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Over 70 people crowded into
the Free Times Cafe on the evening of May 1 for the 22nd Annual Toronto
Socialist Action May Day Celebration. A joyous evening of words and
music, of political solidarity and song ensued. The occasion was
dedicated to the memory of Norm Hacking, Toronto folk music legend and a
mainstay of recent SA May Days, who passed away at age 57 last
November.
Musical performances included popular leftist troubadour Faith Nolan
(joined by two of her sisters in song), Jon Brooks, 2007 Canadian Folk
Music Award Nominee, social justice activists Glen Hornblast and Bill
Heffernan, and singer-songwriter Linda Saslove.
M.C. Elizabeth Byce, a postal worker activist and federal NDP Socialist
Caucus treasurer, recounted the origins of May Day in the fight for the
eight-hour workday launched in Chicago 122 years ago. She presented the
names of some leading socialists who departed in the year past, and
invited the crowd to remain standing for a rousing rendition of the
Internationale.
Political greetings and speeches followed, beginning with B.C. Holmes of
the Toronto Haiti Action Committee, Nchama Miller of the Colombia Action
Committee, Marta Valdes, Consul of the Republic of Cuba in Toronto (who
also brought greetings from the Communist Party of Cuba), John Clarke of
the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, and this writer, representing
Socialist Action / Ligue pour l'Action socialiste. New Democratic Party
member of the Ontario Legislature for Parkdale-High Park, Cheri DiNovo,
was warmly greeted.
A number of folks bought tickets to attend the international educational
conference hosted by SA and its U.S. and Mexican counterparts in Toronto,
May 22-25, "A World in Revolt: Prospects for Socialism in the
21st Century."
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