Editorial If Meech Lake fails | There is a dangerous complacency developing among progressive Canadians around the Meech Lake Accord. The assumption is that bickering among the elite signals the accord will die, through failing to achieve full provincial ratification by its June 1990 “deadline.” This is a dangerous conclusion, one that ignores the consequences for the country if Meech Lake fails because right-wing forces are successful in scuttling it by whipping up anti-Quebec, anti-French sentiment. Initially progressive opposition to Meech Lake was centred around an understanding that the accord was linked to the neo-conservative agenda. Wherever hearings were held on the accord, the vast majority of deputations criticized the undemocratic process which brought Meech into being. They recognized that the document would fragment the country by weakening the power of the federal government and permanently erode the constitutional rights of aboriginal peoples, women and minorities. A minority of those opposed to Meech also protested because the accord provided no real recognition of the national rights of Quebec. But a new trend has developed following the federal election. Having secured the Free Trade Agreement, big business may no longer feel it needs the accord. The FTA has tied the hands of the federal government, and market forces will divide the country. Now the ruling class is increasingly worried that the distinct society clause might be interpreted by Quebec to claim powers to regulate business or cut out Anglo-Canadian capital. The Mulroney government, while not y_t openly turning its back on the accord, has _ given its Tory provincial cousins and backbenchers free reign to exploit national tensions by attacking Quebec. In the absence of strong voices in English Canada — who while rejecting Meech Lake also vigorously support the full recognition of the national rights of Quebec — the anti-Meech “leadership” has been left to the likes of Newfoundland’s Clyde Wells and Manitoba’s Gary Filmon, who have made Quebec “exceptionalism” central to their opposition. ; The situation is so tense that hostilities in English Canada towards Quebec can even be found among otherwise progressive people who hold French Canada responsible for the last November’s election results. They ignore the fact that most major democratic organiza- tions, including the trade unions, continue to oppose Meech Lake and the Tories. In light of these developments the Communist Party has issued an appeal worthy of the left’s attention. It has called on English Canadians active in the labour and people’s movements to challenge Anglo-Canadian chauvinism wherever it appears and to use the renewed debate around Meech Lake to educate English Canadians that the right of Quebec to self-determination is linked to the survival of Canada. It also calls on Quebec activists to challenge attempts by Mulroney and Premier Robert Bourassa to portray all opposition to the accord in English Canada as anti-Quebec. True, Meech Lake could fail, but if it fails not because it is a fundamentally flawed document but because of national chauvinism, progressives will win a pyrrhic victory. The unity built among the pro-Canada forces will fragment, leaving the opposition to the neo-conservative agenda so badly weakened that the re-election of the Tories in the next federal election could be assured. = CARADA TAKES ° IIS SEAT AT Bice ise 0.A.S eh st AS OLS 22 Die Ea-ne FIRIBONE ! BUSINESS & CIRCULATION MANAGER Mike Proniuk GRAPHICS Angela Kenyon Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C., V5K 1Z5 . Phone: (604) 251-1186 Fax: (604) 251-4232 Subscription rate: Canada: @ $20 one year @ $35 two years @ Foreign $32 one year Second class mail registration number 1560 The future of your postal service isin and the postal service. But, it look like jeopardy! The Mulroney government has already announced their plans to sell off Canada Post. The Tories want to add it to the list of companies and services, such as Air Canada and Via Rail, that they have either sold or destroyed. ” We are the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and we are very concerned about the future of the post office. We represent the people who move, process, and deliver your mail. We are letter carries, techni- cians, sorters, drivers, and wicket clerks. We all want a postal office that provides both good service and treats its workers decently. Currently, our collective agreement with Canada Post provides some protec- tions against the Conservatives in Ottawa totally dismantling the postal service. But, we are in negotiations now, and Canada Post wants to gut these protections. If Canada Post gets their way, the result would be disastrous for both postal workers and the public. For postal workers it would mean layoffs, increased harassment, and terrible working condi- tions. For the public it would mean cut- backs in services, longer line-ups, less door-to-door delivery, more Supermail boxes, and large American based corpora- tions, like 7-Eleven, running post offices behind Slurpee dispensers. We need your help to prevent this. Our union wants a settlement, not a strike. We want to achieve a collective agreement that ensures a future for both postal workers . Canada Post is preparing for a strike. Across Canada, we have received reports that they are already training and recruit- ing potential strike-breakers. Please support us and your postal ser- vice by doing one or more of the following: 1. Write a letter to Don Landers presi- dent of the Canada Post Corporation, stating your support for CUPW and urg- ing him to negotiate fairly. His address is: Canada Post Corporation, Sir Alexander Campbell Building, Confederation Heights. Ottawa, Ontario; 2. Write a letter to Harvie Andre, minis- ter in charge of the Canada Post Corpora- tion, telling him that you expect him to negotiate a fair and equitable settlement. Tell him that you want an improved and expanded postal service, not a privatized one. This requires no postage and should be sent to the Parliament buildings, Ottawa, Ontario. 3. Pass a motion of support for CUPW. A plea to fight dismantling of post office We would appreciate receiving these mes- sages. 4. Print all or part of this letter in your newspaper or bulletin. 5. Invite us to speak at one of your meetings. Thank you in advance for your antici- pated support. Marion Pollack, Vice President, Vancouver Local CUPW Socred policies killing Nanaimo As I see things, Nanaimo has been going downhill for a long time. When we used to get the boat to Vancouver at the post office and arrive at the post office at the foot of Granville Street, the business people were doing all right in the hotels and the E & N railway carried many pas-_— sengers. This was CPR and the loggers and miners on the island put in a lot of time in Nanaimo but when a person looks at the hills now one would think they have mowed them with a big grass cutter. The government was going to give us good ferry service and I, and many more like me, have been hard up for a dollar; so if you want to get to the hiring halls in Vancouver you have to walk four miles to Departure Bay and unless you can thumb a ride on the Vancouver side it is about seven miles to walk. A person should get on the bus and tell them to charge it up to the Socreds. This Socred government started with Manning and now they call themselves the Reformed Party but they are the same old windbags trying to fool the public. ; Nels Dean, Nanaimo Demand interference end Nicaragua’s state of affairs appears to be as per usual: enduring the incessant barrage of economic and military bullyism from her North American neighbours. The latest from Washington is the National Endowment for Democracy, whose ostensible raison d’etre is to send public money to “uphold the democratic © process” in countries such as Nicaragua. Unfortunately for the people of Nicara- gua, NED funds go to support the contras, a group whose penchant for local terror- ism is becoming well-known (even here in North American where the mainstream press does its best to protect us from such distasteful realities). . My burning question is this: When will we wake up and stand up and demand that our governments cease and desist from its illegal aggression against small, fledgling democracies? Graham Shuley, Vancouver 4 e Pacific Tribune, November 13, 1989