age article, the national. - | ada, discusses the central problem facing Canadian labor today. BY TIM BUCK Thinking workers will de- plore the fact that very few _of the speakers at official La- "bor Dey celebrations will tell workers why it is that the _reater part of the mass unem- ployment today is not caused _ ‘by automation. They will not explain why ‘unemployment is ‘worse in some industries where as yet, there is little or no ‘automation than it is in indust- _ Yies. where it is most wide- spread. Yet, understanding of this is vital to the labor move- ment because it is at the very root . of the reason why the working Class continues to suffer mass unemployment ~ when the economy is produc- ing “goods and capitalist profits at the highest levels in its his- tory. : _ The main immediate reason for ‘this tragic victimization of the. working class is that the rate of Canada’s economic dev- _€lopment and the fields of pro- duction in which it takes place are not decided in Canada but _ in the United States. This is not. _ because of forces beyond the control of Canadian govern. ments. The federal government could change it by normal gov- _ €rnmental action. “The constitutional process ~ by which it changed the gover- nor of the Bank of Canada, would suffice to change the em. phasis in Canada’s economic policy. In 1957 John Diefen- baker promised to do this if the people would only give nim a Majority. He changed his mind after ‘the election — step by step right down to the sacrifice of the man who had shown the people that what Diefenbaker lhad“promised could be done. THE U.S. ACCEPTS DIEFENBAKER’S Surrender Now, -perhaps because the removal of James Coyne is ac- cepted _as a_ signal that the Prime Minister has discarded “any ideas that he might have had of living up to his election promises, a prominent repres- entative of the U.S. capitalist class has confronted Canadians with a cynical reminder that the sovereignty of this country is definitely in question. - Sherwood H. Egbert, presi- dent of the Studebaker-Pack- ard Corporation of the United States told a Directors Lunch- eon at the Canadian National Exhibition last week that, in his ‘Opinion: “The time has come for Canada and the Un- ited’States to begin to work to- gether ... towards economic imtegrdtion controlled hy .a joint commission appointed by two countries.” In plain English, this means that) in his opinion, U.S. con- trol-of this country is now so definite and firmly established that we should formalize it and “make it constitutional.” ‘IN TWELVE YEARS Some readers may be tempi- ed to mutter “we’ve heard this before”. I must correct them, .‘we have not. The present drive to reduce this country to a raw material producing dependen- cy of the United States got un-. der-way only in 1947-48. The operators of. this sinister anti- {Canadian conspiracy never ad- ‘mitted their real aims. Only the Communists told the people the truth about them. The scheme was launched just as Canadian economy was getting geared to a postwar campaign to expand overseas markets and to help finance, with federal government ‘as- sistance, expansion of Canad- ian industry to take advantage of the markets that were avail- able. It was evident then that the war had changed the pat- tern of . world economy and trade. : : Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘plan to advance- $25 billion worth of credit to China over a 10: year period for industrial de- velopment illustrates the ap- proach to foreign trade as part of a revolutionary expansion ‘of world production and a sub- stantial increase in the stand- ard of living that was encour- aged up to that time. It was stated in terms of international agreement in the famous docu- ment adopted by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin in the Crimea. Canada had not yet extend- ed large scale credits in the areas which, even then, were clearly identified as the com- ing great markets of the world, but the policy of advancing cre- dits to help expand Canada’s overseas trade was already in Operation on a_ substantial scale. All this was scrapped, even to the extent of restricting Bri- tain’s freedom to spend, in Canada, the credits that Par- liament had already granted. The government made a half- hearted attempt to “explain” its sudden about-face by pre- tending that, in return for dis- carding the policy of indepen- dent development of foreign trade, Canada would receive big orders from ‘the United States government for products to be exported under the Mar- shall Plan. -That was not the reason at all of course. The truth was that the United States govern- ment had discarded Roosevelt’s post-war program and had ad- opted in its place Truman’s cynical program of calculated preparation for war — to de- stroy socialist society with atomic bombs if its people re- fused to surrender to the ec-|- onomie blockade by which the imperialists hoped to cause widespread starvation in th socialist countries. Louis St. Laurent accepted | for Canada the role of an ec- onomic and political depend- ency of the United States in. stead of independent develop- ment because he wanted to in- volve Canada in, what he told a Toronto audience in Janu- ary 1947 would be “the most destructive war in human his- tory to preserve our Christian civilization from the spread of socialism.” : The result of the choice, for tH which history will hold St.: Laurent. mainly tematic heavy and secondary manufac- turing industries, increasing E responsible, |} . has been deliberate and sys- |]... restriction of both] cee NLL TAR dependence on export of raw materials, chronic mass unem- ployment and, now, a brazen campaign developing in the United States to officially abol- ish .the lingering element of Canadian sovereignty by plac- ing our economy officially un- der the direction of a joint United States-Canadian Com- mission — a committee of the tiger and the lamb to decide what the tiger should do with the lamb. U.S. IMPERIALIST AIMS The U.S. imperialists are not planning to annex Canada, at least not “immediately. They want to keep the border and the surface appearances of Ca- nadian sovereignty while they exercise complete control over the economic and political life of our country. The fact that this would en- able them to continue to main- tain lower wage levels and a higher level of retail prices in Canada than in U.S. and, there- by, cheapen the raw materials for their industries while in- creasing profits on their sales in Canada, is only one of the great advantages that they are after, TIM BUCK The decisive reason why they are anxious to transform their present domination into form- ally accepted control is because what Canada does in foreign trade, in the United Nations, in foreign relationships — is becoming very important to United States imperialism. For example, if Brazil asser- ted its independence and -adop- ted a policy based firmly on the struggle for peaceful coex- istence, full Canadian support. could assure success for Brazil. If Canada adopted a policy of no nuclear weapons on Can- adian soil or for Canadian arm- ed forces, that decision would exert a tremendous influence on the negotiations for a ban on the testing of nuclear weap- ons and even on the possibility for an agreement on universal general disarmament, If Canada adopted a policy of neutrality, it would be a body blow at the whole idea that in- ternational disputes can be gle. . bor Must Lead Fight For Independer Gato Be anus Party of Can- Each of these would be fully in accord with Canada’s best interest both immediate and long-term. In fact, they illus- trate the type of national pol- icy towards which life impels all patriotic, thinking Canad- ians, Until now the U.S. imperial. ists have been=able to prevent us from adopting policies bas- ed squarely on Canada’s inter- ests by the operation of the policy misnamed: ‘Canadian- U.S. Integration.”’ Today, how- ever, the evil effects of this on the Canadian people are be- coming so evident that a mass patriotic revolution against it is to be expected. The wide response to the speeches delivered by James Coyne showed elements of this revulsion in the ranks of the capitalist class. The strong bat- tle that was waged by the more progressive circles of the New Party movement for a policy typified by Canada’s withdraw- al from NATO and NORAD, and the wide support that this proposal received all across the country shows that life is as- serting itself, The pressure of events, our almost universal desire to avoid nuclear war—to survive—are combining fo unite the majority -|0f democratic Canadians in a great patriotic desire to adopt an independent Canadian for- eign and domestic policy — to again be Masters in Our Own Home. THE ALTERNATIVES The U.S. imperialists: want to head off the trend that is devel- ‘oping across Canada, literally at the. grass roots. ‘Action now could re-establish Canadian Independence in con- ditions at home and on a world Scale that would enable an in- dependent Canada to prosper in the fulfillment of her domes- tic sovereign role. The alterna- tive to strengthening the politi- cal struggle for Canadian inde- pendence is to sink with gath- ering speed, into the complete and acknowledge control of the war department of the United States, | LABOR MUST LEAD For jobs, for opporiunity, for social progress, for our physi- cal survival, the immediate necessity today is to re-assert ‘Canada’s independence. The task of uniting all patriotic’ Canadians to accomplish this, devolves now upon the labor movement and its allies, This is so because the work- ing people have the most at Stake in Canadian independ- ence and, also, because it is evi- dent now that the capitalist class will not lead such a strug- September 8, 1961—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Pa! | aspect ‘applauded James Coyn he showed how Canadé be freed from U.S. dom ‘without necessarily w the profit system. ; é But, they did not ta action against the gover sudden sacrifice of Coyne, even a united whimper, cause the Diefenbaker gove™ ment allowed it to be W* known that the political heading of Mr. Coyne was" dertaken to soothe the fea the United States governm _ The capitalist class in da is trapped in the fatal tradiction that in “its OM system in. this country dominant capitalist influe is no lenger Canadian but | In their shortsighted gree! quick profits Canadian capi ists, as a class, have sold country. : Many of them want | de for Canadian ‘independe? some will support such ae! when it is developed. But, 4 class, they will not lead fight. Canadian capitalists not lead the country to? they have sold out. Canadian capitalists 2° class, are collectively, $8? what in the position of the ™ who sells out the business his father established and S! on in the pay of the interé which bought it to justify ™ tention of the family name, UNITED LABOR CAN Wi One of the lessons Wa must be made clear t0! members of the trade ue movement is that the work people of this country will x the living standards, job s© ity and security in old age, V we desire only to the that the trade union move?” enters into the struggle: Canadian independence. — When the organized : movement does inscribe | adian Independence” 0 | -banner, then it will be ¥ Then we will be able to wi the things that are preve now by Canada’s accepian< United States domination. Proposals for trade UW, action in support of Canae- independence, to prevent ac by the U.S] and Canadian & ernments such as propose® © Sherwood Egbert, should put forward in every meeting. Political action should b® itiated in every constitv club of the New Be Party. Now with Cy Democratic Party establish in every province, comb: trade union and political 2™ could unite the majorit, patriotic Canadians in cratic action in one OF of the struggle Peace, Jobs and Dem0e Progress through Canadian dependence. x It is true that the maj of the International Pres" and their representative? _ Canada, are opposed 10 action that might weaken” ited States domination 9° country. But, overcoming this * tance in the struggle for adian Independence WwW one of the most decisive by which Canadian trad@ ionists will establish right to independent tra ion action also. : This is one of the ma sons from the world and Canadian situation this de © Day.