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Stewart to run

in neglected
Hamilton ward

Don Stewart has announced
that he is again in the alder-
Manic race in Ward 4 in Ham-
ilton.

Stewart stated that although.

the largest and most productive
Industries, including steel, are
centered in this Ward, “in some

‘Tespects the needs of the people

living here are most sadly neg-
ected.” “Broken pavements, bad
Street lighting, inadequate
Schools, lack of recreational
facilities for the youth are some
Of the issues that need atten-
tion,” he added.

“A new approach to the out-
dated method of raising the tax
ollar must be found,” says
tewart. “Big business must be
Made to pay a larger portion of
their huge profits for the main-
tenance and extension of servic-

€s necessary for a modern grow-
Ing community.”

He also proposed that a per-
Son whose property is exprop-
Mated for urban redevelopment
Should be fully protected so that

‘ey do not suffer any economic
or personal discomfort.

DON STEWART

If elected Stewart says he will
work for the “calling of a city-

-wide conference of all interest-

ed people to discuss the present
municipal tax structure with a
view to finding ways of chang-
ing ites]

Stewart, who has been. an ac-
tive trade unionist in Hamilton
for many years, received wide
support in the last two elections
which he contested in Ward 4.

Workers being made

be a public meeting in the
Kingston Hockey Arena, Tom-

my Douglas, national leader
of the New Democratic Party,
charged that the federal govern-
ment and industry are making
the workers the scapegoat in
the eyes of the public for the
high cost of living.

The public meeting which was
held in place of the usual Politi-
cal Action Conference of the
Ontario Federation of Labor at-
tracted some 2,000 people to
hear Douglas document his
charge that “profit gouging” was
the cause of the spiralling prices.
Douglas claimed that 82 percent
of the recent increases in prices
were due to price increases-and
not the fluctuations in the law
of supply and demand.

Douglas quoted recent Domin-
ion Bureau of Statistics com-
parison figures which by using
1961 as 100 show that by 1965

labor productivity in Canada
had risen to 136.8. In this same
period wage rose 135.3, profits
rose by 152.9 or 15 points above
productivity growth. He also
stated that in 1965 wages rose
in Canada by 5.2 percent (wages
and salaries when taken together
are up 11 percent . . .) but profits
gained over 13 percent.

Citing the steel industry as a

case in point, he said that dur- |

ing the past five years labor cost
per ton of steel declined by
$5.36. Overall in this period
the profits in the steel industry
rose by 106 percent.

Sticking solely to the theme
of high prices and profiteering,
he reiterated NDP proposals for
a prices review board and a de-
partment of consumers affairs.
He also called for an economic
planning board made up of con-
sumers, workers, farmers and
management to plan for a fair

New trade policy needed
to develop Cape Breton

By GEORGE MacEACHERN

Cee BRETONERS are far
from united in their atti-
R tude toward the Donald
port which recommended,
among other things, the “phas-
ng out” of the. coal industry
within the next 15 years.

The extension department ‘of
t. Francis Xavier University,
and its followers, think it best
hat the coal industry be done
aay. with and be replaced by
everal new industries to employ

€ miners who would then be
retrained.

To this. proposition William
arsh, president of District 26,
ners Mine Workers of Ameri-
a answers that there has been
‘ampaign going on for years
_ lave new industries come to
es Breton to re-employ the
usands who have been dis-
3 aced in coal and steel and at
BG Closed-out naval base. In
ais of the fact that millions
a8 Ollars have been spent to
ae new industries, permanent
fo Ployment has been provided
" only a few hundred.

inistrict 26 Vice-president
he Dolhanty warned St. F. X.
4 ‘t this could be its “last
eek to influence our people,

ner materially or spiritually.”

Actually, while employment in
a Coal mines is hardly more
pan half of what it was 10
ee ago, they still offer the
ae hope for employment—500

W employees having been

taken on by the Dominion Coal
Co. (Dosco) since last March.
These may have been replace-
ments for workers who had gone
on pension, or left the mines for
other reasons, but, as the Cape
Breton Post pointed out, it

would take a lot of new indus-

try, of the size we have been
getting, to match this.

Some people here are of the
opinion that the investigation by
Dr. Donald should have brought
forward answers to the follow-
ing questions: Where, and to
what extent can imported soft
coal be replaced by Cape Breton
coal? Where, and to what extent
can imported hard coal be re-
placed by Cape Breton coke?
What are the possibilities of a
secondary industry — chemical,
plastics, explosives, fertilizer —
based on the by-products of Cape
Breton coal?

At the present time the coke
ovens here (a department of
the Dosco steel plant) have been
processing American coal, the
coke of which is found to be
superior to the local product for
steel making, but lacking in by-
products.

One result of this change has
been the closing of the Dominion
Tar and Chemical plant which
had operated for 40 to 50 years
and which received all the tar
from the coke: ovens. :

Another result is the closing
of the benzol, toluol, salamoniac
and acid sections of the coke

ovens department.

It is noteworthy that none of
these closures caused even a
ripple of protest, even from
those who are going to -great
lengths to get new industry.

Probably the most important
effect of the change to American
coal is the loss of markets for
the coal, industry. At one time
the coke oven plant used up to
1,100 tons of coal per day.

With most householders con-
verting to oil for heating the
emphasis was being placed on
the possible market in thermal
generation of electricity and
hundreds of thousands of tons
were sold to: Ontario.

Here there seems to be some
confusion. At one time we are
told that our problem is lack, of
markets, again low productivity
and the consequent high cost is
given. In any case we are aware
of the fact that much more coal
is imported into our country
than we produce.

The United Mine Workers is
demanding the fulfillment of the
election promise by the Hon.
Allan MacEachen, that aid to
the extent of $25 million would
be granted by Ottawa to the
coal industry. This money was
to be used to modernize the
existing mines and open a new
pit at Lingan.

In the division of opinion
which now exists where com-
plete unity had prevailed (UMW

leadership and St. F. X. Exten-
sion) it is not possible to ignore
the. responsibility of Allan Mac-
Eachen. Nor can the fact that
MacEachen is a former St. F. X.
professor be discounted when
reasons for the almost all-out
endorsement of the Donald Re-
port is being considered.

Whatever argument the UMW

had for maintaining the industry -

‘we now have, was strengthened
last week by serious layoffs (and
serious rumors regarding future
Operations) in the Dosco steel
plant..

‘Truly, Cape Breton has a seri-
ous economic problem but it
need not have its origin in our
geographic location as we are
frequently told. There is the dis-
tinct probability that its source
may be found in the foreign re-
lations policy of the federal gov-
ernment.

Surely a market can be found
in the newly independent coun-
tries for all the steel and steel

'_ products, all the products which

can be made from coal, as well
as the products from plants yet
to be built, if our government
really wanted to help in the
development of these countries
while boosting the economy of
our Own depressed areas.

A “Made in Canada for Cana-
dians” policy must replace our
government’s subservience to
American policies which restrict
our trade and force our people
into unemployment.

distribution of the national in-
come. :

Douglas sharply attacked
Mitchel Sharp’s cutback of so-
cial expenditures, The postpone-
ment of Medicare he said. was
the “greatest hoax perpetrated
on the Canadian people.” He
Said .that if the government
couldn’t find the $80 million
needed for Medicare they
could have have postponed color
television which cost the tax-
payers $60 million or postponed
the construction of the $160 mil-
lion Taj Majhal for the defense
dept. Lumping the proposed 10
percent tax increase upon the
people with the five percent re-
fundable profit tax (refundable
with five percent interest), Doug-
las asked, “Who cannot say
there is one law for the poor
and one for the rich?”

The speech was classic Doug-
las, a little humor, lots of statis-
tics, with a generous sprinkling
of analogies about the system,
“The Jungle” as he termed it
many times. He likened the sys-
tem to a cream separator with
the farmers pouring in the ma-
terial and the workers turning
the handle, with the owner of
the machine taking the cream,
leaving the skim milk for you-
know-who. He added that the
NDP didn’t want to take the
machine away from those who
owned it, but felt that the’ peo-
ple were entitled to control the
regulater so that we all could
get our. share of whole mik.
Thus in Kingston on Nov. 6,
1966, Tommy Douglas, as he has
often done, homogenized the

‘class struggle.

William C. Beeching, candi-
date in the recent civic election
in Regina, received 1,953 votes.
This is more than double the
number secured by a progressive
candidate in last year’s contest.

He attributes the results to
the stand he took against a pro-
posal for night opening, which
was defeated by the voters, and
to the fight against high prices
which has developed in Regina.

November 18, 1966—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5