Special to the Tribune
OTTAWA — Not only was the
CLC March 22 rally on Parlia-
Ment Hill the most massive dis-
Play of labor unity and support for
the CLC’s opposition to federal
80vernment wage-cutting mea-
Sures that Ottawa has ever wit-
hessed, but it is also the first time
mn Tecent history that such a large
Contingent of workers from
ebec had come to Ottawa to
Present their case.
Estimates at the size of the
Quebec delegation set it at about
0,500 or about 30% of the overall
attendance of 35,000:
: Of equal significance was the
act that all three Quebec labor
Centrals, the Quebec Federation
1 “ Labor (FTQ), Confederation of
ational Trade Unions (CSN),
and the Quebec Teachers Central
(CEQ) participated and called on
their affiliates to participate in the
uly and in actions connected
With it.
All schools in the province
m the primary to the Commun-

March 22, 1976, will long be
_Temembered as a turning point in
developing mass actions by
qoatdian workers against the
Isastrous policies of monopoly
Capital and their governments in
, ada. Never before have the
Tganized workers of this country

of Spite all the raving and ranting
ns the controlled mass media and
€ double-talk of the capitalist
frliticians, the mass demonstra-
a of 35-40,000 organized work-
Tepresenting a cross section of
Br € union organizations from
“Nitish Columbia to the Mari-
€s was by all standards an out-
ding success.
ite? this demonstration, and by
° Presentation of*its memoran-
Um to the Trudeau government,
© Canadian Labor Congress
d Made it unmistakably clear that it
Me not cooperate with the farci-
L So-called ‘‘anti-inflation pro-
em which seeks to solve the
Re cemio problems created by
work capital by forcing the
Ing people and the eco-

omically powerless to shoulder
t

_ the burden.
5 This bears out fully the correct
Ppraisal of the situation facing
_ J€ working people of this coun-
! and how to cope with it, which
4s made in a report to the Cen-

gf tral Committee of the Communist
a Wilk, by its general secretary,
ef Uiam Kashtan, last January.
| € following is a section taken
3 mM that report:

th Events in Canada show that
’, “2€ working class is increasingly

5 ae center of the struggle
4inst monopoly, indeed the

displayed greater solidarity. .

ity Colleges (CEGEP’s) were
closed as teachers heeded the call
to. take part.

The Common Front of the
three centrals, presently negotiat-

ing with the provincial govern- .

ment for the province’s public
service employees, called on all
workers who have the legal right
to strike, to take the day off in
protest over the government
wage-cutting program, and to ex-
press solidarity with the CLC pos-
ition.

The call was answered by
120,000 workers across the pro-
vince including 9,000 Quebec
Hydro workers who are not part
of the Common Front but who
called a one-day general strike in
solidarity with the CLC presenta-
tion.

In Quebec City the CLC brief
was presented to the National As-
sembly with a demonstration out-
side the legislature of about 2,000,
representing the three labor cen-
ters.

At the demonstration itself the

very heart of the anti-monopoly
struggle. By its actions it is show-
ing it is better able to defend itself
than previously. This in tum
creates difficulties for monopoly
to resolve the crisis at the expense
of the working class and working
people.

‘‘This should find reflection at
the forthcoming CLC Congress in
Quebec City which must take the
struggle against the crisis policies
of monopoly another step for-
ward and work for the formation
of an alliance directed to defeat
this program and advance the
struggle in defence of the vital in-
terests of the working class, in-
cluding collective bargaining
rights and right to strike, democ-
racy, détente and independence.

“May Day this year ought to
reflect the prospects of ever
widening unity of action against
monopoly. :

‘The present situation places
great responsibilities on the
Communist Party.

“Its task is to show the working
class and working people that the
only long term solution to the
crisis, which is a crisis of the
capitalist system, is a fundamen-
tal reorganization of society, the
achievement of political power of
the working class and its allies, a
planned economy based on public
ownership.

‘“‘While presenting this funda-
mental solution to the crisis, we
advance a set of policies which
can be implemented immediately,
policies which can protect the
working people to some degree
from the effecfs of the crisis:

re
re <
we

Working class at
centre of struggle

TRIBUNE PHOTOS

They marched 10,000 strong across the bridge to join their brothers and sisters ...

leaders of the three centers, Louis
Laberge, Marcel Pepin and Yvon
Charbonneau of the FTQ, the
CSN, and the CEQ respectively,
met in Hull across the Ottawa
River from the capital where the
Quebec delegation formed up,
and marched into Ottawa to-
gether.

Witnesses to the march say that

- the first contingent of marchers
was alriving on the Hill; marching
four to six abreast, as the last con-

e ‘Adopt legislation to prohibit

further price rises; institute price .

and rent controls; undertake gov-
ernment subsidies on essential
foodstuffs where necessary; prose-
cute the profiteers;

e “Implement the 30-hour
work week at 40 hours pay; under-

tingent was leaving the bridge
linking Ottawa and Hull.

All three trade union centers
were prominent on the Hill and
the depth of the delegation was
reflected in the banners and signs
which identified representation
from all corners of Quebec, as
well as the big industrial centers.

The scope of the workers’ re-
sponse for solidarity elicited
nervous reactions from provincial
government and business circles.
A. Dufour, -president of the
Employers Council of Quebec,
one of the province’s biggest
employers’ organizations, called
on the government and employers
to exercise the fullest measure of
the law in reprimanding the par-
ticipants in the rallies and work

take a vast housing program of | ©

400,000 units annually for low and
medium incomes;

e “Extensive trade with social-
ist and other countries on a mutual-
ly satisfactory basis;

e ‘Undertake democratic con-
trol and public ownership of the
U.S. branch plants and resources
in Canada, the banks, trust and
insurance companies.

“Tn addition to these demands
we should, around the slogan of
‘Put Canada Back To Work’, call
for a program of environmental
‘and pollution control, transporta-
tion, communications and energy
development on an all Canadian
scale, in short, an economic and
social program directed to expand
the economy, strengthen the in-
dependence of Canada, achieve
jobs at rising standards for the
working people and a redistribu-
tion of the national income in
favor of the people.

“The program we advance; at
this stage is a democratic, not a
socialist program. It is geared to

\the struggle for democratic
nationalization, democratic plan-
ning and a democratic coalition.
Only such a democratic coalition
and a government based on it can
open the door to a new path of
development for Canada and take
it out of the crisis.”’

stoppages across the province.

Many workers told of threats
and intimidation by their
employers for any workers taking
the time off.

Quebec premier Robert

Bourassa, squawked that the
CLC’s action was ‘‘useless and
costly for workers and that it
wouldn’t help them to gain any-
thing.”
QTF president Louis Laberge
interviewed March 23, said that
the CLC rally was an historic
event because of its size, because
for the first time the three labor
centers cooperated with the CLC
in this manner, and because
workers from Quebec responded
so magnificently in joining their
English Canadian ‘‘brothers’’.

REGINA — About 100 trade
unionists demonstrated in the
morning of March 22, in front
of the Saskatchewan legislature,
in support of the Canadian
Labor Congress mass demo in
Ottawa. :

In a meeting in the rotunda of
the legislature, Larry Brown,
Saskatchewan Federation of
Labor secretary, presented
Minister of Labor Gordon
Snyder with a copy of the CLC
brief to the Trudeau Govern-
ment, and a brief statement of
support from the SFL.

Brown said that workers all
across Canada are opposed to
wage controls and the SFL
hopes that the Saskatchewan
New Democratic Party Gov-
ernment does not make the
same mistake being made by the
federal minister of labor in

Regina unions speak

thinking the rank and file work-
ers do not oppose wage controls.

Snyder stated that some of
the concerns of labor are also
concerns of the NDP. He said
there is bound to be only rough
justice from a wage and price
control program under which
wages are more easily control-
led than other elements.

A chant: Wage controls must
go! was the applause his address
received. A great cheer went up
when someone announced the
unexpectedly large demonstra-
tion in Ottawa.

The capitalist media have not
picked up the fact that three
NDP MLAs have publicly taken
a stand against wage controls in
contradiction to the NDP Gov-
ernment’s support of them.
Among the three are Bey Dyck
and John Skoberg.

*

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 2, 1976—Page 5