The Class Line

Faced with rising grocery costs, the idea of public grocery stores is gaining traction. First raised by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the idea also became a centerpiece of newly elected NDP leader Avi Lewis’ program - and the Toronto City Council has also voted in favour of a plan to create public grocery stores. But will this work?This week on the Class Line, Joel is joined by Marco La Grotta to discuss what Communists think of publicly run grocery stores. Related articles:Public grocery stores: Will they work?Avi Lewis vs. telecom giants: The spectre of nationalizationThe Venezuelan Revolution: A Marxist PerspectiveJoin the Revolutionary Communist PartySubscribe to Communist Revolution, the newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party

Avi Lewis, a self described democratic socialist has been elected leader of the New Democratic Party.After drifting to the right for decades the party has now taken a step to the left. This week, Joel is joined by Marco La Grotta to discuss what this means for the fight against capitalism.Related articles:Avi Lewis wins NDP leadership—what does it mean?NDP election review says: it’s not our fault!Avi Lewis vs. telecom giants: The spectre of nationalization

The ruling class is on a collision course with indigenous rights. After more than a decade of Liberal reconciliation policies, the economic needs of the system—to fast-track oil and gas development and critical mineral extraction—are running headlong into Indigenous rights. This is all done in the interest of capitalismThis week, Joel is joined by Marcus Katryniuk from the executive committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Related articles:Federal infrastructure bill infuriates Indigenous groupsAssembly of First Nations throws doors open for Pierre PoilievreIndigenous liberation: capitalism or communism?Indigenous Struggle and the Fight for Socialism: Revolution, Not Reconciliation!Join the Revolutionary Communist PartySubscribe to Communist Revolution, the newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party

The post secondary education system is mired in a deep crisis. Already, tens of thousands of staff have been laid off, hundreds of programs have been cut and entire campuses have been shut down affecting tens of thousands of students. And now governments are moving to offload the cost of this crisis onto the backs of students by cutting funding, cutting grants and raising tuition. The conclusion many are drawing is that the only way to stop this is with a student strike. A strike is set for Nova Scotia and a student strike movement is developing in Ontario. As more governments release their spring budgets, we can expect more cuts. The only way to stop this is by mobilizing the widest possible layers for a student strike. But how can we build a student strike - and how can we win?This week, Joel is joined by Marco La Grotta to discuss this question drawing from experience with the 2019 Ryerson student strike and the 2012 Quebec student strike. Related articles:To save post-secondary education, fight for socialism!Ten years since the 2012 Quebec student strikeOpen letter to the Canadian Federation of Students: Fight Ford’s cuts! Prepare a student strike!Toronto university students hold first strike in a generationSign the Petition in support of a student strikeJoin the Revolutionary Communist Party here

After resisting and delaying, they were finally forced to release the Epstein files. The 3.5 million pages of documents lay out the seedy wheeling and dealings of Epstein and his associates.The files confirm everything Marxists have explained about the inner workings of the capitalist system itself, politics, morality and law under capitalism.This week Joel is joined by Josh Holroyd, editor of the In Defence of Marxism magazine and member of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International. Josh and Joel cut through the various narratives spun in the mainstream media to show what the Epstein saga really represents and the effects this will have on the class struggle.Subscribe to the In Defence of Marxism magazine in English or FrenchRegister for the Montreal Marxist Winter School hereJoin the Revolutionary Communist Party here

With the bombing of Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro, Donald Trump stormed into 2026 with what he calls "the Donroe doctrine."Detailed in the National Security Strategy document, the Americans will be fighting for U.S. dominance in the Western hemisphere. For the first episode of The Class Line, Joel is joined by Marco La Grotta to discuss what this all means for Canada. Related Articles:US attack on Venezuela – the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ in actionCanada’s cowardly and hypocritical response to U.S. attack on VenezuelaRegister for the Montreal Marxist Winter School hereJoin the Revolutionary Communist Party hereQuestion for the show? Email us at classlinepod@gmail.com or send us a DM on Instagram (@classline.pod)Editor's note: Due to technical difficulties, there are some audio/visual glitches in this episode. These will be corrected in future episodes.