Canada: More of the same
The June 2nd general election results were good news from a capitalist perspective, reports Harold Lavender. The horizon shows no major threat to rapid economic restructuring or government austerity budgets. But tensions around the Quebec national question suggest storm clouds ahead. Canadian imperialism increasingly sees its future in prying open the global economy for foreign investment and exports (by extending the North American Free Trade Area NAFTA to the rest of Latin America and above all by developing Asia-Pacific integration via APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)).
Domestically a drive to become "internationally competitive". tonally competitive, and "fight the deticit ' and "fight the deficit" through neo-liberal cutbacks federally and provincially are driving down popular living standards.
In office since 1993, Jean Cretien's Liberal Party have succeeded in imposing the most draconian cutbacks in social spending in the post-war era. Responsibility is being passed to the provinces through multi-billion dollar cuts in transfer payments for health, post-secondary education and welfare. Despite promises of job creation, official unemployment under the Liberals is still nearly 10% (and much higher for youth). The lot of the poor is increasingly desperate because of major cutbacks in eligibility for unemployment insurance and welfare.
None of this has led to a mass radicalisation or political shift to the left by the majority of the working class.
The Liberal's parliamentary majority and share of the popular vote (38%) was less than expected. The result suggests an undercurrent of mass insecurity and disaffection — although anti-elitist anger is currently being expressed in very fragmentary ways. Public lack of confidence in politicians and politics was reflected in falling voter turnout. At 67%, this was Canada's lowest turnout in more than 50 years.
The Liberals sought re-election on the basis of their economic record: success in reducing the deficit," coupled with promises for the gullible of better times ahead. They suggested jobs would increase in a favourable business climate and that once the war on the deficit had been won there would be fewer cuts and more money could be freed to address issues likes child poverty.
The most overtly right-wing parties, the Conservatives and the Reform Party, raised issues like tax cuts for the wealthy and law and order. But they failed to make an electoral breakthrough. The Liberals largely stole 8 International Viewpoint #291 their economic agenda, and particularly in Ontario, the most populous province, the right-wing vote was evenly split between Reform and Conservatives.
Among the issues largely ignored in this election were the negative impact of global capitalist economic restructuring, massive government cutbacks in social spending, mass joblessness and underemployment, deepening poverty, no future for youth, attacks on affirmative action on women's and gay lesbian and rights, racism against visible minority immigrants and first nations, first nations' right to sovereignty and accelerating environmental destruction. Social democracy
The vote of the social democratic New Democratic Party rose modestly from seven
Québec to eleven percent. But it scored a breakthrough in the Atlantic provinces. Canada's poorest region has been devastated by mass unemployment and government cutbacks. The NDP succeed in its very limited goal of electing more NDP members to Parliament and regaining its official parliamentary party status. But it failed to win back most of the working class votes lost in 1993, when its support plummeted from 21 to 7% of votes.
The NDP criticised Liberal promises as utterly worthless given their past record, and demanded "real targets on jobs" and greater commitments on social programs. But while the NDP campaign reached some people, it failed to have an impact in most regions.
The irrelevance and failure of social democracy was particularly evident in the industrial heartland of Ontario, where the