Duke Of Edinburgh's Conference Impressions Editor's Note: Ron Tweedie, IWA Regional Organizer in the Prince George area was one of the few Canadians out of five hundred applicants to be chosen to attend the Duke of Edinburgh's Second Commonwealth Study Conference held this year in Canada. In the following article he gives his impressions of the month-long Conference which started in Montreal and wound-up in Vancou- ver. By R. TWEEDIE The most startling impression was the effect of the members of the Conference upon each other. We proved that people from different backgrounds, of different creeds and colour can through a conscious effort, work together successfully for the benefit of humanity. This Conference which brought together 300 people from 35 Com- monwealth countries made possible an exchange of ideas and focused its main attention to the human prob- lems in a changing industrial en- vironment, The Conference members during the course of their studies met with Management, Officers of the Cana- dian Labour Congress, members of labour councils, workers and farmers on the job and in their homes across Canada. We discovered that the most press- ing problem was the need for a more complete and higher standard of education. In all six universities we visited in various cities, we noticed a terrific expansion programme, proving to us that education is at last attempting to catch up to mech- anization. Unfortunately those without edu- cation’ caught in the mechanized change are without both the training for mechanization, and the education for further training. This problem I found to be the most important and outstanding in our studies, but we also covered many other aspects of Canadian life such as (a) leisure time, a result of the shorter work week (b) transporta- tion, a problem brought about by the move to rural areas (c) move- ment to the rural area resulting from a desire for home ownership and the attempt to get away from urban life (d) town planning, the attempt to clear slum areas and plan for future development. At the conclusion of the Confer- ence, the members were divided into four commissions to study: (1) Minority Groups (2) The Older Worker (3) The Family (4) The Youth. These individual commissions then assembled their observations into reports which were presented to the Conference as a whole. Having participated in this Con- ference, I observed that a Confer- ence of this nature can bring about a better understanding of human problems between people from dif- ferent nations, and that this under- standing can be further developed to bring about the realization between people that after all the welfare of humanity is the most important fac- tor in the world today. Local 1-357 To Aid U.G.N. Fund NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Goal of the 1962 Appeal of the United Good Neighbour Fund has been set at $303,000.00, it is an- nounced by Local 1-357 IWA, which will take an active part in the cam- paign. This figure was adopted at a meetings of UGN Directors, who acted on the recommendations of the Potentials Committee headed by E. J. Scott Dudley. Total allocations to agencies for 1963 recommended by the Admis- sions and Distributions Committee amounted to $274,683.00. ; UGN vice-president William Arthur, who presented the Potentials Committee report, stressed that with a successful campaign, agencies would receive around $25,000 more than they actually received from last year’s Appeal. In submitting the allocation budget, Admissions and Distribu- tions Committee Chairman Mrs. A. Helen Culter said agencies in certain fields were being encouraged to be- come more self-supporting, while a few others were being asked to seek Government support. In an explanation of the make-up of the 1962 goal—which includes operating and campaign costs— UGN president Eric Latta said the current plan calls for elimination of the former $3,000 contingency fund, Civil Service Signs Ist Contract The 32,000-member Civil Service Association of Canada has signed its first contract providing that new em- ployees of a Crown corporation must join the association. The stipulation is contained in a CSAC agreement with Central Mort- gage and Housing Corporation cover- ing firemen-labourers and stationary engineers in the corporation’s Ottawa headquarters office. As a Crown cor- poration, CMHC negotiates with staff groups under terms of the fed- eral Industrial Relations Act rather than the Civil Service Act. and a lowering of the amount set aside for non-collection of pledges from $15,000 to $8,000. He asked directors to approve a change in administration budgeting at this time, whereby only seven months’ expenses would be raised for 1963. This would reduce the $33,000 normally earmarked for the UGN’s annual operating and campaign costs to around $20,000 for next year. The United Good Neighbour Fund supports more than 40 health, family and youth agencies in New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquit- lam, Surrey and White Rock, which in turn serve a population of more than 150,000. Kick-off date for the 1962 Appeal has been tentatively set for Sep- tember 16th. HONEYMOON BAY SAWMILL photograp Be hed from the main log dump. This sawmill is four miles from the Hillcrest Sawmill and the company’s fogging operations were also shut down to allow the loggers to aid in fighting the Hillcrest blaze. pe ag: RS Ae. Sorcerers THIS VIEW, also taken from the log dump at Honeymoon Bay, shows some of the fine timber logged from the area. British Labour Gains Two more Labour by-election vic- tories in Britain have hit the Con- servatives hard while they were still staggering from previous defeats. At Middlesborough West, Labour captured a Conservative seat by turning the Conservative 1959 gen- eral election majority of 8,710 into a Labour majority of 2,270. In West Lothian (near Edinburgh, Scotland), Labour retained the seat with a majority of 11,516—up 2,145 on the general election—while the Conservative, Liberal and Commu- nist candidates lost their deposits because they polled less than one- eighth of the votes cast. The Con- servative vote plunged 28.3 per cent below the general election figure. As both the new Labour M.P.s are firm followers of Hugh Gaitskell, the party leader, the results are being interpreted as a victory for the mod- erate section of the party, -which is opposed to widespread nationaliza- tion and other items favoured by the Left. No Money For Education Nations borrow billions for war; no nation ever borrowed largely for education. Probably no nation is rich enough for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both. —Abraham Flexner No Little Men. Here One of the most popular economic fairy tales is the one about private enterprise being controlled by the thousands of “little” men who hold shares. But 91.1 per cent of Canadians don’t own any stock at all, and only 0.6 per cent own over $25 thousand worth. ; Vested Few The few rich men who do own stocks have devised a system to en- ROR. fie This advertisement is not published or displayed o% & —— cea eee by the Liquor Control Board * sure that control of the economy is vested in that same few. The system is called “interlocking directorships.” This means that, quite often, a single rich and powerful man sits on the boards of directors of more than just one or two corporations, thus ensuring the concentration of con- trol. An Example For example, 45 per cent of Cana- dian directorships in dominant cor- porations are held by just 203 (out of 18 million) individuals. Twenty-eight per cent —over a quarter—are held by 90 individuals. The directors of nine chartered banks hold 297 of the directorships in dominant corporations. Insurance Companies The directors of ten life insurance companies hold 188 directorships in dominant corporations. In total, 985 Canadian residents control the Canadian directorships in dominant corporations in Canada. Less than a thousand people run the Canadian economy (or that part of it which is controlled in Canada). “Peoples’ capitalism?” Like heck. Unless by “people” you mean “a tiny minority of very rich and very powerful economic dictators.” _ lor free home delivery phone; — | MU 4-1121 YU 8-2636 WA 2-7530 LA2-0349 ~ or by the Gov A IE it of British Columbia. Ce Se See ee