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“The world is changing — for the better.

A dozen coun-

tries, including one third of the world’s people, are socialist
states, with peace as their foreign policy. Added to this is the

‘growing number of neutral countries like India which are

winning their independence from imperialism. and also stand

fox peace. .. . We Canadians cannot stand apart from this... .

Can CCF and
LPP cooperate ?

OR the first time in human
history it is possible to say
that lasting peace is a real pos-
* sibily. The main reason for
it is that the working people
and farmers all across the
world are gaining strength.

It is these great social
groups, representing nine-
tenths of all populations, who
are vitally interested in peace
because they don’t make mil-
lions from war contracts; they
pay the war taxes and do the
dying. ;

The world is changing —
for the better. A dozen coun-
tries, including one-third of
the world’s people, are socialist
states, with peace as' their for-
eign policy. Added to this is
the growing number of neutral
countries like India, which are
winning their national inde-
pendence from imperialism
and also stand for peace. Put

“them all together and they
make up the majority of the
world’s people.

World-capitalism is no longer
a single dominating world sys-
tem. It is a declining system.

Socialism. and national inde-
pendence are the rising ideas,
gaining new supporters. every

‘day.
*

We Canadians cannot stand
apart from this. The labor
movement in this country
should cooperate for advancing
the political action of the work-
ers and farmers, so that we are

By LESLIE MORRIS

march of the world’s people to
peace and security.

The members of the LPP are
strongly of the opinion that
Canada will be a part of this
new era in world affairs. The
new hopes that. are rising in
the world are also rising in
Canada.

Our country is literally “liv-
ing on tick” by its forced and
unnecessary dependence on
U.S. trade and dollars for its
industrial development. The
Liberal government has push-
ed us into this dependence on
a foreign country by avowing
that our economy must be “in-
tegrated” with that of the U.S.
and that there is no other road
for us.

That is a false notion and
life is proving it so, even to
many capitalists and business-
men. 5

There is a growing move-
ment for winning back our na-
tional independence which has
been largely lost to the U.S.

For a time the LPP was ai-
most alone in saying these
things, but since that time the
CCF, the trade unions, the
farmers, business people and
some capitalists and bankers
have all spoken in the same
vein.

There is a rising democratic
Canadianism which is in the
genuine pioneer tradition. This
can only help cooperation in
the labor movement and among
all democratic people and their
organizations. It is good reason
for believing that there will

”

arise a new national movement
for a democratic, patriotic solu-
tion to Canada’s problems of

growth.
*

The gains made by the work-
ing people by virtue of their
new strength and power in the
past few years (wage increases,
pension plans in many indus-
tries, strong union agreements,
paid vacations, etc.) cannot be
regarded as fixed for all time.
In the event of an economic
depression, which capitalism
generates as clouds do rain, the

employers and the govern-
ments would again call on
Canadians to “tighten their

belts” and surrender the things
they have won.

As for the farmers, they are
in a depressed industry and
their incomes are falling. No
group of Canadians needs. a
new economic, deal more than
they.

The preseryation. of these
gains made by labor, will not
come from the Liberal, Tory or
Socred parties. It will require
people’s action — unity of the
unions, cooperation between
them and the farm groups and
independent labor-farmer poli-
tical action, with the aim of
protecting and improving liv-
ing standards by putting rep-
resentatives of labor and the
farmers into public office, and
eventually into the govern-
ment.

Of course, these gains can
be exaggerated.

Almost nine out of ten Can-

adian families live on less than election

$3,000 a year and the cost of
living is the highest in history.

Add to this that
among the least-protected in
the world from the cost of ill-
ness because we

we are

haven’t

got
national health insurance and
the old-age pension is a miserly
pittance; and that municipal-
ities are in financial crises be-
cause they depend on taxaticn
on homes to finance the expan-
sion of municipal services and
get a shrinking portion of the

tax dollar.

These are the economic rea-
sons for cooperation between
the LPP and the CCF on the
practical issues of the day and
to arouse movements for re-
forms on which the two parties
have many agreements.

Until the working people and
the farmers and their families,
combine their voting power to
elect large numbers of repre-
sentatives to public bodies, and
aim to elect majorities to these
bodies, we cannot speak of real
political progress in our coun-
try. z

There have been many ef-
forts to this end.

A progressive government
was elected in Ontario in 1920,
but it was dispersed by the
Liberals, as was the group of
more than 60 progressive MPs
elected to parliament in 1921.

In 1943, the CCF in Ontario
elected 34 members to the
legislature and the LPP elected
A. A. MacLeod and J. B. Sals-
berg. Now labor representation
is down to a few CCF members.

Only one CCF MP was elect-
ed in 1952 in the whole of the
Martitimes; none from Quebec;
only one from Ontario — prov-
inces which contain more than
two-thirds of the population.

Only one province has a CCF
government, Saskatchewan.. in
B.C. the CCF strength has gone
down since 1952 when it led the
polls in 21 seats on the first
count. The same is true in Al-
berta and Manitoba.

Truly it can be said — that
the fortunes of independent
political action by the working
people and farmers seem to be
at the lowest ebb for many
years. And yet the world is
pushing ahead to new demo-
cratic solutions to old and fes-
tering problems and: great vic-
tories are being scored for
peace and democracy.

It is the opinion of the LPP
that what is required to change
this situation is cooperation
and unity in action on the
needs of the day between the
LPP and the CCF. That could
help change the picture.

There are some who say we
have to wait fatalistically for
an economic crisis to make peo-

ple think. But they fai] to un-

derstand that today, in the time
of boom, the organized labor
and farm movement is the
strongest it has ever been in
Canada.

The present potential voting
strength of the labor and farm
movements in the present elec-
tion campaign is such as to
have been capable of electing
60 or 70 MPs in the election
just concluded, had a united
program and candidates been
put forward and had vigorous

been at
and farm

committees
work in the labor
movements.
Leadership is required to
this That
must come from socialist-mind-

change situation.

ed people, people with a vision,
prepared to work hard for their
ideals, and ‘with confidence in
the abilitf of the Canadian
people to become ‘masters in
their own house.” Such people
are in the CCF and LPP.

In the parliamentary debate
on the trans-Canada natural
gas pipeline, Canadians were
able to see to what, extent the
Liberal leaders were prepared
to treat parliament with con-
tempt.

*

Parliamentary democracy and
the democratic institutions of
the Canadian people were
secured in many years of strug-
gle. The best defenders of these
is the labor farmer movement.

If parliament is going to
serve the people and not the
vested interests, the election of
a majority of labor and farmer
MPs is necessary.

The LPP is of the opinion
that because of the increased
strength of the socialist forces
throughout the world, there is
a rea] posibility that the trans-
ition of our country to social-
ism can be organized through
parliament in a peaceful, con-
stitutional way. Parliament can
be transformed from an in-
strument of the minority into
an instrument of the majority
of the people.

A political awakening will
take place among the people of
this country, and in this there
is room for agreement between
the CCF and LPP.

Parliament can be the med-
ium for the nationalization of
the banks and the CPR and
the trans-Canada pipeline and
their conversion into the prop-
erty of the people who built
them.

It can guarantee parity prices
for the farmers. Beneficial
trade with all countries can
be achieved.

Such a parliament with a
labor-farmer majority could
contribute Canada’s decisive
influence in the United Nations
and the British Commonwealth
to bring about enduring peace,
end the H-bomb tests, stop the
arms race, give aid to the
under-developed lands.

It could strengthen the con-
stitutional and social rights of
Canadians, and bring into being
the vigorous participation of
the trade union, farm groups,
young people and women, to
secure. the independence of
Canada.

Harsh words and snap judge-
ments have in the past embit-
tered the relationship between
the LPP and the CCF, and the
LPP takes its share of,respon-
sibility for this. Many mis-
takes have been made on both
sides . Be that as it may,
the lessons that can be drawn
from these mistakes is: that
unity and cooperation in action,
is the road to victory for the
socialist ideals which hundreds
of thousands of Canadians hold
dear.

@ This'‘is: the last of a series

of three articles by Leslie
Morris,

NN

; I not left behind in this dramatic

“Se ee JUNE 14, 1957 —

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 11