Graduation Gift

Canada's good neighbor

The subordination of Canada’s
interests to those of the mono-
polists and militarists of the
United States has been carried
out with the help of the old
“Stop thief!’ ruse. Ballyhoo
about a dreamed-up “Soviet
threat” has served to cover up
and justify the very real threat
to our sovereignty, indepen-
dence and security coming from
the U.S. imperialists.

Those who attribute Canadian
efforts to free ourselves from
U.S. domination to “anti-Ameri-
canism” are simply confusing
the issue. What patriotic Cana-
dians demand is that we should
be masters in our own home,
build our economy to suit our
people’s interests, establish our
relations with the United States,
as with all other countries, on
the basis of equality and mutual
benefit.

In other words, our relations
with our neighbor to the south
should be founded on the same
principles as those on which we
are developing our relations
with our neighbor to the north,
the Soviet Union.

Powerful forces operating in
Canada are still striving to hin-
der and hold.up the normal de-
velopment of Canadian-Soviet
relations, - but those relations

must and will develop neverthe-

less because they are in- Cana-
da’s interests. Our exchanges on
opening up the Northland are
for mutual assistance and not
an exercise in discovering natu-
ral resources to be exploited by
foreign corporations. Our scien-
tific exchanges are for sharing
know-how and not a brain drain.
Our trade is to complement each
other’s economy and not to turn
us into dependency of foreign
monopolies; it is based on buy-
ing and selling what each needs,

SHS

%- ~ Pacific

West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune-

striving for a balance between
export and import. Our diploma-
tic relations are directed to pro-
mote peace and mutual secur-
ity.

. That’s the principle governing
the Canadian-Soviet agreements,
and it is being put into prac-
tice. If the development is too
slow, let us face it squarely, it
isn’t because the Soviet side
wants it so. If our trade is yet
too small and not evenly bal-
anced, it is Canada that still
wants to sell more than it buys.
If Canada’s membership in
NATO and support. (to a greater
or lesser degree) of U.S. imper-
ialist aggression does not square
with the obligations we have
undertaken, that’s our own gov-
ernment’s fault. These are things
which we must correct as we
develop an independent foreign
policy based on our own inte-

_rests and the cause of world

peace and harmony.

Our relations with the U.S.
should be based on the same
principles. The development of
proper Canadian-Soviet  rela-
tions will also help us to over-
come the present improper Can-

~adian U.S. relations.

It is not an accident that im-
proved relations with the USSR
at every turn coincided with
Canada’s basic interests: the
growth of trade, the defence of
democracy from fascism, the
eat for survival in World War
I

All the opposition to the fur-
ther development of good Cana-
dian-Soviet relations comes
from those who are deliberately
agents of U.S. imperialism or
diehard reactionaries who want
to maintain the “cold war’ for
ideological reasons. In either
case, they’re against Canada’s
interests. (J.W.)

Tribune

. Editor — MAURICE RUSH
Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St.,
Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288.
Circulation Manager, ERNIE CRIST
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“Second cl if

<i aRRKOReS
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trati ber 1560.

Editorial Comment... —

‘Generous’ Scrooges

There never was such a “generous”
pre-election budget as this one. Their
hearts overflowing with the milk of
human kindness, our fathers that -be at
Ottawa have opened the public purse

(that’s the money taken from us in

taxes) and have poured a half a billion
dollars into the coffers of U.S. and
Canadian corporations — and flung 72
cents more per month to the old-age
pensioners!

The big wad for the millionaires is to
provide them with an “incentive.” Now
they have the incentive to go after still
more loot. :

Our senior citizens won’t be able to
squander their 72 cents on more neces-
sities, let alone luxuries, because that
princely amount ‘leaves them where
they were in view of inflation. The pen-
nies to be added in future months will
also always be trying to catch up with
prices and rents.

Big Business, which seemed to have
begun to wonder whether Trudeau &
Co. weren’t becoming flaming revolu-
tionaries what with talk about partici-
patory democracy and the like, is now
supposed to have its fears allayed and
back the Liberals for re-election. Will
it? Maybe so and maybe no. Big Busi-
ness is notorious for having a cash
register in place of a heart, and will
support whoever it considers will give
them more, irrespective of past favors.

Will the votes of our senior citizens
be bought for that 72 cents a month
which doesn’t ‘add anything to their
budget anyway? Trudeau and Turner
must have utter contempt for our peo-
ple to think so.

The Tory-Liberal tussle looks more
and more like a tug-of-war between the
Simon Legrees and the Scrooges. But
this isn’t a picnic and the people aren’t
just onlookers.

And there will be alternate candi-
dates to vote for.

On the wrong tack

When the Commission on Prices and
Incomes last week brought in its report
calling for a:wage and price freeze, the
New Democratic Party premiers of
Manitoba and Saskatchewan hastened
to assert that under certain conditions
they would support such an “incomes”
policy. Of course, they were only adher-
ing to official policy as enunciated by
David Lewis.

_What is wrong with the NDP posi-
tion on this very important question?

It doesn’t take much perspicacity to
perceive that a freeze on wages and
prices in reality (present, known reali-
ty, not some vague unknown one)
means only a freeze on wages. That’s
where the clamp is put on immediately.
As for prices, there are numerous ways

for Big Business to get around any

controls on them.

But that’s just a comment on a sec-
ondary aspect of the question, which
points up either the naivety or duplic-
ity of those who accept that argument.

The error of the social-democratic
leaders of the NDP goes much deeper,
however.

_ It lies in accepting the premise, which
is untenable in both theory and prac-

_if it were in the cards for

—_.

tice, that price increases are acti
caused by rises in wages, and ¢
quently that a freeze on wages WO}
stop inflation. vd
That’s what the capitalists and tt
hacks assert. :
But it’s simply not true. | i
The price of a commodity is bas
the amount of labor power it take
produce it. The workers’ wage
sufficient to.buy back only a part ie
goods they produce, the rest 18 PY
for the boss. Even if workers ni
to increase their wages, it means
that they get a little larger sharé
the owner of industry gets 4 an
profit. This does not affect the P™™ |
the goods one bit. an
That’s elementary political eco”
As a matter of fact the share ©
country’s product received. H
worker has remained practically
same during the past three decad®,, 4,
spite all the strikes and hard-won © |
increases. aa
Of course, under monopoly ee
ism the biggest capitalists can Mel ’
set prices high arbitrarily in 9
reap a super-profit. . to ae
But the sources of inflation }
where. : of
They lie in the rotten-ripeness inf
capitalist system itself, in the Of;
imperialist wars, in the growing

>

rm
—

_of the financial structure.

Canadian workers will fight a
freeze here as the workers in ¢
and Britain are doing, where if
already been implemented in 0”
or another. They will have to
to survive. A

The NDP leaders thus find them
aligned against the workers ape
struggle. That’s because they, @*"
capitalist instead of a Wor’ ath
yardstick. They fail to understa if
what is wanted is fundamenta a a
and not tinkering with the Sy" ne Noy

Labor can’t go along with |
on that tack. hee

That’s why reliance simply | ¢

election of the NDP govern ads

e ba
this time, would no more sly threct

problems facing us than ;
of Labor governments in the :
in Britain. ot 9 Psy
That’s why the call to eler nu ;
gressive bloc, including ©? obit?
and NDP members, is realisti¢ rn
iy |

For our own secur
Canada has twice in this conti sth)
drawn into wars that started.) 0

It is of the utmost importan© sta
tablis q
peace in both Europe and ined obo",

sid P
ing the war by the U.S. “wor!

0
age
man” of capitalism were they cal

carry out general disarma?™ cout
this vil be hele by collectiv’ ‘ 50°
agreement of both capitalist purl (|
ist countries, beginning W!) yo!
Canada is on record fer
of a European security con “é alled if
Summit meeting in MoscoW in put
it. Practically every coun ry ghow!
has expressed agreement.
longer be delayed.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1972—PAGE 4

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