Wieste (Vic) Ratsma (1934–2004) was a journalist and political activist. Born in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, he came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and worked as a quality control inspector for the

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

while raising his family in the city of

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. He has been described as a "lifelong political activist, antiwar organizer, poet and essayist," but argued that he was not qualified to be called a poet. He stated that he would prefer to be labeled as a person who "occasionally writes some poetry as well". For a number of years, he was active in the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

and graduated from the university-Labor program at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

and ran for political office twice. In 1975, he joined the Canada-USSR Friendship Association, and was the secretary of the Winnipeg branch for many years. Vic Ratsma was the producer and the host of a cable TV show for close to ten years, showing Soviet films, interviewing Soviet delegates visiting Canada, and informing the viewers about the latest developments in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Of the forty-two branches of the Canada-USSR Friendship Association, the Winnipeg branch was the only one to obtain sustained broadcast exposure. After the collapse of the

, Ratsma continued his solidarity work through the newly formed Canadian Friends of Soviet People and International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People, which was formed at a world conference in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in September 2001. His articles were translated into many languages and published in multiple countries, including Nepal, India, Russia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. He most notably contributed to ''Northstar Compass'', ''Organ of the Canadian Friends of Soviet People, ''in addition to '' Axis of Logic'', an alternative media outlet. On November 17, 2004, after a long struggle with cancer, Vic Ratsma died with his family beside him at a hospital in

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He had lived there since 1959.

Electoral record

References

External links

Northstar CompassAxis of Logic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratsma, Vic 1934 births 2004 deaths Canadian socialists Deaths from cancer in Nova Scotia

Electoral record

See also

References

External links