Progress to Just Society
less than spectacular

By°NELSON CLARKE

It’s been a year since Pierre
Elliott Trudeau sealed his major-
ity with that heroic election eve

Stand against the pop bottles of.

the separatists at the St. Jean
Baptiste parade in Montreal.

This year he will not be
around for the National holiday
of French Canada. There is -no
election, hence no need to brave
pop bottles.

It’s been a fair show. No prime
minister to date has been able
to muster so many blonde girl
friends. The P.M. skis nicely. He
proved himself to be a true
friend of the army after all with
that junket to Petawawa a few
days ago. His fights with the
press compare favorably with
John Diefenbaker’s ‘snortings of
a few years ago.

What’s been in it for us, the
people?. ;

The Criminal Code has been
inched into the 20th Century.
Divorce is easier if you have
money for a good lawyer. But it
is still only a minority that’ is
seeking release from the bonds
of holy matrimony.

Parliament is supposed to be
in the process of being reform-
ed, but the main proposition
that the Prime Minister has been
diligently trying to work
through—Rule 16 A or a reason-
able facsimile—is calculated not
to reform parliament but to shut
it up.

Meanwhile we have inflation
— bad. The Benson Budget was
distinguished. mainly by its re-
tention of the notorious surtax
which helps the rich and soaks
the rest of us.

Some Canadians will be
brought back from Germany
where they should never have
been 4n the first place, but the
arms budget is pegged at $1.8
billion based on a planned in-
flation which it, in itself, heips
to guarantee.

Beef prices soar right out of
sight. Trudeau agrees with Bas-
ford that the consumer is hard

-hit. He agrees with Olson that

the farmers need more money.
Meanwhile the real culprits—the
packers and the supermarkets—
rake in their super profits.

Naturally the workers’ need
more money. The Trudeau gov-
ernment gives the lead to the
bosses—tells them to hold the
line like it did with the Air Can-
-ada machinists. Eric, Kierans
becomes the example of the
enlightened boss. He belongs in
one of Charles Dickens’ novels.
The Woods report finds jet age
language to say more sweetly
the same things to labor that
Ivan C. Rand, that old dinosaur,
blurted out in his report to the
Ontario government.

In short, progress towards the
Just Society is rather less than
spectacular,

And just to make sure we get
the message, Trudeau has prom-
ised us there will be no more
medicares.

_Which brings me to the
main story of the first year of
Trudeau—his “solutions” to the
Crisis of Confederation.

If there was one reason above
all others why Big Business —
.that citadel of WASPS — want-
ed Trudeau it was because they.
need a good “Frenchman” to put

those millions of bad “French-
men” down in Quebec in line.

We have the language bill.
Now if you are a French-speak-
ing person in St. Boniface, you
might be able to get the Un-
employment Insurance office in
Winnipeg to write you a letter
in French. It’s only right. It’s a
reform that is only 102 years
late, because it should have been
written into the BNA Act by the
Fathers of Confederation.

So this is what’s new, and if
that was all that was happen-
ing to us we could rest easy.

But what is not at all new is
how Pierre-Elliott Trudeau is fol-
lowing in the footsteps of that
earlier “vendu”, Louis St. Lau-
rent. Quebec is still a province
like the others. It wants more
powers? It wants more tax
fields? Fine, says Pierre Elliott,

we'll give all the provinces more

powers, more tax fields. -

Where does this get us? The
people demand, perhaps even
win, tax reforms from Ottawa.-
Each of the ten provinces will
be able to undo those reforms
_With their own reformed taxes.

High prices? That’s a provin-
cial responsibility. What can Ot-
tawa do by itself? Housing,
that’s a provincial responsibil-
ity too. Maybe the federal gov-
ernment could come through
with money to help the provin-
ces build those 100,000 new
homes which are needed every
year for the next. ten? We can’t
do that, the Prime Minister will
say, that would be just like ano-
ther medicare.

Decentralization is the’ name
of the game with Trudeau, and
that means the evasion by Otta-
wa of the responsibilities to
meet the needs of the people
which it alone can shoulder.

This sell-out will never be got-
ten at in any meaniogful way

-until Quebec is recognized as

the sovereign homeland of the
French-Canadian nation, and the
problems of education, health,
housing, all social reforms are
tackled centrally in English Can-

"ada. The problem will never be

solved by centralizers like Paul
Hellyer who ignores Quebec, nor
by decentralizers like Trudeau
who meets the demands of his.
cronies in the Quebec  Establish-
ment by giving what they want
to all the provincial politicians
in English Canada. ~

Is monopoly capitalism finally
finding its “solution” to the Na-
tional Question in Canada? Is
Pierre Elliott Trudeau the man
to do the job for them? No doubt
the monopolists hope so. It will
be nice to be able to hide away
even more easily from taxation
in that deep, dark jungle in
which the decisive power will
rest with the provinces not Ot-
tawa. And the wheeling and.
dealing with our resources, the
selling out of the people’s birth-
right for a buck will proceed
merrily apace, with the Ben-
netts, the Thatchers, the Small-
woods.

Yes, it will be nice for big

' business, but it will make every

fight for every reform, every
improvement in the condition of
life that much harder for the
Canadian people to win.

That is why there is no way to
separate the struggle for pro-
gress in Canada, from the strug-

PAGING TRIBUNE 31 JUNE 27,1989 Page B.

gle for the recognition of the bi-
potlonal character of this coun-
ry.

When that battle is really
taken up, big business will have
to start looking for a politician
even slicker than Trudeau. One
of these days, they are ‘going to
run out of such means of salva-
tion. Then the people who do the
work in this country will take
over.

QUEBEC LABOR

A long, hot summer —

QUEBEC
Quebec’s iron ore built the
town of Schefferville, 800 air
miles north-east of Montreal.
It’s from Schefferville the U.S.-
owned Iron Ore Company of
Cdnada ships out 7,000,000 tons
of ore yearly.

Workers in the United Steel:

Workers of America struck that
company last May 12, two days
after dockworkers walked off
the job at Sept Iles. The strike
of iron ore workers and dockers
‘spread rapidly in Quebec and
Newfoundland (11,000,000 tons
of ore are shipped out of Labra-
dor City in Newfoundland
every year) to halt production
and shipping of over 65 percent
of Canada’s iron ore industry.

This is only part of the mili-
tant Quebec labor picture. More
than 6,000 construction work-
ers, members of the Confedera-
tion of National Trade Unions,
are on strike. Steel workers in
Murdochville have struck. At
least 18,000 workers in Quebec
are engaged in strike actions.

The Quebec government serv-
ing monopoly is more and more
frequently reverting to the
strong arm tactics of the late
Maurice Duplessis. In th? name
of “law and order” tzar gas,
clubs and warning shots are
used against organized and un-
organized workers fighting for
living wages and decent work-
ing conditions.

Iron ore workers are saying
their wages have fallen too low
to meet living costs. Over the
years their wages have risen
little while taxes have skyrock-

On the call of the Jeunesse
Ouvriére Chrétienne (Christian
Young Workers) of Quebec, a
conference took place in Mon-
treal on the last week-end of
May. Called “Carrefour ’69”
(Crossroads ’69), the confer-
ence was attended by more than
2,000 young workers, including
members of the Ligue des Jeu-
nesses Communistes (the Young
Communist League).

Unity for higher. wages and
full opportunities of employ-
ment for youth marked the re-
lationship which developed at
the conference between the JOC
and YCL.

In addressing Crossroads ’69
at its closing session, Hélléne
Meynaud, speaking for the YCL,
said the conference had been
very worthwhile, having brought
together youth from all move-.

eted and living costs have-

tripled in these areas of Quebec.

They say they took home more

money in 1958 than now.

Under Quebec jurisdiction
2,800 USWA iron ore miners
and dockers are on strike. Ano-
ther 1,500 workers in the Que-
bec North Shore and Labrador
Railway under federal jurisdic-
tion are out, while 2,300 iron
ore workers, also members of
the USWA are in conciliation,
awaiting strike action in New-
foundland. ,

Acting in solidarity the Sea-
farers’ International Union over
a month ago halted all iron ore
shipments bound for the U.S:A.
and Europe. The leading force
in the St. Lawrence ‘and Tribu-
taries Port Council, the SIU
submitted a motion of support
for the striking iron ore work-
ers. It carried unanimously.

At last report, 34 Canadian
bulk carriers are now tied up
by this iron ore strike with 11
more carrying their last loads
until! it’s settled. And that may
take some time, as negotiations
between the USWA and the
Tron Ore Company broke down
last week without any date set
for their resumption. ,

The strike of CNTU construc-
tion workers is for higher pay
and job security. They are stop-
ping scab work on construction

sites. The government’s answer ”

to this defense of workers’ jobs?
The Quebec Security Police
(known in Duplessis’ time and
until recently as the Quebec
Provincial Police) have sent at
least 20 squad cars “with armed

youth unite

ments of Quebec’s young work-
ers to discuss their problems.
She considered however, that
the conference and in particular
the JOC leadership had not come
to grips with the question of
youth’s active political role in
a mass labor political party. On
behalf of the YCL she regretted
that the JOC leadership had
taken the position that political
action by young workers is not
a matter of immediate concern.

She urged those at the confer- .

ence to advance the good effort
commenced there by continuing
their discussions themselves.

In a statement made after
Crossroads ’69, Hélléne Mey-

- naud criticized the representa-

tive of the Quebec government’s
Ministry of Youth and Sports
who had warned those at the
conference ‘‘to. beware of people

If you ask me,
Trudeau should cut
amily allcwancas

es alt
police into two counties i
Brome and Missisquol.

Fears of job insecutill
affecting Quebec wo
day. The action of
Vickers in shutting 40
tion of that shipyat'»
over 500 highly-skilled ig
their lifetime jobs, per J
the militancy of Ww
Quebec.

Added to the thou
workers, now on stri oa
70,000 Quebec teache
reached a dead-end of
more than two years
tiations with govern” ;
federations of school f
_ sions. Sixteen thousan?@
have already hand pollo!
Signed resignations.’ ng
their historic 20,000-str°
onstration last month 1?
Quebec’s National
is expected the teacher e
vance their struggle bé
fall’s school opening.

And moving into po
militant action are the
workers, 46,000 of th
bers of the CNTU wh?
manding a 42 percent
crease over three yom dl
have asked for on f
Another 12,000 hospita
in two unions of the 0%
Federation of Labor hav® ‘qj
forces in negotiations age
chief negotiator, Roget sy
has said these worke tb y
ready to collaborate ¥
CNTU hospital workers: “int”
Quebec labor is gath” ol
strength in militant
tions with monopoly.

for jobs —
who too warmly offer YU
hand”.

es
“Crossroads | ’69 repre? }
in fact,” she said, “the i

és

a
nm sc eg osoz7282e22

‘tion of what the g0V' i
and society have not 4 ;
young workers, and be ng we
forward towards advan¢ lo,
cause of the working ttl
Critical of the gove™_ id?
sspokesman’s attack on ipa
of yeung workers p: es)
in a mass labor politica voi
she commented that, votes
workers, the youth noW py
18. year of age (proba coe
average of those who t00” i
in Crossroads ’69).” on i
asked, “In giving yout set )
right to vote, was it cone ne’
undesirable that they sh? j
come interested in politic’
that young workers sho

1 bee. ore ge

os »

ply be manipulated?’

oe