Clark hits bombs, leaves loopholes External Affairs Minister Joe Clark condemned the bombing of Khotso House in Johannesburg, South Africa. Khotso House is headquarters of a number of anti-apartheid groups, includ- ing the South African Council of Churches and the Detainees Parents Support Committee. Meanwhile, Clark was assailed in the House of Commons by Liberal MP — John Nunziata for loopholes in the government’s much-touted © sanctions initiative. Despite department regula- tions, $2 million in government grants have gone to two South African com- panies operating in Canada. Canadian firm sets up in Moscow Foremost-Progress, a joint Soviet- Canadian firm specializing in machines for work in extreme weather conditions, has been set up in Moscow. Its first effort is the Yamal caterpillar designed for usé by the oil and gas industry. Measuring 20 metres in length by 4.5 metres high, the vehicle, equipped witha drilling rig, equipment to fight oil fires, a rotary boom crane and hydraulic power shovel, has its own power plant. The machine’s strength is its relative light weight and ride, designed to reduce environmental damage. The company’s future plans include machines for geological survey, cross- country vehicles and seismic indicators. Equipment designed for work in tropical regions is also being developed. Meares Island logging continues The federal government -has once again been called on to act to halt the logging of Meares Island, off Vancouver Island, which has been the object of a lengthy land claims-environmental strug- gle over several years. MP Charles Caccia told the House last week that the logging giant MacMillan- Bloedel is moving to clear cut the virgin rain forests on the island. Dangerous substances The minister of the environment, Tom McMillan, says the greatest impediment to dealing with PCBs is “community res- istance.” In response to heavy question- ing from the opposition in the House last week following a fire at a PCB storage shed in Quebec, the minister asked: “What are we supposed to do” if resi- dents are unwilling to establish incinera- tors in their areas? He said the government-“will be work- ing with the provinces to see whether we can Overcome community resistance to these permanent facilities.” Following the St. Basile le Grand fire which forced the evacuation of 3,000 people, the dangerous implications of the negligent handling, transportation and storage of the toxic chemical, once used in electrical transformers, received public attention. Local residents have often rallied to refuse the placement of incinerators in their communities=because of adverse health effects. x 6» Pacific Tribune, September 21, 1988 Tories ‘self-rule’ plan cuts grants for Native education By PAUL OGRESKO (Second of two parts) _ Doors of opportunity that had opened a crack for Native students are now being slammed shut. The new educational grant program now being implemented by the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) may deny thousands of Native young people a chance at post-secondary education. The student program was put into place in the usual DIA fashion without consultation with Indian people. While there have been warning signs in the past few years of impend- ing education cuts, what has particularly angered Indian leaders is the magnitude of the cuts and the social costs they entail. The bottom line, according to Gerry Trudeau, spokesperson for the Native Committee of the Ontario Federation of Students, is not only the money Native stu- dents will lose, but a priorities list is being put in place that discriminates against Native students with dependents or those who ever dropped out of school. The cutbacks are part of DIA’s bureau- cratic shuffling; a two-track approach in which Native communities are given more control over social services, while the fund- ing for those services is withdrawn. The Tory approach to Indian Affairs has been to “downsize” its responsibilities under the guise of moving towards Native self- government. In reality, “self-government” is no more than a delegated authority, but one that enables the federal government to close its purse. Native communities are being told that many of the social services are now provincial responsibilities, a process intrin- sic to the Meech Lake Accord. Under the old formula, initiated by the Liberal government in 1975, a single Native student was eligible for an annual grant of $6,499.99. That included rent, school supp- lies, seasonal travel (no small consideration when most students live far from university centres) and tuition fees. Under the new Tory guidelines, single Native student grants have been cut $1,100 a year to $5,399. But it is the student with dependents who suffers most. Previous reg- ulations allowed a married student with two children under the age of six $13,044 per year for all expenses, including child care expenses. The DIA’s new funding program chops this by over one-third to $8,799. The cuts go particularly deep, consider- ing the old formula had not been adjusted to reflect the cost of living since 1982, even though the index has increased 27 per cent during those years. “(The feds) say they are trying to make everything equal,” Trudeau told the Trib- une. “What they’re doing is cutting out books and supplies, rent subsidies, seasonal travel and childcare. “They know that the Native people want self-government, but with all these changes to the student grant program, Native stu- dents won’t have a chance to continue their education the way the first nations would like to see. Without education, how can we become self-sufficient?” Besides the cutbacks, the DIA has intro- duced a set of priorities further complicat- ing the issue. Students currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution will have first priority. Students initially refused entry because financial difficulties would get priority in the second year. Third priority are students coming directly from high school. Fourth priority are dropouts (not a small percentage in any Native community) who wish to continue their education. Last on the list are students who got their Native CLASSROOM AT MT. CURRIE RESERVE. but opportunities for post-secondary — education for Native people are dwindling under Tory cutback plan. status back under the 1986 changes to the Indian Act. In 1987, there were over 14,000 Native students in post-secondary institutions. However, even with much of the old for- mula still in effect, an estimated 2,000 who wanted to attend were turned away. The Tory funding program, coupled with the elimination of Grade 13 in Ontario’s school system, will send the latter figure skyrocket- ing. The First Nations responded swiftly to. the now public Tory agenda. In Ontario, both the Mississaugas of New Credit and the Spanish River First Nation, among oth- ers in north-western Ontario, have criticized the proposed formula and the lack of con- sultation from the branch of the govern- ment supposedly representing the interests of Native people. In the next few weeks the Assembly of | First Nations will sponsor a rally at Parlia- ment Hill to demand the government either immediately change the students’ grant program or get rid of it entirely. In 1984, Mulroney had promised Native people consultation would take place before any changes were ever contemplated in fed- eral Native policy. The last four years have shown what little weight those promises hold. “If the government can get away with it, they will,” Trudeau said. “We have to let people know what’s been going on with the treaties, education and everything else that’s been promised by the Canadian govern- ment. “Tf people only knew what the Mulroney government was really up to, he wouldn’t © have a chance in hell of getting re-elected.” Public, truckers victims in sale Continued from page 1 “At the outset our fear was that the new owners would wind down the operations and hold on to the valuable real estate — owned by the former Crown enterprise. It _ would appear that we were right and that the owners are deliberately bankrupting the company, thus jeopardizing the livelihood of some 2,500 employees across the coun- try,” he stated. “When privatization takes hold, thesé things could happen. This proves the point that labour has putting in opposition to privatization,” said CBRT Prairie vice- president Albert Cerilli. Anticipation, since unfounded, that Transport Route would seek a federal finan- cial bailout prompted the Ontario Trucking Association to urge Mulroney to reject such 4 request in the name of deregulation.