https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/b370b786d032398dabd8a44cf28750aa.pdf b6e3b9bb04b96b49380283acbc46acaa PDF Text Text -U2- C OMMUNISM IN C ANADA L.P.P. - N ational Struc tur e T h e ore tic ally , the power of the P arty is vested in the N ation al C onvention, which is usu ally held fevery two ye ars. T his C onvention, again th e oretic ally, ele cts the N ation al C ommitte e, which in turn selects its N ational E xecutive and also s ele cts the N ational R eview and Audit C ommitte e. However, as we know, the C ommunists do not rely too much on democratic processes, at le a st not as we under stand the me aning of the word democratic. A ctu ally, there is a very rigid control and disciplin e imposed on a ll conven tions, inde ed right up to the Assembles of the Supreme S oviet. The N ation al C ommitte e is composed of 35 members re pres e ntativ e of a ll the principal P arty districts in C anada. The bre akdown is as follows; O ntario Q uebec B. C . Alb erta S askatchewan Manitoba Maritimes 23 5 3 1 1 1 1 37 The number from O ntario is, of course, considerably enlarged because of the inclusion of a number of members connected with the N ational A dministrativ e Apparatus. N evertheless, we must recogniz e the fa ct th at O ntario contains very n e arly as many C ommunists as a ll the re st of the country- put tog eth er. • The N ational E xecutive C ommitte e consisting of 13 members is one of the two committe es of the P arty. It is ofte n referre d to by old-tim e C ommunists as the polit-buro or the P olitic a l Bure au. As Tim Buck has put it, this N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e is d elib erativ e rath er than exe cutiv e in ch ara cter. It is the task of this C ommitte e to consider the general dire ctiv e s handed down from the Int er n ation al C enter and to interpret them for a pplic ation to the C anadian scene, In order of th e ir prominence the members are as follows; 1. Tim Buck 2. Stanley Ryerson 3. L e slie Morris h-. Stu art Smith A. A. MacLeod 6. J.B. S alsberg 7. B ill K ashtan 8. T. C . Sims 9. P aul P hillips 10. B eckie Buhay 11. Norman Fre ed 12. Norman P enner 13. ' John N avis T he first fiv e make up what is referre d to as the " S ecre t ari at " which is the executive arm of the N ational E xecutive C ommitte e. T hese fiv e men have the re xponsibility of exe cuting the orders or directiv e formulated by the P olit-B uro. In a moment I nronose to give you a thumbnail sketch 000046 �-h-3of the backgrounds of e ach of the members of the N ation al E xecutive. B efore doing so, However, I would lik e to de al bri efly with the other top committe e of the P arty, th at is, the N ation al R eview and Audit C ommitte e. It is rath er unfor tunate th at our coverage of this vit a l committe e has not be en adequate to provide anything lik e a cle ar picture of its functions. We are in the unhappy position of knowing the name of only one member of this n ation al body and, th at is, B eckie Buhay, I do not intend to inf er th at our inv e stig ators have be en n e glig e nt, because th at would be most, unf air. Vie are not the only intellige nc e org a niz ation to find its e lf in the dark on this p articular angle, so l e t us, as inv e stig ators, regard this problem as a challenge to our ing e nuity. The N ation al R eview and Audit C ommitte e, as we se e it from the me agre information a v aila ble and the rese arch conducted into similar bodies abroad, is in the nature of a polic e arm of the P arty. It is ofte n referre d to as the C on trol C ommitte e, sometimes as the R eview C ommitte e, the Ins p e ction C ommitte e but always referring to the same body. It appe ars to be responsible for the control of P arty finances and P arty discipline . The C hairman of the C ommitte e is answer able not to the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e but to the N ation al C ommitte e, which places it on an equal footing with the N ation al E xecutive. If the full picture were to be known, we might find th at the C hairman of this C ontrol C ommitte e is under the direct supervision of the M. G .B. I mentioned e arlier th at c ertain re visions of the P arty Statute s at the 19th C ongress in Moscow in O ctober were p arallel to some developments which took place e arlier in C anada, p articularly insofar as they relate d to the N ation al R eview and Audit C ommitte e. We received documentary evidence over the name of B eckie Buhay under date of May 30,1952, in which she referre d to the status of persons being selected in e ach loc a lity across the country to co-operate in the scre ening program being launched by the N ation al R eview and A udit C ommitte e. She made it quite cle ar th at a person so selected would have the right, despite the views of the loc al executive committe e, to present questions to the N ation al R eview and A udit C ommitte e for consideration. This indepen dence of loc al re pre s e ntativ e s was also to be found in the re vis e d statute s approved by the 19th C ongress. O bviously, this would place more power than ever in the hands of people connected with the control apparatus. We have had some re ason to b elie v e th at the control apparatus has as one of its dutie s, the transmission of re ports and instructions p ertaining to the a dministration of various segments of the movement. It is also considered probable th at the method of tra nsmitting such m aterial involves the use of couriers. In view of these proba bilitie s, we must se e the ne ed for p e n etrating or at le a st trying to cover the operations of such an apparatus. It would, inde ed, be much more d e sira ble if we were in a position to a nticipate the actions of the P arty rath er than having to figure out just what happened a ft er it was too late . Now l e t us review the backgrounds of some of these top function arie s and se e what kind of people we are up a g ainst;- (a) TIM BU C K ? Tim Buck was born in S uffolk, E ngland,*” January 6, 1891, came to C anada in May 1910 and worked in Windsor as a 000047 �Machinist-Toolmaker. He joined the S ocialist P arty of C anada in 1912 and in 1919 helped organiz e a loc al C ommunist group in T oronto. He playan active part in bringing together a ll C ommunist groups into one in June 1921. In 192^, he became a full-time paid S ecretary of the Trade Union E ducational Le ague in C anada. The same ye ar he attended the 5th C ongress of the C ommunist Intern ation al in Moscow. He made several visits to Moscow in 1926 and 1929. In July, 1929, he became G eneral S ecretary of the Commu nist P artyof C anada and still holds that position. In 1931? he was con victed under S ection 98 of the Crimi nal Code and sentenced to fiv e ye ars in the Kingston P enitentiary, He was^rele ased in November 193^ , „ •. In 193 x j j ;, 5, he was elected ------to . the ---E xecutive Q ___ - • * .. — C ommitte e of— the C ommunist —Internation al and visite d Moscow in July 1936. On this same trip he passed through the Spanish the atre of war and allegedly "fought" against the fa scists. In 1937 and 1938, he also made trips to Moscow for conferences of the C ommunist Intern ation al. In May 19h-0, he went underground to evade arrest when the C ommunist P arty was out-lawed. He surrendered him s elf in S eptember 19*+2 and was condi tion ally rele ased. When the P arty under the name of the Labor Progressive P arty was re-formed in 19*+3? Tim Buck, was re-elected G eneral S ecretary. In 19*4-7, he visite d the United Kingdom to attend a conference of the British Commonwealth C ommunist P arties and then proce eded on to other E urope an countries within the Soviet orbit. In March 1950, he again visite d the United King dom to attend the British Communist P arty Industrial C onference and then went on to Moscow for the May Day C elebrations . (b) Stanley Brehaut E gerton RYERSON? RYERSON was born in T oronto, March 12,1911, of a distinguished C anadian family. He received his undergraduate education at Upper C anada C ollege and in 19315 en tered the University of T oronto. It was at this point that he first became interested in Communism. In 1932, he went to P aris on a scholarship and studied at the Sorbonne where he is said to have acquired a wider knowledge of Marxism. Upon his return to C anada he joined the C ommunist P arty and pro ce eded to obtain his B.A. at Toronto University, majoring in Modern Lan guages. He returned to the Sorbonne 000048 �-^5to obtainhis M.A. D egre e in 1933. In 193*+? he moved to Montre al as a te acher of languages at Sir G eorge Williams C ollege. In 1935, he became S ecretary of D istrict 2 of the C ommunist P arty of C anada, th at is Q uebec. In 1937, he represented the C e ntral E xecutive of the C ommunist P arty at the Mexican C ommunist C ongress in Mexico C ity. He held the position of S ecretary of D istrict 2 until lOM-O, when he became a member of the N ation al P olit-Buro. RY E RS O N was also forced to go under ground during the e arly stages of the war but surrendered hims elf in S eptember 19^2, to be rele ased condition ally. When the Labor-Progressive P arty was formed in August 191 +3, RY E RS O N was ele cte d Director of P ublicity and E du c ation. When Sam C ARR went under ground because of the esnionage inves tig ation in 19^6, Stanley RY E RS O N succe eded to his position as N ation al Organiz er„ (c) L e slie Thomas MO RRIS; MO RRIS was born in E ngland, on S eptember 10, 190U, and came to C anada in 1920. In 1921, he became a ctiv e in the C ommunist P arty of C anada and la t er was to become the first full-tim e N ation al S ecretary of the Young C ommunist Le ague,. In 1927, he went_to Moscow for a two ye ar course at the Lenin School. He made another trip to Moscow in 1935. MO RRIS has fill e d many important positions in the C ommunist movement in C anada, having be en Provincial Organiz er for the P arty in Manitoba as w ell as W estern C anada Organiz er. He also e dite d the " Worker'1 and la t er its successor the " D aily C larion " . In 1939, as a member of the C entral E xecutive C ommitte e of the C ommunist P arty of C anada, he attended a C ongress of the C ommunist P arty of C uba. He too went underground in the e arly stages of the war and fin a lly surrendered hims elf at Winnipeg in S eptember 19M-2. In recent ye ars he has e dite d the " C anadian Tribune " and more re c ently the " N ational Affairs Monthly" , the officia l organ of the N ation al C ommitte e. He has also be en one of the key figures behind the N ation al C ultural C ommission and, of course, the liaison offic er betwe en the N ational E xecutive of the P arty and the le a der ship of the C anadian P e ace C ongress. He is regarded as the C hief th e oretician of the P arty in C anada, and as we know, attended the 19th P arty C ongress in Moscow as the C anadian re pres e ntativ e . (d) Stu art O sborne SMITH? SMITH was born at °ortag G la Prairie in 1908, the son of R ev. 000049 �-1+6A. E . SMIT H, who was a member of the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e of the P arty. He is reported to have be en a C ommunist since 1923, when he became N ational S ecretary of the Young C ommunist Le ague. From 1926 until 1930, he held the position of P ubli city Dire ctor of the C entral C ommitte e and the C ommunist P arty of C anada. From 1926 until 1928, SMITH attended the Lenin School in Moscow. In 1930, he returned to Moscow as a delegate to the 5th C ongress of the C ommunist Intern ation al. F ollowing the arre st of Buck in 1931, and during Buck ’ s imprisonment, SMITH acted as G eneral S ecretary of the P arty. In 1935 he returned to Moscow as a delegate to the 7th C ongress of the C ommunist Intern ation al. SMITH was elected to the T oronto C ity C ouncil from W ard 5 from 1937 to 19 b 0, and again in 19^3. In 191 +5 and 19^6, he was elected to the Toronto C ity Board of C ontrol. He too went underground i '-1 the e arly stages of .tl)e war-and .re appe ared during S eptember 19^+2 . SMITH was elected to the N ation al E xecutive in 19>+3 when the Labor-Progressive P arty was formed. In 19^, he was appointed Dire ctor of P ublicity and E ducation for the O ntario district of the P arty. In a ddition to being a member of the N ation al S ecre t ari at, Stu art SMITH is also Dire ctor of P olitic a l A ctivity for the Toronto and Yorks R egion. (e) Alexander Alb ert MacLE O D s Ma c LE O D was born at Block Rock, Nova S cotia, March 2, 1902, He managed to go O verse as with the Nova Scotia Highlanders in 1916, but was returned to C anada e arly in 1917 because of his age. He was only 11+ when he e nliste d. In 1925, he went to New York where he became e ditor of the S ocialist paper ’ ’ The World Tomorrow" . He returned to C ape Breton in 1933 and became a ctiv e in C ommunist a ctivitie s. In 1931 + ? he went to T oronto to become C hairman of the " C anadian Le ague Against W ar and F ascism" la t er known as " The C ana dian Le ague for P e ace and D emocracy". In 1936, he went to Spain to organiz e assistance to the Loy alist cause. He went dn to B elgium to attend the World P e ace C ongress and from there to the Le ague of N ations Assembly at G eneva as a delegate from th at C ongress. Upon his return to C anada in O ctober 1936, he was followed by a delegation of Spainish Loy alists who went on a spe aking tour of the country, under the sponsorship of the C anadian Le ague against W ar and F ascism. He was appoin ted E ditor of the " C anadian Tribune " in 19^0 and remained in this position 000050 �-*4-7until he was succe eded in 19*4-2 by L e slie M O R RIS,. O f course, in 19*4-3? with the forming of the L. P . P . , we find MacLE O D elected to the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e. In 19*4-6, he also assumed the le adership of the P arty in O ntario. In 19*4-3? he also had be en elected to the O ntario L e gislature from T oronto-B ellwoods. In 19*4-6 and 19*4-8, he had again be en re-ele cte d to the L e gislature . As mentioned e arlier while the Wroclaw C onference was underway in August 19*4-8, MacLE O D was at the same time on a tour of C anada s etting up nuclei, which were to bo la t er expanded into the C anadian P e ace C ongress. In D ecember 19*4-8, MacLE O D went to P aris with a delegation of the Joint A nti- F a scist R efuge e C ommitte e of New York to attend a United N ations me eting during " Fre e Spain W e ek". Indic e ntally., MacLE O D was defe ated in his bid for re-ele ction to the L e gislature in 1950. He is still understood to be the le ading figure insofar as P arty Organiz ation in the Province of O ntario is concerned. The fiv e people we have just mentioned make up the E xecutive arm for the " S e cretariat" of the N ational E xecutive C ommitte e. We now go on to a consideration of the other eight members ?(1) J oseph B aruch SALSB E R G?SALSB E R G was born in Poland November 5, 1902, and came to C anada in 1913. He joined the C ommunist P arty in 1927 and within a ye ar became N ation al Organiz er of the Union of N e edle Trades Workers. In 1930, he a pp are ntly deviated from P arty policy and was expelled but in 1931, he became N ational S ecretary of the Provincial C ommitte e of the " Friends of the Soviet Union". In 1937? he became N ation al Tirade Union S ecretary of the C ommunist P arty. In the same ye ar he was elected aiderman for W ard U on the Toronto C ity C ouncil. In 1939? he went to E ngland to attend the Intern ation al Jewish C ongress but when this failed to mate ri a li z e , he proce eded on to the U.S.S.R. where he spent about two months. His arre st was ordered on June 15? 19*4-0, under the D efence of C anada R egulations , but he did not make an appe arance until July 19*4-2. B efore the formation of the Labor-Progressive P arty in 10*4-3? he took a very a ctiv e p art in the Dominion C ommunist Labour T otal W ar C ommitte e. He became the Industrial Dire ctor of the L.P.P. from the outs et and also Vice C hairman of the O ntario Provincial C ommitte e. In 19*4-3? he was elected to the O ntario L e gislature and has re presented Toronto-St, Andrew ever sinc e. 000051 �-1+8In November 19^7, SALSB E R G went to B elgrade to attend one of the sessions of the C ominform held in B elgrade. He is also reported to have visited P alestine and la t er the 6th C ongress of the C ommunist P arty of It a ly. There have be en unconfirmed re ports within the past ye ar th at SALSB E R G has re lin quished his position as Industrial Dire ctor to B ill KASHTAN, however, this remains to be clarifie d. (2) William KASHTAN?- KASHTAN was born in Montre al, June 27,1909, of Jewish pa re nts. He joined the Young C ommunist Le ague in 1927 to become N ational S e cretary during the period 1931 to 1938. In 1933? he went to Moscow to attend a plenary session of the Young C ommunist International and he returned there again in 19'+5’ for another such session. In 1936, he went to Spain at the invi tation of the Spanish Y. C .L. and also attended the Le ague of N ations Youth C ongress at G eneva. In 1937 he went to P aris to confer with le aders of the French Y. C .L. and re visite d Spain where he made arrangements for thre e re pre s e ntativ e s of the Loy alist G overnment to come to C anada on a spe aking tour. During the period in which he was N ational S ecretary of the Y . C .L., he made fre qu e nt visits to New York to confer with officia ls of the American Y. C .L. In 1939, he became Provincial Organiz er for the P arty in Q uebec. An order for his arre st in 19^0 was unexe cuted until his appe arance from under ground in S eptember 19^+2. On August 8, 19^3? p-t a prelimin ary me eting prior to the formation of the L. P . P . , KASHTAN is reported to have spoken on the ne ed for ” a S e cretariat P arty founded on the te achings of Marx, Lenin and Stalin, Such P arty to operate as the C ommunist P arty under whatever name is approved at the forthcoming C ommunist C onvention ” . KASHTAN became one of the first members of the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e of the L.P.P. and held the position of S ecretary of the N ational Trade Union C ommission, » In O ctober 19^3, he became C ity Organiz er of T oronto as w ell In 19^5, KASHTAN a ssiste d Sam C ARR as an E xecutive S ecretary of the P arty. During th at same ye ar he added to the jobs alre ady under his supervision by becoming ’ ’ N ation al Literature Dire ctor” . In D ecember 19^6, KASHTAN substitute d for Tim Ruck at a. plenum of the N ational C ommitte e of the C ommunist P arty -U.S.A, in New York. As mentioned when we were talking about SALSB E R G, there is some re ason to believe th at KASHTAN may now have succedded SALSB E R G as Industrial Dire ctor. 000052 �A9(3) T homas C harles SIMS?- SIMS was born in Durham C ounty, E ngland, July 31, 1901 of Scottish origin. He served in the British N avy as a youth during the F irst World War and came to C anada in 192U. He joined the Communist P arty about 1928. In 1929 he was mentioned as being a member of the Toronto dis trict Agit-Prop D epartment Directed by B eckie BUHAY. He was an active member of the Workers Unity Le ague in W estern C anada and, for a time, was employed in the Drumheller C oal Mines. From 1931 to 1933? SIMS was in Moscow reportedly attending the Lenin School. In 1935 he was S ecretary of the Workers Unity Le ague a gitating among ste el workers and coal miners of C ape Breton. In 1936, he returned to Moscow as a representative of the P arty at the 7th C ongress of the C ommunist Intern ation al. In 1939 a warrant for his arrest was issued under the D efence of C anada R egulations but he could not be located until the charges were withdrawn in 19^1, when he became a ctiv ely connected with the Dominion Communist Labour Total War C ommitte e, In 19^3? he became S ecretary of the N ational E xecutive C ommitte e of the L.P.P. He was elected aiderman for Ward 5 in the T oronto C ivic E lections, January 1, 19 i + 1 + . In 19^6, an unconfirmed report from the Bure au indicated that SIMS had addressed a plenum of the N ation al C ommitte e of the C .P.-U.S.A. SIMS con tinued to hold offic e as aiderman in T oronto and was re-elected January 19^9. SIMS is presently E ditor of the C anadian Tribune, having succeeded Leslie MO RRIS. (M P aul PHILLIPS? P HILLIPS was born in Russia, O ctober 8,1908 of Jewish parents and came to C anada in 1925. His name was originally F eibish BR O D E R. He has admitted being a member of the Y. C .L. from 1930 to 1939. During this period it is reported he attended the Lenin Schoolin Moscow. In 1931? he first came to our attention as Y. C .L. organiz er at Winnipeg. In 193\? at the N ational C onvention of the Y. C .L. in T oronto, he was elected to the C entral C ommitte e. In 1936, he became a S ection Organiz er for the C ommunist P arty in T oronto. During 1937 and 1938, he was in charge of re cruiting and transporting volunte ers for service with the Spanish Loyalists. He was also organiz er in Ward U, Toronto, ;and he aded the N ational Language Bure au and N ational Fraction work on behalf of the C entral C ommitte e. He evaded arrest in 19 l +C 1 and did not make an appe arance until 19^2 . In 19^3 he became pne of the original members of the N ational E xecutive C ommitte e of the L.P.P. In 19^ he was Assistant N ational Organiz er, working with Sam C ARR. 000053 �-50He continued to dire ct foreign language L.P.P. groups on b e h alf of the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e of the P arty. In 19*4-6, he became N ational Tre asurer as w ell as C hairman of the L.P.P. N ation al Language P ublic ation C ommitte e. P HILLIP S is reported to be the man responsible for P arty members passing to and from the country, in the matter of passports., vis a s, tra v el arrangement and P arty id e ntific a tion. He also pla yed a le ad ing role in p ara-military org a niz ation during the la st war. (5) B eckie BUHAY?BUHAY was born in London, E ngland, F ebruary 11, 1896, of Jewish parents. She and her broth er, Micha el, were brought to C anada in 1913. He was a prominent functionary in Montre al until he died a few ye ars ago. In 1919? B eckie first came to our atte ntion as an organiz er for the O .B.U. She was then a member of the Jewish Branch of the Social D emocratic P arty and an organiz er for the S ocialist P arty of C anada. In 1921, she became one of the thre e origin al women members of the New C ommunist P arty of C anada. In 1922, she became an executive member of the le g al arm of the P arty the " Workers P arty of C anada ” . In 192*4- when the C ommunist P arty came out into the open to renlace the Workers P arty, she was to become one of the most aggressive org a ni z ers. She was then te aching at the Montre al Labour C ollege and writing article s for the Jewish C ommunist monthly ” D er K amf". In 1928, she became an important function a ry of the C ommunist P arty at T oronto. She took a very a ctiv e p art in the C anadian Labour D efence Le ague. In 1^30? she was reported to be N ation al Organiz er of the C ommunist P arty in C anada as w ell as the C anadian Labour D efence Le ague. This same ye ar she made a trip to Moscow as a delegate to the C ongress of the Red Int er n ation al of Labour Unions and re portedly the Lenin School, and again in 1932, she returned to Moscow as a delegate from the C .L.D.L. to a conference of the Interna tion al Rod R elief. In 1935? she re visite d Moscow as a delegate to the 7th C ongress of the C ommunist Intern ational. 1937 and 1938 saw her a ctiv e in the Aid to Spain C ommitte e raising funds for Spanish W ar V etera ns,. In 1939? she became N ation al Organiz er of the " Friends of the Mac K enzie-P apine au B attalion ” . During 19*4-1, she acted as Tre asurer and la t er E xecutive S ecretary of the N ation al C ouncil for D emocratic Rights. In 19*4-3 she became a member of the N ational E xecutive Commi tte e of the newly formed L.P.P. She also acted as Tre asurer and F in a ncial S ecretary of the Toronto C ity C ommitte e, as w ell as a F ield Organiz er for the P arty 000054 �in O ntario. In 19*4-*4-, she became Pro vincial Organiz er for the E nglish s e ction of the P arty in Q uebec. In 19*4-6 she re-' turned to Toronto as Provincial E duca tion al Dire ctor for O ntario. F ollowing the de ath of A.T. SMIT H it was reported she became S ecretary of the N ation al R eview .and A udit C ommitte e.' In 19*4-8 she became N ation al E ducational Dire ctor. She is pre s e ntly C hairman of the N ation al R eview and Audit C ommitte e and has just returned to Toronto from a stay in Moscow where she attended the fun eral of Stalin. She also claims to have received tre a t ment in some Moscow s a nitarium. (6) Norman F R E E D;F R E E D was born in Poland A ?ril 21, 1906, and came to C anada in 1920. F R E E D stated before an Advisory C ommitte e in 19*4-2, th at he had be en asso ciate d with the C ommunist P arty since 1928, R eports indicate he visit e d Moscow in 1933? but the re ason for this is not known. He also went to Moscow in 1937 to re pre sent the C ommunist P arty of C anada at a me eting of the C ommunist Internation al and to e licit fin a ncial assistance for the Young C ommunist Le ague. In 19*4-0 he was detained under the D efence of C anada R egulations and intern e d. He was.rele a sed August 1*4-, 19*4-2. Upon his rele ase -he became S ecretary of the C ommunist Labour T otal W ar C ommitte e for O ntario. With the forming of the L.P.P. in 19*4-3, F R E E D became a member of the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e. He was elected aiderman for W.ar *4-, Toronto, in 19*4-*4- and was re-ele cte d for the ye ars from 19*4-? to 19?0, when he was defe ated. The documentary evidence produced by G O UZ E NK O for the 19*4-6 expion age enquiry reve aled ZAB O TIN had t ele graphed Moscow as follows? " The Norman about whom you asked, we think is Norman F R E E D and neighbours are busy with him". This of course me ans th at F R E E D was asso ciate d with the N.K.V.D. As we will se e la t er on in this t a lk, the possibility does e xist th at F R E E D may be a member of the N ational R eview and A udit C ommitte e rath er than the N ational E xecutive C ommitte e. This man has be en an important figure in the movement. (7) ________________ Norman P E NN E R ?P E NN E R was born in Winni peg, F ebruary 21, 1921. He is the son of Jacob P E NN E R one of the old time C ommunists of C anada. In 19*4-9 P E NN E R was elected to the N ational E xecutive C ommitte e of the Labor-Progressive P arty and together with his position as N ation al S ecretary, of the N ational F ederation of Labour Youth, he occupies the key position insofar as the Youth arm of the movement is concerned. He attended the S econd World Union C ongress sponsored by the World F ederation of 000055 �-52D emocratic Youth, which'was held in Budapest in 19^9. (8) John N A VIS?- N A VIS was born in G alicia , S eptember 21,1886. N A VIS has be en an important function ary of the Ukrainian p art of the movement in C anada for many ye ars. He also-was intern e d in June 191 +0 and was not rele ased until S eptember 19^2 . He was a member of the N ation al C ommitte e of the L.P.P. in 19^9 and sometime a ft er when they a pp are ntly co-opted into the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e, presumably for b etter handling of P arty Affairs among the U krainia ns . He is also on the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e of the Association of United Ukrainian C anadians. He is also the manager of the Ukrainian Life and the Ukrainian C anadian. At this p articular moment he is on his way to Moscow for tre a t ment, It seems he has a liv er condition. With what is going' on in Moscow right now, he will inde ed be fortun ate if he contra cts nothing worse than th at. H aving reviewed the backgrounds of these members of the N ation al E xecutive C ommitte e, you will probably want to ask me why the 13 on the N. E . C . also includes B eckie. This is a question to which our Branch would lik e to have an ans wer. A ll previous inform ation on the relationship of the N. E . C . and the N.R. •& A. C . would indic ate one acts as a counterbalance to the oth er. F urthermore, we have be en in formed th at members of the C ontrol C ommitte es are a uthori z ed to sit in on me etings of the E xecutive C ommitte e and may take p art in discussions, but must not vote i. e . they must not compromise th eir position of independence. With this in mind, I have ventured to think th at the N. E . C . a ctu ally only contains 10 members and th at the other 3 belong to the N.R. & A. C . You se e our information on memb'ers has be en •established mainly from sources who would not have access to any such bre ak-down of the N. E . C . This embedding of the ' C ontrol C ommitte e would not be unusual - I understand our British frie nds are inclin e d to b eliev e the C ontrol appa ratus of the British C .P. to be in th eir Organiz ation D epart ment. If we have 3 of these people on the N. E . C ., with B eckie one of them, some thought may be given to S alsberg and F R E E D as the other two. S alsberg has a connection with Louis Suklov and Fre ed was with the N.K.V.D. according to G ouz enko. I mention these things to help provide you as Inv e stig ators with a p attern to follow. So, unless there are some small questions, l e t us go on to consider the C ommissions and D epartments, I may say th at the C ommissions are the d elib erativ e bodies and th at the D epartments execute the dire ctions from such bodies. F or example, the Trade Union C ommission, not always consis ting of the same people, would me et and discuss some p articul ar situ ation, make a d e cision and pass it along to the In dustrial D epartment for a ction. Then, there are oth er C ommissions or C ommitte es and D epartments such as?000056 �-53Ukrainian Jewish P olish G erman E tc. ) ) ) ) ) P ublicity Agit-Prop Literature ) ) ) C ommitte es N at. Groups Buro C ommitte es N at. E d. D ept. N at. C ultural C ommission Women f s C ommission Youth C ommission O ntario C ommitte e F inance C ommitte e a Tre asurer T his may not be e ntirely corre ct in d e t a il, but it is the general ide a behind th eir set-up. S h all we go on to the next le v el of orga niz ation the R egions and D istricts. In IG h-S, the O ntario Prov. C ommitte e was dissolved and the ten P arty regions in th at province were on th eir own, under R egional C ommitte es. Apparently this was not to* s atisfa ctory, as they have re c e ntly set-up a committe e of the N ation al E xecutive to co-ordin ate the rgg'.ons. Not much is known about this co-ordin ating committe e - although it is believed A.A. MacLeod, T. C . Sims and F lorence Theodore are connected with it. P arty org a niz ation in the Maritimes appe ars to be ne gligible - probably centred around the one N at. C ommitte e member, Arthur WILLIS T O N. Q uebec has 5 N at. C ommitte e members. The Provincial Le ader is G ui C aron and the org aniz er, H arry Binder, There is, of course, a Provincial C ommitte e. Manitoba, S askatchewan, Alb erta and British C olumbia also have Provincial C ommitte es, There are also C ity C ommitte e s in the larg er centers. I would lik e to say a word about P arty stre ngth an e v erlasting question to us here - O rdinarily, we think of stre ngth in terms of numbers, but the P arty do e sn't se e it th at way. F or example, from the best information a v aila ble we place the membership of the P arty at about 6500,rath er an insignific ant figure , However, l e t us look at this from the P arty point of view, B efore the la st war, a circular dire ctiv e was sent out to the le adershin of the C .P. of C . quoting from a paper by F eodor G US E V. He mentioned a strik e situ ation which had developed in Le eds, E ngland, The striking workers were being le ad by members of the British Labour P arty. O vernight the strik ers became diss atisfied with the re sults of n e gotiations and turned to the more aggressive C ommunists. It so happened th at only thre e C ommunists were to be found in Le eds and they suddenly experienced something they had never dre amt of. They were catapulted up to the le adership of several thousand striking workers. The lesson G usev was putting across was th at C ommunists should always prepare themselves for the day they might have to take over the le a d ership of the workers. F or us, the lesson might be - th at we should not become ov erconfid e nt merely because the C ommunists have only a handful of members. 000057 �-5UIt may intere st you to he ar the figures given at the la st N ational C onvention on the ethnic composition of the L.P.P. ;- *+l$ Sla vic Anglo-Saxon Jewish others 23 15 21 100% You are to he ar more about the P arty papers from •th ers, but I would lik e to remind you of the words of Lenin;" a newspaper is not only a colle ctiv e porpagandist and colle ctiv e a gitator, but also a colle ction organiz er” What are the princip al papers? ---- C anadian Tribune P a cific Tribune NAM Le Combat - Sims McEwen Morris C aron — 8185 — 6000 — 2500 — 6500 It might be useful to say a word or so about the "New Program" of the L.P.P. T his is the new look the P arty is trying to put on at this p articular stage of the inevitable re volution, predicted by Marx. This program did not originate in C anada, but was a ctu ally copied in many parts word for word from the British Road to Socialism adopted a ye ar e arlier by the British C ommunist P arty th at far, other western E urope an countries and India have adopted similar programs. T he first version was a ctu ally e ntitled " C anada's Road to Socialism", but this was changed at the me eting of the N ational C ommitte e in F ebruary 1952 when this new platform was adopted and put into operation. Without attempting any analysis here of the program its e lf, there are nevertheless, two points which might be worth mentioning. One is to do with the acceptance, for pra ctic al re asons of course, and the ide a th at P arliament should be the center of power in C anada. In other words th eir slogan might be ’ ’ All Power to P arliament", similar to the cry we he ard in the e arly stages of the Russian R evolution when the C ommunists de manded " All Power to the Soviets". No longer did they view P arliament as nothing but an instrument for the use of the monopoly C a pitalists. T h eir new program aims at the building of a peoples co alition th at will eventually gain control in P arliament, a co alition which would pass the necessary le gislation for the bringing about, by law, the forms of a S ocialist State. The other point is the method or objective they have in mind for building this type of co alition and they have put it this way — "The peoples co alition will be formed around the all-embracing immediate issues confronting the people - pe ace, national independence, and s e curity. It will include many social groups - the working class, etc. The Labor Progressive P arty works for a new politic al alignment - a P eople's C oalition around the gre at democratic tasks of pe ace and national independence and the vit a l interests of the masses of the people. This people's co alition will be formed around the all-embracing immediate issues confronting the people pe ace, national independence, and s e curity. It will include many social groups - the working class, the farmers, the 000058 �-55urban middle ©lasses, the intelle cutals cutals, and professionals, the a nti-imp erialists of Q uebec. It will be made up of these sections of C C F voters and supporters who bre ak with the right wing policie s, and the masses of the trade unionists. It may include parties formed by sectional or regional interests who oppose domination by the U.S. trusts, or middle class politi cal groups who are formed to oppose monopoly." " Underground" D efinition T he phases of P arty a ctivitie s with which we are to de al now come within a category vaguely referred to as the " Underground". This term has long be en used by revolutionary movements when referring to clandestine or secret operations. It does not of course mean th at the individuals con cerned are hiding themselves in the physical sense but rather that they are covering th eir a ctivitie s under suitable fronts to avoid detection and dis ruption. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDIG00194 Title A name given to the resource CDIG00194 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library and Archives Canada, RG146, volume 5873, Part 1, "Brief - Talks deliveryed to Special Branch Class 1953-07-13 to 1953-07-22," Wallet 1 (A-2013-00622) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource RCMP Special Branch Subject The topic of the resource Counterintelligence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Canada Declassified Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource en