LABOR-PROGRESSIVE PARTY BRIEF

‘Bill 93 should be tabled until parliament enacts Bill of Rights’

PRESS that “‘Bill 93 be tabled . . . until the . parliament of Canada adopts a Bill of Rights,”’ the Labor-Progressive party has forwarded its brief on. the bill to the House of Com- mons . committee sitting in Ottawa. Excerpts from the brief are given here.

national executive com- mittee of the Labor-Progress- ive party takes the opportunity afforded by your committee to submit the following memoran- dum. It is our hope that your committee will agree to hear, in person, a member or members of the national executive com- mittee of the Labor-Progressive party regarding the opinions herewith submitted.

Study of Bill 93 convinces us that the new Criminal Code

which the bill contains inchudes .

changes of such far-reaching character that its enactment would change fundamentally the content and purpose of Canadian law as the expression in legal terms of social relationships in Canada and the political relation- ship of Canada to other coun- tries. Hasty adoption of such _ far-reaching and, so far, unex-

uenene

CCCL first to ask hoist of Bill 93

Justice Minister Stuart Gar- son’s claim that only Com- munists are urging a year’s delay of Bill 93 is termed a “McCarthy - like attempt to | bludgeon the bill through par- liament and malign organiza- tions honestly concerned with civil liberties” in a statement sent to the special parliament- ary committee by the League for Democratic Rights. The LDR points out that the Can- adian Catholic Confederation of Labor was the first to ad-

vance the request for delay.

‘plained changes must ‘be studi-

ously avoided. * The Labor-Progressive - party urges that more adequate opport- unities be granted to interested organizations to submit criticisms of the proposed Bill 93. | This is the first’ consolidation and re- vision of the Criminal Code in 60 years; that alone is cause for extreme care and full public dis- cussion of the meaning and sig- nificance of changes proposed .. . Our submission is, that several sections of Bill 93 are reformula- tions of a number of offenses, and that these must, be regarded ‘as a series of new basic defini-

' This process

"MAY DAY GREETINGS

from VANCOUVER METAL & CHEMICAL WORKERS’ UNION.

Local No. 289 ;

Vancouver, B.C.

SE Ba

MAY

DAY GREE!

NGS

: TO THE LABOR MOVEMENT . Copper Mountain Miners’ Union

Local No. 649

COPPER MOUNTAIN, B.C.

> Oo Se

‘NELSON & DISTRICT

<—e ><

MINE & MILL WORKERS’ UNION Local No. 901

EXTENDS

MAY DAY GREE

ess SBEEAC

TINGS

Se

PEOPLE'S

- Co-operative Limited |

extends its hearty fraternal greetings on the occasion of May 1 to the laboring people of B.C. in their desire ~ for Permanent Security and Lasting Peace.

i

: 610 Dufferin Avenue - \Winnipeg, Manitoba

CONSUMER OWNED

CONSUMER OPERATED

$6,650 in shareholders’ dividends paid out in 1952.

.

_ Become a shoreholder in a Nation-wide Organization.

*

tions, particularly with respect to the traditional rights of the trade union movement, civil rights in general and breaches of: public order .. ."

The present period and situa- tion are marked by the trend — originating and actively promot- ed by dominant circles in the United States of America — to- wards the curtailment of free- dom of thought and expression and the repression of criticism

of the policies of the U.S. govern-.

ment. The more widespread the popular questioning and anxiety regarding these policies, the more open the intervention of U.S. authorities to impose on other countries the witchhunt and thought-control pattern so dangerously in the ascendant in the USA. ,

Experience teaches the bitter lesson that apparently “minor” technical changes im the law, os- tensibly directed at so-called “ex- tremists” only, can be part of the process, promoted by anti-demo- cratic interests, whereby demo- cracy is subverted to fascism. is facilitated in Canada by the absence of. a’ Bill of Rights, or a Constitution, set- ting down the basic civil rights of the individual citizens and his freedom ‘to associate with others of like beliefs.

Our concern over this danger.

confronting the liberties of Can- adians derives from the fact that

j the Labor-Progressive party is

dedicated to the defense of the democratic sovereignty of Cana- da. Its whole record is one of struggle for popular rights and liberties, against the reactionary subversion of democratic institu- tions which have been won in revolutionary struggles in Brit-

;; ain’s and. Canada’s past.

We wishsto place before the

/ committee a series of objections : to those sections of Bill 93 which

we believe are proposals for seri- ous encroachments on the politi-

i, cal rights of citizens — encroach-

ments so serious that they would,

i if enacted, deny the sovereignty

t

LPP documents and correspondence on Bill 93.

of Canada. In addition and as part of the same approach, Bill 93 proposes changes which could be utilized to identify the loyalty of the citizen to Canada with loyalty to the policy of a party government .. .

For example, it could be charg- ed by the present government of Canada that criticism of the ‘North Atlantic Treaty Organiza- tion, or discussion on the part of a. Canadian citizen with the citi- zens of other states to bring about world peace, constitute treasonable conspiracies — des- pite the fact that NATO has never been endorsed by the Can- adian people who are more con- cerned about world peace than any other question.

The government could charge, under the new sections of the Code respecting treason, that ad- vocacy of an armistice in Korea is “treason,” despite the fact that the . Canadian electorate has never been given an opportunity to discuss the actions of the gov-

ernment in sending armed forces

to Korea.

Recalling the experiences of Section 98 of the Criminal Code, which public opinion compelled the government to repeal in 1936, arid the abuses which the govern- ments in the 1930’s perpetrated against civil rights by charging hundreds of hungry and dis- Aressed working people with, “sedition,” “unlawful assembly” and ‘unlawful picketing,” it is

_ MAY DAY GREETINGS TO ALL TRIBUNE READERS

{

UNION PRINTERS LIMITED

550 Powell Street

WEST

HAst. 8974-8975

MEN’S UNION

: (CANADA)

10 Powell Street

Vancouver, B.C.

Extends May Day Greetings to

Organized Labor and Friends

GREETINGS TO ALL UNIONISTS

B. C. DISTRICT UNION

o

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF

MINE, MILL & SMELTER WORKERS

1 PACIFIC TRIBUNE — MAY 1, 1953 — PACY

|i the death penalty, for ¢

/ Policy of the party temporan’

{ Party in office.

reasonable to suppose that the | present government is using the chance afforded by the consolida- tion of the Criminal Code to 10- timidate many Canadians into a cepting a foreign policy to which | they are increasingly opposed. The: present foreign policy of, the government is bringing Cal- ada perilously close to war ani subordinating the sovereignty 0% the country to the USA. Through the automatic commitments 1 NATO the essential decisions 0% peace or war have been prac — tically removed from parliament. Treason could be charged if 4— Canadian citizen criticized hos — tilities which broke out because

¢

of the actions of a foreign gov

ernment, over which Canada has no control. The present crisis — in Germany, and the Koje camP events in Korea, ate cases i point. is R It-is precisely to prevent crith cism of such-matters that the government’ of Canada is asking — parliament to endorse wholly — new conceptions of treason ant —

tion.

mittee is, therefore: The statutory definitions

of treason are now extend>

ed to cover offenses which were

formerly included in the com mon law regarding sedition. MA ; gether with the penalties prov

ed in the new code, they fore —

cast the reign of political ree tion,

dented definitions of tre? son and sedition are given in e new code which make it “tre> — onable” and “seditious” to at § test against the actions of st# ed other than Canada, and with Fe spect to the troops of a os power; and these offenses if extended to cover their comm i sion within Canada or without! and in conditions where ") exists no legal enemy with tte Canada is in a state of war, * '

implying prosecution, ant ail who disagree with the ily

The “interests — Canada are _ implicitly 0.) with the opinions of a P°

ee

in office. itical

Sections 365 and

anti-labor and intended t 5

limit the right to strike a” right to picket. ‘ These new sections accord the government e Powers for use against the othe eign interests of Canada citizens civil rights of Canadian

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TRADE UNION RESEARCH BUREAU | _ Labor Consultants’ : ds - MAY oat GREETINGS 339 W. Pender St PA. 5831

net Me

nee

arbitrary

ae

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to widen the law respecting sede

Our submission to your com

Wholly new and unprece ee

foreig? — i