End Vietnam war—HLC |

By WILLIAM STEWART

The Hamilton and District
Labor Council is asking ‘the
Canadian Labor Congress to
press for ngotiations to end
the war in Vietnam.

That much is clear after a
discussion on a resolution pre-
sented by Nancy McDonald of
the Canadian Union of Public
‘Employees to the regular meet-
ing of the Council last Thurs-
day. =

There was less than unanimi-
ty however amongst the dele-
gates on what kind of resolution
should go to the CLC.

Mrs. McDonald’s resolution
called for a halt to the bomb-
ing of North Vietnam to make
negotiations possible.

An amendment,. moved by
Council President, Stuart Cooke,
and adopted by the meeting,
struck out the bomb halt section
of the resolution.

In an impassioned all-things-
to-all-people address to the dele-
gates, Mr. Cooke stated that he
thought that it was “this type
of tactical position that trips us
into arguments about who is to
blame . . . Ending bombing in
Vietnam will not bring about an
end to the war. War itself must
be stopped . .. We have no right

to suggest the Americans are
the only ones who are wrong.”

Council delegates, who listen-
ed in awe to Mr. Cooke’s ora-
tion, must have wondered if his
memory was meshing. He had
just previously reported to dele-
gates that he was co-author of a
submission to “Government Hill”
by the CLC in February which
in his opinion was the best such
representation to Parliament in
his memory.

In that document the CLC
states (see Tribune, Feb. 19):
“Your government should speak
up more clearly and more force-
fully on Vietnam. You should
continue to urge the government
of the United States to take
greater chances in the pursuit of
peace. All bombings should
cease immediately and uncondi-
tionally, in the hope that such
action would enhance reciprocal
steps by the government in
North Vietnam in the direction
of peace talks.

“Such calculated initiatives
are a prerequisite for the start
of meaningful negotiations in-
volving all parties of the conflict
in North and South Vietnam’’.

Donald Stewart, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers spoke against Cooke’s am-
endment and urged the adoption
of the original resolution.

Unless the bombing is stopped
and negotiations begin, the Uni-
ted States faces the alternativé
of a humiliating defeat or escal-
ating the war up to the use of
nuclear weapons, he told the
delegates. He also laid much of
the blame for the economic de-
cline in Canada on the Vietnam
war and suggested that he was
an unemployed ‘construction
electrician because of govern-
ment cutbacks and restrictions
brought about by. war-inspired
inflation.

Nancy McDonald, mover of
the motion quoted Tommy Doug-
las on the U.S. responsibility for
the Vietnam war and U Thant
on the need to stop. bombing.

Acting Council Chairman,
John Morgan, suggested that the
words “under the ageis of the
United Nations” be added to the
resolution, which was agreed to.

When Council delegates pond-
er the position of Tommy Doug-
las on the war, the position of
the CLC, the position of the
Secretary of the United Nations
and hark back to the words of
Council Chairman Stuart Cooke
—“It is this type of tactical posi-
tion that trips us into arguments
about who is to blame”’—they
might well be excused for ask-
ing: What type of tactical posi-
tion?

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Fred Wright—UE NEWS

Restrict slum landlords— TLC

Toronto’s Labor Council came
out last week strongly in sup-
port of the new by-law designed
to close loopholes in the old law
in relation to slum landlords.

The campaign against the by-
law they said. was “in the best
interests of the slum iandlords
and to the detriment of families
living in sub-standard accom-
modation.”

George Cook, chief inspector
of housing for the city was a
guest speaker at the Council
meeting. He outlined the main
new provisions, which would
make it impossible for slum
landlords to evade responsibility
by the process of transferring

ownership. 2‘to'?:‘someone® -else; !

which haa been a favorite gim-

mick.

Questions and_ discussion
ranged from the question of the
“common law” sleeping arrange-
ments, which are really not at-
tacked in the by-law to the need
for low rental housing and rent
contro]. But the main emphasis
was placed on the need to sup-
port the by-law as not answer-
ing all needs in the housing
field but as one delegate put it,
at least attacking a_ specific
problem.

Another delegate had said he
is always careful to check who
is worried about his civil rights
and when it turns out to be the
real estate interests he doesn’t
thinks they are really worried
about people like him.

Henry Brennon of the Main-
tenance of Way Union said he
didn’t see why any trade union-
ist should oppose a by-law
which obviously was against the
slum landlords who want to
make money out of renting
stinking holes to people who.
can’t afford better.

Amid a great orgy of praise
for medicare, the Council also
approved a $200 donation to the

Western hospital for a two-

bed room and later agreed to the
purchase of 2,000 ash trays for
delegates to the upcoming Can-
adian Labor Congress Conven-
tion.

With time pressing in, all
committee reports were adopt-
ed “as circulated.”

We're heing had —

If one were to lay all the banal, inane and
outright preposterous statements made by the

leading candidates in the Liberal leadership race
end to end, one would almost be able to bridge

the credibility gap.

In Fredericton, Paul Martin tells a group of
students protesting the war in Vietnam: “If I
were a student today, I would be doing this

also.” Yet Paul Martin as Minister of External

Affairs today defends the sale of arms to the
United States with the same vigor in which he
developed the policy of “quiet diplomacy.”
Meanwhile in Halifax, Robert Winters states
that, “Canada is going to have to face some of

the tough decisions familiar to businessmen who Z
have to produce a profit for their shareholders.” -

The newspaper report went on to say that dur-
ing the day Winter’s “grin rarely faded.”

Also in the grin and glamour départment,
John Turner cuts a rather romantic figure (he
once even danced with Princess Margaret). In
British Columbia, Turner answered questions
according to the Toronto Star, “in the charac-
teristic wide sniile and confident manner that
left many of the female members of.the audience
swooning.”

One of the questions being about the eco-
nomy, which Turner announces that the problem
is Ottawa’s spending. “It is clear we tried to do
too much at once...government spending got
out of line,” says John Turner, without indicat-

ing what this “too much too fast spending” was. ©

All politicians who sing this song generally
conjure up the recent past as a period of riotous
spending on social measures. Yet it is pretty
hard to get to specifics unless one assumes they
mean the proposed medicare plan. Medicare; if

and when it comes into being, and in spite of the

fact that ‘it has been sabotaged in most ‘prov-
inces, has been a Liberal promise since 1919.
Hardly a rash, impetuous act.

Campaigning on the Prairies, Paul Hellyer,
presumably with a straight face, tells Liberals
we should remain in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization because it “is preventing West
Germany from becoming a nuclear power.” Per-
haps this is typical of the thinking of the former
Minister of Defense who rigged the system in
which every third man in the forces was a
corporal.

Meanwhile in Edmonton Pierre Trudeau an-

nounced to a breathless reporter that, “any

exciting party should have both blondes and
brunettes.” ~

On a television program Trudeau says the
official status of French and. English across
Canada is... “my solution to the Canadian
problem.” In Winnipeg he announces that he
can visualize three or maybe four official lan-
guages. Trudeau is obviously a lover of blondes,
brunettes and languages.

Perhaps it is still just gently on the minds of
the majority of Canadians that they are being
had. But it is no wonder the feeling is growing.

\:

i
id
;

Plan for unity.

ers of these trade union centres

The three great trade union
centres of Quebec, after several
months of discussions, have
agreed on a plan to solve the
thorny problems of inter-union
disputes, especially the problem
of raiding.

This was announced Thurs-
day, March 7th, in Quebec city
following a two-day meeting of
the presidents of the Quebec
Federation of Labor, the Confe-
deration of National Trade
Unions, and the Corporation of
Teachers of Quebec. The lead-

will meet again April 9-10 in
Drummondville to draw up the

final text of this momentous pact —
of unity. Until then, the preli-

minary text of the agreement
is not to be made public, pend-
ing its study by the executives

of the QFL, CSN (CNTU), and ~

Teachers’ Corporation. Bes
As reported by Le Devoir of

Montreal, the trade union lead- _

ers consider the agreement to
be “an excellent point of de-
parture toward a real common —
front on the great questions —
agitating Quebec.” ~