[antiwar-van] Report: Action against PM Harper on Oct 10th.

[Harsha]

NO MONEY FOR MILITARIZATION, DEMANADING JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE!

On October 10th 2006 a crowd of 50 people - later growing to over a 100 -
from various communities in Vancouver rallied in response to Prime
Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to Chinatown for a dinner organized by
businessman Johnny Fong geared towards increasing trade, business, and
investment with China. While presented as a “direct dialogue with
Vancouver’s Chinese Canadians”, a number of community-based
Chinese-Canadian organizations and other grassroots groups were of course
not invited to the dinner.

While Harper enjoyed what one can only imagine was an extravagant dinner,
the “Harper Welcoming Committee” organized dinner with and for the people
along with a strong and assertive emergency demonstration to denounce the
polices of the Harper government - from increased militarization at home
and in Afghanistan to Harper’s attack on poor and working class people by
cutting social programs.

Demonstrators took to the streets preventing access onto the main street
intersection and blocking the parkade entrance that dinner delegates were
attempting to access, a blockade that forced the dinner traffic to be
redirected and eventually come to a halt for 45 minutes.

The aggression and harassment of Vancouver police attempted to end the
action for over one hour, particularly targeting elders and women in the
crowd, however demonstrators stood their ground. Repeated chants included
“Occupation is a crime, from BC to Palestine”, “Bush, Harper you will see,
Afghanistan will be free”, and “Poor people under attack, what do we do,
stand up fight back”. Community members spoke to various issues: cuts to
women’s funding, intervention in Haiti, social housing, repressive
immigration, increasing security measures, occupation of Afghanistan, lack
of universal childcare, and unjustifiable alignment with Israeli war
crimes.

As the scheduled arrival of Harper drew near people marched to the main
entrance of the building as security officers began to line up against the
doors. When Harper’s motorcade was spotted in a back alley – having been
forced to use a back entrance – demonstrators rushed in, catching Harper
and his entourage off-guard, who forcefully pushed and locked
demonstrators out of the public mall. A strong contingent banged at the
doors, calling on Harper to have the “direct dialogue with the people” he
was in Vancouver to have. His blatant hypocrisy was of course to be
expected, as Harper was shuttled away to the comfort of the Floata
restaurant.

The effective action wrapped up soon after, with it being made to clear to
Harper that those of us disgusted at his imperialist and capitalist
policies will continue to fight back and make it impossible for him to
live in peace while thousands at home and abroad are dying in the struggle
for peace, justice, and dignity.

Below is a text of a flyer handed out during the action (* NOTE:  while
condemning the actions of the Conservative government, this flyer is not
an endorsement for any other political party.)

In solidarity and struggle,
The Harper Welcoming Committee
For more information: 778-552-2099 or karmatropolis at yahoo.ca

Endorsers: Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity
Society, Indigenous Action Group, Hospital Employees Union, Canadian
Muslim Union, StopWar.ca, Downtown Eastside Residents Association,
Philippine Women Centre of B.C, Vancouver Status of Women, No One Is
Illegal-Vancouver, BC Latin American Collective, Iranian Federation of
Refugees, Grassroots Women, Canadian Network for a Democratic Nepal, B.C.
Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Haiti Solidarity BC,
Justicia for Migrant Workers BC, Al-Awda (Palestine Right of Return)
Vancouver, Anti Poverty Committee, Canada-El Salvador Action Network,
Siraat, Bolivia Solidarity Committee, CIPO-Van y La Otra Campagna de
Abajo, Filipino Nurses Support Group, Salaam Vancouver, Group of Relatives
and Friends of Political Prisoners in Mexico, The Other Campaign
Vancouver, La Surda Latin American Collective, SIKLAB Overseas Filipino
Workers, Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance, Latin American Connexions.

+++++++++++++++++

TEXT OF FLYER:

NO MONEY FOR MILITARIZATION, DEMANADING JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE!

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is visiting Vancouver for a dinner geared
towards increasing trade and investment with China. Over the past year,
the Harper government has implemented cuts to important social programs,
while supporting privatization and a corporate-driven agenda. Harper also
has implemented an expanded defence budget, with $16 billion over two
years, in order to build an aggressive and destructive military occupation
of Afghanistan.

THE FACTS ON THE HARPER BUDGET

==> Tax cuts of $9.9 billion: According to the government’s own figures,
families with incomes of $15,000 to $30,000 will save less than $300 in
tax cuts. Corporations and the rich on the other hand stand to benefit
significantly: a lowering of the general corporate income-tax rate to 19%
by 2010; elimination of the federal capital tax; elimination of the
corporate surtax; and elimination of dividends from taxes on corporate
profits.

==> Promised $22.5 billion in spending cuts. To date there has been $1
billion in federal program cuts, including:
* No implementation of a universal childcare program. The Conservatives
have also cancelled an agreement with the provinces to fund an expanded
number of public daycare spaces.
* No funding to support their own promise of a “health-care wait-time
guarantee”
* The Conservatives voted against bill C-48 that proposed new funds for
affordable housing. In 2006, there has been approximately $7 million in
federal cuts to affordable housing across Canada.
* Status of Women Canada: $5 million cut from $13 million budget. Status
of Women Canada now has no mandate to fund groups that do advocacy or
general research. The organization's new mandate no longer includes
"equality".
* Adult Learning and Literacy Programs: $17.7 million cut
* Youth Programs: $55.4 million cut

==> Military and Security Apparatus spending
* $4 billion of increased defense spending. Base defence budget (not
including boosted spending in Afghanistan) has been increased to $16.4
billion annually with a pledge to boost it to about $20 billion by 2010 *
$1.4 billion budget is also going towards a larger police force and
beefing border security across Canada.

KEY HARPER POLICIES

* Afghanistan: 2,300 occupying troops in Afghanistan. Rick Hillier,
Canada's Chief of Defence Staff, outlined his vision for the troops “We
are the Canadian Forces and our job is to be able to kill people.” * In
March 2003, Harper co-authored an article criticizing the Canadian
government's decision to stay out of the Iraq war.
* Harper made Canada the first country to place sanctions on the newly
elected government in Palestinian territories.
* Harper termed Israeli aggression- now universally considered war crimes-
on Lebanon a 'measured response'.
* Closer integration with the US through the Security and Prosperity
Partnership of North America
* No firm or clear commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, reduction of carbon
emissions, or climate change.
* Harper told the Council for National Policy not to feel bad about the
million and a-half unemployed and poor because, "They don't feel bad about
it themselves.”
* "Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our
fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society...It
is in fact totalitarianism." (BC Report Newsmagazine, 1999)
* Called for the privatization of reserve lands, furthering the process of
colonization of indigenous territories.
* Harper supports the expansion of exploitative guest worker programs,
which allows businesses to exploit migrant labour thus affecting wages for
all working people, while creating a two-tier system of citizenship.