4 WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER Guest Editorial CBC Needs More Security AN ORGANIZATION as big and as important as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation must be able to make long-term plans, But how.can the CBC make long-term plans without assurance of long- term revenues to carry them out? That’s the problem which has long bedevilled the CBC, and that’s why the CBC president, Mr. J. Alphonse Ouimet, has proposed that the organiza- tion be financed by statute over a five-year period, instead of by annual grants which have to be cleared with the Treasury Board, with the federal cabinet, and, especially, with Parliament. The proposal merits support. As Mr. Ouimet says, the hand-to-mouth system of annual grants makes it difficult for the CBC “to conduct either its day-to- day operations or its long-range planning with either be ” maximum efficiency or certainty. Mr. Ouimet suggested to the Commons broadcast- ing committee that in the first year of a five-year financing scheme, the CBC might be given $4 per head of population in Canada. This would make about $72 million. In each of the next four years, the amount would increase by five per cent. This proposal is in line with the recommendations made three years ago by the Royal Commission on Broadcasting chaired by Mr. Robert M. Fowler. The commission reported: “We feel strongly that current operating revenues for the CBC should be provided by Parliament for a term of years by means of a formula that will meet the estimated needs of the CBC and will be assured for the period, so that the CBC can make long-range operating plans of the kind that seem to be neces- sary.” Elsewhere, it put the “term of years” at five years. This is not simply a matter of enabling the CBC to function more efficiently. It’s also a matter of enabl- ing the CBC to function more independently. When the MP’s are asked to approve the CBC’s annual grants, there’s a massive and sometimes malicious assault upon the national broadcasting organiza- tion, its personnel, its policy and its programs. One member after another gets up to denounce the subversion, immorality, dilettantism, etc., etc., that the CBC is feeding to the hapless people of Can- ada..What’s supposed to be a matter of routine fin- ancing turns out to bea witch-hunt against the CBC. This does nothing for the CBC’s independence, for the morale of its officials and staff, for their willing- ness to present unusual and controversial programs. When they consider such programs, it forces them to bear in mind, at least, the possibility of political con- sequences, The Fowler commission recognized this: “The amount available for broadcasting services (should not be) dependent on the chance that as the estim- . ates come up for consideration, the broadcasting agency is in temporary favor with the majority of members or on the chance that the members are, for the moment, irritated with some series of programs or some policy of the agency.” Nobody is suggesting that control of CBC financ- ing should be taken away from Parliament. A five- year formula such as that proposed by Mr. Ouimet would have to be approved by Parliament in the first place; and would have to get fresh approval each time it expired. During the lifetime of each five-year period, says the Fowler report, “Parliament can con- L —The Montreal Star “Harrumph...er...ah...ahumhah . . . Occupation?” Publication date of the next issue of the WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER is July 6th. Deadline for ad copy is June 22nd, and for A BARA Cy? E may JHE WESTERN CANADIAN / PUBLISHED TWICE MONTHLY ON THE FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYS B I ional Wood 1 f America (AFL-CIO-CLC) Regional Council No. 1 REGIONAL OFFICERS: news copy June 23rd. né <0 Secretary-Treasur tennessee International Board Members cere cnn erveneennne JOC Madden Jack. Holst Address all communications to FRED FIEBER, Secretary-Treasurer 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. TR 4-5261 -2 Subscription Rates 0... $2.00 per annum Advertising Representative .............G. A. Spencer Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dept., Ottawa 27,500 COPIES PRINTED IN THIS ISSUE centrate its attention on seeing that the money it is providing is well and efficiently used.” This would be a more dignified arrangement than the present one, which sees the CBC in effect begging Parliament for money every year, never knowing for sure how much it will get, and never knowing what pressures and persiflage may be entailed in the get- ting. As a nation-building, nation-binding organization with a fine tradition of public service, the CBC has every entitlement to the freedom and security which five-year financing would give it. —Reprinted Star Weekly _and have warned that “On Sep- Six more fatalities were report- ed for the month of April in the B.C. Lumber industry. The total | number of fatalities for 1951 is now 23 and the time-loss acci- dents for the same period 3,386. Ss * sd Bribes in the form of wage in- creases are being offered organ- ized labour to help throw wage and price controls out of the window. So James B. Carey, CIO secretary-treasurer, charged be- fore the Senate Banking Com- mittee. * These items were glean- ed from the files of the B.C. Lumber Worker’s June 2nd issue, 1951. IWA District officers submit- ted five major proposals to For- est Industrical Relations for ply- wood workers on the Coast. John Billings assured the officers that the operators would give full consideration to the plywood memorandum. ‘ * * An investigation has been de- manded by Local 1-357, IWA, into the circumstances which re- sulted in the presentation of a hospital bill for $571 to an IWA member, five months after the death of his infant daughter, and the $2.00 yearly assessment for despite the fact that Hospital In- 1951 recommended by the IWA surance premiums had been paid District Convention to solve the in Ballots for the referendum on financial problem of an expand- Quote ed District programme, are now being sent out to the Local Unions. * Narrowly defeated candidate for the U.S. Presidency, Richard Nixon stated recently, that the world was in such a horrible shape that the successful candid- ate, John F. Kennedy, was going to demand a recount. Bargaining talks to settle the terms of the IWA master agree- ment in the Northern and South- ern Interior districts of the prov- ince for the year commencing September 1, have been set for One More Theory Exploded About one in four married wo- men in Canada went out to work last year. In Britain two surveys were made on working wives, seeking to find out why they went out to work and what they thought about their jobs. The results, as far as they go, tend to explode some long-held theories that married women working is one of the main causes of broken homes and juvenile delinquency. Wives with jobs display a high degree of adaptability. They organ- ized their housework on a tight schedule and husbands tended to co- operate by doing a share of the chores. Grandmothers and neighbors were often pressed into seryice where there were children. It was found that the basic needs cf living—rent, food, heating and so on—were usually already provided by the husband and that most wives went out to work to provide for “ex- tras.” These were often better clothes for the familly, modern furniture, a new television set or a car. While children left on the street to play “until mother comes home” is a popular cliche among opponents of working wives, it still remains to be proved how true and how exten- sive it is. Until this and other social effects are probed by deep-studies, the work- ing mother will continue to be the target of those who believe she is en- joying material advantages at the expense of what her detractors think should be primary duties. Kelowna July 6, and Prince George July 10. The Union is de- manding parity with the Coast tember 1, no contract; no work.” east Sos Sees Maes paid information communicate wit its head, Charles E. Wilson, $626,300, at the rate of $2,408 152 West Hastings Street INSTRUCTION IN INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID available through Correspondence Courses leading to Industrial First Aid Cer- tificates approved by the Workmen’s Compensation Board of B.C. For further THE INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID ATTENDANTS ASSN. OF B.C. ancouver 3, B.C. each working eight-hour day. It would take an average GM em- ployee about 16014 years ~to earn that much. * nd k Vancouver 5, C. J. MURDOCH Contact Mother and R. Jackson IWA (N.W.) C Westminster Immigrated Canada Suite 6 855 Thurlow St. MU 4-6045 CREDIT UNION DIRECTORY IWA Credit Unions and other Credit Unions supported by IWA Local Unions in B.C. Alberni District Credit Union, 209 Argyle Street, Port Alberni IWA 1-217 Savings, Broadway & Quebec Streets, Vancouver 10 redit Union, Room 21, 774 Columbia Street, New Local 1-118, IWA (Victoria), 904 Gord i i Chemainus & District Credit Union, a oe oe Bok Lake Cowichan and District Credit Union, L, i Courtenay Credit Union, Box 952, Coartanar onkeey oe pencank eg ah Union, Box 1717, Duncan rince George istrict, 1046 - 4th Avent i Nanaimo & District Credit Union, Wate Ladysmith & District Credit Union United Labour Credit Union, 1475 Salmon Arm Credit Union, Shuswop Ave., Salmon Arm, B.C 499 Wallace St., Nanaimo + Box 154, Ladysmith, B.C. ‘ 9, Chemainus East 43rd, Vancouver