The Western Socialist
Vol. 26 - No. 206
No. 2, 1959
page 9
M. J. Coldwell, CCF leader, sat in the House of Commons for 23 years. He was defeated in the election of last March. Since then he has spent part of his time writing tripe for the capitalist press, an example being an article, "What's Wrong With Our Parliament?" in the Toronto Star, Oct. 25.
The article could as readily have been written by the average Tory. "With all its failings, our parliamentary system is by far the best mankind has yet evolved for his own self-government." Mr. Churchill could not have expressed it better.
And what is wrong with parliament? "Nothing that the Canadian people and the members themselves can't cure." Does Mr. Coldwell display here a glimmering of light? Not so's you'd notice it. "The fundamental defect of the Canadian parliament is, perhaps, the type of people elected to it."
To Mr. Caldwell, politics "is a science requiring more than men and women who have a reputation as hockey players, parochial politicians or elderly business men." He does not mention school teachers, preachers and some others, with whom the CCF is liberally sprinkled. "No men or women should present themselves for election unless they have made a study of the outstanding problems facing the country and are prepared to deal with them as they would those of any other profession."
Mr. Coldwell would further the impression that modern society is one great, reasonably contented family, in which public spirited citizens strive in their different ways to bring about even greater contentment. That parliament is the legislative body of the ruling class and has as its main function the protection of ruling class interests, Mr. Coldwell has spent at least 23 active political years failing to find out.
J. M.