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“The entire labor and democratic movement faces
Sreat challenge,” said William Kashtan, leader of
€ Communist Party on the announced federal elec-
Nn for June 25. “The Establishment hopes they can
Inate or seriously weaken the forces of progress

in this election. Their aims can be defeated and it is

art
ally

&
ose
sured

Wards the achievement of this objective that our
y, the party of Canadian socialism, will energetic-
Participate in the election now underway.”

who brought Mr. Trudeau to
can Ae tis election as Liberal leader now hope they
Pe do with him what they could not do with Mr.

the altar and

ee — achieve the election of a Liberal majority

ernment,” Kashtan added. :
eal eferring to the haste with which the election was
the Kashtan said the Establishment fears that by
all the economic situation will have deteriorated

as wil
ability.

r. Trudeau’s charm and “cast doubt on the
y of the Liberals to eiect a majority Government.”

VS IMAGE

“We have still to hear what
policies the Trudeau government
will go to the country with” he
added. “So far Trudeau’s state-
ments have been rather vague
and general. However, if Tru-
deau has been rather vague the
issues themselves are quite
sharp, clear and urgent.”

The main question, according
to the Communist leader, before
the country today is the adop-
tion of policies which would
strengthen the independence of
Canada. “Continentalism in eco-
nomic and foreign policy, which
is what Trudeau advocates,
“would lead to greater subor-
dination of our economy and
place decision making in U.S.
hands.”

Nationalization of natural re-
sources, the adoption of laws

‘Let’s march to city hall’

an John Lewis from the In-
ttica) Cut! Brotherhood of Elec-
Work « orkers. I’ve been out of
Week — last September. Last
15 othe Went to Ottawa with
Buildi €r unemployed Hamilton
et +1 U8 Trades workers to pick-
tion, © Liberal leadership conven-
- to inform the government
Ur plight. It wasn’t easy for

But 2° but it was necessary.
me. Theo: politicians confuse
then ey listen, sympathize and
l © nothing about your prob-
and n, i pent to do something,
away Nee I-don’t want to move
Tom Hamilton, I want to

with my wife and fami-
day: ant to picket City Hall to-
“ ueht after this meeting.
Hall March from here to City
off Hed tell those guys to get
thing = behinds and do some-
this clty»e things moving in
me 1s a young electrician
than om to a meeting of more
Bui di 0 unemployed Hamilton
Hamilte Trades Workers at the
Temple on

ton Labor
“husday, April 18.
Te are 2,000 unemployed
almogy tion workers in the city,
0 percent of the total

work force in the industry. And
they are hurting. :

Terry Frazer, Vice President
of the Building Trades Council
and International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers business ag-
ent, told the meeting that the
situation had been growing since
last September and there was
every indication that it would
be worse by this fall. Construc-
tion workers in the Steel City
now constitute most of the wel-
fare cases, he said, and local po-
liticians were completely ignor-
ing the situation.

He blamed the situation on a
combination of poor community
planning, irresponsible indus-
tries who are in no way respon-
sible to plan their work in a
manner consistent with the
needs of the community, and all
three levels of government who
curtailed construction projects
at the very time that industrial
construction slowed down.

He called for action to make
it known to those responsible
that Hamilton building trades
workers were not prepared to
tolerate such treatment. —

Speaker after speaker lined up
at the mike to report on the

IT

conditions in his local union and
urge immediate and demonstra-
tive action. There were carpen-
ters, plumbers, ironworkers,
teamsters, painters, hoisting en-
gineers, electricians, bricklayers,
laborers, and operating engin-
eers. There were old men, young
men and middle aged men. They
were bound together by a com-
mon problem—they want a job.

A young plumber told us that
he has been out since December.
He has a farm on the outskirts
of the city which costs him $400
a month to carry. He has $186
in the bank. His wife is not

working as he has a young fami- —

ly of three children and if things
don’t break soon he will loose
the whole shooting match, He’s
an angry young man. Life has
not prepared him for this crisis
and he feels that somewhere,
someone has lied to him about
the system.

. Many workers have already
lost their homes, many their cars
and other possessions. Many
more face the same bleak pro-
spect, but they’re not about to
take it sitting down any longer.

They decided to take a delega-
tion to Hamilton City Hall on
Tuesday, April 23 and back it
up with a mass picket at the
same time. The meeting also
made plans for a mass public
meeting of unemployed and em-
ployed building trades workers,
possibly for May 1, where they
would ask political representa-
tives from all three levels of
government in the Hamilton
area to “lay it on the line” for
the unemployed.

As one worker said, “you may
not be able to trust politicians
but you can sure as hell embar-
rass them. That’s about the only
way €0 get action.”

If this meeting was any accur-
ate barometer of events to come,
the unemployed in the building
trades industry are up in arms
in Hamilton and won’t slack off
on their pressure until their
problems are resolved.

Officials indicated to the Tri-
bune that they intend to press
for a moratorium on all debts

and Terry Fraser told the dele-

gates to the Hamilton Labor
Council last Thursday night that

-they expected the full support

of the HLC in whatever efforts
they might be obliged to under-
take. This, the Chairman assured
him, would be forthcoming.

which would mate it possible
for Canada to vastly extent
trade with the socialist world
and newly independent coun-
tries, without -outside interfer-

‘ence are also needed, according

to Kashtan. .

The radical measures which
will lead to a systematic weak-
ening of the power of monopoly
and the wealthy were proposed.
These would bring about a re-
division of the national income
in favor: of the majority of the
Canadian people and would get
at the problem of regional eco-
nomic disparity and poverty.
“We must being dealing serious-
ly with the housing crisis,
the tax burden of low income
groups, price gouging and open
the door to a widening of the
home market,” Kashtan said.

“It is not enough to call for
a ‘re-assessment’ of Canadian

present foreign policy, when
what is urgently required is to
change it,” Kashtan added. He
pointed out the entire basis of
Canada’s foreign policy was
built on the false assumption of
alleged Soviet aggression and
inevitability of war and active

support of U.S. imperialist aims .

directed to achieving global do-

'WE DESIGNED IT SPECIALLY FoR WAGE
CONTRACT EARGNINING SESSIONS!”

yamination. U.S. failure here, its

reverses in Vietnam, the grow-
ing crisis in NATO, reflect the
collapse of the basis upon which
Canadian foreign policy was
built.

Kashtan called for withdrawal
of Canada from NATO and
NORAD, complete dissociation
of Canada from U.S. policy in
Vietnam, récognition of China,
the GDR, North Korea and
North Vietnam together with
active support for disarmament.

“The ability to pursue’Such an
independent course, he continu-
ed, “in economic and foreign af-
fairs depends upon recognition
of the sovereignty of the French
Canadian nation in a new Con-
federal Pact. This is the only
democratic basis upon the
country can be united to meet
the challenge of U.S. domination
and control.”

Stating that these issues will
not be solved by electing either
a Liberal or Conservative major-
ity government, he added that
unfortunately the NDP program
“rather than reflecting the need
for radical change seems to
veer to the right. Such pro--
gram,” he said, “is to the parties
of monopoly.”

Kashtan announced that the ~
Communist Party will nominate
and run candidates wherever it
can put on an effective cam-
paign with the aim of focusing:
attention on the main questions
before the country and doing
everything possible to help elect
a large progressive bloc to Pars
liament.

“Our running in this election,”
he said, “is not in contradiction
to this objective but should help
to realize it. We see this as a
step towards the election of a
labor and progressive majority
which will undertake those
measures that can take Canada
on a new path of development.”

Peace and hospitalization
topics at Labor Councils

At its meeting of Thursday,
April 18, the Toronto Labor
Council went on record as offi-
cially endorsing qa Sunshine
Teach-in, to be held in protest
against the Vietnam war.

After listening to an appeal by
Lukin Robinson, spokesman for
a number of peace, church and
other groups, who are planning
the téach-in, beginning at 2:30
p.m. on Saturday, April 27, at
Queen’s Park, the TLC broke
tradition and voted to lend their
support to this demonstration. It
is the first time that the TLC has
come out actively supporting
such action to demand .ge end
to the war sae

After a short discussion’ on
the subject, the delegates gave
unanimous support. (Paul D’Al-
laire)

e

A seven point plan for im-
provement in the Ontario Hospi-
tal Insurance Plan was adopted
by the April 18 meeting of the
Hamilton and District Labor
Council.

The plan calls for refinancing
of the plan by the provincial
government; a large ad in the
local press protesting against in-

creased OHS rates; a leaflet for
mass distribution outlining the
position of the Council; move
local unions into action around
the campaign; request the On-
tario Farmers Union and the On-
tario Federation of Agriculture
to join in the action.

Ben DesRoches, Chairman of
the Political Action Committee,
who introduced the proposals,
told the delegates that the aver-
age increase in OHS rates to the
subscriber had been 68 percent
while the increase for the pro-
vincial government had only
been 14 percent. This violated
the original terms of the agree-
ment when the plan was set up
in 1958 that the costs should be
shared on a one-third basis be-
tween the Federal government,
Provincial government and the
subscribers. If increased costs
had been shared equally it would
have meant about an $18 a year
hoist for subscribers instead of
the $68 average. ;

The Provincial government has
“hoodwinked the public once too
often in this latest action,” Des-
Roches fold the delegates. He
urged mass pressure to force a
new look at the rates. (W.S.)

APRIL 26, 1968—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5