WEL LIL A AEROBIE EL | Lod CANADA Women want Accord from Ontario parties By KERRY McCUAIG TORONTO — A powerful Coalition of women’s groups Wants Ontario’s future govern- ment committed to a ‘“Women’s Equality Accord.” “We want written commit- ments from the parties,” said | Barbara Cameron of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. ms Cameron said women activists are alarmed by the “‘vague - generalities’ which have high- lighted the Ontario campaign to date. With the Sept. 10 vote fast TORONTO — The federal government ignored warnings that Canada’s refugee system was being abused and instead waited until it could whip up public hys- teria and bring in repressive legis- lation, refugee rights groups Charge. Ottawa was well aware of the large numbers of illegal refugees and of immigration consultants who were advising immigrants how to misuse the system, says Salome Lucas of Women Work- ing with Immigrant Women. “Tt waited until it could build a case, scream backlog and then close its doors;’’.says the.activist who co-ordinates the work of the self-help centre. The Tories acted Aug. 11 recall- ing Parliament in an emergency session to introduce Bill C-58. The stringent legislation allows Ships suspected of carrying illegal immigrants to be turned back, with no hearings for passengers. Persons suspected of being sec- urity threats could be turned back Without a hearing and anyone found guilty of smuggling, assist- Ing or harbouring illegal refugees Would be liable for heavy fines and imprisonment. - The government’s action fol- lows last month’s arrival by boat of 174 East Indians. While the groups recognize that Some action must be taken to re- Vamp Canada’s refugee laws the Current legislation is ‘totally Unacceptable,’ says Toronto Immigration lawyer Terry Jack- Man, °* Jackman is coordinating a tele- gram campaign to government Protesting the Bill C-84. The Coal- ition for a Just Immigration and efugee Policy has also sched- uled a demonstration outside Coalition fights ‘unjust policy _ Conservative Party headquarters on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. The coalition fears that legiti- mate refugees will be endangered in the government's attempts to wipe out frauds. The bill and its forerunner, Bill C-55, introduced in February, - discriminates against claimants from third world countries who do not have the money or access to direct flights to Canada, says Laurel Whitney, national co- ordinator of the coalition which numbers over 90 groups. “There is bias,”’ says Whitney. “Unlike East Europeans who can_ fly directly to Canada, a Guatemalan for example often must work his way up through Mexico and the states before reaching Canada. These people don’t have the time to apply for visas or the money to hop on a plane. When they leave, they leave quickly and quietly in fear of their lives.” While action is needed on re-, fugee policy, it is not the kind of action the Tories have taken. ‘“There is abuse, it is a bad system and it has broken down,” Whit- ney explains. ‘‘Immigration lawyers and others told the government when the system was first designed in the seventies that it was not fair and it would not work. It has since spent millions on commissions and studies, but chose to ignore the recom- | mendations of everyone who told them we need a fair and fast sys- tem.” What the coalition is proposing is a process which would hear re- fugee claims and appeals within three months. ‘This would be the best dissuasion for abuse, Says Whitney. ““No one 1s going to spend the money or effort tocome to Canada for three months, if they know their claim is unlikely to be legitimated.” potrTical REFUGEE? wueee's THE PROOF approaching they are anxious to get ‘‘specific commitments”’ from the parties. “Tf we don’t have this before an election, we will get nothing af- ter,’’ she said. The coalitions, representing child care, employment equity, abortion rights and visible minor- ity groups, admit borrowing the Accord idea from the agreement which brought Premier David Peterson’s Liberals to power two years ago. That agreement committed the government to enacting certain legislation, in return for legisla- tive support from the New Demo- cratic Party. : But even with an Accord, women made little progress the groups say. ‘Pay Equity legislation is only half a loaf,’’ charged Mary Cor- nish, head of the Equal Pay Coali- tion. Under the as-yet-unpro- claimed legislation, “‘some women will face delays up to 20 years, and these are women cov- ered by the legislation — thou- sands more aren’t. This is not what women had in mind when they voted for the parties in the last election.” . Barbara Isaac of the Alliance for Employment Equity which represents 50 visible minority and disabled groups, was also angered by the pay equity law. ‘“‘Every government-sponsored report over the past 20 years has called for mandatory employment equi- ty, but pay equity does not target US< 7 Isaac criticized the government for its voluntary approach, which she says has accomplished *‘noth- ing.’’ Needed she said, is legisla- tion which would outline targets and timetables for the hiring and promotion of women and mi- nority groups. Abortion Access Declined Access to abortion in the prov- ince has declined during the Lib- eral tenure, said Judy Rebick of the Ontario Coalition for Abor- tion Clinics. “In 1985 the gov- ernment made a promise to im- prove access to abortion. Health Minister Murray Elston repeated that promise again six months ago. Nothing has happened, but the continued prosecution of the’ doctors,’’ she said, referring to Dr. Morgentaler and his co- leagues Drs. Robert Scott and Nikki Colodny who face charges related to the operation of their abortion clinics. ‘‘All three parties don’t want abortion to be an issue, but for the women who have faced harass- ment outside the clinics, it is an issue,’’ said Rebick, who is con- testing Ontario’s Oriole riding for the NDP. The government was also criti- cized for not fulfilling its promises to improve child care. While there are outstanding commitments for new funding, the Liberals have refused to give any guarantees that commercial operators will be excluded from public funding. This becomes a critical ques- tion within the new constitutional framework brought about by the Meech Lake Accord, said Laurel Rothman of the Ontario Coalition _for Better Day Care. Ontario will be a powerful player in federal- provincial negotiations for a new national child care plan, and the group wants government's assur- ances that it will support a high quality, non-profit system. ‘*‘This may be the first test of federal spending power as out- lined in the Meech Lake Accord. We want to ensure ... child care will not be sacrificed in an effort to demonstrate the resilience of Meech Lake,’ Rothman em- phasized. Cameron said the text of the Equality Accord will be released next week after consultation with NAC’s 240 member groups in On- tario. Party leaders and candi- dates will be asked to sign the Ac- cord and NAC’s findings will be released prior to the elections. Alan Blakeney’s long-awaited resignation has NDP leadership race — flash or substance?” From 4as-4-87 fe Pa shifted attention in Saskatchewan from the be- leaguered Tory government to the NDP’s Nov. 6-8 leadership convention. Several potential candidates have been testing the waters, and former New Democrat attorney-general Roy Romanow is seen as a clear favourite, unless he ‘decides to run federally. But Romanow’s right-wing history within the party raises many questions. In the aftermath of the Tory cabinet’s spring budget-slashing, polls show the government trailing 25 per cent behind the NDP, tempting leadership candidates with the prospect of an easy win over Devine. The latest embarrass- \ment for the Premier came as he spoke during the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies for the Western Canada Summer Games, when many of the athletes and cultural performers from Saskat- chewan booed him loudly. But an NDP election win should not be taken for granted. An election could be more than three years away, if the premier is able to pre- vent half a dozen more backbenchers from fol- lowing Saskatoon MLA Ray Martineau’s example by resigning their seats (or crossing the floor). And it remains to be seen whether the NDP will adopt a set of policies based on work- ing people’s needs before that election. Other potential candidates who haven't ruled themselves out include Regina North east MLA. Ed Tchorzewski, a former finance minister under Blakeney, and Saskatoon Nutana MLA Pat Atkinson, an activist in labour and women’s organizations, and the daughter for former NFU leader Roy Atkinson. Tchorzewski has been an ~ aggressive figure in the Legislature since his ~ by-election victory late in Devine’s first term, and presents himself as a centrist in NDP terms. Atkinson may take a position further to the left, staking out the ground for another leadership run in the future. Inthe absence of any well-organized *‘left” in Saskatchewan’s NDP, and given his backing by many top Blakeney people, Romanow will be difficult to beat for the leadership. But his vic- tory would be seen by many progressives as the Kimball Cariou poorest outcome. Under his leadership, the _provincial NDP would likely continue its shift to the right which took hold during Blakeney’s last two terms in office, 1975-82. Romanow was closely associated with the frequent anti-labour positions taken by the government in those years, and was an architect of the 1982 constitu- tional agreement which left out the rights of the seach Canadian nation and the aboriginal peo- ples. Tronically, since Romanow has often been wooed to join the federal Liberals, his leader- ship of the NDP here could possibly open the door to the provincial Liberals gaining stronger electoral positions. His strong identification with the right wing of the NDP could allow Liberal leader Ralph Goodale to project himself as the ‘progressive’ alternative for Sas- katchewan voters, cutting into traditional NDP support. The leadership picture will become clearer soon as candidates make their intentions known. But NDPers already have some impor- tant questions to think over. Will they go for Romanow, the suave, flashy media favourite, or reject his style in search of a candidate with more substance? Will the November conven- tion be used as an excuse for hoopla, or will the party’s lack of progressive policy alternatives, which cost it so dearly in last October’s election, be on the agenda? And will the NDP help build the growing mass movement against the vicious, right-wing Devine government, or confine itself to the four walls of the Legislature in Regina? The answers to these questions will definitely have a bearing on the fight to stop the destruc- tion of jobs and social policies and the sellout of natural resources in Saskatchewan. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, AUGUST 19, 1987 e 3