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-Review *

EDITORIAL PAGE *

Cleanup long overdue

HE return of Prime Minister

Diefenbaker from the London |
~ Commonwealth conference to ad-

dress the national Tory rally in
Ottawa took on the aspect of a
‘conquering hero’ back from the
fray.

Before breaking into loud hur-

- rahs for the P.M. and the ‘pill-of-

rights’ tune he played in the

- ouster of prime minister Hendrick.
. Verwoerd’s ‘apartheid’ (race reg-
- regationist) South Africa, it may

be well to lay the cold-truth on the
line; viz, that the prime power
responsible for ousting racist South

_ Africa from the British Common-
’ wealth was not the Diefs, but an
outraged world opinion at the

atrocities committed against. the
Negro and Colored peoples of South
Africa by a “white supremacist”
ruling minority. With this mighty
power standing by them, spokes-
men for independent African com-
monwealth states were able to de-
mand that the horror of apartheid
be excluded from the Common-
wealth ... or else!

It was that fact, and that alone

which compelled the Diefs, wher-
ever they came from, to ‘stand up
and be counted.’ Even the sauve
and slippery Macmillan of Britain,
who worked long and tirelessly to
hide Verwoerd’s racist crimes be-
hind a flow of excellent English
oratory and. back-room Tory
scheming, didn’t dare flout the in-
dependent nations of Black Africa
or the mighty voice of universal
world opinion.

Gratified with the chief result
of the Commonwealth conference,
the ouster of racist South Africa,
and quite willing to grant any ac-
colades which may be due Dief
for the part he played (with a fine
show of self-righteousness) in this
worthy decision, there are two
items of pressing ‘unfinished busi-
ness’ at home which should now
be promptly attended to.

The first is a thorough clean-
ing out of that Ottawa Augean
stable known as the Immigration
Department, (including the chill-
ing lady in charge) in order that
prospective immigrants may be ad-
mitted to Canada in accordance
with needs, and none barred from
coming to Canada because of racial
origin or the color of their skins.

Pacific Tribune

Editor — TOM McEWEN
Associate Editor — MAURICE RUSH
Business Mgr. — OXANA BIGELOW

Published weekly at
Room 6 — 426 Main Street
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Phone MUtual 5-5288
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Authorized as second class mail,
Post Office Dept., Ottawa.

—

Secondly, while the Dief fever
of ‘self-righteousness’ over apar-
theid is still running high, it is
timely to remind. ourselves (and
him) of the ‘apartheid’ with all
its attendent cruelties, neglect, dis-
crimination and worse, which suc-
cessive Liberal and: Tory admin-
istrations have imposed upon the
Native Indian people of Canada.

If we have no ‘Sharpsville’ -mas-
sacres to our credit in recent times, :
we have something -equally . de-
structive of a proud and - noble ~
people, something more cruel. — a
slow death. by = extermination -
through neglect, racial discrimina-
tion, imposed ignorance, «disease,
and “reservation” (apartheid)
segregation, where the sufferings
of our Indian people can be care-
fully hidden away by Ottawa.

Thus to condemn apartheid in
faraway South Africa, but leave
it to fester in our own land, is
equally abhorrent to decent Canad-
adians as is Verwoerd’s apartheid
to the millions of Negro and Col-
ored peoples of South Africa.

Dief has recorded Canada’s ab-
horrence of apartheid in South
Africa because he didn’t dare do
otherwise. For that much we are
grateful. Now let’s begin in earnest
to sweep its foul ideology (and
practice) from our own land.

A ‘do it

‘HILL 42’, aimed at depriving
trade unions of the right of
independent political action or the
financial: support of political part-
ies or candidates of their choice,
may become ‘law’ this week. Aimed
also -at.--enabling unprecedented
government interference and dis-
ruption in the internal affairs: of
trade unions, Bill 42 represents
one of ‘the most destructive weap-
ons-ever. used by reactionary. gov-
ernment against organized labor.
Aside from wordy opposition to
Bill 42 by CCF-MLA’s in the Leg-
islature and on TV ‘interviews,’
the leadership of the British Co-

‘lumbia Federation of Labor, re-

sponsible to nearly 100,000 trade
unionists, has never even got off
the ground in an effective chal-
lenge to this Socred ‘corporate
state’ bill.

Speaking at a sweat-shop local

union meeting this week one of
these alleged labor ‘leaders’ put
the’ case for the BCFL leadership
in a nutshell when he stated: “Well
brothers and sisters, there’s noth-
ing we can do aboui it. We're stuck
with it.”

On the other hand the Socred
argument, expounded often and
loud by its youthful Labor Minister
Peterson, is based on its touching

v job
concern for the political sail
of labor. It wants to ‘protect’ !
members from having to sup?!
political party or candidate %
union’s choice; to protect "
members during strike 4!)
should a majority ‘hang toug! |
a decent wage hike. Then the)
ernment, under the provisi0l,
Bill 42, can step in and bred
strike under the pretext 0)
tecting” the union memb

The Socred ‘Bill 42’ is |
barelled) Canadian. Cham
Commerce legislation, desig™
hamstring labor in buildit®}
own parliamentary alternall!
the political parties of bis
ness; and equally important, }
voke governmental interft f
and disruption in the field
lective bargaining in an 4}
to compel organized labor
~what the bosses ‘offer.’

Jubilant with their sucet)
B.C. through an oblidging |
government, big business ©
clamoring for Dief to foll0Y)
with similar ball-and-chal")
crees. Meanwhile labor !@)
here and in Ottawa, still fatty
No. 1 job demanded by the
and-file; that of mounting af
ince and nation-wide ©
offensive.

_

Tom
McEwen

OUGHLY, well over three-
R quarters of a million workers
in Canada without a pay envelope,
with nearly half that number com-
pelled to exist on ‘‘welfare’”’ hand-
outs and multi-government ‘sym-
pathy.’ Percentage-wise our job-
less even exceeds that of Uncle
Sam’s official 514-million.

At all levels of government our
jobless receive vast quantities of
“sympathy” while the, ‘“experts’’
juggle ‘“do-it-now” figures in a
vain attempt to prove that unem-
ployment is ‘a state of mind”
rather than an inherent social
tragedy.

“Canada offers a new life...
with unlimited opportunities.” So
runs the headline on a full page
yarn in a recent edition of the
Newcastle - on - Tyne. Evening
Chronicle.

These “unlimited opportunities”
are extolled by a recent immi-
grant, one Allan Ross, now resi-
dent in London, Ontario. The al-
leged Ross blurb in the Evening
Chronicle reminds us of the recent
“Close-Up” TV tear-jerker hoax on
the miseries of unemployment, in

which everything was thrown into
the emotional hopper — except an
organized united stand-up fight
against the monopoly belly-robbers
and their yesman governments.

From this British newspaper
(undoubtedly one of many), we
learn that the Canadian Immigra-
tion Department is busy as a
beaver showing films, interview-
ing prospective immigrants, and
expounding the “great prosperity”
which Dief dangled before the
Trish and British public during his
recent safari in London. Of course
“debt-free” Bennett did precisely
the same on an earlier visit when
he urged upon British blokes far
and wide to “come on over and
share our prosperity.”

Our immigration cadgers have
a formula for “success”, sung to
the tune of Dief’s ‘prosperity’ Te
Deum.

"For the energetic and especial-
ly the skilled worker, Canada
offers opportunities of a new life
in a great variety of directions...
for those with the right outlook
and ability, the scope is as chal-
lenging as it is stimulating.”

Bordering this ChTonicle “come-

and-get-it” booster shot for the un-

wary immigrant are the display
advertisements of the big steamship
and air transport sharks, with
equally large ads by the immigra-
tion brokers, the latter featuring
Canadian films “free”, with Cana-
dian government immigration ser-
vice officials on hand to dish out
the “prosperity” malarkey.

“Consult the experts... abt
this growing land of rich op?
tunity” says one ad, offering ir
fare prices’ and posh accomme
tion, while the B.O.A.C. prom
to “take good care of you.”
doubt! :
Reading the Chronicle “c0)
hither” rhapsody with its ca
dian Immigration Department
so-profundo, it struck us that Pi
haps our three-quarters of 4
lion jobless do lack somethiné ;
“the right outlook and abilil?)
We have known for a long Fr
that organized labor in Cat® |
employed and unemployed alr
have the ability to put an e? if
this evil of unemployment. Its ft
“outlook” that has held "ij
back, fostered disunity and 'f
sion and made it easy for the ch |
latans of big monopoly to reser
workingman as a cipher rat
than a human being.

Now with this official g0¥
ment call to make it as “challe
ing as it is stimulating,’ our # it
ing army of jobless with the if
backing of labor should do /
that. By mass demonstration® 4
fore all seats of government if
constant reminder that pay no
and not relief rolls are the e5% |
of community “prosperity”; “1

ef!

labor and the people to kick
monopoly windbags out of il
seats of power; that will m@) jj
“challenging and stimulatin®

a big way.

March 24,

1961—PACIFIC TRIBUN pt