MOSCOW — This is the text
_ Of the speech made by William
Kashtan, general secretary of
* the Communist Party of, Can-
ada, to the 24th Congress of the
CPSU:

On behalf of our membership
and progressive working people
in our country the Canadian
delegation extends warm, frater-
nal greetings to your great Con-
gress and wishes it every suc-
cess.

The 24th Congress is an out-
standing event in the interna-
tional working class movement.
By its very nature and the poli-
cies it will adopt, it is bound to
have a profound effect on world
development. It will do much to
strengthen the forces of unity
of Communist and Workers’
Parties and of the anti-imperial-
ist forces on a world scale. It
will strengthen the socialist
camp and the cause of peace,
democracy, independence and
socialism throughout the world.

Looked at historically this
24th Congress is 24 steps up
the ladder to communism. From
the day when. your.party was
formed to the achievement of
power and afterward,
party congress of the CPSU
marked a step towards com-
munism. At this 24th Congress
one could say in truth that the
top of the ladder is in sight,
that the conditions are being
prepared, through the present
9th Five-Year Plan of economic
development and growth for a
further strengthening of the
material and technical basis of
communist society, for creating
abundance for the Soviet peo-
ples.

The whole world can see
what are the prospects for the
Soviet peoples as a consequence
of the Five-Year Plan. Its main
thrust and main purpose is to
develop the productive forces of
society, to utilize the scientific
and technological revolution to
raise productvity and to in-
crease the living standards of
the people while assuring stable
prices.

How marked is the contrast
with what is shaping up in the
capitalist world. What indeed
are the prospects in the capital-
ist world if not growing in-
stability and uncertainty, con-
tinued inflation and growing un-
employment?

One hears less and less about
the affluent society and more

every -

about poverty and growing un-
employment. In Canada, as in
all capitalist countries, the
working class and other sections
of society are faced with a
growing offensive by monopoly
which is trying to resolve the
growing contradictions of capi-
talism by placing the burden of
recession on the backs of the
working people.

Instead of a development
plan aimed at expanding the
economy and raising living
standards, instead of involving
working people in the determi-
nation of economic and social
policy, monopoly and its gov-
ernment have consciously under-
taken to stimulate unemploy-
ment which today embraces
over 7% of the labor force. Be-
tween admitted and “hidden”
unemployment close to one mil-
lion Canadians are today with-
out work. These include not
only the unskilled; they include
skilled workers, engineers, stu-
dents — including those with
Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
Indeed the largest single per-
centage of unemployed are
young people, and the French-
Canadian people, whose national
rights are .ignored while their
economic and social inequality
has become further aggravated.
This is at the root of the poli-
tical crisis which broke out in
October 1970 in Quebec and
which continues. Alongside an
inflationary recession, monopoly
is stepping up its attacks on
working-class and trade union
rights. Indeed in the recent
period government policy has
been directed at undermining
democratic rights and at impos-
ing repressive legislation, as
“insurance” against the growing
movement for radical and social
change in our country.

The inflationary recession is
in large measure imported into
Canada from the USA, arising
from growing U.S. domination

of the Canadian economy. U.S”

imperialism is stepping: up its
pressures on Canada so as to
achieve control of Canada’s vast
energy resources and at the
same time take over control in
Canada’s North.

_All these developments have
led not only to a marked in-
crease in the militancy of the
working class and those affect-
ed by monopoly policies; it has
also brought about a marked
growth of opposition to U.S.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1971—PAGE 6

domination and U.S. policies
amongst a majority of the Cana-
dian people.

The government is compelled
to’ take this sentiment into ac-
count but so far has not ad-
vanced effective policies to re-
store Canadian independence.

Nor is it likely to do so, tied
as it is to monopoly and the
maintenance of monopoly rule.
It remains for the working class
and its allies, led by the Com-
munist Party, to regain Cana-
dian independence as an inte-
gral part of the struggle to ad-
vance to socialism in Canadian
conditions. Our party works for
a democratic alliance of all anti-
monopoly and _anti-imperialist
forces to achieve a new direc-
tion in Canada’s policies.

Your Congress coincides al-
most exactly with the 50 years
existence of the Communist
Party of Canada. Our party
arose out of the needs of the
working class for a party based
on scientific socialism. It arose
as well as a direct consequence
of the Great October Socialist
Revolution and was influenced
by it. Ever since its inception
our party has been guided by
the precepts of patriotism and
internationalism, and of solidar-
ity with the Soviet Union and
has never wavered from this
position. We have time and

Children greet Congress (Wm. Kashtan is third from left in back row of the presidi

again rejected those siren voices
who wanted to show our “‘inde-
pendence” by the extent of our
anti-Sovietism. In reply we have
said and continue to say that
our independence and_ sove-
reignty are based on indepen-
dence -from bourgeois and re-
formist ideology and of the capi-
talist class. :

It is in this spirit‘ of inter-
nationalism that we have con-
sistently fought for unity of
Communist and workers’ parties
on the basis of Marxism-Lenin-
ism and proletarian internation-
alism, and against those who
continue to try to split the in-
ternational movement.

Our party fully solidarizes it-
self with the heroic struggle of
the Vietnamese people and the
peoples of Indochina. We work
for an end to Israeli aggression
and for a political settlement of
the, Middle East situation on the
basis of the United Nations
resolution. We work for a Euro-
pean security conference and
for recognition of the GDR by
Canada. We call for Canada to
become a nuclear-free zone. We
fight for a policy of peaceful co-
existence and for a policy of
mutually satisfactory trade, cul-
tural and scientific exchanges
between Canada and the Soviet
Union.

We see this not only as being

useful in itself and the ood
of peace; we see it also veh
important element in 5 ith
thening the sovereignty il,
dependence of Canada ig
making it a vital force for Pr" |

Our patriotism and inte
tionalism are as one. a ott
side by side and we Wik
tinue along this road, fOl “ga
in the interests of the wie of
class and the struggle 9 Me
imperialism.

ti

May we in conclusio# xP ile
our solidarity with the a the
the Central Committee nt hy
CPSU delivered by Y) wth
Brezhnev and with you Olt,
Five-Year Plan of econor yf
velopment, They indice
line of march the Soviet P cof
are taking on the way 10° offi
munist society. We 4
dent these plans will bé jut
through and thereby | o@ith
strengthen the forces FF sci te
and socialism on a wot W

ig Ih,

Long live your great t
gress! Y,
‘of

Long live coopera gt On

tween our two parties
peoples!

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