2G leag ai ADS VS Swe Se ;, wile ritate Most of the federal can- ie Sented Se parties are "Studigner: atliament have M disan USIY avoiding the issues tion sent, arms budget membership in eeaizatig NORAD, nee ileted a In this province have te Sure the paign in an effort ain hig at the issues do not te *den until after the July 8 Both the 0 Bo. a. Peace Council and ee MBP egg Beate for a World itt fact Peace Forces have ants o pres outlining the fe, Valves, Ce and foreign policy iy yt ; ] ang ral 1 ey have emerged in | Ee Asewhe ntidates meetings ai "aign, fre in the election = QD Qa = = SS SE Ve SS ars oO n Wen Jul 1) | Sttion issues make peace an t > Stateg the Peace Council rs WEEKEND. William Kashtan, Canadian Communist in B.C. this weekend to address a series of public rallies. to state their position on these vital. questions.’’ The statement lists the removal of nuclear weapons, reduction of the defence budget, withdrawal from NATO and NORAD and cancellation of the defence sharing agreement with the U.S., and Canada’s support for all UN disarmament resolutions as the major issues which may be decisive in the period following the election. : Of particular concern 1n both organizations’ statements is the question of the federal defence budget particularly in its relation to accelerating inflation. The defence budget has now reached $2.148 billion and the present Liberal government has agreed to a fifty per cent increase over the next five years. Of that amount only some $500 million is used for peace-keeping and social services; A call to stop the ‘‘wholesale robbery” of Canadian consumers by the big corporations through high prices, and a demand to roll back prices by 25 per cent, highlighted the appeal of the Tribune VOL. 35, No. 26 13° B.C. Communist Party ina province-wide television broadcast last Friday on CBC. Speaking on behalf of the 12 Communist candidates in B.C., provincial chairman and Van- couver East candidate Maurice Rush charged that the big cor- porations have become so powerful that they now fix prices at will, and that the major reason for high prices is profiteering by the big monopolies. Drawing attention to the sharp rise in prices in the cost of living index for May of 1.7 per cent and 3.3 per cent in food prices, the text of the broadcast said: ; “tnflation and the rise in prices is the most serious problem facing Canadians today. Why should prices rise as they are? And particularly, why should there be such a shocking increase in food prices when only a few months ago the minister of agriculture said that Canada is producing 10 times more food than Canadians can eat? “qt’s not because there is a shortage of food and consumer goods that prices are rising So drastically. The real reason 1s that between the producers and con- sumer there are a few giant cor- porations who are amassing huge profits from high prices. Inflation is hitting every section of the the balance of nearly two billion going to NATO, NORAD and other bilateral military agreements with the U.S. : “Increased military spending means speeding up inflation which is already swallowing up salaries and savings. Canadians need houses, schools, hospitals and food, not bombs,” the Peace Council hasizes. Sere to the enormity of the arms budget is its size in com- parison with other areas in the federal budget. The World Congress of Peace Forces Com- mittee notes that while nearly $100 per person per year of federal tax money goes for military spending, only $2 per person per year goes to’ the vital area of medical research. Canada’s membership in NATO and NORAD and the storage in this See PEACE, pg- 11 Canadian population — except one © —the huge corporations. They. are growing fat from the big profits they are making from high prices. “Tf proof of that were needed, we had it last week when Statistics Canada announced that profits of the big corporations, after taxes, were up 46 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago. But most significant is this: that the 46 per cent jump in profits was realized on only a 24 per cent in- crease in sales! “But that’s not the whole story. The most drastic rise in prices has been in the food industry. The Weston chain, for example, which . is Canada’s largest food monopoly, and which owns Super-Valu stores, B.C. Packers, Malkins and a host of others, saw its profits rise in the last year by 86 per cent. “The fact is that the major cause of inflation and high prices today is the excessive profiteering of the major corporations who dominate our economic life and have become so powerful that they can fix prices at will, divide up the market and even create shortages when it suits their aim — which is ever greater profits. “To illustrate how powerful these corporations have become let me draw your attention to a survey made by. Maclean’s magazine which showed that 261 directors of eight Canadian banks hold between them 3,000 corporate directorships with assets of $581 billion. That’s the core of our problem. Inflation and high prices are making this small group of the corporate wealthy even wealthier. “The Communist Party believes it is time to call these corporations to task and to halt the wholesale robbery of the Canadian people through higher prices. We propose the following measures which are aimed to curb profits and raise standards of living: “First, that there be a rollback in prices on food, fuel, clothing, footwear and housing by at least 25 per cent, and that a Review Board be set up with power to enforce selective price controls. “Second, that monthly basic pensions be increased to $250 at age 60 with cost-of-living ad- justments, and that a $3.50 minimum wage per hour be established and adjusted quarterly See CURB PROFITS, pg. 11 BLOT OUT THIS DANGER TO MANKIND NOW! ae ask candidates WILLIAM KASHTAN SPEAKS HEAR CANADA’S COMMUNIST LEADER AND B.C. CANDIDATES Sunday, June 30-8 PM. | Grandview Community Centre, 3350 Victoria Dr.