—~

HE Canadian Labor Con-
gress has launched a cam-
paign to stop the under-

Mining of a Canadian medicare
Plan for the Canadian people. In
4 news release the CLC said:
“Since the tabling of the Hall
Commission’s report in 1964,
there has been a very well fin-
anced political lobby headed by
Surance companies, medical
4Ssociations, and supported by
boards of trade and chambers of
Commerce, to stop the imple-
Mentation of the Hall Commis-

sion’s recommendations. The re-
sults of this lobby are now be-
ginning to show up across Can-
ada and there is a very great
danger that the pressure may be
sufficient to have the govern-
ment renege on its pledge to the
Canadian people.

“This must not be allowed to
happen. If the government does
not implement the legislation, a
grave disservice will be done to
the Canadian people who have
waited so long for proper medi-
cal care to be made available to

HAMILTON UE PROTESTS 10 ROBARTS
The Hamilton Legislative Committee of the United Elec-

tical Union wired Premire John Robarts at Queen's Park
rotesting in no uncertain terms the action taken by the
Conservative government of Ontario to deny the benefits
of a national medicare plan to the people of this province
and at the same time indicating substantial increase will
be made in the cost of Ontario Hospital Services premiums.
_ Legislative Chairman Jim Brown stated the wire said:

‘This organization, representing some 7,000 Hamilton and
‘Grea workers strongly protest your action preventing medi-
are for Ontario. We dispute your reported statement this
_ action reflects the desires of the people of Ontario. Nation-

medicare is desired by our members and workers gen-
y. Your government acting in retrogressive manner
pping state medical i insurance and proposing increase —
O.H.S. premiums. Your government piling tax on tax.
Sool welfare demands lessening of tax burdens now.”

Hamilton UE Legislative Action Committee,
: Es Brow

Chairman”

them as a matter of right.”

The CLC has set the ball rol-
ling issuing a card to be ad-
dressed to your MP, which says,
“I call upon the government of
Canada to keep its pledge made
to the Canadian people when
Bill C-227 was passed by the
House of Commons on Decem-
ber 8, 1966. The Act provided
for the introduction of universal
medical services administered
by provincial governments by
July 1, 1967. An amendment de-
layed the starting date to July
12219688

“No further delays can be
tolerated. Keep the promise to
the Canadian people.”

Samples and bulk quantities

of these cards may be obtained —

from your local labor council,
provincial federation of labor or
the Canadian Labor Congress.

The CLC further urges “local
unions should endorse resolu-
tions for submission to the fede-
ral government and their respec-
tive provincial governments. In
addition to supporting the fede-
ral campaign, the provincial fed-
erations of labor should arrange
meetings with the provincial gov-
ernments and members of the
provincial legislatures. Coopera-
tion of other groups should be
encouraged.

“There is still time to stop
the multi-million dollar anti-
medical services lobby by an
active campaign by the people of
Canada.”

Ottawa group to ‘save medicare

GROUP of citizens in Otta-
wa are gathering support
for a movement to save
Medicare. Their actions will be
aimed at persuading the Pearson
8overnment to commence the
Medicare plan on July 1 of this
year with no further delays.
Advertisements were run in
the January 27 issues of the
three Ottawa newspapers which
asked the public to write to the
government and to the members

of parliament in support of medi-
care.

Reverend Hallam Johnston, an
Anglican Chaplain, said he and
others in the group are disap-
pointed with the way the gov-
ernment is handling the medi-
care issue. He said he will col-
lect 1,000 names of support for
the plan.

Others in the group include
Roman Catholic, United Church
and Unitarian clergymen, a Rab-
bi, a history professor, an asso-

ciate professor of hospital ad-
ministration, an official of the
Canadian Union of Students,
welfare officers, an official of
the local Social Planning Coun-
cil and housewives.

The federal government had
decided to undertake a review
of the plans to implement the
national medical service plan on
July 1, 1968. The plan has al-
ready had one postponement and
the citizens group is against fur-
ther delay.

for the ‘majority in order. to enable a few
: the services remain. inadequate.
Bruce Magnuson, ‘Ontaiio Leader
_ Communist Party, January 26, 1

English Canadians look at Confederation

HAT happens when a
group of English-Cana-
dians get together to dis-

Cuss the crisis of Confederation?
A small example was provided
last weekend when the Winter
Conference of the Canadian In-
Stitute on Public Affairs was
held in Toronto with about 200
Participants.

Titled “‘Action for Unity” the
conference quickly moved to
answer the question posed from
French Canada, “What does
English Canada want?” and
Came up, after much palavar,
With a unanimous statement far
more positive than some of the
early sessions indicated.

When Dean I. L. Campbell of
the Faculty of Arts of Bishop
University in Lennoxville got up
to speak in the third session he
expressed his concern with the
reaction to that point to the
crisis of confederation by saying
that he expected to be putting
forward. )a)conservative view-

point, =-bat found his- position -

quite radical. His view was that

English Canada needed Quebec
a lot more “than Quebec needs
us.” He criticized the attitude of
“siving things to Quebec.”
We've got to adopt policies he
said that will allow for their na-
tional state and not be hung up
by people like Wacky Bennet
who refuse to agree that any
change can be made.

The statement said:

e The BNA Act is out of date
and unsatisfactory in many res-
pects to English-speaking as
well as French-speaking Cana-
dians.

e We accept with enthusiasm
the challenge to write a new
constitution or at least under-
take fundamental reforms of the
BNA Act.

e Existing institutions. are
open to scrutiny and debate.

e One approach to fundamen-
tal unity is by seeking a new
formula for Canadian Confede-
ration expressing today’s reali-
ties;'just as the Fathers xf Con-

federatidni.in 1867 abandoned

the previous formula of govern-

ment and created a new one.

The absence in the roster of
speakers of any from French
Canada made certain that in-
stead of a constant barrage of
“what does French Canada real-
ly want” the participants had to
examine seriously how they
viewed the future. Expressions
of extreme Anglo-Saxon chauv-
inism were rejected, but not
without the clear fact being re-
corded that the proposals of the
Royal Commission on Bilinqual-
ism and Biculturalism were ter-
rifying to many who are con-
vinced that an Englishman “can
never learn French.”

Generally though, there was a
consensus that the Bi-Bi report
should be implemented but that
it did not get at the guts of the
real issue: the rejection of the
status quo by French Canada.

As Professor Walter Tarno-
polsky of Osgoode Hall Law
School put it:

~ “Ita is ° difficult to’ avoid’ the

overused term ‘crisis in iconfede- °

ration,’ because any phrase one

could choose which does not re-
cognize that we are in the midst
of such crisis would incorrectly
describe our current situation.
We are at the start of at least a
decade of fundamental change
in our constitutional structure.
No political party in Quebec is
prepared to accept the status
quo.”

Another view in this same
direction was expressed by one
of the labor leaders present.

William Dodge, executive
vice-president of the Canadian
Labor Congress, urged drastic
constitutional changes. But he
said he -believes English Cana-
dians “suffer from a sense of
superiority” that leads them to
support the status quo.

The final session, and easily
the dullest, was a CBC-CIPA
co-production, where represen-
tatives of the political parties
were questioned by the aud-
ience. Equivocation was certain-

ver “what change.” Liberal
Walter Gordon felt there was
only the need for some small
amendments to the BNA Act
(probably along the lines of the
Bi-Bi recommendations) and the
Conservative spokesman. Dalton
Camp was equally vague, ex-
cept that if French Canada
should separate, we would have
to “go down to Washington.”

This aspect of CIPA confer-
ences which turns serious mind-
ed people into a foil for CBC
shenanagans can only be de-
plored, Either the public affairs
broadcasting in this country can
allow for filming a serious de-
bate, or the CBC can find some
better way to provide for a stu-
dio audience.

That aspect aside, the confer-
ence was thought provoking. It
may well be the forerunner of
serious consideration in English
Canada of the reality of the ex-
istence of two nations in Cana-

uy the order: ofthe day. NDPery uday and: that unity:in action for
David Lewis? favored -change,2iconfederation. imust ‘start. from

albeit it was a bit hard to disco; fhat FS. g 260; eA

FEBRUARY 9, 1968—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page -

bil idl