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Stronger left and labor roles:

Sth Ont. NDP Convention

The 5th~ biennial convention
of the New Democratic Party of
Ontario, held last weekend in
Toronto’s Royal York Hotel,
was the largest in its history.
Delegates from affiliated trade
union locals and labor councils
accounted for 44% of the total
of voting delegates, 1,868, at
the convention.

This labor representation, less’

than half the number that NDP-
affiliated trade unions might
have seated, more than doubled
the number of labor delegates
at the 1968 convention of the
Ontario NDP. ’

With the significantly increas-
ed strength of the forces of the

left, demonstrated notably in-

the convention’s support for a
policy of nationalization of en-
ergy resource industries, the la-
bor delegates played a decisive
role in the election of 32-year
old Stephen Lewis to leadership
of the NDP in Ontario.

The contest between Lewis,
MPP for Scarborough West and
Walter Pitman, MPP for Peter-
boro to replace the retiring lead-
er Donald MacDonald, provided
the opportunity for wide-open
debate and challenging of a
number of positions advanced
by the Provincial Council of the
NDP, an atmosphere not char-
acteristic of previous conven-
tions when the leadership felt
itself securely “in the saddle.”

The tone was set on the open-
ing morning when the first Pro-
vincial Council resolution, that
on pollution (Environmental De-
fense), was referred back with
stipulations for its strengthen-
ing.

Three days before the Ontario
NDP convention, the Trudeau
government had perpetrated its
sell-out of Canada’s natural
gas. The natural resources ques-

.tion provided the major policy

testing of the convention when
on the first afternoon the Pro-
vincial Council submitted its
“Emergency Resolution on Gas
Export.”

With a well-prepared attack
the Waffle forces, in spite of
desperate procedural resistance
by the chair, won wide support
for referral, with three principal
stipulations.

It was not enough for the
delegates to state, as did the
Provincial Council’s resolution,
that the convention was “appal-
led” at the Canadian govern-
ment’s decision to export 6.3
trillion cubic feet of natural gas
to the United States. Instead,
they voted overwhelmingly for
the Revised Gas Export Resolu-
tion, that incorporated all the
points the Waffle delegates had
put forward,

The convention, and particu-
larly Stephen Lewis, clearly indi-
cated the desire and intention
to seek government power in
the 1971 Ontario elections. A
fight is already shaping up in the
Ontario NDP as to whether or
not the question of nationaliza-
tion of natural resource indus-
tries is to be the major content
of the party’s electoral cam-
paign against American corpor-

_ ate take over of Ontario’s eco-

nomy,

The concluding decision of
the Gas Export resolution, that
the Ontario NDP “will immedi-
ately begin a massive public
campaign to organize the people
of this province in protests
against the energy deal”, was
reflected also in the adoption of
a resolution calling on the NDP

‘in Ontario to engage in extra-
parliamentary activities. Dele-

gates were critical of the NDP
leadership’s almost exclusive re-
liance on electioneering, on par-
liamentary tactics. This resolu-
tion declared the party’s will to
engage on the community level
in people’s struggles on rents,
housing, pollution, etc.

The convention rejected the
Waffle “Manifesto,” presented
in the form of a resolution en-
titled “For a socialist Ontario
in an independent, socialist Can-
ada.” The resolution represent-
ed the Waffle group’s social de-
mocratic theses of indepen-
dence through socialism, and
socialism minus the revolution-
ary role of the working class.

But the rejection was a nar-
row one.

In a balloted vote on the last
morning of the three-day con-
vention — a procedure adopted
after enormous confusion and
emotional crisis around disput-
ed results of two votes, by hand
and standing — the convention
voted 54% against and 46% for
the Waffle “Manifesto” resolu-
tion.

The NDP women’s liberation
caucus won a spirited fight to
have resolutions on women come
before the convention. This
group of resolutions had been
numbered fourth on the list for
consideration by the delegates.
In a vote with virtually no de-
bate, as it opened 10 minutes
before the adjournment preced-
ing the leadership balloting, an
omnibus, five-pages long resolu-
tion on women’s rights was
passed ‘as the last resolution to
be adopted by the convention.

The Resolutions Committee
rigidly controlled the order in
which resolutions were present-
ed to the convention.

Resolutions adopted, not in
their order of appearance, in-
cluded those on farm policy, on
OHSIP, on culture and recrea-
tion, on mental health, on wel-
fare and poverty, on social in-

surance, on housing, on day-
care centres.

There was time for a Student
Bill of Rights. And as reported
above, militant women’s insist-
ence did get one of their main
resolutions to the floor.

But not one labor delegate,
not one Waffle supporter, no one
arose at any time to demand
that the group of labor resolu-
tions — number five and last

in the list of resolution priori- -

ties — be considered by the
convention. :

These resolutions concerned
wage guidelines and controls,
the right to strike, strikebreak-
ing, working conditions in
plants, etc. — a wide range of
issues vital to the organized
labor movement, to all Ontario
workers.

They were just not consider-
ed — and there was no effort
to have them considered.

But the convention did hear
Gordon Lambert, chairman of
the Canadian UAW-GM_ nego-
tiating committee. He told the
delegates why the auto workers
are striking aaginst the giant
auto corporaiton, and won the
convention’s applause as he call-
ed for unity to help win the
strike. The delegates also ap-
plauded Lambert, when in his
introductory remarks, he con-
demned the U.S. aggression in
Vietnam.

A leaflet was distributed to
the delegates inviting all trade
unionists to take part in the Oc-
tober 14 demonstration against
Bill 167, and the convention en-
dorsed this.

UAW strikers sold GM strike
support bumper stickers in the
hotel corridors.

The convention approved the
collection, outside the conven-
tion hall, of financial contribu-
tions to the strike fund of the
Nova Scotia fishermen, mem-
bers of the United Fishermen
and Allied Workers.— (M.D.)

27 government heads
mourn with Egyptians

CAIRO—Gamal Abdel Nasser,
leader of the Arab revolution
was buried Oct. 1 in a plain
blackshroud in a suburban Cairo
mosque, following a funeral pro-
cession in which the 18 heads of
state and nine premiers who par-
ticipated were swallowed up by
crowds estimated at more than
four million.

Present: were the premiers of
the Soviet Union, France, Ro-
mania, Ceylon, Hungary, Libya,

SUPPORT THE STRIKE
OFTHE |
NOVA SCOTIA
FISHERMEN!

Their fight for the right
to bargain collectively
through the union of
their choice is the fight
of all labor! |

Financial contributions and
messages of support should
be sent to:

UNITED FISHERMEN AND
ALLIED WORKERS' UNION
c/o JAMES COLLINS
President, MULGRAVE LOCAL
P.O. Box 298
MULGRAVE, N.S.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1970—PAGE 8

Turkey, Iran, Czechoslovakia
and Afghanistan; the presidents
of the Sudan, Cyrpus, Algeria,

and Syria; the foreign ministers -

of Japan and Spain; the emperor
of Ethiopia.

Nixon -sent his Secretary of
‘Health. Canada sent Senator
Paul Martin.

In a moving tribute the Com-

munist Party of the Soviet
Union, and the Soviet govern-
ment said:

“The anti-imperialist, anti-feu-
dal revolution in Egypt, which
payed the way for independent
national development, was ac-
complished under the leadership
of President Nasser. With his
name are associated the basic
socio-economic transformations
effected in the UAR in the inter-
ests of the broad mass of work-
ing men and women...

“President’ Nasser did much
for the establishment of sincere
friendship and fruitful coopera-
tion between the UAR and the
USSR. This is highly appreciated
in the Soviet Union...

“The late Gamal Abdel Nasser
was a tried, tested consistent
fighter against imperialism. The
best perpetuation of his memory
will therefore be the cohesion of
the Arab states in their struggle
against imperialism.”

Soviet Union greets

Chinese working people

By MIKHAIL DOMOGATSKIKH

The long revolutionary strug-
gle of the Chinese people for
their liberation was crowned
with victory in’ 1949. The Peo-
ple’s Republic of China was set
up, the 2Ilst anniversary of
which was observed October 1.

Of tremendous importance for
the destinies of the Chinese
revolution was the defeat of Hit-
ler Germany and militarist Ja-
pan, in which the Soviet Union
played the main role. This vic-
tory led to a fundamental
change in the balance of forces
on the world scene, and helped
the Chinese people to launch a
broad offensive and then to com-
plete the rout of the Kuomintang
reactionaries,

In all the stages of struggle
for independence and the victory
of the revolution, the Chinese
people received the friendly as-
sistance and support of the Sov-
iet people. This was the case in
the trying years of the anti-
Japanese war when Soviet vol-
unteer flyers fought for the free-
dom of China, and in the years
of the civil war in China when
the USSR politically and mater-
ially facilitated the successes of
the People’s Liberation Army.

After the revolution, the Chin-
ese people were confronted with
complicated tasks of socio-eco-
nomic construction. Splintered,
and having only just cast off the
fetters of semi-colonial -depen-
dence, China had to tear away
from the shackles of economic
backwardness. Once again the
Soviet Union and other socialist
countries rendered all-round, dis-
interested aid to China.

The first decade of the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China was a
period of big successes of the
young state. The working class
and cooperative peasantry de-
voted their efforts to the setting

.up of an economic basis for re-

building life along socialist lines.
New industrial enterprises,
mines, power plants and irriga-
tion systems sprang up, and ad-
vances were made in education
and culture. Summing up the re-
sults of this first decade, the
Hsinhua News Agency noted:

“China, which prior to liberation *

was only a raw material append-
age of the western colonialists

and their commodity market,

now has such new industries as

iron and steel, aircraft and auto- °

mobile building . . . It can al-
ready independently design and
build comparatively big and com-
plex industrial enterprises. All
these achievements of our coun-
try are inseparable from the un-
selfish assistance of the Soviet
Union.” 3

The 8th Congress of the Com-
munist Party of China held in
September 1956, elaborated a

program for the further deve
ment of socialist consti
The Congress declared the ™
to rely upon the assistan th
the socialist countries, i
tinue to strengthen and 7
sify the eternal and indes
tible fraternal friendship a
the great Soviet Union 4
the socialist states, t f
for peace throughout the
However, in the sub
ten years, through no i A
the USSR, the relations D@¥
our countries grew WOFS® 7 i
could not but gladden impe 7
ist reaction. which tries “Chi
the differences betwee? gh
and the Soviet Union aM
other socialist countries
own selfish interests . -° ie
The Communist Party 9 of
Soviet Union and the 7s
government pursue the ve if
ent course of normalising : do ’

wort

~ Chinese relations and are

everything in their powel Le
store good-neighbourly tg
and friendship betwee?
Soviet and Chinese peopl |
Proceeding from this i@
premise the Soviet Unio?
the initiative and age ™
Soviet-Chinese _ talks, oF it }
level of government deleg® |
being conducted in PekinB”
The Soviet government ¥',.
pared to contribute in evel)
not only towards the nom §
tion of state relations be
the USSR and the Peoples)
public of China, but als?)
wards the restoration of Ee
neighbourly relations and fr")
ship between the Soviel
Chinese peoples. | a.
In the message of greeting
connection with the 21st (g
versary of the People’s *”
lic of China, the Presidivly
the Supreme Soviet am
Council of Ministers of
USSR wish the Chinese Pog
prosperity and- progress: a
stress that normalisation ° 4
lations on a state level be! ’
our countries and restora)
good-neighbourly relations ie
friendship between our Pig
will conform to the aspit i
of the peoples of both cout a
the interests of the world ©
ist system, the revolutit, a
liberation movement of 4
oppressed peoples.
The Soviet people have

‘entertained a friendly

towards the working peor.
China. They hope the cons? |
striving of the USSR to 1%
ise and_ strengthen A
Chinese relations will meet #
favourable response if §
People’s Republic of Chin@

that the PRC will occully
worthy place in our joint >)
gle for peace, socialism ¢

security of the peoples.
(Pre

agree to this request.

conference for that time.”

“As 1971 is the United Nations year against racism, the Co™}
mittee feels that it will be most appropriate to reschedule #”}

RACISM MEET POSTPONED

At the request of U.S. peace forces the International Co”
ference on Racism and War scheduled for October 16-18 q
Toronto, Canada has been postponed until 1971. —

“National elections and peace demonstrations which on
consuming all U.S. resources” were the reasons given fort
postponement request. The Canadian Initiating Committee y
there was no alternative in view of the decisive importance
the U.S. in relations to questions of racism and war, but

0

“We will continue to work for this conference,” the Com
mittee said, “for we continue to regard the struggle agai™
racism and war as primary for the future of humanity. Ho
ever we respect the problems faced in the United States a”
know that the energy expended in the elections and demo!
strations will go to the same end. = vol

.

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