Debate on A-arms pact banned WHO RULES CANADA - - Mc ba FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1963 VOL, 24, NO. 41 <=>" 10¢ Nuclear Disarmament. A spokesman for the Cenotaph vigil backs test ban A vigil will be held at the Victory Square Cenotaph this coming Monday, (Thanksgiving Day 6 p.m. It is being sponsored by the Canadian Cam CCND has indicated that the vigil is designed to support the first step towards n Ment, as expressed by the Moscow test. ban treaty, hopes of the world’s people that the spr Will be halted and total and complete disarmamen In keeping with the spirit of t questing that Vancouver people fas Saved to the Freedom From Hunger Campaign, launched by the International Leag ) October 14, from 1 to paign for uclear disarma- and the ead of nuclear weapons t achieved. he day, the CCND is re- t and donate the money which has been ue for Peace and Freedom. TO SPEED COLUMBIA BETRAYAL OTTAWA'S POWER POLICY PROJECTS VAST SELLOUT By MAURICE RUSH B.C.’s Soered government this Week hailed the new national PoWer policy outlined Tuesday in Parliament by Trade Minister Sharp asa ‘necessary step’ to- Wards ratification of the Colum- bia River treaty. Going further than the Diefen- baker government had gone in approving Premier Bennett’s plan ‘0 export power from the Colum- bia to the U.S., the new national Policy would open the way for Vast power exports from all parts of Canada to the U.S. on the basis of a North-South power MITCHELL SHARP, Canada’s trade Minister, who announced Federal Power plans in Parliament Tues- day which include wholesale ex- Ports of power to the U.S. grid. While supporting the East- West power grid in words, while pointing out ‘Gt may be years away,” the Liberal government's new policy is seen as opening the way to immediate develop- ment of many North-South pro- jects to sell Canadian power to the U.S. The new Liberal policy would expand on the principle agreed to in connection with the Co- lumbia River, to permit large- scale power exports to the Of) —a_ policy formerly rejected by Ottawa. Plans outlined by Sharp would include development of the huge Hamilton Falls power site in Labrador for transmission of power to the Consolidated Edison Co., in New York. It is also ex- pected to include large- scale ex- ports to the U.S. mid-west from development of the Nelson River in Manitoba. It was evident in Sharp’s re- marks that the new policy would include Federal approval for 25- year export permits for large blocks of power from many other aeas in Canada including the Peace River. 1-9: inter-connections are al- ready being established in Wash- ington to handle Peace power 1n the U.S. B.C.’s Water Resources Min- ister Ray Williston, in welcoming Sharp’s announcement, said the a forerunner to com~ speech was columbia Treaty pletion of the C talks by Christmas. PEARSON OR PARLIAMENT ? _ The minority Liberal government in Ottawa has slammed the door shut on the right of Canada’s elected members of Parliament to de- bate—or even know—the highlights of the secret nuclear arms treaty recently concluded with the U.S. . : An attempt by opposition members to have the controversial secret treaty tabled in the House was rejected last week with only 105 mem- bers, less than 38 percent of the 265-member House of Commons, voting to uphold the government's action. Lashing out at the govern- ment’s stand, Communist Party national leader Leslie Morris, in a front page story inthe Cana- dian Tribune last week, charged that Prime Minister Pearson is denying the supremacy of Parli- ament and insisting on ‘royal prerogative’ and ‘cabinet rule.”’ Morris said that what was at stake here was Canadian sover- eignty—submission to the Penta- gon’s demands or assertion of Canadian rights. Last Saturday more than 200 people from various centres in eastern Canada took part in a lobby in front of the Parliament buildings to demand the treaty be put before Parliament and pro- testing nuclear arms for Canada. Members of the lobby inter- viewed many MPs urging re- jection of nuclear weapons for Canada. On October 12 a large peace lobby is also expected to converge on Quebec City to op- pose acquisition by Canada of nuclear arms. Dealing with the crucialissues in the opening week of Canada’s Parliament, Leslie Morris wrote as follows: ‘The Prime Minister is tough about putting Yankee nuclear bombs on Canadian soil and in the hands of our armed forces, via a secret treaty. ‘tHe is not so tough when it comes to pensions and the rights of French Canada. ‘¢He toldthe House of Commons that it has no right to discuss the Ottawa-Pentagon agreement on nuclear arms, On ‘security’ grounds Canadians must be pre- vented from knowing just how far they are committed to the Pentagon generals. ‘But when it comes to pensions he buckled down ta the Ontario Tories and the insurance lobby and said that untilthey agree with him his pension plan cannot be carried out. ‘SAS concerns Terror trial in S. Africa The Verwoerd government in South Africa this week opened its show trial of leading oppon- ents of the apartheid regime— threatening the death penalty for several of the eleven men and women who will be in the dock. Many of those accused have been held in solitary confinement for three months under the ‘“‘no trial” law and have had no chance to see a lawyer. Trials of groups are expected to fol- French-Can- other low. Included’ among those to be tried are Walter Sisulu, 5l-year- old former general secretary of the banned African National Con- gress. adian demands for recognition as a nation he fobbed us off with platitudes about ‘moderation’ and insisted on calling it a ‘race’ question. **Plenty of action on nuclear bombs, *‘No action on pensions and the crisis of Confederation. “That is what Canadians will gather from his remarks when Parliament re-opened. **This is the man who goes to the United Nations and passes as a ‘champion of peace.” **This is the man who failed miserably to win a parliament- ary majority for his nuclear armament policy and so finds himself, because of commitments to Washington, in the position of having to flout Parliament by signing an undebatable secret treaty. ‘*And all of this at a moment when for the first time there is some progress along the road to disarmament by way of the partial test ban treaty, which Canada signed, ‘tPor all his talk about the ‘constitution’ Prime Minister Pearson is denying the sup- remacy of: Parliament and insist- ing on ‘royal prerogative’ and ‘cabinet rule’. *€A general election was fought last April in which the main issue became yes ornotonuclear arms for Canada. “The majority of Canadians did not say yes, but, in the special circumstances of the election they said no. **Pearson must be compelled by pressure inside and outside Parliament to submit the secret treaty to public discussion and - parliament debate. ‘What is at stake hereis Cana- dian sovereignty—submission to the Pentagon’s demands or as- sertion of Canadian rights, **Public opinion can express itself in a dozen ways: by mes- sage to the government and re- quests to MP’s to stand up for parliament rights. ‘Parliamentary action should by taken by T. C. Douglas of the NDP, John Diefenbaker ofthe Conservative Party and Real Ca- ouette of the Quebec Socreds, all of whom have opposed the nu- clear bomb treaty. “The Pearson government cannot be allowed to get away with its arbitrary surrender of Canadian sovereignty and the rights of Parliament. ***No nuclear arms for Canada’ is still the battle-cry of peace, independence and democracy. ‘Air Vice Marshall James Harvey, commander ofthenorth- ern air defence command re- ‘gion at North Bay, announced that he expects nuclear warheads on the Bomarc within two months. “That gives the Canadian people less than 60 days of de- cision.’’ way. The voices of Canada’s elected representatives will be silenced in Parliament if the Liberal govern- ment and the Pentagon have their That’s the meaning of the action by Prime Minister Pearson in ban- ning debate on the secret treaty. The U.S. will not stand for such debate, says Pearson in °ffect. Has U.S. domination reached the point where it dictates what can _ be debated in Canada's Parliament?