My Candidacy in the Federal Election

[Comrade Marcel]

Hello Comrades and Friends,

I am sorry I have not been able to post as often as I would like to. It has been a busy campaign with many positive responses, especially in communities were people have been marginalized, and they are fed up with the system.

I hope all of you will consider voting for MLPC if there is a candidate in your riding, or CPC alternatively. If you chose to vote for the NDP, it's still much better than voting Liberal or Conservative. Some of the Green Party candidates are progressive... The point I am trying to make is that you should vote for the candidate that you feel would best represent you and your community.

The MLPC is calling on the youth and the people to help build the party they require. Join in on the work we need to empower our communities!

I am also involved with a growing youth organization called Young Left (http://ylgta.rebelyouth.ca), which is now opening up clubs in the York-U. East Toronto, and Scarborough areas of Toronto.

Attached is my campaign poster.

Below is my platform and interview. I look forward to comments and will try my best to reply. if not during than after the election.

Comradely,

Marcell Rodden

[Comrade Marcel]

Platform:

Annexation NO! Sovereignty YES!

Let’s work for Democratic Renewal!

• Parliamentarians should be selected by the collectives of the people (youth, workers, women, etc) on the basis of fighting for the rights of those collectives. They must be subordinate to the electorate and should be subject to recall by their constituents if they fail to represent the mandate given to them.
• In all matters which affect us, from policing, to housing, to social programs, etc., we the workers, women, and youth should be the decision makers!

Defend the Rights of All!

• Housing is a Right, not a privilege – the wealth produced by our society should be used to guarantee the recognition of this basic human right! No to gentrification – absolutely no selling out to condo corps. We need affordable housing! Use it our lose it – all buildings abandoned for more than one year should be turned over to the people to be converted into public housing with full government aid and support
• Healthcare is a Right! No to privatization of healthcare; no P3s; full medical coverage including dental care
• Education is a Right! Free and complete; debt free education for all!

Fight for the Dignity of Labour!

• Full employment and benefits for all people
• Full bargaining rights; the right to strike
• No to back-to-work legislation
• No to scabs and/or lock-outs
• For worker’s control and ownership of industries
• Equal Employment for women;
• Free daycare centres and community kitchens to ease the double burden of women

The People Want Peace Not War!
• No to sanctions – build an anti-war government

Marcell Rodden has lived in Toronto-Danforth for six years, and has worked in warehouse, retail, and grocery. He is actively organizing and educating youth about working class politics and the issues of the day. There is a growing amount of street youth, poverty, crime, unemployment, and gentrification in Toronto-Danforth, and he believes that these issues must be resolved on the side of social justice. Marcell – himself a tenant – is a strong advocate of tenant’s rights. Marcell would like to initiate a nation-wide supplement for working-class and families on welfare to help cover the costs of rent, gas, hydro, and water; essentials to any residence. If landlords refuse to repair slums, the people should have the right to repair and take ownership of the unit. South-Riverdale is already plagued with enough air pollution; we must stop any industrial additions that will be damaging to the environment and seek to replace existing ones with environmentally friendly solutions.

[Comrade Marcel]

Interview with the TML Daily:

Name: Marcell Rodden
Age: 24 years old
Occupation: Young Worker
Political Organizer amongst the Youth of Toronto

Why are you running as a candidate?
To address the lack of representation and resources for youth to improve their lives and take part in society, to engage youth politically, and encourage them to discover through experience the realities of the so-called “democracy” in Canada.

Within the present political system the people are excluded from any real say in decision-making, and our elected representatives are not accountable to us. The venues for political discussion in our society are also very limited. Once we begin having our own organizations where we can have political discussions and set our own agenda, then we can consider who amongst ourselves to choose as our own representatives from those who fight for our rights amongst the youth, workers, women, and others. This would be a start towards empowering ourselves. This is the work that the MLPC is inviting everyone to be a part of.

In Toronto-Danforth, the lack of affordable housing, impoverished youth, environmental degradation, racism, unemployment, etc. are plagues on the community. These problems are not unique to Toronto-Danforth. In this society, the workers produce immense wealth. However, this social product is stolen from us to pay the rich through debt servicing. We need to stop paying the rich and stop debt repayment. We must rebuild all of the social programs that society requires.

Racism and its fascist organizers has been an ongoing problem in this community, and one that is not going away on its own. If the state and/or the police do not act than the people themselves should decide how to deal with racism and other attacks on any member of our community.

Also, police brutality should be dealt with by:
1. accountability,
2. making police subordinate to the civilian authority
3. allowing the people to chose who the police are in their communities

What are your views on democratic renewal?
Democratic renewal doesn’t just begin and end with electoral reform; electoral reform is only a small part of it. The entire electoral system needs to be changed so that people's sovereignty finds expression, not only through their elected representatives, but also in their communities.

Currently at election time, once every four or five years the people are herded like cattle towards the three major parties; and told that this is democracy. They are told that their choice between “Right”, “Centre”, and “Left” is democracy. Yet the fact still remains that each of these parties all represents the same system which excludes us from decision-making.

After elections, what avenues of participation are people left with? They play very little or no role at all in the decisions and changes that are made after. You can go to Parliament and observe, but try to have a say or participate and you will be thrown out. In the communities that MPs claim they represent, they can act as a sort of “liaison” but in the end they are not doing much more than playing a superficial role and are mostly alienated from the day to day lives of the people. They can easily become corrupt because there is no accountability and no means for the people to intervene.

That is why the Right to Recall needs to be put in place. This is part of representatives being subordinate to the people. If he or she in Parliament is not living up to the standards of the people, than they have no place representing them.

What are your views on the national situation?
Self-determination – for all Nations close and afar - is very important. First Nations and Quebec Sovereignty must be respected.

Canada's participation in Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, and any other wars, military or economic acts of domination should end. As a member of the United Nations, Canada is obliged to defend the right to self-determination of all nations, big and small. Instead of picking fights with countries we should be befriending them and setting up mutually beneficial trade and other agreements that will help improve and benefit the lives of the people in both countries.

Resources that are used for military buildup should be put-towards nation-building, not nation-destruction.

Is there a necessity for an anti-war government?
Definitely; but unless the movement stops being reactive, and becomes a constant flow of activism then we can't make a difference. The anti-war movement shouldn’t spring up and down like a jack-in-the-box every time a war is launched; we need to build a strong anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist movement.

This issue is linked to many other issues at home: First Nations sovereignty and land claims; attacks on immigrants, attacks on dissent. The so-called “war on terrorism” is not much different from the fascist techniques the Nazis used to suppress people and build their empire. Hitler lumped in the Jews with Communists and broadly suppressed many different types of people, and Bush uses the word “terrorism” as a broad definition in much the same way.

The international situation is building up towards WW III. If an anti-war government is not achieved soon the world’s people will end up suffering as a result. We have to take a stand and constantly struggle to make sure such disaster does not happen.

[Orange Juche]

badass! Hope you do well!

[BuyOurEverything]

Are Marxist-Leninist candidates allowed in debates at all? I went to an all candidates meeting the other day and it was just the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, and Greens. I know there is a M-L candidate running in this riding but they weren't there.

[Comrade Marcel]

Originally posted by [email protected] 16 2004, 08:47 PM
Are Marxist-Leninist candidates allowed in debates at all? I went to an all candidates meeting the other day and it was just the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, and Greens. I know there is a M-L candidate running in this riding but they weren't there.
Sometimes we are excluded from the all-candidates meetins, and in that case we usually protest about it.

What riding are you in?

Here is the text from me on CFRB:

Hello,

I would like to thank CFRB for the opportunity to have my voice heard today.

My name is Marcell Rodden, I’m 24 years old, and I am running for the Marxist-Leninist Party in Toronto—Danforth.

We are running on a platform of democratic renewal. Currently the system allows for people to vote every 4-5 years, and you get a choice between 3 parties who all represent the same system. There are no measures in place to prevent politicians from becoming corrupt. They are not held accountable for the lies they tell and the promises they break. We need parliamentarians who are subordinate to the people and we need participation of the people that actually counts. People shouldn’t be observers; they should be the decision makers, in all things that effect their community and lives.

We need accountability, from all members at all levels of government, but also from all police and law enforcement.

Housing, full Medicare which includes dental, pharmaceutical, and eye care; universal education, full employment with benefits, and childcare for women – these are all things that people have a right to. These should not be privileges.

All buildings abandoned for more than 1 year should be turned over to the people in the community to be converted into social housing, with full government aid and support.

No to Gentrification! We need social housing! Absolutely no selling out to condo corps!

In Toronto---Danforth, we must save Don Mount, and repair all Social housing such as Blake Projects that have been neglected.

In South Riverdale, we have had it with air pollution. No more industrial additions that will be damaging to the environment and lets replace existing ones with environmentally friendly solutions.

The people want peace not war! We must build an anti-war government! No war and occupation in Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan – troops out now! End sanctions and embargos! No to Free Trade! Let’s build friendship and beneficial trade relationships with other countries!

Annexation no! Sovereignty yes! Workers of the world unite!

Vote Marxist-Leninist!

Thank you.

[BuyOurEverything]

I'm in Skeena-Bulkley Valley, B.C. There wasn't any protesting happening at this meeting.

[Cognitioned Kazak]

Im very much interested in your campaign comrade marcel and I wish you the best of luck in the upcomming election...sadly I am not yet of age to vote but I wish you good luck all the same. I did manage to vote in the student vote.. that gave me a good chuckle I was a bit suprised and overjoyed when the marxist-leninists came out with more than a handfull of votes in the school but even with that the conservatives scored second overall with the ndp coming out first...a conservative majority scares me to the bone and I'd sooner flee to madagascar then live under such a parliment but only time will tell....

[h&s]

Good luck comrade, I wish we had people like you taking action in the UK.