¢ THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER i” WORKER 38,000 copies printed in this issue. Published twice monthly as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOQDWORKERS OF AMERICA Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1 Affiliated with AFL-CIO-CLC 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. Phone 874-5261 Editor — Pat Kerr Business Manager — Fred Fieber Advertising Representative — G. A. Spencer Forwarded to every member of the IWA in Western Canada in accordance with convention decisions. Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, and for payment of postage in cash. GUEST EDITORIAL NDP'S FINEST EFFORT AS another session of the Legislature passes into oblivion the last sound you hear is a soft ripple of amused chuckles. If you listen closely you can hear thousands of voices murmuring “What a way to run a country.” The im- ‘pressive aura of importance, like the Em- peror’s New Clothes, fades away before innocent eyes to reveal the naked truth —very little has been done to meet the needs of the people of the province. ROBERT STRACHAN NDP Opposition Leader The annual legislative ritual is, in fact, a relic of a bygone age. It is totally inadequate to meet the complex needs of a modern industrial society. Standing committees are rarely expected to func- tion, the debates for the most part have the significance of a Toastmasters’ Club. The physical facilities are adequate for anything but working in, the research and. clerical personnel available are little more than a gesture, the members are part-time legislators, the whole opera- tion is perhaps adequate to govern a medium-sized modern city. We must face the fact that our neigh- bors to the south, of whom we are often quite properly critical, are generations ahead of us in recognizing that govern- ment is now a pretty serious business and must be treated accordingly. At the na- tional level and in most cases, at the state level, elected members have re- search, administrative and investigative personnel at their disposal. Standing committees do a great deal of serious and detailed work. The public expects and often gets some pretty serious work out of legislative bodies. It is time we demanded that the af- fairs of this Province be treated seriously and in a fashion which would do justice to a multi-million dollar business affect- ing millions of people. Let us demand that our Government be a full-time occupa- tion for elected members and make it possible for them to give it their exclu- sive attention. Let us demand that the best of facilities and personnel are avail- able for the proper conduct of our busi- ness. Let us demand that the people’s business be conducted before the eyes of the people, through regular televising of all major debates and committee pro- ceedings. In the recent session, the New Demo- cratic Party MLAs did an absolutely first- class job, within the limitations imposed by our archaic system. But the real results of their efforts have been limited by sketchy, inadequate news coverage, and by the part-time nature of the whole ex- ercise. The clans have gathered, perform- ed the annual battle rites, gone home, and the province drifts aimlessly onward. How different it could be if the opera- tions of various departments were scrut- inized carefully by adequately-staffed committees, if the hedging, dodging and bumbling of the government, under the attack of our Members, was brought into. the homes of British Columbians regu-— larly. The young families of British Colum- bia, beset with problems, desiring a bet- ter community in which to raise their children, can be heard laughing at the spectacle, but they’re only laughing to keep from crying. The New Democratic Party can offer an entire new concept — Real Government — designed to conduct the affairs of this province in a serious manner. This revolutionary overhaul of the structure of government in British Columbia might be more important than ‘ many of the very significant and neces- sary policies which we are advocating. There is little doubt that thousands of people, particularly our younger people, would respond to the challenge of apply- ing contemporary methods to the most important business in British Columbia. As our MLAs pack their bags and re- turn to their constituencies, party mem- bers should commend them for one of their finest efforts in many years. They have shaken the Premier and his Cabinet and the vigor and forcefulness of their presentation has won new support and created an increased awareness of the vulnerability of the Socred. government in the next election. We are confident that they will continue to work with equal vigor and determination on the great organizational job confronting us in the months ahead. —THE DEMOCRAT tas HOW MANY TIMES DO I GOTTA TELL YA... DON'T PHONE ME AT WORK! NFU BUYERS’ STRIKE The National Farmers Un- ion has taken the lead in Can- ada in organizing a buyers’ strike against the farm ma- chinery companies in protest against the exorbitant and constantly rising prices of the machines needed to produce the nation’s food. A similar campaign has been launched by the Nation- al Farmers Union in the USA and support has been indi- cated in most of the agricul- tural states. A key factor in the success of the protest in Canada will be the action of farmers in Saskatchewan where are found the largest number of farmers using heavy machin- ery. The Saskatchewan Farmers Union began its campaign by polling its 18,000 members and seeking further indication of support by means of opinion polls taken through weekly newspapers. The replies re- ceived led the Farm Union officials to proceed with the proposed boycott. The Union has now mailed pledge cards to all its mem- bers and other supporters asking them to commit them- selves to refrain from buying new farm machinery, cars and trucks, Similar mailings are being made from Farm Union offices in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, and it is expected that the Ontario Farm Union will also partici- pate. Members have been sup- plied with additional pledge cards with which to sign up neighbors who are not mem- bers of the Union. SFU Vice-president Jack McCloy, commenting on the project, said “that farmers are looking for leadership in ef- fectively drawing to the at- tention of other Canadians the fact that the greater propor- tion of Canadian farms are confronted with financial problems which cannot be solved by the operators’ own unaided efforts.” Farmers, Mr. McCloy said, have attempted, on the advice of agricultural experts, to bet- ter their financial position by increasing their scale of oper- ations and by employing the most modern production tech- niques. Production has been greatly increased, but so have costs. More and more farmers are coming to the conclusion that careful and industrious farming, by itself, will not guarantee them a fair share of the national income. They have been looking for some re- sponsible but effective means of protesting against this in- justice. The buyers’ boycott appeals to many as a means of doing just that. Mr. McCloy pointed out that “Saskatchewan farmers bought $133 million worth of new machines last year. If that figure can be reduced by even half the effect is going to be clearly noticeable. We hope that this evidence of the dollar effect of the boycott will encourage other farmers to join in the protest.”