EDITORIAL

Crisis in building trades

Canadian labor is faced with the

threat of a devastating split in its ranks, -

leaving it open to assault by cor-
porations and reactionary govern-
ments. The confrontation between the
U.S.-run AFL-CIO Building Trades
Department (with an anti-democratic,
anti-autonomy record), and the Cana-

dian Labor Congress, forces Canadian
building trades workers, with the aid of
all labor, to solve some complex prob-
lems. In devoting four pages to building
trades issues and history, the Tribune
aligns itself with building workers
fighting for unity, autonomy and demo-
cratic representation.

_ Tory deception in debate

According to the “rules” privately ag-

reed to by the Liberal, Tory and New -

Democrat parliamentary leadership, de-
bate on the Constitution Act, 1981, and
amendments packages, is over. The men
of the Supreme Court of Canada will
now approve or veto decisions by the
elected representatives. Rulings based
on pure law can hardly be expected,
given the judges’ class position and the
example of recent political judgements
from provincial courts hearing the chal-
lenge of several provinces to aspects of
the new Act.

The eight premiers who labored to
find a formula favorable to their col-
laboration with the U.S. multi-nationals,
including the right of provinces to opt
out of anything which might interfere
with such collaboration, made a shame-
ful sight. Rather than fight for a genuine
made-in-Canada constitution, they
fought for the means to break Canada
into -principalities. They also fought
against a Charter of Rights.

This paper recognizes some glaring

inadequacies in the proposed Charter.
But one has to argue for, not against, the
guarantee of people’s rights, the more so

-as U.S. policies impinge increasingly on

our lives. It is just such policies, jointly
pressed by the multi-nationals and their
Washington spokesmen, that would ex-
tend the take-over of Canada.

The last days of the debate in parlia-
ment brought more cracks in the wall of
reaction, as federal Tories looked hope-
fully to a day when they mightagain grab
the federal reins. They have no wish to

_ deal with a lot of opting-out provincial

governments, even though they can
readily agree with the big sell-out to the
U.S. multi-nationals for fast dollars, and
to U.S. foreign policy.

There is a long way to go before the
ordinary people of Canada will have a
constitution and charter of rights to de-
fend their interests. One thing is clear
from Tory behavior, nothing done by
them, provincially or federally will help to
bring that day.

Thatcher's dream empire

The British Government, under its
19th century prime minister, properly
dubbed Attila the Hen, evidently is con-
vinced that it can bleed Ireland, one of
its last colonies, into submission. The
Irish, just as evidently, show that they
intend to defeat Westminster’s dream of
imperialist glory.

While the mistress of 10 Downing
Street hobnobs with her reactionary
counterparts in Saudi Arabia, a member
of the Briush parliament, elected while
lying near death in Maze prison, is in his

52nd day of fasting, demanding for him-

self and his fellow prisoners the status of
political prisoners. :

When three parliamentarians from
the Dublin government in the south
asked to meet Prime Minister Thatcher
to discuss the case of Bobby Sands, the
27-year-old hunger striker, she told
them haughtily to go through the regu-
lar government channels.

The anger and outrage in Northern

Ireland over England’s occupation
army, the jailing of citizens, the
regimentation of the population has
understandably risen at the refusal to
introduce 20th century concepts into
dealing with the jailed urban guerrillas
of an occupied nation.

Mrs. Thatcher may be an interesting
study in throwbacks to the days of em-
pire, when the ruling class of England
could spit on the people of every contin-
ent with impunity. It is not so today, and
will not forever be so in the case of Ire-
land. Long after this cruel and backward.
woman and her government have been
cursed into oblivion, fighters. for Ire-
land’s freedom will be remembered.

Among the defenders the programs
and methods differ sharply, the Com-
munist Party view based on Marxist sci-
ence, others reflecting national and re-
ligious yearnings. But the consensus
demands that the occupation end and
Ireland’s citizens be set free.

Freedom of conscience?

The Constitution Act, 1981, Part 1
(Canadian Charter of Rights and Free-
doms) states in paragraph 2, Funda-
mental Freedoms: Everyone has the fol-
lowing fundamental freedoms: (a) free-
dom of conscience and religion; (b) free-
dom of thought, belief, opinion and ex-
pression, including freedom of the press
and other media of communication; (c)
freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d)
freedom of association.

Presumably the right to freedom of
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 1, 1981—Page 4

conscience, thought, belief and opinion
should allow the large number of Cana-
dians who prefer no religion to so be--

lieve. Yet, there is an immediate conflict —

of interests if they are forced to accept
the supremacy of God, as the Clark To-
ries and the Trudeau Liberals have de-

- cided. One has the choice of accepting

such supremacy, as the Constitution Act
will now command, or of rejecting the
constitution. Some freedom of con-
science, thought, belief, and opinion!

a
es Ei
WELL LET

THE LAW OF
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
DECIDE HOW HIGH’

INTEREST RATES

WiLL

Flashbacks

25 years ago... 50 years ago... -

HEALING
__ LABOR’S SPLIT

A historic event in the Cana-
dian labor movement will take
place in Toronto’s~ Coliseum
next week. Representatives of
over a million workers or-
ganized in the Trades and Labor

Congress and the Canadian ~

Congress of Labor will meet to
heal the split that has divided

them for 17 years and unite in a:

big trade union centre, the
Canadian Labor Congress.

As Canada’s leading labor
weekly, the Tribune warmly
welcomes the 1,500 delegates to
this merger convention and
wishes them all success in build-
ing a truly democratic Canadia
organization. :

We are on the eve of big
changes; great new issues are
opening up and we of the
Tribune are keeping pace with
labor’s historic battles.

Tribune,
April 23, 1956

Promise not to say, “thuggery, thievery and highway robbery”.
Royal Trust Co. Ltd. might feel hurt. It's one of 20-odd subsidiaries
of the Royal Trust Company, which has interlocking directorates
with the Royal Trust Co. Mortgage Corp. Back to RTL: it had a
$9,526,000 after-tax profit in the first three months of 1981! Got it
from “improved interest spreads,” and a ‘‘strong market” for “real
estate commissions”. Uh-uh, you promised. ~

- as Police Chief Draper, Mayor

Profiteer of the week

BIBLE-PUNCHER
R.B. BENNETT

Prime Minister R.B. Bennett —
took time off from his job of
guiding the nation and exploit- —
ing the girls at Eddy Match fac- —
tory in Hull and became a bible
puncher.

Speaking at the Royal York
Hotel, Bennett voiced a“pleafor
faith in religion as a bulwark —
against a world of doubt.” He —
spoke of “the teachings of the
man from Galilee ... who gave —
away his possessions.” _

Then this ranting hypocrite —
went straight back to Ottawa to
continue starving, jailing and
deporting the workers of this
country — all in the name of the
meek and lowly Jesus. Present at
his sermon were such followers

stig

Stewart and the president of
Durant Motors. .

The Worker, ;
April 25, 1931 —

PACIFIC

=—ISUNE

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Associate Editor — FRED WILSON
Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR

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