vsee_ Liberal
aati

Ontario Santa Claus
brought us no gifts

By WILLIAM STEWART

The Santa Claus session of
the Ontario Legislature has
lived up to the election bribes
of Premier Davis and it remains
for Ontario to wake up in 1972
to the bleak post-Christmas re-
ality of unemployment and a
deteriorating economic picture.

After the tax cuts, medicare
cuts and nursery school con-
struction items are stripped
away, there is nothing in the
government legislation to offer
any hope to the jobless or pov-
erty-ridden in the province.

In an obvious attempt to re-
store “confidence” in the finan-
cial community the government
wishes away the growing econo-
mic crisis and proposes no
measures to come to grips with
mounting unemployment—tech-
nological or seasonal.

Smug arrogance over its 75-
member majority government
is clearly demonstrated by the
way this session is ignoring the
real deep-going crisis in indus-
try and agriculture in Ontario.

On the eve of the session the
igovernment unveiled proposals
prepared by an_ Interdepart-
mental Task Force on Foreign
Investment in Ontario. The re-
port takes 52 pages to say what
has already been said before
and is important simply because
it reveals that public pressure
over the issue of foreign domi-
nation has forced the govern-
ment away from the previous
Robarts-Stanley Randall theme
of ‘‘the more foreign investment
the better.”

The report does concede a
fact, already well known to stu-
dents of Ontario economic life,
that Ontario has the largest
percentage of foreign control of
any Canadian province—54.4%,
which is 5.3% higher than the
Canadian average and 6.7%
higher than Quebec.

Aside from this fact and a
general proposal that the fed-
eral government divide the
economy into four areas, one in

which foreign control would be’

prohibited outright, another in
which it would be allowed up
to 25%, a third which would
allow foreign-control up to 50%
and lastly an area where no pro-
hibitions would pertain, the re-
port contains little new.

The proposals in the report
are just proposals and Premier
Davis has announced his inten-
tion to submit them to the Leg-
islature and set up a_ standing
committee to study the entire
matter.

The timing and issuance of
the report suggests that Davis
was more concerned about de-
veloping an “Ontario” position
from which to hassle with Ot-
tawa over some _ inevitable
measures to curb foreign domi-
nation across Canada than any
real solution.

One would look in vain in
either the report of the task
force, the government’s reaction
to it, or legislation brought into
the Christmas session of the
Legislature, for any indication
by the government, and one
should add, unfortunately “ the
opposition, to the dire prospects
facing hundreds of thousands
of Ontario people during the
coming winter.

Having lost a lot of his mar-
bles in the recent election cam-
paign, it was not surprising to
opposition _ leader
Pert Pe ele ei ri iii iit ieee oo tities

ote Baas

38
EPID A

Behind the affluent society.

Robert Nixon playing a some-
what whittled-down role in the
Legislature. It came as some-
thing of a surprise, however,
that the NDP did not use the oc-
casion to issue a ringing denun-
ciation of the government’s com-
placency in “face of the mount-
ing provincial crisis and calls
for action in the plants, farms
and communities across Ontario
to compel both Queen’s Park
and Ottawa to act decisively to
provide jobs or an adequate in-
come for all victims of govern-
ment policies and monopoly do-
mination of our economy.

Evidently the NDP leadership
has not yet learned the lesson
of the past election campaign.
Working class politics will only
defeat monoply politics at the
polls when they are based on
and accompanied by mass ac-
tions of the workers, farmers
and all those affected by mon-
opoly.

However the labor. movement
cannot sit idly by this winter
with the excuse that come
spring all our problems will be
solved with the election of the
NDP at Ottawa. The. Ontario
Federation of Labor and labor
councils throughout the prov-
ince need now to begin prepara-
tions for mass action led by the
labor movement for new poli-
cies to curb foreign domination
of the economy and provide jobs
for all.

Nationalization of the na-
tional resources industry; re-
patriation of major sections of
our manufacturing industry
owned by U.S. corporations; an
auto policy protecting the jobs
of the present work force and
heading in the direction of an

independent car industry; an
agriculture policy free from
U.S. domination, guaranteeing

a net income to farmers equal ~
to the Ontario average wage; a
bold policy to develop our
North; trade with all countries
of the world taking advantage
of the stable market of the so-
cialist countries and extending
long term credits to underdeve-
loped countries. This is what is
needed.

It would have been too much
to expect the Ontario Legisla-
ture to give such a Christmas
present to the jobless, the poor,
the farmers, the workers and
all the ordinary people who are
the real wealth of our province.
However, it is timely to remind
ourselves to include in our New
Year’s resolutions one which
binds us to go all out in 1972 to
win such a program in struggle
against monopoly and its gov-
ernments..

LN

LABOR SCENE

by Bruce Magnuson

1971 has been a year of
deepening crisis for imperialism.
The world revolutionary process
marches on. The world socialist
system, the greatest historic
achievement of the working
class, has acquired new strength,
influence and power on the
world arena. On a world-wide
seale the organized strength
and political consciousness of
the working class have reached
new heights. The world trade
union movement has moved a
long way toward greater solid-
arity and even organic unity
in several sectors. The past year
has also seen the trade union
movement move seriously into
the struggle for peace on a
much wider front than ever be-
fore, particularly in Western
Europe and North America. All

_ of this helps to win millions to

conscious participation in the
class struggle. It enhances the
working people’s confidence in
their strength and ultimate vic-
tory. It will sustain optimism
and determination in the sever-
est trials and even during tem-
porary setbacks.

As we enter 1972, a heavy
responsibility rests upon the
trade union movement and its
leaders in Canada. Contracts
are running out in such heavy
industries as steel, mining and
scores of manufacturing enter-
prises. Bargaining will be hard
in conditions of growing unem-
ployment and increased pres-
sures on workers’ living stand-
ards due to monopoly price
gouging and continued inflation.

To advance the interests of
the workers in such a situation
requires first of all a realistic
program and, secondly, united
action of all working people to
implement it. A continued bat-
tle for wage increases to protect
and extend workers’ buying
power is essential. Equally as
urgent is the continued rejec-
tion of any and all forms of
wage control. Any incomes pol-
icy imposed by monopoly and
its government agencies will be
discriminatory against the
workers.

It can be expected that mono-
poly will exploit to the fullest
extent the present phase of the
scientific and technological re-
volution to reap super-profits at
the expense of workers’ jobs
and incomes. At the same time
they will seek to place the full
cost of economic dislocations
and crisis caused by this selfish
class discrimination on the
backs of the workers, farmers
and all working people.

It would simply be suicidal
for organized labor in Canada
today to follow the advice of
such right-wing misleaders of
labor as Senator Edward Law-
son, Canadian director and in-
ternational vice-president of the
International Brotherhood of
Teamsters. Mr. Lawson has
urged organized labor in Can-
ada to “cooperate with govern-
ment and business if Canada
finds it necessary to follow the
U.S. example and adopt controls
and (labor) incomes.” The Sen-
ator was not speaking for over
60,000 members of the Teams-
ters Union in Canada when he
expressed the view that mem-
bers of the union in the U.S. had
shown surprising willingness
“to share responsibility for na-
tional economic problems,” and
that union. members in Canada
“will not be found wanting if
controls are requested to meet
an economic crisis.”

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Senator

feurete tae be kt Ot ees eee

VT TTT Ae a a n n |

Resolutions for 1971
and CLC convention

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Lawson speaks for the bosses
who appointed him to the Sen-
ate and not for the working
class.

It is the monopolies and their
governments’ policies which
have created the crisis. Work-
ing people had nothing to do
with creating these conditions.
Nor would they help to solve
them by sacrificing their inade-
quate and meagre incomes to
bolster monopoly profits. Indeed
by accepting the “advice” they
would contribute to perpetua-
tion of the very policies which
caused the crisis in the first
place. The youthful senator may
be admirably fulfilling the role
assigned to him by the ruling
class, but he should stop pre-
tending to speak for labor.

A most important aim of or-
ganized labor in 1972 must be
to unite both employed and un-
employed workers in the strug-
gle for jobs and policies of full
employment. This struggle re-
quries action both on the eco-
nomic and legislative fronts. The
principle demands in the econo-
mic section must be to obtain a
shorter workweek without any
reduction — but with an in-
crease—in take-home pay. Along
with this must go the struggle
for price reductions, earlier re-
tirement and increased retire-
ment pensions. On the legisla-
tive front there must be action
taken to secure meaningful
negotiations through collective
bargaining, with the full right
to strike at any times on mat-
ters of technological change in
industries and in business. The
present proposals in the federal
Bill G-253 begin to get at this
question, albeit in a timid way,
but enough to raise a hue and
cry from big business who want
no part of it. Labor must fight
to defend and extend this prin-
ciple in any revised bill during
1972. The battle for similar laws
at the provincial level must be
initiated by the labor movement.

In this era, the call issued by
the Canadian Labor Congress
through its Ontario director,
Harry Simon, to organized
workers to begin negotiating for
a four-day, 32-hour week to
produce one million new jobs, is
the kind of approach to be wel-
comed and heeded by the trade

Pan SEL upe ve be os rie)

_ “All they think about

union movement at this time
Simon’s call on unions tO insist
“that the government at all
levels set an example by grant
ing the four-day week to theif
employees” is a matter to be
pursued in both the economic
and political struggles of 1972.
So is the follow-up on his crite:
ism that “the labor’ movement #6
not keeping up with changing
times,” and the need for stream:
lining, uniting and restructuring
the unions and bringing te?
into political action. This }§
particularly timely advice at 4
time when the Canadian La re
Congress is preparing for its bi-
annual convention next May:
This is the time when thought
Jutions —
and action on the above-men-
tioned subjects. Provincia
ations, particularly the
Federation of Labor, hav
anteed that a lively deba
ensue on civil liberties, com
tional questions, forms OF | deo
tical and economic action, 3
pendence from U.S. dictate
peace, against imperialism a zs
for working-class action to alig
Canada with the new forces e
socialism rapidly advancine:
A stop must be put to plan

teps are
closures and layoffs. S as the

th

e gual f
te will
stitu-

porations, under :
ship and control, including ded
tionalization wherever ne
to ensure economic a@¥ dis"
and abolition of regional
parity. Jobs or an adequate
come for every Canadian a -
right! That ‘must be the slope”
for 1972. mee
‘The struggle for such policr
and for a united autonome
and sovereign trade union ™ \
ment based on class struge
policies demands a stronger f A
united left, the battle for .
should be developed in oa
union. It calls for the orga”

tion of left caucuses wher?
possible: Such caucuses
then have the responsibility ‘
develop and forge alliances,
cooperation and solid4 t i
around specific issues tO de
and advance the interests 9 for
workers. This is the roa
ward in 1972.

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