To defeat the rising tide of right-wing extremism, we must embrace change

Extremist politics usually espouse a small kernel of truth; for example, that our economy and public services are failing us. But right-wing extremists are wrong to blame these issues on ‘wokeness’ or immigration. Many of these issues are occurring at home across the nation, including in New Brunswick.

The current economy is made to support the super-rich, not the everyday person. Loblaws has lobbyists working closely with both the Federal Liberal and Conservative parties. They hedge their bets that both parties will support big business, rather than everyday Canadians.

Up to 63 per cent of Canadian adults cannot afford an unexpected expense of $1,000. The Saint John Human Development Council estimates the living wage in New Brunswick is $24.62. Yet, New Brunswick’s minimum wage is only $15.30.

Workers need to make money comparable to the cost of living. Wages have barely grown since the 1980s, and in the last decade, wages across the country have not even kept up with inflation. This is despite the fact that the wealth created by workers has grown massively.

We need to end the crisis of home ownership and homelessness

Home owners expect the value of their homes to continually increase, and they rely on the money that brings in. Because of this, if you wish to protect the value of homes, it will implicitly make renting even more costly. If you create more housing, you increase the housing supply and depress the value of homes. This creates an unsustainable rift between people who are fundamentally working class, between those who rent and those who own their homes.

We have seen a radically deceptive campaign by New Brunswick landlords on this issue. It has been extremely well documented that they have skirted or advocated against a variety of protections for working class renters. They demanded the end of the “double tax,” a tax designed to disincentivize owning multiple residential sites. They even uploaded videos instructing fellow landlords on how to avoid the rent cap imposed on them.

We need to fully restructure how we do housing. Other countries have succeeded, and I would point to the social housing system created in the Austrian capital, where private housing is considered a luxury commodity. In Vienna, there is adequate housing available for nearly the entire city’s population, and it is priced at the cost-of-maintenance by the city. This is the type of model that New Brunswick must follow if it wishes to solve the current housing crisis.

We must stop undermining our public services

For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments have systematically undermined our public services. The failures that occur due to the underfunding lead them to claim the system is no longer working, and now they propose to privatize it. This is exactly what occurred in New Brunswick with Medavie. Many forget that Frank McKenna even tried to privatize our prisons (and would have succeeded if not for then NDP Leader Elizabeth Weir). It’s why we still need to pay exorbitant costs for basic medical needs, like an ambulance.

Health care is the most severe pressure point. Our health care needs to be head-to-toe, with dental care, pharmacare and mental health care included. Not only that, but our health care system must be fully staffed and supported based on need, not budget. Mental health care especially requires additional funding and staff. This bleeding wound must be treated and treating it has been shown to raise living standards for all.

We also saw the former provincial Progressive Conservative government of Blaine Higgs continue the same roadmap of undermining our medical system. When the system was on the brink of collapse during COVID, the government was not filling doctor shortages fast enough. Instead of following Nova Scotia’s lead in aggressively finding and replacing staff, there was no sense of urgency under the previous Conservative government, and it remains to be seen if the urgency will be shown by the new Liberal government.

We need comprehensive welfare and labour reform

Workers need to feel protected from extreme and systemic poverty if they lose their jobs. As detailed above, most Canadians cannot afford a thousand-dollar emergency expense, let alone unemployment.

If workers are too poor to afford becoming unemployed, and are scared to demand what they are deservedly owed, they cannot fight for their own rights. Interrupting the bargaining process, like how Trudeau intervened in the CN/CPKC strike or the Canada Post strike, only undermines the ability of workers to fight for what is owed at the height of their bargaining power.

No union wants to bankrupt a company, that would cause each worker in the union to lose their jobs. Workers are only ever asking for their fair share and have consistently done so. Even worse, people like Elon Musk (who has publicly allied himself with Pierre Poilievre) have regularly argued against a worker’s right to collectively bargain and fight for their interests in US courts. Without serious action, we will continue to see even more attacks on workers.

We also saw this with the previous Progressive Conservative provincial government passing legislation against organized labour, and can broadly be seen as retaliation against CUPE’s 2021 strike.

We need to enforce the banning of monopolies

Extreme wealth inequality exists here in Canada with the richest Canadians holding an outsized influence. If we wish to build an equal and fair society, this must be done away with.

That means no more hyper dominance for the Irving’s and McCain’s in Atlantic Canada. We need meaningful tax reform. It should be functionally illegal to become a billionaire. Excess wealth must be taxed at a very high level for the ultra-wealthy.

Until the 1970s, 70-90 per cent tax rates were not uncommon for the super wealthy. But today, tax rates for the wealthy are at an all-time low.  Taxes fund our extremely important social programs. Tax regimes should ensure people do not accumulate wealth and power to be used for their benefit. Tax breaks for the wealthy only undermine these programs.

We need comprehensive electoral reform

Our system intentionally and undemocratically undermines the will of the entire public. The Federal Green Party consistently receives five per cent of the federal vote nationally and can only typically secure one to three seats. If this vote share was reflective of national will, they would secure roughly 15-18 seats. Because the federal electoral system is functionally 338 individual elections across the country, a candidate must win the plurality in each electoral district to win the seat. Smaller, less funded parties are virtually shut out of such a system.

Despite the challenges, the federal NDP has managed to make electoral gains, but they should not succeed despite the system, rather they should succeed because they are representing the will of a large percentage of Canadians.
The same applies to our own provincial politics: we need to allow room for change.

We need to continue to call fascists, fascists and promote a more just world
Most importantly we must provide an alternative vision of hope and change. If we do not provide an avenue of change, then like lightning to a rod, the public will choose the path of least resistance, which becomes fascism. We need the public to know positive progressive change is not only possible, but attainable.

The philosophy that progressives must adopt is one formerly echoed by Malcolm X, who once said: “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out, that’s not progress. The progress is healing the wound that the blow made.”

I am reminded of a famous Nova Scotian progressive figure by the name of Moses Coady, who famously said: “You can get a good life, you’re poor enough to want it, and smart enough to get it.”

We’re smart enough to know the system is broken, and we’re poor enough to want a better life.

Now, we must organize and fight for a better life.

Alex Gagne is a progressive organizer of over ten years, a former student activist, and committed anti-fascist. A liberal arts graduate from St. Thomas University, Alex studied political science.