LABOR FRONT

x By WILLIAM KASHTAN

vanced by the Royal Commission on Unemployment Insur-
ance. That criticism, however, has been weakened to some
extent by the support given by the CLC to the “actuarial
principle” with respect to unemployment insurance. Once
one argues in support of that principle it is not too easy to
get away from the retrograde proposals advanced by the
commission, :

This is not to say that firm guidelines are not needed to
maintain the unemployment insurance fund. But they
should be of a character that ensures the fund will be avail-
able to all sections of the working class
in periods of unemployment and should
be financed in the main out of increased
taxation of monopoly.

As it stands today the solvency of the
fund is to be maintained by including
additional categories of workers under
the act. The working class in-the main,
therefore, is being called upon to main-
tain the insurance fund with the govern-
ment extricated from that responsibility.

* * *

Without having read the completed report, one never-
theless gets the impression that the various recommenda-
tions advanced by the commission are based on a_ pers-
pective of economic crisis.

How else can one explain the underlying reasons for the
various restrictive measures being proposed?

How else can one explain that unemployment insurance
benefits are to be restricted to 26 weeks rather than for

the duration of unemployment?
2 * * *

Some sections of the trade union movement, of course,
may feel that the recommendations may: not harm them
Particularly. This may be so among those sections of work-
ers that have not been affected by serious lay-offs so far
and that may therefore feel that what is being proposed
defends their interests adequately. :

It would be shortsighted to the extreme, however, to fall
into the trap set by the Gill commission. Inherent in its
recommendations is a policy of dividing the working class
and playing off one section against another.

One section of workers can receive unemployment insur-
ance benefits for a period of 26 weeks.

Following that another section, if still unemployed, re-

ceives some sort of benefits financed by the government

which under certain conditions may take the form of a dole.

Still another section, after the 39-week period, goes on
a means test.

Workers are thus being divided and placed in different
cubicles. Instead of all unemployed receiving unemploy-
ment insurance benefits as a right for the duration of un-
employment, that right exists only for the period of 26
weeks for those covered by the Act.

It is a useful gimmick for employers but not at all satis-
factory for the working class. This is why these recommen-
dations, apart from the proposal to extend and increase
benefits, should be vigorously opposed by all sections of the
trade union movement.

at * co

What is really needed, and long overdue, is a fully in-
tegrated and all-inclusive social security program from the
cradle to the grave, financed out of increased taxation on
monopoly—a program to guarantee a decent livelihood to
the sick and incapacitated as well as the unemployed; earlier
and increased retirement benefits, medical attention to the
aged and to the workers and their families.

This needs the continued attention of the trade union
movement, tied in with the demand that the Unemployment
Insurance Act be improved so that it can better protect
the imterests of the unemployed.

* * *

It is unfortunate also that very few voices, other than
that of the trade union movement, have. been raised against
the pernicious and discriminatory proposals that have been
made on unemployment. insurance with respect to women.
The women’s organizations ought to speak up on this matter
and demand that these recommendations be thrown out.

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ta 191 ACIFIC. TRIRIINE—Pave 2

PRESS BOYCOTTS STATEMENT

McNaughton tells why Columbia
aomicarte tam cren.~ sucess NaCt betrays Canada’s interests

General Mc Naughton,
staunch Canadian patriot,
has recently supplied the
details of the greatest be-
trayal of Canada’s
sources yet attempted —
the draft Columbia River
Treaty.

The daily press, in B.C. at least,
has imposed a news blockade in
this matter. This is a disgrace
for the material released by Mc-
Naughton is political dynamite,
centering on the fundamental
question of Canadian politics—
national independence from U.S.
domination.

McNaughton reveals that prior
to the report of the International

Joint Commission (December 29,
1959) ‘‘the U.S. wished for inte-
gration of the operation of Cana-
dian storages and generators in-
to the U.S. system as an exten-
sion of the Bonneville Power Ad-
ministration and to be under
their effective control.”

McNaughton, representing Can-
ada on the other hand, proposed
that “a Canadian Entity and a
US. Entity,
each fully ac-
countable to
its own gov-
ernment (was
what was re-
quired) and
these, by mu-
tual co-oper-

ation within
stated _ prin-
McNAUGHTON iPles could

gain the bene-
fits of upstream Canadian storage
and share these benefits equit-
ably.’’

“Eventually, with the complete
agreement of the Canadian and
U.S. Commissioners of the I.J.C.
the view put forward (by himself)
prevailed.”

. Hence, the work of experts over
fifteen years established the so-
called I.J.C. principles which:

1.. “Did not therefore contem-
plate integration.”

2. “Established the merit of the
Canadian Plan of Best Use’’—(the
so-called McNaughton Plan).

7e-*

This is the first of two ar-
ticles which analyzes the case’

of Gen. A. G. L. McNaughton
“against the Columbia Treaty.

These articles are a summary.
of material placed before a
meeting of Senators and
M.P.’s in the House of Com-
mons, Wed., Dec. 12, 1962.

For the most part this ma-
terial has been blacked-out
by the daily press. Next week
the PT ‘will present the sec-
ond article.

3. ‘‘An equal sharing of actual
benefits.”

U.S. TAKES OVER

However, once the matter was
taken out of the hands of the
I.J.C. and turned over to the
governments for negotiation the
U.S. immediately ‘downgraded’
the I.J.C. principles and ‘‘in the
result eventually, with very great
assistance from B.C., the U.S.
negotiators were able to outmode
the Canadian Best Plan of Devel-
opment and to re-introduce the
concept of integration and to ar-
range in the Treaty that effec-
tive control of the Canadian stor-
age would be vested in the U.S.
Entity.”

“Moreover . . . the terms of the
Treaty show specifically that the
Canadian negotiators gave way to
renewed U.S. pressure for inte-
gration under U.S. direction and
control not only during the life
of the treaty, but that this would
be perpetuated in a particularly
vicious form thereafter—forever,
and would include within the
U.S. grip not only the storages
mentioned in the treaty, but
all other storages which Canada
might ever construct in the Colum- _
bia River Basin.”

These are the words of an out-
standing Canadian, a brilliant «n-
gineer, a former head of the
Canadian Army. It is no exagger-
ation to say that those respon-
sible for this, primarily Premier
Bennett and the Diefenbaker-Ful-
ton government are nothing more
than American agents and are
guilty of national betrayal.
BAD FOR CANADA

McNaughton shows conclusive-

ly that ‘it so happens that what
becomes good for the U.S. name-
ly ‘“peaking’’ is very bad for
Canada and Canada’s interests
therefore suffer and very great-
ly, and with no redress possible
under the Treaty.”

“The U.S. requrements for reg-
ulation will be essentially for
“peaking’”’ while the Canadian
need will be -for- “firm power.”
The - patterns‘ of - flow for. ‘these
diversé -purposes dre very differ-
ent and: there’ is therefore a con-
flict of interest.’’

“Under the Treaty the U.S.
nevertheless must lawfully be
supported by the I.J.C. in in-
structing Canada how to operate
the Canadia storages and in com-
pelling obedience to a plan of
regulation which, while it~ will
give the greatest overall results
in the basin as a whole will never-
theless be contrary to Canadian
requirements to .a very serious
degree.”

On this fundamental question
Davie Fulton, the chief Canadian
negotiator, literally hasn’t a clue
and McNaughton proves this be-
yond doubt. In a letter to the
editor of the Engineering and
Contract Record’ Fulton states,
“these dams willbe ‘operated by
a Canadian power entity in ac-
cordance with operating plans
agreed upon six years in advance
by the Canadian and U.S. power
entities jointly.’"" McNaughton
comments with remarkable re-
straint as follows:

“In this, Mr. Fulton is no doubt
referring to Article V, Article VIT

and Annex B for the calculation’

of the Canadian entitlement to
downstream benefits as defined
in article VII.

“These arrangements Mr. Ful-
ton should know are merely a
calculation Made six years in
advance and which would ‘no
doubt reflect the ‘‘level and con.
dition’’ of development which is
then forecast. will exist in the
U.S.A. in 6 years time and the
parameters of the several stor-
age reservoirs in Canada relai-
ing to storage capacity, limiting

_rate of maximum or minimum
discharge, etc., as stated in the .

See McNAUGHTON, pg. 12

Neufral powers seek China-India peace

By BERT WHYTE
PEKING — Purpose of the six-
power conference of non-aligned
countries in Colombo was to

create an atmosphere in which
the border dispute could be dis-
cussed amicably in a spirit of
friendship between India and

ADDING INSULT TO INJURY

China, Premier Bandaranakie said
at a banquet in the great hall
here given in her honor by Prem-
ier Chou En-lai.

“As: friends of both sides we
offered our good services because
we consider that any dispute,
however serious, is never serious
enough to justify a resort to
arms.”

The Ceylonese prime minister —

continued: “‘To us in Asia the
problem as it exists is a serious
one and it peaceful settlement is
of extreme urgency. Our repon-
sibilities are two-fold.

“Firstly, any outbreak of war
in Asia even on a limited scale
will undoubtedly affect many pro-
gressive measures our countries
have taken for the betterment of
our peoples.

“Secondly, we should avoid the
responsibility of providing the
spark which could in all proba-
bility lead to a war, the conse-
quences of which are too terrible
to contemplate not only for Asia,
but also for all mankind.’

Premier Bandaranaike will
leave Peking for New Delhi dur-
ing ‘the second week of January

a