_ CANADA DAY, 1963

_ Labor must fig
_ for its heritage |

By NIGEL MORGAN
ANADA DAY is a double cele-
bration in B.C. It marks
Canada’s 96th birthday, and at the
same time commemorates the
92nd anniversary of the historic
demonstration of Caribou miners
which brought defeat to Yankee
‘plans to annex this Province, and
led to B.C. joining Confederation.
Not since that decisive turn of
events has the sovereign inde-
pendence, the peace and well.
being of our people been threat-
ened as it is at this milestone in
our nation’s history.
On this 96th birthday Canada
deserves a better fate than mem-
bership in Washington’s ‘‘nuclear

-_ ¢lub,”” ~with its extremely dang-

erous and degrading dependence
upon the whims of the trigger-
- happy nuclear maniacs of US.
imperialism. For close on two
decades, the rich natural re-
sources of our country, its mili-

ae tary command and territory, and

its political independence have
been increasingly surrendered to
U.S. domination under the smoke
--sereen of U.S.-Canadian “‘inte-
gration.” ’
The poisonous fruits of “‘integra-
tion” are now reaching maturity.
- Contrary to the expressed wishes
of 59% of the Canadian elector-
ate in April’s vote, the Pearson
government is determined to

transform Canada into a nuclear

base for U.S. militarism.
ay

Here in B.C., under U.S. pres-
sure, the livelihood of thousands
of fishermen and allied industries
(cannery workers, . shipyards,
longshoremen, truckers, ship
chandlers and provisioners) are
being bartered away to Japan to
fit the suicidal designs of U.S.
cold-war politics. For the same
reason, nothing is done to re-
store trade with China (cut off
by U.S. dictation), but which re-
mains the logical and urgently-
needed development in light of
_ B.C.’s geographic position on the
Pacific.
~The Pearson administration, in
cahoots with B.C.’s Secred gov-
ernment, is poised ready to sign
the draft Columbia River treaty
- —a calculated and treacherous be-
trayal of the interests of this
Province. And worse, ‘they have
made_ additional concessions
agreeing to sell Canada’s share
of downstream benefits — to ac-
cept cash instead of power —
and to remove the tax on power

exports.

If the U.S. gets away with this _

grab, the development of sorely-

a needed processing, refining and

manufacturing industries will be
severely retarded. The ores, wood
and petroleum resources will in-
creasingly flow to the U.S., and
much of what the Yankee annex-
- jonists attempted to steal a cent-
ury ago will be realized.
The balance sheet of U.S. “‘in-
tegration stands out today in stark
- nakedness. Instead of disarma-
ment and peace, and an end to
- eold-war insanity, the Pearson
government (on the orders of
_ U.S. President Kennedy) seeks to
‘impose on Canada the squander-
ing of additional millions for high-
priced, U.S. - produced nuclear
_with it, rising taxation to
‘meet the reckless arms race; sub-
‘standard social services; educa-
‘tional, cultural and recreational
opp that face their great-

Confederation; —

sharply rising living costs, lost

markets, chronic unemployment

and falling living standards for

a large segment of the country.
e

Undoubtedly the conflict be-
tween the needs of our country
and its people, and the ‘‘Made-
In-U.S.A.”’ policies of the Lib-
erals and Socreds will sharpen in
the months to come. Policies
which would transform Canada
into a northern military. base for
the U.S. tie. our foreign policy to
the U.S. cold war; intensify the
arms race and make our country
a vassel of the most ruthless and
reactionary imperialist power,
cannot but deepen the crisis of
national policy. Not “stability,”
but increasing storminess is the
prospect ahead.

Canada 1963 should signalize a
renewed dedication to free our
country from U.S. domination and
to win new national policies of
neutrality, disarmament, and
peaceful relations and trade with
all countries.

In today’s world, socialist labor
is in the ascendency; peace and
independence are winning (43
new nations have come into be-
ing since Second World War); and
millions of men and women are
increasingly determining _ their

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PROVINCE OF PIPELINES DRAINING OUR
WEALTH TO THE U.S. That’s what this B.C:
government map shows. We have circled the
main centres where B.C.'s vast oil and naturah
gas resources are being funnelled through ©
Washington into Oregon and California. Ex-
ploitation of B.C.'s oil and gas resources (large-
ly by U.S. monopolies) has advanced rapidly.

Oil reserves which in 1960 were
million barrels are now said to be 450 barrels.

1963~PACIFIC TRIBUNE™Page 6

own destiny. B.C. labor should
celebrate the birthday of our coun-
try and province with a firm
resolve to forge that degree of
unity that will make them the
masters of their own destiny too,
and thus make the celebration
complete.

Labor has never been stronger,
nor the prospects brighter for the
achievement of united action to
decisively influence the struggle
for new national policies and the
people’s needs.

e

Eleven years of Social Credit
government in B.C. have  re-
sulted in the wholesale surrender

-of our lumber, mineral, petrol-

eum and hydro resources. Noth-

ing has been done to meet USS.

dumping of fruit, poultry and
vegetable products, while the gov-
ernment has remained silent on
the ruinous spread between pro-
ducer returns and what consum-
ers pay. Canada has the largest
percentage of unemployed in its
working force of any developed
Western country, and British Co-
lumbia (land of the massive give-
aways to the foreign trusts) leads
the nation also in proportion of
jobless. .

“Tax loads have become unbear-
ably heavy,. while municipal and

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GIVE US BACK ALAS«A
PANHANDLE SAYS MP

: Canada got “‘diddled” by the US. in negotiations
in the 1800s over the Alaska Panhandle and should now
open negotiations to have the narrow coastal str ip re-
turned to Canada. This was urged by Frank Howard
(NDP-Skeena) in Parliament recently.

The Panhandle now runs some 500 to 600 miles
down the coast from Alaska and deprives Canada of
tidewater ports for the development of northern B.C.

interior.

a Result of the Panhandle being in U.S. hands has
been to box in the vast northern area of B.C. and to re-
tard the province’s development.

Howard’s motion was placed on the order paper
and may come up for debate at a later date.

local school costs continte — to
soar. The Bennett government is
notorious for having enacted the
most vicious anti-labor legislation
of any Canadian province. Big
business favoratism is rampant.
Charges of graft and corruption
(which have already sent one cab.
inet minister to the penitentiary)
dominated the recent session of
the B.C. Legislature.

Dissatisfaction with these ‘poli-

cies, the growing economic crisis,
and the historic changes taking
place across the nation and
around the world, are all combin-
ing to create a deep political
ferment — the basis for a radical
shift in political relationships in
BC; :
However, it must be said that
the substitution of right-wing
class collaboration policies instead
of mass struggle, (Strachan’s at-
tack on NDP trade unionists Le-
Bourdais and Braaten), the ob-

-stacles he placed to NDP sup-

port on the Allied Engineering
picket-line; resistance to a clear-

cut principled position on the Co-

PIPELINES or

BRITISH COLUMBIA

—LEGEND- _—

OIL PIPELINE

ao
ANSMISSION
ERING SYSTEM

GAS PIPELINE
PROPOSED
UNDER CONSTRUCTION. ¢.t-t-t-qtt
HIGHWAY

Rn te ting cite

__ INTERNAT. BOUNDARY —_...

oct. PROV, BOUNDARY

~SCALE=

[ee ee Se ey

.BC, DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND

PETROLEUM RESOURCES

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TURAL yb

At the beginning of 1961 natural gas _ reserves
were said to be 8 trillon cubic feet. Ultimate re-
serves now are estimated at between 75 to 90
trillon cubic feet. All major pipelines run North -
‘and South, feeding our great wealth into the
U.S. Now the Federal and B.C. governments are _
planning to develop our hydro resources to car-
ry our river waters and power lines across the

border to the U.S. All this fits into the ultimate

estimated 68

plan of the “‘integrationists’’ and advocates of —
“economic union.”

lumbia River treaty; his position
of contnuing B.C.’s sales tax);
along with dependence on “Tre- —
spectability’. and legalism; the
rejection of all-in unity; and a
policy of trying to out-Liberal the
Liberals, is gravely endangering
those prospects.

There’s no use closing ones”
eyes to the fact that if the right
wing continue to have their way
B.C. labor will fall far short of
what is possible, and what is
essential if big business domin-

ation of the political and economic

life of this monopoly-ridden prov-
ince is to be ended.
e

The right wing see the NDP
as an exclusive party, rather than
an all-inclusive federation of anti-
monopoly forces — and exclude
not only Communist support, but

‘that of unaffiliated and independ-

ent unions whose membership
alone exceed 30,000 by compari-—
son with the 94,000 members ai-
filiated to the B.C. Federation
of Labor. Considering that not all
(by any means) of the B.C.F.L. |
affiliates participate, a tremen-
dous job remains to be done to
bring the 215,000 organized trade
unionists (who constitute but half
the working force of B.C.), let.
alone the farmers and other pro- —
gressive forces that have to be —
won to end the Socred’s arrogant -
rule and solve the people’s prob-
lems.

Such narrow concepts alienate
many who could otherwise be
brought in, and stands as a road-.
block to winning many thousands
of voters in and around the labor
movement who are politically
neural today because they have

“become disillusioned and cynical

by many years of near-victories. —
In recent economic struggles,
and to beat back the attack of big”
business on the economic and leg-
islative gains won by labor, it
is clear (as the Allied Engineer-
ing strike demonstrated) that
when the full strength of labor is
brought to bear in a coordinated |
and united way, the bosses ‘‘hold-

‘the-line’’ position, and their use

of “hobbling’” legislation and
court injunctions, crumbles like a

-rotting dyke.

What is needed today is a broad
anti-monopoly coalition. based on
united action to win the immedi-_
ate economic and social needs of
the people — peace, diversion of
wasteful expenditures on arma-
ments to people’s welfare, inde-
pendence from the U.S. straight-
jacket, and democratic tax and
legislative reforms. Decisive to
this is a break with U.S.-Cana-
dian monopoly domination of this
province and country’s. domestic
and foreign affairs —indivisible
from the fight to win urgent eco-
nomic, social and health needs
of the people who work in in-
dustry, farm, office and small
business. : ~

Such an alternative, which alone
can do the job, can only be built
in the course of-active struggle
around the immediate needs of
the people.

; =

‘The possibility of electing ar
NDP majority in the next provin-
cial election, expected within the
-- See MORGAN, Pg. U,”