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Ontario makes no promises on da ycare

By STAN DALTON
and JACK NISSENSON

MONTREAL — The unprecedented
Continental Meeting of North American
Youth for Peace, Détente and Disarma-
Ment held, Oct. 23-25 brought together
Many young people concerned with the
growing danger of war. They were from
Canada, U.S.A., USSR, West fat el
and Budapest, Hungary. The Tribune
interviewed several of the foreign dele-
gates: Igor Gagiryan (Soviet Union),
Elena Antonio Mora (U.S.), Rainer Butt
(West Germany) and Jochan Richter
(World Federation of Democratic Youth).

Tribune: ‘Why did you consider this con-
tinental meeting to be so important to
travel so far?’’

Gagiryan: ‘‘ This conference is called:
‘Peace, Détent# and Disarmament’ and I
Would have travelled 10 times as many
Miles to attend it — or any conference of
this kind — because the most important
Problem humanity faces now is the prob-
lem of peace.”

‘Mora: ‘‘We, the American delegates,
felt very strongly that, considering the
threat of war comes from the U.S., it is
Very, very important that there be a U.S.

Presence at such a meeting, and because

Peace: humanity’s
most urgent problem

Tribune asks world youth leaders

we have an obligation and contribution to
make — not only in showing the world
that the U.S. youth and people are not
supporting Reagan — but because this

kind of event helps build the peace

movement in our country.”’ .

Richter: ‘‘ There is a deep and serious
international situation in the world and it
is very important that youth of many
backgrounds work together to make a
contribution to the peace movement.”

Tribune: ‘‘What impressed you the
most about this continental meeting?”’

Gagiryan: ‘‘First of all, this conference
was held on the territory of North
America and, second, this is the first con-
ference where the U.S. and Canada in-

vited several European participants and
discussed, on their own initiative the
problem of peace. I’m sure, this Contin-
ental Meeting will activize the young
people of both your countries and help to
solve the problem of peace.”’

Butt: ‘‘I think it is very important that
there are many organizations from dif-
ferent political backgrounds who are
joining together in the peace movement
and are struggling for peace: that is the
most important thing about this Contin-
ental Meeting.”’

Mora: “‘It was really important and
good that, in general the speeches and
contributions targetted the Reagan
administration, and U.S. imperialism, as
the source of the war danger. It was im-

portant to show that the Soviet Union is
not the threat, and that we have to com-
bat the warmongering Reagan
Administration.”’

Richter: ‘* The most important point is
that there was very broad participation at
this conference. The participants were
very serious in the discussions, and they
all expressed their readiness to work to-
gether.’

One of the most outstanding character-
istics of the Continental Meeting which
made a deep impression on the foreign
delegates was the unity expressed by all
participants — not only on the need for
peace — but regarding who the enemies
of peace are, who are its friends, as well
as the means of achieving peace, détente
and disarmament.

It was resolved that there are nuclear
weapons on Canadian soil. In response
to this the Soviet delegate reiterated his
country’s well-known policy of not using
nuclear weapons against those states that
do not have them on their soil and re-
nounce their use. In this context he said:
‘“We hope the rumors about these nu-
clear weapons situated on Canadian
territory are not true and, if they are, we
hope the people of Canada will very
quickly make these nuclear weapons
disappear from their territory.”’

= Natives protest
| betrayal package

By PAUL PUGH

THUNDER BAY — About
150 Native people defied cold
winds Nov. 19, to demonstrate

proposed constitutional package
before parliament.

The demonstrators marched on
foot and travelled. in.a car. caval-
cade from the Fort William Re-
serve to Thunder’ Bay’s
“‘mini-Queen’s Park’’ — the
provincial government’s northern
Ontario headquarters.

Carrying flags, placards and
banners they were angered by the
removal of guarantees for Native
people’s rights in the federal-pro-
vincial constitutional _ package.
“Trudeau sold us out’’, was a
popular slogan on picket signs

the betrayal of Native rights in the -

Ford William band chief Har-
vey Charlie said the demonstra-
tion aimed at drawing provincial
MPPs’ attention to the betrayal so
as to bring the Ontario Govern-
ment around to supporting Indian
rights.

Asked what he thought of the
constitutional’ package, chief
Charlie said: ‘It is a question of
honoring treaties that have been
signed with the Native people.
These treaties mean the federal
government has a responsibility
to Indians and now Trudeau sold
US:0ute = =

Chief Charlie said this
demonstration and _ others
throughout Canada are only the
beginning if Native people’s

TRIBUNE PHOTO — PAUL PUGH

cartied by many.

rights are ignored.

Trudeau solid us out!

Fort William band Chief Harvey Charlie tells reporters Canada’s Native
people won’t stand by while rights are ignored.

TORONTO — Ontario Premier
William Davis and members of his
Cabinet refused to give commitments
Nov. 9 when lobbied by the Coali-
tion for Better Daycare. The coali-
tion, initiated by, the Ontario Federa-
tion of Labor spoke for over a mil-
lion and a half people through, trade
Unions, women’s organizations,
early childhood educators, teachers,
social workers, nurses, students and
Other groups. :

The coalition’s brief called for the
immediate implementation of a $5
Per child per day grant to all non-
profit centres; expanding subsidized
Spaces by 10,000 and the initiation of
@ task force to develop neighbor-

daycare centres.

The long term objectives stressed

the need for a publicly-funded, non-
Profit quality daycare system, unl-

versally accessible by 1990, with
neighborhood resource centres pro-
viding a range of services to accom-
modate children from infancy to 12
years.

Community and Social Service®
Minister Frank Drea claimed On-
tario’s daycare service was better
than other provinces and tried to
press the responsibility back onto
unions and the collective bargaining
process.

Premier Davis, trying to bail out
Drea, tried to divert discussion to
non-daycare matters, but finally
stated, ‘“‘we will make a commit-
ment, but we have to set priorities
and that is difficult to do.”’

Challenging Davis, Pat Schulz, for
Action Daycare questioned
government priorities when $10-mil-
lion was spent on a private jet for the

premier and asked about ‘‘the mil-
lions of dollars for the pulp and paper
industry?’ Hazel Wigdor of the
Congress of Canadian Women told
Davis to look for funds from the fed-
eral government’s defence budget.

Lobbyists came from across the
province including Hamilton, Sault
Ste Marie, Ottawa, Kitchener, the
Niagara Peninsula and other points.
Presenting the brief to the cabinet
were Cliff Pilkey, president of the
Ontario Federation of Labor, Do-
reen Gordon, president, Association
of Early Childhood Education,
George Meek, president, Ontario
Federation of Teachers, Anne
Barstov, president, Ontario Welfare
Council, Pat Schulz, Action Day-
care, Sean O’Flynn, president, On-
tario Public Service Employees
Union and Hazel Wigdor of the Con-
gress of Canadian Women.

Reporting back on the lobby, par-
ticipants indicated support from the
New Democratic Party and a range
of reaction from the Liberals and
Conservatives, some of it astonish-
ingly backward.

PC Margaret Scrivener said,
“‘mothers should stay home, and we
should find volunteers for daycare
centres’. She did however oppose
profit making in daycare.
~ Drea has the unqualified backing
of the PC Bud Gregary on this issue
“no matter what’’, he said.

One MPP thought the problem
would solve itself. Liberal Roy Hag-
gerty confided that he and eight
brothers and sisters were raised at
home and that ‘‘with technology
overtaking us, women will soon be
jobless anyway.”’

The coalition will be continuing its
lobby of MPPs at the local level.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DEC. 4, 1981—Page 7