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FEATURES

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~ Communists examine
role in provincial voting

ix

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On September 21, in Toronto,
the leader of the Communist Party
of Canada, William Kashtan, ad-
dressed an extended meeting of
the party’s Central Executive
Committee, in which the party

- leaders from British Columbia,
Québec, Ontario and the three
Prairie provinces took part. Aris-
ing from Kashtan’s opening re-
marks, slightly abridged here,
which raised a number of perti-
nent questions for resolution, a
rich and thoroughgoing dis-
cussion filled the two-day meet.

We decided to hold this meeting be-
Cause we thought it would be useful to
have an exchange of opinion on coming
provincial elections. Such elections may
Shape up in Quebec, Manitoba, Sas-
katchewan, Alberta and British Colum-
bia, some as early as this year, others in
the spring. The provincial elections are
of particular importance this time be-
Cause they should give us a clue to
developing trends and tendencies.

Has the upsurge of neo-conservatism
come to.a halt, or is it continuing, as seen
in the Wilson budget, the Macdonald re-
port, and the drive toward integration
with the USA, of which the drive for free
trade is an example?

How is the fightback shaping up, and
What conclusions can be drawn from
that?

Is there, in other words, a desire for
change developing in the various pro-
vinces where elections are likely? If that
is so, what kind of change? Are there
possibilities of a setback for the right in
this or that province?

What are the prospects, particularly in
the west? Are there real opportunities for
a New Democratic Party election victory
and their formation of a government in

B.C.? Will that be the case in Sas-
katchewan? Will the NDP be able to
maintain government in Manitoba? What
changes, if any, may be expected in
Alberta?

What of Quebec? There the Parti
Quebecois appears to be transformed
into a variation of Union Nationale witha
new leader to take it along that path. This
will be a change, but not the kind of
change that is beneficial to the people of
Quebec.

We should take into account that the
provincial elections will be taking place
in an uncertain economic situation in the
USA, and to some extent in Canada,
even though there appears to be a kind of
revival here at the moment. The extent of
that revival may be decided in the end by

developments in the USA, which is going

through some difficult moments.

It is also taking place in conditions
where the Mulroney government is striv-
ing in every way, despite defeats which
are indicative of the mass mood, as well
as the contradictions within the camp of
the bourgeoisie, to pursue its course of
economic and military integration with
the USA.

For the west particularly, there is the
idea that, based on resources, free trade
will open up the American market. How
valid is this belief?. How valid is the idea,
being pushed very hard now, that the
Star Wars program means jobs?

Big questions are now on the agenda
which affect provincial politics and pro-
vincial policies. How about the budget
and its restraint program which eats into
the purchasing power of the working
people, the proposals to curtail federal
funds for education and health and other
essential programs?

Clearly, the issues federally are also
the issues provincially. Our aim in the
provincial elections should be to defeat
the neo-conservative forces, the pro-free
trade forces, the pro-Star War forces, the

pro-monopoly policies embodied in the
budget. These should be the framework
within which we determine our election
tactics with due regard to whatever dif-

- ferences may exist from province to

province. é

But how do we link specifics with what
is general and add something to the de-
bate which no other party will deal with,
on all these issues? These questions need
to find reflection in election platforms
and election campaigning.

Within this framework we must also
develop a sharpened critique of capital-
ism, pointing to its inability to solve the
problems of the people.

KASHTAN ... “Clearly, the issues
federally are also the issues provin-
cially. Our aim in the provincial elec-
tions should be to defeat the neo-
conservative forces ...”

While municipal elections operate in a
different way to provincial elections,
-nevertheless we should ask ourselves
can we learn some lessons in one that will
help us in the other. We need a continu-
ing study of this question.

These are just a few remarks to open
up the discussion and enable us to shar-
pen our work in preparation for the elec-
tion campaigns ahead.

Reagan still the actor

A University of California political
sciences professor recently painted an
eerie picture of the merging of Ronald
Reagan’s film and real-life identities
which, he argues, were operational long
before Reagan entered politics.

In a paper to the American Political
Science Association, Professor
Michael Rogin pointed to a 1940’s film
‘*Murder in the Air’ in which Reagan
plays secret agent Brass Bancroft en-
gaging a band of ‘“‘communist spies’.
At the climax, Bancroft-Reagan de-
stroys an enemy plane with a new
weapon.

‘Strikingly,’ Rogin points out, “‘he
introduces a new airborne defensive
superweapon that will make America
invulnerable.’’ The comparison to Star
Wars is inescapable.

Rogin lists other examples of the fus-
ing of Reagan’s film and real-life
mentality:

Most recent is his reference to the
U.S. hostage-taking in Lebanon —
“I’ve seen Rambo, and next time I'll
know what to do about hostages.”

From the film State of the Unioh:
‘‘T’m paying for this microphone’’, he
remarked during the 1980 primary
campaign debate.

. From the Bridges at Toko-Ri:
‘*Where do we find such men?”’ Reagan
declared in this year’s D-Day speech.

From Star Wars: *‘The Force is with
us?’’, in defence of his SDI scheme.

From Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry
series Sudden Impact: “‘Go ahead,
make my day’’, he said to his tax plan
critics.

To top off the list, Rogin points out
Reagan chose music from his favorite
film, King’s Row, for his 1980
inauguration.

“The president seems to act as if a
political campaign or a national debate
on taxes can be seen as ‘winning one for
the Gipper’,’ said Rogin. He argues that
Reagan has created a ‘‘disembodied
self’. ‘‘The trouble with this is,’’ he
says, “‘is that it allows him to disown
aggression and enact it at one and the
same time.”

S. African fighters remain true to goals

While Western governments remain hypocrites about apar-
theid, while countless apologists in our media squirm about
Sanctions; while overt and covert racists write in the big press
about ‘‘reforms’’ in South Africa, the struggle continues.

Some current material in defence of apartheid, such as that
being carried in the Toronto Sun, must rank among the most
Openly racist ever published in a Canadian daily. Anyone
following McKenzie Porter’s series last week would be lucky
to keep their breakfast down. Even quoting some of his com-
ments is offensive.

_ But neither hypocrites nor racists will save the unhuman,
barbaric apartheid system.

Lest anyone wonder at the power of the South African
People; lest anyone misunderstand the goals of the people’s
movement for liberation and why these goals have been fought
for with such tenacity and sacrifice, here’s the Call to the
Congress of the People, issued in 1953:

* * *

‘We call the people of South Africa, black and white — let
US speak together of freedom!

‘We call the farmers of the reserves and trust lands. Let us
Speak of the wide land, and the narrow strips on which we toil.

t us speak of brothers without land, and of children without
Schooling. Let us speak of taxes and of cattle, and of famine.
Let us speak of freedom.

‘‘We call the miners of coal, gold, diamonds. Let us speak of
dark shifts, and the cold compounds far away from our
families. Let us speak of heavy labor and long hours, and of
Men sent home to die. Let us speak of rich masters, and poor
wages. Let us speak of freedom.

ne

Let us speak together of freedom ...

““We call the workers of farms and forests. Let us speak of
the rich foods we grow, and the laws that keep us poor. Let us
speak of harsh treatment and of children and women forced to
work. Let us speak of private prisons, and beatings and of
passes.

“*We call the workers of factories and shops. Let us speak of
the good things we make, and the bad conditions of our work.
Let us speak of the many passes and the few jobs. Let us speak
of foremen and of transport and trade unions; of holidays and
of houses. Let us speak of freedom.

“We call the teachers, students and the preachers. Let us
speak of the light that comes with learning, and the ways we
are kept in darkness. Let us speak of the great services we can
render, and of the narrow ways that are open to us. Let us
speak of laws, and governments, and rights. Let us speak of
freedom.

‘‘We call the housewives and mothers. Let us speak of the
fine children that we bear, and of their stunted lives. Let us
speak of the many illnesses and deaths, and of the few clinics
and schools. Let us speak of high prices and of shanty towns.
Let us speak of freedom.

‘‘Let us speak together. All of us together — African and
European, Indian and Colored. Voter and voteless. Privileged
and rightless. The happy and the homeless. All thé people of
South Africa; of the towns and the countryside.

**Let us speak together of freedom. And of the happiness
that can come to men and women if they live in a land that is
free. Let us speak of freedom, and how to get it for ourselves,
and for our children.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 2, 1985 5

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