| The drive to the Right

ight of the aims of the “New
ty , why the hue and cry of
HSS media, right wing politi-
pices, including Conserva-
and right wing Liberals? The
Fl ls simple enough. They
*PPosed to controls over
poly. All they favor are con-
over the working people.
ing increased state inter-
p8 with socialism, they use
pectre of socialism to rally
tty bourgeoisie and middle
un defence of ‘‘free enter-
pf} SO as to consolidate the
HWing political forces in
Wa and shift politics to the
t The aim of this shift is to
# the working people with
arden of the crisis.
st ton 18 playing upon the
rent Positions of the petty
s¥Olsie and middle class aris-
Pm the crisis and monopoly
: itration, to win them over
PPOTt ‘its reactionary aims.
Orces consider that the

! Society’

f “'SIs not a result of specific
e°S in managing the
e'Y; It flows from the very
: € Capitalist economy.
f, “Core, CLC president Joe
¢ §CTiticism of the Trudeau
Misses this point com-

© Morris is correct in '

attention to the au-
a tendencies inherent in
down cement, where
ae completely is in fail-
: ae a democratic al-
Bis; this state monopoly
St ae Such a democratic
: Necessarily includes a
3 democratic nationali-
.. “€mocratic planning,
ie being of a demo-
: aly which would open
ine, fundamental reor-
; Society on a socialist
; mt such an alternative
: Bs living the working
* et to a say over
Soave Social policy,
safety shange, investment
Blan €alth and produc-
: eh od industry, Morris
a t giving tacit support
Bae ‘he criticizes. This
aBainst Statement.
t th Centralized §man-
© Working class ought
oh ees nationali-
de locratic plannin
3 sacratic Coalition to fe
a Ch a program.
i ~ Tegulation of the
ibn .MOvement and re-
in tS democratic rights,
Ad Class should fight for
a ae Over monopoly
for Integral part of the

we.
<=
ae

Working class politi-

os IS link is essential to
aH the Working class
3 archo-syndicalist di-

at eee for full workers’
M management of

es
Nope USt be tied in with

climate is right for such a push to
the right. The election results in
Australia, and New Zealand, and
recently in British Columbia rein-
forced this point of view.

There is a second factor which
is involved in the acrimonious de-
bate around the so-called ‘New
Society’’. The drive against
Trudeau comes not only from
more reactionary forces in Cana-
da. It comes also from pro-U.S.
forces who are opposed to the
timid and limited steps taken by
Trudeau to Canadianize the
economy. It was made evident in
the interview with the press by
ex-Ambassador Porter of the
USA in which he criticized the

Canadian Government for its pos-

ition on Time magazine, its posi-
tion on U.S. commercials beamed
to Canada, the two price system
for natural gas, the nationaliza-
tion of a portion of the potash in-

dustry in Saskatchewan by the .

NDP Government.

For the working class and
democratic movement nothing is
to be gained by joining forces with
the more reactionary and pro-
U.S. forces in society and forcing
an early election. The sole be-
neficiaries of such an approach
would be the political right with
their more open anti-working
class and anti-democratic
policies. It would be like jumping
from the frying pan into the fire
for the CLC to associate itself in
any way with the Chamber of
Commerce or other right wing
and reactionary groups.

Neither is anything to be gained
were the working class_ and
democratic movement to tail be-
hind the Trudeau Government
with its anti-labor program, and
subordinate the interests of the
working class and democratic
movement to monopoly and its
crisis policies.

What is required is a democra-
tic alternative to these policies
and a united struggle to win new
policies and a new path of de-
velopment for Canada.

What the country needs now is
not an election but economic
policies to stimulate the economy
and PUT CANADA BACK TO
WORK. What is required now is
not an election but mass united
action to prevent the working
people, the farmers, small busi-
ness interests from being saddled
with the crisis. What is required
now is a powerful anti-monopoly
movement and struggle which
leads to a change in the balance of
forces in favor of the working
class and finds its reflection in the
parlimentary arena also.

What can be done to defeat the
drive to the right?

What is sorely needed is demo-
cratic unity and the creation of a
democratic coalition. It is in this
way that the efforts to consolidate
the right wing political forces can
be challenged and defeated.

What is required today is not
only unity of the left but unity of
all progressive forces and realisti-
cally thinking people, all those
who atand for real Canadian in-
dependence, for social progress,
peace and security.

It is not inevitable that the drive
to the right will succeed. Those
reactionary forces who are trying
to push politics to the right are

misjudging the real sentiments -

and state of mind of the working
people. Working people want
democratic progress. They want
to find a way out of the crisis.

They want full employment with-

out inflation. They want Canada
to be fully independent, master of
its own house and its own re-
sources. They want to live in a
world at peace.

Where is the NDP going?

The NDP which claims to rep-

‘resent the interests of the working

class, is in growing difficulties
with the working class because of
its support of the Government's
wage freeze. In actual fact a crisis
of relationships between the NDP
and trade union sa Le
eveloped on the issue of W
Seine added to by the Barrett
Government’s back to work legis-
lation in B.C. Premier Schreyer of
Manitoba, addressing the Win-
nipeg Labor Council recently, cal-
led on the unions to give the Fed-
eral Government’s anti-inflation
program a chance to work | be-
cause in the final analysis it 1s the
only alternative in the fight
inst inflation’’.
Bea corte similar statement
was made by Mr. Stephen Lewis,
leader of NDP, on November 3 in
the Ontario Legislature. There he
stated: ‘* The law is the law, ee
id to trade union groups
mill say it anywhere that I am not
interested in confrontation. Iam
not interested in general strikes. I

am not interested in civil dis-
obedience. If you don’t like the
law, then we have the option of
changing the Government’’.

All these statements combined
show that the NDP is in retreat in -
face of the crisis and the
monopoly offensive. ~

From the above it is clear that
the NDP right wing is pursuing a
course on wage restraints, on
strikes and on the crisis which
favors monopoly. It flows from its
basic position of upholding
capitalism, not challenging it.
This is the source of its class col-
laborationist positions. The right
wing in the NDP repeat the errors
of the past — of seeking to contain
right wing pressures by moving
over to the right.

It is becoming increasingly ob-
vious that the working class and
trade union movement cannot
depend upon the NDP right wing
to uphold and defend its vital in-
terests. These policies are bound
to bring about a process of dif-

-be wrong t

ferentiation within the NDP and
trade union movement.

To the right wing policy of class
collaborationism we advance a
policy of class struggle. Consis-
tent class struggle or social
partnership — these are the two
paths, two policies which need to
be argued out in the working class
and democratic movement.

These two paths and policies
have their roots in the fundamen-
tal. positions of the Communist
Party and the NDP. The Com-
munist Party calls for building a
socialist society with public own-
ership of the basic means of pro-
duction. Social democracy has
abandoned that demand. It is con-
tent to call for a ‘‘mixed
economy’’ and a ‘“‘mixed socie-
ty’’ with large enterprises remain-
ing in the hands of monopoly.

While criticising NDP right
wing policy Communists would
limit themselves to
criticism, and overlook the need
to struggle for unity of action. We
should avoid two tendencies here
— all struggle and no unity, or all
unity and no struggle. We must
combine the two sides — struggle
for unity; unite to struggle. Unity
and struggle, as we have correctly
pointed out, are mutually com-

_ plementary, not mutually exclu-

sive.

Events in Canada show that the
working class is increasingly at
the centre of the struggle against
monopoly, indeed the very heart
of the anti-monopoly struggle. By
its actions it is showing it is better
able to defend itself than previ-
ously. This in turn creates
difficulties for monopoly to re-
solve the crisis at the expense of
the working class and working
people. This should find refiec-
tion at the forthcoming CLC Con-
gress in Quebec City which must

take the struggle against the crisis
policies of monopoly another step
forward and work for the forma-
tion of an alliance directed to de-
feat. this program and advance the
struggle in defence of the vital in-
terests of the working class, in-
cluding collective bargaining
rights and right to strike, democ-
racy, detente and independence.

May Day this year ought to
reflect the prospects of ever
widening unity of action against _
monopoly.

The present situation places
great responsibilities on the Par-
ty. Its task is to show the working
class and working people that the
only long term solution to the
crisis, which is a crisis of the
capitalist system, is a fundamen-
tal reorganization of society, the
achievement of the political
power of the working class and its
allies, a planned economy based
on public ownership.

While presenting this funda-
mental solution to the crisis, we
advance a set of policies which
can be implemented immediately,
policies which can protect the
working people to some degree
from the effects of the crisis.
These are embodied in our 3 point
program. In addition to these de-
mands we should, around the slo-
gan of Put Canada Back to Work,
call for a program of environmen-
tal and pollution control, trans-
portation, communications and
energy development on an all
Canadian scale, in short, an
economic and social program di-
rected to expand the economy,
strengthen the independence of
Canada, achieve jobs and rising
standards for the working people
and a redistribution of the na-
tional income in favor of the
people.

Canadian independence and
the fight for social progress

The crisis emphasises anew the
over-riding need to free Canada
from dependence on the USA and
sor Canada to develop secondary
industry on the basis of its natural
resources, including energy re-
sources, through public owner-
ship. We must show that Cana-
dian independence is essential to
a successful struggle for social

progress and for peace, in the -

same way as the struggle for so-
cial progress and for peace is es-
sential to the successful struggle
for Canadian independence. This
issue is coming up more strongly

than ever now, centred on the is- -.

sues of energy, free trade, cultural
policy, democratic control over
the multi-national corporations.
What this proposal reflects is
that the world capitalist-wide
market is narrowing down. Trade
blocs have arisen in various parts
of the world from which Canada is
excluded. The solution however
does not lie in orientating on the
U.S. market but’ in opposing
closed and exclusive trade blocs,
developing the maximum trade
with the socialist countries,
Western Europe, Latin America,
Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

Canada can do so providing it is
guided by a consistent policy of
detente, disarmament and coop-
eration, the development of trade
on a mutually satisfactory basis,
assistance to the forces striving
for genuine national liberation.

The focus today must be on the
struggle for disarmament — on
the struggle against the multi-
national corporations — on sol-
idarity support to Chilean democ-
racy, Portugal, Southern Africa,
Angola, Cyprus, Spain.

— Canadians should support
the just struggle waged by Angola
for national and economic inde-
‘pendence, press the Government
to recognize the Neto Government
and call for withdrawal of all .
foreign troops from ‘Angola.

— They should oppose imperial-
ist interference in Portugal.

— They should call for an end to
the continued fascist terror of the
Pinochet regime in Chile and the
release of all political prisoners.

— They should oppose the Is-
raeli Government policy, which is
aimed at postponing and prevent-
ing a comprehensive and just solu-
tion of the Middle East problem.
The PLO should be recognized.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 30, 1976—Page 7