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Vol. 18 No. 16

Pltone MUtual 5-5288

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= 28 Authorised as second class mail by
the Post Office Department, Ottawa

10c

VANCOUVER, B.C.

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1959

The resolution pointed out
that the defeat of the old line
parties “can only be accomp-
lished by a new party whose
scope shall be. the ‘broad
masses of Canadian workers,
farmers, small business and
liberal minded citizens.”

The Canadian UAW «coun-
cil went on record as being
in favor of a new political
party “whose interest shall be
in the interest of full employ-
ment and richer life for Can-
adian citizens” and resolved
that this party “be dominated

‘| by no one faction.”

x t be
IBEW Local 213, at a recent
general membership meeting
turned thumbs down ona
resolution asking the local to
endorse the CCF as “the poli-
tical arm of» labor.”
% t %

side “Workers, is -setting up
a political education commit-
tee “for the purpose of -as-
sisting our members to ob-

| Civic Employees Union.Out-

Auto workers urge
‘new all-inclusive party

A forthright stand for an all-embracing new political
party has been taken by one of Canada’s major unions. The
Canadian Council of the United Automobile Workers, meet-
“ing April 5, passed a resolution submitted by local 199 at St.
Catherines urging that immediate steps be taken to form such
Lg party.

tain information and clarity
in respect to the record and
policies of existing political
parties and in respect to those
political issues .of direct con-
cern to members of our union
and the labor movement as
a whole.”

“Our union cannot be tied
to the &pron strings of any
one political: party,” says an
article in the union’s News-
bulletin. “We have publicly
advocated a broad coalition
movement embracing all trade
unions, the CCF, farm groups
and all other political parties,
organizations and individuals

prepared to work for a pro- -

gressive policy of social re-
form, in opposition to the
political parties of big busi-
ness.”

The Outside Workers at a
membership meeting passed a
reolution condemning the. re-

* cent federal budget as one

which “unloads the economic

crisis on the backs of the

working people.”

RY BUDGET BETRAYS
ELECTION PROMISES

“The budget introduced by Finance Minister Fleming on April
9 is in flagrant disregard of the promises made to the people during
the federal election,” Tim Buck, national LPP leader said this week.
“The Tories won that election by demagogic promises. One of the

central issues was unemployment, and Prime
Minister Diefenbaker gave solemn pledges that
they would solve the problem.

“What has the government done?

It has

increased interest rates to bond-holders by, 50
per cent, and it raised the cost of living for work-
ing people. It has not tried to solve the problem
of unemployment. On the contrary, its policies are
aimed to help the big employers to keep a perm-
anent army of the working people unemployed.

“Its policies of steadily in-
creasing the cost of living, con-
tinually reduces the living
standards of the people and
makes the condition of the
unemployed workers intoler-
able.

“This is a cunning and cruel
contribution to the employers’
offensive against the trade
union movement.

“The government’s pretense ~

that it was taken unawares by
inflation is a colossal hoax. The
truth is that it has used infla-
tion to enrich the big monopo-
lies at the expense of the work-
ing people and small business.

“It increased money supply
in Canada last year by 13 per-
cent. If it is allowed to con-
tinue at this rate it will double
the cost of living before it is
forced to go to the people at
the next general election.

“In one year the Tories have
exposed their election promises
as cynical, irresponsible de-
ception.

“This budget should help
tens of thousands of workers
to recognize the need to unite
their organizations, with wide
circles of the farmers and
middle-class people in an all-
inclusive people’s reform move-
ment to end the monopoly that
the Tories and the Liberals
have used against the people
for ‘too long.”

x HP Ot

TORONTO — The Canadian
Tribune, in a featured editorial
this week, had this to say about
the Tory budget:

- If anything more were need-
ed to show the Diefenbaker
government's complete disre-
gard for the people’s interests,
the 1959 budget did it. Higher

TIM BUCK

income taxes, increased sales
tax, open door to monopoly
price increases, and complete
disregard of the massive un-
employment in Canada—that’s
how the Tory government
practice gives the lie to elec-
tion-time promises.

The Tory. tactic of fair talk
and foul action was admir-
ably. demonstrated in Finance
Minister Fleming’s budget
presentation in the House. of
Commons, At. the outset .he
showered the government
with credit for “stemming
the decline in business ac-
tivity in 1958” with lower

taxes and increased govern-
ment spending. He then pro-
ceeded to unfold a policy of
higher taxes and cuts in im-
portant employment-creating
activities (housing credits,
CNR investments, the St.
Lawrence Seaway, and vari-
cus capital expenditures). In
other words, the practice in
1959 is to be the opposite to
that given credit for some
economic improvement in
1958.

How did the government
prepare the ground for this
sleight-of-hand trick?

First, unemployment is elimi-
nated by delicately refraining
from mentioning it. There
was no figure on unemploy-

ment quoted in the budget ©

speech.

Secondly, by talking about
economic conditions: being
much better than they are.
An example: the minister
made much of. consumer
spending in total showing an
increase in 1958.

Sure, the dollar total was
up a little over 1957. But
when you take out ‘the’ price
increase and adjust the popu-
lation increase, you see that
average real consumption per
person stood still. In fact,
meat consumption, a good in-
dicator of the trend of living
standards, fell by 4.5 percent
in 1958. ;

So, where is the economic
recovery? Certainly it is hard
to find for the average fam-
ily — harder still for the up-
wards of .a million unem-
ployed.

But profits have recovered!

_The minister stated proudly:

“Corporate profits began tu
#ise in the third quarter of
1958 and increased by a fur-
ther eight percent in the
fourth quarter.”

The new budget ‘saddles the
people with. $352 millions of
new taxes annually (for even
the $84 millions increase in

Continued on back page
See TORY BUDGET

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