efeat Bill

HE federal government is
seeking to change the fun-
damental law of Canada in re-
spect to the civil rights and
security of the person of every
Canadian citizen. Bill H-8, intro-
duced by Justice Minister Stuart
-Garson, is an attempt to elim-
“Gnate from Canadian law basic
principles which the British law
has held to be inviolate for near-
ly 500 years. With. Bill H-8 the
St, Laurent government is try-
ing to throw out the funda-
mental principle of English Com-
mon Law and replace it with
“thought control” legislation in
imitation of the infamous Mc-
Carran Act in the United States.
The far-reaching undemocrat-
ic changes which give Bill H-8
its sinister significance did not
originate in the committee which
studied consolidation of the
(Criminal Code but in the depart-
ment of justice, Senator Roe-
buck has pointed out that the
changes now proposed go far
beyond the terms of reference
‘of that committee. Bill H-8 is
mot a consolidation of the Crim-
ina] Code, it is a proposal for
drastic revision of the law of
Canada.
_ The changes are evidently
part of a wider plan to extend
and make increasingly autocratic
the repressive police powers of
the federal government. They
are the more obnoxious to pat-
riotic Canadians because the
federal government is introduc-
jing them on instructions from

the United .States—as part of.

the preparations to transform
the cold war into a shooting
war. :

The changes are’cunningly de-
vised to affect the significance
of sections of the Criminal Code
of which the actual* text is left
unaltered. If Bill H-8 is adopted
in its present form, then the
section of the code dealing with

_ breach of contract (Section 365)
will be a direct menace to the
trade union rights of hundreds
of ‘thousands of Canadian work-
ers. L

Combined with the increas-
‘ingly unscrupulous use of the
governmental] “‘conciliation’’ ma-
echinery, that section will be used
to make every worker in public

~\gervices liable to prosecution for
an indictable offense if he or
she goes out on strike.

For the odd case in which

Section 365 cannot conveniently
‘be used, Garson’s bill proposes

By TIM BUCK

to provide the government’ with
legdl power to act against any
person or persons who by “act
or omission’? impairs the effi-
ciency or impedes the working
of any ... “‘machinery, appar-
atus, or other thing,’ prejudicial
to the interests of Canada, or of
naval, army or air forces of a
state other than Canada that
are lawfully present in Canada,

e

The far-reaching character of
the changes proposed is mirror-
ed in the government’s proposal
to change fundamentally the de-
finition of treason and the types
of acts for which a Canadian
can be adjudged guilty of trea-
son, If Bill H-8 becomes law as
it stands, then several offenses
now classified as ‘‘sedition’’ will
be newly labelled ‘‘treason.”’
_In the place of the present
exact definition, which expresses
one of the basic principles of
British law, (Bill H-8 proposes,
among numerous other changes,
that any Canadian citizen who,
in or out of Canada ‘‘forms an
intention”? to do any one of nu-
merous acts indicated in the bill,
will be guilty of treason. ‘

To broaden the definition as
proposed in Bill H-8, the fed-
eral government would be em-
powered to arrest and charge
with treason any citizen who op-
posed armed interference by
Canada in the affairs of another
country, even if the government
had never received authority
from parliament for such inter-
ference, A Canadian could be
charged with treason for oppos-
ing the use of Canadian war-
ships to intimidate the people
of another country even in cir-
cumstances such as. those in
which Canadian destroyers were

used to intimidate the people-

of San Salvador.

It is evident that the govern-
ment is seeking to change the

law in such a way that it will-

be able to charge serious politi-
cal opponents with treason, The
people of Canada could not tol-
erate a death sentence for sev-
eral of the acts thé government
now wants to label treason, as
Bill H-8 proposes to change the
penalty upon conviction from
death, to death or life imprison-
ment.

To make it easier to secure
convictions, the government pro-
poses, in addition, to eliminate
the hitherto sacred requirement

that more than one witness must
testify to a treasonous act before
an accused person may be de-
clared guilty. That and similar
new powers that Bill H-8 pro-
poses to grant to the government
are made still more dangerous

‘by another provision which will
_authorize every policeman to

search any person, any automo-
bile, etc., without a warrant.

The changes are cunningly de-
vised to abolish the. right of
political opposition to, even
criticism of, the aims and policies
of the government, If that right
is abolished then political frees
dom will be destroyed in Canada,
e

The government’s determina-
tion to push these changes
through without public discus-
sion is revealed in the fact that
Bill H-8, a document of about
300 pages, was voted through its
second ‘“reading,’’ before the
members of the House of Com-
mons or of the Senate were given
copies of it.

The bill is now before the
Senate Committee on Banking
and’ Finance. That committee
has the authority to receive dep-
utations, consider _ submissions
and question witnesses. Nothing
less than an effective demonstra-
tion of popular opposition before
that committee will prevent en-
actment of the fascist features of
the Bill. The CCF group in the
House of Commons should be
pressed to fight vigorously
against them, in the House of
Commons and throughout the
country. :

The Labor-Progressive party
urges all sections of the labor
movement, indeed all democratic
Canadians, to challenge the un-
democtatic features of Bill H-8.
It would be a fatal mistake for

any section of the labor move-_

metn, any democratic Canadian,

_ to imagine that the government’s

attempt to revise that law is di-
rected solely against the Left.

History and the current trend
of the federal government’s
policy show clearly that the
changes are directed against the
entire labor movement—against
Canadian democracy. Adopt re-
solutions, telegraph members of
parliament, organize deputations
to Ottawa, organize united local
and national democratic action
to prevent the enactment of the
anti-democratic changes
bodied in Bill H-8.

‘others the judges have been “fixed.”

em-.

ae

-SPORTLIGHT

By BERT WHYTE

CAYTON, THE ACE racing tipster for the Lonaon

Worker, is entitled to walk around this week, saying, “What

Tulyar 2” For in naming Tulyar to win last week's Derby

now pichéd the winners of the first three English turf classics 9
year. This exceptional achievement places Cayton in the very
rank of racing journalists. It also means thousands of pounds
the Daily Worker monthly financial drive, for hundreds of pun
“who follow Cayton’s tips send in part of their winnings to the p

*

WE HAVEN’T got any Cayton on our Pacific Tribune »
but with the racing season due to open at Lansdowne next
here’s a run-down of some horses to watch: ;

Steve Percival’s Worth Silver, now 10 years old (ve
for a race horse) will be back in action, and the popular
grey horse can be counted on to charge through the pack in
stretch on at least a few occasions. It may take a few
to get him ready to win, though.

Bruce. Snider’s handy pair, Pondo Py and Last Drink,
good in training. Teddy Graham pins his hopes on Snap D
a big red horse who is rounding into shape fast. ;
When Speed Kermode’s Eddie’s Boy goes to the post he '
likely. be a prohibitive f@
in the betting. Fit from
southern campaign, the —
should win first time out
probably won’t pay even
The Austin C. Taylor
includes Sco and two good
year-olds worth watching,
Song and Thimble Rigge!
these two in the baby race
Frank Fisher picked up #
year-old grey gelding whi?
California recently, named *
dea, which is expected to =
a good showing. He als?”
the popular Lands Sake |
Brambling, the $28,000
lish horse which proved 8”
disappointment last yea! sf
wake up for Pacific Farms
trainer Johnny Cochlin
on the royal filly, Batten
Johnny Gormley of
Stock Farm likes his 29°
colt, Plovers Call, and *
Chick-Bird. -
Tops with Hastings park
ers is Sirandy, a game 8- at

(0

| who runs with his nea
like a hound. He’ll be in there trying all the way at Lansé E
Veteran trainer Vern Young will send the reliable ™ j
to the post at Lansdowne, also a 2-year-old named Mave"
and the unpredictable Happyland Jr.

Two horses worth keeping a sharp eye on: Food For

a black 3-year-old, and Retrieved, one of the biggest horse?

who didn’t run as a 2-year-old but is in fine shape right De

* Fe.
THE FACT THAT Soviet men and women athletes W

world Student Games in 1951 is worrying the Yankees, who :

to capture Olympic medals in most track and field event®
won’t show to’ such advantage in distance racing, wr
women’s sports and team games. Getting in a sneak pun
fore the bell, a U:S. state department aide recently claim
when the Soviet athletes have beaten Czechs, Hungari@!
Furthermore, sal
Washington loudmouth, instead’ of getting just meda?

Soviet athletes are “paid.”

Eric Wright, sports editor of Reynolds News, wrote
on the above accusation, titled “America (where gamb
trol sport) accuses Russia of graft.” I quote one parab

“It’s nobody’s fault except their own if the Americ?
themselves confronted with the hollow echo of some of OF
talk about amateur sport. There are squads of students ©
universities today, with all their brains in their boots,

‘studying nothing more profound than basket-weavil

angling, in such spells as they can spare between ‘gmat
balling engagements.” : : :

Watch for a special feature next week on Soviet
tion in the 15th Olympiad. i

sag Ke. *

BARGAIN BASEMENT: Who did John
heavyweight title from? Paddy Ryan. First reader © —
the correct answer and win last week’s Bargain Baseme™
was Bruce Johnson, 3850 Royal Oak. :

This week’s question: During his reign as heavyW°
Jack Dempsey ducked a fight with an outstanding Ne
weight known inthe ring asthe Brown Panther. 7am
name? Win a dollar by being the -first reader to mail
correct answer to Bert Whyte, Pacific Tribune, Room
Main Street, Vancouver 4, B.C. iH ka

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JUNE 6, 1952 —

* 2
L. Sulliva?