PV Vancouver Bureau
Meeting over the December 2-3 weekend, delegates to the 44th British Columbia Convention of the Communist Party had intense discussions on a wide range of issues, as the province heads into an election scheduled for October 2024. As well as adopting a Political Resolution on the situation in the province, delegates worked plans for expanded political work over the next period of time.
The Political Resolution stressed that “here in so-called ‘British Columbia,’ the neoliberal attack against the working class, Indigenous peoples, youth, women, seniors, homeless peoples and others has worsened over the last three years.” This has happened despite the election in October 2020, when then-premier John Horgan promised that a clear NDP victory would embark on major progressive reforms. Instead, as the Communist Party warned at the time, the government has used its big majority to slow any real action on key issues such as housing, child care, the toxic drug supply crisis and the erosion of living standards for the working class.
After Horgan retired from politics last year (accepting a position with a major resource firm), the NDP barred a leadership challenge from progressive activist Anjali Appadurai, giving David Eby an unchallenged path to become the new premier. While grassroots discontent with the NDP’s policies is rising – in particular its failure to tackle the huge shortage of low-income, public housing – serious divisions on the right-wing side of the political spectrum could give Eby an opening to win another majority. But the rapidly growing interest in socialism and the Communist Party points to another reality – the potential to build a much larger section of the Party and the Young Communist League in British Columbia.
Delegates at the convention spoke about the need to strengthen the fight in communities and the labour movement against corporate domination of the province, and against the right-wing agenda which springs from the nature of capitalism itself, regardless of which parties are in office.
A new 15-member Provincial Committee was elected, mainly composed of comrades in their 20s and 30s. Provincial leader Kimball Cariou was re-elected to another term in that position, and Rob Crooks, a long-time activist from Winnipeg, was elected as the Party’s new provincial organizer. The Provincial Committee will meet in January to issue the edited version of the Convention Reports, and to begin carrying out the action plans adopted by the delegates.
Support socialist media!
If you found this article useful, please consider donating to People’s Voice or purchasing a subscription so that you get every issue of Canada’s leading socialist publication delivered to your door or inbox!
For over 100 years, we have been 100% reader-supported, with no corporate or government funding.
