An Unforgettable Weekend in Winnipeg
Something happened in Winnipeg this past
weekend around the celebration of May Day. There was a reunion, a banquet, a
conference, a demonstration and a march. If you participated in even one of
these events, it would leave you with fond memories of May Day 2006 in
Winnipeg. It was the time, the place, the circumstances - the perfect mix of
young and old, workers and youth, revolutionary theory and action, old
acquaintances and new friends, high spirits and sober reflection.
It all began on Friday night with a celebration to mark 37
years of continuous political work by the Communist Party of Canada
(Marxist-Leninist) in Winnipeg. It was organized by the Manitoba Regional
Committee of CPC(M-L). This celebration was different than all previous ones.
It was an evening to honour all of the people who had
contributed to the work of the Winnipeg Branch of the Party from its formative
days in 1969. Old friendships were renewed, amusing stories were swapped, favourite songs were sung, and some historic events and the
lives of the participants were remembered in a digital slide display prepared
for the occasion. The evening was special.
On Saturday evening the United May Day
Committee held its annual banquet. More than 300 activists attended, the highest
in the 27 year history of the banquet. The "masters of ceremony" for
the evening were two spirited youth. They welcomed the crowd with their fists
high in the air and their voices ringing out the words "Happy May
Day!" They read out announcements
of ongoing or upcoming activities planned by some of the 17 organizations
sponsoring the banquet. After dinner, several musicians, singers and spoken
word poets entertained the audience. The music included old revolutionary songs
from around the world, contemporary revolutionary music by the British
composer, Cornelius Cardew, folk songs from the
1960's, and new revolutionary songs and spoken word written and performed by
local artists. The formal part of banquet concluded with the singing of The Internationale and was followed by a dance.
One sentence in the spoken word poetry,
composed and performed by a young woman at the banquet, said it all. "We
are the last class in history, so grab the world and give it a spin, ‘cuz you have nothing to lose and a world to win”. It brought to mind the words of Karl Marx and
Frederick Engels in the Manifesto of the Communist
Party who said that "All the preceding
classes that got the upper hand, sought to fortify their already acquired
status by subjecting society at large to their conditions of appropriation. The
proletarians cannot become masters of the productive forces of society, except
by abolishing their own previous mode of appropriation, and thereby also every
other previous mode of appropriation." It brought to mind the call of Marx and Engels that has stirred one generation of workers after
another around the world: "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their
chains. They have a world to win. Workers of all countries, unite!"
On Sunday afternoon, the Manitoba Regional
Committee of CPC(M-L) held its First Consultative Conference. A representative
of the MRC read out the conference report entitled “Standing up for Communism”.
It began by explaining that the MRC looked upon the convening of the
consultative conference as the inauguration of a permanent institution of the
MRC and an important means for members and supporters to participate in
discussions on how to further develop the communist movement.
The report pointed out that: “At our regional
conferences in 2000 and 2004, the MRC re-affirmed its conviction that we are
still living in the period characterized by V. I. Lenin as the epoch of
imperialism and proletarian revolution. This leads to the inescapable
conclusion that the working class must be both the leading and main force in
the struggle against capitalism and imperialism. All of the struggles of the
working class are therefore bound to suffer if the working class is not playing
its role.”
The report also discussed the intense
ideological assault against the working class, the object of which is to
deprive the working class of its revolutionary theory and its revolutionary
leadership. It concluded that what is most urgently needed at this time is not
a programme for the working class, but rather a programme of the working class, and in order to
achieve this the broadest possible discussion must be organized within the
heart of the working class on the problems facing society and solutions to
those problems. The report pointed out that the most correct programme will be meaningless if it is not adopted by the
working class as its own.
An important feature of the conference was
that it brought together a cross-section of political activists who came to
hear the opinions of the MRC and to share their opinions on the report. The
report certainly did generate a lot of discussion and it is clear that discussion
of the report and its practical implications will continue. To this end, the
MRC invited all of the participants to come together again at the Revolutionary
Chautauqua in July to continue this work..
On Monday afternoon, hundreds of people took
to the streets of Winnipeg. The youth were demonstrating their opposition to
the Canadian armed forces’ “Charging Bison” war games underway in the city.
Shouting slogans and carrying signs and banners condemning the Canadian
government’s participation in the U.S.-led aggressions in Afghanistan and
Haiti, they marched from Memorial Park, down Broadway, and on to the Rendez-Vous, where the armed forces were headquartered for
their war games. Here the two paths open to the youth were face to face. Along
the rooftop of the Rendez-Vous were several young
Canadian soldiers wearing their combat gear, with weapons slung over their
shoulders. They have been recruited by the Canadian government as cannon fodder
in imperialist wars of aggression and to attack the Canadian working class. On the
ground, facing the building, were other youth who have rejected this path and who
are presenting another path with their slogan – “One Solution – Revolution!”
If that was not enough for a May Day, the
traditional May Day march was held later the same day in downtown Winnipeg
starting from City Hall. This year’s theme was ending poverty and “A Better
World is Possible”. The youth were out in force for this march too. From year
to year the participation of the youth in the May Day march has been increasing,
and this year was no exception. This is good news for for
the revolutionary movement.
On the occasion of May Day, Modern
Communism takes this opportunity to salute everyone who contributed to
making May Day 2006 in Winnipeg an unforgettable event.