REPORT ON THE HOUSE Socred smo “It’s broccoli, dear.” “I say it’s spinach, and I say the hell with it.” —E. B. White, in The New Yorker Premier W. A.C. Bennett’s 1957 piece de resistance, Swedish smorgasbord a la Wenner-Gren was served to the House with a flourish last week by Lands and Forests Minister Ray Williston, but to the premier’s surprise CCF and Liberal members held their noses and wouldn’t swallow it. Bennei‘t was a member of the 1951 Coalition government that cooked up the Alcan deal. Last year he dished up the Kaiser dam. No wonder the opposition members are afraid to swal- low his latest concoction! x es % While rightfully dubious of proposals which would see Swedish financial Axel Wen- ner-Gren create an industrial kingdom north of Prince George (a monorail railway up the Rocky Mountain Trench, pulp mills, mines and GORDON DOWDING Next to Venezuela hydroelectric plants), CCF and Liberal members should not take a rigid position against foreign investments. The key word is “control.” Fear is that Wenner-Gren would control 40,000 square miles of B.C. and set up a feudal empire. Should that oc- cur, the people would blame the CCF and Liberals for aid- ing and abetting the premier in the biggest “giveaway” in the province’s history. “Not so,” ‘argues. Bennett. “There are no deals, there are no concessions, there are no giveaways. There will be no company towns, no tax con- cessions.” LPP proyincial leader Ni- gel Morgan was sitting in the visitors’ gallery listening to the debate. Later I had a few words with him and he told me his party favors the open- ing of the northland “provid- ed the long-term interests of the people are protected.” “There’s nothing in the memorandum of intention signed by the government and Wenner-Gren to guarantee such protection,” said Morgan, nm Les 03 Few maiden speeches in the House have ever provok- ed such an uproar as that de- livered by Gordon Dowding, CCF member for Burnaby. It was Dowding’s proposed am- endment to the Throne Speech “regretting” that it contained no mention of the: Wenner- Gren deal which precipitated the torrid debate. His amend- ment, which amounted to a vote of non-confidence, was defeated by the government, ar to J. Dowding’s speech blasting alienation of Canada’s natural resources was the most pow- erful on this subject ever made on the floor of the legis- lature. “Our country has less rights in its own natural resources than any other country in the world except Venezuela,” he said. “The U.S. investment stands at $11 billion, doubled since the war; Great Britain’s stands at $2 billion and Eur- ope’s (mostly Germany’s) at $1 billion. “Canadians have become squatters in their own country . . . the question is how to get the Americans out of Canada - it would take ‘today $906 for every man, woman and child in Canada to buy back control of our economy, of our natural resources... “As to the Wenner-Gren deal ...on Vancouver Is- land 70 years ago we gave away our resources for two lines of steel rail . . . here, ap- parently, we are giving, them away for one line of rail. “The main purpose of this monorail is not to develop B.C. for us, not to develop resourc- es for the people of the prov- ince, but to carry our resources down the Rockies, to take TOM UPHILL Where were absentee ballots? by BERT WHY. rgasbord unappeal PRS, The World Court at The Hague (above) may hear the appeal of the Six Nations Indians against what they charge to be gross violations of treaties signed with the governmé and the Crown. Chief Logan maintains the Six Nations Indians are an independent natio? which signed a treaty with the reigning sovere ig (Queen Victoria) years ago. “We thought of taking the matter to the United Nations,” he declares, “but we feel the World Court is the best place should it become necessity.” He adds: “We are allies of Canada—not subjects of the Crown. We are:a nation unto ourselves.” them out for the principals named in the memorandum.” x beg xt It hasn’t all been grim and earnest in the House this ses- sion. One of the lighter mo- ments was provided by Socred Shelford, a farmer from Om- ineca who takes a perennial interest in the government’s liquid assets. Shelford wants the Liquor Control Board to put some liquor back in the liquor it sells, which is mostly water. Last year the water put in liquor made $14,430,000 - in profits for the government, while the actual liquor ac- counted for oniy $7,770,000. “You can easily see why there is such a fight over our water resources,” said Shel- ford. os 5g xt Vancouver Mounties and other athletic organizations in- terested in promoting sports on Sundays have nothing but love in their hearts for Bert Price, Socred member for Vancouver- Burrard. Price has introduced a pri- vate bill to legalize Sunday sport in Vancouver, and it is almost ceriain to go through. xt ces it Taking part in his 39th Throne Speech debate, 82- year-old Labor member from Fernie, Tom Uphill, denou” ced the 1957 election called PY Premier Bennett as ‘t ” crookedest I’ve ever seen. Uphill was concerned about! undelivered, unopened, a counted absentee ballots. cited four that he knew ye cast for him in Vancouver # Victoria. “Four Uphills,” he added a clincher, “But not a sing” absentee ballot came into Fe nie from any place west °| Princeton. None from Vanco ver. None from Victoria. “I may not run in anoth@ election. But I want to 5 honest elections run in 18) province.” Nimsick contrasts SC handling of Montieth, Sommers charges VICTORIA, Bo) Banquo’s ghost appeared in the legislature last week when popular Leo Nimsick (cCh Cranbrook) contrasted Attorney-General Rob2rt Bonner’s method of announcing governme? mR: reasons for the firing of former legislative law clerk W. B. Monteith with his refusal to issué s,atement on the Sommers-Sturdy case during last year’s session. “Bonner announced the reasons (for the discharge of Monteith) in the House with the protection of the House, knowing the man could not come back,” said Nimsick. “Yet last year we sat up all night demanding an explana- tion of a certain case involv- ing a minister. We asked the A-G to investigate the case but he refused to do so. He said it wasn’t serious enough.” The Sommers-Sturdy case is siill before the courts, althoug another case (a libel action brought against Art Laing in the Cassiar Road affair) was heard months ago. When Sommers resigned as minister of lands and forests. during the 1956 session Bonner-said he would “devote all his ener- gies to vigorous pursuit of the inquiry.” The Victoria Daily Times comments on the Sommers- Sturdy case and the questions involved in an editorial: “If discussion of the par- ticulars in this action is pre- vented because the case is sub judice, it is a fact that ve 4 doubts raised in the pub!) mind over a general situatio? in the administration of Ba forest affairs continues. TP is intolerable and unnec®| sary. i “To be sure the governmel cannot interfere with ol process of the courts. But can deal quickly with the mJ givings so widely held by set ting up a royal commissio! as it should have done am was asked to do in the firs place.” s ae FEBRUARY 22, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAG!