DWARD ISLAND ‘

THE CADRE

FLQ: when a nation panics

bythe Front de Liberation Quebeeois’

he search for alternatives must begin.

Let us acquire the essential political instruments, let us take over control f our economy, let us get a radically reformed social leadership! Wrench ff the colonial yoke, get rid of the imperialists who live off the toil of ur Quebec workers. Quebec’s tremendous natural resources must belong to

uebeckers!

There is only one way to bring this about: a national revolution in a amework of INDEPENDENCE. Otherwise, the Quebec population cannot

ope to live in freedom.

But it is no longer enough to want independence, to work within the isting political separatist parties. The colonizers will not so easily yield up ieir tempting loot. The separatist political parties will never gain sufficient )wer to overcome the colonizers' political and economic hold. Moreover,

independence alone will not

resolve anything. It must, at all costs, be accompanied by a social revolution.

Quebec’s patriots are not fighting over a name, but over a situation. A

revolution is not a parlor game,

played for fun. Only a full-fledged

revolution can build up the necessary power to achieve the vital changes that will be needed in an independent Quebec. A national revolution, cannot, of its very nature, tolerate any compromise. There is only one way

of overcoming colonialism]: to be

stronger than it is! Only the most

far-fetched idealism may mislead one into thinking otherwise. Our period of

slavery has ended.

QUEBEC PATRIOTS, TO ARMS! TIIE HOUR OF NATIONAL

REVOLUTION HAS STRUCK!

INDEPENDENCE OR DEATH!

rustration - putting it all in perspective

by Susan Reisler Canadian University Press crises the Canadian government een forced to face during the eek, should not be so surprising e government would have us

1966, the United States army ored a series of studies on le areas of revolution in the ‘rn hemisphere. These studies designed to formulate plans for ng or reversing such revolutions. f the areas studied was Quebec. 5 necessary that we try to put is happening in Quebec today some sort of perspective for , so we can all relate to the events and see them as actions evelop logically from the history ression in a nation defeated in nial war over 180 years ago. e of the answers can be found press every day. It was no idence that most papers day. October 14, ran front stories announcing the nent plans “to consider” the easures Act, together with all

f denunciations 0f the FLQ, .

same time as Finance Minister announced that “Jobless Now ggest Threat”.

people in Canada are facing ic depression that is not ted to the kidnappings in . nor to the fact that hundreds ths at the Jericho Hostel in uver refused to cease their ion of the building and were

by 100 riot-equipped RCMP. 7.

eOple‘have no place to go.‘ 18 no work for them and they 0 money.

is a partial description of the situation in Quebec _that is $6 to socialist movements like t de Liberation du Quebec:

6 past 15 years Quebec has 0me close to full employment. yment has never been lower Ur per cent, even in summer, t frequently been as high as 15

‘ Quebec comprises little over a ‘ 0f the Canadian labor force, 1 Per cent of unemployed

Canadians live in Quebec.

Historically, unemployment in Quebec has been 20 to 40 per cent‘ higher than the average in Canada, and 50 to 100 per cent higher than the unemployment average in Ontario.

Nearly all people out of work in Quebec are French. _

The average number of unemployéd in Quebec last year was 158,000. Of these 65,000, or 42 per cent, were under the age of 25.

The average income of English—speaking workers in Quebec is 40 per cent higher than that of French-speaking workers.

Francophones with the same degree of education, even if they are bilingual, earn less than do unilingual

' English-speaking Canadians 1 living in

Quebec.

English-speaking employees who are 30 per cent of the labor force hold 77 per cent of the jobs in the $15,000 income bracket.

French-speaking employees, 70 per cent of the Quebec labor force, hold 82 per cent of the jobs in the $5,000 to $6,000 income bracket, according to the Bilingual and Bicultural Commission released in 1964. ‘

The Bl&BI Commission also reports: “in the matter of occupations the French Canadians are found at the bottom of the list, immediately above Italians, both in Quebec and in the

‘rest of the country.”

Also from .the Bl&BI: “Canadians of British origin have incomes 10 per cent higher than the average in every province except Quebec, where they

earn 40 per cent more than the.

average.” “In short, it isn’t the knowledge of

two languages that is beneficial to the

French Canadian in Quebec, but rather the knowledge of one language, English. ‘

And they conclude the survey: English Canadians have very little reason to become bilingual, even in Quebec, while for French Canadians bilingualism is a prerequisite to income. And even if bilingual, French Canadians cannot hope to equal the

/ salaries of unilingual English.”

This text is taken from the Royal

Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism published in part in 1964. The Pearson government initiated the Commission. The situation in Quebec has not changed except to get worse. How can we expect the Quebecois to respect the ballot box when the ballot box has never helped them before.

In the light of all these facts, which only partially depict the actual situation in Quebec, we must seriously consider the meaning of violence in this context. M. Trudeau talks about democracy being threatened by the kidnapping of the FLQ (and we must remember that Pierre Laporte was the Minister of Labor in Quebec). But if people do not even have the basic right to work to earn their living, then we must consider that kind of violence too.

For days we have been hearing how shocked the nation has been. On television M. Trudeau said: “We are shocked and this is understandable because democracy flourishes in Canada, individual freedom is cherished in Canada.”

What does the word democracy mean to a worker who can’t get a job and has no money for food, rent, clothing for his family? How can he use this electoral system to help him?

Clearly this system which everyone is talking about is one that harbors two laws: one for the rich, and one for the poor. In Vancouver, Trudeau said last June there would always be rich and poor in this world. It is easy to say that when you have a million dollars behind you, but is that what democracy is all about?

Throughout Canada people are being oppressed by this democratic system.

The Saskatchewan wheat farmers cannot sell their grain and find themselves being forced off theirgland and unemployed. They even had to

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buy back their own wheat in one case, in order to give it away to starving Indians in the north of the province. Is this a democracy when we have to sell our products at the highest price or not sell them at all?

In the Atlantic provinces the fishermen are being robbed daily by the large canning companies, who refuse to allow them to watch as their catch is weighed in. Those men and their families are very poor. Is

‘ that democracy?

Women are discriminated against everywhere, because they are women. They are paid less for equal work and in many cases kept unemployed until they are needed to provide cheap labor. They do not have the right to control their own bodies. It takes a federal government law to make abortions legal across Canada so that women can determine their own lives. Is that how democracy is supposed to operate?

And the Indians and the Eskimos from whom we took this land in the first place and whom we are forcibly trying to assimilate into white society, they are oppressed daily by the federal government. How is that democratic?

Democracy means one thing for the government, another for the majority of people in Canada who have long had their arights taken away from them by the brute force of an economic system which they are powerless to change.

Not all Canadians are affected by

economic oppression, only most of

them. It seems obvious that those who benefit most from the laws eat the best, and stand to lose the most from all the activities taking place in Canada today. These are the people who are loudly calling for law and order.

UNIVERSITY OF

Editor - in - Chief: Steve Foster

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND