‘Action, not words’ CLC delegates call QUEBEC — Delegates to the Canadian Labor Congress convention last week un- derscored a Congress economic policy statement which em- phasized ‘“‘the cracks and Weaknesses of an economic system constructed on a fragile and narrow resource base and dominated by multinational corporations’’ but criticized the document for its failure to advance policies of “action and mobilization.”’ ~ The economic policy statement, one of the principal documents to come before the week-long convention, had added significance in that it contained no reference to tripartism, the main issue at the last convention in 1976 but repudiated since by virtually every major union in the country. : ~ May Day meet set April 30 Vancouver’s annual May Day rally will be held this- year on Sunday, April 30, at2 pam: in the Templeton School auditorium, the Vancouver Trade Union May Day Committee announced this week. The May Day rally will take the form of a concert meeting, Organizers said, and will feature Speakers from the B.C. Federation of Labor, the New Democratic Party and the Communist Party. An officer of the Federation is yet to be chosen as a speaker, but the NDP provincial caucus has desig- nated Vancouver East federal Candidate Margaret Mitchell as their representative. Jack Phillips, long-time trade unionist and presently Communist Party labor Secretary, will speak for the CP. Proceeds from the rally will be used to provide humanitarian aid to Oppressed peoples in southern rica. Among the themes for the May Day meeting are work and wages for the unemployed, a new Canadian constitution, protect and €xpand labor’s rights, ban the neutron bomb and solidarity with Oppressed peoples. Instead, the document strongly condemned federal government policies which, it said, are aimed at ‘‘increasing the profits and power of cor- porations’”’ while restricting workers’ incomes and cutting back on social services. It also denounced the multi- national corporations which “stand astride national boun- daries transferring capital and investment to wherever’ they find the highest rate of return, regardless of the social chaos they leave in their wake.” On the convention floor, although delegates echoed the statement’s criticism of government and corporate policies, there was widespread demand that the Congress take leadership in advancing pro- grams and policies to mobilize the labor movement. Carpenters delegate Lorne Robson joined several delegates in pressing. the CLC executive council to develop a concrete program to fight plant closures and to end the sellout of energy and other resources. Robson also noted the need to advance a program of na- tionalization of the multina- tionals and cited the Inco closure as an example of the kind of corperate: policies “Which stand in the way of the development of Canadian in- dustry and Canada’s national interest.”’ Fishermen’s delegate George Hewison echoed the demand for specific actions to mobilize the trade: union movement in’ the face of worsening unemploy- ment and continuing attacks on See MOBILIZE pg. 2 ail up in price. Prices up dramatically Coupled with staggering unemployment levels, prices this month were up dramatically, marking a 1.1 per cent increase in March alone, according to Statistics Canada. The increases cut deeply into lower incomes — food, gasoline and home heating fuel were Assembly lobbying for arms cuts By JAMES LEECH _OTTAWA — About 30 organiza- tions representing Canadian pinion from Halifax to Victoria, and as many concerned in- dividuals, met here March 31-April to press for a greater role by anada in world disarmament. The Canadian Assembly on Dis- armament had as its aim the in- Clusion of its major conclusions in anadian government policy, When Canada attends the United ations Special Assembly on ‘Sarmament, opening in New York, May 23. message to the Canadian _ Labor Congress on disarmament and jobs, six workshops on various aspects of disarmament, and two Plenary sessions, one of which questioned a federal government representative, filled the weekend before the 200 delegates began catching their planes and buses. Those remaining, held a press conference on the Monday and lobbied members of -Parliament. In its message to the CLC, the Assembly requested “‘that the CLC earnestly consider, as part of its program for full employment, petitioning the government of Canada to make a substantial reduction in its defence expendi- tures and to transfer $1 billion annually from the defence budget into programs to meet the housing, health, social services and educa- tional needs of the Canadian mt noted that the 1976 military ex- penditure was $3.6 billion with a proposed 12 per cent increase yearly, over and above inflation. The final session approved, with minor modifications, the reports of all six workshops. These dealt with world disarmament and interna- tional politics, military organiza- tion and alternatives, the economy, alliances, the developing - world, and mobilizing people for peace. Proposals included: e Withdraw Canada from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the North American Air Defence agreement (NORAD); e Follow the lead of other NATO countries (Holland, Iceland, Nor- way, Denmark) in opposing manu- See ACTION pg. 11 = Delegates to last week’s CLC convention in Quebec City called on the CLC leadership to advance policies of “action and mobilization” in the fight for a new economic direction. Budget ‘cynical’ sleight-of—-hand say CP, B.C. Fed Reaction to the Social Credit pro- vincial budget was swift and con- demning this week from labor leaders, the Communist Party and the NDP opposition. Communist Party provincial leader Maurice Rush said Tuesday that the budget is ‘a totally cynical document which will do very little to get B.C.’s economy. rolling again. _ “It is totally inadequate to meet the serious economic problems facing B.C. It does not project policies to bring about a real ex- pansion ‘of the economy,’’ Rush said. B.C. Federation of Labor secretary-treasurer Len Guy said Tuesday the direction of the budget is “fundamentally wrong.”’ “The government has at last accepted some responsibility for fighting unemployment,’ Guy said. “This clearly represents a victory for our Citizens’ Lobby for Jobs. But having accepted their re- sponsibility the provincial govern- ment appears to be using sleight of hand to create an illusion of ac- tion.” In Victoria NDP finance critic Dave Stupich heavily criticized the budget terming it a ‘‘take a dollar- give a dime”’ budget. Government- imposed tax and price increases has cost an average family $1,300 per year for the past two years he noted, and the budget proposes to give back a mere $125 per year. Sales and individual income taxes now form 48 per cent of pro- vincial government revenues, Stupich claimed, a significant rise from the 36.8 per cent figure in the last NDP budget in 1975. There was wide agreement that the budget is a pre-election one that the government intends to campaign on in a likely fall elec- tion. “The Socreds want to make it See SOCRED pg. 12 : : ‘3 INSIDE JOBS: After the jobs lobby, a continuing un- employment campaign and an economic program for jobs loom as major issues for organized labor, page AZ: FOREST INDUSTRY: The “cut and get out” policies of the forest giants have created a crisis of supply of prime timber — and a need for a new direction, page 3. ELECTION: The Commu- nist Party outlines its stand on the issues of the economy, the confederal Crisis and nionopoly con- trol as a federal election call appears imminent, pages 6, 7. FILMS: Lester Cole re- views ._ Barbara Kopple’s award-winning film on the .1973 coal miners’ strike, Harlan County, USA, page 10.