a a 5 ’ A Qe eee ee ee CP Convention CP convention sets out new direction, organizational role GEORGE HEWISON ... addressing convention after elections Oct. 8. Z WISO he Hewison hear team perteyerienes* \ rote Se ~ - a id George Hewison will lead the Commu- nist Party for another term following elec- tions for the top officers at its Toronto con- vention Oct. 5-8. Hewison, 46, came on staff with the Communist Party in 1985, serving as its labour secretary until his election to party leader at the last convention in 1988. It was a rocky two years for the former official of the B.C. United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union. He took the driver’s seat when “perestroika” and “glasnost” in the USSR were beginning to raise funda- mental questions for socialists around the globe. Barely a year later, events exploded in Eastern Europe, leaving the party ina real struggle over its future direction. The convention outcome should clear up some of the ambiguity. Delegates passed a number of resolutions demanding account- ability from leadership, more inner-party democracy and a new direction. Hewison was pleased delegates made such a firm leap for renewal but cautioned that the “real test of the convention will be the extent to which the party can make a contribution to the rapidly changing Can- adian political scene.” Some signs of the new CP were demon- strated at this convention. Five of the execu- tive positions were directly elected by dele- gates, breaking with a tradition which had the party’s central committee elect the ex- ecutive. In an unprecedented development for the party, not all executive posts were filled by acclamation. Where only one can- didate appeared, delegates had an oppor- tunity to vote either yes or no. Hewison received 108 votes, 28 against. John MacLennan, who was elected as cen- tral organizer, won 107 votes, 29 against. The secretary- treasurer’s post stayed with incumbent Lome Robson with 84 votes. Also seeking the position was Ontario party leader Liz Rowley who took 52 votes. Former Canadian Tribune editor Tom Mor- 6 « Pacific Tribune, October 22, 1990 = @ & ae = ww @& & wad ris assumes the post of education director with 87 votes. It was contested by the past leader of the Young Communist League, Chris Frazer, who gamered 49 votes. Kerry McCuaig becomes press and liaison officer with popular movements with 80 votes. Also running was Miguel Figueroa of Halifax who received 56 votes. The leader of the Communist Party of Quebec automatically becomes a member of the executive. That position is currently held by Marianne Roy. The central committee, elected by pro- portional representation from Quebec and the provinces, was reduced from 65 to 33 members. The move was a cost-saving measure but delegates argued a smaller committee could operate as a working, rather than an advisory body. The committee is dominated by trade union and social movement activists. Rep- resentation also comes from the aboriginal and Black movements, farmers, academics and party functionaries. - The convention passed a number of ac- tion resolutions flowing out the policy docu- ment, The Communist Party in the New Decade. The amended document will be used as a statement of aims, principles and political orientation to guide the work of the party until a new program and constitution are adopted. It will reconsider its name in light of the program discussion. A special appeal was extended to all socialists to join in the party’s renewal with a pledge to “facilitate the meaningful in- clusion of new members into party life.” The incoming central committee was also mandated to hold discussions with other socialists on the role of the party within the socialist movements “‘ and what changes to the party in form and action would best contribute to building a united socialistparty - in the future.” Following fraternal parties throughout the world, the Communist Party of Canada, in its 28th convention October 5-8, re-as- sessed a wide range of policies, some of them long considered key for a revolution- ary organization. After heated debate, a proposed amend- ment to restore the term “Marxism- Leninism” to the main convention docu- ment, The Communist Party and the New Decade, was defeated. The paper, the sub- ject of wide debate thrtoughout the party prior to the convention, sets out the goals and policy direction of the CP. And a push to delete “democratic centralism” from the paper was successful. A committee was struck to design amend- ments to the constitution to make it consis- tent with these decisions. Final wordings will be put to the membership in a referen- dum. While several speakers backed the reten- tion of Marxism-Leninism as a matter of principle for the party, others made the case that the theory is something quite different from what its backers would like it to be. Delegate Cathy Laurier, from Toronto, argued that rather than being the insights of Marx plus those of Lenin, Marxism- Leninism is a defined, limited, and often false body of ideas defined and codified under Stalin and Brezhnev. “People who want to get back to Lenin should reject Marxism-Leninism. (The con- cept) was an attempt by Stalin to wrap him- self in the flag of Leninism,” she added. “We need a creative application of Mar- xism to Canadian conditions,” said British Columbia party leader Fred Wilson. He claimed Marxism-Leninism “was more ap- propriate for a church” than a party of socialism. Toronto delegate Dan Goldstick, while acknowledging specific failings of both Marx and Lenin — the former, he said, underestimated the importance of the na- tional question, and Lenin was “a little weak on the equality of the sexes” — argued that both made key contributions that are impor- tant for a revolutionary party. If you generally accept theories ad- vanced by Marx, and those of Lenin, there’s nothing wrong with saying you’re a Mar- xist-Leninist, argued Goldstick, questioning the case put by Laurier and others. A different amendment that sought to alter the New Decade’s treatment of Marx, Engels and Lenin was successful, however. The original paper noted that the party’s vision “arises from, but is not limited to the far-sighted vision of Marx, Engels, and Lenin ... ” The amendment changes the wording so that the party’s perspective “arises from and builds upon the theoretical foundations of scientific socialism first elaborated by Marx, Engels, and Lenin....” Democratic centralism, once held to be indispensible to a communist party, similar- ly wasn’t removed from the document with- out an argument. Norman Brudy from Edmonton made the _ case that this organizational “principle,” in the party’s traditions, has meant “the stifling of opinions of comrades, the expelling of comrades.” Its revocation is key to getting members to think critically, he said. B.C. delegate Ben Swankey argued that Stalin used it to “impose a brutal dictatorship on the party,” and that in its best form, it was was designed for a tsarist, autocratic state. On the other hand, delegate Maggie Biz- zell told the convention that while the term democratic centralism is of little impor- Ra CARERS ASAE ET Si ee Democratic centralism, once thought to be indispensible toa Communist Party, was eliminated from the document ae eS tance, its content is indeed key. Its “unity in action” provision and the idea that members have to be accountable to collectives in their political work are essential for a revolution- ary party. “We’re moving to define ourselves by the criteria of the mass movements. We need to improve our relations with the mass move- ments. But we are not the mass movements.” With the deletion of the term, the docu- ment does note that “majority decision is binding on all members, and that the party, is an organic whole in which organized facz tions are-prohibited.” cane aes = CPCS BR ELE ae ie ] Meeting changes election tactic The Communist Party will be tak- ing a new approach to elections fol- lowing its convention, a move which will put political considerations ahead of its party status. Federal and provincial electoral law varies, but in most cases requires parties to field a minimum number of candidates in elections to retain the party status. This provides a tax rebate to party donors. For federal elections, at least 50 candidates must run. In a special resolution the CP con- cluded its electoral strategy “is not understood by labour and the demo- cratic movements, and does not en- hance the prestige or influence” of the party. While the party retains the right to run candidates in federal and provin- cial elections, it will “exercise this right with care and only when there is a demonstrated support for such a role within the labour and people’s move- ments.” The party will support the election of New Democrat governments in English Canada “as the only viable governmental alternative for the labour and people’s movements at this time.” The resolution, submitted by the British Columbia’s labour committee, focuses the party’s role during elec- tion campaigns to extra-parliamen- tary campaigns. rat ;