" BRITISH COLUMBIA

‘Restraint’ no road to recovery

Recently Premier Bennett has been stressing that he will go ahead with his so- called restraint program (the July 7 budget and the 26 bills that accompanied it) no matter what happens because ‘restraint is the road to recovery”’.

Bennett’s restraint program includes a whole number of bills that have absolutely nothing to do with restraint, that take away the rights of local governments (regional

districts, municipal councils and school '

boards), that abolish human rights and destroy collective bargaining for public employees. In this case he is just using the excuse of restraint to centralize more government in his hands and to take away long established rights of B.C. citizens.

But let’s leave those bills aside for the

moment and deal with his actual restraint _ measures. These include additional taxes (increase in sales tax, tax on meals, increase in gasoline tax, and so on), drastic cuts in health care, education and other social ser- vices, increases in hospital user fees and medicare premiums, the lay-off of up to 12,000 provincial government employees with mass layoffs also of teachers and school staff, hospital staff and municipal staff. To estimate the effects of these actions on the economy we first have to ask: on what does economic recovery in B.C. de- pend?

As everyone knows the make-up of our economy is such that we depend for economic prosperity first of all on the ex- port of our natural resources - forestry pro- ducts, minerals, fish and so on. These in turn depend on the state of the world market which at present is depressed.

How can the premier and his govern- ment claim that cuts in health care and education, closing up hospital beds and

schools, increasing taxes on people and lay- ing off of thousands of public employees will bring us new markets in the world? It’s not only a ridiculous assertion by the premier, it’s politically dishonest.

Second, economic prosperity depends on the purchasing power of people, on our ability to buy goods and services. When the government decreases our purchasing power through increased taxes and layoffs the only result can be that we buy less, de- mand lessens and this leads to still further layoffs and cuts in production by private business. It sets economic recovery back.

Harry

Rankin

Third, economic prosperity depends on jobs, on people being productively employed to provide goods and services. The Bennett government is laying off tens of thousands of workers and is not creating one new job. This also sets back economic recovery.

What then is the purpose of Bennett’s so-called restraint program?

What he is doing is redistributing the wealth of the province. By cuts and layoffs he’s taking money out of our pockets to provide it in the form of subsidies to his big business backers - the big Japanese and Canadian corporations that will export our northeast coal, the developers who will benefit from B.C. Place, the big sports promoters who had a stadium built for them free of charge, the hotel industry and

big merchants who expect tomake a killing out of Expo ’86.

The road to recovery for B.C. doesn’t lie in that direction.

We need secondary manufacturing in- dustries which will process our rich natural resources right here at home and make thousands of goods we now import and in the process create thousands of new jobs, and steady jobs too, that don’t depend on

. the world market.

Government services such as health and education should be expanded to meet the growing needs of our population. Then

our people would be better served and there would be many new jobs too. The government should undertake a program of needed public works - this would pro- vide jobs and stimulate the economy.

- The money is there and the government has it — it’s just a question of priorities. Should the government’s inccome be spent to provide jobs and services to people or subsidies to big business? It’s as simple as that.

This government has made clear where it stands. Either it must be compelled to change its policies or it must be replaced. We do not have to sit back and take it. This government has no mandate for the cruel measures it is ramming through the legislature under the false label of “recovery through restraint’.

or those who have watched such huge corporations as Noran- da, as they strip the British Columbia forest industry of jobs, funnel millions in profits into foreign, low-wage operations and then try to force wage concessions on organized workers, the importance of the labor movement working out strategies to deal with the transnational companies has become increasingly clear. And for them, particularly, the second annual International Con- ference for International Trade Union Unity will be a signal event,

even if they can only read about its deliberations.

Trade unionists from Canada and the United States will be gathering at the Westbury Hotel in Toronto Oct. 29-30 to seek the basis for international trade union unity against the wage rollbacks, unemployment, plant closings and the military buildup that have as their basis the power and influence of the world’s — mainly the U.S. and Canada — transnational corporations.

The conference is the product of cooperation between two like- minded entities — Vancouver’s Trade Union Research Bureau and the New York-based Labor Research Association. In only it’s se- cond year of existence, the conference has dozens of sponsorships from trade unionists in both countries, including Canadian Union of Postal Workers president Jean Claude Parrot, Dave Patterson, director of the United Steelworkers District 6, president Grace Hart- man of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and more than

100 American labor leaders. 2

This year’s conference will carry on the work of the first annual meeting in New York, which last year drew more than 400 trade unionists to an exchange on the role of international labor unity. To help kick off the discussion on a united offensive across the borders against the transnationals will be the head of the research bureau, Dr. Emil Bjamason, the association’s Ernest De Maio, and several | speakers from abroad, including French trade unionists Allain Stern and Jeaninne Maurait, British auto workers leader Jack Carr, and Evgenio Rosa of Portugal’s trade union central.

PEOPLE AND ISSUES

We will be carrying a report of the conference in a future issue.

* * * *

iven rising prices and the devaluation of Canadian currency in

the international exchange, there isn’t very much that a Canad-

ian dollar will buy these days. But with the campaign laun- ched by the Communist Part of El Salvador, that dollar can be put to effective use — in the struggle against the U.S.-backed dictator- ship in that country.

The CP in El Salvador, one of the constituent groups of the FMLN, has made available thousands jof one-colon bills - the colon is the currency of El Salvador — and has called on those who sup- port the fight for liberation to “‘trade for peace’’. In exchange for one devalued Canadian dollar, you get a El Salvador colon. The words stamped on the back sum up the real value of the transaction: ‘Port un dolar la liberted. Un colon menos para la oligarcuia opresora’’ — One dollar more for freedom, One colon less for the oppressive oligarchy.

All the proceeds from the campaign will go to the CP of El Salvador. The colons are available from Canadian Communist Party members or from the CP offices, 103-2747 E. Hastings, Van- couver, 254-9836. : :

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he traditions of the Communist and progressive movement go back a long time on northern Vancouver Island as evidenced

by the number of people still active in political life today who -

B.C. unionists wishing to attend the conference can contact the trace their own roots back to the organizing drives in the woods dur-

Trade Union Research Bureau, 195 Alexander St., Vancouver, V6A 1N8. The phone number is 681-2338. ;

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EL SALVADOR COLON ... part of ‘trade for peace’ cam- paign.

ing the early Thirties, to the International Brigaders that defended the Spanish Republic and to the early peace movement.

On Nov. 5, the Communist Party constituency clubs in Courtenay and Campbell River will be paying a special honor to seven of those people — Alex Armella, John (Paddy) McElligot, Emie Dalskog, Marge Dalskog, Jack Higgin Sr., Millie Hewison

and A. (Skate) Hames — at a special banquet.in Courtenay. It’s .

scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Native Sons of Canada Hall, 360 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay. Tickets are $7.

Naturally, it will not only be the tradition that will be marked, but the campaigns of the present as well — earlier on the same day, the two clubs will be nominating the Communist candidate to contest the Comox-Powell River riding in the federal election which is ex-

pected to be called soon.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 19, 1983—Page 2

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ACE hopefuls |

seeking labor |

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endorsement |

Coquitlam’s progressive civic organiza-

* tion, the Association of Coquitlam Electors:

(ACE), has selected its candidates for the fall municipal election in which the Socred’s

legislative package will top the list of civic |

issues.

On Monday, ACE representatives were set to appear before municipal council witha —

brief urging the council — whatever the in- | dividual aldermen’s partisan or political sen- _ timents — to oppose the provincial restraint

legislation, several pieces of which affect revenues to municipalities and civic workers. jobs.

Oct. 19 the new candidates for ACE ap- pear before the New Westminister and District Labor Council. Along with some 30 — other candidates for school board and coun-

‘cil in several municipalities in the Lowel |

Mainland and the Fraser Valley, they’ll be seeking the labor council’s endorsation for a civic battle that will be crucial in determining _ citizen’s response to the Socred’s budgetary bills.

ACE candidates already have their work

cut out for them, with issues created by pro- —

vincial government legislation. For example, Bill 9, the act introduced into the legislature — after directors of the Greater Vancouver Regional District turned down an applica- tion for development of Delta’s Spetifore lands — by which some Socred MLAs and supporters stood to profit — has hit Co- quitlam as well. i

The act abolishes regional districts’ plant

ing powers, and caused the GVRD to reverse |

an earlier decision rejecting applications t0 development. Coquitlam’s rural northeast area, said Parker. The developer, Camex has now applied to Coquitlam council t0 develop the area, even though there is nO

community plan for the region. ee Another issue that may resurface is the |

council’s decision last year, despite thé

strenous objections from several quarters 0 —

the community, to contract out garbage co lection services to Haulaway Disposal. ACE ~ members were active organizing the oppos! — tion to the privatization move, which noW appears — as ACE predicted — to be prov ing more expensive than the city-owned se vice staffed by unionized civic workers.

ACE may soon be organizing a

demonstration against privatization whe? | the government moves to sell the Colony a.

Farm, a profit-making diary a? agricultural enterprise for the rehabilitatio? of mental patients employing 26 provincial

workers, this fall, said Parker.

Parker will joined on the aldermanic slat | by incumbent Gloria Levi and Doug sa s ati

a printer and member of the Intern Typographical Union, for a two-year cou” cil term. Also running under the ACE bat” ner for a one-year-term is liquor Stl employee and B.C. Government Employe? Union member Kevin Gilmour, who is COP testing the seat left vacant for the remain year by Les Garrison, a right-wing mayo" candidate.

For school board, incumbent trustee Lor

~ na Morford is seeking reelection. Also cO™ | testing a seat on the regional, elected-bY - - ward school board will be Mike Manley”

Casimir, a Simon Fraser University P? Ha fessor and member of the NDP’s educa”

committee.

Two referendums, both of which ACE is : backing by urging a ‘‘Yes’’ vote, face Ce quitlam electors: Nuclear disarmament, a acity standards bylaw prohibiting the sale” materials containing violent them® and the sexual exploitation of children.

While ACE has no mayoral candida

the organization tacitly backs the candi?"

of Ald. Lou Sekora, a local restaurant the in the

who has taken progressive positions past, including voting against the priv tion of the city’s garbage collecting

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