Tan oo fi} |} |} | (0 | al Special to the Tribune QUEBEC — Backed by the majority of Canadian labor rec- ognizing Quebec’s right to self de- termination, the Quebec Federa- tion of Labor will take part in the referrendum debate after holding a special convention to determine its position. This decision was made by the 16th Quebec Federation of Labor Convention, Nov. 26-30, which reaffirmed the QFL’s support for Quebec’s right to self determina- tion and adopted an economic program outlining its vision for social reform in Quebec. That program, though essen- tially anti-monopoly in character was hampered by the QFL’s fai- lure to propose a political vehicle ; QFL president Louis Laberge levelled some heavy criticism against the NDP for its stand on the national question. to achieve its objectives. For all practical purposes the OFL opted to continue giving “‘positive but critical’? support to the Parti Québecois government. Convention delegates, how- ever criticized the federation jeadership for not coming out strong enough to denounce the TRIBUNE PHOTO — MIKE PHILLI PQ’s introduction of Bill 62, the law banning strikes in the public service. , In his opening address to the convention’ Laberge completely ignored any mention of the need for the working people of Quebec to get uiider way with the task of: creating labor’s own mass, feder- ated political party to build the kind of society labor wants for Quebec. NDP Criticized The federal New Democratic Party came under severe criticism from Laberge who brought into question the QFL’s continued federal support for the NDP. He criticized the party for its stand on the national question during the » last federal election and he linked the party’s traditional weakness in Quebec to the NDP’s refusal to look beyond the economic in- equality. of the constitutional status quo to recognize the Quebec people’s right to national self-determination. The convention adopted the QFL’s economic program to bring about a ‘‘democratic social- ist’ society in Quebec. By E. ROGERS ATIKOKAN — Winding down the mining operations. Waiting for the final order from Chicago headquarters to shut down com- pletely. This is the way hundreds of miners and their families face the uncertainties of lost jobs and homes in this mining community of 6,000 people. After 35 years of open pit min- ing in the area, the Steep Rock ‘Iron Ore Company has phased out its operations. Caland Ore, an Inland Steel Company sub- sidiary, carrying on a pelletizing operation had set April, 1980, as its tentative closing date. But, on very short notice 200 miners got their pink slip in November. The remaining 220 have been -* advised *‘April date could be ear- lier or later depending on what develops in the marketplace.” Atikokan is heading for “‘ghost town”’ status. Depending on a. _ single industry for support and at the mercy of a big business government’ policy in Queen's Park the town’s only usefulness to the Bill Davis’ and the mine owners who have plundered the earth’s riches for so long, is to satisfy “‘dig-it-up and ship-it-out”’ ~ programs of the monopolies and the transnational corporations who call the shots in our economy. Atikokan, and all of her sister, one-industry towns throughout Canada cries out for a new economic approach. An appeal to both the handling and-use of our precious natural resources. It’s high time we stopped serving the profit interests of the corporations who scoop up super profits, leav- _ ing the area only half mined, the workers unemployed and thrown into dis-aray, and what's left of the geography — desecrated and useless. The tragedy of Atikokan is the classic illustration of how dearly Canadians pay for not having con- trol of their natural resources. Had the ore resource of Atikokan been placed under public owner- ship with the development of sec- ondary industry directly related to iron ore mining, the economic base of the community would have survived for 100 years or more into the future. Such an approach is what the Communist Party of Canada ad- vocates, based on a policy of Canadian independence and development, providing jobs and raising the working peoples’ liv- ing standards. The present system allows the mine to shut down at the discre- tion of a group of big business ‘“*tycoons’’ in some Chicago board room. Then, Canada Manpower will organize a local committee with union members and representa- tives of Caland Ore sitting to- gether. Workers with skilled trades training will get a couple of weeks to brush up on their trades. They'll get some assistance in finding a new job and relocating their families. A small number will find help this way, but with massive unemployment plaguing the country most won't. Most will collect unemploy- ment insurance benefits for a time. Most own a home that now cannot be sold, even if they wished to leave. Most have families with young children in school. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 19, 1979—Page 6 Chicago decision to close mine tums Atikokan into ghost town Many of the miners, are just that. They can’t change their vo- cation. Many have known no other other work in their entire lives besides mining. They are over 50 years old and the future | they face is stark, and bleek in- deed. lay Yet, the mines being. vacated by Steep Rock have abundance of good quality ore left. Only, it ‘can’t be mined by the open pit method. Underground, where the deep mining extraction techniques are needed, tens of millions of tons of ore lie, waiting to be extracted. The company says it can’t af- ford to mine it, it isn’t economi- cal. At Queen’s Park the com- panies’ good friend premier Bill Davis agrees and is getting ready to let new mines open up at Bend- ing Lake, and St. Josephs, a more northern part of Ontario. It’s more of the same big business pol- icy of plundering our resources and leaving the mess behind for the locals to clean up. A visit to the Caland Ore site yields evidence of huge sources of ore still available for pelletizing. A damp mine when such a point is reached in the mining operation, is discarded and filled in with the opening overburden of a new mine. It is estimated that 550 million tons of iron ore has been aban- doned, in existing mines partly mined out by Caland Ore. The deeper Steep Rock vein has vari- ously been estimated to have up- wards to one billion tons of good healthy ore, yet to be mined by adapting to the deep mining method. OFL to decide referendum stand at meet which would help the federation It calls for: opposition to gov- ernment plans to sell off crown corporations created through public‘investment; public control through nationalization and the domestic processing of natural re- sources; with public ownership of natural resources as the basis for the development of a balanced and planned economy. Tripartism With PQ The QFL remained neutral on the PQ’s economic development plan for Quebec expressing sup- port to the demand for govern- ment control of natural resources, but criticizing the government’s support of the private sector in- cluding the small and medium business enterprises. Postal Union leader Jean- Claude Parrot questioned the QFIL leadership's approach to the PQ government pointing out that while pursuing a policy opposing tri-partism at the federal level, the QFL seems to be engaging in such tripartite relations with the PQ. In other resolutions, the con- ‘vention called on the federation to make organizing the unorganized a top priority and adopted a pro- gram to stop plant closures. Over the past three years, plant clo- sures, such as the recent ITT- ‘Rayonnier run-away have robbed Quebec workers of some 70,000 jobs. An emergency resolution at- tacking the slashing of the un- employment insurance program and benefits was also passed by the convention. Support Welcomed On the national question, the convention reaffirmed the neces- sity of the QFL to get involved in the referrendum debate by plac- ing labor’s political, social and economic viewpoints and de- mands into the centre of the de- bate. Laberge welcomed the sup- port the labor movement in the. rest of Canada has given in recog- nizing Quebec’s right to national self-determination. Commitment to Quebec’s right to self determination was reaf- firmed while the federation ex- pressed its strongest opposition to all forms of external interference in the referrendum debate. The QFL will refuse to partici- pate in any of the pro PQ or anti referrendum umbrella groups, the government legislation says the debate will have to be conducted through. Laberge said the federa- tion wasn’t prepared to take part in either a ‘‘no’’ committee with multi-national corporations like ITT or Power Corp., and that the labor niovement would feel. cramped with the P.Q. Special Convention - Though unlike the CNTU and the Teachers Union, the QFL hasn’t denounced the PQ legisla- tion requiring groups to partici- pate in the referrendum debate through the umbrella committees, Laberge responded to the ques- ‘tion of whether the QFL would break the law saying: ‘‘we’ll act out in the open as usual and if we have to break the law then that’s the way it will be.”’ : After a thorough debate at the federation’s grass roots, the QFL will call a special, enlarged con- vention to decide its position on the referrendum. Delegates in- sisted on this, opposing a recom- mendation to leave it up to the QFL executive council to decide the federation’s position on the referrendum. -The harshness of criticism by PQ government.” _ in the battles ahead putting as _. TORONTO — Armed some QFL leaders toward the — Confederation of National Trade Unions, (CNTU) Quebec’s sec- ond largest labor centre, cast a sombre shadow on the conven- tion’s work. .Some delegates complained the convention was_ degenerating into an anti-CNTU meeting. “Instead of discussing serious matters such as the national ques- tion and plant closures’, one angry delegate charged, “‘we at- tack the CNTU.”’ Raiding between the two or- ganizations continues to. be a source of disunity between the QFL and CNTU. Recently, un- justified public criticism of the CNTU’s role in the Common Front negotiations, has added the tension and bad feelings be ween the two organizations. Appeal for Unity . However the delegates’ des for an end to the bickering we summed up when one Q member who also was a particip- ant in the Common Front scolded the leadership by telling the con- vention: ‘‘we’re spitting on CNTU and forgetting about CNTU president Norbert Rod- rigue, a guest speaker at the com vention however stressed need for unity in action ofall la the attacks on his union. Unity can be forged betweet the two organizations he said around such questions as extend: ing trade union rights, organizin the unorganized and co-ordina bargaining. ‘‘We’re going throu; an important period,’’ Rodrig said..‘‘For public. service, wo ers, those in the private sector an¢ the unorganized, the Com Front’s struggle is important. OFL lobbies for medicare more than 70,000 postcaré: signed by people throughout tario opposed to what the To are doing to the medicare syst one of the most powerful dele tions ever to visit Queen’s P2 called on Premier Davis and his cabinet to stop the destruction medicare, Dec. 13. a Led by the 860,000-membe Ontario Federation of Labor, 4 Medicare Coalition placed befor’ Premier Davis and the Tomy — cabinet the finding of a speci# conference held Oct. 13, entitle Medicare in Crisis. The presentation of the 5 replaced the OFL’s annual su” mission to the cabinet. Follov its presentation, the members conducted an exten: lobby of all MPPs in the legis!® ture. The presentation capped © the federation’s fall medi campaign which, among other tivities, saw the OFL distri some one million health care. flets across the province. _ Supported by nume church, social service, he care, consumer and labor gr¢ the Medicare Coalition co of: the OFL, the Ontario We! Council, the Ontario Nurses sociation, the Unitéd Seni zens of Ontaria, the Ontario ondary School Teachers Fee tion, the Ontario Teachers * eration, the Canadian Co Retirees, and the Jesuit Cen Social Faith and Justice.