(

PACIFIC ADVOCATE

PEOPLE’S VOICE FOR PROGRESS

HL. 1, NO. 3

eS

5 Cents

VANCOUVER, B.C., SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1944

ative Brotherhood
Urge Royal Commission

nettle Indian Pro!

lems

( Concrete proposals for solution of the serious economic
id social problems facing native Indians in B.C. featured
e fifteenth annual convention of the Native Brotherhood
British Columbia at Alert Bay this week.

Wajor proposals for allevia-
h of economic problems con-
ning the fishing and fur in-
stry, which are the main
wees of livelihood for a large
tion .of the 25,000 Indians in
: provinee, were placed before

close to 1,000 who attended
> meet. =

UAL RIGHTS
sranting of equal rights of
genship with other Canadians
a Royal Commission with
lian representation to make a
nprehensive survey of their
yblems were among the many
asures considered and adopted.
4n outstanding feature of this
iv’s meet was the strong sup-

MAURICE THOREZ

Necretary of the French Com-
Plunist Party, in Moscow since
942, has been granted “am-
liesty” by Gen. de Gaulle and
'S on his way back to France,
| ¥hkere he has been nominated
fer the Chamber of Deputies.

port for Indian rights voiced by
representatives of organized
labor in B.C. Speaking to the
epening session, Nigel Morgan
IWA international board mem-
ber and labor candidate for par-
liament in Comox-Alberni, pled-
ged his union’s complete back-
ing of the Brotherhood’s efforts
to achieve remedies for their
longstanding and burning griey-
ances.

FULL CITIZENSHIP ~ :
Morgan backed the demands
of the Indians for full citizen-
ship rights and parliamentary
representation ‘without inter-
ference with treaty rights of
land titles, rights which are no

more than what have been gain-).

ed by the Maoris of New Zea-
jand.

The labor. leader also pledged.
the support of organized labor
for equal treatment of native
servicemen in rehabilitation and
pensions. He urged active par-
ticipation of the Indians in the
organized labor movement.

Morgan was made an honorary
life member of the Native Broth-
erhood by the convention.

UNFAIR COMPETITION

Economic stability for the In-
dians was proposed in measures
calling for establishment of fish-
ing grounds restricted to native
fishermen only, restriction of
trapping to Indians and experi-
enced trappers, and other meas-
ures to protect natives against
the unfair competition of large
scale enterprizes.

The convention decided to pre-
sent their program to Ottawa in
a brief dealing: with Indian repre-

_Gontinued on Page 8

Reinforcement

Must Not B
A Political Football

Major political crisis in Canada on the issue of reinforcements for the
army overseas has been temporarily averted by action of Prime Minister
Mackenzie King in summoning a special session of Parliament to open No-

vember 22.

Surface expression of the crisis came in the replacement of Minister of
Defence Colonel Ralston by General McNaughion in an astute move by the

Well-placed shots by a Yank gunner deal the death blow
to a Nazi tank in Wurselen, Germany, after it tempor-

arily held up our advance.

©

Public conference on reconversion and layoffs problems
in Vancouver will be called soon on the initiative of the city
council sponsored committee.on these problems it was de-
cided at a meeting of the committee, chaired by Alderman

Jack. Price. at City Hall this

week.

The conference will be called
after consideration is given to
briefs and problems which the
committee is inviting to be pre-
sented to it from all interested
organizations, from industry,
government and labor.

The meeting of the commit-
tee, which is rapidly becoming
a highly important channel for
cooperative effort to solve some
of the most important problems
facing Vancouver in the very
near future, was attended by
delegates representative of the
widest sections of the city’s in-
dustry, business and labor.

This week’s meeting heard an

eutline of problems with which
the
scale plastics industry Is faced.
An engineer, representing the
industry, outlined the

establishment of .a large

plastics
production and Tinancial prob-
lems involved. The questions of
what to make, of how. to finance
reconversion of plants for such
production and allied problems
were dealt with.

On the subject of financing,
the speaker felt that the industry
could not hope to solve its prob-
lems through the private banks.
While government aid was wel-
come, he offered the suggestion

fef an association being estab-

—Continued on Page 8

| tary.
King and McNaughton an-

fronting the people today,

unity,

Prime Minister after, Ralston
had refused to continue sup-
porting the policy of volun-
reinforcements. Both

nounced that they still felt
that the voluntary system
should be given another all
out try before assuming that
compulsion is mecessary.

The crisis was instigated
by the irresponsible Tory
campaign to make the con-
seription issue into a lever for
overthrowing the government
and seizing power. With a com-
plete disregard of the war ef-
fort and the major issues con-
the
tories have sabotaged national
fomented national and
sectional hatred, in a concerted
partisan conspiracy.

The CCF contribution has. been
an insistent reiteration of the
conscription of wealth and man-
power policy—the slogan they
used to oppose a “Yes” vote in
the 1942 plebiscite on conscrip-
tion—and have objectively aided
and abetted the tory conspiracy.

Realizing the vital importance
to the Canadian people of reach-
ing a correct and constructive
position on the question, and of
the terrible threat to the war
effort and national unity that the
unfolding of the crisis has pre-_
sented, the National Executive
of the Labor-Progressive Party
issued the following statement
this weel prior to the Prime
Minister’s announcement of the
special session.

Text of the statement is as
follows:

The reckless and subversive
campaign by which the leaders
of the Progressive-Conservative
Party are trying to create a
major political crisis in Canada
was answered by the Prime Min-
ister in his broadcast address
en November 8. Mr. King’s rea-
soned and convincing statement
on the serious problem of main-
taining an adequate flow of rein-
forcements to our men overseas
placed the issue squarely before
every Canadian: What sort of-
pohey will serve the real in-
terests of the men overseas and

—Continued on Page 2