Needs No Introduction

This week, we bring you the other half of our two-part focus on the Regina Manifesto - a founding document of social democracy in Canada. The Regina Manifesto helped shape the foundation of Canadian social democracy. It was written in 1933 against the backdrop of the Great Depression, representing hope for Canadians in its call for a new, socialized economy, "owned, controlled and operated by the people." On October 17th in Saskatoon, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives held an event to examine the importance of the manifesto today - 76 years after it was written. The forum was called "The Future of Social Democracy in Canada: The Relevance of the Regina Manifesto in the 21st Century", and featured Murray Dobbin as one of its speakers. A long-time author, broadcaster and journalist, Dobbin observed that the manifesto is so in tune with modern concerns, it could almost have been written today. View the full text of the Regina Manifesto here: http://www.connexions.org/CxLibrary/Docs/CX5373-ReginaManifesto.htm

The Regina Manifesto helped shape the foundation of Canadian social democracy. It was written in 1933 against the backdrop of the Great Depression, representing hope for Canadians in its call for a new, socialized economy, "owned, controlled and operated by the people."

On October 17th in Saskatoon, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives presented a forum called "The Future of Social Democracy in Canada: The Relevance of the Regina Manifesto in the 21st Century." Armine Yalnizyan, the CCPA's senior economist, was one of its speakers. She observed that even though many of the changes called for by the Manifesto have since become established aspects of Canadian life - like a national bank, labour standards and universal healthcare - its message remains just as relevant as it was 76 years ago.

View the full text of the Regina Manifesto here: http://www.connexions.org/CxLibrary/Docs/CX5373-ReginaManifesto.htm

Reverend Doctor Denise Yarbrough is the Interreligious Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, New York, and a teacher of Interfaith Studies at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.

In July of last year, she was part of a delegation that traveled to Israel and the Palestine under the sponsorship of Interfaith Peace Builders and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

There, she spent much time in the West Bank and in Palestinian sections of Israel itself, speaking with both Palestinian and Israeli human rights and peace activists.

Tariq Jeeroburkhan recently caught up with Reverend Yarbrough by telephone to hear her opinions on the historical role played by Protestant Christian denominations in the founding of the State of Israel, and the influence of Christian Zionism in ensuring its continued existence and development.

Jack Layton's reputation speaks for itself. For more than two decades he has been dedicated to public service - as a councillor, scholar, president of the federation of Canadian municipalities, chair of the Toronto board of Health, and the city's Member of Parliament and deputy mayor.

Since 2003, he has lead the New Democratic Party of Canada and in 2008, successfully increased the federal caucus by almost 25% - just 6 seats less than at the party's peak during the 1980s.

On October 9th, Jack Layton gave a speech at this year's CUPE National Convention in Montreal.

In it, he praised the work of public sector employees and their families, and emphasized the importance of strong public services in overcoming economic recession.

Ken Georgetti is one of Canada's most recognized defenders of labour rights. He was first elected 10 years ago as president of the Canadian Labour Congress, after a quarter century of union activism in British Columbia.

This included a 13-year stint as the youngest-ever president of the BC Federation of Labour, during which time its membership doubled. Both provincially and federally, Georgetti has been an avid leader and activist, and has advocated what he calls "intelligent militancy" and unity between the 55 affiliated unions within the CLC.

Goergetti's focus is not merely on issues close to home, however; under his leadership, the Congress has been at the forefront of campaigns to fight corporate globalization, forced labour and sweatshops.

He is Vice-President of the International Trade Union Confederation and an executive member of the Trade Union Advisory Committee for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Georgetti was the first labour leader to receive the Order of British Columbia in 1998, and the tenth to be made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000.

On October 8th at the 2009 CUPE National Convention in Montreal, Ken Georgetti took the stage. In his speech, he called upon governments to recognize the value of economic policies that support the people upon whose shoulders the economy rests.

Since 2003, Vancouver East has been home to North America's first legal supervised injection site for drug users lacking access to health services.

The program is called "Insite," and provides a safe location for men and women to inject drugs and to receive needed health attention - everything from immediate care for disease and infection, to addiction counselling and mental health treatment.

Libby Davies is an NDP Member of Parliament representing Vancouver East and is her party's federal spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness and Multiculturalism.

A longtime supporter of drug policy reform - specifically to end criminalization of users - she has been instrumental to Insite's success since its inception. This contributed to her recognition at the 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference for her "outstanding drug policy reform work."

On September 7th, 2007, Kenyan parliamentary candidate Flora Igoki Terah was abducted and tortured by a group of men.

The attack took place with the intention of silencing her election bid against a minister in President Mwai Kibaki's government, and was carried out with impunity. Terah's physical recovery took weeks and resulted in the loss of her place in the December election, but the hardest blow came the following year when her 19-year-old only son was murdered, his death brushed aside by the authorities.

Flora Terah's case is not an isolated incident - 153 cases of electoral violence against women candidates were reported to Nairobi's Education Centre for Women in Democracy leading up to the 2007 elections.

For Terah, this injustice has given her all the more reason to hold onto her political aspirations. She has since founded Terah Against Terror - an organization for victims of electoral violence, and works with the Centre for Multiparty Democracy to strengthen the democratic process in Kenya.

Her book, "They Never Killed My Spirit" - an account of her experiences - was published last year. Flora Terah plans to run for parliament again in the 2012 Kenyan elections. Amnesty International hosted Flora Terah in Ottawa on September 23rd, 2009. The recording was taken from that evening, and includes the event's closing question and answer session.

On September 26th, the Yukon NDP Leadership Convention was held in Whitehorse. The event's special guest-speaker was Jim Sinclair - President of the BC Federation of Labour, which represents 500,000 workers throughout the province. For more than 25 years, Jim Sinclair has been an articulate member of the labour movement. After working for the Nelson Daily News, he became part of the fishing industry and, in the 1990s, was elected second Vice President of the United Fisherman and Allied Workers' Union/Canadian Auto Workers' Union - a position he held for eight years. He was elected President of the BC Federation of Labour in 1999, and since then has also come to sit on the Board of Directors for Working Enterprises Ltd., the Working Opportunity Fund, and BC Citizens for Public Power.

For the past 30 years, Gloria Mills has been a driving force in the trade union movement. After moving from Trinidad to Britain in her late teens, she became a regional organiser for the National Union of Public Employees in London in 1985, beginning her life's work as a campaigner for workers' rights. In 2005, Mills was appointed president of the Trade Union Congress - the first black woman to hold the position. During her year-long term, she became a prominent advocate of diversity issues and equal opportunities in the workplace. Today, she is national secretary for Unision, the biggest trade union in the UK, and is honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

During a visit to Canada last October, Mills was interviewed by the RPN's Meagan Perry. She provided insight into her life and work, as well as the philosophies which enabled her to become such a strong part of the trade union movement.