By Bill Bradley
Toronto activist John Clarke is fighting to win back the turf once defended by big labour.
According to Clarke, spokesperson for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), polite protests are not the answer.
Clarke visited Sudbury Thursday and spoke at Laurentian University. His visit is timed with OCAP's drive to get students and other social activists mobilized to protest during next weekend's PC leadership convention.
The convention will be held in Toronto, but individual riding associations will be hosting polls throughout the province.
"The polite institutionalized choreography of picketing has failed miserably because the other side is not listening," said Clarke, who has been arrested for his part in demonstrations against the Harris government.
Clarke calls the labour movement "the sleeping giant," which is not using its immense power to bring about social change.
Instead, it "shadow boxes" with the government and corporate elite, he said.
Today's social problems, epitomized locally by the tragic death of Kimberly Rogers, is a direct outcome of failed leadership by those entrusted with its safekeeping - the labour movement, said Clarke.
The new defenders of the social fabric are young people, particularly high school students, rank and file union members, First Nations people and Ontario's poor who have faced apartment evictions, disability claim problems or welfare hassles.
Clarke and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty advocate ignoring the niceties of conventional protest and have taken to "direct action casework."
Clarke noted a case where a man was owed a week's wages by his Toronto employer. When he was told he would have to wait 18 months to have the matter settled by the Ministry of Labour - a department affected by Harris government cuts - OCAP picketed the gas station and prevented the owner from pumping gas for several hours.
"He coughed up," the money, said Clarke.
Many Canadians support Clarke's movement, he said.
After the notorious confrontation at Queen's Park June 2000, OCAP's office was swamped by support calls from across Canada.
"We received close to $25,000 in donations," for a defence fund, he said.
