Rebuilding the Left conference
An Exciting Beginning on the Left

by David McNally
The New Socialist Magazine, November / December 2000


GREATLY exceeding expectations, more than 700 people turned out in Toronto on October 27th and 28th to kick-start a new initiative on the anti-capitalist Left. Brought together under the banner of "Rebuilding the Left," participants included activists from anti-poverty organizations, unions, feminist groups, and anti-racist movements, along with anarchists and socialists.

The conference, the product of months of organizing work, was designed to explore possibilities for launching a "structured movement" of the anti-capitalist Left, an idea first floated by Sam Gindin, former staff person with the Canadian Auto Workers. Over the months of planning, about two dozen organizations came together to endorse the conference – including four locals of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, the South Asia Left Democratic Alliance, and the Metro Network for Social Justice.

Perhaps most impressive about the conference was the great spirit of enthusiasm and solidarity that permeated the event. People from widely different sections of the Left came together to discuss, listen, debate, rethink old assumptions, and try to chart a new way forward. With more than half the time devoted to small-group workshops and caucus meetings, an amazing amount of dialogue and interchange took place.

In addition, opening and closing plenary sessions provided opportunities for participants to hear presentations from the likes of Howard Adams, aboriginal activist and author of Tortured People: The Politics of Colonization, Kheya Bag, student activist from the University of Guelph, Himani Bannerji, author of The Dark Side of the Nation, Deborah Bourque, Vice-President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, John Clarke, organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Sylvain Dupuis, an activist from Quebec, Sam Gindin, and singer-songwriter Faith Nolan.

Three central premises informed the conference. First, that we desperately need a movement with an extra-parliamentary focus, one whose central mission is community, workplace and street-level mobilization against neo-liberalism. Secondly, that such a movement must be organically and organizationally linked to the actual struggles of resistance that are taking place. And, thirdly, that central to the project must be a consistent effort to advance anti-capitalist politics, activism and organization.

In addition to more than 600 people from Toronto, participants included handfuls from Sudbury, Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Guelph, Montreal, Regina, and Edmonton, among other cities and towns. At the same time, there were obvious weaknesses; among others, the conference brought together too few people of colour and aboriginal activists, too few trade unionists. While there were dozens attending from each of these components of the Left, participants recognized the need for greater diversity and representation. There was an overwhelming understanding that no anti-capitalist movement can be viable unless it is utterly immersed in anti-racist, feminist and sexual liberation politics.

There is much work to be done, then, if the Rebuilding the Left initiative is to develop sufficient strength to move forward. But the enthusiasm of the participants, their non-sectarian spirit of cooperation in building an anti-capitalist movement, is cause for hope. Coming out of the conference, its organizers pledged themselves to a number of further steps including public forums, cultural events, and the creation of an activist network, all designed to lay the foundation for a second conference in about six months time.

While the challenges are daunting, for the first time in a very long time, there is a rejuvenating breath of fresh air on the radical Left. With commitment, energy and determination, and a concerted effort to broaden the base of the project, we could see a truly major development on the Left in this country – the emergence of an increasingly organized movement based on anti-capitalist politics and activism.

Those wanting to find out more or to get involved should phone 416-516-2966, or email rebuildleft@visto.com.

David McNally is a member of the Rebuilding the Left conference organizing committee and an activist in the New Socialist Group