reported that

me time, of course, it
ould help keep the wheels
: industry going in Can-
ta during the
fried of reconversion.
‘These general views were
idorsed by the House, and
government has’ already
ade a number of advances
discussion with various
yernment trade missions

WILLIAM KASHTAN

‘t is worthwhile noting to
om the loans have been
ide. France will receive $242,-
9,000; the Netherlands and
: Netherlands Fiast Indies will
teive $150,000,000; Norway
fl receive $30,000,000; Bel-
im will receive $25,000,000;
echoslovakia wall receive
7,000,000. The USSR has re-
ved $3,000,000, with which

,, several

Wa,
skilled workers.

z Co.

ye nothing to do with the

umercial press and radio.

Feature Section

_* by William Kashtan
What is the meaning behind our recent ‘spy scare’

cancellation of orders for the Soviets’ vast
_ potential markets?

difficult -

A TY THE last session of the House of Commons it was
$750,000,000 had been assigned as
‘edit to a number of European countries.
= the loans was to enable the respective countries to pur-
aase goods, food and clothing from Canada with which to
‘construct their shattered industries, while keeping the
j0r open for their retention as potential markets for Ca-
adian goods once they got on their feet again. At the

The purpose

Of the $750,000,000 there is
still a balance of approximately
$283,500,000, presumably await-
ing credit discussion with other
countries, while in the House
of Commons it was reported
that negotiations are underway
with Britain in respect to a
eredit to the extent of $1,000,-
000 or more spread over three
years.

Thus the total Canadian
eredits to be made available
may reach a figure of two
billion.

That is an appreciable sum.
But what is particularly sig-
nificant is the fact that a whole
number of countries in Eur-
ope, particularly Hastern Eur-
ope, have been left outside
these arrangements. Poland, so
far, has received no credit and
neither has Yugoslavia, while
the USSR has received the
sum of three million, contrast-
ed with $150 million for Holl-

and and its present empire.
This, despite the fact that
Soviet spokesmen have fre-

quently intimated they are pre-
pared to make huge purchases
of goods in Canada providing
proper credit arrangements
were arrived at.

It would therefore appear
that while the government, the
bankers and industrialists speak
about the importance of for-
eign trade, and stress the fact
that three out of eight Canad-
jans are dependent for their
income on exports, they never-
theless exclude those countries
which could purchase goods
from Canada and thereby help
maintain employment — always

purchase hydro electrical provided appropriate credit ar-
iipment. rangements were arrived at.
MATA TT TTT TTT

engineering plants in Vancouver have had
ders: for the USSR cancelled on instructions from Ot-
This has restilted in the laying-off of many scores
Among those plants so affected are
2 Dominion Bridge Company, and the Heap’s Engineer-
It is claimed that such cancellations of orders
“spy scare,” but this ambigu-
Ss contention is not borne out by the sordid chain of
ents which have been screamed from the pages of the

HCO TTT TT

SEE ..- ;

King Fronts For
Atomic Diplomacy

Pages 10-11

urope’s Peor

omic
le?

KEEP OUR PLANTS WORKING!

Juggling our foreign trade to suit reactionary political purposes will only result in se-
rious losses to Canada’s potential world market. It will result in slowed-up reconversion,
Stagnated industries and consequent unemployment. There are too many huge plants
like the above in many parts of Canada, which have been shut down because of short-
sighted government policy, influenced by reactionary interests.

Why haven't decent credits
been granted these countries?
Are the terms so onerous as to
endanger their national sover-
eignty? Is the interest too

high? Is it an attempt, to-
gether with the USA and
Great Britain, to exert eco-

nomic pressure to bring about
“desirable” changes away from
nationalization and agrarian
reform which, in fact, opens up
a wider internal market-than
ever in these countries? Is it
an attempt to force changes in
government in Hastern HEur-
ope?

Is a preferential policy being
carried on in regards to the
western European countries?

Why then, the apparent dis-
erimination against Hastern
Europe? It would almost ap-

pear that an economic bloc is
being formed as part of the
efforts to establish a western
political bloc. Certainly such a
policy will not be conducive to
arriving at the goal of “high
employment” that the govern-
ment speaks of and pledged it-
self to achieve during the fed-

eral election campaign last
year.
Evidently the government

reticent in regards
eastern Huropean

was not so
to loans to

countries when monarchies pre-
vailed. According to the “Ca-
nadian Balance of Internation-
al Payments,” Chapter VI, page
44, “Canadian government’s
eredits consist of the loans
made by Canada to foreign
governments insofar as these
are still outstanding. Annual
figures are available in the Do-
minion Public Accounts. For
the fiscal year ending March
1937, they were as follows: ad-
vances to the Greek govern-
ment, $6,525,000, and advances
to the Romanian government
$23,969,720.”

, Obviously, what is needed is
a progressive foreign policy
which would include economic
assistance to all nations, par-
ticularly those that have suf—
fered most in the war. Such
eredits should be given with no
political strings attached.

Such a positive policy will be
welcomed by the majority of
Canadans. It will help streng-
then the democratic forces of
Europe and Asia while simul-
taneously assuring work for
Canadians.

Both the labor moyement and
progressive-minded people gen-
erally should demand of the
government that such a policy
be pursued.

Needless to say such a policy
is doubly apparent and imper-
ative in view of the cancella-
tion of Soviet orders in the
past few weeks. A tremendous
potential market is closed and
with it the possibility of
achieving full employment un-
less government policy is re-
versed.

It does not require any
stretch of imagination to recog-
nize that the weapon of eco-
nomic pressure is being exert-
ed against the USSR, undoubt-
edly as a consequence of its
consistent defence of the free-
dom and independence of na-
tions. That becomes even clear-
er when one contrasts Canad-
jan government policy in re-
spect to the Netherlands.

“Wie now have a stake in the
maintenance of the Dutch Hm-
pire to the tune of $150,000,000.

That may, in part, explain
the anti-Soviet campaign insti-
gated by the King government.
But it equally emphasizes the
need to develop the widest pos-
sible struggle for a progressive
foreign policy which shall in-
clude as one of its corner-
stones, adequate economic as-
sistanee to those countries that
need it most and that suffered
most in the war.

FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 1946