Protests hit Quebec festival move to shut musical revue

Vol. 82/No. 32 - August 27, 2018
Above, promotional image by Montreal Jazz Festival for production of “SLAV,” a musical program festival organizers canceled after protests claimed production was “cultural appropriation.” Director Robert Lepage, actors, singers, artists and workers in Quebec and beyond have opposed the censorship.

MONTREAL — Artists, performers, writers, political figures in Quebec and others are speaking out against a campaign here to censor the work of artists they accuse of “cultural appropriation.” “SLAV,” shown as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, is…


Doug Ford election in Ontario reflects working-class unrest

Vol. 82/No. 26 - July 16, 2018
Protest in Toronto against rising cost of electric bills, Nov. 23, 2016, part of widespread working-class anger directed against Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. Her Liberal Party, governing for 15 years, lost to Progressive Conservative’s Doug Ford, reflecting workers’ frustrations.

MONTREAL — On June 29 political outsider, “anti-establishment politician” and millionaire businessman Doug Ford took office as the premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and industrial heartland. His Progressive Conservative Party won the June 7 election there. The Liberal…


3,000 rail workers strike against Canadian Pacific

Bosses demand Ottawa force workers back
Vol. 82/No. 23 - June 11, 2018
Striking rail workers at Canadian Pacific Intermodal Yard, Lachine, Montreal, May 30. Action by conductors and engineers shut down CP, delayed freight movement around North America.

MONTREAL — Over 3,000 Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive engineers and conductors, members of the Teamsters union, set up picket lines at 10 p.m. on May 29, shutting down Canada’s second largest freight railway system. The strike halted much of the…