EDITOREAL

Economics and politics

What to do next to make ends meet is
the question before countless Canadian
families, as inflation cuts into living stan-
dards, interest on loans and mortgages
shatters family budgets, and the aie
grocery bill ascends to the luxury level.

What some are doing, who can get
enough credit, is to buy what they need
now, even big items, and let the chips fall
where they may.

In the face of extortionate borrowing
rates and soaring prices on all necessities,
and with no sign of improvement, what
the “buy now” response indicates is a
deep crisis of confidence in the economic
system of capitalism. People simply do
not believe that things will get better in
the foreseeable future.

The powers that be pretend that giv-
ing super profits to the monopolies, and
slashing workers’ living standards, will
put the economy on its feet. That is crim-
inal nonsense. The economy is pro-
grammed to multiply profits and soak
the non-monopoly millions who work
for a living — or search in vain for a job.

The government is also working to-
ward imposing another wage freeze. It
may have a fancy name, “tax-based in-
comes policy (TIP)”, but it means that
any pay raises over Ottawa’s imposed

limit would be taxed right out of work-
ers’ pockets.

That is consistent, and in keeping with
the anti-labor, class orientation of big
business and its governments.

If workin ple are demonstrating a
lack of Sane ence in the economics of
capitalism, what of. the politics of
capitalism? If they refuse to expect from
the system a better tomorrow in buying
power or living standards, what can be
expected in labor legislation and demo-
cratic rights?

What kind of confidence can be placed
in a ruling class which is subservient to
the U.S. multi-nationals, and to U.S. for-
eign and military policies which are cost-
ing Canada a million jobs and billions in
squandered dollars?

While the reasons for attempts to
spend one’s way to future security are
clear, only the organized fightback on
the economic and political fronts can

achieve real results for the whole of the

labor and democratic movements. The
government,, and other boss organi-
zations, need to be confronted by united
working people at every step as the
establishment increases the tempo of at-
tacks on living standards, and of hand-
outs to monopoly corporations.

Grain deal is good sense

More than a year after the event comes
federal government de facto acknowl-
edgement of this paper’s accuracy in

dian farmers by shoving through the
U.S.-instigated grain boycott against the
Soviet Union.

First the reactionary Clark Tory gov-
ernment, with its political soul in
Washington, justified the boycott, fol-
lowed by the Trudeau Liberals unable to
stand up to the USA’s attempt to use
food to inumidate Moscow.

Now, far more sensibly, and with
enormous advantage to Canadian far-
mers, and to Canada’s trade balance, the
Canadian Wheat: board has negotiated
the sale of 25 million tonnes (1,000 kilo-
grams = | tonne) of Canadian wheat and

eed grains to the USSR over the next
five years.

charging Ottawa with victimizing Cana- fered for the political grandstanding of

It shows that following the asinine
policies of the White House is lunacy.
U.S. and Canadian farmers both suf-

the U.S. cold warriors.

An interesting factor in the situation is
the evident effort by the USA to readjust
its policy quickly enough to grab a major
part of Moscow’s current grain order,
after leaning on Canada to sabotage such
requirements.

Such trade for Canada with the stable
economy of the Soviet Union can bring
ROIS but benefit to Canadians. Listen-
ing to the propaganda advice of the USA
has always been costly to the Canadian
economy, and to the workers, farmers,
artists and intellectuals of Canada. The

- Wheat Board has shown a better way —
direct dealing with socialism for mutual

advantage.

Munro should get serious

Indian Affairs Minister John Munro
has been rebuffed by Indian spokesmen
in various parts of Canada for his failure
to meet demands for genuine Indian
self-government. Munro’s plan, accord-
ing to Indian leaders, would not extend
beyond the present Indian
“reservations”, and would disregard Na-
tive people’s claims to extensive terri-
tories, claims not yet settled.

The efforts of Ottawa, as expressed by
Munro, seem not significantly removed
from a 1947 government document’s
aim: “A Plan to Liquidate Canada’s In-
dian Problem in 25 Years.” Evidently the
federal rulers do not see that it is not an

Indian problem, but an anti-Indian ©

roblem embodied in government pol-
icies, that needs to be liquidated.

The Communist Party’s insistence that
the Native people, Indians, Inuit and
Metis, participate fully in a constituent
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 12, 1981—Page 4

assembly to draw up a made-in-Canada
constitution has not been superseded by
a better plan. But all parties in parlia-
ment, Tories, Liberals and the NDP are

committed to saddling Canadians with —

the British North America Act.

That aside, the Indians are taking

their own steps, through larger, more
representative entities like the Council of
First Nations, to confront the govern-
ment with demands for a realistic
response.
“The rights of the Native peoples to
regional self-government, to the
development of their own culture and to
control their own resources,” as the
Communist Party maintains, cannot be
put aside for the sake of freeing Ottawa
of “the Indian problem,” as they call it.
The broadest support by all Canadians
for ajust settlement of Native demands is
needed now.

~~“At talks now underway, U.S.

ij ie ee ¥ yeh t Reuss Oe Pate
a Soe ee RN et Cor

Flashbacks .
' OTTAWA GIVES UP MINERS WAGE
SEAWAY CONTROL FIERCE WAR

There seems to be authentic
evidence that the US. is still
trying to prevent the eventual
building of an all-Canadian St.
Lawrence seaway. In dispute is
Canada’s right to dredge a canal
of her own in Canadian terri-

tory.

PITTSBURG — Tear gas,
pistols, machine guns and black-
jacks were the weapons used by —
Hoover democracy to break the _
strike of 15,000 bituminous coal —
miners in Washington county. —

Dozens of strikers have been |
slugged and beaten by company
police during two outbreaks of ©
violence between thugsand strik- ~
ers. a

Army Secretary Brucker  ex-
pressed the American hope of
manoeuvring Canada into a
position where we could not go
into cgmpetition with the U.S.
seaway without American per-
mission.

The Tribune has warned be-
fore that when the St. Laurent
government caved in to US.
pressure and abandoned an
all-Canadian route we _ had
sacrificed control over our great
waterways system. :

The strike is taking place in-
the coal fields of Pennsylvania
and West Virginia and fights”
with police grew out of demon-
strations of thousands of miners —
for the right to picket and their —
determination to break through”
police lines. Twenty arrests”
were made at the Ellesworth —
mine. of the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation. :

Tribune,
June 11, 1956

The Worker, _
June 13, 1931

Profiteer of the week

According to the bosses and the governments they have work-
ing for them, wage increases cause inflation, even when the hike
is less than the inflation rate. So what about profits? Algoma Steel
had after-tax profits of $36,936,000 in the first three months of 1981.
That's better than a 50% jump over the previous year’s 3-month
take of $24,487,000. ;

PiBUNE

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Associate Editor — FRED WILSON
Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O’CONNOR

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