This column is written and edited by the Young Socialists (YS), an international organization of young workers, students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more information about the YS write to: Young Socialists, P.O. Box 14392, St. Paul, MN 55104. Tel: (612) 644-0051. CompuServe: 105162,605

Last week, ten new members joined the Young Socialists in the United States, the highest one-week total in the YS recruitment drive so far. With a similar pace, the goal of recruiting 80 new YSers by December 1 is reachable.

TORONTO - In June 1995 the conservative government of Premier Michael Harris was elected and unleashed its austerity and anti-union drive, called the "Common Sense Revolution." Since then the Harris regime has been cutting health care, welfare, low-cost housing, education, and attacking the democratic rights of youth and working people.

At the same time the attacks have provoked widespread resistance led by organized labor, student and community organizations. Since last December five protest/shutdowns in southern Ontario cities have taken place involving tens of thousands of people. Many of the protesters have been high school, college, and university students, as well as young workers and unemployed youth.

Harris has cut CAN$1.2 billion from the education budget this year. Another CAN$600-900 million in cuts is yet to come (CAN$1=US$.73).

The Toronto Young Socialists chapter has participated in each of these protests reaching out to young fighters with the truth. YS members have been explaining that the problem we face is not Harris himself, but the world capitalist system which is on a downward curve towards more depression, fascism, and war.

We have just come through the massive Metro Toronto Days of Action. Months before the actual protest, the YS began to get involved in the organizing of this action through coalitions set up by the Metro Network for Social Justice and the Labor Council of Metropolitan Toronto.

On Friday, October 25, the protest brought Metro Toronto to a crawl through "cross-picketing" at 300 work sites. In order to avoid charges of illegal walkouts, union members picketed plants other than their own. Public transportation came to a halt because transit workers would not cross picket lines set up by auto workers, postal workers, students and others despite Labor Board injunctions against picketing.

On that day, YS members participated in a picket line that surrounded the S.A. Armstrong plant. The picket of 500 was organized by the United Steelworkers of America to support the S.A. Armstrong strikers. These workers have been out for six months against the attempt by the owners to break the union through the use of scabs under the government's new anti-union laws. Other YS members took part in the transit employees picket lines that were all described by the media as being violent, where fires were set, and windows were broken. YS members also participated with thousands of others in demonstrations at the Toronto Stock Exchange and a rally to defend education as a right organized by the Canadian Federation of Students and others.

On October 26 we participated in a massive demonstration of close to 200,000 people from the Toronto area and all across Ontario to the provincial legislature. Nicholas Petrogulia, a student at Oakwood Collegiate said, "We're making people aware of the effects of the cuts, we're getting ready for three years from now [when the next election is scheduled].

"I'm here to show my support as a health care user, student and son of a taxpayer," he continued. "Canada's the first to vote on human rights policies at the UN, but we're not showing it [inside Canada]."

Several YS members from out of town participated in the protest. They came from Vancouver, Montreal, Detroit, and Chicago. This helped us make sure we had YS members at the key picket lines and rallies such as the picket lines to help shut down the public transit. We helped sell the Militant, Pathfinder books and collected names of young people interested in the YS. We met six people who expressed interest in joining, including four high school students, one university student from Sweden, and a student engineer who is a member of the Canadian Auto Workers currently working at Ford Electronics.

On the Saturday after the demonstration the YS organized an open house with the Communist League at the Pathfinder Bookstore here. Nearly 60 people attended.

Diane Kalen of the Toronto YS chaired the panel discussion, which included YS member Mark Gilsdorf, who was running for U.S. Senate on the Socialist Workers Party ticket in Detroit, and Michel Prairie, a Communist League leader from Montreal who is active in promoting the fight for Quebec's independence.

There are great recruitment possibilities for the YS in Canada. Since last April's convention in Minneapolis, all three YS chapters have doubled their membership. Since the Toronto Days of Action, the YS chapter here has recruited two new members and two others have asked to join. We will keep doing this through participation in more class struggles like the Days of Action.  
 
 
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