ES Wa Se Os Pama Derere Pome Poeun om rary re re ner |g ey ep a Ore PT TS? PO Po 8 " — A ‘debt free’ session Doubletalk on peace HE first session of the 26th Legislature of B.C. ended its marathon debates this week. In his windup address Lieutenant- Governor Pearkes described the session as one of “special sig- nificance.” To whom, the L-G didn’t elaborate. Elsewhere in this edition two very important session decisions are outlined: the adoption of CCF- MLA Mather’s resolution calling for the banning of nuclear weapons in Canada, and the government’s promise to “consider” the motion of CCF leader Strachan to “take over” the BC Electric and the East & West Kootenay Power. These at least are of “special significance” to the people of B.C. and of Can- ada. Several hundred thousand car owners will get the “special sig- nificance” “of this session when they pull into a gas station to “fill- er-up’ with a 3-cent-per-gallon gas tax added. Another hundred thousand or more working men and women will know something of its “signifi- cance” with Socred Bill 42 to re- mind them that the political, finan- cial and administrative affairs of their respective trade unions is no longer their own business, but-that of a monopoly-dominated govern- ment that has endowed itself with power to deprive a trade union of its fundamental and hard-won political and economic rights. And with more of the same promised for the future. In answer to the pressing. de- mands for greater municipal aid, - the Bennett government rammed through a new re-assessment pro- vision which, in effect, will boost the property taxes of low-wage and salary workers anywhere from ten to twenty-five percent. (in Van- couver alone it is estimated over one million dollars will be ex- tracted from low-wage property- owners by this government mea- sure). For the urgent and pressing needs of 80,000 B.C. jobless work- ers, the legislative Session did ex- actly nothing — except talk, pass the buck, and hear Sorcred boasts of “doing more than any other province for the unemployed,” with the unemployed themselves totally unaware of such Socred ‘benevol- Pacific Tribune .. >» Editor — TOM McEWEN Associate Editor — MAURICE. RUSH Business Mor. — OXANA BIGELOW “Published weekly at — Room 6 — 426 Main Street Vancouver 4, B.C. “ Phone MUtual 5-5288 Subscription Rates: 4 One Year: $4.00 one year. ‘Aust all other countries: Heer one year. Authorized.as second class mail, ‘Post Office Dept., Ottawa. ence’. Of “special significance” is- the fact that opposition MLA’s or other broad public organizations were not accorded the opportunity during this session of debating the vast Columbia River hydro power giveaway to U.S. monopoly inter- ests; a giveaway engineered by Diefenbaker and Bennett, unsur- - passed. in magnitude since ‘the -bue= caneering days of MacKenzie and Mann or the Dunsmuir steal of Vancouver Island. Educational facilities also suf- fered at the hands of the Socred government during this session. With the negative features of the Chant Report as its guide, the gov- ernment directed its main atten- tion on how to “cut” down rather than extend facilities. Public pres- sure compelled it to retreat on its kindergarten blackout. To the harassed homeowner tax- payer, the bankrupt municipal council, the 80,000-strong jobless workers, the BC Electric domestic consumer, the multi-taxed car driver, the overloaded and under- — paid school teacher, the session was indeed of “special signifi- cance”. For them it had nothing but more of the same. For the monopolists only, it measured up to the L-G’s description. ITH the resumption of dis- armament talks at Geneva, new hopes and old patterns begin to emerge. New hopes that, de- spite all difficulties, sanity will prevail against nuclear suicide; that the arms race will slow to a stop. That peace will triumph. Old patterns, which deadlock in the argument as-to whether disarma- — ment. or “control” should «come first? | To all sincere people seeking peace and an end to the threat and menace of devastating nuclear, war, disarmament, whether partial or total, must come first. To speak of ‘control’, while planting new ‘polaris’ or nuclear bases. around the world, is not only obstruction- ist doubletalkk against disarma- ment, but a criminal conspiracy against peace. Which brings us into our own backyard to do a bit of cleaning up. Speaking at the Lakehead re- cently, Prime Minister Diefen- baker let it be known that Can- ada’s “defense” rests upon full NATO-NORAD “partnership.” The ‘logic’ of this “partnership” for Canada, is not only a continued squandering of the nation’s wealth for war purposes, but an indicator that Dief is now getting set to dump External Affairs Minister Howard Green, who advocates “no nuclear arms for Canada” and align himself with sabre-rattling Defense Minister Harkness, who wants nuclear warheads for Can- ada’s armed forces, and for his - Bomarcs in Ontario and Quebec. In short, Diefenbaker, while demagogically mouthing fine phrases about peace and disarma- ment, is now getting set to torpedo the hopes of millions of Canadians, by making Canadian territory a storage base for made-in-the-USA - (and U.S.-triggered) nuclear war-’ heads. Tied in with this Tory brand of” ‘disarmament’ is the government’s apparent readiness to squander more millions on a “new” U.S.’ supersonic jet interceptor for the RCAF air command, to carry Can-' ada’s stock of nuclear warheads where ever Washington may com-: mand. We in Canada can best help along the vital Geneva disarma-. ment talks by mobilizing every force for peace, disarmament and neutrality; for a ban on nuclear weapons (in Canada or elsewhere), | and by telling the Diefenbaker government with a million-fold united voice—‘No Nuclear Wend ons in Canada’. Tom McEwen yHEN AFL-CIO president salaried partners get- together. for an executive confab as they did be excused ‘Jabor” outing for a‘ bull-session of the U:S..State Department. fat boys are often’ more platantly uncork their coldwar. anti-Soviet spleen than are official. State De- aura of “sweet: reasonableness’’ kid glove on-its “bigstick’’ fist. ~~ session the Meany boys loudly con- “gravest and most serious threat . a Soviet satellite .. ." etc., To those Cubans “inside and_-out- side Cuba fighting for «national . the opinion of these “labor” -tzars, '- George- Meany and his: high--. early-in March in Miami, Florida,.. an “innocent bystander--could well... if he. mistook” this In point of fact these: AFL-CIO noisy and belligerent when they — ’ partment schemers. The latter at least are often compelled by the ~ sheer “weight of world opinion to” ” clothe coldwar scheming with an ~ and “peaceful” intent; to wear a° demned Cuba’s Fidel Castro as the’ -- and noisily demanded. that some-"" at - counter-revolution against the gov-~. thing be done about Cuba pronto.” "ernment and ‘people “of Cuba, ‘it. Canadian Labor~ Congress liberation” the AFL-CIO executive. ’ brass “‘pledged its full support,” >meantime chiding the - Kennedy ‘administration for “only” allowing the. 60,000 Cuban - “‘refugees”’’ now - in Florida .a measly ‘$85- -dollars- - ne : in-cash-per-month-per - -family.” -In - counter-revolution -should merit -a - ‘much higher reward than a paltry. $85-dollars a month. -Actually from the large number of demands made by the AFL-CIO - ‘brass on -behalf ‘of these Cuban “freedom fighters,” demands’ cov- ering’ - health; “welfare; © increased: | federal-funds, etc., it: was evident: that Meany and. company were > even- more “concerned: about- pre- serving and fostering this:“emigre”’- potential for counter-revolution. in Cuba; than they. are-about.- the future and welfare of- six million: - jobless American workers. _ ‘Winding up -the Cuba-item* on: - “Gts: agenda, the AFL-CIO executive - Strongly “denounced - the -Castro dictatorship ‘and . pledged -all its resources to promote. ‘unity’ .. : against Fidel Castro.” The US: State. Department *eouldn’t. ‘have done. better than Not so with the AFL-CIO top brass fat boys. At their “Miami. these professional labor . fakers, *-who dominate American labor... and worse still. for us, Canadian ; labor. ‘Against the background of this AFL-CIO executive session on the promotion .of aggression and -certainly isn’t hard to guess where - presi-. ~ International . “ment*some: of the publicity it rich-* ‘ning: exposure of the role ‘of tight- - - -- wing union- leaders “in:-the ‘clash '. between: the. great -powers: for the : : wealth ‘of- colonial~ ae ex-colonial ‘ _ protecting the special interests - _AFL-CIO ‘Meany and company are. ~ pt ~ fomenting : counter-revolution’ and “* ey Suffering .of the workingclass. ° - dent Claude Jodoin and his execu- © tive colleagues. got their ‘‘no-fra- -ternal - trade - union - delegations- from-Canada-to-Cuba”’ orders fom, : That one«is easy. Some -little -time ago. a: very special document issued by the . - Confederation. of . ff Free ‘Trade Unions (ICFTU) mark- -ed “secret and confidential” got — into the hands of. an important ~ African trade: union. This union — promptly . gave the ICFTU. ‘docw- ‘ ly deserved, -We read a-partial re-- - ‘print-in-the New ‘Zealand- People sik “Woiceof. February <8. ie ‘This ICFTU" document: is