First Published: The Forge, Vol. 4, No. 30, September 7, 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
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It was to the sound of thunderous applause and the cheering of delegates from across the country that the Workers Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) was born on September 2, a little after 4 pm.
This moment was the culmination of years of patient and determined organizing in the working class.
But the historic significance of the founding of the WCP extends well beyond this.
Now, for the first time in the more than 25 years since the Communist Party of Canada degenerated into revisionism, Canadian workers have a political party to defend their interests. They now have a party they can trust, a revolutionary vanguard party pledged to the fight for socialism; a party that will not rest until the corrupt system in which we live has been abolished.
The creation of the WCP testifies to the strength of Marxism-Leninism. It was this science that guided the path towards the new Party. It permitted the rapid progress of the revolutionary movement in the four short years since three Montreal-based communist groups joined together to found the Canadian Communist League (Marxist-Leninist).
Applying Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought to the concrete conditions of our country has enabled the new Party to start its life with a clear program and political line. The WCP sets out with a solid core of revolutionaries within its ranks and a firm base of working class activists.
Even as the final sessions of the Party Founding Congress were drawing to a close, the delegates were preparing to return to their towns and cities to take up the class struggle with even more vigour.
For as the WCP steps onto the political scene, it faces a complex situation and difficult tasks.
In the international arena, the USSR continues its world-wide offensive while the US superpower is on the decline.
In Canada the new Clark government promises heavy attacks against the working people and the trade union movement – particularly public sector workers – as the crisis worsens this winter. And the Conservatives are already taking steps to tie Canada closer to Washington’s interests.
Meanwhile, the Canadian monopoly bourgeoisie and the nationalist bourgeoisie in Quebec are gearing up for the referendum battle next spring.
Defends Working Class
In each of these major battles, the WCP will defend the working class point of view.
Our Party will be actively involved in the key labour struggles. The WCP will defend the living and working conditions of Canadian workers. It will build the fightback against inflation, unemployment, repression and other effects of the capitalist crisis.
The WCP will strive to link all these battles across the country into a powerful movement against our main enemy, the Canadian capitalist class.
At the same time the working class opposes increased US imperialist domination of our country, and the WCP will fight to defend the independence of Canada.
The WCP also stands opposed to all forms of national oppression and supports the Quebec people’s right to decide their own future. It strives for the unity – based on equality – of all nationalities in the fight for a socialist Canada.
Now that the party has been formed the revolutionary movement will be able to engage in new forms of struggle and win even greater numbers of workers to the cause of socialism.
Our Party is beginning its work with a solid base in the working class, but its forces are still small. It will grow stronger and mature in the midst of the battles of the working class, of all the working people and of the oppressed nationalities.
The WCP, which defends the immediate and long-term interests of the proletariat is the only real alternative for Canadian workers. It stands in bold contrast to all the bourgeois political forces in our country which try to dupe workers into supporting the present system, or the opportunists who try to divert the working class from the revolutionary path.
Workers of all nationalities , your Party needs your support. Join with us and take an active part in the battle to end capitalist exploitation.
Rally to the ranks of the Workers Communist Party!