DRO PARTNERS IN ~ ati FED beaut UE NEWS SERVICE "So long, partner!” 25 years ago... CANADA’S VOICE MERELY AN ECHO The St. Laurent government “has since 1947 clearly followed a decision to link the Canadian economy inextricably to that of the United States”, CCF leader M.J. Coldwell told the House last week. “IF’, he asked “we loose effective control of our economic destiny, how long shall we hope to retain effective con- trol of our political indepen- dence?” The government, he said, “should seriously consider the implications that the concentra- tion of our trade in the United States may have for the very in- dependence of this country”. He warned of the Canadian voice becoming “merely an echo, which it has become all too fre- quently, of the larger and louder voice of the United States”. Tribune, January 23, 1956 FLASHBACKS FROM THE COMMUNIST PRESS 50 years ago... EWEN AND RYAN RECOVERING WELL TORONTO — Numerous in- quiries are reaching The Worker concerning the present condition of Tom Ewen and Oscar Ryan, two working class leaders who were recently brut- , ally beaten up in a police station” after they were arrested for addressing an outdoor election meeting of the Communist Par- ty. For the information of these and other workers, Tom Ewen, though still suffering from a great loss of blood, is up and about again. Oscar Ryan has fully recovered from his beating. The Mayor has assured the Canadian Labour Defence League the Police Commission will give Ewen a hearing on his charge of police brutality. Any- one knowing the Commission will know they will spare no ef- fort to whitewash the whole af- PANT: -y The Worker, January 24, 1931 Profiteer of the week: Profit is the money left over after expenses and taxes have been paid. The “profit” from publicly-owned enterprises directly benefits the public sector. How about Aican Aluminum Ltd., Montreal, then. with $542,000,000 profit for the year ended Dec. 31/80 to pay off its private shareholders? How can so few get so much from the work of so many? 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—JAN. 30, 1981—Page 4 EIDITOIRIALL COMMENT Fighting economic Crisis The marathon two-day, non-stop de- bate in parliament ending the sessions for 1980, showed again that whichever big business party is in power, the “ins” have the laughs and the “outs” do the weeping — purely theatrical, of course. All of it is at the expense of the working people. It is doubtful that the marathon achieved more than that. The topic was the economic crisis, and the debate precipitated by Ed Broad- bent, leader of the New Democratic Par- ty, with Joe Clark, leader of the Tories hot on his heels with the’ same motion. Madame Speaker conceded, and the de- bate ran for 23 hours. It did help to prove its opposite: that the effective answer to the present economic crisis can only be found in massive, united, responsible movements of the working people and the democrat- ic forces of society. Only these forces can compel a set of policy changes by which to point the economy upward once more ~ and to do so in conjunction with rising living standards for workers. : Think back. Has any one of the “mira- cle cures” done the job? Never mind the propaganda gambits. How can you picture mass force on the government sufficient to change its crisis policies detrimental to labor, than through united action by labor and those who support real democratic progress? The entire labor movement, regardless of labels, the trade unions, the New Democrats, the Communist Party have to agree on minimum programs to fight the big business onslaught on workin people, to fight the multi-nationals, an the governments or parties which act for. thém. Added to that list should be the — organized farmers, consumer groups, youth and students, women’s organiza- tions, senior citizens’ clubs, and everyone preyed upon by the corporate monopoly conspiracy. ae Instead of de-industrializing the coun- - try, a process that is acute in indus- trialized provinces like Ontario where workers’ jobs are killed by the thousands, — responsible government would protect — workers and the economy as a whole from the ravages of runaway plants, U.S. branch plant shutdowns, and the raging ~ profits which rob the food larders of every working-class family. sae The root requirement, grasped by many, is the nationalization of energy and all resources. But it should go on and engulf all the key enterprises by which the multi-nationals drain Canada of its life’s blood. Plants attempting to run ~ away to lusher profits at the expense of our workers should be seized and put under public ownership, with profits to the people of Canada. , It’s time to end the age when workers have to put up with being milked like cows. What does the government offer via the “parliamentary” route? One scheme involves subsidizing, “five or six” com- munities a year with grants to put patches on the unemployment catas- trophe, the inflation disaster, by helping local businesses, training (?) workers. (what about all the trained ones?), and that old postage stamp cover-up “com- munity employment programs”. The crunch at Chrysler Chrysler workers, in the front lines of the fight for auto jobs along with many other auto workers, are at the same time a key part of the working-class battle for the right to a job — and a job not subject to the dictates of multi-national head- quarters in the USA. That’s possible in Canada provided there is a hefty drive by labor to compel proper policies at government level. The alternative, as the leaked Ontario Government report predicts, is near col- lapse of auto in the major auto industry province. on - Chrysler Canada wants loan guaran- tees similar to the $400-million pending from the U.S. Government for the Chrysler parent. Yet right in the midst of such demands U.S. Chrysler begins to — renege on a promise of $1-billion investment in its Canadian operations through 1985. Canadian jobs are going down the drain and the only thought of the helmsmen of monopoly capitalism is: _get it from the public trough. The thing that is urgent right now is the saving of thousands of jobs! But it is worth looking at what works and what doesn’t. Millions in profits stashed in pri- vate pockets over the years has not sec- ured one auto worker's job. (If we wanted to look at the other side of the ‘coin, in a publicly-owned enterprise the funds would flow in or out as conditions required, not into private pockets and out of public funds.) _ __ Even capitalist economists have qualms about Chrysler’s brazen de- mands. The Toronto Star’s Jack McAr- thur said in a column, Jan. 20: “If the taxpayer and the worker are to shoulder big, special risks and costs, they should. be as fully rewarded as any other re- | scuer. The suitable reward for such - highly speculative investment is owner- ship.” If the Canadian Government is to sink money into Chrysler it should do so on the basis of an equity on which to build a truly Canadian auto industry. Nor can it tolerate the undermining of the Cana- - dian operation by a corporation head- quarters across the border. The security of Chrysler workers’ jobs and the sec- urity of Canada’s independent industrial development go together. The Auto Pact has guaranteed neither the viability of the industry in Canada, nor jobs. Such guarantees will be realized only by extracting Canadian auto and auto workers from U.S. dictates. The strongest possible Canadian Labor Con- - gress and United Auto Workers’ pres- sure for Canadianization, public owner- ship and for mass working-class influence in the auto industry is essential to bringing about the change. t , * .