Pay Equity
and the need for Fair Trade by Jason Ramone:
NAFTA
the North American Free Trade Agreement between the Canada, the United
States
and Mexico - has had a devestating effect on Canadians and the people of
Cornwall.
Brian Mulroney and the Conservatives sold out Canada for the sake of
Globalization
and the profits of Trans-National Corporations. Significant job losses
have occured in Canada and in Cornwall because of NAFTA. The conservative
Fraser Institute think tank says there are now more jobs now in Canada.
This is insignificant, because these jobs are lower paying, and this includes
part-time jobs, because many people now need two or three jobs to pay skyrocketing
rents, hydro bills, and food costs.
In
Cornwall many factory jobs left the city including Cortaulds, Levis, and
now Domtar is downsizing its work force. These jobs had good unions and
good benefits and good saleries. These were living wage jobs vital to the
economic health of our community. The reward to hardworking and productive
people is a pink slip, unemployment, so that a company who profited and
polluted our community can go move to a forigen country and pay those workers
less wages for the same work. This is not fair - when someone works at
Domtar now has to work at Walmart for minimum wage - this is not progress.
This is the de-evolution and downsizing of our community.
Walmart
came into Canada after the signing of NAFTA like a locus, a disease feeding
off of our misfortunes. At a time when manufacturing jobs are leaving Cornwall,
the service sector is growing. Walmart has provided many jobs for our community,
but not living wage work. A mother and father working at Walmart could
not support a family. If these workers form unions, they may lose their
jobs altogether. The Walmart in Quebec that started a union has been shut-down,
sending a message to communities all over Canada including Cornwall. The
reason why Walmart is so sucessful is because they sell for less. The sell
us products from China, Bangladesh, they sell us products made by slave
or inhumane labour.
Low
paying workers in Canada are now forced to shop at Walmart instead of supporting
the local economy. Once apon a time our neighbours owned or worked at locally
run community buisnesses, now when we shop at Walmart we're helping to
put our neighbours out of buisness. We are committing an act of economic
suicide. Cornwall has high unemployment, a large underpayed working class,
and Cornwall is facing an economic crisis. Unemployment and underpayed
workers leads to theft, family violence, violence against women, suicide,
drug use, and fustration. According to the Cornwall Community Police Service
Report crime has increased in the last two years. Unemployement is
destroying our community. The people of Cornwall are being reduced to consumers,
not human beings. We deserve better than this.
Pay
Equity between men and women still exists today in Canada and in Cornwall.
Men and Women are not paid equally for the same work, but pay equity is
no longer just a local problem, but it is truly a global problem. The inequality
between First World Countries and Third World Countries, and the ineqality
of pay between men and women here are apart of the same fight for Social
Justice. Pay Equity, Unions, Human Rights, Enviromental Standards, must
become global like the trans-national Corporations. We have to think globally,
but we have to act locally. We have to work together, and support locally
run buisnesses and local farmers, we have to support unions, and we have
to stand up for injustices that women, people of colour, and homosexuals
face in the work place and the community.
Think
about it, there are enough people here today who can stand up and make
a difference. This is not a left wing or right wing issue, this is about
the top versus the bottom, and there are enough of us who can topple this
economic pyramid. If people can't put food on the table, can't pay the
rent, that is our wedge issue, and that is how we can reach people and
provke change.
Univeristy of
Ottawa’s Fulcrum - Dec 2nd 2004
Letter to the
editor by Jason Ramone
The
Bush Debate rages on. In response to the letter to the ediotr “Anti-Anti-Bush
Letter” published in the Fulcrum Nov 11-17.
First
I would like to say that a dislike of George W. Bush is not a Canaidan
phenomenon, but as polls sugests, it is a sharded global opinion by most
nations. Opposition to George W. Bush is not an intellectual Micheal Moore
bandwagon trend, but it is instead a reasonable opinion that many people
share. Searle says that only 20 per cent of young Canadians voted, but
it is a fallacy to say that only 20 per cent of those politically vocal
like the Canadians cheering for Kerry at that bar voted in the last Canadian
election. A logical supposition si that the most vocal and
politically
active make up a majority of our peer group that voted in the last election.
Let us explore some of the reasons why some would oppose the current Republican
administration. The Bush government is in oppostion to gay marriage and
women’s reproductive rights. The Republicans have a religous fundamental
base, amongst whom 15 per cent of Americans elieve Bush was appointed president
by God. Furthermore, while the U.S. was supposedly searching for weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq, Iran and North Korea have furthered their
nuclear programs and are a real threat to global peace. Domestically, the
Amerian economy and people have suffered, while massive tax cuts have benefit
corporations, whos profits are used to send jobs overseas. Republicans
oppose Kyoto, and their policy has also caused massive damage to the enviroment.
In response to Kerry being an isolationist, let us remember the records
of Clinton and Bush on softwood lumber, and Bush’s record concerning Canadian
beef. Canadians have a legitimate beef with George W. Bush and the Republicans,
and it is not merely about trade, and it is a view shared by many other
nations. Nations see American domestic and foreign policies as being very
destrucitve.
"Solidarity will
defeat discrimination"
Letter to the
Editor by Jason Ramone
A recent
story described the gay pride festival on Labour Day weekend as an insult
to the labour force. That is a ridiculous statement! The Canadian Labour
Congress, the Ontario Federtaion of Labour, various unions, and labour
councils across Canada have been supportive towards gay equality in the
work place and will gladly endorse a pride event that weekend. I understand
my privilege though, and that is why I must support gay pride. I understand
that every day is a hetrosexual parade, on television, at resturants, movie
theatres, bars, and on the streets. Every day we see blatant acts of heterosexuality
while gays, lesbians, transgendered, and two-spirit people hide out of
fear of discrimination. We live in a society where church and state are
separate,
where heterosexuals destoryed the meaning of marriage by half of
them divorcing, and hwere young tweens and teens wear next to nothing.
It is ridiculous to say homosexuals will corrupt children, or the meaning
of marriage, or the meaning of decency, when the heterosexuals got to them
first. I’m sure there was time in our history when the Worldfest
in Cornwall would have faced the same discrimination. I’m glad we live
in a country that welcomes Worldfest, and I’m glad we live in a country
that is starting to except gay pride. There is a phrase I learned in at
a labour youth conference in Toronto, and it is that solidarity works.
When people stand united against discrimination, discrimination will be
defeated, and then we can start
moving
forward together in equality.
The
Nads and Jason Ramone are political. Got Questions? EMAIL
ME.
