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PRAIRIE PROVINCES

War veterans from several organizations — including
the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, the
Communist Party, the United Jewish People’s Order,
the Mackenzie-Papineau Veterans and the Manitoba
Peace Council — laid wreaths at the Winnipeg
Cenotaph on May 8 to commemorate the 40th Anniver-
Sary of the Victory over Hitler Fascism. In the evening,
about 175 people attended a public meeting with guest
Speaker Nels Thibault, a former Manitoba Federation

es os

of Labor president. There were also greetings from
youth, trade unionists, war vets and Winnipeg and
North Dakota peace groups. The cultural program fea-
tured a Chilean folk singer and Chilean youth dancers,
the Nellie McClung Theatre Group and the Yunist
Dance Ensemble. A resolution was passed calling for
no Canadian participation in or support for Reagan’s
Star Wars. The wreath-laying and meeting were organ-
ized by a special 40th Anniversary Committee.

U.S. oil giants |
the only winners

On March 28, the three West-
em energy ministers and federal
Energy Minister Pat Carney
signed a néw energy agreement.
This Western Accord was hailed
as “‘a great victory for the West’’.

This agreement dealt a fatal
blow to the National Energy Pro-
gram (NEP) and the process of
limited Canadianization of Cana-
da’s oil and natural gas industry.
As such, the Energy Accord was
a victory for the multi-national oil
giants who stand to gain the most.

Monopoly Windfall

This.new energy,‘‘pact’’, by.in-
creasing the price of ‘‘old oil’’,
increases the value of oil reserves
held by Texaco by $2-billion, Im-
perial Oil, $2.3-billion and Gulf,

$1.4-billion. Another part of the -

agreement, which puts all oil at
world prices, will result in lower
prices for ‘‘new oil’’ which are the
main reserves of the smaller
Canadian companies.

The federal government, by
agreeing to eliminate Petroleum
and Gas Revenue Tax (PGRT),
will give the already-profitable oil
industry an additional $2-billion
each year, of which the three
giants mentioned will receive
$500-million. PGRT, which is a
tax on revenues rather than pro-
fits, was particularly hated by the
oil giants who have a history of
Paying little or no tax in Canada.

_The energy pact is, in effect, a
direct transfer of funds to the

multi-nationals and a cut in the
income of the smaller Canadian
independents who benefitted
under NEP through exploration
subsidies that directly favored
Canadian companies’ over
foreign-owned multi-nationals.
This has now been axed. The fed-
eral government, having cut its
income from PGRT, is now in the
position of having to find billions
of tax dollars from other sources.
This inevitably means from work-
ing people and through cuts in so-
cial programs.

No Jobs — No Recovery

The Western Accord was
signed with a promise of 100,000
to 300,000 jobs. Now, a few
weeks later, this is in question. Oil
Week’ magazine (april 15, 1985)
reported that Hans Maciej, the
technical director of the Canadian
Petroleum Association, caution-
ed that there would be no rapid
increase in the order of 100,000
jobs as predicted. Further, a re-
port by the Corporate Develop-
ment and Economic Analysis
Branch of the federal Energy De-
partment itself, has indicated
that unemployment, although

_ staying lower until 1988, would

rise thereafter. In addition, an On-

tario energy ministry study in,

November predicted a loss of

more than 80,000 jobs there by

1987 as a direct result of deregula-
tion of oil prices.

From
Edmonton

Dave Wallis

Clinic in Canada.

Meetings.

Doctor honored for dedication

WINNIPEG — Labor representatives and Health and Safety activ-
ists and professionals gathered in Winnipeg on May 9 to say a reluctant
farewell to Dr. Linda Murray who is returning to the United States. For
the past two years Dr. Murray has been the physician at the Manitoba
Federation of Labor Occupational Health Centre — the only such

Those gathered at the testimonial cited her dedication as a doctor in
helping Manitoba workers identify, treat and receive just compensa-
tion for industrial related disease, and commended her continued em-
Phasis on developing union-run health and safety training and educa-
tion courses for workers themselves. : ;

During her two years at the Centre, Dr. Murray became widely
Tecognized across Canada for her expertise in the health and safety
field, and spoke throughout the country at labor conventions and

Tribute was paid to Dr. Murray by MFL President John Pullen, the
CUPE National Executive, the Alberta Federation of Labor Execu-
tive, the students ona six-week MFL health and safety training course,
as well as by the Clinic staff with whom she has worked closely.

Dr. Murray leaves Winnipeg to take up teaching medicine at
Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. Meharry is one of the
historical Black medical schools in the USA.

_ eee

The Western Accord will have
the result of increasing energy
costs. This will make Canadian

industry less competitive and take

a larger share of the income of

working people. The results of

this. will produce not an upturn in
the economy, but a further slide
as working people will have less
money to buy consumer goods.

We only have to go back to
Premier Lougheed’s $4.2-billion,
no-strings-attached, gift to the oil
monopolies in 1982 to understand
that huge give-aways don’t make
jobs. Despite this massive ‘‘in-
centive’’ to. monopoly and a net
negative corporate income tax in
Alberta, unemployment jumped
dramatically from 3.8 per cent in
1981 to over 11 per cent at the
present time. It is not corporate
concessions and reliance on the
private sector that create jobs but
rather a public program of indus-
trial development with increased
purchasing power for working
people. ;

Free Trade Hurts Canada

Linked to the Western Accord
is the ending of regulations on the
short-term export of oil and re-
fined products. This was done

TRIBUNE PHOTO — DOUG TOTTLE

with no concern for Canada’s-

long-term requirements but rather
as a part of a commitment to ex-
pand free trade with the U.S.
which will ultimately lead to the
wholesale give-away of our
natural resources.

As long as the economy of Al-
berta is directed to expand the
profitability and power of the
largest and predominantly U.S.-
owned oil monopolies, a mean-
ingful recovery will be
impossible.

Public Ownership Needed |

The answer will not be found in
handouts but
nationalization of the major oil
and natural gas corporations to
ensure that the planned, bal-
anced, long-term needs of Canada
are met. Direct government in-
volvement in building publicly-
owned industry in Alberta and
needed civic projects are the only
way to provide the basis for long-
term jobs at livable wages. This,

through the .

rather than multi-billion dollar -

give-aways to the oil monopolies,

‘is the way to ensure jobs for Al-

berta’s 150,000 unemployed.
— Co-written by David Wallis and
Steve Goff

REGINA — A study by the Regina-based People’s
Budget Coalition exposes the serious impact of the
Saskatchewan Conservative government’s April budget
which reduces spending or freezes it at last year’s levels
in 28 departments.

The Coalition, which organized a big protest outside the
First Ministers’ meeting here in February, shows that
the result of the budget will be a new round of cutbacks
throughout the public sector, despite the fact that the
government has backed off from some
politically-explosive cuts.

Four pages single-spaced are needed to list all the areas
affected by the budget. This is a partial list of the
“‘victims”’:

e Program funding is reduced for Meadow Lake,
Moose Jaw, Wascana, and Kelsey vocational and technical
institutes. Money ‘‘saved’’ from these institutions is used
to maintain spending at universities in Regina and
Saskatoon, although at levels insufficient to reverse or even
stop the cutbacks of recent years.

e Despite the importance of farming for the province’s
economy, agriculture department spending is reduced
again; non-capital spending is now $8-million below
1981/82. Programs which service farmers directly are
badly affected this year, such as the Agricultural Credit
Corp., Extension Branch, Irrigation Branch, and others.
The Lebret Training Farm, for Native farmers’ training,
is eliminated.

e Services such as air and mine pollution control and
land protection face reduced funding in the environment
department, another perennial victim of Tory policy.

e The Occupational Health and Safety branch of the
Labor department has been cut again — it now employs 13
people fewer than in 1981/82.

e Areas cut in the health department include
Communication and Health Education, Health Services,
Disease Control, Vital Statistics, Psychiatric Services, and
hospitals at North Battleford, Yorkton, Weyburn and
Prince Albert. @

e In the Saskatchewan Housing Corp., non-profit _
seniors’ housing, co-op housing, Urban Native Housing,

_ the Home Improvement for Disabled program, and other

important areas have had funding reduced.

Although the government has, once again, transferred
many programs to different departments and juggled its
spending in other ways, it is clear that services and
employment in the public sector will again be reduced.
CUPE and the Saskatchewan Government Employees
Union have estimated that since coming to office three
years ago, the Devine government has wiped out over 10
per cent of its workforce positions, and there is no end in
sight.

Militancy grows in Alberta

The past several weeks have seen an upsurge of the
fightback mood in Alberta. Strikes are springing up all
over the province. And while some are simply local

actions in national strikes, they are all characterized by

militancy, growing solidarity and encouraging unity.

e Inearly April, the members of the Letter Carriers’
Union of Canada showed the strength of its ranks during
the national one-day walkout called to enforce the
collective agreement, which management was violating
in regard to holiday pickup of mail.

e Members of the United Mineworkers of America in
the Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta walked out over
management's violation of duties assigned a member of
the union. A bitter, scab-ridden and Mountie-infested
struggle dragged on for over two weeks with the union
gaining what it wanted.

e In Edmonton, the first industrial action by the staff
association representing Paramedics and Emergency
Medical Technicians working for the City-controlled
Ambulance | Authority surprised everyone with its
militancy, received broad support from the union
movement and won considerable public sympathy.

At issue was especially the staffing level or, in other
words, the number of ambulances available at any one
time throughout the city. In the situation, the Ambulance
Authority Board’s promise to review its plans for staffing
reduction was a victorious outcome of the strike.

e Teachers in two school districts had, by early April,
returned to work after strikes, refiising to budge from
their bargaining positions.

e While Alberta was far from the focus of the Retail,
Wholesale and Department Store Union struggle with
Eaton’s, four unions took on the mounting of one-day
support pickets around the downtown Edmonton Eaton’s
store (ECWU, CUPW, LCUC, and AUPE).

A

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 29, 1985 e 7