FLASHBACKS FROM
THE COMMUNIST PRESS

25 years ago...

CCL HAILS
GENEVA TALKS

Relaxation of world tensions
in the past year is “proof that
war is not inevitable and that
negotiations are neither useless
or a sign of weakness” declared
a policy statement of the
400,000 member Canadian
Congress of Labor,at their con-
vention in Toronto. The docu-
ment also calls for a ban on all A
and H- weapons, the destruc-
tion of atomic bomb stocks and
outlawing their manufacture.

The policy statement while

carrying a good deal of cold war
baggage opened positively hail-
ing the Geneva conference of
the Big Four. It was preceded
- with an important “peaceful
co-existence” address by CIO
president Walter Reuther and
Amalgamated Clothing Work-
ers president Jacob Potofsky.

* Tribune,

October 17, 1955

50 years ago...

U.S. BOSSES FIRE
ON STRIKE PICKETS

MARION, N.C. — Five
workers were killed and eigh-
teen critically wounded when a
squad of armed deputies fired
on striking workers outside the
Marion Manufacturing Com-
pany’s cotton mill.

The night shift had struck
against the blacklisting of 110
men. McMahon head of the
United Textile Workers Union
had failed to inform the pickets
that he had sold out the workers
three weeks previously winning
nothing but the blacklist.

When the strikers came to the
aid of a worker being arrested
by the cops the remaining gen-
darme dropped and fired two
volleys into the strikers.

The Worker,
October 19, 1929

Profiteer of the week:

$46,880,000.

While the people of Canada, the rightful
owners of this country’s resources, were pay-
ing ever more extortionate prices, Kaiser Re-
sources Ltd., Vancouver, recorded a nine-
month profit on its coal, oil and gas operations
(as of Sept. 30) of $48,447,000. in the same
nine months of 1978 their profit was

Figures used are from the company's financial statements.

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

Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive,
Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186

Subscription Rate: Canada $10 one yr.; $6.00 for six months;
All other countries, $12 one year.

Second class mail registration number 1560

PACIFIC TRIBUNE— OCTOBER 26, 1979—Page 4

EIDTORUIAIL

‘COMMENT |
Majority favors Petrocan —

On the flimsiest- “evidence”: the
government-inspired task force on
demolishing Petrocan, under business-
man Donald McDougall, has “proved”
the government’s case for the axe job.
Those who disagree run the gamut
from the Communist Party of Canada,
to the chairman of the Canadian
Chamber of Commerce, and include a
spectrum of views in between.

Basically, the task force wants Petro-
can split; the unprofitable part being
kept up by the taxpayers; the part that

makes lots of dollars going into a “new”

company.

Here’s what the big business Toronto
Star's economics editor, David Crane
says:. “This raises the question of how a
private Petro-Canada would be con-
trolled. McDougall doesn’t want the
government to own any shares in it and
doesn’t want any individual to hold
more than one per cent.

“Thus Petro-Canada could fall under
the control of a self-perpetuating board
of directors and management, that
would be accountable to no one. The
directors would likely always hold
enough votes through proxies to do
whatever they wanted and the govern-
ment would be powerless to intervene.”

The more one looks at the Clark plan

the more it resembles the brainchild of a |
clique of multi-national corporations. C .

of C chairman H.L. Wyatt sees Petrocan
“serving a purpose, and my own feeling
is that it should be left alone ... (it is)
very well managed.”

The Communist Party has long held
the conviction that all Canadian re-
sources should be under public owner-
ship and democratic control — to
guarantee Canadian sovereignty,
development, and to protect the in-
terests of the Canadian people who, by
rights own those resources. Petrocan

Fighter plane deal folly

Any government but one with
dollar-bill patriotism and complete dis-
dain for the real needs of Canada’s
people, would cancel at once the sinister
deal to squander $4-billion on
fighter-interceptor war planes.

Two U.S. mulit-national corporations
are battling it our with pressure on
Canadian Cabinet ministers, to see who
gets the enormous prize.

The planes are not intended to de-
fend Canada. The idea of 130 planes
defending Canada is comical, but prac-
tice proves they will not be stationed
here anyway. At present we have some
100 planes, paid for out of the sweat of
Canadians, in Europe at the disposal of
the North Atlantic Treaty generals.
Close to 100 more are in northern
Alberta and Quebec, subject to U.S.
dictate under the falsely-named North
American Air Defence agreement.

Competition for the new riches is
narrowed to two — General Dynamics
with its F-16 and McDonnell Douglas
pushing the F-18A. The Clark govern-
ment still speaks of a make-believe
$2.3-billion expenditure (1977 dollars)

. the price tag per job would be $167,000

gives just an inkling of the success story
to come when our resources are taken”

out of the hands of the multi-nationals |

and Canadian profiteers. _

More and more Canadians see that.
In a recent Gallup Poll, 54% wanted |
Petrocan in the retail business (only 20% |
objected); 57% said it should do our
international purchasing (18% said no);

75% voted for it to do exploration, |

which it can do without burdening the
taxpayer, if it retains the profitable |
operations. A mere 7% opposed this.
Who then does the Clark government)
speak for? The.answer would be most}
instructive.

“The demolition of Petrocan is a}
sell-out of Canada’s long-term interests, |
no matter how round-about or pretti-|
fied it is made. And while the New
Democrats have acted to preserve Pet-

rocan, there is room for criticism. The |.

100,000 who signed the petition Ed|

Broadbent wheeled into parliament areé | :

to be applauded. Those of the Canadian”
Labor Congress, and others, who col |
lected the signatures should be con-
gratulated. But the NDP knows this is”

peanuts, that a genuine people’s coali- |

tion, from which they shy away, could)
roll up millions of defenders of Petro-
can. a

Petrocan will symbolize the success OF”
failure of the Clark demolition squad;
which. is. recklessly “undermining

federal-provincial relations as well. It).

will take more than motions in parlia~
ment to change this dangerous course. |
Added to the parliamentary struggle,

added to the cartload of petitions, mass _

public outcry, such as the Oct. 27
Parliament Hill demo and much more §
needed. Unity, in the first place of all
organizations of the working people, Hay

decisive in broadening that kind of)

‘a

public action.

but in truth it is now near $3-billion, and
will near $4-billion by the time ®
delivery. :
To placate workers, taxpayers, UD”
employed and everyone struggling |
against a plunging living standard, the
touts promise thousands of Canadia?
jobs through the plane contract. In fach
the government could not begin ©
justify its folly without some sort of J?
trickledown. But research proves th@
peace oriented industry hires more
workers per investment dollar than war
industry, besides if the deal did off
24,000 jobs, as one claim “guesstimate

hardly economical for a once only p07”
ject.
_ That much money put into producinB
planes Canada does need, not sophis
cated fighters, but planes for patrollt
our coasts and fisheries, for freight, for
search and rescue work, for fire-figh”
and aiding in disaster relief at home 2”
abroad, would be a better investme?
But that would not endear the fede
Tories to the U.S. military-indus™
complex to which their loyalties see™
bend.

gO ee IOP BRIE I SO hay heey Pe,

a te Le, ae. ee oe ee

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