Operation Transparency
Non Violent Civil Disobedience
Operation Transparency was a campaign launched by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers with the intent to raise public awareness about the privatization and deregulation of Canada Post. Moya Greene's background with the Privatization of CN Rail was a red flag and when she unilaterally closed the entire mail processing plant in Quebec City, the Union knew they were in for a rocky road and needed to do something to raise the public awareness about how privatization could affect them.
On March 15 2006 the Union delivered an ultimatum to Canada Post. Show the Union the agenda for post office closures and the future goals and plans for Canada Post so they could be publicly accountable to the shareholders and the customers. The Union warned the Corporation of acts of civil disobedience if they failed to comply with their request. Moya Greene counter attacked. Her special advisor, Anthony Wilson-Smith, was the former editor of Macleans magazine. She used her influence to get an anti-Union article printed in that magazine to which the Union objected.
After delivering the Ultimatum to Canada Post on March 15th the members across the country were instructed to wear green to work in support of this campaign. Wearing green on Saint Patrick's day is not unlawful nor is it violent. From the beginning the campaign called for nonviolent acts of civil disobedience patterned after Gandhi.
Easter was a fun twist to the theme that many of the members felt a little silly about participating in. It was nevertheless, all in good fun and with a sense of humour not malice or violence. The conclusion of the campaign was a search of Canada Post Headquarters for the plans. Training sessions were held and it was made clear that members were not to bring weapons, alcohol or drugs, wear black hoodies or hide their identify or use any form of violence during the event.
Since the Corporation was warned well in advance, police barricades were put up preventing Union members and the public from looking for the goals and agenda themselves. As a result, after a fun and colorful demonstration seventeen Union members and supporters voluntarily crossed the police line and were arrested for trespassing. They were not arrested for vandalism or disturbing the peace, they were arrested for trespassing and each received the equivalent of a parking ticket.
CUPW National President Deborah Bourque was quite right. She paid her ticket and had made her point. Martin Luther King as another activist who used Gandhi as a model for nonviolent direct action. He taught that in any act of civil disobedience, you must be willing to face the consequence of breaking the unjust law if you are going to try and change it. That is exactly what they did.
Was it effective? Probably not as effective as the Malcolm X approach of violence but that would have been wrong and two wrongs do not make a right. The purpose of the campaign was to raise public awareness about the urgency of the situation and make the necessary changes through the democratic electoral process. Win or lose that was the right thing to do.
Claims Of Falsified Documents Justify Our Need To Know
Union members arrested at postal headquarters
17 people arrested at Ottawa postal protest
