At the 1995 Annual Meeting of the Cecil-Ross Society, Inc. consideration was given to a history project involving recorded interviews with former members, members and those whose activities brought them into contact with the Communist Party of Canada. The oral histories were intended to generate publication of a legacy work (initially envisioned as a book) portraying the experiences, impressions and opinions of those involved with, or near to, the Communist movement in Canada over the course of its 80 years of activity in Canada.
Directors of the Cecil-Ross Society were trustees over assets resulting from a negotiated settlement between groups within the Communist Party of Canada in the Autumn of 1992. The Cecil-Ross Society charged labour historians Dan Keeton and Rick Stow with the task of gathering the interviews. Keeton, a former reporter with the Pacific Tribune, conducted interviews in British Columbia. Stow, a freelance broadcaster, covered the venues from Quebec to Alberta, with certain Maritimes, United States and overseas interviews recorded over the telephone. Both researchers had first hand knowledge of the subject matter, and worked from a common questionnaire. Interview sessions were held either in the respondent's home, or at a mutually convenient location. Participants dealt with areas of life history, political and social involvements and retrospective analysis in sessions averaging 65 minutes. The interviews were gathered over a period from June 1, 1996 to November 27, 1998.
The interviews provide a wealth of first-hand information dealing with the Communist Party of Canada; its affiliated cultural organizations, such as the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians (AUUC) the United Jewish People's Order (UJPO), and the Finnish Organization of Canada (FOC); directly and indirectly-related labour unions and organizations; as well as civic, peace, solidarity and social justice coalitions spanning eight decades. Many respondents provided first-hand observations relating to the cultural anthropology of the Soviet Union, while others dealt with parallel efforts to advance social democracy or expand the gains of organized labour.
This series comprises approximately 491 hours of recorded interviews with respondents who ranged in age from 34 to 98. Full and partial transcripts are also comprised in this series.
Morris, Tom, 1935-2016 : Tom Morris was born in Moscow in 1935. His parents, Sylvia and Leslie Morris, were CPC activists. His father was General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1962-1964, preceding his premature death in the mid 1960s. Tom was disciplined by the Party for opposing the Soviet intervention in then Czechoslovakia in 1968, but worked his way back into acceptance and was Editor of the Canadian Tribune from 1985 until the negotiated settlement in 1992. At the time of his resignation from the Communist Party of Canada in 1992, he was a member of its Central Executive Committee, holding the post of Education Secretary. Tom Morris died in April 2016.
