THE PEOPLE

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A Progressive Step

HERE will be general approval for the plan announced this

week by Vancouver hospitals under which every person
and family in the Greater Vancouver area may be covered by
a hospital insurance plan at nominal cost. The scheme, which
will go into effect within two or three months, will provide full
hospital services to everyone at the rate of 60 cents monthly
for single persons and $1.50 for families, with no limitation on
the number of children in a family.

Undoubtedly the plan, sponsored by all hospitals, comes as
a recognition by medical authorities of the widespread demand
for some form of health insurance. British Columbia people
have long been to the forefront in pressing for such a scheme,
and as early as 1937 the government yielded to this demand

_ by drawing up a health insurance act, approved by plebiscite,

that was only prevented from enactment by the opposition of
the BC Medical Association.

It is unfortunate, of course, that such an important develop-
ment should have been privately sponsored, which will neces-
sarily limit its effectiveness. To meet all the requirements,
health insurance should be the full responsibility of the gov-
ernment. It is to be regretted also that the committee in charge
of the plans did not see fit to bring in representatives of the
labor movement, since this is a matter of vital concern to the
workers. 2

The main drawbacks seem to be the failure of the plan
to cover doctor and medical expenses, the biggest drain on
the family budget, and the fact that the plan is not wide enough
in scope, a failure which can not be charged to the hospitals
but to the governmeni’s own failure to sponsor the scheme.

Nevertheless, the new hospital plan is a decided step in
the right direction. And ultimately it will have to be extended,
whether the medical association likes it or not, into a full

health insurance plan on both a province-wide and national
basis.

A Shameful Act

ET it be said with shame that the Ottawa House of Com-

mons has now become a place from where anti-Semitic

poison can be broadcast throughout the nation, and no member
of the government lifts his voice in protest or answer.

The statement made this week by Norman Jaques, ND
for Wetaskiwin, his shameful reading of extracts from that
notorious forgery, the “Protocols of Zion,” needs more, of
course, than just a reply. He should be made to retract or be
removed from his seat. Because the sort of filthy tirade Mr.
Jaques directed not only against the Jewish people but against
our Allies—witness his attack on the film “Mission to Mos-
cow’ —is nothing less than Nazism. It was an anti-war, there-
fore a treasonable speech, and should be immediately answered
by the people of Canada before such individuals are encour-
aged by the government's apparent disregard to go further
in their betrayal of democracy.

Continued

Full Speed Ahead!

know the Canadian army will not Jet us down. We on the
home front must not let them down!

The greater part of the responsibility will be shared
by the workers of Canada, and organized labor must as-
sume the Jeadership of that responsibility. Already trade
union leaders across Canada have pledged full support
to the armed forces and called for immediate measures to
ensure all-out production to keep the invading forces
fully supplied. Labor men everywhere will close their
ranks, pledge everything for the fighting fronts.

What is needed now is a determination to produce the
tools of war as we have never produced before. Every-
thing that divides and confuses must be swept aside. Ca-
nadians must stand behind their government and military
leaders, back of their fighting forces, determined not to
leave one thing undone that would save the lives of the
men overseas and speed the day of triumph over Hitler
fascism.

Canada is going into action! Back the attack!

Some Views On
The New Party

By FERGUS McKEAN

allies historic announcement of Tim Buck on the formation

of a new political party of Canadian Communists designed
to give organizational cohesion and wide political expression to
the left wing of the Canadian labor movement is, in my

opinion, a very timely one.

The urgent need of placing the program of the left-wing
movement for victory in the war and prosperity in the peace

before the Canadian people, the
continued ban on the Communist
Party of Canada, the voluntary
dissolution of the Communist In-
ternational in order to further as-
sist in strengthening national and
international unity for the su-
preme task of defeating fascism,
and the prestige and influence
of the Communist movement
among the svorking people of
Canada, all combine to demon-
strate the need of a new politi-
cal party of the left wing.

ee character and program of
the new party and the meth-
ods of presentation and popular-
ization will of course be of the
greatest importance. I do not in-
fer by this that the program and
polices of the Communist move-
ment in Canada in the past were
ineorrect. On the contrary, I feel
its program, which included such
aims as organization of the un-
organized, trade union unity, for-
mation of a democratic front in
Canada against fascism and war,
for collective security in the in-
ternational field in contradistinc-
tion to the ill-fated appeasement
policy of Chamberlain, behind
which our government docilely
trailed, and for a socialist Canada,
were correct. I do believe, how-
ever, that insufficient attention
was given to the inclusion of
political issues of a local or pro-
vincial character. Most import-
ant, the movement was unable to
sufficiently popularize and pre-
sent its independent program to
the wide masses of the Canadian
people.

This weakness, I feel, while
largely due to lack of forces, con-
ditions of illegality, energy direct-
ed to assisting in the organiza-
tion of the unorganized and or-
ganized efforts to villify, falsify
and discredit the program and
aims of the Communists, was also
eontributed to by the organiza-
tional structure on which the
movement was based.

fhe basic organizational forms
of the party, ie, small shop
and industrial branches, while
ideally suited to the task of as-
sisting in the organization of
the unorganized and of achieving
a considerable degree of indus-
trial democracy for the working
people, were not conducive eith-
er to the building of a mass party,
or the wide popularization of the
electorate in the parliamentary
Communist program among the
field during municipal, provincial
and federal elections.

It is my conviction that today
large sections of Canada’s indus-
trial workers, farmers and middle
Class people not only recognize
the the correctness of the pro-
grams and policies of the Com-
munist movement both in the past
and the present periods, but fur-
ther, having witnessed the spec-
tacle of hundreds of Canadian
Communists thrown into jails,
penitentaries and. interment
camps while other hundreds gave
their lives in the struggle against
fascism in Spain, they recognize

the sincerity, devotion and cap-
ability of the Canadian Commun-
ists. And I feel the time has now
arrived when it is necessary for
the left wing movement, in
launching a new party, to adopt
organizational forms that will be
conducive to:

1. Enabling thousands of wor-
kers, farmers and middle class
people to readily become mem-
bers.

2. Provide a medium for the
widest political activity particu-
larly in the parliamentary field.

fee most suitable organization-
al forms for achieving these
two aims, are, in my opinion,
branches or clubs of from 50 to
100 members. Branches of such
a size can conduct more inter-
esting meetings than smaller
groups, have a higher level of
political discussion, superior edu-
cational, cultural and social acti-
vities. Such branches should be
organized on a neighborhood,
war, municipal and constituency
basis: their activity coordinated
and guided by means of munici-
pal, constituency and provincial
councils.

This does not imply a rigid
adoption of one organizational
form in all localities and condi-
tions. Provision should be made
for organizational forms adapted
to providing assistance to preb-
lems arising in industrial areas
but in BC, at least where all of
the basic industries are in the
main, organized, the large area
branches should be the basic
form of organization. In order to
enable thousands of working peo-
ple to readily joion the new party
the graduated form of dues pay-
ments of the past should be re-
placed by a simplified dues sys-
tem with not more than two or
at most three categories of duese
payments and membership books.

While consideration should be
given to the advisability of hay-
ing “members at large” in order
to overeome all artificially-fost-
ered conceptions of illegality, se-
erecy or conspiracy, the member-

See NEW PARTY — Page 7

Money

Te you ask a logs

same question and
lucky if you get
can be agreed wu

A case was recent
in which this question

disposal of some proj
dozen- of the most br

lord chancellor and
of the judicial co
House of Lords” ee
on what money is.

Laws are written —
and lawyers live by tk
more obscure the my
law can be made, the
be hidden in a verbiag
talk and legal jargon
living there is in it f
fraternity. Eyen a ¢
semi-colon may +
lawyer, that is, a “ge
with a new model au
a residence on ¢$
Heights. This is “the
conception of law’ &
legal mind is metic
tuned. “ od

30 Feet Hi
FTER the Work
~pensation Act bei

Britain, about forty

another collection 6

legal minds” spent se}

arguing whether 4

deep was a building;

According to the law

ing was not at least:

a workman who fell fi

not claim any comps

der the Act.

Marx remarks on
beauty of the Engli
which is really twe
using a Romance W
abstract idea of a
Anglo-Saxon word |
erete reality. He :
added that there
language used in
jargon of the law s¢
is used to confuse
commonsense citizen
vide real money for

No logger or boi
miner could become
such an argument ai
ferred to here, exce
who is despoiled of
he gets his hands on
Gown a hole 60 feet
may or may not be
feet high. :

Tim Buck

sation in some qual
even inspired “colu
local evening papel
are some people wi
‘to learn about the le
own country. A 5!
er informs me abi
conversation that ~
few days ago on 4
tric” jalopy. 3

The boilermake
streetcar passing —
Buck ad on the ff
marked to the man
him: “I see Tim B
“Who the hell’s Tu
ed the other. “De
Tim Buck?” “No

_ know Lil Abner?”

you know Alley |
“J thought so,” 88
maker, “but you we
Tim Buck on tha
should widen your