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Members and supporters of the United Bank Workers (SORWUC) demonstrated outside the Gibsons’ branch of
the Bank of Commerce last Saturday to press their boycott of the bank that fired two union members for union ac-
tivity. The UBW has received support from numerous Gibsons community organizations and from other unions
such as the UFAWU, IWA and CPU. The UBW claims that about 25 Gibsons residents have withdrawn accounts
over the incident. Vision Works photo

The United Nations special ses-
sion on disarmament received the
most significant contribution to
date Saturday when Soviet foreign
minister Andrei Gromyko
presented seven major proposals
for disarmament, including the
banning of the neutron bomb.

Gromyko’s speech received re-

sounding applause at the UN’

special session — a sharp contrast

from the silence which met U.S.

vice-president Walter Mondale’s
warlike speech the Tuesday
before. Not a single proposal for
disarmament was contained in
Mondale’s provocative speech.

Soviet proposals for disarma-
ment included:

e the signing of a draft con-
vention by the Committee on Dis-
armament in Geneva to ban the
neutron bomb;

e following the signing of SALT
II, ‘‘a substantial reduction of the

Almost every day, there is a new
revelation about the unlawful
activities of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police.

What is surprising to some is that
in this province, where the
majority of illegal entries have
taken place, the trade union
movement has, outside of a few
resolutions by. labor councils and
local unions condemning the
break-ins by the RCMP, kept out of
the public debate on the illegal
activities of that police force.

This relative silence led me to
obtain a copy of the Canadian
Labor Congress submission to the
Commission of Inquiry Concerning
Activities of The Royal Canadian
Mounted Police. In my opinion, the
brief, despite some obvious
weaknesses, could help to
stimulate more action by the trade
union movement in the growing
protest over the sinister role of the
security branches.

The labor movement should be in
the lead to protect the right to
dissent, to protest and to work for
far-sweeping social changes in
government policies and the social
structure. If that right is lost or
seriously eroded, the labor
movement itself will end up as the
main victim of police harassment.

In the introduction to the CLC
submission, we find the following:
““We believe that public respect for
the rule of law has been un-
dermined by recent revelations
concerning alleged acts by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Canadian Labor Congress
hopes that this commission, in its
final determination, will bring in
recommendations sufficiently
adequate to restore that respect.”

Dealing with the relationship be-
tween elected officials and the
security service, the CLC made
these proposals, among others:

e Given that the RCMP security
service, by virtue of its alleged
actions in these matters, appears
to regard itself as being above the
law, it would appear that the
security service must be dissoci-
ated from the RCMP and become a
civilian agency with direct
responsibility to a minister whose
duties embrace the overseeing of
national security;

e Asa safeguard against further
abuses of power, the security
service should be open to review
either by a committee comprised

of members of parliament from all
elected parties or, in the alterna-
tive, an ombudsman whose ex-
clusive jurisdiction would en-
compass the service’s operations.

The CLC brief draws attention to
the fact that the RCMP has placed
itself above the law. ‘‘A victim of a
crime by the police has little op-
portunity to expect a fair and im-
partial investigation of that crime
by the police.’ Then follows a

LABOR
COMMENT

BY JACK PHILLIPS

warning: ‘‘We detect in comments,
such as those of the prime
minister, that the government is
almost endorsing the need for the
security service to be permitted
exceptions under the law so that
they may commit acts that, under
present provisions of the criminal
code, are crimes.”

In dealing with the RCMP and
the trade unions, the brief draws
attention to the fact that the RCMP
plays a policing role across Canada
and serves as the provincial force
in eight out of 10 provinces and
“perhaps comes in closer contact
with the labor movement . than
would normally be anticipated of
any federal agency.” Then, there
is a significant quotation from the
Task Force on Labor Relations,
Study No. 22 (1966) by Stuart
Jamieson: ‘“‘The RCMP has thus
become a highly pervasive force in
Canadian society. Its presence has
been felt with enough force to tip
the scales of battle in hundreds of
strikes and labor demonstrations.”’

The CLC claims it had reason ‘‘to
suspect that the RCMP attempted
to infiltrate the legitimate trade
unions and has, at times, employed
disruptive tactics in strike
situations.”

According to the CLC, the RCM-
P’s perception of the labor
movement since the 1919 Winnipeg
general strike has been distorted
largely because they believed that
strike was ‘‘instigated by
Bolsheviks.”

“Whenever organized labor has
confronted the status quo,
tendency has been to label those
involved as ‘subversive.’ Too often,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—June 2, 1978—Page 12

the™

the right to dissent, when exer-
cised, is construed as a subversive
act. We think the cause of the
RCMP’s distorted perspective of
organized labor stems, in part,
from the paramilitary nature of
the force. It is our opinion that
because they are subjected to rigid
rules and regulations that, in ef-
fect, deny them the right to dissent,
that RCMP officers develop con-
tempt for those who traditionally
enjoy that right.”

If there is a major weakness in
the brief it is the implied endorsa-
tion of a statement from the 1969
Royal Commission on Security
which said that ‘‘the most im-
portant Communist activities in
Canada are largely directed from
abroad.’ The CLC quotes approv-
ingly from that Royal Com-
mission: “‘...as far as the trade
union movement is concerned,
there is a long history of attempts
by the Communist Party to assume
control at local levels and to take
all possible measures to influence
national policies. These attempts
are usually, but not always
frustrated.”’

It is unfortunate that the CLC
leadership, despite a generally
progressive position in its brief,
has not been able to separate itself
from the phoney scare propaganda
against. the Communist Party of
Canada. It is equally regrettable
that it is as yet unable to ap-
preciate the positive role in world
affairs of the socialist countries
and the world Communist
movement.

Personally, I believe that many
of these leaders know better. I

submit there is an element of op-

portunism in their position, a
desire to gain some degree of im-
munity from RCMP harassment
while at the same time hoping to
rid themselves of some of their
sharpest critics in terms of policy
and direction for the labor

-movement. As the experience of

the U.S. during the period of Mc-
Carthyism proved, once a sweep
against the Communists in the
labor movement gets underway,
other left-wingers, liberals, peace
workers and social activists in
many fields of public life are
hounded and persecuted. Although
the cold war drive in Canada did
much harm to the labor and
democratic movement, it never
reached the dimensions that it did

in the U.S. However; we should
take steps to see to it that it will
never happen again!

According to a recent series of
articles in the Toronto Globe and
Mail, the RCMP justifies its illegal
activities as being largely directed
against subversive activities. The
so-called subversives include the
Parti Quebecois, the New Demo-
cratic Party, the Canadian Union
of Public Employees, the National
Farmers Union, the Communist
Party and the Native Indian move-
ment. Obviously, the RCMP
hierarchy regard themselves as
the saviors of the status quo in
Canada — as a shield against
major social changes. Thus, the
demand of the CLC to curb the
RCMP and to make that force
responsible to parliament is to be
welcomed. Equally to be welcomed
is the demand of the Communist
Party to democratize the RCMP,
and to replace right-wing, authori-
tarian and neo-fascist elements in
the force by democratically-
minded Canadians.

The Communist Party, like the
CLC, calls for effective supervision
of the RCMP and its security
branches at the ministerial level
and by parliament, stressing the
need for a specific code of conduct
which would clearly define. the
nature and scope of security.

In my opinion, the story of the
illegal activities of the RCMP has
only begun. Much more remains to
be told. The labor movement can
play a key role in getting the whole
story out to the public and in
building up public pressure to curb
the RCMP and its security bran-
ches.

| arms cut proposal

levels of strategic arms and on 4
further limitation of their qualita-
tive improvement”’;

e the production of all nuclear
weapons be halted and stockpiles
reduced up to and including their
complete destruction;

e direct negotiations between
nuclear powers to end the arms
race;

e complete halt to further build
up of arms by all nations with large.
military budgets;

e the signing of a world treaty of
the non use of force in international
relations, and that the UN adopt 2 |
resolution to that effect;

e areduction in military budgets
in absolute figures with the money
saved being used to aid developing
countries. :

Gromyko also proposed the con-
vening of a world disarmament
conference which would also be in
“a position to adopt at once effect
ive decisions truly binding for all
states. The success of this special
session should help in convening
it: :

“Gromyko’s speech was excep
tionally well received by delegates
and observers in the UN General
Assembly Hall,” U.S. Daily World
reporter Amadeo Richardson re
ported. ‘‘U.S. ambassador Andrew
Young, looking somewhat an-
noyed, clapped routinely while the
Chinese delegation made n0
gestures at all.”

In his 14-page speech, U.S. vice-
president Mondale made no new
proposals for disarmament. In- |
stead he shocked delegates with —
the statement that ‘The NATO
summit meeting next week if
Washington will recommit the
western democracies to a military
posture capable of deterring and
defending against attacks ... we
will moderately increase the
defense budgets of our nations.”

He went on to say ‘‘we will re-
main prepared to resist attack
across the spectrum of conven:
tional, tactical and nuclear and
strategic forces.”

A highlight of the UN special |
session occurred May 23 when 2 |
delegation of the World Peace
Council, headed by president Ro —
mesh Chandra, delivered a petition?
with more than 700 million names
to UN general secretary Kurt |
Waldheim.

The signatures on the world-wide —
Stockholm Appeal called for the —
ending of the arms race, total |
nuclear disarmament and the con:
vening of a world disarmament
conference.

Among the signers of the Appeal
were over 300 prime ministers, |
heads of state and ministers. They
included the presidents of Finland,
the Soviet Union, Portugal, Sene
gal, Iraq, Democratic Yemet;
Guinea and Cuba.

s. Ten per cent of the population of
India signed the petition as well a5
thousands of trade union leaders;
religious figures and members 0
governments.

Back the paper that figlits for labor —
PACIFIC TRIBUNE

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