Continued from page 5

but for a federal election also.
No one can tell what effect a
deepening crisis and the control
program will have on the for-
tunes of the Liberal Party. In
any case it emphasizes for us
the necessity of dealing with
these questions and for restating
the electoral policy of the Party.
Indeed, everything which has oc-
cured in the last period of time
be it federally, in Ontario, Al-
berta and B.C. indicates the need
to continue on the course of no-
minating and running the maxi-
mum number of candidates we
can in both provincial and fede-
ral elections.
* OS *

The overall discussion made
clear that the main thrust of our

work must be on the f zht-back

of the working class apxinst the

crisis policies of monopoly.
Recent strikes such as the pos-

tal employees, teachers and pa-

per workers, including settle-

ments the anti-inflation board
rejected, has led some groups of
workers to conclude there is no
point in striking today because
at the end, no matter what the
workers win as a result-of their
efforts, wage settlements are re-
jected by the anti-inflation board.

Workers recall what Prime
Minister Trudeau told a group
of railway workers in Winnipeg

last October: “workers have the
right to bargain and to strike be-
yond the guidelines but it is
pointless. The government will
not give in.”

All this obviously has a nega-
tive effect on some workers and
may deter or slow down the in-
tensity of the fight back. At least
this is what monopoly and its

governments hope for.

However it is safe to predict
that it will not take two to three
years for an all out fight-back.
The fact is that workers are fight-
ing back now and the prospects
are for an ever sharper and
wider fight-back. :

We should therefore avoid
universalizing a situation in
which some workers accepted
the guidelines and consider that
all workers will do so. It. would
be a serious mistake to dismiss
the wage movement. The work-
ing class is being compelled to
fight back to protect its stand-
ards, its jobs and collective bar-
gaining rights and we must be
with them and help them in that
struggle.

A basic task of the Party to-
day is to help deepen class and
political consciousness in the
ranks of the workers, to help
strengthen the concept of class
solidarity and class unity. The
working class will limp in its
struggles until and unless this

WILLIAM KASHTAN

is achieved. Our ability to. help
deepen class and political con-
sciousness in the working class
will show whether in a real
sense, our Party is exercising its

- vanguard role in today’s strug-

gles.
* * *

A second feature of the fight-
back Communists should focus
on is the forthcoming Canadian
Labor Congress Convention.
This convention will be of ex-
ceptional importance. It will
either advance policies to streng-
then the united  fight-back
against the crisis policies of mo-
nopoly, or veer off into class col-
laboration, capitulation and re-
treat as a Feat of right-wing
policies.

Questions which will be “up

See:

‘ For a Democratic Alternative

Unite to Stop Monopoly's Assault Against Democracy
and Living Standards

The statement below, dated January 25, 1976, was issued by the Central Committee: of
the Communist Party of Canada at the conclusion of its recent meeting in Toronto.

age

A concerted drive by monopoly is under way
to compel Canadians to accept reactionary
capitalist policies as the way out of the eco-
nomic crisis. It is: accomplished by a. strident
campaign by right wing politicians to push
politics to the right.

The mounting attack against democracy in
general, the rights of labor and the people,
and on living standards is stoked by the mono-
poly-owned and controlled press and media,
playing upon middle-class anti-labor preju-
dices and capitalist illusions held by working
people.

This newest drive against democracy was
begun by the Trudeau Government's Anti-In-
flation Act, the intent of which is to place the
cost of the economic crisis on the backs of
the working people, the -small and medium
sized farmers and businessmen.

The parliamentary debate on the govern-
ment's anti-inflation policy was the signal for
the Conservative Party to mount a refurbished
drive to push politics further to the right. At
the same time the Conservatives aim to profit
through the political difficulties the Liberal
Party must face in pressing ahead for the im-
plementation of the government's anti-infla-
tion policy.

e * i)

The real power behind the drive to push
politics to the right is monopoly. The rivalries
existing between the capitalist political parties
are not so much over philosophy and doctrine,
but over which party can best serve the basic
interests of monopoly.

Monopoly with its tremendous economic and
political power is the main enemy of demo-
cracy and social advance. :

With the assistance of the state and govern-
ment, monopoly sustains an unceasing attack
agcinst the hard won rights of labor and’the
people generally.

This is particularly the case in respect to
collective bargaining and the right to strike —
‘which is what the Anti-Inflation Act and its
regulations have circumscribed.

The Anti-Inflation Board (AIB) is meant to
be the supreme authority in determining wage
and salary rates, within arbitrarily set wage
and salary guidelines under the Anti-Inflation

This is authoritarianism of a very high order.

The first task of a united labor and demo-
cratic movement is to defeat Bill C-73. |

Monopoly’s plot against our democratic in-
stitutions and against the living and social
standards of the working people can be
defeated.

cc) & e

There is a power in the land which can turn
back the reactionary monopoly-state offensive,
and put Canada on a new direction for eco-
nomic and social policies serving the vital
interests of the working people, the small and
middle sized farmers and businessmen.

That power resides in the unity of purpose
and action of the working class and demo-
cratic forces to curb monopoly power, thus
keeping the road open for democratic social
advance.

Such unity requires that an end be put to
policies of accommodation with the aims of
monopoly, sometimes prevalent in the leader-
ship ranks of the New Democratic Party and of
the trade union movement. Such policies serve
only to advance the aims of monopoly.

People’s anti-monopoly unity can only be
solidly built when it is based on class and
democratic struggle directed against mono-
poly, its anti-people policies, its reactionary
defenders and apologists.

The Communist Party calls upon all demo-
cratic and patriotic Canadians, on the Cana-
dian Labor Congress, the Confederation of
National Trade Unions, the National Farmers’
Union, the, NDP and all other democratic
forces, to join hands in a powerful movement
against the political right and in common
struggle for a new path of development for
Canada.

Such a new path of development must be.

based on a policy of full employment without
inflation. To achieve this goal will require
democratic planning based on democratic na-
tionalization of the United States multi-natio-
nal corporations in Canada; and the Cana-
dian corporations, banks, and credit system;
on public ownership of natural resources in-

' cluding energy resources; and on policies of
peace, detente, disarmament and trade. ]

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 6, 1976—Page 10

=

Working class must use all forms of struggle

in front”, so to speak will be
the defeat of the wage restraint
program, defence of collective

bargaining rights, the right to

strike, policies of full employ-
ment, effective economic and
political action, detente, disarm-
ament and independence. The
question of alliances, of forms
of struggle, of leadership may
also be at the centre of atten-
tion.

Our Party has called and will
continue to call for the use of
all forms of struggle that are
most advantageous to the work-

_ ing class and trade union move-

ment at a given time including
that of general strike, “study
sessions”, “sit ins” and so on.
We should be prepared for
sharp turns in the situation.
What is evident is: that the left

and progressive forces need to

unite their efforts behind forw-
ard-looking policies which can
help the working class and trade

unions advance their interests, “

combining this with an effective
struggle for detente, disarma-
ment and Canadian. indepen-
dence.

A third feature of the fight--

back should be the effort to
bring about united May day ral-
lies in every. industrial centre in
the country. This year because
of the issues involved, which in-
clude the defence of labor’s
rights, the fignt for jobs, detente
and disarmament, and interna-
tional solidarity — conditions
may be right for such united
rallies. Work should begin imme-
diately on this, the aim being
parades and meetings with
spokesmen from the trade union

movement, NDP and the Com :
munist Party. 4

The question of a democratit —
alternative to the crisis polic’
of monopoly and governments 1
particularly important today. —

Some militants seem to think
that the repeal of Bill C-73, thé) |
wage restraint program, should)
be the main focus of all ou
work and the basis for. united
action. There can be no questiol
of course that the repeal of
C-73 must occupy the major
tention of all democratic fore
but that in itself will not eli
ate the crisis afflicting Canad
today, or the drive to the right |
inherent in the present situati

The crisis, the report correch |
ly emphasized, is more than !
cyclical crisis. Therefore mofé
radical reform measures are

quired. 4

The struggle against the arive j -
-to the right is a political strug’
gle, not a more limited econ
mic struggle.

This calls for, as the report
stated, democratic nationaliza
tion and democratic planning; a 5)
well as the achievement of 4
democratic coalition centre?) |
around the fight for full employ |
ment without inflation. Wha!) |
other alternative is there to thé a
crisis policies of monopoly? |

The struggle for a democrat |
alternative is our special contrh) |
bution to the development of 4

really effective struggle by thé
trade union movement, the NDPy
the’ Communist Party and all)
other democratic forces against
monopoly, all of it leading to 4
change of direction in policy;
and a change of government.

pa

Edmonton Communists:

"use oil money..."

‘Rescue social services.

Continued from page 5

certain current social services.
To place the question in this way
is to openly attack the living
standards of working people and
their families in this city. Al-
ready we have begun to feel the
pinch of reduced services, steep
rises in the utility rates, and
the impending drastic rise in
homeowners taxes.

“But the residents of Edmon-
ton, and the City Council, know
that there is no need to escalate
municipal taxes or drastically
cut services. In this city, and in

all of Alberta, there is an alter-.

native program to be followed.
The positive proposal outlined
by the Mayor of Edmonton, Ter-
ry Cavanagh,,:to have the annual
interest derived from Alberta’s
Heritage Trust Fund turned over
to the Alberta municipalities,
would remove the need for either
tax increases or service cuts.”

Will Shift Tax Burden

- “Under this arrangement the |

Communist Party points out,
Edmonton, Calgary, and the
other municipalities would each
receive a third of the annual
interest, about $50,000,000. This
is an excellent proposal, which
receives Our support, and we are
certain that the overwhelming
majority of Albertans will press
the provincial government to re-
consider the mayor’s plea.

Initially, as the Communist
Party observed in a press release,
Premier Peter Lougheed had re-
jected the Edmonton mayor’s
suggestion.

“In our reply to the City’s
request for suggestions from citi-
zens on this issue,” the press
release says, “we point out that

. Services.”

the mayor’s proposed method |
would shift the tax burden td
the funds derived from the gian! |
resource monopolies operating i”)
Alberta. This is a necessary an¢ |
progressive step, one  whicll |
would eliminate the need eithel)
to increased taxes or reduce city

As the submission to the Com)
missioners declares: F

“These giant multi-nation
resource monopolies are the rea
source of the crisis of unemploy’
ment and inflation in Canada an® |
Alberta. One of the manifesta)
tions of this crisis is the muni)
cipal financing problem in ou!
cities. So, to place the questiO? |
in terms of either eliminatind | —
social services or increasiné
municipal taxes on homeowne!®i
only places more of the burdel
of the crisis on the working pe?
ple, already the victims of infl@”
tion and unemployment.

Cut Corporation Profits

“For these reasons we totally)
reject the idea of cutting: ba' 7
on social services and_liviNb |
standards in Edmonton. This !
also why we support Mayo)
Cavanagh’s proposal to utili |
the interest from the Heritag® |

:
7
‘
|

Trust Fund. We call for a cul
back of corporate profits, and % |
shift of the tax burden to thé
monopolies, in the interest ‘,
saving the social services af |
living standards. of Edmont0”
nians.””

The Edmonton committee ||
the Communist Party is callin) |
“for mass pressure to force
Lougheed Government to rever> |
its position on this issue, and fof |
decisive rejection of further cu”
backs of social services and Pp
grams in Edmonton.”

©