Among the unions with contingents were the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Teamsters, the International Woodworkers of America, and the Communication, Energy and Pulp and Paper. The British Columbia Federation of Labour has called for province-wide actions May 25.

At another protest March 9, hundreds participated in a rally to celebrate International Women's Day here. Speakers pointed out how women are bearing the brunt of the government offensive.

"I'm here because I'm a working person," said one Hospital Employees Union (HEU) member at the March 23 demonstration. "There are so many issues. They are basically setting back the province 50 years. What people have fought for, he's taking away."

High school student Janet Leung said she heard about the march from one of her teachers and came because she opposes cutbacks in programs for people with disabilities.

The British Columbia government, headed by Liberal party premier Gordon Campbell, is leading the attack on workers' rights in Canada. Campbell is carrying out extensive cuts to the social wage, first and foremost in health and education. The government has torn up contracts with hospital workers and has taken away the teachers' right to strike by declaring education an "essential service."

Among other moves, the Liberals have increased tuition fees for post-secondary education and changed labor legislation to make it harder for workers to unionize. Campbell began his term in office by reducing the minimum wage for people new to the labor force, penalizing young people and immigrants. And the Liberals are now campaigning for a province-wide referendum that would erode Native land rights.

As working people respond to these assaults, including at a protest of 30,000 February 23, many have begun reaching out to involve as broad a layer of workers and youth as possible. For example, the HEU has published special leaflets to explain the issues, including one in Chinese, and organized street corner distributions of the flyers. One HEU member told the Militant that they have organized to leaflet near a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle because of the connection between the two fights.

At the International Women's Day action, several women staffed a table with materials on the struggle of the Palestinian people. "The Palestinians are living under illegal occupation," said Pat Katagiri. "The women I met there want peace with justice. What I want for women here is what the Palestinian women want."

Many speakers at the rally encouraged participants to oppose the anti-Native referendum, describing it as a tool by the Campbell government to divide working people. "I'm worried about medical care and education cuts," Angela Timmins told the Vancouver Sun. "I think that a lot of the people who don't have the means won't be getting an education."

Anouk Kendergian is a meat packer in Vancouver.  
 
 
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