The flag

If the French Canadian people
had not launched their democratic
revolution when they threw out
Maurice Duplessis in 1959, we
likely wouldn't be discussing the
flag now, ;

The Anglo-Canadian hierarchy
in the ruling circles of Montreal,
Ottawa and Toronto would have
preferred to let us stay as we
were, flagless and anthemless,
because they know that times are
changing and that you can’t open
up matters like flags and consti-
tutions nowadays without opening
a Pandora’s Box of social ques-
tions,

But they are not in command
of politics like they used to be,
They have had a good innings,
to be sure, and their ability to
dissemble was honed to a rare
edge by Mr. Mackenzie King and
passed along to his pupils like Mr,
Pearson, But, we repeat, times
are changing,

The stupidity that a modern
country like Canada, with the
second highest living standard
and per capita production in the
world doesn’t have a flag or a
song of its own isn’t only stu-
pidity, but one of the problems
history has handed to us for
present-day solution,

kk

Among other things what the
French Canadian people are try-
ing to do is wipe out those rem-
nants of the British Conquest
which deny them to this day the
recognition that they are a na-
tion, not a province in a “British
Dominion,”

Among these remnants is the
British flag, the flag of “Wolfe
the dauntless hero” who planted
firm Britannia’s flag on Cana-
da's fair domain”, as the British
party in Canada avowed whenever
The Maple Leaf Forever was
sung in English schools (Is it
still sung there? We do know
that in the heart of Montreal
there is to this day a street
called Wolfe!)

The preservation of the psy-
chology of the British Conquest
by denying the French Canadian
nation and preserving British
ties in one from another, is of
great value for the Anglo-Ca-
nadian bourgeoisie who run this
country, That’s why they hung
on to the British flag and an-
them and to the Made-in-Britain
Constitution, the British North
America Act, (Under the terms
of that Act, “our” Canadian
Parliament cannot discuss the
new Pensions Bill until a cer-
tain permission is given by the
British House of Commons!)

* * *

It is this Anglo -Canadian
domination, accompanied by all
the institutions and trimmings
of national domination such as
inequality for another's nation
and vaunted superiority for your
own, which is being challenged

_ by the French Canadian people,
Hence the flag issue is now
opened up; so is the anthem; and
so, one of these fine days, will
the Constitution itself be opened

Mr, Pearson grasps the nettle
and keeps an election promise:
A distinctive Canadian flag, Bet-
ter than having to promise a
new Constitution!

As the editor of this paper
said last week, Mackenzie King’s
ghost still walks, For Mr, Pear-
son it would be much to simple
to have a simple vote ona simple
proposition: a new Canadian flag,
Those Ontario half-and-halfers
who want a Canadian flag but are
not yet ready to break with the
British flag, must be appeased—
hence the rider to his resolution
that on occasion the Union Jack
can be flown,

Why not a straightforward mo-
tion and a frank vote, without

the trimmings?
* *KO*

On the other hand, the flag
symbolizes the new role of
French Canada in Canadian poli-
tics and the contribution which
the French Canadian revolution
is making to the whole of Cana-
dian life, A Canadian flag will
be a victory for French Cana-
dian national rights,

On the other hand, the flag
symbolizes that distinctive all-.
Canadian identity which all Cana-
dians take on, especially in their
dealings with other peoples: the
identity of Canada, for French
Canadian and English-speaking
Canadian alike,

Let us hope the flag will stimu-
late anger as well as patriotism
—anger at the ratification of the
Columbia River Treaty while
Parliament was preparing to de-
bate and adopt a Canadian flag;
and at all those who fan hatred
and prejudice among English-
speaking Canadians towards
French Canadians, and among the
French towards English- speak-
ing Canadians — the traditional
division among our peoples fos-
tered by those who profited from

the British Conquest and kept

alive by bigots,

So let us have the all-Canadian
flag, neither British nor French
in design, but truly Canadian, Mr,
Pearson’s design is quite suit-
able, Once adopted it will take
on the mystique of flags and we
shall look on it as our own and
Signifying Canada to the world
so long as nations last,

GA
pppition aes AND

\T ALSO
By ERSINES“* ‘

Unions blocked employer's schelt

in 1964 contract negotiations

By CHARLES CARON’

The plans of big business for
a long period of uninterrupted
and growing profits have fallen
through, As this year’s union
contract negotiations opened all
economic indicators were point-
ing to a very bright picture, As
the Dec, 21, 1963 issue of Finan-
cial Post said, ‘‘We are faced

’ with one of the biggest capital

spending booms in the history of
Canada, This boom is poised to
take off in 1964,’

With this prospect in mind big
business recognized the need for
more trade outlets to take care
of the increased production of the
expected capital expansion, Can-
and’s need for trade outlets, is,
of course, particularly great be-
cause we depend so largely on
export trade for a buoyant econ-
omy, The favourable develop-

ments which

have taken

place in the

world mar-

ket, including

the many

* trade deals

~ between Ca-

nada and so-

cialist count-

p ries,  illus-

trate the cor-

rectness of the Financial Post’s

forecast, It is significant tonote,

however, that this new trend in

world trade arose not because

of the policies of big business,

which are policies of cold war,

but precisely because of the de-
feat of those policies,

Increased world trade quite
obviously is bound up with world
peace, But is is also true that
domestic relationships are af-
fected by world peace, The left-
led unions can testify to the effect
of the sharp attacks which they
endured at the height of the cold
war, On the other hand, the buoy-
ant economy and more democra-
tic atmosphere brought about by
easing of world tensions and in-
creased trade, lent a spirit of-
optimism and determination to
the workers’ struggles,

However, monopoly interests
were determined to cash in on

the present situation and rob the
democratic forces of the fruits
of their struggles,

As far back as June 1963 plans
were laid to smother the resis-
tance of the workers, A labor-

-management conference on in-

dustrial relations was held at
which much to-do was made about
labor management co-operation
and the need for long-term con-~
tracts to further that end, Right-
wing union leaders attending the
conference went along with this
proposal, >

A number of trade unionists
at this conference, however, Op-
posed this conspiracy which had
been engineered by the -Labor
Department on behalf of mono-
poly interests, They pointed out
that labor was faced with many
other problems besides the ques-
tion of wages - problems suchas
mechanization, automation, -
hours of work, etc. The long
term contract would put an ef-
fective lid on che labor move-
ment’s struggles for just solu-
tions to these problems,

The press, of course, took up
the line.put forward by big bus-
iness at this conference and the
stage was Set,

e

The Longshoremen’s union was
the first to negotiate a new con-
tract, They rejected the time of
the Government conference and
set a very good pattern, winning
substantial gains as well as pro-
tection against the effect of auto-
mation, The plumbers’ union
was next, In spite of the fact that
the B,C, Federation of Labor's
convention had decided to co-
ordinate 1964 contract negotia-
tions. the Plumber's representa-
tive, Mr, Russ St, Eloi, who just
happens to be president of the

B.C, Federation of Labor, chose

to ignore the convention for a
five-year contract, Not content.
he appeared on television arguing
that this was the pattern for other
unions to follow, Sure enough,
some unions did just that, The
Sheet Metal Workers, Heat and
Frost Insulators, Painters and
Cement Finishers - all settled
for less money than the Plumber
ahd all for five year contracts,

UNITED JEWISH PEOPLE'S ORDER
- DRAMA WORKSHOP

presents

‘‘THE THEATRE OF PERETZ”’

adapted for stage by
Isaich Sheffer

at the

PERETZ AUDITORIUM
6184 Ash St. (Oakridge)

on June 21st & 22nd at 8:30 p.m.

Tickets $1.50 and $1.00 for students

may be obtained by phoning HE 3-0106

The production is entirely in English

June 19, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUN

However, a number of _ a
were determined not to P
along the garden
Eloi, The Shipyard
example, rejected
conciliation award an
strike for three months.
came out of the strike ae
increase over three yeas a
was a substantial eam ONS
conciliation award,

. @ i
The Civic Employees ON
Workers also reject er fs
projected at the CO eae
Labor-Management ye 0
They also took strike
back up their demands.

of the greatest pressure
Provincial Governmen
Council they emerged we

cut victory.

struggles of these two
workers had a stimulat ;

‘on the whole labor mov

One of the mos
struggles took place int e
union in B,C,, theta ale
however, an internal sa
the one hand was the
“ moderation” advocated fa ¢ |
Moore, regional preside? nal
I.W,A,, on the other, # ft
put forward by the left 10
an end to this line of
sistance, The 1,W,A. nes
committee, under the
of the right wing. prep He
avoid a struggle with the
tors by circumyentiné get oF
conciliation procedure a mf
in the Labour Relations

Instead, “Investigate”

Fisher, of the Labor

was appointed, He came
_the bosses’ deal aie kerry
Moore was to sell to hee .
Quoth Moore; “It is the os ¢
we can get without 4 ae
avenues of propaganda a ee
nessed for the selliné 7) jam
daily papers gladly neat
ing the struggle it Wa és
that even the union $ aan
was used for that purpos” a
er’s proposals were #acc®

neg
12.889 For and 8,607 AB™

4 is th
Interesting to note ?

action of Jack Moore wh «ab
in a television intervie
charges that. the yote
tampered with, “Moore
that while there had ind
some tampering (the
ballots counted exc®™ a
number of members wnt
HE hadn't done it, 2?
more he was not eV
investigate,

jar
During the I,W.A. net ne
a strike broke out % gr
over the right of McM oe
del office employees t0° et!
M-B refuses to reach “pect
ment with these worke!? op
such a settlement wou tho
door to the organization” e
ands of unorganized of
ployees throughout out
thousand workers "ae ch
support of the strike: the
the B,C, Federatio® ; ple
and the N.D.P. are? aj

to all-out assistance ~~
Office Employees’ St!

ke.

One of the most ° a
victories of the 19640 :
is that of-the carpentel ‘se
a 97% strike vote 2!
mination to win thei! wo
the Carpenters won ge
contract with a packae 4
amounting to 574¢ per bar Z
victory of the Carpente” t
out in sharp contra®

See UNIONS, Pea