This article recently appeared in FREEDOM (anarchist fortnightly) FREEDOM carries at least a page in every issue of international news of interest to the anarchist movement around the world. For a free trial edition write to: FREEDOM PRESS IN ANGEL ALLEY 84B WHITECHAPEL HIGH STREET LONDON E1 7QX FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL REPORT CANADA August 25th 1994 Back to the commons? The Quebec organisation Rural Solidarity has developed a new, or perhaps not so new, concept of forest management. This group which unites community activists, trade unionists, arts and crafts people, representatives of the tourist industry, farmers and the financial milieu (chiefly the credit unions) wants the forest to be taken out of the hands of the state and given to the villages. These lands should no longer be treated, 'simply as a resource to be exploited by the forest industry'. They would also like the private forest lands, which comprise only 9% of the total wood lots, to also come under local supervision. Rural Solidarity sees this as the best means of creating sustainable development, multi- purpose usage and a sense of responsibility toward the woodlands. August 30th The New Democratic Party (NDP), the Canadian version of the Labour Party had its first congress after its disastrous showing in the last election. Debate was chiefly polarised around two conceptions of party policy; remaining with the old and unpopular state capitalism or adopting neoliberalism. A few voices were heard suggesting a more populist direction, but neoliberalism predominated. Since we have a Liberal Party government operating on neoliberal economic principles, the adoption of these policies will not save the NDP, but may hasten its demise. September 1st The libertarian municipalist movement in Montreal has taken a big step forward. The Ecology Party, influenced by ideas derived from Murray Bookchin, has united with another small municipal party called the Democratic Coalition. This latter group is made up of activists in the anti-poverty, tenants and co-operative housing movements and is in favour of a decentralist and grass-roots approach. During the last city election, two Democratic Coalition candidates were victorious and proved themselves a thorn in the side to Montreal's arrogant administration. The new party is called the Democratic Ecological Coalition and will be running in all 51 wards of the city. Dimitri Roussopoulis of Black Rose Books (and of the former Ecology Party) will be standing as a candidate. Since Montrealers are extremely angry with the present regime, as evidenced by anti-tax riots earlier this year, there is a good chance that the libertarian municipalists will do well in this November's election. September 6th Thirty-eight people were arrested in the town of Jonquiere attempting to stop the school-board bureaucracy from closing the school. About 100 citizens formed a human chain preventing the removal of the furniture and building closure. In a neighbouring town, Batiscan, the people seized the school, collected money and hired their own teachers. The mayor of this village of 900 stated, 'the entire population is mobilised'. The authorities denounced the school as 'illegal' and threatened reprisals. Some twenty- five different committees have been formed in the rural areas to save local schools. Eighteen of these have federated to fight the school closures. September 10th Four Montreal doctors have been on hunger strike for the past two weeks. These representatives of the Association des Medicins de hors Quebec, (AMDHQ) a new organisation of physicians educated outside of Canada, are fighting to have their diplomas recognised (immigrant doctors have been forced to work as char ladies). The Quebec Medical Association, infamous for attacking midwifery and alternative medicine, is doing its best to maintain its present monopoly and scoffs at the AMDHQ claim that the rural areas could use more doctors. September 13th The undemocratic nature of the 'first-past- the-post' electoral system was clearly shown in the Quebec general election. A mere 0.4% of the popular vote separated the victorious nationalists, the Parti Quebecois, from the losing Liberal Party. Yet the winners got 77 seats compared to the losers 44, and the 11% who voted for the small parties were rewarded with one seat only. This single seat was a victory for the twenty four year old leader of the Action Democratique, a split-off from the Liberals. The Green party, number three in the last election, was almost obliterated, resulting from the defection of members to the party Quebecois. The new government, and unholy alliance of right-wing nationalists and social democrats has its work cut out for it. In order to get elected they promised everything to everybody and now they will have to deliver. And whilst most Quebecois are in favour of greater autonomy, only a minority seek outright independence, the true and stated goal of the Parti Quebecois. September 25th Regionalist sentiment continues to grow. At a recent meeting of the Quebec Union of Municipalities delegates pushed for decentralisation of governmental powers to the regions. They were worried that the government will give them certain duties on paper but without the power or money to do anything. The newly elected Parti Quebecois has set up a 15 member regional council whose duty is to oversee the decentralisation which they have promised and to act as regional representatives. This plan has been met with a good deal of scepticism. Delegates feared the creation of a fourth level of government at a time when people are 'pestered to death with government' and expressed the worry that powers might be removed from the villages to this regional level. Village autonomy must remain they declared. October 14th The Reform Party, the major force for decentralism and direct democracy in Anglophone Canada, has at its recent congress made a sharp turn to the right. 'Workfare', the 'Three Strikes And You Are Out' formula for serious crimes and a tough approach to immigration were adopted. The centralists (Liberals and NDP) are rejoicing since this will limit the populist Reform's appeal to the average Canadian who tends toward social liberalism. The need for a 'left' decentralist movement has never been more evident.