BY DIANE GILHULA
Reports about the left?s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
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REBICK |
Judy Rebick, one of the country?s best known activists, told a Sudbury audience, there are lots of reasons to feel optimistic about the potential to change the status quo.
Rebick said the recent election of a left-leaning mayor in Vancouver is a victory for participatory democracy.
She also cited the election of Luis Ignacio da Silva (Lulu) as president of Brazil, someone who comes from the working class, as a good sign for democracy in Latin America.
A few years ago Rebick was described as Canada?s ?lone? voice on the left.
Rebick was guest speaker at the annual general meeting of the Social Planning Council of Sudbury.
She said the Kimberly Rogers inquest has put a spotlight the struggles of the poor. The council has representation at the inquest.
?The poor in this country unfortunately have a history of being treated like animals because they have no job or income,? said Rebick.
The inquest is a window into the world of a developing underclass in Canadian society, she said.
During the last decade there has been an attempt to convince a majority of Canadians that ?the poor are the authors of their own misfortunes.?
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GASPARINI |
There has also been an attempt to sell the rhetoric that the private sector has all the answers.
The inquest has spotlighted the role of local agencies like the Social Planning Council, said Rebick.
Earlier in the evening, Janet Gasparini, executive director of the Social Planning Council, was moved to tears when she discussed her feelings of helplessness at the Rogers inquest.
?Hanging over everything we did this year was the constant reminder that a pregnant, 40-year-old woman, while under house arrest, and with no access to social assistance because of the zero tolerance policy, died alone in the her apartment,? said Gasparini.
She went on to say that ?this story brought to the forefront for many of us the constant reminder of our need to be vigilant in all we do.?
The council looks forward to the finalization of the inquest by the end of the year, and the recommendations that ?will give us all something to work with,? she said.
?As our profile expands so does the community?s understanding of important issues such as child poverty, support for young mothers, the health/income relationship, homelessness and food security to name a few,? said Terry Fortin president of the Social Planning Council.
Rebick said Sudbury can be very proud of its social activists such as the late Jennifer Keck and Joan Kuyek.
During a question and answer period following her speech, Rebick said there is no more an important issue in Canada today than organizing against the war in Iraq.
She said it is very significant that the war has not even started and yet there have been large scale protests in Washington, London and Florence.
The protests are an indication there is an involved citizenry that wants to be heard.
She said the reason Canadians have stopped voting is because they have come to believe the parties are all the same.
Rebick is editor of the rabble.ca, an on-line magazine for progessive journalism.
