Pink Y. Red

Like its U.S. counterpart, the C.I.O., the Canadian Congress of Labor organized a political action committee.* Last week, delegates to the annual C.C.L. convention found themselves neck-deep in politics. C.C.L.'s Quebec director, the convention's nominal host, was soon fed up with all the lobbying and argument. Said he: "When we invited you to come and have a convention in the city of Quebec, we had a labor convention in view. . . . This . . . has developed into a political convention."

The issue: should the C.C.L. endorse the socialist C.C.F. as the political organ of Canada's labor movement? At its convention a year ago the C.C.L. had plumped for the socialists by a thumping majority. But out to fight the socialists were Canada's pseudonymous Communists, the aggressive Labor Progressives, whose party line calls for all-out support of Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Behind the Communists were the old-line Laborites (who believe that unions ought to stay out of politics), and the delegates from Catholic Quebec (who welcomed a chance to whittle down socialist strength).

On the final roll-call vote the Communists lost. The convention voted 272-to-185 to uphold the 29-point report of the Canadian P.A.C., which in effect again endorsed the C.C.F.

* The C.C.L. maintains close fraternal relations with the C.I.O., includes in its membership the Canadian locals of important international C.I.O. unions like the United Steelworkers and the United Automobile Workers.

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