YMA. on the record

| A club

- By JOHN WEIR

The War Measures Act has
let mvoked ostensibly to deal

th the FLQ terrorists. Since
at “reason” was too thin, it
ak been elaborated by the in-
Aerts to suggest that this dra-
© measure was taken to deal
ae threat of insurrection ...
Il the evidence is that there

bec which plans and perpe-
ay terroristic actions. But
“teis no evidence whatever
Begesting a threat or immin-
i of insurrection.
st is pointed out by T. C.
aivaes and others that the
gy, crities had all the powers
ded to deal with the terror-
ee out invoking the War
th _ a Act. ‘Why was it done
“i? Was it to call out the
oT But they did that last
ie Montreal. without re-
no, the War Measures
before d they did this time too
H Act, the proclamation of the

Are we being over’ suspicious
© motives behind it?
t's look at some of the his-
Of that Act. :
twas invoked during World
a I. At first it was used
ist “enemy aliens”. Here is
a that worked, to give but
~~ €Xample:
s, At the start of the war, Bis-
dle eka of the Greek Cath-
Bits hurch in Canada, issued a
es ral letter calling on Ukrain-
a: here, who came mostly
hy is that part of the Ukraine
f Re Was occupied by the
ety To-Hungarian monarchy, to
™ to their homelands. and
the € Emperor Franz-Jozef in
Ala against the Allies (which
Aves ded Canada). Bishop Budka
by a molested in any way,
West is opponents, socialists of
} ound Ukrainian origin were
| tern ed up and herded into in-
nt camps, where numbers
‘ Rap, There is a graveyard at
Tae sine testifying to the
hs at the camp there...
bay € army was brought in to
" ess anti-conscription dem-
Agations in Quebec.
fl pier the 1917 revolution in
Social; particularly Canadian
Ist parties and press were
Ppressed by order-in-council
ae reign of terror was un-
ed against Canadian work-
4 aor Bell, John Boychuk
Sener Custance were ar-
under authority of the
Bene neures Act in 1919 -for
M the ding a meeting to discuss
; arb rmation of a Communist
in +, the first two served a year
Jail for this “‘crime”).
late © Winnipeg General Strike
‘ities that year found the author-
‘Ral Without “appropriate” le-
6) ads so they arrested the
i Dushe leaders anyway and then
ied through the House of
fees the notorious Section
orhic the Criminal Code under
Ch they were charged!
he analogy to what’s being

U
ie taken today is very strik-

RpPaae

aA

Pr. War Measures Act was
In invoked during World War
Outlaw the Communist Par-

| he Canada and a number of
oe ne organizations, to sup-
SS the workers’ press, to con-

“Unists and left-wingers.
% me German and Italian per-
S were also interned on the

4sis of their support of Hitler

ee a terrorist group in -

and Mussolini, as was the Que-
bec fascist leader Adrien Arcand
with several followers. So. was
Mayor Houde of Montreal for
calling on people to refuse to
register. But the weight of the
War Measures Act blow was di-
rected at the anti-fascists (dur-
ing a war against fascism!).

The Communists have never in
our history been connected with
any terrorist actions, sabotage
or spying, except in irresponsible
and hysterical — but vague —
scribblings in the press and
mouthings of reactionary ultras.
In 1939 the Communists opposed
the “phoney war’ and “switch
the war” policies, which were a
continuation of the Munich be-
trayal even after it had landed
us in war. The Communists
sought only to be able to present
their proofs and arguments to
the Canadian people.

Persons in high places who

‘stated we were “in the wrong

war”, prepared to ship troops to
Finland to fight against the Sov-
iet Union, etc., had nothing to
fear from the War Measures Act.
It was directed against the Com-

-‘munists and the Canadian work-

ing class.

Now it has been imposed
again, at a time when Canada is
not at war. The excuse this
time is “threat of insurrection”,

which is not substantiated. And

insofar as the FLQ terrorists are
concerned, it was not needed, In
light of the past, are we being
too suspicious? .

To get at the aims we must
look at what is being done by
this application of the War
Measures Act.

We see a brutal display of
armed force at the time when
the government is finding it hard
to carry out its continued denial
of French-Canadian rights and
its austerity program, due to the

against workers

opposition of the Canadian peo-
ple.

It serves warning that the
powers that ‘be are ready and
able to throw democratic pro-
cedures to the winds and apply
extra-legal methods of rule if
their privileges and positions
are threatened.

And under the panicky condi-
tions it has created, using the
monstrous provocation of the
FLQ terrorists as the excuse, to
introduce new repressive legis-
lation, a new and worse Section
98.

This is not yet fascism, but it
is going a long way along the
road to a fascist type police
state.

It took.the Canadian workers
and democratic people years to
get rid of the aftermath of the
actions under the War Measures
Act in the years following the
end of World War I. It took
many years and many sacrifices
to finally gain the repeal of Sec-
tion 98 in the 1930’s. It took
many years and struggles to end
the injustices inflicted under the
War Measures Act during World
War 2.

The Canadian working people
and Canadian democracy would
be served best by preventing the

- action—that is, to compel the

lifting of the War Measures Act
now and stop the enactment of
a new Section 98 type of anti-
labor anti-democratic legislation.
The forces of labor and democ-
racy are much greater today than
ever before and they can achieve
that end quickly and decisively.

In face of the urgency of the
situation the executives of the
three union. groups have decid-
ed to call an extraordinary plen-
ary meeting of their supreme
bodies between conventions to
decide on means of action to
save this democracy in Quebec.

Following the announcement
last Friday that the War Meas-
ures Act. was in effect in Can-
ada, Quebec’s three trade union
centres issued a statement early
Saturday morning, Oct. 17 in
which they denounced “the re-
gime of force imposed by the
Trudeau government.”

“This is the text of the joint
statement issued by the Quebec
Federation of Labor, the Confed-
eration of National Trade Unions
and the Quebec Teachers Cor-
poration:

Following a special meeting in
Quebec, the executives of the
CNTU, QTC and QFL denounce
the attitude of the Bourassa
Government, which without ap-
parent reasons or justification
moved overnight from what
seemed to us a measured posi-
tion to an unexplainable attitude
of total submission to federal
power.

Our groups, which endorsed
the position taken last Wednes-
day by a group of Quebec citi-
zens which included the officers
of the three organizations, hav-
ing supported the Bourassa Gov-
ernment’s declared intention of
negotiating an exchange between
the FLQ’s hostages and the poli-
tical prisoners, have difficulty
understanding the Bourassa Gov-
ernment’s decision, with appar-
ent reason, to end the negotia-

tions and to implore the federal
Government to put Quebec un-
der military yoke.

The three union organizations
must denounce the regime of
force imposed by the Trudeau
Government, supported by the
surrender of the Bourassa Gov-
enment in panic, oppressing the
civil liberties of Quebec’s citi-
zens and instituting a rigid sort
of military rule by military jun-
tas.

_ As union representatives and

as citizens of Quebec, we de-—

plore what seems to us a con-
spiracy between the Quebec and
Ottawa Governments to make
people in the rest of the country
believe Quebec is ruled by an-
archy, chaos and insurrection,
just when Quebec citizens were
starting to prove democracy
viable in Quebec.

We indeed wonder if this con-
spiracy does not aim to make
this nascent democracy impos-
sible in Quebec. Union groups
are upset by this suppression of
civil liberties which threatens
democracy more than it does
terrorism, when the two Govern-
ments know very well there is
much more social ill to correct
than anarchy to repress.

We'deplore equally the radical
methods used by the FLQ and
ask as proof of its good faith
the release of the hostages.

PEACE CONGRESS
STATEMENT

The Canadian Peace Congress deeply deplores the turn of
events in Quebec which has led to the death of Mr. Pierre
Laporte. The Congress expresses its concern that the voice
of reason as exemplified by Claude Ryan and the leaders of
labor and democratic organizations which could have resulted
in the rescue of Mr. Laporte and Mr. Cross, was not heeded
by the government. It is still the responsibility of the govern-
ment to ensure the rescue of Mr. Cross.

We deplore and condemn all resort to methods of violent
political protest such as bombing, arson, kidnapping and poli-
tical assassination.

At the same time we wish to point out as forcefully as we
can that the Cnadian government in its foreign policy has been
involved in assisting, condoning or acquiescing in mass murder
for political reasons all over the world. — a

We wish to be explicit. Canada is a member of NATO and
provides military supplies for it. Under the protection of NATO,

-Portugal carries out mass murder of black men in Mozam-

bique, Angola and Guinea Bassau.

The United States of America has conducted a massive mass
murder of millions of people in Indochina by means of bombs,
napalm, poison chemicals and gas of various kinds. The Cana-
dian government has supplied about $2 billions of military
equipment which helps this mass murder.

We are not aware that the Canadian government has at any
time publicly denounced the massive violence of the USA in
Indochina. ,

It is therefore not realistic to suppose that the practice of
violence as a political instrument can be condoned, acquiesed
in or supported in other parts of the world and not have such
ideas spread to certain groups of peeple who have a deep
sense of injustice and frustration in our own country.

We urge the government to consider some lessons from
Canadian history.

There has been much violence in Canada’s political life.
There was the Mackenzie-Papineau rebellion of 1837, there
was the Louis Riel Rebellion of 1870 and 1885, there was Que-
bec’s violent resistance to conscription in 1917 and there was
violent suppression of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.
In each case the majority supported repressive action in the
name of “law and order” and “legitimate authority” and in
each case it was afterwards recognized that social change had
to be brought about and injustices had to be corrected.

Therefore we consider that the total abrogation of civil
rights throughout Canada by the proclamation of the War
Measures Act may well result in governments concentrating
on the suppression of all dissent and ignoring or delaying the
implementation of social change and the rectification of
injustice. :

Accordingly we urge that the War Measures Act be revoked
and legislation to bring about needed social change in Quebec
be speeded up.

We urge the Prime Minister to consider his own well-chosen
words at the unveiling of the monument of Louis Riel, on
Oct. 2, 1968:

“In a democracy it is all to easy for the majority to forget
the minority, and for a remote and powerful government to
ignore its protests.

“It is all too easy, should disturbances erupt to crush
them in the name of law and order. We must never forget
that, in the long run a democracy is judged by the way the
majority treats the minority, Louis Riel’s battle is not yet

- won.”

At the time of Louis Riel’s execution, the young man who
was later to become Canada’s most distinguished French-
Canadian prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier said: “When at last
& section of our countrymen rose in arms to claim rights long
denied them, rights which were immediately acknowledged to
be just—as sdon as they were asked with bullets—are we to
have no sympathy with them?...

“Sir, what is hateful : . . is not rebellion but the despotism
which induces that rebellion; what is hateful are not the rebels
but the men, who having the enjoyment of.power, do not dis-
charge the duties of power; they are the men who having the
power to redress wrongs, refuse to listen to the petitions that
are sent to them; they are the men who, when they are asked
for a loaf, give a stone... .” :
National Executive of The
Canadian Peace Congress.

Robarts wars on Quebec

Ontario Provincial Leader Wil-
liam Stewart in a sharp condem-
nation of Premier Robart’s pub-
lic endorsation of the imposition
of the War Measures Act, said:

“Total war Robarts” is at it
again. This time he is telling
Quebec how to deal with the
FLQ. He has already. declared
total war against the labor
movement in Ontario, against
the movements for Canadian in-
dependence, and those who fight
against poverty.

He pretends innocence of the
root causes of national inequal-
ity and economic discrimination
which lie behind the present
crisis in Quebec. This is simply
not true.

Tory Ontario rule and Bay
Street have played a major role
in perpetuating these conditions
in Quebec ;

If we are to have a total
struggle it must be a struggle
against the reactionary anti-
democratic positions cf Robarts,
Trudeau and Bourassa. |

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1970—PAGE 9