In various ways, though there was no formal affiliation, CLAC 2010 was the continuation of a variety of efforts made over the past decade to coordinate and facilitate cooperation among the diverse anti-capitalist initiatives in Montreal, such as PGA-Bloc Montreal. The PGA-Bloc was active in coordinating mobilizations against the SPP in Montebello, the Royal 22nd Regiment military parade in Quebec City in 2007, the 400th anniversary celebrations in Quebec City, the Olympic torch relay, and more.
While the link is not direct, CLAC Montreal was inspired by the Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (Convergence of Anti-capitalist struggles) from 2000 to 2006, initially created to mobilize against the FTAA and the Summit of the Americas in Quebec in April 2001.
CLAC Montreal works on an anti-authoritarian basis and according to the People's Global Action (PGA) hallmarks. It was conceived as a space of convergence and coordination for the anti-capitalist radical left. The decisional basis of CLAC Montreal is individual voting, but we actively seek the support and participation of grassroots groups in our campaigns and mobilizations.
CLAC pushes an anti-capitalist analysis through the organization of campaigns and demonstrations, such as the annual Anti-capitalist May Day. CLAC also holds anti-capitalist assemblies every month.
After the 2010 G8-G20 Summit, CLAC put a lot of resources into accompanying hundreds of people who were arrested in Toronto in June 2010; providing them with legal, logistical, political, financial and personal support. In the summer of 2010, many protests and events took place in Montreal to protest the brutal repression by police in Toronto.
Despite this heavy load, CLAC continued to organize campaigns around the Anti-capitalist May Day and call rallies against the various G20 summits (Corée 2010, France 2011). It also denounced the SPVM's creation the GAMMA squad and its activies and organized a demonstration against the Young Conservatives Conference in Montreal. It the past year, it published several journals and called for anti-capitalist contingents, especially in the context of the student strike and social crisis of spring-summer 2012. In June 2012, CLAC called for disruption of events around the Grand Prix, the perfect symbol of turbo-capitalism, organizing a protest against its opening cocktail party which helped disrupt the party of this crass elite.
CLAC also functions through a working group structure. Currently, the Agit-Prop Committee is helping to spread anti-capitalist ideas through a journal, press releases, posters, stickers and website, but is also seeking other ways to get these ideas out. The Legal Self-Defence and Support Committee reformed following the arrests during May Day, the Grand Prix and the student strike / social conflict, when thousands were arrested.
In the next months, CLAC will be working on developing two workshops, organizing an anti-capitalist teach-in, increasing agit-prop style interventions, organizing campaigns around the anti-capitalist May Day and against the 2013 Grand Prix, and is stepping up with a campaign targetting the local and global profiteers.
