Canada’s crisis can be solved —

By BRUCE MAGNUSON

Events are moving swiftly
these days. The post election
austerity measures and the
cheapening of the Canadian
dollar have already, as ex-
pected, resulted in a rash of
eapital mergers. The foreign
bankers and monopolies can
now acquire control of what
remains of Canadian indus-
try, business and resources
at a generous discount.

At the same time prices on
the necessities of life for the
Canadian pe-
ople are sky-
rocketing
while the
shameful de-
nial of long
overdue _ sal-
ary  adjust-
ments for
over 50,000
civil serv-
ants is an ominous warning
of a stepped-up attack on
labor all along the line,

With 68 percent of Can-
ada’s exports going to the
U.S. and 71 percent of our
imports coming from the U.S.
our country is undoubtedly
the most vulnerable of ail
the capitalist nations in the
world today in the face of
a deepening trade, general,
economic and political crisis,

In its frantic effort to over-
ceme its budgetary deficits,
to stem the outward flow of
its gold reserve, and to im-
prove its relative position as
the chief imperialist power,
the U.S. is moving swiftly to
take full advantage of the
collapse of the British Com-
monwealth.

GENERAL CRISIS

The problems of Canada
must be seen in the context
of this and the worldwide
crisis and breakdown of im-
perialism. The government
of this country is the errand
boy, running interference for
the U.S.-Canadian monopoly
cligarchy.

The so-called emergency
austerity program imposed
sy the Tory minority govern-
ment, without reference to
Parliament, was prescribed
for Canada by the interna-
tional bankers. The complete
contradiction , between this
and the policy enunciated by
the Diefenbaker government
prior to the most recent elec-
tion campaign is a clear indi-
cation of the cynicism and
contempt which both the cap-
italist parties, the Tories and
the Liberals, now openly dis-
play towards the Canadian
people.

Already last January the
Diefenbaker government
knew and fully subscribed to
the policy which called for
British entry into the Euro-
pean Common Market, and
the U.S, Trade Expansion
Act.

The chief aim behind these
moves is clearly:

to: ‘plaster over the
eracks in the NATO military
and political alliance;

—to extend the cold war
to the economic field;

—to eventually attempt to
extend the principles of the

Common Market in Europe’ -
to the rest of the capitalist

world;

—to acquire greater influ-
ence and control over under-
developed nations; and

—to step up the arms drive
and preparations for . war
against the socialist count-
ries.

But not a whisper of the —
August. 17, 1962-—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 2 _

‘of living standards

real situation to the Cana-
dian people, who are to be
kept in blissful ignorance of
the true state of affairs.
BLUFF FAILED

It will be remembered that
Diefenbaker and _ Pearson
met on the eve of the election
campaign and that  subse-
quently Pearson raised the
proposal, which was .imme-
diately endorsed by Diefen-
baker, that it would be de-
sirable to reduce election
campaigns to one month in-
stead of two months, Both
the old parties knew of the
gathering storm.

Diefenbaker was hoping to
bluff his way through the
election campaign in the tra-
ditional capitalist manner.
Unfortunately the drain on
the foreign exchange reserve
developed into a flood in
April, and on May 3 came
the announcement of a de-
valued and pegged Canadian
dollar.

On May 17 — a full month
before election day — Fin-
ance Minister Fleming rush-
ed to New York to.speak to
a conference of Wall Street
bosses and U.S, industrialists,
arranged by the National In-
dustrial Conference Board: of
the U.S.

Fleming’s speech reaffirm-
ed Canadian government sup-
port for European monopoly
integration, including Brit-
ain; firm support for the
Kennedy plan for extension
of this principle to include
the United States and Can-
ada; and the general recog-
nition of U.S, control as a
ccnsequence of its dominant
position.

SICK SYSTEM

It was undoubtedly this
which laid the basis for sub-
sequent agreement by the
U.S. to allow Canada to con-
solidate its debts through the
means of another billion-dol-
lar mortgage against the re-
sources and future earnings
of this satellite nation,

But while the facts were
thus communicated to the
U.S. financiers and to the
ECM negotiators at Brussels,
who needless to say approv-
ed of Canadian government
policy, the Canadian people
are still in the dark concern-
ing the long-range plans and
commitments of their Tory
government.

Every effort is now being
made to convince Canadians
that this is a temporary cri-
sis. This is a calculated lie,
The crisis of our national de-
velopment is a part of the
breakdown of imperialism
and mirrors the mortal sick-
ness of the capitalistst sys-
tem.

As a subordinate and sec-
ondary imperialist power,
Canada is deeply mortgaged
to foreign capitalists as a re-
sult of the betrayal by its
own monopolists of our na-
tional independence.

The pattern of national po-
licy to export cheap raw
material and_ agricultural
products, while importing
manufactured goods at high
prices and filling the gap
with borrowed funds, is now
being intensified.

CUT LIVING STANDARDS

At the same time we have
been given notice that from
now on loans and foreign
capital investments will be
severely rationed and that
rent, interest and _ profits
must be paid at the expense
which

must be brought into line
with our restricted manufac-
turing economy,

Canadians accustomed to
think of their country as in-
dependent and highly devel-
oped must be gradually con-
vinced of our true status.
Hence the propaganda cam-

ple” who welcome this kind
of a “solution” are the big
capitalist monopolies, who
grow to become so big that
they control the whole capi-
talist state and government.
Placing their own selfish in-
terest above that of the na-
tion as a whole, they discard

the CP.

Why Austerity?

Is Canada doomed to a future of
rising prices, shrinking dollars, and
growing unemployment?

The Communist Party says there is
an alternative . . . but bold measures
are called for. These measures are dis-
cussed in some detail by Bruce Mag-

-nuson, Ontario provincial leader of

- paign that

“we have been
living beyond our means,”
which is really beamed to the
working class and the non-
monopolized sector of our
economy to enforce a redivi-
sion of the national income
at the expense of the work-
ing people.

The dependence of Canada
on U.S. control and contin-
ued foreign capital imports
will, in the context of the
new trade and industrial pat-
terns, result in de-industriali-
zation of the country, This
process is already taking
shape, along with extended
monopoly control.

This is clearly reflected in
the high unemployment fig-
ures for the main industrial
provinces of Quebec, Ontario
and B.C. In Ontario, for ex-
ample, the number of unem-
ployed increased by 11,000
between May and June.
FASCISM NEXT?

What solution has the capi-
talist class to offer?

The Toronto Globe and
Mail, in a July 10 editorial,
titled ‘Crisis in Brazil,”
writes:

“With the country locked,
in a vicious circle in which
economic confusion leads to
political instability, and the
political situation weakens
the economy, a state of af-
fairs is rapidly developing in
which the people will wel-
come government by a
strongman with few consti-
tutional scruples,”

This kind of a “solution”
is not new to a capitalist
nation in crisis. Before the
Second World War it was
freely applied in Germany,
Italy, Japan, Spain, Cuba
and a few other countries.

Needless to say the ‘“peo-

“Oh, No! TWO-Cosmonauts?” _

the mask of bourgeois demo-
cracy when it no longer can
serve their purpose and re-
place it by a bourgeois dic-
tatorship in an open and un-
disguised form.

This is being done today -in
such countries as Brazil, Ar-
gentina, Peru, Venezuela, the
Dominican Republic and
others. The real imperialist
bosses of the so-called West-
ern democracies have not
hesitated to apply such me-
thods everywhere the imper-
ialist metropolis felt that the
“Establishment”? was in any
way threatened with expo-
sure and defeat,

It could happen here in
Canada.

INDEPENDENT COURSE

The alternative for Canada
to present policies is to break
with the cold war, renounce
the NATO military, political
and economic strait-jacket,
and strike out on an inde-
pendent course of national
development.

One and a half billion un-
dernourished people in the
underdeveloped areas of the
world constitute a great mar-
ket for industrial and con-
sumer goods. In the process
of helping to feed and to de-
velop the industrial potential
of these nations Canada
could herself become a high-
ly developed manufacturing
nation with a strong econo-
my and a rising standard of
living.

At the same time Canada
can become an active partici-
pant in the developing soc-
ialist market with one bil-
lion people, as shown by our
biggest ever wheat export
deal negotiated with People’s

* China. But the hypocritical

refusal to recognize the Chin-

ese People’s Republi¢
be replaced by an
foreign policy based
tual respect and mutual
terests, 4
It is in this direction ;
Canada can best contribl
to the struggle for pe
the extension of demoe
and human welfare.
the alternative to the da
ous path we are now

tha!

ling. :
CHANGING WORLD
It is clear that

changes are taking plae
the world. Canadian 2®
and foreign policies ™
brought into harmony =
those changes, which
the downfall of imp®
and the domineering P
of the U.S. monopolié
now in Latin America
As the 17th national’
vention of the Comm
Party stated in a resort
on Canada and the Bur?
Common Market: :
“Latin America, 1
throes of a democralic
lution . . . offers prim
kets for Canadian produ!
“If the Canadina got
ment were to sign m¥
beneficial trade agte™
with the Latin Am
countries, designed to
their industrializatio™
if long-term state
to be arrange

Latin American
dence but also would

industrialize our OW? ~
ry, whose economy is 4
in need of machine-C?
tion and tool-makin&
tries.”

“Canada’s trade “a
newly - independent _ ie

ries, the former colo?
pitifully insignificant
export of industrial Pf°
machinery and farm
to these countries, h
help them to resist

tempts of the impen
fasten a new colonl@

g0”

them.” T
PUT CANADA FInSY
It is the class-¢%" 4

workers, and particul@
Communist Party, Ww?
aloft the banner of ae
survival by calling up?
people to Put Canada »
against U.S. dominatio®
To rally the peo?
struggle against the m
lies the leaders of d
union movement 4?
New Democratic party
be convinced that oe
ciate Canada with the
polies of both Eur?
America in a drive
domination under ve
of “free trade” Wig
speed Canada’s econoy
cline and bring unto pe
ery for the Canadia? f.
The pattern of oe
future trade with oA
now that the British
can no longer bé
through the Commo?
preferential system ost
ing system which pr ¥
a colonial and infem
tus for Canada 4?°.
Commonwealth cou? :
a-vis England and a
ropolis — will now |
drastic changes. ‘
‘ It is essential, ™ oof
is to become the a :
prosperous nation it g
potential of becom? od
all obstacles be cle® ..
unrestricted trade ®
mal peaceful relation™
ALL nations of the “iy #
an ‘equal and mutu®
vantageous basis.

8

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