SNR ELAR OARS RR LR RN RS

Powerful peace movement is
developing in French Canada

The beginning of pre-convention discussion 01 the Draft Resolution has already revealed that
some comrades do not grasp easily and fully the cen.ral point in the document. '
underlined by Comrade Buck in his article on pre-convention discussion as follows:

“While emphasizing the im-
minence and magnitude of the
danger confronting Canadian de-
mocracy, the resolution places
equal emphasis upon the fact
that the danger of war can be
headed off; atomic war can be
prevented, the warmongers de.
feated. The resolution shows how
a third world war can be pre-
vented and indicates the tasks
that our party must undertake in
its struggle to preserve peace.”

By HARRY BINDER

and the Liberals, although possi-
bilities existed in Quebec at that
time.
* * *

Developments since the provin-
cial elections in the province of
Quebec all indicate the urgent need
for a political movement or party,
based on the organized labor move-
ment, which can offer the possi-

Gerard Picard, president of the
Catholic Syndicates,
clared that the Premier “is an en-
emy of the working class of Que-
bec.” His stand was endorsed by
other labor leaders in the AFL and
‘COL.

bility of defeating the Duplessis; CCF, stated that his party “views

is growing in the ranks of labor.

publicly de- °

Guy Desaulniers, president of the -

—MONTREAL

That central thesis was

and would line the pockets of the
war profiteers,

e@ So strong has the sentiment
for Canadian abstention from war
become in French Canada that Ivan
Sabourin, the head of the Tory
Party in the province made a de-
magogic statement to the effect
that “neutrality” was possible. That
Sabourin, supporter and represen-
tative of George Drew should find
it necessary ‘to take issue with St.
Laurent on this matter, is a fact

regime.

Since the elections, Duplessis has
opened an all-out offensive against
the labor movement. It is not lim-
ited, as it was before the elections,
to attacks upon the left wing. Cer-

Canada.

ity must not however, blind us to
the fact that they are genuinely
interested in peace, and are a most
important part of the gathering
front of peace and democracy in

Another weakness in the peace
movement in French Canada is the
fact that the labor movement, over
200,000 strong, is not’as yet playing

tification of unions, even such as
the ILGWU, is revoked without
notice. By the machinations of the
Labor Relations Board, the CBRE’
union of the tramway workers was
split, and the bus drivers became

prevent loss of labor's rights.

of the CCL-CIO unions in Montreal

| With grave concern recent develop-
|ments in the field of organized la-
bor.” He appealed “to all those who
are concerned with social justice
and the improvement of living con-
ditions for people in the lower in-
come brackets to join forces” to

The recent emergency conference

members of a company union un-
der. the lead of Marquette.
Duplessis launched a brazen at-
tack upon the CCL and Catholic
Syndicates, which are the bargain-
ing agents for municipal em-
ployees in various parts of the pro-
vince, and said that municipal em-

Feb 4-8 date set
for LPP convention

The national office of the

the great role which it should in| ployees shall be deprived of the

It is not enough to accept these
concepts in words. Unless we un-

derstand them fully, and are com-!.

pletely convinced that they are
correct, we will not be able to ful-
fill our responsibilities in the strug-
gle to defeat the warmongers. For
the entire weight of the war pro-
paganda in Canada is today di-
rected to convincing the people that
war is inevitable; that nothing the
people can do will prevent the ap-
parently inexorable drive towards
war,

A section of the working class is
unquestionably being infected by
this fatalistic propaganda. And,
here and there, Party members
themselves are being swayed by the
volume and persistence of the
press, platforms and radio in seek-
ing to drive this viewpoint home.

The Draft Resolution refutes and
rejects these propositions of the
bourgeoisie. In so doing it is in
line with the resolution of the nine-
party conference which warned
sharply against any tendency to
over-estimate the strength of im-
perialism and to under-estimate the
strength of the camp of peace and
democracy,

The latent power of the peace
camp in Canada has been demon-
strated, not only by the resolution
on peace, passed at the Victoria
convention of the Trades and Labor
Congress, and by the mass response
to the message of the Dean of Can-
terbury in his tour across Canada,
but also by many additional devel-
opments in different parts of the
country including significant events
taking place in the province of
Quebec.

bal
* *« *

Some comrades had expected that
the traditional anti-war and anti-
imperialist sentiments of ‘the
French-Canadian people would be
easily turned, by the propaganda of
the bourgeoisie, into the channels
of anti-Sovietism and in favor of
atomic war. But this is not the case.
The war propaganda is not falling
on fertile ground. The movement
for peace in Quebec is growing
rapidly, and new forces are becom-
ing vocal in their opposition to em:
broilment of Canada in war.

The following developments,
among others are an indication of
the trend:

@ Le Devoir, organ of a national-
ist group, closely allied with a
Section of the Catholic clergy, and
the old daily of Henri Bourassa, is
conducting a powerful campaign
for an immediate declaration of
neutrality by the Canadian govern-
ment. In one editorial, Gerard Fil-
ion, the editor, argues that a de-
claration of neutrality by Canada
now would have an important ef-

upon the drive to war, and
Would help to cool the ardor of
those who are planning boa an. a

ing St. Laurent’s notoriou
‘Statement that even if 11,999,999
Canadians were for peace, we were
too far committed to be able to
Avoid being drawn into war, Le

r has received some support
€ven from the Liberal daily in Que-
bee Le Soleil, and from Le Droit
in Hull.

ate The Union des aageeend is
Paigning around two gans:
qauerre a la Guerre” and ae de
Service obligatoire.” (War on War;
and No Conscription). Its weekly
_Tadio broadcasts assert that war
is no defense against communism,

that speaks volumes for the anti-
war feeling in French Canada. 2
@ Pierre Lefevre the editor of
Quartier Latin, student paper in
the University of Montreal, wrote
a Satirical article recently on “The
Threat of Peace.” Among other
things the article said:

“Ignoring any decency, and bas-
ing themselves on the lowest in-
stincts of the masses, certain ex-
tremists go as far as talking about
lasting peace...

“To destroy homes, | shops,
churches with bombs; to disperse
families; to throw chaos into the
economy; to sharpen by war profits
the antagonism between classes;
here is the answer you are giving
to Marxist postulates.”

@ A manifesto issued by Ray-
mond Mondor, in a special supple-
ment to the St. Henri paper, Voix
Populaire, is evoking great response
among the workers, and a number
of sharp articles by the capitalist
press, particularly the Montreal
Herald. Mondor, an organizer of
the Office and Professional Work-

By arrangement with the
national office of the Labor-
broeressive -rarty,: the
Pacific Tribune is devoting.
its cdlumns to a discussion
of the Dratt Resolution pre-
pared by the national execu-
tive of the LPP for the 3rd
Convention which takes
place February 4 to 8 in
Toronto.

All LPP clubs and mem-
e bers are invited to send in
their comments, criticisms
and proposals. All such
communications should be
addressed to William Kash-
tan, LPP national office, 73
Adelaide St. W., Toronto.

ers Union, is calling on the work-
ers to oppose war, and to organize
a mass campaign against the “mon-
sters of finance” who are acting to-
gether with American imperialism
to make Canada a battlefield in an
atomic war.

Committees for peace are spring:
ing up among the youth and wom:
en, as well as among English
speaking middle 2

*

These facts go to prove the cor-
rectness of the .resolution in em-
phasizing that the peace camp is
powerful in Canada, as it is strong-
er on a world scale than the camp
of imperialism.

It is true that the peace move-
ment in Quebec, as elsewhere, has
some serious weaknesses. For in-
stance, we Communists in Quebec
differ with the proponents of a pol-
icy of “neutrality.” To advocate
neutrality is to assume that war is
coming, and that our task is to as
sure that Canada should not be in-
volved. We Communists state on
the contrary that our task as fight-
ers for peace is to demand a policy
by our government which would
help prevent a world war. We de-
mand positive action for peace; the
Draft Resolution outlines an 11
point program of governmental ac-
tion which would help save the
world from war. 7

Our disagreements with many
French- Canadians who express
their desire for peace in terms of

t a war against the Soviet would
Only help to spread communism

the fight for peace. Although the
rank and file workers are over-
whelmingly for a peace policy by
Canada, against the subservience
of our country to American imper-
ialism, the official bodies of the
TLC-AFL, CCL-CIO and the Cath-
olic Syndicates are not giving that
dynamic léad which is required to
save our country from the disaster
of atomic war.

It is here that our Party can
make its greatest contribution to-
wards helping unite the peace
movement, giving it the clarity and
power which the working class can
lend to a great people’s movement.

Our Party, acting even now on
the policy indicated by the Draft
Resolution, must boldly advocate
the mobilization of the trade un-
ions in the struggle for peace. Our
selves convinced that the people
can defeat the warmongers, we
must patiently and consistently ex-
pose the war propaganda, and im-
bue the workers in the plants and
unions, with faith in the ability of
the labor movement to express the
desire for peace of the French-
Canadian people; and give the lead
to unifying the whole peace camp,
in Quebec and Canada as a whole.

‘ a

In both tongues

right to belong to unions affiliated

FFICE

The growing movement for peace
in the province of Quebec high-
lights the correctness of the per-
spective indicated in the draft re-
solution of the provincial commit-
tee of the Party in Quebec, pre-
pared for examination and discus-
sion, in the period up to the pro-
vincial convention, held December
10-12.

The desire of the people of
French Canada for peace and social
progress will ultimately be ex-
pressed in political form, through
support for a political movement
that can offer an alternative to the

“No help wanted” means the
Same to French and English-
speaking workers, just like “No
vacancies.” Unemployment, as
seen in the above bilingual sign,
has hit Montreal as well as Van-
couver. The trusts saddle French-
Canadian workers with the heavy
burden of national inequality
through intensiled exploitation.
While this is a key to monopoly’s
power in Canada, it also creates

‘the conditions for the growing

peace movement discussed on this
page.

parties of reaction and war.

The resolution of the provincial
committee declares:

“Thus the responsibility of our
Party in Quebec is to intensify
the fight for labor political action
and to help find the means for
rapidly crystallizing a_ political
movement which would provide
a real alternative to the parties
of the trusts.

“Nor must this task be long

sale
unions. Wherever a union organ-
izes workers and applies for cer-
tification,

with the rest of the labor move
ment.

The Catholic School teachers, led

by Leo Guindon, who may be forced
to strike to obtain an increase in
their salaries, are threatened by
Duplessis with
sions.

loss of their pen-

Duplessis is sponsoring the whole-
establishment of company

the Labor’ Relations

Labor-Progressive Party an-

delayed, It cannot be regarded as
a perspective of the distant fu
ture. It has become an urgent
political problem of the day.”

The factors which point to this

sentiment for peace among the
people of Quebec are indicated in
the resolution.

that the main electoral slogan of

at the polls to elect CCF govern:
ment” was at variance with a per-
spective of the development of a
new political movement in Quebec.
The Party noted, of course, that the
application of the slogan, so far as
Quebec was concerned could not be
the same as it was in Ontario, or
Saskatchewan, where the CCF has
the support of great masses of
workers and farmers.

But the leadership of the Party in
Quebec allowed the slogan to divert
the attention of the Party from the
need to conduct a serious struggle
for the launching of a e

the demand for Canadian neutral-

alternative to the Union Nationale

conclusion, in addition to the rising

It should be pointed out however,

our Party on a national scale “unite |.

Board gives direct assistance to the
employer in setting up company
unions. Many unions under honest
leadership are simply told that they
need not apply for certification in
plants newly-organized because it
will not be granted.

In these and numerous other
ways the Duplessis regime, flushed
with its victory in the provincial

destroy the labor movement.

CARD OF THANKS

We wish to sincerely thank
our comrades and friends for
the beautiful flewers, and for
the cards, letters and other ex-
pressions of sympathy in the
loss of our beloved Malcolm.

Ina MacLeod
and family.

elections, is seeking to split and

Opposition to Duplessis’ policies |

nounced this week that the date
of the national convention of the
LPP has been finally set for Feb-

ruary 4 to 8 and not as previously oop
announced, : :

urged a public campaign to win
popular support against the anti-
labor policies of the Duplessis re-
gime. ’

These are but early indications of —
the fact that the people of Quebec
face increasingly sharp struggles
for improved conditions of life and
in defence of their elementary
rights to maintain and build their
organizations, to defend their rights _
of freedom of speech, assembly and
press. :

The two previous conventions of
the Party in Quebec recognized that
the working people of the province, __
in their fight for improved condi-
tions and for national : with .
the rest of the Dominion, would
advance through ultimate forma-
tion of a “people’s coalition.” =

The present resolution goes
ther: it proposes that the Party,

and all democratic and progressive
elements in the province shall be-

steps which it is possible to
to launch such a movement.

The lessons of the Wallace move-
ment in the U.S. should not be for-
gotten in consideration of -
ities in Quebec, While it would be _
mechanical to draw a close ecom-
Parison, it is a fact that there ar@
some similarities in the situation,
especially in the 'y known

right-wing

limited influence of

Social democracy in the province.
The support given to the Marshall |
Plan by the CCF national conven- _
tion, and the general support to the _
war policy of the St. Laurent gov-—
ernment by the Coldwells and
Scotts, will even further isolate _
the CCF from the masses of
French-Canadian people. gee Ce

Thus the resoiution is, in my
opinion, correct in stating that the _
time is ripe for a new political —
movement, based upon the trade
unions, but allying itself with the
growing peace forces. Such a move- _
ment, championing the cause of _
poner democracy and — ed
soc. and economic conditions,
would for the first time speak for

the genuine national interests of
French Canada. —

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