Reprinted from PCDN, Volume 6 Number 35, March 23, 1976
Thirty thousand workers and political activists marched onto Parliament Hill on March 22nd in an unprecedented and historic demonstration against Bill C-73. Thousands of workers took up the slogan: Make the Rich Pay! This is the first time in the history of Canada that workers and political activists in such large numbers and from all parts of Canada converged onto Parliament Hill to demonstrate vigorous opposition to the U.S. imperialist dominated state and its government for passing Bill C-73 and “legalising” the shifting of the burden of the economic crisis onto the backs of the workers.
Militant workers came from Quebec in thousands. Close to half of the workers came from Quebec alongside with hundreds of political activists. Students organised by ANEQ expressed their militant support for the workers’ struggle against Bill C-73 and their campaign to make the rich pay. Thousands of workers joined from the Ottawa area. Several thousand came from Ontario – from Southern Ontario as well as from certain parts of Northern Ontario. A plane-load of trade-unionists came from B.C. and workers came from as far as St. John’s Newfoundland. Thousands of workers from Ontario and Quebec who wanted to participate in the demonstration could not make it because of the conspiracy by CLC big wigs against mobilisation, to the extent that workers in various places, for example Brantford and Montreal to mention, just a few, had to turn back in the absence of transportation facilities for them,
While workers were participating in demonstrating on Parliament Hill, over 120,000 workers, some common front workers and workers without contracts, participated in general strike struggle. So many teachers were on strike that one million students were not able to attend classes. Quebec Hydro workers also walked off their jobs.
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) vigorously participated in the demonstration. Its participation was three-fold: 1. The National Headquarters of the CPC(M-L) in Montreal organised a small contingent of Party members and supporters who marched under the Party banner. This numbered from 150 to 250 at various stages of the demonstration. 2. The majority of Party members from Ontario and Quebec marched with their respective unions or brought along unorganised workers’ contingents. This provided correct slogans and militancy to various workers’ contingents from Ontario. 3. The Party mobilised students from various universities, a section of whom marched with the Party banner while others marched with their respective delegations. It is estimated that by using this method, Party members had direct contact with over 80% of the contingents. This can be further seen from the fact that Party members distributed over 8000 issues of a special issue of PCDN in English and over 6000 in French. Party participation in the demonstration was extremely successful.
While the Party vigorously participated in the demonstration, carried on political propaganda and agitation amongst the workers on a large scale, and while workers militantly expressed their firm opposition to Bill C-73, CLC bigwigs participated in a bogus drama and disgraced the workers’ movement by addressing the fat cat millionaires. The bankruptcy of the entire affair can be analysed from the comments of the news media who were extremely happy with the CLC. They commented that the demonstration was “orderly” and “peaceful”; provided details as to various delays and other shortcomings of the demonstration which were directly the result of the conspiracy of CLC bigwigs against the demonstration; applauded Joe Morris and his crew because they were more “moderate” than expected; called the demonstration “futile” and attempted to cover up the entire content of the demonstration.
Two points stand out quite distinctly from this demonstration which is no surprise but must be firmly grasped: 1. Thousands of workers and political activists participated in the demonstration. They protested Bill C-73, raised the slogan that the rich must pay for their economic crisis and expressed in concrete form the sentiment of millions of workers and other oppressed people across Canada who are bearing the brunt of the economic crisis of U.S. imperialism and Canadian monopoly capitalism. These workers and political activists particpated in straight-forward class war and through this unprecedented demonstration issued a warning to the capitalists’ state and the capitalists that workers in this country will resist the attacks of the state and Make the Rich Pay. 2. CLC bigwigs did everything to a. tell the government in no uncertain terms that it is not going to organise any opposition and b. presented no programme for the workers. The only thing which was audible from the speeches of various CLC brass was: “Thank you for coming. Now go home”. Thus the CLC bigwigs completely exposed themselves as thoroughly class-collaborationist. The CLC has been notorious and infamous for not organising the demonstration and when the demonstrators did come in thousands to Parliament Hill providing them with no programme what-so-ever.
PCDN hails the fighting spirit of the Canadian proletariat and vigorously applauds the thousands of demonstrators who participated in the demonstration on the hill. PCDN firmly supports the opposition to Bill C-73 and the campaign to Make the Rich Pay. PCDN hails this unprecedented demonstration which marks the further development of the workers’ movement. For the first time in the history of the Workers’ movement of this country, reactionary national chauvinism suffered a big blow. Inspite of certain provocations by anarchist-fascist elements who formed a coalition to whip up nonsense about “two nations” and the right for Quebec to “separate” etc. workers from all areas, from Ontario and Quebec and from other areas, firmly united with one another in the common cause of opposing the shifting of the burden of the economic crisis of U.S. imperialism and Canadian monopoly capitalism onto their backs and launching the offensive to Make the Rich Pay: The reactionary nationalist troublemakers did not find much support in the proletarian ranks and were forced to march along-side with others to the Parliament Hill in one demonsoration of class unity and solidarity against the bourgeoisie.
Workers gained much from this demonstration. Consciousness of class struggle increased manifold. Class struggle further developed. PCDN hails this demonstration as a great contribution to proletarian struggle against the bourgeoisie.
PCDN calls upon all class conscious workers to double and triple their efforts to Make the Rich Pay. As we have stated several times before, only through its own efforts can the working class liberate itself. The rich are not going to pay without a protracted revolutionary struggle. Neither the parliamentary cretinism of NDP-“C”PC nor the anarcho-fascism of various “down with capitalism” fakers is going to make the rich pay. Only the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat carried vigorously at the place of work, against U.S. imperialist domination and against the shifting of the burden of economic crisis will Make the Rich Pay.
HAIL THE HISTORIC MARCH 22 DEMONSTRATION AGAINST BILL C-73!
MAKE THE RICH PAY!