and London, Ontario, workers are standing together on picket lines against the cold and winds of January. They have strong unions and solidarity to raise their spirits -- but these workers are underdogs against massive economic power and the ruthless force of global capital.

Caterpillar and Rio Tinto lockouts force unions into underdog fight against global capital

rabble staff — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:16:33 +0000

Labour under attack.

Caterpillar and Rio Tinto lockouts force unions into underdog fight against global capital

A year unfulfilled -- a contrarian view

fwilson — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:29:30 +0000

Conventional wisdom has it that 2011 was a turning point for democracy and progress, a year of hope and inspiration. The year in which the protester came out from behind the sign and became the person of the year who was making change.

I find myself a contrarian to this uplifting view. I have little hope arising from the progress that did not materialize. It was a year of progress unfulfilled, and frankly we are left with a world less friendly and more austere than a year ago.

Labour's coming showdown with Harper

fwilson — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:56:49 +0000

After just six months of a Conservative majority, Canada's labour movement is heading for a showdown with the Harper government. If there were illusions about the ability of the trade union movement to coexist and influence the Conservative government, there are few left today. Attacking unions and reducing their political and economic role has emerged as a central element of the Conservative political strategy. The showdown is coming because social conservatives want a fight with the unions.

Protesters defeat Harper's oily tarsands pipeline obsession

rabble staff — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:56:22 +0000

Keystone XL pipeline delayed by U.S. government.

With Keystone XL all but dead, Harper's no-brainer is now his migraine

fwilson — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:24:23 +0000

Stephen Harper said the Keystone XL pipeline was a no-brainer, and he arrogantly dismissed any and all criticisms of the flawed development model of a 1-million barrel per day, raw bitumen pipeline traversing the continent all the way to Port Arthur, Texas.

The no-brainer has become a migraine headache for our PM and it is now precisely his judgment and wisdom that must be evaluated after U.S. President Obama announced today that there will be no decision on XL until well into 2013.

If XL is not now dead, it is on long-term life support. Some estimates have put delays beyond the end of this year to the $7-billion project at $1 million per day. Oil industry analysts point out that XL's contracts require shipments to commence before the end of 2013.