Liberal-Tory ‘gang-up'
in Ontario election

Speaking at an election meet-
ing last Sunday, Ontario Liberal
leader Robert Nixon stated that
the Ontario Liberals did .not ex-
pect to be elected on Oct. 21,
but thought they would wind up
as the official opposition with a
larger block in Queen’s Park.

Considering this to be a some-
what unusual statement for a
political party leader in the
course of an election campaign,
the Canadian Tribune interview-
ed William Stewart, Ontario
Leader of the Communist Party
on the matter.

“Mr. Stewart, what is your
reading of the statement attri-
buted to Mr. Nixon about his
party’s chances in this elec-
tion?’”’, we asked.

“It is nothing more nor less
than an open call for the re-
election of the Tories in Ontario
with the bone of official opposi-
tion thrown to the Liberals.”

“Do you consider this action
a sudden decision of the Libe-
rals, and if so, why would they
have made it now?”

“No it is not a sudden deci-
sion. At an election rally earlier
last week I accused the Liberals
and Tories of ganging up behind
the scenes to offset the growing
polarization of the labor and
democratic vote around the
NDP and Communist candidates.

“An examination of Ontario
ridings shows a clear pattern
which adds up to a Tory-Liberal
deal. It works like this. In my
riding (Wm. Stewart is Com-
munist candidate in Dovercourt,

Stop layoffs!

HAMILTON—In an interview
published in the local press last
Saturday, Donald Stewart, Com-
munist Hamilton West candid-
ate in the Ontario elections
said, “The provincial and fe-
deral governments should call
an immediate moratorium on
the layoffs until an agreement
can be reached with General
Motors.”

Accusing GM of “callous dis-
regard” for the 2,000 workers
whose jobs the company plans
to cancel out Nov. 1 in Ontario
and Quebec, Stewart stated the
auto workers should take ‘mass
action” led by their unions “up
to and including refusal by them
to accept the layoffs.”

“The profit figures of big
business,” he dechared, ‘just
don’t justify this action ...A
stop must be put to our subser-
vient policy to U.S. big business
and its attendant unempoly-
ment and misery.”

Toronto) where a Liberal, Del-
monte, is the sitting member,
the Tory candidate is a weak
sister who is designed to take
as few votes as possible and to
avoid any threat in that riding
to defeat the old-line parties.
This pattern is evident across
the province with the Liberal
playing down those ridings
where by running a strong can-
didate it would increase the
chances of the NDP being elect-
ed and the Tories doing the
same thing in Liberal-held con-
stituencies.”

“Do you anticipate that this
behind the scenes cooperation
will become more or less
evident as the campaign prog-
resses?” the Tribune asked. “Mr.
Nixon’s statement indicates it
will become more _ obvious,”
Wm. Stewart replied. “The su-
perficial differences between the
Tories and the Liberals will give
way to unity against the pos-
sibility of the NDP occupying
the seat of power at Queen’s
Park and Communists resuming
their places in the Legislature.
The ongoing crisis in Ontario is
making it impossible, as we pre-
dicted, for the old-line parties
to avoid the real gut issue of
economic and social policies for
the province. In these circum-
stances they are apprehensive
about a three-way fight with the
reactionary vote split between
them.”

“Mr. Stewart,” the Tribune
turned to another question,
“how does your party regard
the emergence of the Edmund
Burke Society in this election
and the news that its local
fuehrer Paul Fromm has been
elected as provincial head of the
Social Credit Party?” “We re-
gard the matter as one of great
urgency. It is dangerous—even
more, suidical — to pass off
people like Paul Fromm as nuts.
That’s how many appraised
Adolph Hitler. To the Edmund
Burke society, operating through
the Social Credit in Ontario and
running candidates openly in
this election, we can add vari-
ous other fascist or ultra-Right
groupings that operate here.
Together they pose a_ serious
threat to democracy in the pro-
vince and call for strong action
by the people. What is also de-
manded is action by the On-
tario attorney-general to crack
down on_ such _ organizations

-and people. It is a travesty to
the memory of those Canadians
who gave their lives in the war
against fascism to allow such
scum to appear on the ballot
supposedly in
democracy.”

the name of

DONALD STEWART is a pro-
minent trade unionist, a mem-
ber of the International -Bro-
therhood of Electrical, Workers.
A lifelong resident of the city,
he is presently a full-time of-
ficial of the Communist Party
working in Hamilton. Mr.
Stewart has played a promi-
nent role in municipal affairs
in the city, running for alder-
man and Board of Control. He
has led a consistent fight to
have school costs removed
from property taxes and to
shift the tax burden to big
companies like Stelco. He is
married and the father of two
children.

Don Stewart
speaks

Sunday, Oct. 3 — CHCH-TV
program “Full Circle,” 1:00-2:30
p.m. when all Hamilton district
candidates have been invited to
speak.

Tuesday, Oct. 12—A_ public
meeting sponsored by the Ham-
ilton West Community Council
in the Prince Philip School
where, starting at 7:45, all
Hamilton West candidates will
participate.

Thursday, Oct. 14—A meeting
at McMaster University to which
political science students have
invited all Hamilton candidates.

Make Niagara Peninsl
‘a garden once agall

ST. CATHARINES — John D.
Clout, Communist candidate in
Lincoln riding, took Robert
Welch, Tory minister of educa-
tion and his opponent in the
election, to task for shedding
crocodile tears ‘over the condi-
tions of the farthers in the area
while being party “to policies
that have brought ruin to thijs
once flourishing countryside.

“Your recent statements con-
cerning the plight of Ontario
farmers and in particular Nia-
gara fruit growers are criminal
considering the complete dis-
regard you and your govern-
ment have shown for the plight
of Ontario farmers,’ he wrote
Mr. Welch.

“The fact of the matter is that
you and your government have
no farm policy for Ontario ex-
cept the sellout to U.S. and for-
eign interests. Where were you
and your government, Mr.
Welch, when this year’s straw-
berries were left to rot in the
fields while our supermarkets
were flooded with foreign im-
ports? Where has your govern-
ment been for the past 20 years
when thousands of Ontario
farmers have been driven off
the land so that foreign im-
ports could maintain markets
in Canada?

“When I recall my days as a
boy in St. Catharines and the
wonderful fruit orchards that
were here in the Niagara dis-
trict, I can only hope that people
of my generation and our chil-
dren will bestow upon you and
your government all of their
outrage and indignation for your
government’s deliberate policy
of selling out Canadian farms
and farmers to your U.S. mas-
ters all in the name of greed.”

Mr. Clout had a barb for the

Remove tax load from

In addition to being the Com-
munist Party candidate in York-
view constituency John Sweet
is chairman of the Metro To-
ronto Tax Reform Council

which groups 47 different Met-
ro-Toronto organizations.

The Metro Tax Reform Coun-
cil was one of the sponsoring
organizations in a Town Hall
public meeting called last week
by the Education Tax Reform
Committee.

Addressing the’ meeting, John
Sweet laced into the provincial
and federal governments for
their refusal to shoulder the
costs of education. ‘“Municipal-
ities under the BNA Act have
no rights or duties,” he said.
“The matter of education costs
is fundamentally a constitutio-
nal one. The provinces are res-
ponsible for municipalities that
today cannot provide the neces-
sary funds for education. This
should be the-.responsibility of
the province and of Ottawa.”

“They are,” he asserted, argu-
ing for the removal of property
tax as the basis of raising
money for education, “the only
two bodies that can adequately
provide for education.”

After other . speakers, like
David Archer, president of the
Ontario Federation of Labor,
and Gordon Hill of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture, had
been heard as representatives of

Tory minister also for
to publicly debate tht
issues with him.

“It is apparent that ¥
sider your governments
on education so banktl
you are incapable of defer
it even against a self-edlt
auto worker,” he wll
will assume you are
capable of defending
ernment’s deliberate
the destruction of the
fruit belt.”

- |
JOHN CLOUT is a lifetine $l}
sident and homeowne! id
Catharines. As 4 mer mpl
Local 199 UAW, being |
ed by GM for eight yea 08?)
laborer, he is active !" eat )
union and peace MO' | ihels
John is a graduate nod
Labor College of fino”
(1966), and is present! ait
cial secretary of St. at cil. He
and District Le Z ‘
is 34 years of ag®% of |
with we daughters 7 o¢
son. John is an outsP bs 9
vocate for peace, /°

democracy. —

: ani
O

_ ment commitiess aan
i

eat!
Yorkview for twenty-tW® (ihe! |
He is married and the wo |
of three adult childre™ gue |
born in Nova Scotia be af? |
ated in Saskatchewe a If |
Ontario. During the iV of
served overseas In

in the European ps
with the Irish Reg!" com |]
Canada. John Sweet © ais
petent, with over twenl] te"
machining experiencé nist”
years in business pair?
tion. John Sweet !5 Re
of the Metro Toronte
form Council. He h9 «4, of
ed and presented f
tax reform to differe?

other sponsoring organizations,
the political parties were intro-
duced to address the meeting —
Tory, Liberal and NDP’ party
spokesmen, that is.

As the chairman proceeded to
open the floor to questions and
answers, Jack Sweet drew at-
tention to the fact that the On-
tario leader of the Communist
Party, the fourth political party
contesting the elections, was
present in the hall. Briefly citing
the long history of democratic
struggle by Communists in To-
ronto’s City Council and Board
of Education, and in the Ontario
Legislature, the Yorkview Com-

munist candidate
William Stewart be ;
The ergs an
whelmingly to dO?" , §
faa cee fightit? td
Bill Stewart charel , 282i
tario government I # z
it has held office 12° fuse
big property” in its ation
lift the costs of me ;
the working peoP*:
Stewart all his Pe ol
ly favors remov!
Gon tax on property? atti
that the most 108%). is jf
meet education 9% eg!
income taxes—ba
on ability to pay-