10) : ns a

Central wtday:, March 11. Tim Buck, Chairman of the

an ea tee of the Communist Party of Canada,
ovement ing veteran of the international communist
® Was peed away in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where

Ye. Death 2 under doctor's care. He was 82 years of

Which hec Was due to a series of severe strokes from

ites ould not recover.
Party uck was General Secretary of the Communist

leadercts ranade from 1929 to 1962. Under his able
into .te Communist Party grew and developed

a signif;
Considerepieeant political force in the country wielding

ee influence in the trade union and farm
Made Reins this period the Communist Party
oh the peo i and varied contributions to the struggle
o the ; Sh © against the effects of the economic crisis,
"8action ale for democratic advance and against
and nd fascism, the struggle against imperialism

or .
Peaceful coexistence of differing social systems.

is :

cide an Aaa articles, pamphlets and books Tim Buck

Hantedian ‘standing contribution to the struggle of the
at strugal ople for Canadian independence, seeing in

InT gle the pathway to socialism in Canada.

Jim B ae
and ise was embodied the true spirit of patriotism
Nth as wonalism. This characterized his life and his

c

5 The id would achieve political supremacy.

a Maxist-Leinst Party has lost an outstanding leader,
8nding ‘nist. The working people have lost an out-

a9" .
Sandie” 7g CMPion of their needs and interests, a propa-

St 2420 4
andin Be gptional talent. Canada has lost an out-
. ian.

t uc

pPtsands ysCe¥es behind him his wife and children and
hig his n thousands of Canadians who will always

VS Of the great contribution to the democratic ad-

: anadian people. He will be sorely missed

ommunists and by Communist and Work-

Sughout the world.

' Central Executive Committee
a Communist Party of Canada
petites Sharp on Vietnam
Sha foll
1 harp, Minista® wire was sent today to Hon. Mitchell
Sree Commer Of External Affairs, by William Kashtan,

ar’s de Unist Party of Canada, on the eve of Mr.
Sta Urge a atedd for Vietnam,
ree Canada’s se visit to.Saigon, Laos and Hanoi to re-
€mat; Intention to abide by and fully implement
agreements on Vietnam rather than trying
Coq riconers that Canada insist on release of all poli-
hap Mic reco, eld by Thieu regime, give all out aid in
at ut Nstructicn of Democratic Republic of Viet-
Onal ee ny P3litical strings attached, recognize the
Saji, Canadi Volutionary Government of South Vietnam.”
a ey Party is scheduled to begin its tour in
ch 1g, nich: off with a one-day visit to Hanol,

~Snadj
@r la
$ Parties ae

ticgy ("BE the

TIM BUCK | CLC demands full

employment policy

OTTAWA—The Canadian La-
bor Congress presented its an-
nual brief to the federal cabinet
last week. The 62-page brief
covered a wide range of subjects
and, unlike many of the pre-
vious briefs presented by the
Congress, this one contained
some genuinely forward-looking
proposals.

The memorandum noted that
unemployment, “artificially cre-
ated by the government” is still
a major problem and suggested
a new approach to “ensure that
this country will once again
achieve full employment as soon
as possible.” Included in the
new approach would be an in-
crease in the old age security
pension to $135 a month and
the granting of an immediate
two-month tax holiday for all
taxpayers earning less than
$10,000 a year.

Employment Opportunities

The memorandum called for .

an “articulation of an! explicit
national industrial policy pro-
viding for maximization of em-
ployment opportunities and di-
rected toward expansion of sec-
ondary industry and greater
processing of primary resources;
ensuring that Canadian law gov-
ern all companies operating in
Canada; and compulsory dis-
closure of all foreign subsidi-
aries’ Canadian financial opera-
tians.”

Unfortunately the CLC did not
heed the call by the B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor for a conference
on unemployment. With a large
number of labor representatives
in Ottawa for the submission, it
would have been an opportune
moment to convene such a con-
ference.

In its submission, the 1,800,-
000 member labor body called
for a review of the nation’s re-
source policy and asked that
rational policies be developed
for the continued exploration
and development of potential
reserves, and for the develop-
ment of a nuclear program to
conserve fossil fuels.

Compressed Week

In the field of legislation, the
memorandum called fora mini-
mum wage of $2.50 and for a
shorter work week. The CLC
reaffirmed its opposition to the
compressed work-week which
would consist of four 10-12 hour
days. The Congress also asked
that the federal government
change the present legislation
which puts wage and_ salary
earners far down the list of
claimants when a firm goes
bankrupt.

Another legislative proposal
included the nationalization of
Bell Canada and for the imple-

mentation of several reports _

dealing with the creation of a.
Canadian merchant fleet.

In the field of international
affairs the CLC welcomed the
Vietnam cease-fire agreement
and promised full co-operation
within the framework of the
international trade union move-
ment; urged the government to
condemn any further nuclear
tests; called for an increase in
Canada’s contribution to inter-
national aid and development;
suggested that the government
“exercise the utmost care’ in
reaching a decision concerning
renewal of the NORAD agree-
ment and keep Canada’s mem-
bership in NATO under constant
review; and welcome Canada’s

increased interest in closer rela-
tions with Latin America.
Trade Restrictions

It also called on the govern-
ment to “do everything within
your power” to curb protection-
ist trends in international trade,
sparked by restrictive legisla-
tion proposed in the United
States (the Burke-Hartke bill).

The CLC suggested improve-
ments in health care services in-
cluding implementation of a
denticare plan; a program to re-
duce the cost of prescription
drugs; replacing some active
treatment hospital beds with
less expensive convalescent and
chronic-care beds; making great-
er use of less expensive health
care professionals; replacing the

fee-for-service payment to phy-
sicians with a fairer and less
costly method of remuneration;
and providing support for the
development of consumer-spon-
sored community health centres.

The presentation was by far
the best and most comprehen-
sive in the CLC’s history. It
missed an opportunity in Otta-
wa to hold a conference on un-
employment, but that can be re-
couped if the CLC now decides
that after having presented its
brief, it is willing to put some
muscle behind its suggestions
and provide the leadership it is
supposed to in the struggle for
the rights of the working people
in Canada.

Common Front gains

in French election

Communists selling Common Front program at factories.

The French elections, March
4 and 11, and the campaign of
the Communist-Socialist Com-
mon Front leading up to. the
vote, so chilled the ruling class
that President Georges Pompi-
dou had to, make an election-
eve TV promise to work reso-
lutely to correct inequalities and
to introduce bold reforms for
sccial progress, if only the elec-
tors would shun the Communists
and Socialists.

Some 46% of the electorate
defied him and voted for the
Common Front. Proof of how
France’s election laws are rig-
ged is seen in the fact that the
Gaullists, with precisely the
Game percentage, 46%, captured
about 90 seats more. Almost
comp!ete returns show the bloc
of Gaullists, Independent Repub-
licans and their centrist allies
with 271 seats to the Common
Front’s 181. Reformists had a
about 30.

First returns indicated the
Communists had increased their
seats by 29, to 73; the Socialists
gained 36 for an 89 total. An in-
teresting fact is that the Com-
mon Front held the same per-
centage in the final tally ‘as in
the first round, despite the ut-
most in Rightist intimidation in
the intervening week.

The electoral system, which

delivers rural and near-rural
seats to the Gaullists with a

fraction of votes by which Com-
munists and Socialists must win,
of course, penalizes Common
Front voters. That the Reform-
ists ‘must carry the responsi-
bility for saving the govern-
ment,” as Communist Party
Secretary-General Georges. Mar-
chais said, is another factor. He
denounced the “campaign of
lies, falsification, . and other
blackmail,” aimed at misleading
the French electorate.

Desire for Change

Yet, despite all that plus last-
minute red-baiting by the Presi-
dent, to which the opposition
had no opportunity to reply,
what came through quite clear-
ly was the desire of the French
people for change. They docked
the Gaullists almost 100 seats to
make their point.

It has been suggested that
despite the Gaullists’ retention
of office, things cannot now re-
main the same in France, and
Pompidou hurriedly verified this
on election eve.

The vote, he seemed to ac-
knowledge is, only the iceberg’s
visible part, while the desire of
millions of French men and wo-
men coalesce with the Common
Front program, in the less spec-
tacular ongoing campaigns, de-
cisive for the future of France.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1973—PAGE 5