>

v

VOTERS SCUTTLE

BENNETT'S PLOT

Hoped to wipe outall opposition

Premier Bennett’s bid to hold a mid-summer election with the aim of wip-
ing out opposition in the Legislature in preparation for carrying through un-
popular policies received a severe setback in Monday’s election. Voters re-
turned the same number of Socreds as before in a larger House; defeated
Bennett’s right-hand man, Attorney General Robert Bonner; and gave the NDP
two more seats and the largest boost in popular votes.

Se

f

%, >, -
« a

wan | |
saa |
TS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1966
VOL. 27, NO. 37 -

oe 5” | Oc

Fire Sharp,

Pearson

Prime Minister Pearson was
urged to return to Canada from
the British Commonwealth Con-
ference in London to fire Minis-
ter of Finance Mitchell Sharp
4s being unfit to remain a mem-
ber of the government,

This action came last Friday
in an open letter to the Prime
Minister fom the Communist
Party of Canada following the
announcement by Sharp that
Medicare would be postponed
for a year, that the government’s
Scholarship program and other
promised reforms would be im-
plemented, and that a tax in-
crease was coming,

The open letter to the Prime
Minister said:

“We urge you to return to
Canada and fire Mr. Mitchell
Sharp because he is unfit to re-
main Minister of Finance or a

‘member of the government,

“We strongly protest against
your government’s policy to in-
Crease taxes on the people, to
cut essential public works proj-
ects, to scuttle Medicare, to
abandon scholarship grants to
Students. This undemocratic,
senseless, coercive policy will
not curb inflation, It will still

urged

further increase the burden on
those least able to bear high
prices and reduced purchasing
power.

“It is not the working people
who are to blame for inflation,
it is big business. What the
country faces is a run-away
profit inflation, Instead of get-
ting tough with the people your
government should get tough with
the profiteers and price gougers,

“We demand the following im-
mediate 10 point program:

1, Increase taxes on corporate
profits,

2. Introduce a capital gains
tax,

3, Cut war expenditures,

4, Establish a price board to
prevent price gouging.

5, No increased taxes on those
earning below $5,000 a year.

6. Exempt from income taxes
all people earning below $3,500
a year. Ss

”, Proceed with Medicare,

8. Increase old age pensions to
a minimum of $100 a month,

9. Proceed with scholarship
grants for students,

10, No compulsory arbitration
in labor disputes.

“Protect the people’s welfare
and not the profiteers and price
gougers,”’

See SHARP, Pg. 8

Commenting on the election
results, Charles Caron, provin-
cial campaign manager of the
Communist Party said, “Premier
Bennett and his big business back-
ers are far from jubilant over the
results of the elections. Ina state-
ment after the election, Caron
said:

“The steamroller tactics of
the Premier not only failed to
destroy the democratic parlia-
mentary opposition, but it boom-
eranged, as was shown‘in the de-
feat of his stalwart, Attorney
General Bonner,

“mn the 1963 provincial elec-
tions the combined strength of
the parties of big busines com-
manded over 72 percent of the
popular vote. The Socreds lead
40.8; NDP, 27.8; Liberal, 19.9;
Conservatives, 11.2; others,
nearly 12,

“Although the results are not
yet complete for the 1966 elec-
tion, very little change is ex-
pected in the percentage of the
popular vote, which was: Socred
46 percent; NDP, 34; Liberals,
20; Conservative, .02. Communist
candidates showed a slight in-
crease in their votes.

“Notwithstanding all the efforts
of Bennett to gain additional rep-
resentation through his geryman-
dering of seats, the NDP made a
net gain of two seats over the
1963 election,

“The democratic forces. re-
sponded in some measure to the
idea of electing a democratic
majority, The gains made were an
important step in that direction,

“The important lesson that
needs to be drawn between the
1963 and 1966 election is in con-
nection with the policies followed
by the NDP, In 1963 NDP leader
Robert Strachan adopted a “soft”
line on basic issues in contrast
to the one of struggle on vital
matters, as in the 1966 election,
The results are obvious and show
which policies were correct,

“This is not to say that NDP _

policies did not have weakness,
especially in the hesitation shown
in the fight against U.S. control

of B.C. resources, Although red- —

baiting was absent throughout

‘the campaign, Strachan did, on

the eve of the election, resort
to a red-baiting attack. Fortu-
nately it did not adversely affect
the unity of labor anddemocratic
forces at the polls on Sept. 12,

“Maximum unity of all demo-
cratic and labor forces will be
required in the period ahead if
we are to preserve peace, win

U.S. and B.C. monopolies hoped Bennett would elect an over-
whelming majority’on Sept. 12 to dominate the House and create
a ‘favorable atmosphere” for their investments. The voters said

“‘no”' to this plot.

decent labor legislation and re-
verse the trend towards growing
U.S. domination of B.C, and
Canada.”

Caron said labor and demo-
cratic people have every reason
to be gratified with the Sept. 12
election results, “Its outcome has
set the stage for greater gains
in the fairly immediate future,”
he said,

The defeat of Attorney General

Bonner was a sharp blow at the
Socred government, Bonner was

‘one ofthe most reactionary mem- °

bers of the Bennett cabinet, and
was the man who ordered the
prosecution of trade unionists

following the issuance of two
anti-labor injunctions at Lenkurt
Electric. Court decision in this
case were laid over until after the
election,

Near complete election results
give the Communist candidates
the following votes: Homer
Stevens, Vancouver East, 404;
James Beynon, Vancouver
Centre, 256; Maurice Rush, North
Van-Seymour, 102; Jean Mc-
Laren, Surrey, 113; Ernie Knott,
Victoria, 213; Orville Mowers,
Shuswap, 37. Despite the low vote
Communist candidates reached
hundreds of thousands of voters
with their party’s program,

TCT TTT aT TT