VICTORIA. Debate on British Colum- bia’s fifty-nine-million dollar budget continues, and in Lewis Carroll’s words: “The time has come,” the Wal- _ Tus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing wax— Of cabbages—and ki And why the sea is_ boiling hot— Aud whether pigs have wings.” - Se goes the legislature, talk- ing away the hours and the days. On Wednesday the budg- et debate concluded, clearing the way for introduction of a raft of legislation, among the bills some of the most important the House has considered in years. A major showndown is antici- pated on the new labor act which is now in its final stages of preparation. First round of the battle is already over, with support reportedly pledged by the powerful tory-dominated Coalition caucus to a repressive, anti-labor provision for govern- ment interference in the conduct _ of trade union affairs. Inspired by the Canadian Man- -ufacturers’ Association and as- sociated employers’ groups, the bill now being redrafted after two Goalition caucus reviews contains compulsory, government Supervised strike ballots and government supervised votes on employer proposals for settle- ment during the course of the strike, Labor-hating elements have been pressing strongly for union- busting legislation and they be- lieve they have now. gained enough support in the legisla- ture to get it. And don’t let anyone tell you they haven't been lobbying! * * * Many of the members believe the trade unions made too much progress during the war years. And while still pot prepared to endanger their seats by rousing the ire of an estimated 100,000 trade union members, their rel- _ atives and supporters in the pro- vince by incorporating all the Anti-Semitism that as far as possible no invita~ tions to observe the ceremony were to be sent to Canadians of Jewish origin. Only when two senior members of the depart- ment’s citizenship section threat- ened to resign. and expose ‘this Hitlerian attitude was the instruc- tion revoked. It is already’ well known in the capital that those arrested during the spy scare who happen- ed to be of Jewish origin were “| subjected to special gruelling in ‘| connection with their ‘jfaith. One of the chief justices religious is reported to have remarked at a fair-sized gathering that one of the defendants was obviously guilty, since he was a Jew of foreign extraction. The government is now plan- ning to organize a House Com- mittee on a ‘Bill of Rights,’ fore- cast in the throne speech this month, probably in time to ap- pear in a ‘liberal’ garb before the Montreal-Cartier electorate. No doubt proposals to make ra- cial discrimination punishable as a crime will be made. to this committee. CMA demands, they are accept- ing government interference in union affairs as a ‘proper’, subtle would be a better word—means of attaining their ends’ It is clear that ‘nothing short of an all-out mustering of.labor and progressive forces can stem the anti-labor tide. CCF opposition to the lobby, voiced in Vancouver Trades and Labor Council (AFL) by Tom Alsbury, CCF past © provincial president, was echoed in the leg- islature Monday by ‘the CCF member for Mackenzie, Herbert Gargrave. He emphasized * that the Vancouver Trades and La- ber Council was not participat- ing and claimed that the Labor Lobby officially endorseq by all CCL councils in B.C., as well as by a number of AFL unions, and scheduled to arrive in the capital this weekend did not fully represent organized labor. * * * d ‘Obviously, the provincial gov- ernment’s wartime cooperation with labor has ended with the ending of the government’s need. The Tory-Liberal Coalition is embarking on a new ine, that of throwing the strength of gov- ernment behind those employers who are making a_ last-ditch stang to* stave off labor’s just demands, thus demonstrating the powerful grip of the big vested interests on the prov- ince and particularly on_ its present Coalition government. Actions of this Twenty-first Legislature already demonstrate the urgent need for the forg- ing of a people’s coalition of labor, farmer, pensioner forces te provide a realizable, progres- Sive alternative to the present government. . widespread protest Lobby Ernie Dalskog, IWA interna- tional board member, pointed out to the Pacific Tribune: “There are 1,800 logging opera- tion in this province. Even with a competent staff of organizers we have difficulty getting around the organized camps. How then, does the government expect to conduct a strike vote? It would take the labor department months to complete it, and workers forced to strike for their demands can- not be expected to wait months. “This proposal to -hold_ secret strike votes under government su- pervision, apart from its being a violation of organized workers’ right to make their own decisions through their own organizations, is not even workable in the logging industry from a practical viewpoint.” Leaders of the big trade unions, preparing for a show- down with the government when the mass labor lobby goes to Victoria this Sunday, were ang- ered by the government’s atti- tude in ignoring their respresen- tations. The government, they pointed out, had refused to dis- cuss the draft bill with them, thus repudiating an earlier pro- mise to consult labor before in- troducing its legislation. At the same time, the govern- ment and Coalition members had lent a willing ear to lobbyists for the Canadian Manufacturers’ As- sociation on whose insistence the provision for government supervi- sion of strike votes and votes on employers’ proposals for strike settlement was included in the bill. Maurice Rush, LPP provincial organizer, added the lLabor-Pro- gressive Party’s voice to the in a state- ment reading: “The government - supervised strike vote written into the new labor bill is a blow at the heart of organized labor and is_ in- tended to put the trade union movement in a _ strait-jacket. “That B.C. should be the first Canadian province to introduce this Canadian Manufacturers’ As- sociation proposal is a sign of the growing reactionary trends in the Tory-Liberal Coalition. “The government has violated its pledges to organized labor and deliberately refrained from calling the government-labor committee together because it intended to bring bring down anti-labor legis- lation of the type asked for by the big business lobbies. “Publication of the bill’s provi- sions emphasizes again the need for ‘united labor action in the coming lobby to back up the de- mands of the trade union move- ment for a fair labor act.” Veterans also declared their support of the labor lobby when the New Veterans Branch of the Canadian Legion endorsed the lobby and named Harry Holmes, vice-chairman of its labor rela- tions committee, ag its lobby ' delegate. MARCH 24 — FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1947 eae TO SEE! RUSSIA'S FIRST ALL-COLOR FEATURE ec jqouPA MARCH 14 — ODEON THEATRE, LADYSMITH MARCH 17 — BICKLE THEATRE, COURTENAY MARCH 18 — CAPITOL THEATRE, DUNCAN, B.C. MARCH 19 — PORT THEATRE, PORT ALBEENI, B.C. MARCH 20 — ILO ILO THEATRE, CUMBERLAND, BC. _ ODEON THEATRE, TRAIL, B.C. , PRODUCED IN U. §. BR A BREATH-TAKING PAGEANT by The 16 SOVIET REPUBLICS FILMED FOR THE FIRST TIME tw BRILLIANT, RA TURAL COLOR Style Value Quality Always at the Home of UNION MADE CLOTHING — and Friendly Service. Established For Over 40 Years tHE — Hus Phone PAc. 3645 45 E. Hastings — Vancouver On the tast day of the 1946 session St. Laurent, replying to a question put by William Irvine (CCF), promised that tabling of Soviet-Canadian correspondence on Gouzenko would receive ‘“consid- eration before another session is convened.” When \the question was raised again on February 17 by D. McCuaig (CCF), St. Laurent asked the “honorable member if he would not agree to drop this motion.” Excuse given was that some of the correspondence disclosed the appearance of Gouzenko and his wife and that the government wanted this kept secret. To Irvine’s quick rejoinder that these people could not be “de- scribed any more _ realistically than they are,* referring to Gou- zenko’s appearance in court and the many descriptions of him in the press, St. Laurent could only add that he would allow the mem- ber to look at the correspondence but that it would not “be proper to table it,” ignoring the obvious fact that he could table the cor- of Gouzenko deleted, if descrip- tion of Gouzenko were the only consideration, In February, 1946, when the So- viet government issued its first public statement on the ‘espion- age’ cases, it pointed to Gou- zenko as a thief and embezzler who had been sought by the em- bassy since September, 1945. De- scriptions of Gouzenko to which St. Laurent >referreqd could thus only have been sent — probably within a few days of his disap- pearance—by Soviet authorities as a means of helping the RCMP find a man wanted on criminal charges by a friendly power. The King government’s reply has been concealed from the Ca- nadian people. Did the govern- ment admit having Gouzerko in its ‘protective’ custody? If it denied this, then how does it jibe with King’s assertion in March, 1946, that the govern-— ment considered the case for Gouzenko respondence with all descriptions months before deciding on its course of action? And if the. government haq already decided within a few days of Septem- ber 5, 1945, to use Gouzenko at some future date, did he enter his new ‘service’ before or after his disappearance on September 5? The government has still given ho convincing answer to Irvine's question of February 17: Is he (Gouzenko) being supported by the Dominion government and are the amounts disbursed for his support regarded as loans or a3 gifts? Ilsley’s reply that he was . “not being supported by the gov- — ernment” during these 18 months could only lead to the conclusion that either private anti-Soviet in- terests had come to Gouzenko’'s aid or that he was still living on the allegedly stolen Soviet em- bassy funds. 4 The gevernment’s fear of dis- closing any real information to_ the public was further proven when Ilsley gave a curt “No” to the request made by T. J. Bent- ley (CCF) for copies of Fred Rose’s letter to the minister of justice on January 29, 1947, the | day before his expulsion from the House. Second Province picket released Jack Rockandel, one of three — pickets sentenced on charges of unlawful assembly arising from @ mass picket demonstration out- Side the still strikebound Van- couver Daily Province last July, has -been released from Oakalla Prison Farm. Rockandel, a par trolman for the Canadian Sea- men’s Union (AFL) was serving a six months sentence. With Robert Daniels already re- leased, only Wilfrid Friesen, who was given an eight-month term, is still at Oakalla. TOM BINNIE REAL ESTATE & INSURANCE We Specialize in the Fraser Valley 1541 Pacific Highway, R.R. No. 4, New Westminster : Phone N.W. 2669-L-2 ‘and be ready for — A Sudden Burst of Spring %* Suits * Dresses % Coats =e Hats > Accessories © Just Use Our Convenient Budget Plan NO Interest ! NO carrying Charges! 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