COMMUNISM IN

JANUARY 1966

Notes for Young People

The Alert Service Suite 500 240 Eglinton Avenue. East Toronto 12, Ontario Canada

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COMMUNISM IN CANADA - Notes for Young People -

Communism as a general idea, is a very old one,

. . .. , . going back many centuries, and meaning that no one should have private possessions or organize his own . . work, but that thes~ should be controlled by a community. What we mean by "ConlIJlllnism" nowadays, however, is a set of theories worked out by a

German, Karl Marx, &.11d first put into practice by . . . the Russian revolutionaries in 1917. Later it became known as Marxist-Leninist Communism.

IN CANADA

In Canada there were, before 1917, a few handfuls of people, mostly immigrants from Europe, who believed in "Marxism". But Communism was really introduced into this country from Russia -- re-named the -- by the , which was in practice the same thing as the Government of the Soviet Union.

Twice the Communist Par·ty in Canada ran afoul of the Law:

1. In 1931 some of its leader$ were jailed, because they were considered by the courts to have the same object as the parent body (the Communist· International) -- to over­ throw the government by force.

2. In 1940 the Communist Party was banned under the Defence of Canada Regulations because, until 1941, it worked against Canadian .. participation in the war which we were 1 fighting agajnst Nazi Germany. In 1941, ) when Germany broke its treaty with the Soviet Union by invading that country, they ceased to oppose the war effort.

When ~he P.arty wa~ banil:ed it just continued under another name, and from 1943 to 1959 it called itself the Labor-Progressive Party. In 1959 it assumed its proper name - -the Communist Party. · It continues to . . follow the ideas of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.

Nowadays, in addition to the Soviet Union there .are. other Communist countries -- Communist China and the countries or Eastern Europe. They .also have some influence on Communists in Canada, but connection has always been with the Soviet Union.

COMMUNIST BELIEFS

· It is well to be clear about the main beliefs of Communism, and these are:- 1. It is against religion of any kind, including Christianity and Judaism.

2. It is against private property and private enterprise. This does not mean that every­ one has the same amount .of money -- because in this respect there are great differences in the Soviet Union -- but it does mean ') that farms and factories, and financial organisations are run by the government.

3. The government and the Communist Party are

really the same in operation because th~ .

Communist Par~y controls the government. The Communist Party which rules Russia is small compared to the population of Russia as a whole. What they call "elections" are quite different to our elections; there are no other political parties, so the Russian people have no choice but to endorse the Communist Party candidates. Communists do not believe in what we call democracy.

j' There are bodies which include represent~­ tives from all parts of the Soviet Union, but they do not control the government. In other words, where the Communists are in control of a country the people do not have what we call "responsible government". It

\ ' is recognized that the Conmru.nist system does not provide the political _and civil liberties which we think are necessary if we are to be free.

THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN CANADA

There is still a Communist Party in Canada. It is not large, and it never has bee11. It is quite different to Canadian political parties because it is composed of people who do not believe in our system of government. But only a portion of the Connnunists in Canada are openly members of this Party, although others take advice and direction from it.

PERSUASION

But more important to us than the Party itself, are the things which the Communists are trying to do in this country. One of the most important things they seek to do in Canada, and in other democratic countries, is to persuade other people to agree with their ideas -- to accept their attitude towards religion, private property, and government. One of the .basic desires of Communists has always been to spread their system to as many other countries as possible. In the past they have sometimes done this by conquest or force of another kind, but they have always believed in the power of propaganda. I

J fl EC 2 0 1977 To All Members Communist Party of Canada Re: ''Yours in the Struggle - Reminiscences of Tim Buck''

Dear comrades: The CEC addresses this letter to you in order to acquaint all members ·of the Party with the position of the Central Committee in respect to this book, published by the NC Press, Toronto, under the direction of Comrade Bess Mascolo and edited by Central Committee member William Beeching and alternate CC member Phyllis Clarke. The book is based on a series of taped interviews made by comrade Buck in cooperation with the CBC. The existence of these tap~s was first .. brought to the attention of the CEC by comrade Mark Frank. Copies of the tapes are in the possession of York University, Toronto, and are available for public study. The CEC received a copy of the transcript of the tapes from comrade Buck. Following its study of the transcript the CEC decided to write to comrade Buck (who was in Mexico for the winter) outlining its conclusions concerning the taped material for his consideration. ,. The CEC found that much of the material provided a good source for writing the autobiography which comra"e Buck, though ill, was ·working on with the assistance of comrade Beeching. In this respect, however, the CEC pointed out there-was need of validation of happenings, accuracy checking, correction of names, etc. The CEC also drew attention to other material I requjring further development, as·for instance the treatment of the Industrial · Workers of the World; the socialist breakthrough; definition of the proletariat; the treatment of the early years of the formation of the Party which, as described in.the transcript, could leave the reader with the impression of an exercise in conspiracy; and the treatment oft.he struggle against the right-wing position of''American Exceptionalism'', which. required filling-out to encompass all the forces involved in the struggle against opportunism, particularly the important role played by the YCL. But far more serious than the above, ~ome of the material in the transcript was open to misinterpretation at the expense of the Party. Two such areas drawn to the attention of comrade Buck in the CEC letter were the treatment of the 20th Congress of the CPSU and that of the 1946 ''spy~ case''. The CEC letter to comrade Buck pointed out that the transcript treatment of that hist~ric Congress might create the impression that the fraternal delegates from brother Parties were treated with contempt or worse ) in respect to the exposure of the cult of Stalin-. The CEC advised comrade Buck that the transcript coverage of this aspect of the work of the 20th Congress could be misconstrued and thus obscure the impact of that Congress on world development; and on the strategy and tactics of Communist and Workers' Parties. The CEC letter to comrade Buck stressed that there should be no impression conveyed in the autobiography of an approach to the 20th Congress that differed from the Party's assessment of it. . . Secondly, t'1e transcript's treatment of the ''spy case'', directed to undermining the reputation of the Party as part of the imperialist ·preparations for its cold war assault against social progress and peaceful co-existence, was rather ambigious and thus open to misrepresentation about the nature of this RCMP-rigged case and the role of a then Communist . Member of Parliament. Finally, the CEC letter to comrade Buck drew attention to the important role he had played for many years in the leadership of the Party, and consequently that what is written in his autobiography will be considered as part of the history of the Party. From this standpoint the CEC expressed its view that it was essential there be full agreement .between author and CEC on the political content of the autobiography. · In outlining its views to comrade Buck, the CEC fully appreciated that the material studied by it was only a transcript of the taped remarks made during taping sessions. Consequently such remarks made during an interview would not necessarily be well thought out or welliormulated. But in the actual writing of the autobiography comrade Buck would take fully into account the comments of the CEC. Unfortunately, this letter was never sent to comrade Buck by reason of the worsening of his illness and subsequent death in Mexico. It was, however, sent to comrade Beeching who at that time was collaborating with comrade Buck in preparing the transcript for publication. Therefore, comrade Beeching, the main editor of the book, was well aware of the CEC' s criticism of certain parts of the taped materials. It should be emphasized that both comrade Beeching and comrade Clarke were fully acquainted with the CEC's criticisms of those parts of the transcript outlined in this letter. For both were privy to all decisions of the CEC by virtue of their positions on the Central Comn1ittee. In view of comrade Buck's death the CEC decided to proceed with the publication of a book about Tim and his early life and his work as a leader of the Party. This was done without prejudice to furt~erpublication ofmaterials of comrade Buck's. In 1975 Progress Books published ''Tim Buck-A Conscience for Canada'' by Oscar Ryan. Comrade Mascolo, with whom the Secretariat met and who is responsible for the publication of'' Yours in the Struggle'', was likewise • acquainted with the views.of the CEC in respect to the mentioned material. Yet, she too, in defiance of the views of the CEC, went ahead with the • publication of the book without the necessary modifications and correction of those parts mentioned which could be inimical to the interests of the Party. Characteristic of comrade Mascolo's defiance, was her rejection of the request made on behalf of comrade Tom ~cEwen that the foreward to the book he had written at the request of comrade Buck not be published. Because of her insistence, all the taped material, possible of misinterpretation and misrepresentation remain in the book, material that enemies of the Party can use to link the honored name of T~m . Buck with the anti-Soviet, anti-Marxist-Leninist, pro-imperialist ,Policies of the Maoist leaders of China. The very act of giving the book to NC Press, a Maoist-oriented publishing house that .publishes the works of Mao in Canada and other ultra-left authors, unloosened a floodgate of Maoist support for its publication and promotion. This support includes Dr. James Endicott - a · well-known advocate of the anti-Soviet positions of Mao - his son Norman Endicott, and other well-known supporters of across C_anada. Also actively supporting and promoting the book is the publisher of the magazine . · ''Northern Neighbors'', Dyson Carter. This attempt to associate comrade Buck's name with Maoism is done by NC Press in its advertising. A full-page advertisement in Canadian Forum is headed by a quote from James Endicott's endorsement of the book. It is done also in the main text of the ad where it states that Tim • ''encouraged to go to China'' and neglects to say that Tim encouraged Bethune to go to Spain. Incidentally, the pro-Maoist NC Press also uses a quote from comrade Beeching in the ad, thus linking up the names of comrades Buck, Bethune and Beeching with the anti-Sovietism of Maoism and Mao's Canadian advocate, James Endicott. The CEC first learned, through a press release from NC Press, that publication of''Yours in the Struggle'' was going ahead and that comrades Beeching and Clarke were editing the book. Neither of these comrades saw fit to consult with the CEC before undertaking this project. Such behaviour by two veteran members of the Party, holding positions on the Party's .. Central Committee, is intolerable. In this manner, they set themselves on a course of evasion and defiance. This was the way they chose to ''honor'' the memory of an outstanding Canadian, an outstanding Communist, a steadfast Marxist-Leninist. . · Consequently the Central Committee at its meeting of October 14-15, 1977 characterized the actions of these two comrades as ''thoughtless, irresponsible and injurious to the cause of the Party, the working class ' movement and, not least, to the memory of Tim Buck''. The CC decided to suspend comrade Beeching as a member of the Central Committee and · comrade Phyllis Clarke as an alternate member of the Central Co~ttee for ''grave viola~ion of in defiance of a decision of the Central Executive Committee~'. In addition to these disciplinary measures taken by the Central Committee against two of its members, the CEC is taking steps to receive an accounting from other comrades associated with the publication and promotion of ''Yours in the Struggle'', and will take whatever disciplinary me~sures it deems necessary in accordanc~ with-the outcome of the said accountings. Trusting this informatiqn will clear up any misunderstanding in respect I to the CC' s attitude to this publication and why the action it has been -compelled to take is vital to the best interests of the Party and the working class movement. .... comradely yours, Central Executive Committee Communist Party of Canada.

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