AUDIO – DESCRIPTION:
In 1984, the leftist London Union of Unemployed Workers (LUUW), led by activist John Clarke, performed a sit-in at the office of London Mayor Al Gleeson, to bring attention to the financial situation of two London mothers. In this recording, radio host Wayne Maclean had Clarke and London alderman Joe Fontana on the show as guests to discuss the LUUWs activities. Marc Emery, then Freedom Party of Ontario’s Action Director, calls into the show in response to Maclean’s comment that the ease with which one can get welfare makes us an “enlightened society”. Emery asserts that most of ones problems are the result of the decisions one has made. He takes particular issue with Maclean’s comment that the threat of government enforcement of tax laws is “just a perception”.
You can listen to the entire 1 hour and 35 minute broadcast. Emery calls in at approximately the 1 hour, 26 seconds mark:
or listen just to an excerpt from it, being Emery’s call into the show:
Descriptive notes by Freedom Party’s Lloyd Walker:
(1) Caller “Bob” – immigrants as trouble makers. John Clarke’s reply: “The LUUW will not be involved in violent acts”, “the LUUW will do whatever is needed”. Fontana: says he doesn’t think that the LUUW’s tactics are proper.
(2) Caller “John” – LUUW is source of Clarke’s income, tactics of LUUW, threatens Clarke.
(3) Caller Joe Barth (NDP candidate) – three points in favour of LUUW; Fontana: “changes within the law”; Maclean: # of LUUW supporters, and average income demanded by LUUW.
(4) Caller “Sue”: member of the LUUW
(5) Caller “Betty”: “priorities of government”
(6) Fontana: “tactics of LUUW”
(7) Clarke: “to win a decent secure future for people”
(8) Pro-Clarke caller: “articulation as a basis for discrimination”
(9) “Jim”: reply to Joe Barth
(10) Marc Emery: ease of getting welfare does not make us an “enlightened society”; most of our problems are the results of our choices; no excuse for being a “parasitic” element in society; certain that there should not be any government welfare; the threat of force by government is not “just a perception”; churches do millions of dollars of volunteer work
(11) Caller “Steve”: College and welfare at the same time.
(12) Caller: “grow up John Clarke”; unions have destroyed this country.
(13) Clarke and Fontana: Municipal discretion in welfare
(14) Caller “Helen”: teach in PTIT course at Fanshawe – Helen “short term pay for long term gain” & municipal discretion.
Audio Details:
Radio Program: Hotline
Host: Wayne Maclean
Caller: Marc Emery
Aired: Estimated August, 1984 (According to wikipedia, LUUW was formed in 1983; Mayor Gleeson is mentioned in the audio: he served until 1985. According to an old CP news story found on the internet, the trial of John Clarke (a caller says that Clarke is to be in court “in a few weeks”) was initially scheduled for August 30th, 1984. A 1985 result in pagesofthepast.ca says that Clarke’s group did a sit-in at Gleeson’s office in 1984, and in the audio we hear callers condemning Clarke for the sit-in. So this recording is from the period 1984 to 1985, and might be for approximately August, 1984.)
Radio Station: 980 AM (CFPL) – London, Ontario
FULL RECORDING:
Duration: 1 hour, 34 minutes, 47 seconds
File Format: MP3
File Size: 91.0 MB
URL – https://freedomparty.on.ca/archive/audio/tape-1.joe-barth.john-clarke-luuw.emery-on-welfare.education-and-welfare.mp3
EXCERPT:
Duration: 7 minutes, 45 seconds
File Format: MP3
File Size: 18.6 MB
URL – https://freedomparty.on.ca/archive/audio/1984-xx-xx.980AM-CFPL-london.mclean-emery.welfare.excerpt-tape-1.mp3