EDITORIAL Defend democracy If British Columbians needed a preview of just how deeply Premier Vander Zalm and the Social Credit government are prepared to cut into fundamental democratic rights in their attack in the labor movement, they got it with the writ of “seditious conspiracy” launched by Attorney-General Brian Smith Monday. That writ, which seeks to suppress all criticism of Bill 19 while the government forces it into law, has some ominous historical echoes: in the infamous “seditious conspiracy” trials following the Winnipeg General Strike and the even more infamous Section 98 of the Criminal Code which was wielded by governments throughout the 1930s against trade unions and workers’ organizations. In both cases, the basic democratic rights of freedom of speech and association were arbitrarily pushed aside, organizations were banned and people jailed in the employer-government crusade — carried on in the guise of fighting “seditious conspiracy” — against the labor movement. In our own time, there is an even closer parallel in the policies of the apartheid government of South Africa. The writ announced by Smith makes it demonstrably clear: unless they are stopped, Vander Zalm and the Socreds will attack the rights of any group which stands in the way of their imposing their right wing policies on the province. When the teachers repeatedly demonstrated their preparedness to speak out against the disastrous restraint policies and the cuts to education, the government brought in Bill 20 which is aimed at destroying the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and making any teacher who speaks out vulnerable to dismissal. When the International Woodworkers, with the backing of the labor movement, fought back against contracting-out of their jobs, Vander Zalm responded — it is now revealed — by convening a secret “outside” group of private consultants to draft legislation that would prevent such a strike ever being mounted again. The premier subverted the legislative process and gave the power to write legislation to a small group of right wing lawyers — and Bill 19 was the result. Now that the labor movement has mounted a campaign of opposition — a cam- paign, we would suggest, which reflects the majority of British Columbians who oppose the bill — the government has responded with an unprecedented application for an injunction to outlaw all dissent on the grounds that it constitutes “seditious conspiracy.” The government's thrust is at teachers and the trade union movement. But the swath that its anti-democratic sword is cutting is becoming wider and wider. All democratic rights are at risk of being cut down unless Vander Zalm and his government are curbed. If nothing else, the writ filed Monday has shown that the trade union movement’s fight to retain long standing collective bargaining rights is a fight to defend democracy. And withdrawing Bill 19 and 20 is the necessary first step to re-asserting democratic rights in this province. BRIAN QUERIES NEIGHGOR KON NEIGH BoK HIS HOME SECURITY SYSTEM. ABooT TRIBUNE Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON Business & Circulation Manager — MIKE PRONIUK Graphics — ANGELA KENYON Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5 Phone (604) 251-1186 ISSN 0030-896X Subscription Rate: Canada — $16 one year; $10 six months Foreign — $25 one year; Second class mail registration number 1960 s there life after Burke Mountain? We'll soon find out when the successor to the former Burke Mountain Labor Festival takes off this Sunday, June 7. Simply called the Labor Festival, the new event takes place at an old locale: Websters Corners Hall in Maple Ridge, for many years the site of the previous festival, which took its name from the site where it began, at the former home of - current Communist Party labor secretary George Hewison. “Burke Mountain,” as it was known for short, was born of the times when topical music reigned supreme among the labor - and progressive movements. While some popular events this spring have shown us that concerts and singalongs .are still sought-after fare, we learned from viewing the last few festivals that other activities have become equally popular to both older and upcoming generations. To wit, the volleyball and face-painting sessions were providing stiff competition to the entertainers on stage. So the new festival will feature more in the way of sports and children’s events. We also found out we at the Tribune were getting pretty tired, having to put out regular weekly issues while organizing both the festival and the other key event in the financial drive, the Victory Banquet. So we put the festival out to tender, and it was snapped up by several press clubs who agreed that, whatever the format, the spring festival was a worthwhile idea that should continue. That means that the new Labor Festival is still a fundraiser for the Tribune and one of the key events in the yearly fundraising effort. And it will still be held outdoors in what we know will be a day of balmy temperatures and sunshine. It’s at the Websters Corners Hall at People and Issues ee ae a a A i SE A TET, 25470 Dewdney Trunk Rd., Maple Ridge, this Sunday, June 7. Admission is free but there’s a cold plate available for $6, hot dogs for $1 and strawberry shortcake des- serts for $1.50. * * * t’s a fact that the work of committed, class-conscious trade unionists, in the form of established trade union rights and benefits gains, lasts far beyond their lives. But we hadn’t though about the fact that such people also leave smaller, but no less important legacies, until we came upon a touching reminder in an item in the May issue of The Fishermen. The monthly publication of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union has been chronicling the efforts of dozens of volunteers, under the leadership of fisherman Al Brown, to build a fishing vessel for the people of San Juan del Surin Nicaragua. (We featured the effort in our Feb. 11 issue.) The most recent issue car- ries an article by project volunteer and fisherman Bruce Logan detailing all the various items that have been donated an ingeniously worked into the vessel — including a Toyota roll bar that was fashi- oned into a ventilation pipe. In writing that the boat still needs sev- eral pieces — including the not inconsid- erable contribution of an engine — Logan notes that a recent valuable addition to the project came in the form of eight boxes of tools from the late George Gee. George, a former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers leader who fought both employers and the Cold War blacklist in the 50s, died last March. But in doing so, he willed his entire work- shop to the project, which will be sent to Nicaragua along with the vessel when con- struction is completed. We close with a reminder that anyone wishing to contribute to the project should phone the UFAWU at 255-1366, or the boatshed at 988-9287. Fisherman Al Brown with boat for Nicaragua. i er skill at organizing, her ability as a public speaker and her dedication to — the cause of labor, peace and women’s rights were the factors considered when she was hired as national organizer of the universal daycare campaign waged by the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. What was rightly not considered an issue was the political philosophy of Paula Fletcher, former Manitoba provin- cial leader of the Communist Party of Canada. While we offer our congratulations to — Paula, we note that some others are less than enthusiastic. They include Calgary East Tory MP Alex Kindy. In a recent issue of Western Report, he says this in com- menting on the NAC’s decision: “This only confirms that the NAC - represents left-wing activists, not women in Canada. I think we should have a look at the whole structure and consider abol- ishing them or at least getting some bal-- ance. They’re a nest of activists, whether they’re socialists or even communists.” Presumably socialist women are not representative of Canadian women, who in the imaginings of many Tories’ view are probably envisioned as being the ideal housemates promoted by reactionary organizations like the so-called REAL Women. It also gets quoted in the Report article, with representative Gwen Landolt protesting that NAC “‘is an extreme organ- ization that uses taxpayers’ money tO promote and impose its extremist views 02 We can’t think of a more fitting descrip tion for REAL Women, which is likely miffed because it failed once again to pro- cure tax dollars to promote its right-wing program. and, speaking for ourselves, we think the broadly-based NAC picked the right woman for the job. — 4 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JUNE 3, 1987