FEATURES

OTTAWA — The federal government has finally re-

sponded to growing pressures from visible minorities
and anti-racist organizations to do something about ra-
cism in Canada. :

The Special Committee on Race Relations admits in

the beginning of its report, ‘‘Equality Now’’, released
March 28, “the demand for full participation.is not a
recent phenomenon, but it has gained momentum in the

past 20 years.’’ Their report is an attempt to deal with -
that demand. :

Its most positive aspect is the clearly enunciated

acknowledgement that racial discrimination exists in
Canada and is a serious problem requiring decisive fed-
eral government action.

It is an advance when the chairman of the committee,

Liberal MP Robert Daublin finds ‘‘there is a substantial
amount of frustration out there. Lord knows, they have
reason to be activists’. In so much as the committee
recognizes that Canada faces ‘‘a potentially serious race
relations problem’, its report can be considered a step in
the right direction.

The report contains 80 recommendations ranging from

the substantive to mere motherhood expressions.
Among the worthwhile proposals are:

e strengthening the laws to stop hate literature (a -

conviction has never been registered under current
‘Taws!);

e support affirmative action in hiring practices;
e introduce contract compliance legislation for all

firms doing business with the federal government and its
agencies;

e expansion of the range of complaints that can be

heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission;

e the formal acknowledgement by Parliament that the

uprooting and imprisonment of Japanese Canadians dur-
ing World War Two was a violation of their rights.

Such recommendations strengthen the legitimacy of

demands made over the years by visible minority and
anti-racist groups. Demands which would in effect,
criminalize racism.

However, the report contains certain structural flaws

throughout its 165 pages which have created a residue of
disquiet. At top is the committee’s inability to follow its
own logic and favor legislation which would put a stop to
discriminatory practices.

_ Equality report an election plo

Thus it recommends voluntary affirmative action pro-
grams in the private sector, even though such programs
have been proven ineffective. Then to rub salt in the
wound, it suggests ‘“‘subsidies and tax incentives”’ to
employers who implement such programs.

Throughout the report there is an overheavy reliance
on ‘‘attitudes’’, ‘‘misunderstandings’’ and ‘‘feelings”’.
By concentrating on prejudices it ignores the economic
power of government and business to discriminate.

The committee goes on record against outlawing racist
groups, (despite Canada’s international treaty obliga-
tions to do so), on the grounds that such laws may be
used against ‘‘dissident political organizations’’. (Such
little faith for a legal system capable of distinguishing
between robbery and burglary; felony and mis-
demeanor, larceny and grand larceny etc.) ~

Confused is the crucial bi-national character of
Canada with ethnicities, nationalities and races. To
quote from the report: ‘‘As long as we persist with the
rhetoric of two founding peoples, and their implied grea-
ter importance, Canadians whose heritage is other than
French or English will be denied recognition as equals in
the development of Canada, will be denied a sense of
belonging and will be considered and will consider them-
selves lesser mortals’.

This is dangerous stuff. The rights of all Canadians for

vanvaceostetted

ON COMMITTEE

‘Growing pressure against racism is being felt, but will the

report get “lost” in the midst of the Liberal leadership
campaign?

: racial equality cannot be counterposed against the rights
““of the French-speaking nation for self-determinatio?

within a united, bi-national Canada.

But the question remains. What will happen to the

report?

On the day of its release, Minister of State for Multi-

culturalism, David Collenette, told the press he w0
announce within 10 days what recommendations

would accept. A month has transpired and still no WO il
There is growing speculation that the report may we

get ‘“‘lost’’ in the midst of the Liberal leadership ca”

paign and following federal election. Responses from the

Prime Minister and his cabinet have been lukewarm
best.

Collenette, himself, has made it very clear that he will

do nothing to upset the private sector. He is firmly P”
posed to any ‘‘compulsory measures”* and strongly SUP”
‘ports a ‘‘cooperative effort’’ with the business com

munity.

“Business organizations are all anxious to deal with
the problem”’, he assured critics, while admitting at the

same time ‘‘we invited business associations to prese
briefs to the committee but they weren’t interested

He has also expressed support for Marsha Gordon,
policy co-ordinator for the Canadian Chamber of Com

merce, and her statement that any legislative action cou
cause “‘inflexibility and resentment’’. :

This gentleman, who is relying on the ‘‘goodwill of
the private sector’’ — the very sector which derives
immense benefits from racism — has also publicly un ged
that we not go ahead too quickly with legislation since

may create ‘‘backlash problems’’ from employers.

During a recent TV interview he stated, “‘I think
voluntarism will suffice and we'll never have to usé

compulsion.” —

It would be easy to be cynical about the government's
intentions. A growing feeling is the work of the commit
tee and its report, was nothing more than an election ploy

to win votes from ethnic and visible communities.

But the government is vulnerable. The same pressures —
which brought the special committee into being must be
exerted to ensure the useful recommendations from the

report be enacted.

i —

Todesmarsch: none will forget —

At 5 a.m. on the morning of April 21, 1945 began the
Todesmarsch (Death March). Some 35,000 prisoners
were being evacuated from Sachsenhausen concen-
tration camp. They were marched off in groups of 500.
Each group was herded by 30 to 40 armed S.S. guards,
accompanied by dogs. a

Sachsenhausen lies just north of Berlin. The inmates
of the concentration camp were anti-fascists from all
over Europe, but most were German citizens. On that
infamous morning of April 1945, Soviet army advance
forces were sweeping across the Polish border and
threatening Berlin. The Nazi S.S. high command de-
cided to clear the camp and drown the evidence.

The S.S. were ordered to load the political prisoners
in self-dumping scows used for dredging harbors. These

_ were to be towed out to sea and the bottom mechanism

released. The human cargo would disappear beneath the
waves. No evidence. After traversing over 150 kilo-
‘metres, the death-march was halted at Schwerin, less
than 50 kilometres from its grisly goal. The Soviet
soldiers arrived just in time to save most otf the prisoners.
Some 6,000 did not make it; they had been shot en route,
because they could not keep up with the pace of the
march. Their bodies were left at the roadside, unburied.

I travelled over that death-march route in the comfort
of motor car. It was a serene countryside that hid most of
the evidence from that brutal episode. However, there
were reminders in each of the towns and villages, along
that death trail of 39 years ago. None can forget.

I was privileged to meet and talk with one of the last
living survivor of Sachsenhausen, Walter Gozell. He is
presently chairman of the district committee of anti-
fascist resistance fighters. He told me that some 6,000 of
them are still living in different parts of the GDR, but
many have recently died. This organization has dedi-
cated itself to telling school children about their exper-
iences and the brutal nature of fascism, as they had lived
it. Walter Gozell not only talks to school pupils, some 40
times a year, but also speaks to children at summer
camps. He reminds them of their civic responsibilities.
After two years in the Sachsenhausen concentration

‘From the GDR

Jim Tester

camp, and the horror of the death-march, the light will
not go out of Walter Gozell’s eyes until he has drawn, his
last breath. The children who have listened to his story
will never forget it. Nor will their children. :
One of the last towns on the death-march route is
Parchim. With a population of 23,400 it is a progressive,
bustling community. The mayor of Parchim is serious
Horst Frahn, 47, an agronomist who originally hailed
from Berlin. He has been here since 1956 and helped lead
its transformation from a backward community. He said
there are now 48 industries in, and around, the town. The
largest is a hydraulic engineering works that employs
some 2,700 men and women. Some 22 factories each
employ from 300 to 400 workers. These include a textile -

plant for furniture coverings, a pipe fittings factory and a

lightweight concrete foam component plant.

The expansion and development of this town is almost »

an obsession. When one considers that Parchim was
founded in 1226 A.D., and that it developed ata snail’s
pace in the next 720 years, the sudden and rapid growth
is phenomenal — and planned!

True, the oldest standing houses only date back to
1585. They have an honored place among the huge new
apartment complexes that house 7,000 people. To that
housing will be added another 1,600 flats — to be built by
1987! This will meet all the housing requirements of their
population. Included in that building program will be two
54-classroom schools, complete with gyms, shops,
kindergartens and assembly rooms. A home for seniors
will also be completed by that time.

In the district, which includes the farming areas, some

° ' : ls. : ;
Sachsenhausen inmates at hard labor.

39,000 people are housed. A 322-bed’hospital serves the
district. Some 91 doctors service the hospital, a poly-
clinic and 17 nursing stations in he district. Also, doctors
and dentists have offices in strategic locations in the rural
areas. :

Mayor Horst Frahn expressed satisfaction with the
progress being made in Parchim. He positively bubbled,
and came to close to boasting, when he stated that 22 per
cent of Parchim’s people were engaged in sports of one
kind or another.

I am sure former concentration camp inmate, Walter
Gozell, is more than pleased with the progress. It is the
meaning of his life.

8 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 23, 1984