25 years ago...

GOOD FOR THE CBC

We'd like to congratulate CBC-TV for its enterprise and initiative in televising Van- couver’s May Day Rally.

A.A. MacLeod, Harvey Mur-

hy, Bill Stewart and Homer vens and the overflow crowd were seen and heard by thousands of viewers. But to the shame of the newspapers, they published nary a word of the meetings.

We hope the CBC cameras will continue to keep their eyes on Canada, bringing to TV sc- reens the activities of the people of this country in recreation, sports, industry and farm, cul- tural'events and democratic ac- tions. Such programs will be gratefully received, surfeited as we are with the glorification of the “American way of life”.

- Tribune, May I7, 1954

Got a secret, | like a tax-return, a social insurance no.,

or a health problem? RELAX!

Well keep it under our hat.

FLASHBACKS FROM — THE COMMUNIST PRESS

. “77 HC

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50 years ago...

MAY DAY AROUND THE WORLD.

BERLIN — Workers fight for possession of the streets. Eight killed 78 wounded, 600 arrests.

PARIS — 3,500 arrests. Party headquarters quarantined _ by police.

NEW YORK Workers parade 10,000 strong. Mass celebration at Madison Square Gardens.

- TOKYO — Mass demonstra- tions.

VIENNA — _ 100,000 in parade.

HUNGARY — Demonstra- tions in defiance of Horthy.

MOSCOW — Mighty de- monstration. Hundreds of thousands of - workers and

Pioneers join with Red Army in

~ adisplay of workers’ power.

‘stv Extending public pressure —

Profiteer of the week:

Everybody knows the Domtar name: pulp and paper, newsprint, fine Papers, packaging, gypsum products like wallboard, roofing pro- ducts, and a big etcetera. Well, Domtar Inc., Montreal got itself a neat $22-million profit after expenses in Jan., Feb., and March this year. Public ownership could turn that into

lower house construction costs, less costly publishing and more money in the public cof- fers for social needs.

Figures used are from the company's financial statements.

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN ’ Associate Editor — FRED WILSON Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O’CONNOR

Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9 Phone 251-1186

™ Subscription Rate: Canada $10 one year; $6.00 for six months; All other countries, $12 one year.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 18, 1979—Page 4

EDITORIAL GOMIMIENT

Self-protection by working people and’ their organizations from increasing

lice-state methods is very much an issue in this federal election.

There are some real and urgent demands which need answers: Stop the ‘use of police as strike-breakers, attack- ing workers physically, attacking their jobs and their families’ wellbeing; gain parliamentary control of the state police _(RCMP); guarantee the right to strike, ‘to bargain collectively, and to organize ‘the unorganized; prohibit racist prop- aganda.

The labor movement is singled out by the corporation-run state. The Com- bines Branch tries to destroy the west coast fishermen’s union. The RCMP spies on unions and workers’ fraternal and political organizations. It raided the postal workers’ union offices during the strike. It singled out for harassment and

spying, the Communist Party of Cana- -

a, which has fought for workers’ needs for 58 years. The recent exposure of an elaborate system of listening devices in Communist Party headquarters in To- ronto, attributed to the RCMP, prove the point.

Such police-state methods against a legal political party with more than 70 candidates in the current campaign, shows the depths to which big business

government and its police have sunk. -

Armed men and prisons in the hands of the capitalist state have, historically, kept working people down, smashed their organizations, beat down their living standards. In Canada today, the police, courts, prisons and armed forces (remember Quebec?) are swinging further right with the reactionary Lib- eral, Tory and Social Credit parties.

The fear the ruling powers feel at sight of increasing worker class con- Sciousness is shown in the panicky

Organized public pressure on elected

bodies can bring results. That has been |

shown many times, and a recent example was when 3,000 parents, teachers, chil- dren and their supporters marched to a Toronto Board of Education meeting and convinced the board to retain 113 -elementary school teachers it had in- tended to fire.

This example on May 3, when 53 organizations argued their points before a five-hour meeting, is evidence of the power of organized public opinion. This is one side of the pincers that need to be applied to elected bodies. ©

The crisis was precipitated by the re- fusal of the Tory Ontario Government to Provide funds for adequate teacher strength. Doctor Bette Stephenson, the Tory education minister lamented there was “just no money available.” But the same government — and this is chronic with Tories — is able to hand over tens of millions of dollars in grants and tax for- giveness to corporations to aid them in their pursuit of super-profits. That is the

Democracy is an issue

sentencing to jail of postal workers” leader, Jean Claude Parrot. :

Newspaper ads costing fortunes, in- serted repeatedly by the Canadian Police Association, scream at the electo- rate: “Bring Capital Punishment to Parliament Hill!” The cop leaders want to get on with the hanging. What for? Perhaps for threats to “national secur: ty.” Isn’t that what big business lays on striking workers in the so-called essen- tial services? 4

For clues we have the ugly panorama - of RCMP crimes: Judge James Harper in New Brunswick called “horrifying, disgusting and nauseating,” RCMP treatment of a woman prisoner: a semlor Indian Affairs Department official forced the dropping of sexual assault charges against an RCMP officer by a Calgary woman; a Saskatchewan Tn- dian, shot five times by an RCMP gunman lived to sue the uniformed thug. a

Democracy for the people-is an im- portant election issue.

For months the shabby testimony before the McDonald Inquiry into RCMP wrongdoing has sent Cabinet ministers scurrying for cover. Former Solicitors-general Allmand, Mcllraith and Goyer disclaimed knowledge or responsibility when accused by former RCMP big shots. A dirty, corrupt record still hangs over the state police and their protectors in Cabinet. And the only Tory protest ever, was that Liberals didn’t properly shelter police law- breakers.

Workers have to be united to restore and extend dwindling democracy. They have to fight outside parliament, but also inside, by electing a progressive majority, including Communists, to guarantee their democratic rights.

nature of a Tory government, be it fed- eral or provincial.

Obviously bigger, and even more widely representative demonstrations of working people, and democratic- minded people must confront elected representatives with their demands.

As we said, that is one side of the pin- cers. The other, which would multiply many times the strength of people’s pro- tests, would be major representation of workers and democrats in parliament it- self. That way, protesters like the 3,000 who won their battle at the Toronto Board of Education, would be allied with a strong parliamentary group, as they presently have backing from a progres- sive portion of the Toronto Board.

This is what the Communist Party’s election platform calls for. It’s not a piece of advertising, it’s the -key to future vic- tories for the people: Elect a progressive majority, including Communists, to par- liament on May 22. Hit the status quo’s chair warmers with public protest, and with parliamentary power.