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IM BUCK OUTLINES NEW ECONOMIC POLICY

‘Regain control of Canadian ec

anada’s Communists are

Proposing a new economic
Policy for this country. They want
‘ fundamental change in economic
development and say it couldtake
Place within the framework of
Capitalism.

The new policy would be an
historica] turning point. Its signi-
ficance would rate alongside the
importance of the steps taken by
Sir John A. MacDonald to unify
the provinces in Confederation
and build a nation from sea to
Sea,

Soon to be published in a
reaeulet, the new policy got its

Tst public hearing in Toronto.
mies introduced by Tim Buck,

Onal chairman of the Com-
Munist Party.

To achieve a new economic
Policy Canada’s working class
ps have to struggle for the
Ollowing, said Buck.
be A shorter work week to

ansform unemployment into
Sinlire time for workers;

: Trade with socialist and

Nderdeveloped countries to put
ees goods into the markets

cores of countries;

Diversion of a considerable
Part of monies spent on war pre-
reetton into peacetime develop-
2

*
ih Public control over the
TOduction of automation into
dustry;

ye nadian control of hydro
a € construction to guarantee
€ast-west economic develop-"
ae rather than a U.S. domin-
Valo. horth-south economic de-
PMent, :

; ii tits can be achieved within
Tamework of capitalism,

im Buck emphasized. But it

Ww
mould be a ‘body blow’’ against

monopoly, especially foreign
monopoly. It would be the
‘‘ereatest single step toward so-
cialism”’ in Canada.

Buck admitted’ that most
workers would regard 1963 as
a year of ‘‘prosperity’’. But the
prosperity, he said, emphasized
the crisis in Canada and theneed
for a change in economic policy.

While Canada’s Gross National
Product (the value of all goods
and services produced) increased
by $3 billion to a total of $43
billion, highest in history, and
while profits reached record
heights, there was never a day
in 1963 when there were less than
300,000 unemployed.

e@

While automobile production
and sales reached record levels,
$550 million worth of auto parts
were produced in the United
States to be imported into

Instead of exporting raw materials and importing fin-
ished products Canada’s economy should be turned
to manufacturing. Canada is one of the biggest mar-
kets in the world, says Tim Buck, Communist Party

Canada.

There would have been an ad-
ditional 45 to 50 thousand jobs
for skilled Canadian workers if
those parts were produced here.

Wages and the standard of liv-
ing have increased. Consumption
of goods has also increased. But
statistics show that the number
of goods manufactured per per-
son from 1950 to 1960 has not
increased.

This means that instead of be-
ing manufactured here consumer
goods are more and more being
imported.

In 1963 Canada sold 19 million
tons of iron ore to the United
States and other countries. ‘‘But
we imported iron and steel pro-
ducts worth 15 times as much as
what we got from the iron ore,’’
said Buck.

He called 1963 the first real
year that awareness of the signi-

ficance of automation began to
take hold. Experts in the U.S.
estimated that the present rate
of automation cost 2,000,000 jobs
per year.

The upswing of 1963 has al-
ready passed its peak. There is
a levelling off, and many . who
found work last year are once
again unemployed.

Most important of all, the far-
reaching and permanent result
of the near boom of 1963 was
that foreign capital increased its
grip on the Canadian economy.

This is explained by the fact
that American-owned industries
were able to use their record

profits to expand holdings with-
out having to bring one dollar
of U.S. capital to this country.

Buck described the present
crisis in the midst of prosperity
as the ‘‘outcome of the laws of
motion of capitalist society.’’

chairman. The Communists in B.C. have also urged a
new economic pelicy which will turn our vast re-
sources to manufacturing and processing.

MTL ca

onomy

While the only fundamental
solution has to be a change in
society, the ‘‘overwhelming ma-
jority of Canadians, including the
labor movement, are not yet
ready to admit there’s a need
for a radical change in the
social organization.’

There is, however, a growing
number of persons beginning to
recognize things can’t keep going
the way they are now.

History’ had not developed the
way the Liberal government of
the 1940s thought it would. In
1947, Prime Minister Louis St.
Laurent predicted that within
his lifetime, Canada would be
locked in a war to defend ‘‘our
Christian civilization’’ from so-
cialism.

The Liberals discarded the na-
tional policy followed since 1911
(when Laurier was defeated on
*‘reciprocity’’) and before that
by the government of Sir John
A. MacDonald.

In 1947, without consulting
Parliament or allowing public
discussion, Finance Minister
Douglas Abbott announced a
policy of economic integration
with the U.S. Instead of produc-
ing goods, Canada would export
raw materials and buy manufac-
tured goods from other countries.

As early as 1948 Tim Buckand
the Communist Party had warn-
ed that the Liberal aim was not
the independence of Canada, but
its sale to the highest bidder.

As a result of the Liberal
policy, since 1947, $24 billion has
been spent on preparing for the
war St. Laurent was sure was
coming. Half of this money was
received by only 23 corporations.
All except five or six of them

were foreign-owned.
See ECONOMY, pg. 12

LABOR LOOKS AT EDUCATION

‘Children—most precious natural resource’

: 2UESTION: What, in your
Weaken’ are the main educational
Nesses in British Columbia?

a eee There are several.
too tar Many areas classes are
8 job 8e for the teacher to do
sity a Besides having a univer-
and: goog which is all well
ability. » 4 teacher must have the
he .. '© impart knowledge and

ose also have favorable
Itions for this.

Wh

teacher a class is too large, the
indivigy has no time to provide
Shen attention and variety
that eau e result is
Student the top and bottom
Te
Which, Be special
ey require.
in veld graver problem lies
Classeg it classes’’— that is,
Brades Ving two or more
© done All such classes should
Our vay with.
studente Schools try to select
tio for university, voca-
The ASgaeae commerce, etc.
require. Majority of students
beco ee than High School
°rding © proficient at even
c

attention

Ty jobs E
UMstances, under today’s cir

‘ We have to educate to a
T degree,

than “peabaver pays for more
tion og tas of ALL educa-
It wy. ou including university.
tWosthing 80ing to pay more than
hang; ds of the costs of those
(but 1, ally able to go to university
Cababje) 4 CCSSarily those most
to prot t stands to reason that _
hag _ Ct the investment society
Grade € in all students up to
Rigs, 2, the ones showing the

ae ¢

S in his class do not

most promise should have an
opportunity to further their
education.

The tables of employment show
one thing in B.C,: there is an
increasing: number of more edu-
cated people being used in
industry while the ranks of ordi-
nary, untrained laborers (suchas
those employed in mining,

lation. Otherwise, we will remain
forever merely ‘‘hewers of wood
and drawers of water.’’

There is one other aspect of
our educational setup which
should be reviewed. Our admini-
strative educational bodies are
appointed at the universtiy level.
None of these bodies have people
on them who are representatives

ber Jerry Shack.

John Hayward, President of Division 101 of
the Street Railwaymen’s Union, is currently in his
fifth term as Chairman of the Education Committee
of the Vancouver Labor Council.

He was a member of Vancouver's School
Board for 1959-60, having been
elected on a Labor-Civic Voters As-
sociation ticket, was President of
the Gladstone PTA and Chairman
of the B.C. Federation of Labor
Natural Resources Committee for
many years.

Recently, Hayward spoke out for the labor
movement against increased fees at UBC. In the
accompanying article, he discusses some aspects
of the educational crisis in B.C. with PT staff mem-

fishing, lumber and _ other
primary industries) are rapidly
being reduced by automation.

Only the service industries,.

so far, have been able to utilize
untrained or, so to speak, non-
professional people. But even this
situation will not last forever.

If this country is going to
progress, it will be on the basis
of an intelligent, trained popu-

of the average wage earner.

Therefore, they have no real-
ization of what they do to the
general public by blanket risesin
fees which, to allintents and pur-
poses, will ostracize a large
proportion of average wage
earners’ children from higher
education — regardless of their
intellectual ability.

This is especially so where

~ two children in one family at one
time should be attending uni- ;

versity because of their mental
capability to do so.

QUESTION: Are the senior gov-
ernments shouldering their jair
share of education costs?

ANSWER: The British North
America Act notwithstanding, the

federal government wil! have to
participate more fully in educa-

tion, And the provincial govern-
ment is going to have to forsake
blacktop in favor of our most
precious natural resources—our
children,

But besides this, there are a
number of concerns which are
extracting a great deal of wealth
out of the province without putting
anything back. These should be
made to help.

For example, the natural re-
sources of this province are the
mainstay of our industry, and
in the case of the forest industry,
are not returning sufficient rev-
enue to the provincial government
for the raw material supplied.

Neither this provincial govern-
ment nor any other can justify a
lesser return from the forest
industry in B.C. to theprovincial
treasury than is achieved by sale
of liquor. (The net income from
liquor in 1968 exceeded $31-
million; from forestry, $24-
million.)

The present rate of rental for
forestry—one cent per productive
acre per annum — should be
raised, with the additional rev-
enue going to help defray
education costs.

QUESTION: How does the labor
movement view an “average” annual.
UBC fee of $385?

ANSWER: Our basic position
has been and continues to be:
free education up toandincluding
university for all students who
have the ability and desire to
profit from higher education.
(Incidentally, this is also the pos-
ition of the PTAs.)

In future, education is going
to be a permanent part of theav-
erage person’s life. As conditions

of labor change in the world, due
+o automation and technological
and scientific progress, people
may be required to return to
universities, district colleges,
etc. for retraining, say, every
five years.

» And this is no dream.

QUESTION: Does the provincial
Home Owner Grant help the situa-
tion?

ANSWER: the Home Owner
Grant is an outright gimmick.
All it does is take some of the
education costs off the backs of
old age pensioners. :

Other than that, we are merely
paying high priced accountants
to transfer the people’s money
from one level of government
to another.

Gimmicks are no solution to
education costs, but education is
the only solution to the challenges
of the 20th century; the only
guarantee of a country’s pro-
gress.

The costs of education are
infinitesimal when compared to
the potential productive capabili-
ties of even ONE trained human
mind. Who can evaluate, in dol-
lars and cents. the mind ofa man
like Einstein?

Erloyreyrrye 7. 1 P64—/PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Parie 7