- fought:

“Canada with mighty | force
sweeps on
To gain in power and glory
before the dawn... .”
—Pauline Johnson

THIS Canada Day, July 1, patri-

otic Canadians fronf the At-
lantic to the Pacific will cele
prate our country’s 88th _birth-
day.

In terms of history 88 years
is a short span. Yet few coun-
tries can boast of such growth
and achievements. .

At the time of Confederation
Canada had only three and a half
million people in the eastern
provinces and not more than one
hundred thousand west of the
Great Lakes. Its industry was
packward and vast areas of the
country lay separated from each
other by thousands of miles with
no means of communication or
transportation. ‘ .

Today Canada is a mighty
giant of the North with a popu-
jation of over fifteen million and
an unlimited future. It "has ‘high-
ly developed
and transportation. It stands
among the foremost industrial
and trading nations of the world.

The vast changes brought about
since 1867 are a tribute to the
working people of hand and brain

who labored to build our coun- .

try.

They are a tribute to the two
national peoples who make up
our country, ‘French-Canadian
end English-speaking Canadians,
and to the millions of immigrant
peoples from Europe and Asia
who. adopted Canada as their na-
tive land and brought the wealth
of their labor and culture to con-
tribute to the task of nation-
building which followed Confed-
ération in 1867. :

: Although great monopolies
have fastened. their hold on our
country and appropriated most
of its wealth for themselves, this
¢annot for one mhoment take
dway from the vride.which Can-
adians feel in their achievements.

\

: *
: Confederation marked a great
historic and progressive step for-
ward. .Coming 30 years after the
Rebellion of 1837, it achieved the

main purpose for which the peo-~

ples of Upper and Lower. Canada
to remove the obstacles
#o industry and trade and open
the way for economic and politi-
el development.

: The Rebellion dealt a shatter-
ing blow to the reactionary land-
ford aristocracy and colonial of-
ficialdom known as the Family
Compact which barred the way to
‘progress. In its wake great
thanges took place which-led to
Confederation.

Before -Confederation Canada
Was made uv of separate British
colonies in’ which industry was
growing and in which the people

communications °

/ ; =
Vancouver's coat of arms is carved in the stone of Burrard Bridge

The people and

the vision

a

7

had taken part in sharp’ struggles
for representative government.

The 30 years after the Rebel-
. ion were marked by a sharp rise
in industrial development which
brought with it greater political

power for the rising capitalist
class. The point was finally
reached where further economic
growth required unity of the

isolated colonies, the creation of
an all-Canadian ‘market, better
communications and transporta-
tion, and central government.

’ These problems were. tackled
by the rising capitalist class
through proposals to Hite the
colonies.

In 1864 a conference was call-
ed in Charlottetown to discuss
proposals put forward by Joseph

At the time of Confederation there were those who said it was
impossible to build a national railway and to industrialize the country.

By MAURICE RUSH-

Howe for a federation of the
Maritimes. John A. Macdonald
who ‘attended the conference fav-
ored a national federation. One
month later another conference
was held in Quebec at which all
colonies were represented. This
conference discussed 72 resolu-
tions, most of which were Rdopt-
ed and later formed the main
parts of the British North Am-
erica Act, which was passed July
1, 1867, laying down the terms
of Confederation.

*

f

At the‘time of Confederation

there were those who sneered at
the idea of a single great north-
ern nation. There were those
who had no confidence and said
it was impossible to tie together
the vast areas of the Pacific coast,
prairies, eastern Canada and the
Maritimes into one united coun-
try.

There were others who,
their own profits, favored
tegration” with the United States.
There were those who said it was
‘mpossible to build a national
railway and to industrialize the
country. And there were. also
those sceptics who always asked:
“Where will the OnE come
from?”

for

Sine %

There is a striking resemblance
between the problems facing
Canada today and those of 1867.
The choice in 1867. was whether
to take a bold course\ to realize
the dream of creating a new na-
tion or ‘to abandon the struggle
and allow the expansionist Unit-
ed.States to. engulf its broad do-
main piecemeal.

In 1867 the people had con-
fidence in themselves and their
country, . They. took the path of
national greatness.

The people today are faced

with a similar decision: Whether

to carry forward to new heights
the vision of the Fathers of Con-
federation for a greater Canada,
or allow the present day sceptics
and defeatists and those mono-
polists and leaders who have no
confidence in Canada’s future,
who would sell our country for
the greater immediate profit, to
“integrate” Canada with the U.S.

ok

aN ;

Fear of. U.S. annexation of C&an-
ada was.one of the prime factors
which brought Confederation in-
to being. Long before 1867, U.S.
ruling circles evidenced their ex-.
pansionist. ambitions.

In 1812 the people of Canada
"took up arms to beat back the

U.S. attempt to seize Canada by
force . Taking advantage of
isolation of the separate coloni a
and’ the economic attraction the
big markets to the South, * mr
U.S. expansionists found pow
ful spokesmen in the cole ;
favoring integration wit
US. 2
When proposals for confed®
tion first arose there was alZ@
a move in the Maritimes veal
with the U.S. In British coll
bia, created by the union of
ish Columbia and Van we
land in 1866, there was
strong agitation for joinin me de
the U.S. which came close to. int
feating the colony’s ents
Confederation in 1871.

WaIURies defeated
to take over the country.
Canada on the path of na
hood.

Today, Canada is again 2
with the threat of U.S. 0c
tion. The monopoly-capitall
have abandoned the vision ©
Fathers of Confederation. va
their search for profits, 4 Nee
cause of their hatred of the nave
ing class and socialism, the
again opened our gates 10
U.S. expansionists. e

“Integration” has become :

policy of the St. Laurent 8° qq
ment and big business circles out
the name of. this policy ae
growth as a manufacturine og
industrial nation is to be weve
Canadians are to become ney
of wood and drawers of wi re
U.S. trusts. Our ature cnt
sources. are being sold ou Law

for U.S. dollars, and the St.
rence Seaway’ is handed OV
U.S. control.

In 1867 the’ Fathers of ca
eration proposed and unde wal
io build a great national ral é
to industrialize Canada. _ opose

Today Canada’s rulers pro! ot
a natural gas pipeline to | met!
gas to the U.S. for even eo
~of. U.S. industry and 2 ;
“pense of all-Canadian a
growth.

This. fact - symbolizes
trayal of Canada’s et,
‘rulers. It shows : ime:
italist class which, at: ti “ppd
Confederation, worked to > ool
Canada has now, in te fi
‘tions of the twentieth ¢ of
thrown overboard the interes :
the Canadian nation. ial is
In 1867 the rising capi nich
class was the only class oat
could have led Canada ™ 4
federation and towards *
hood. ge
At that time the workin ot
was small and ‘unorganity rk
1870 the number of facto

ar

ers in Canada totalle pers
Today the working class num os
four million. .It 1s sis +he
highly organized class. "se"
class whose interests of

arable from the interests
whole. nation. he can
On this 88th birthday * mre ast
-~adian working class is ;
more assuming an active Bie
the struggle to stop the D
of Canada’s independene®. itor ni
working class is the in
the best’ traditions of Con
tion. It is the. class "5 ee (
alliance with all patriotl 4 tne
adians, will carry forwa’— pe
work which Confederattt acne

gan. To build a great, “ada!
dent and waa Can

Who are the patriots?

{Continued from page 9)

labor. Often labelled as the
“yellow peril,” to the shame of
early labor, the patience of the
Chinese immigrant has won out.
Today he sees ‘his Canadian
children standing high in the
realm of Canadian arts, letters
and professions. . Perhaps
among all is the greatest patriot
because he had to surmount so
many obstacles to becoming a
Canadian. -
“It is from the ranks of all these
patriots: that true Canadianism
grows and flourishes. The others,

he.

those who weigh their ‘patriot-
ism’ by the size of their bankroll,
who exploit and barter the na-
tion’s resources and people, who
surender Canada independence
and sovereign nationhood to the

atomaniacs of Wall Street, who ,

plot. for atomic war behind the
pretext of “peace’’—their actions
and ideologies are the negation
of Canadian patriotism, the dross
that history will discard.

‘Canada’s 88th birthday marks
the final stage in the struggle,
begun in 1837, for Canadian in-
dependence, peace, and human
progress. Who else but the peo-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JULY 1, 1955 —

ple who have puilt and are et he
ing Canada can raise 8 the
banner of independen™™
nation, and keep it we
_the winds of tomorrow? .
Not the sell - out -
bourgeois legislators, ng;
politicians, the charlata j
daily actions belie their ph pe Con.
words;~but the ce
mon people who have ne
ada, and who are oe or
this 88th birthday of fr $
establish that ownershiP
time. ‘ cat
These are the true
atriots!
p pag

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