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i | CEANABA
_. Treason charge considered
_ On germ warfare revelation

3 Thirty years ago the Canadian cabinet con-
a sidered charging former Canadian Peace Congress
i president James Endicott with treason, reports the
i: Toronto Globe & Mail Jan. 5.

The story, based on 1952 cabinet minutes, re- a : moe
leased after the 30-year secrecy period, says the ay
cabinet considered steps it could take against En- : MSE€cis
dicott following charges he made that United Na-
ce tions forces in Korea used germ warfare against
yy northern China.
at The minutes show the government looked into
hy ways to prosecute Endicott and was faced with
2% four possible alternatives: treason, sedition,
i spreading false news and public mischief. The
i treason charge had the advantage legally because it
“would not require proving that (Endicott’s)
Statement on biological warfare was false’’, the
story says. However, because treason carried the
death penalty, the minutes show the cabinet felt
ea “there would probably be the greatest difficulty
i getting a jury to convict.”
g

“Nationalize private
lending institutions”

In the wake of federal and Ontario intervention in the opera:
tions of several trust and mortgage companies, the Communist
Party of Canada has renewed its call for nationalization of such
entities. The following is the full text of a joint statement issued
Jan. 12 by the Central and Ontario executive committees of the
Communist Party: :

The seizure of three trust and two mortgage companies by the
Ontario and federal governments, needs to be the subject of
public investigation into the activities and financial transactio
of private lending institutions. P

Many small investors may lose a large portion of their li e
Savings as a result of the manipulations of these companies, aS
savings are only guaranteed up to a level of $20,000. One of the

apartments to undisclosed buyers, prompting speculation tha
the government seizures is directly tied to this purchase. The cos
of these financial shenanigans will be passed on to the renters of
these apartments and may wreck people’s life savings.

Governments must act to stop these manipulations and
guarantee the sanctity of people’s saVings. As a first step the
$20,000 level of guarantee presently in effect should be raised to”
$100,000. The government should initiate a full public inquiry into
the activities of these companies in particular the recent sale of :
Cadillac apartments which will result in Massive rent increases
for apartment dwellers. In order that these renters do not become

The Globe and Mail story doesn’t reveal
whether the government discussed the. substance

of Endicott’s charges which were made following a
trip to Korea and China. Endicott told the world
Press he had personally seen canisters which con-
tained anthrax, cholera and typhoid germs.

Nor does the story say whether similar charges
against others who supported Endicott’s position
(the Tribune, for example) were considered by the

cabinet. It does, however, state treason was con-
sidered at a time when a wave of anti-communism

was sweeping North America led by U.S. Senator
Joe McCarthy.

aS:
Tribune, April 28, 1952.

the victims of trust company manipulations the government
should institute a 5% freeze on all rent increases. q
Finally, the massive financial power invested in private lending |
institutions must be taken out of the hands of private speculators
and manipulators. The full protection of the public requires the
nationalization under democratic controls of all banks and lend-
ing institutions, with the funds thus released used as a massive
investment program to create jobs and build up our country while |
guaranteeing the safety of people’s savings. #

Liberals hit at family allowance

Government expects children
fo shoulder burden of crisis

The federal government has announced it is capping
the increase in family allowances payments at 6%, in-
Stead of continuing to index it to inflation. This action is
being taken without the approval of parliament. The
Tribune recently spoke to Nan McDonald, secretary of
the Women’s Commission of the Communist Party of
Canada about this action.

Tribune: What is your reaction to the government’s
imposing its six and five restraint program on family
allowances?

McDonald: The strategy of the Liberal government was

made clear in 1978 when they introduced changes to the

family allowance program. Then the proposal was to
dismantle the principle of universality. But there was
such an outcry against such a move that the government
— change its tactics and they introduced a child tax
credit.

This new decision to cap the family allowance means
they are applying the restraint program as part of their
strategy; their aim being to dismantle the principle of
universality of the family allowance payments program.
Not only is their intent to dismantle that principle in

. family allowances but also in the old age security pay-

ments, old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and
every social service payment that benefits working
people.

Tribune: Who will suffer under government action of
restraints in family allowance?

McDonald: Who will suffer the most? The children of the
working people and the poor, that’s who will suffer the
most. The government has reached a new low when it
caps family allowances and takes $1.40 per child each
month away from the children of families who need it
most. Right now families are faced with the problem of
taking from their food budget and applying it to shelter,
be it homes or apartments, and that includes utilities and
other basic necessities of life. And it is the children of
these families who will suffer the most if the government
gets away with capping family allowance payments.

I would like to just mention that in 1979, the social
planning council of the City of Toronto exposed the
plight of more than 60,000 children in that city alone who
were living in paralyzing poverty.

Capping the family allowance means less food on the
table, less for winter boots on these cold days. It means
going to school hungry and poorly clothed.

In the city of Winnipeg children in these past two years
were seen lining up at soup kitchens waiting for a hot
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 21, 1983—Page 6

bowl of soup. Last December in the City of Toronto
there was more or-less a‘crisis among the poor as they
lined up in the hundreds at Salvation Army and missions,
looking for extra food to see the family through to either
the next pay day or when family allowance or welfare or
unemployment insurance cheques come in.

Tribune: What can be done to fight this action of the
government?

McDonald: Already the two opposition parties, the Con-
servatives and the New Democratic Party (NDP) have
threatened that should the Liberals put this decision
through both parties will take the federal government to
court — and so they should take them to court for such
action. What is required now to stop this decision of the
Liberals is that the government should be inundated with
protests from every organization across this country —
particularly the women’s movement, the trade union
movement — every democratic organization and every
democratic Canadian. We should be calling MPs, MLAs
and MPPs, demanding parliament does not pass that bill.

We must also see that boards of education, that munic-
ipal councils are contacted and that they also voice their
Opposition.

Let the Tories and the NDP take the federal govern-
ment to court, but they must also stop that bill from
Passing parliament.

Tribune: What should the government be doing regard-
ing family allowance?

McDonald: In these times of deepening economic crisis
and when there are more than a million and a half offi-
cially unemployed, the government should be doubling
the family allowance payments to children. And not only
family allowance. They should be increasing all social
welfare payments to those who need them the most, but
particularly family allowance. There should be mainte-
nance of indexing for all social programs.

Tribune: If we are going to double family allowance,
where would the money come from?

McDonald: The money is there, it has always been there. _

The government has no problem in finding money for
give-aways to big multi-national corporations, and I
would dare say that there are very few big corporations
who operate this country who at one time or another
have not received a handout from government. These
handouts that flow into billions of dollars are from our
tax money. It belongs to the taxpayers. So if the govern-
ment can find money to give to big corporations in for-
givable loans then it can find the money to double family

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The Canadian government's plan to limit family allo-

wance increases will harm our most valuable resource —
our children. :

allowances and other social benefits. That would al
leviate the suffering of the working people and the poor.

But there is another area of funding in the budget that
is very, very seldom mentioned by the government, and |
by the opposition parties. That is the money spent on thé
arms program. It is the only section of the budget thal |
increases faster than the rate of inflat‘on, that which is
wasted on military spending, and which has now reached |
the staggering sum of more than $7-billion annually.

Just think what one billion dollars could do for the
needy children of this country. Think what cutting the
military spending in half would do: $3.5-billion would be
there to not only help alleviate the suffering of those who
need it the most but it would double family allowance |
payments. Money would be there to create jobs.

Why should the children of this country be the victims
of government policy? The children didn’t create in-
flation. The children didn’t create the more than one- |
and-a-half million who are unemployed. The children of
this country did not create the economic crisis that the
country is staggering under right now. ;

Yet we are spending more than $7-billion each year on —
useless armaments. They are increasing the armaments
budget while they are cutting back on family allowance —
payments to children. That to me is an immoral act and _
the Trudeau government has reached a new low when it
Carries out such a bankrupt policy. It takes milk from the
children of Canada and expects them to shoulder thé f
burden of this economic crisis. |

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