per & COMMUNIST CAMPAIGN IN QUEBEC Swinging into high gear MONTREAL — The election campaign is in full swing in Quebec, with the Liberal Party, which held the vast majority of seats in the last parliament, tak- ing nothing for granted. According to Sam Walsh, pre- sident of the Parti Communiste du Québec, and its candidate in the Montreal riding of St.-Denis, there seems to be no sign of a Conservative upsurge — _ the Liberals are working hard, and seem to be holding their own. Interestingly enough, Mr. Walsh points out, a recent opi- nion poll showed the Liberals - way ahead, but with the New Democratic Party in second place in popularity, and the Cre- ditistes and Conservatives trail- ing. The Communist Party has be- gun to move into high gear. More than 250,000 programs are being distributed in Quebec in French and English, with many thous- ands more in Italian and Greek flooding the areas with a high population of immigrant work- ers. : “Communist Party posters are everywhere in Montreal”, said Mr. Walsh, “in spite of the by- law banning postering. Also, posters of the individual candi- dates can be seen in all of the 14 ridings that members of the Parti Communiste are contest- ‘ ing”. Network Time The Communist candidates are also beneficiaries of increas- ed media coverage that has taken a long time to come, said Mr. Walsh. “I am being inter- SAM WALSH St-Denis. viewed today on the Quebec CTV network (English), and next week I will also be interviewed for the CBC French national net- - work on an important program called Présent. ~ “William Kashtan, leader of our Party, will be here on Tues- day and Wednesday, and on the morning of the 26th he will be interviewed by the Quebec Eng- lish CBC network.” « As to the candidates, Mr. Walsh said that Guy Poirier, who is contesting Joliette, has a one minute interview on radio every day at noon in which he is asked to explain a point in the Communist Party’s election plat- form. This will go on until elec- tion day, said Mr. Walsh. Claude Demers, in Labelle, will be on a one-hour hot line program. Other invitations are forthcoming, and all have been participating in all-candidates meetings. “We've had a real upsurge in activity since the elections be- gan”, said Mr. Walsh, “especi- ally as compared to our work in the 1972 elections. Whereas in 1972 we estimated that 72 peo- ple regularly participated in the campaign, this year it’s up to 140, a.100% jump.” ‘ Diversionary As usual, Maoist diversionary - tactics are aimed at creating confusion among working-class voters, said Mr. Walsh. “We've been getting numerous phone calls asking who these nuts are, and whether they are running for the Communist Party. “It’s also interesting to note that they are running in 13 of the 14 constituencies we are contesting, and their three wo- men candidates—we have eight — are running where we have women candidates. — “Their program”, said Mr. Walsh, “is the typical nonsense they usually come up with. Ac- cording to the Maoists, the main danger facing the Canadian peo- ple is ‘social fascism’, represent- ed by our party and the NDP. There is no doubt that the only reason the Maoists are running . is as the left bower of imperial- ism, which they and their Chin- ese teachers serve so well”. Mr. Walsh ended by saying that the Parti Communiste is making substantial inroads in areas where the presence of the Party is being felt for the first time. Terrebonne farmers ripped off MONTREAL — The Parti Communiste du Québec is run- ning a record 14 candidates in the federal election. Of the 14 eight are women, many of them with a wide range of experience in the Quebec working class and democratic movement. One is Nicole Ledoux, 21 years old, the daughter of an auto worker who is now on strike at the United Aircraft plant in Montreal. First active in the student movement at CEGEP (community college) Vieux- Montreal, she joined the Young Communist League and then the Parti Communiste du Québec, of which she has been a member for three years. Nicole is contesting the rid- ing of Terrebonne, an agricul- tural area just outside Montreal. The Tribune asked her about how the campaign is getting under way. “Our campaign really got un- der way a week ago,” Ms. Le- doux said, “with the first distri- bution of campaign: literature and a bit of canvassing. We’re covering ‘most of the houses of © the riding, which entails quite a lot of work, as there are main- ly farms and villages. I’ve spoken at an_all-candidates’ meeeting, and tried to get out and talk to the voters. : “It’s pretty hard for me to do this, because I have a two-year- old son, and my husband is also active politically.” High ‘Prices High prices is the issue that most affects the people in the area, and is the point that she is most questioned on when she meets people or visits them in their homes. “And as the prin- _Cipal occupation of most of the people inthe area is . NICOLE LEDOUX Terrebonne they have much to say about high prices,’ Ms. Ledoux went on. “First of all, for those who farm, they have to pay for their machinery and - implements. These have gone up _ tremen- dously, and many farmers in the area just can’t afford what they need. And why is. the price of farm machinery going up? Just look at the profits raked in by Massey-Ferguson, John Deere or International Harvester. “Many of the farms in Terre- bonne are dairy farms,” she said, “and the price of feed grains has shot up so high that after farmers have paid for the fodder they end up with little or nothing once they have sold their milk at present marketing- board prices. “Or if they sell cattle they still can’t make a living because the price of fodder covers any- thing they might receive.” Other problems facing the : » . people in Terrebonne are just PACIFIC TRIBUNE-FRIDAY, JUNE 28,1974-PAGE10 tstst—~S like anywhere else, said Nicole Ledoux. When they go to the store in their villages and towns, prices keep rising. ‘“Pri- ces don’t only go up in super- markets, they go up every- where,” she said. - Day-Care Centres “A question that really con- cerns me is one pertaining to women,” continued Ms. Ledoux. “As you know, Terrebonne is an agricultural constituency con- sisting mainly of small towns and villages. And in most of these, there are .no day-care centres for pre-school children. When I speak to women, and men also, I stress this point — the government must provide for adequate day-care facilities in all areas, both the big cities and in the rural communities.” Ms. Ledoux says that many people have expressed an inter- est in the Communist Party pro- gram, and it is being read avidly throughout the constituency. » Media coverage in the elec- tions has been most interesting and rewarding, said Ms. Ledoux. “Being where we are, outside Montreal, the loval newspapers have taken an active interest in the campaign, and are much more sympathetic to our point of view. So I’ve had some very good interviews which have ap- peared so far,” she said. Asked about the aims of her campaign in Terrebonne, Ms. Ledoux answered that in her opinion, it was to make known to the people the program of the Communist Party, and how this program is in their interests. “Naturally”, she continued, “we hope that they will elect a re- presentative of the working peo- ple to parliament by voting for the Communist Parey on July 8.” Press censorship of CPC campaign criticized The calaulated effort of the big-money press to submerge the election campaigns of the Communist Party’s 69 candi- dates (33 in Ontario and 15 of those in Metro Toronto) is sharply criticized in the accom- panying letter from John Biz- zell,, chairman of the Commun- ist Party in Metro Toronto. The letter was sent to the Sun, with copies to the Star, and Globe and Mail, and reads a part: *. ok This letter serves to place on record our most vigorous pro- test at the de facto press cen- sorship your paper, together with the two other Toronto dailies, are exercising with res- pect to the election campaign of the Communist Party of Cana- day : This practice, besides deny- ing your readership the right to make up their own minds as to > how they will cast their ballot also speaks volumes about the concept of democracy -held by your editorial staff. _ Elect progressive _ group urges Kashtan THUNDER BAY — Speaking on local television, William Kashtan, leader of the Commun- ist Party, attacked the Liberal and Conservative parties for their failure to get at the causes of runaway inflation. “The Liberals are a status quo party,” #Kashtan ~ said, “which serve the big monopo- lies, both multi-national and Canadian. Six years of Liberal government has resulted in a cost of living and profit rise of unprecedented proportions.” De- scribing the Tory alternative as a drive to the political Right, Kashtan showed how huge pro- fits, and not wages or social spending, were the direct cause of inflation. “The Conservatives’ wages and incomes control is nothing short of an all-out at- attack on working people,” Kashtan charged. Although he agreed with the NDP attack on the “corporate bums”, Kashtan criticized their reluctance to fight for roll-back of prices and for legislation to prevent continued profiteering. “The time is long past when the corporations should be able to justify price hikes to a review board,” he said, “what is needed is government action to stop in- flation now.” Communist candidates in the Thunder Bay area are: Cliff Wahl, Port Arthur and Bruce Barrett, Fort William. Calling for the election of a large progressive group to Ot- tawa, Kashtan outlined the pro- grams such candidates would support as including: e Rolling back prices @ Increasing trade and détente with the socialist world which would be mutually beneficial to both partners e Nationalization of energy and natural resources and industries based on them e@ Wage increases in line with the cost of living including a minimum wage of $3.50 per hour and a basic pension of $250 for senior citizens, both being adjusted quarter- ly to keep up with price increases and productivity. ‘ “does not grant endo said: of Bs We have held press CO™ ces and sent you sev releases including a biog sketch of each of the We are contesting 69 s@ the country, 67 of which © nominated almost ten day5 © Of these, sixteen are two thirds of the ridings in tropolitan Toronto. aign ‘of the Commu haa) been granted the righ freetime political b yét the three right-wing ~ dailies see fit to -pretem campaign does not exist. - We wish to further the deliberate policy Of ion fostered by your papel ™ very few column inch ingly given. I refer to YOU! by. tice of not distinguishing