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Why is football (soccer, that is) drawing smaller crowds in Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and
Vancouver Island centres? Is it because fans are attracted to other and more popular sports in the hot

summer months? Or is soccer itself a dying game in Canada, like lacrosse? Whatever the reason, the fact

remains that while soccer is one of the world’s favorite

steadily.

sports, in Canada gate receipts have been dropping

Union launches campaign
fo defend George North

At a meeting of the general executive board and negotiating committees of the United
Fisherman and Allied Workers Union Thursday last week, measures were discussed to arouse

North was released on $1,000
bail after being in custody for 24
hours. Application for bail was
made by lawyers John Stanton be-
fore Court Chief Justice A. C. Des-
Brisay.

Stanton bases his request on
several points, the chief of which
were that if bail were denied,
North would have served his sen-
tence by the time the Court of
Appeal meets next September and
this was the first time to his know-

_ ledge that an editor had been

jailed for contempt in the. history
of Canada.

The case itself opened at 10:30
Tuesday last week and finished a
few minutes before four o’clock
in the afternoon. A big gallery of
spectators was on hand for the
proceedings, among whom were
many Ironworkers, whose case had

received a postponement.

In North’s defense, lawyer
Harry Rankin read a prepared
statement that caused Mr. Justice
Whittaker to comment that if

| North had printed the statement

instead of the editorial in question
there would have been no trouble.
Rankin replied that editors had to
be “brief, pungent and to the

point” and to have published the _

statement would make him “a poor
editor.”

North’s statement said, in part:
During the 17 years I have been

_ participating in trade union activi-

ties both as a member and a news-

_ paper editor, I have been closely

involved in efforts of the United
Fishermen and Allied Workers’
Union and other labor organisa-
tions for legislative reforms that
will benefit working people.

In such matters as Workmen’s

e implications of the 3
tor of The Fisherman, and the $3,000 fine levie
contempt of court.

Compensation for commercial
fishermen, Unemployment Insur-
ance, the 8-hour day, 40-hour
week, it has surprised me to note
the attitude of employers in the
fishing industry in opposing such
necessary reforms. All employers
seem to be remarkably consistent
in a similar policy.

The pattern has never changed ~

over the past 17 years. Employers
have never to my knowledge, re-
quested legislative changes or new
legislation to help solve problems
faced by working men and women.

For a rather extended period of
time, employers in British Colum-
bia have been attacking the leader-
ship ‘and policies of the trade
union movement and calling for
changes in established labor legis-
lation. They have, in my opinion,
exerted great pressure on the pro-
vincial government to bring into
being what is generally referred to
as Bill 43, the new Trade Unions
Act. \

This legislation, in the opinion
of the British Columbia and Cana-
dian trade union movement, is
regressive and repressive.

Employers, on the other hand
have hailed the legislation.

Behind and above all this legis-
lation stands the court injunction
as it is used in industrial disputes.
Instead of the strike being the
“court of last resort,” the injunc-
tion has assumed that status. ,

The courts, in my view, should
not have the power to limit or
remove the right to strike through
the jurisdiction process.

My view, on wis matter is that
the courts are in effect bringing
themselves into “disrepute” with
working people, particularly trade

0-day jail term imposed on George North, edi-
d against the Fisherman Pubfishing Society for

unionists, when they allow them-
selves to become involved in in-
dustrial disputes through the is-
suance of injunctions. This action
leads to the strong feeling among
trade unionists that the courts are
favoring the employer’s side in a
dispute when they issue injunc-
tions.

Why should the courts place
themselves in the position of tak-
ing action which is the responsi-
bility of government?

As a trade unionist, a respon-
sible newspaperman, and a citizen,
I was and am disturbed over the
degree to which the courts have
interceded in. labor disputes with
injunctions which restrain the
workers in their pursuit of eco-
nomic and social justice and assist
the employer to further his eco-
nomic position in relation to his
employees.

I take this position in all good
faith and with a sincere desire to
see industrial peace achieved in
British Columbia based on union-
employer relationships established
by legislation where necessary,
but not on the basis of courts
having extra-legislative power to
intrude in a way that assists one
party or the other in a given dis-
pute.

There have been some injunc-
tions in the fishing industry during
the course of labor disputes. They
have never resulted in fish being
caught when the men and women
concerned had followed all the

necessary procedure to arrive at

a position of striking. As a result,
I believe it to be a fact based on
both observation and experience
that, under such conditions, in-
junctions will neither catch nor
process fish.

SPORTLIGHT

N just under a year the 1960

Olympic Games will be under-
way. As in years past, Canada will
sally forth with little hope of meet-
ing anything but humilitation. In
fact, if the trend of past years con-
tinues, the etotal points won by
Canada will reach an all time low.

It’s true, of course, that the
Olympics are not mainly important
for the winning of points. This as-
pect has been the brain child of
the U.S., although since the last
Games they are changing their tune
a bit. Even so, however, it is im-
portant for a country to send a
team that will be truly representa-
tive of its capabilities. This Canada
has not done.

Canada, with a population of
17,000,000, has continually trailed
countries with much smaller popu-
lations, such as Hungary, Sweden,
Australia, etc. This does not mean
that Canadians are not capable of
competing in international sporting
events. It means that Canada is
not developing its potential.

The few victories‘ won in the
international field of sports, such
as those of Ernestine Russell in
gymnastics, Boa in shooting, and
Wheeler in skiing, have been spor-
adic, to say the least. The ~only
consistant high finishers have been
hockey teams.

Printshop

may delay your paper

Printshop difficulties may delay
your paper during the next few
weeks. ee

Last week, after coming off the
press at the shop we had been
dealing with for many years, we
were informed that the shop was
no longer in a position to publish
the Pacific Tribune.

This short notice put us in some-
what of a crisis. Our managing
editor had to cancel his holidays
and spend the weekend making
arrangements for another firm to
publish this week’s paper.

This was accomplished, but we
have not yet found a permanent
“home.” Until we do, and sign a

Address

Introductory Offer

FOR A 6 MONTHS’ TRIAL SUB
$ TO THE PACIFIC TRIBUNE

Room 6, 426 Main St., Vancouver 4, B.C.

THIS OFFER EXPIRES AUGUST 15
AND APPLIES ONLY TO NEW SUBS

é

And, it is noticeable, even these
triumphs are really triumphs of the
people concerned. Many local peo-
ple will remember the UBC rowing
team victories, achieved at great
sacrifice by the effort of the row-
ers themselves. Unfortunately, the
UBC rowers have not been alone in
winning without any official help.
It has become the rule that if an
athlete in Canada wants to com-
pete internationally, the athlete
will have to do it all alone.

Even when our athletes win all
they get is a few headlines in the
paper, a slap on the back and a
push out of the way. Is it any
wonder, then, that young people
in Canada do not take much in-
terest in sport participation?

The time has come for the gov-
ernment of Canada to seriously
take stock. Canada will be much

better represented in the world by

sending well trained athletes to
other countries than by sending
military forces. The money spent
on keeping up troops and planes
in Europe and financing Avro “Ar-
rows” could be put to much better
use financing sports facilities, de-
veloping good coaches and train-
ers, and making sure Canadian
athletes have enough-:money to take
part in top-flight competitions.

problems

contract with a printer on a long-
term basis, our publishing schedule
may be a bit erratic. We hope,

_ however, that we will not be forced

to miss any issues of the paper,
and will do everything in our
power to see that this does not
happen.

We hope our loyal readers will
cheerfully accept this temporary

inconvenience, and continue to sign —

up new readers. Already some 100
new subscribers have been obtained
through our summer “introductory
offer,” and we’d like to see this
figure doubled.

THE EDITORS

July 24, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 7

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