EDITORIAL

Protect universality

Countless Canadians face new hardships as the real
meaning of Mulroney Toryism is felt in the economics
of the family budget.

Most ominous is the attack on universality of social
programs. While the Tory federal government has
deemed it wise not to release the full impact of their
cutbacks, their plans are becoming clear.

Whether it is family allowances, medicare, old age
pensions, or other programs which have become a
right in Canada, through struggle and through prac-
tice, the Mulroney Tories have made it clear that all of
this is up for review and possible axing.

Living by the Reagan and Thatcher dictum of tear-
ing sustenance from the working people to bloat the
corporations, Mulroney has begun his atack on the
universality of social programs.

It was in the cards from the days of the election
campaign when the Communist Party of Canada
warned of and campaigned against this Tory reign of
ruin.

_ Since then, on Nov. 16, the Mulroney government,
speeding on its path of setting back Canada’s social
benefits by a century, announced the formation of a

committee to pass judgment on the working class, the
working people as a whole, hard-pressed farmers, the
elderly, the jobless young generation, families (and all
benefitis concerning them).

The greatest threat, and a terrible wound to
working-class families, is as said, the threat to univer-
sality of social programs. Many programs, which have
never had any universal availability, such as daycare,
and even that limited service, are under attack.

The Canadian people must know that if the princi-
ple of universality is. put to death, there will be no
protection for them from painful cuts to every social
program in existence. They will be replaced by the
ruthless means test, well known to older working-class
people.

The Mulroney gang excuses itself on the pretext of
reducing the federal deficit.

Working people didn’t create the federal deficit.
Capitalism made it for its own ends, to enrich its
monopoly rulers. Let the deficit be paid out of
monopoly profits. There should be no concessions by
the people cn Social programs.

Freeze vote shameful

Canada voted in the United Nations General
Assembly to oppose a freeze on nuclear weapons
because the United States opposes a freeze.

The Conservative federal government, its external
affairs minister, and its so-called disarmament ambas-
sador stand totally discredited in the eyes of the major-
ity of world nations which demand a freeze as a first
step toward reducing and abolishing nuclear weapons.

Nov. 20 was a sad and shameful day for Canada.
That day this country’s ruling Tories struck a blow
against progress in removing the threat of nuclear war.
As part of the U.S. clique of 12, Canada — let’s say
the Tories of Canada — was disgraced before the 111
countries which did vote for the freeze and pass the
resolution.

Canada’s External Affairs Minister Joe Clark
defended with weasel words the disgraceful “no” vote
of disarmament ambassador Douglas Roche. Clark’s
claim that a vote for a nuclear freeze would have
created tension within the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization is farcical. In the first place, four NATO
countries — Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Greece
— did not go along with the U.S. game plan, and
refused to vote against the resolution.

But Clark’s strangest twist of logic came when he
said a vote for such a nuclear weapons freeze at the
UN “is not likely to change the opinion of the two
countries that it is most important to change.”

He means the Soviet Union and the United States,
which begs the question — which one does he want to
change? The two countries take opposite positions.
Does he want the Soviet Union to vote against a
nuclear freeze? The Soviet Union voted for a nuclear
freeze. It was one of the 111.

Or do Clark and the supine “‘disarmament ambas-
sador’”’ want us to believe that by going along with
U.S. nuclear escalation to establish its hegmony over
the world, they are not sending us down the path to
nuclear destruction?

For nuclear annihilation is where the present poli-
cies of the Mulroney government are leading. These
policies have to be scrapped, and new policies of
genuine efforts for nuclear disarmament put in their
place. That is what has to be impresssed on the Mul-
roney government and the people he sends to do
Washington’s dirty work at the UN.

MC

irri.

George Weston Ltd., parent of Weston Bakeries, Weston Foods,

McNair Products, InterBake Foods, Eddy Paper, White Swan, etc.,
yeasted its after-tax profit to $58,600,000 for the nine months
ended Sept. 30. That compares with $51,400,000 for the same

period in 1983.

___TRIBUNE

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t seems the B.C. and federal govern-

ments are pletermined to make history
repeat itself — even when the occasion
has proven in the past to be unpopular..

People and Issues

Almost two years to the date of the first
seminar for B.C. business people seeking
Pentagon war contracts, we received a
| copy of an invitation to those same busi-
nessmen to attend a “briefing” — the
terminology changes, but the essence
hasn’t — from a team of military experts
sent by the U.S. Secretary of Defence.

The invitation, on the stationery of the
federal Department of Regional Industrial
Expansion, tells B.C.’s well-heeled that:
“As a result of recent United States visits
by the Prime Minister and Minister of
National Defence, the U.S. Secretary of
Defence has offered a team of military
+} procurement specialists and prime con-
tractors to brief Canadian industry on
access to the U.S. defence market.

“The briefing will cover market identifi-

cation, sourcing, bidding, contracting and |

Canadian government export assistarice.
In addition, a panel format with U.S.
defence and U.S. prime contractor repre-
sentatives will provide an opportunity for
queries and discussion from industry,”
states the letter over the signature of
department trade development officer,
Don Cameron.

Readers may recall that the first of such
meetings was held in Vancouver’s Robson
Square back in November, 1982. The
problem for the seminar organizers then
was that Robson Square was also the

prime spot for demonstrations, and some
200 peace activists from churches, peace
groups, trade unions and community
organizations gave the business people,
government representatives and Pentagon
visitors a warm “welcome” to protest the
nuclear war to which their efforts will, if
unchecked, inevitably lead.

The demonstrators pointed out that
Canada was in danger of being drawn,
through increased defence contracts, into
the policies of military build-up practised
by the U.S. Reagan administration. The
B.C. Federation of Labor added its voice,
with delegates to the 1982 convention
adopting a resolution calling on the
government to prohibit foreign nations
from testing nuclear weapons here and to
establish Canada as nuclear-weapons free.

Several representatives of business did
show up, along with two professors from
the University of B.C. and Universities

Minister Pat McGeer, responsible for B.C. :

Research and its string of industrial parks.
It’s not certain who’s attending this
time — we were unable to reach Cameron
by telephone — but we’re sure that there
are several in the big business community
anxious to take part in “this multi-million
dollar market.” -

Robson Square, with its spacious area
for demonstrations, is out this year.
Instead, the sponsors — the federal

department and the B.C. Ministry of
Industry — have set their brief in the
Commonwealth East Room at the Holi-
day Inn Harborside, 1133 West Hastings St.
It’s set for Dec. 10, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Mews ie

he federal government’s involvement

in the defence contract briefing is one

sign that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s |

Conservatives are continuing their close
courtship with the Reagan administration
and its frightening nuclear policies.
Another was the shameful vote in the Uni-
ted Nations General Assembly, when
Canada cast its vote as part of a minority
of 12 countries against the principle of a
freeze in nuclear weapons development
and deployment.

B.C.’s peace organizations, however,
remind us that the vote can still be rev-
ersed.

Five peace groups have launched a pub-
lic appeal to put the pressure on Ottawa to
adopta “‘yes” response, and join 111 other

countries in giving the thumbs-up sign toa.

nuclear weapons freeze.

In a leaflet entitled ““Write Now,” the
peace gorups — End the Arms Race, Pro-
ject Ploughshares, the Trade Union Peace
Committee, Operation Dismantle and
UBC Students for Peace and Mutual
Disarmament — take issue with the gov-
ernment’s claim that a “‘yes” vote from

Canada would “upset” the NATO
alliance. They note that two NATO
members — Denmark and Greece —
voted for the freeze, while four others —
Norway, the Netherlands, Spain and
Iceland — abstained on the issue. They
add that Australia (another country inthe —
“western bloc”’) also favored the freeze.

The issue, however, is coming up for a
vote again. While there’s only a few days
before this happens, there’s still time to
send off a fast letter or telegram urging |
Canada’s representatives to change their
vote. : :

For letters — sent to Mulroney, with
copies to External Affairs Minister Joe
Clark, Opposition leader John Turner,
and NDP leader Ed Broadbent — the
address is the House of Commons,
Ottawa, Ont., KIA 0A6. No postage is
required.

Telegrams can be sent by phoning 681-
4231, POM. The initials stand for Public
Opinion Message, which is, the leaflet —
points out, the cheapest method.

With more than 100 Canadian cities
voting for nuclear disarmament, dozens of
giant annual peace marches and, most sig-
nificantly, Vancouver’s vote against cruise
missile testing — and, need we add, the
statements of several Conservative MPs,
including those of current disarmament —
ambassador Douglas Roche, against
cruise testing — it’s hard to accept that
the Tories haven’t gotten the message.
Perhaps a few letters in their mailboxes
will help prod their memories.

4 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 5, 1984

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