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TORONTO — An enlarged assembly
of the Communist Party of Canada’s
Central Executive Committee met dur-
ing the January 29-30 weekend “‘to check
up on the two main fronts of struggle,
that of peace and the economic crisis,
and the development of the mass move-
ments around these issues,’’

A 20-page report by party leader Wil-
liam Kashtan formed the basis for dis-
cussion by approximately 20 executive
members and alternates who were joined
by provincial leaders and organizers,
local leadership and guests.

Among the meeting’s decisions came
its unanimous approval for a statement
pledging full Communist Party support
for ‘‘the just and courageous struggle of
the workers in the public sector of
Quebec,”’ accompanied by severe criti-
cism of the Levesque wage-cutting
government.

On the economic aspect of the work,
the report observed:

“Canada has been more severely af-
fected by the crisis than most advanced
capitalist countries due to its dependent
and one-sided relationship with the
USA, a situation for which the Canadian
capitalist class is responsible.’’ The cut
in purchasing power resulting from the 6
& 5 program of the federal government,
and kindred provincial programs, have
aggravated the situation.

*‘While investments decline in Cana-

mal YIU TER RY

da, the export of capital to the USA and
other countries continues to grow. This
has led to a deepening of the recession, to
a serious decline in jobs, particularly in
manufacturing.’’
Sharpening Conflict

The report cites the sharpening

conflict between “bourgeois liberal

policies based on some measures of state
intervention in the economy, and neo-

Next week: Excerpts from the
Cominunist Party’s enlarged Cent-
ral Executive Committee Meeting |
and the main report by William
Kashtan as they relate to the Pparty’s
Participation in the broad people’s
struggle for peace and nuclear dis-
armament, for making Canada a
nuclear weapons-free zone, and for
barring the testing of the U.S.
Cruise nuclear missile on Canadian
territory, :

conservative policies based on the mar-
Ket forces; it cites sections of monopoly
who want to let many industries die,
while concentrating on high-technology
but failing to answer to the resultant
hardship for workers.

With every effort being made to inject
pessimism and defeatism among work-
ers, to paint concessions as the only way

TORONTO — ‘‘The Communist
Party of Canada condemns in the
Sharpest terms the criminal attacks
of the Parti Quebecois government
against the wages, working condi-
tions, and bargaining rights of its
employees, and abrogating the right
to strike until the end of 1985. If it
succeeds in the campaign it will de-
Stroy collective bargaining in the
public sector.”’

In these words the Communist
Party launched a critical statement
of the Levesque government, and
the party’s Pledge of support for
Quebec’s Common Front. The
statement came from the Jan. 29-30
enlarged meeting of the Communist
Party central executive committee
and was endorsed by that body and
its provincial leaders and
organizers. :

The remainder of the Statement
follows word for word:

Premier Levesque has already
warned that if the public sector con-
tinues to resist, he will deliver simi-
lar blows to the entire trade union
movement in Quebec. This in turn
would reinforce attacks already
underway across Canada against
workers’ living standards and
democratic rights.

Quebec is suffering from the
Canada-wide and world-wide crisis
of the capitalist System. Instead of
resolving this crisis by making the
big monopolies and multi-nationals
pay, the government is trying to
load the crisis unto the working
people.

We reiterate our full support for

<2

f Condemn PQ attack
on Quebec unions

the just and courageous struggle of
the workers in the public sector of
Quebec. Their general strike in face
of the unprecedented threats of the
government was a last resort in face
of the government’s refusal to nego-
tiate any meaningful changes in the
blockbuster Bill 105.

The workers of the Common
Front in Carrying on their struggle
are at the same time defending the
public services and educational
standards for the whole population
against the drastic cuts embodied in
Bill 105. Bill 105 must be rescinded.

We note with satisfaction the
expressions of solidarity coming
from English Canada, including
the Canadian Labor Congress
president, Dennis McDermott, and
we call upon the entire trade union
movement of Canada, the NDP, all
organizations and religious groups
concemed with the welfare of the
people and the democratic rights of
the trade union movement to pro-
claim publicly their support, includ-
ing solidarity delegations to the
Common Front and other public
sector workers in Quebec against a
regime that has attacked the work-
ing people even more cruelly than
the Duplessis regime. Demand the
release and dropping the charges of
those arrested, fined and impris-
oned. All this will cement unity of
the working class of English and
French Canada.

A victory for the Common Front
is a victory for justice and democ-
racy for all Canadians.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE— FEBRUARY 11, 1983—Page 8

CANADA ™

- Communist fight defends

out, “... one of the main tasks of our
Party is to preserve and Strengthen the

trade union movement and defend.

them in conditions of an ever growing:

monopoly offensive aided and abetted by

government policy,’’ the report stresses.

In his summation at the end of the
two-day meet, party leader Kashtan laid
special emphasis on the fight against the
concessions being inflicted on workers,
first in the public sector and by degrees,
on other workers.

“A main struggle in the Capitalist
world at the present time on the part of
the organized labor movement is to hold
the line to prevent monopoly from taking
away what the working class has won,”
he said.

“Insofar as the working class is able to
achieve that at this time of a growing
monopoly offensive, that’s a Victory for
the working class, a defeat for mono-
poly,’’ which, with its governments, tries
“to get out of the crisis by unloading it on
the backs of the working people — lower
wages, lower standards, mass unem-
ployment. Insofar as the working class

can prevent them from accomplishing |

that it’s weakening capitalism.

“Where it’s possible to make gains we
Should help the workers fight for them,’’
he said, ‘‘and that’s a concrete ques-
tion.”’ And a concrete example of it.was
communist backing of the Chrysler
workers who decided they could make
gains and fought a six-week strike for
them.

In the countryside, as in the cities, the
report declared, “‘the boom which is over
in industry is also over in the country-
side.’’ Working farmers are caught be-
tween their ascending costs and their in-
comes controlled by the monopoly

" system.

WILLIAM KASHTAN

“Bankruptcies, loss of farms, this has
become the picture for farmers in eastern
Canada and will spread to other parts...
a militant fightback in the countryside
emphasizes at the same time the neces-

sity of labor-farmer co-operation against _

the crisis policies of the multi-nationals
and monopoly.”

Mass Backing for Jobless

The report calls upon workers to
“come out in full support of the un-
employed and prevent monopoly from
using its mass unemployment to attack
living standards.’ But unity of the em-
ployed. and unemployed ‘‘can be
achieved only insofar as the organized
labor movement comes out in defence of
the interests of the unemployed ... It
means undertaking a massive campaign
not in words but in deeds, for a jobs
program, for public works, for reduced
hours of work with no reduction in take-
home pay, or for holidays, earlier retire-

labor’s gains

—

Leaflet issued by the Communist Party 7
the ecohomic situation confront
Canadians.

ment with increased pensions for olde!
workers, reduction of overtime withou!
loss of wages, an extension of gene
and vocational training.”

It was emphasized that only mass ae
tion, not simply waiting for an election,
can change the crisis situation of thé
working people. ‘Mass struggle today
will in fact help influence the outcome 0
the election ‘tomorrow’,” the report |
Stated.

The entire weekend was marked bY
lively discussion and efforts to bettef
define the work of communists in labot i
and public movements across Canada
fighting back in the wake of the economic |
crisis and the growing threat of nucleal _
war.

Considerable discussion was directed
to a party slogan for the current period
and beyond the next federal election. It
was agreed after thoroughgoing debate to
give the matter over to the party’s Cent-
ral Committee meeting in the spring for
finalization.

In his summary, Kashtan pointed to
the in-fighting in both the Tory and Lib
eral camps as they: prepare for a federal
election in 1984. He added that there may —
be a process of re-examination of posi-
tions in the New Democratic Party as
well. Our party, too, must begin to pre-
Pare for such an election. The next Cent-
ral Committee meeting should have this
question on the agenda.

In terms of mass labor action, Kashtan
urged encouragement of positive re-
Sponses to the proposed people’s march
on Ottawa for jobs, first advanced by the
Confederation of National Trade Unions
(CNTU).

At the same time, he said, we should

- do ‘everything we can, our party mem-

bers, progressives . .. to put pressure on
the Canadian Labor Congress and the
provincial labor federations for ... pro-
vincial marches, such as B.C. is under-
taking, and all leading up to a people’s
march.”’-

This was urgently necessary it was
pointed out because ‘‘what the govern-
Ment is going to come up with in the —
budget (which may be on the docket in
March) while it may show some increase
in deficit spending, will not end the mass
unemployment that exists. And the bat-
tle on that front becomes as urgent as it
was before.”’ :

A widening of people’s Opposition to
the economic and social policies of the
government and its present foreign poli-
cy, and compelling changes in those
policies, was seen as a priority by par-
ticipants in the Communist Party meet-
ing. ;
‘‘We can make a very useful contri-
bution to that struggle,”’ said Kashtan.