by John Clarke, Provincial Organizer, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

On October 7, pre-trial motions began in my second jury trial based on charges that were laid against me following a police attack on a homeless march to the Ontario Legislature on June 15 of 2000. It is alleged by the Crown Attorney's Office that I "counselled participation in riot on that day as well as the assaulting of police officers". If convicted, I face a maximum jail term of seven years.

In the summer of 2000, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) sought to address the crisis of homelessness in Toronto and the vicious neo liberal policies of the ruling Ontario Conservative Party. The means we employed was a March to the Legislative Assembly that featured a demand that a delegation of women and men affected by homelessness be allowed to address that body. The Government rebuffed our delegation and a provocative and brutal police operation was set in motion that involved repeated baton charges by riot clad cops and the use of a mounted units to clear the Legislative grounds. This reckless action sparked a major confrontation with the 1,5000 demonstrators that became known in the media as the 'Queen's Park Riot'.

Over forty people were charged by the police at the event or in the weeks following it. Three OCAP members, Stefan Pilipa, Gaetan Heroux and myself, were singled out as 'leaders' of the March and faced a Jury trial as alleged organizers of a 'planned riot'. It was a return to the use of the antiquated and reactionary 'public order' provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code that have scarcely been used since the political show trials of unemployed and trade union leaders in the 1930s. Now, as in the days of the Depression, this kind of repression is designed to silence opposition and stifle dissent.

Far from OCAP being intimidated or derailed, however, the legal vendetta of the State has brought us hugely increased support and brought forward a whole new layer of capable and dedicated activists. Jailings and harsh bail conditions have only made us more determined. The attempt to criminalize and isolate us has not only failed. It has proven counterproductive.

In January of this year, the first Jury trial got underway. The Crown had assumed that over twenty police witnesses, graphic footage of the confrontation and a set of lurid theories about the plans we had for the day, would automatically convince a jury to convict. As it turned out, the Jury reflected the political polarization of Ontario society and became hopelessly deadlocked. A mistrial was declared on May 11. Our victory was especially galling to the Crown because we engaged in no cringing apologetics but ran a principled defence in which we presented our militant politics clearly before the Court.

On June 18, the Crown announced that it would not proceed with the charges against Gaetan and Stefan but that I would face a second trial. Despite the uncertainty they must feel about the outcome, the authorities have decided that a ritual of retribution can't be dispensed with.

We go into this second trial with a huge amount of confidence. It is highly likely that another legal victory can be obtained but, in the event that they get their conviction, we shall still win the political battle. There is a huge amount of support and solidarity and any significant jail term will only fuel our struggle.

The present court case flows from OCAP's efforts to point the way forward in the fight against capitalism's attempt to solve its crisis at the expense of working people and the poor. We have long argued that futile displays of moral indignation and token protests will not suffice. We must rediscover the kind of militant mass action that gave birth to the Labour Movement and established a body of social rights for working people. We must, as OCAP has expressed it, 'fight to win'.

The Labour leaders in Ontario shied away from decisive action against the Conservative Government and the resulting undermining of working class rights and living standards was appalling. The discredited Tories have now been replaced by a Liberal Government that has been elected on the basis of a cynical pretence that it represents 'change' for the population of this Province. Should a new, Liberal Attorney General decide to proceed with the legal persecution of OCAP, it will be a very telling indication of just how bogus the climate of 'change' in Ontario actually is.

We fight in the workplaces and in the streets. Sometimes the fight has to be a defensive one in a courtroom. However, in our immediate struggle to win concessions and in our coming battle to transform society, change will be won through our organization and strength as working people.