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20°

Friday, September 3, 1976

Vol. 38, No. 35

BUNE

‘Ses
eee

Rey,

and Alexandra Park.

Two of the more than 80 performers, all crew members of the Soviet Navy destroyers Sposobny and
who entertained about 800 people in Gastown’s Gaslight Square last week in a relaxed, outdoor
5; pcert. The two Soviet vessels were the first ships from t
1s the Second World War, and drew more than 8,000 visitors to Ballantyne Pier to tour the ship during their

'X day stay. In addition to the Gastown concert, the amateur performers appeared in both Arbutus Square,

he Soviet naval fleet to visit Canada since the end

—Mike Gidora photo

Labor Day has special

‘significance this year’

Labor Day this year has a

j cecial significance to the working

Ss, to all working people. It
Comes at a time of continued
€onomic uncertainty, continued
hemployment and inflation and
With monopoly and its government
Intent upon making the working
People the main victims of
“apitalist crisis. This is seen in the
80vernment’s regulation of wages
nd in its undermining of the
Collective bargaining rights of the
ade union movement, both of
Which are direct attacks on the
€mocratic rights of working
People, says the Labor Day
Message issued by Canada’s
Mmunist Party this week.
The statement continues:
i Onopoly capitalism is showing
total inability to solve the basic
Problems of working people. Its
main and only aim is to amass
Maximum profits at the expense of
© majority of the Canadian
Ople.
The historic decision of the
Canadian Labor Congress to make
tober 14 a National Day of
Fest is a clear indication that
can king people are determined to
all a halt to the crisis policies of
Capitalism and they are deter-
ined to win a voice in the say over
Questions of concern to them.
This is their democratic right. It is
1s which monopoly and its
80vernments oppose.
The working people can win that
Nght but it will require great ef-
Ort, united effort, cooperation of

the NDP and the Communist
Party, indeed of all democratic
forces to achieve. The issue is plain
and simple. Democratic rights
must be expanded for working
people and the trade union
movement while monopoly power,
which is the source of the crisis in
Canada today, must be curbed and
eventually defeated.

The working class can best wina
voice at this time by pressing for
the extension of collective
bargaining rights beyond that of
wages and conditions. It can best
win a voice by pressing for
democratic planning based on
democratic nationalization, and by
the election of a democratic
coalition government, which in-
cludes the Communist Party,
pledged to carry out such a plat-
form. The battle for these aims and
for genuine Canadian _ in-
dependence is the pathway to
fundamental change and the
achievement of socialism in
Canada.

Monopoly at home, and im-
perialism abroad — these are the
two evils which must be defeated to
ensure peace, independence,
freedom and social progress.
Today, more than ever, the
workers must strive for firmer
bonds of cooperation between the
Canadian trade union movement
and those of the Soviet Union and
other socialist countries.. Today,
more than ever, the trade union
movement of our country needs to
seek out ways and means of

strengthening solidarity, and
support for the workers and their
unions of the newly independent
countries. How urgent this is can
be seen by the terrible events
unfolding in Southern Africa. With
its policies of apartheid, white
minority rule is using fire and the
sword, and the policy of divide and
rule in order to maintain its power
over the majority of black peoples.

The Canadian trade union

See LABOR DAY, pg. 8

The October 14:National Day of
Protest will be ‘‘a complete suc-
cess” in British Columbia ac-
cording to B.C. Federation of
Labor secretary Len Guy. Guy
made his prediction at a meeting
following a conference of all of-
ficers and staff representatives of
all federation affiliates earlier this
week, which finalized plans for the
Day of Protest in B.C.

“We have achieved virtually 100
percent support in the province of
British Columbia for the Canadian
Labor Congress National Day of
Protest”’ the federation secretary
declared. ‘“‘As a result of the
solidarity shown by the affiliates of
our federation, I flatly predict that
the shutdown in B.C. wil be a
complete success.”

Guy said that working people are
“through being pushed around and
bullied by politicians,”’ and will not
accept a wage congrol program
that is ‘‘both discriminatory and
inequitable.”

In reference to the object of the
National. Day of Protest, Guy
reminded newsmen that ‘‘while
Trudeau’ and his Liberals must
bear the bulk of the responsibility
for creating the situation where we
must take this kind of action, he
(Trudeau) has the full support of
Joe Clark and the Conservatives,
and Bill Bennett and his Socreds.
All these politicians are directly
responsible for creating this
chaotic situation.”’

The federation meeting decided
that the Day of Protest would be
coordinated in B.C. through the
establishment of three levels of
committees. The provincial
coordinating committee, made up
of the CLC vice-presidents from
this province, the executive council
of the federation, and the CLC
regional staff will be responsible

for the overall coordination of the

B.C. protest.

In recognition of the fact that the
success of the National Day of
Protest will depend on the in-
volvement of the trade union rank
and file, as well as the general
public, the federation has called

upon each of the province’s 15
labor councils to establish a special
committee to plan and carry out
major demonstrations in all areas
of the province for October 14. As
well, each local union will be urged
to set up local and plant com-
mittees to guarantee .the fullest
possible involvement.

The federation meeting also
decided that the Day of Protest in
B.C. will last a full 24 hours, rather
than the eight hours that had been
anticipated.

Key to the CLC plans has been
the effort to involve as many
groups as possible, including
unorganized workers, pensioners,
women’s groups, and students, in
the Day of Protest. Guy reiterated
this call after the federation
meeting and appealed to “all fair
minded British Columbians to join
with usin this Day of Protest to tell
the politicians that we want an-
swers to our problems, not ac-
cusations.

“Tt is our hope that all union

CLC sticker

members and their families -will
participate not only in the shut-
down, but in demonstrations and
that a good number of other
citizens will join us.”

Guy also warned the federal
government that October 14 will
mark a turning point in the history
of - Canadian politics. ‘The
government. and its political allies
have, by imposing wage controls,

See SUPPORT, pg. 8

Roll back gas increase

“Announcement by energy resources minister
Jack Davis, that the provincial government has
removed price controls on petroleum products, is
another harsh blow to the living standards of the
people of this province, Nigel Morgan, B.C. leader
of the Communist Party said Tuesday.

“The Bennett government didn’t have to lift the
freeze as a result of Ottawa’s action. Nova Scotia
refused to do so, and B.C. should have pursued the
same course instead of betraying the interest of
the people to the oil monopolies.

“The decision to lift the price freeze on crude

and refined petroleum products must be rescin-.

ded,” Morganstated in a telegram to Premier Bill
Bennett. ‘‘We’ve already had sharp increases in
car insurance premiums and ferry fares have
been doubled. The immediate six cent per gallon
inerease will cost an estimated thirty million
dollars to gasoline users. It will mean another
hundred dollars a year out of the pocket of the
average consumer for gas and heating oil for
people’s homes,”’ he said.

“Victoria and Ottawa, and the big multi-
national oil corporations they support, have
capitulated to the U.S. petroleum consortium
instead of rolling back prices to the 1973 levels. It
will add to the inflationary spiral and further
undermine people’s living standards. And because
it will create new problems in Canada’s trading
arrangements, it will add to an already alar-
mingly high unemployment level.

“The removal of price controls on petroleum
products is a suicidal policy,” Morgan warned.
“There’s got tobe an entirely new policy,” he said.
“Canada needs a fully-integrated, all-Canadian
energy policy based on public ownership under
democratic control with power to undertake ex-
ploration, development and _ distribution.
Profiteering by the oil monopoly has got to be
challenged and stopped if the people’s interests
are to be protected.

“Rescinding of the decision to lift the price
freeze and roll back gasoline and home heating oil
prices is the first step required.”