Hy LOM OM

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1966
VOL. 27, NO. 12

‘US. soldier carrying off Vietnamese girl, bound and blind-
folded.

End the war
in Vietnam!

ee
in ia ti

Join the protest

WLU ULAR) ERY REALL CUD

GOV'T JOINS IN

BIG BUSINESS
PLOTS DRIVE

AGAINST LABOR

By Maurice Rush

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Signs multiplied this week that Ottawa, Victoria and big business are
planning a new drive against labor in the weeks ahead. The purpose of the
new anti-labor attack is aimed at defeating labor’s attempt to win substantial
gains in this year’s negotiations, and to shift the burden of growing inflation

caused by the Vietnam war and the new U.S.

working people.

These three serious warnings
came during the past week:

1. In a speech before the Can-

adian Club in Toronto on Mon-
day, Trade Minister Robert Win-
ters outlined the Federal govern-
ment’s program to “fight infla-
tion” which includes a veiled
threat to labor not to go after
wage increases and for the Can-
adian people not to press for
social legislation such as higher
old age pensions,

2. At the Legislature in Vic-

toria there were strong reports
that the Bennett government plans
to bring down new anti-labor
legislation which will try to curb
labor’s strength and be aimed at
outlawing solidarity actions such
as the general strike. Premier
Bennett and Labor Minister
Peterson both indicated in an
explosive debate in the House last
Wednesday that they intend to
make their new anti-labor poli-
cies a key issue in the next pro-
vincial elections,

3. In the last few days there

has been a noticeable stiffen-
ing by the big corporations in
B.C. in contract negotiations now
involving tens of thousands of
workers, The tougher attitude
is directly traced to the stand
taken in Ottawa and Victoria,
The tougher attitude of employ-
ers was especially noticed in the
pace-setting | woodworking in-
dustry where the forest com-
panies last Wednesday released
19 proposals most of which would
take away many of the hard-won
gains of the workers,

In his Toronto speech Trade
Minister Winters, who before
his election held many high posts
in the most powerful U.S.-Can-
adian corporations, warned that
the government intends to “keep
production costs down to be com-
petitive on worid markets,”
While implying that higher wages

would be inflationary he never

once in his speech made mention
of the huge profits being piled
up by the owners of Canadian
industry,

omy, is being subjected to the
same inflationary pressures

arising from the unpopular war

policy of the U.S. administration.

In the U.S, labor has strongly
opposed Johnson’s attempt to
curb labor’s economic demands,
Canadian labor is likewise ex-
pected to resist the Winters-
Pearson policy,

Adoption by. Canada of new
economic policies is aimed at
curbing labor and the rising de-
mand for social legislation, It is
one of the “unpopular decisions”
for which Prime Minister Pear-

VOW in Ottawa
urge Viet peace

Over 100 women from New-
foundland to B.C. met External
Affairs Minister Paul Martin,
Opposition Leader John Dief-
enbaker and other government
leaders and many MPs in Otta-
wa Tuesday, March 22, tourge
that Canada immediately ap-
peal for an end to bombings
in Vietnam, :

The delegation, organized
by the Voice of Women, asked
that Canada support the Gen-
eva Agreements and stop sup-
plying materials and tools of
war to other countries. The
VOW also urged that Canada
offer relief and aid to the
people of all parts of Vietnam,

Speak at Vietnam protest

guidelines on to the backs of the

son wanted a majority govern-
ment in the last election, Now
the minority Liberal government
is moving to implement this “un-
popular decision,” knowing full
well that it is opposed by the
majority of Canadians,

The Socred government in Vic-
toria, acting as it always doeson
behalf of big business, warned
in the House last week that it
would adopt a tougher attitude
to labor when it was prodded
by NDP members to act on the
Tysoe Commission report on
compensation, Labor Minister
Peterson rejected any proposal
for bringing in long-needed
changes in the workmen’s com-
pensation laws,

While NDP leader Robert
Strachan adopted a weak stand
in the face of Premier Bennett’s
threat to crack down on labor,
especially over the threatened
general strike last summer, NDP
MLA John Squire correctly put
the blame for the strikes in
B.C. on the Socred’s anti-labor
policies, He charged that these
policies had led to the strike
threat and predicted they would
precipitate more labor unrest
this year,

While the 19 proposals of the
forest monopolies for cutting
back gains which woodworkers
had already won are not the
only example of the tougher at-
titude by the employers, they

See LABOR, pg. 3

march Saturday

IN VANCOUVER the protest parade will move off
from City Hall at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 26. The parade
will come north on Granville St., to Robson and proceed to
the U.S. Consulate at Georgia and Burrard, then to the
Court House for a public rally.

In his Toronto speech, Winters
brought Canadian government
policy into line with U.S. Presi-
dent Johnson’s policy of resist-
ing wage gains, The U.S, and
Canadian policy stems from the
inflationary pressures caused by
the heavy expenditures of the
Vietnam war, Canada, because of
its close link with the U.S, econ-

JACK MOORE, regional president of the IWA (left) and ALEX MACDONALD, NDP

MLA, will be two of the speakers at the windup rally of the Vietnam protest rally on

Saturday at the V. ver Court H: Other speakers are: UBC professor W. Wil-

mott, Unitarian minister Rev. P. Hewitt, and Ray Burns of the UBC Vietnam Com- |
mittee.

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___ IN VICTORIA the protest will be held the same day
on the front lawn of the Legislative Buildings.

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