The Canadian Jewish Congress today called the Federal Government order-in-council establishing fair employment practices in government contracts “a landmark in the expansion of Canadian democracy and the definition of the rights of Canadian citizens.” The promulgation of the order-in-council was announced simultaneously at the convention of the Canadian Congress of Labor in Toronto and at the Department of Labor in Ottawa.
“The Government of Canada has properly established a moral standard governing group relations in this country, at least insofar as the rendering of services and the production of supplies required by the Government are concerned,” J. Irving Oelbaum, national vice-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said in a statement. “It thus removes from Federal use goods which are tainted by having been produced under conditions which violate the spirit of our nation.
“Discrimination against residents of Canada on racial and religious grounds is a violation of the rights of persons involved and runs counter to the interests of the public. The Government has acted properly to discourage such practices and to institute sanctions against the violators. The present order-in-council is limited in its direct effect to those who deal with the Government and the industrial practices which will be thus established in this important sector of the Canadian economy will doubtless spread to all industries and services, ” the statement declared.
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