¢ IWA-CANADA national president Gerry Stoney fields reporters’ questions during a break in the convention.

New agenda needed to oppose free trade policies

Canadian Labour Congress president Bob White
took special occasion, at IWA-CANADA's National
Convention, to slam the Tory government's newly
unveiled "Prosperity Initiative" which cost taxpay-
ers over $21 million to fund.

The Prosperity Initiative was released on October
29 by International Trade Minister Michael Wilson,
and Employment and Immigration Minister Bernard
Valcourt. For over a year the federal government
canvassed corporate sectors for their opinions on
how Canada can prosper in the newly emerging
globalized economy.

For Brother White and members of the CLC's Ex-
ecutive the promises of.the Prosperity Initiative are
a sham and simply a continuation of the disastrous
economic policies of the federal government.

"It (the Prosperity Initiative) doesn't even raise
the issue of the devastation of the Canada-US. free
trade agreement at all," Brother White informed the
delegates. "It doesn't even raise the (issue of) devas-
tation of the Bank of Canada's economic policy on
the working people of Canada."

"It talks favourably about the Canada-U.S. free
trade agreement and about NAFTA. It doesn't talk
about the inflation to attacking policies (of Bank of
Canada governor John Crow)."

"It doesn't talk about the terrible unemployment
in our country," added White. "It seeks to set an
agenda that says the only thing that matters in our
economy is international competitiveness."

‘the corporate agenda.
tg Bnong its 54 eaon plans" for the economy, the
al corporate wishes of government deregulation,
g corporate taxes, and reducing social pro-
trumpeted.
ice the Prosperity Initiative went on a trav-
road show to 186 communities, International
Minister Michael Wilson says the govern-
intiative "come right from the grass roots'
is "a very clear message of the direction Canadi-
‘want for economic policy; whether government
gate secto an
report eel no mention of the GST or
to cut government waste. And what started
1 as a study on Canada's failing education
has been used by the Mulroney government
e-clection strategy bid to get Canadian's to be-
it they have an economic strategy.

rad

° CLC President Bob White.

After the Constitutional debate and referendum,
Canadians are turning their preoccupation to the
economy, where Brother White said the Tories have
been busy entrenching their corporate agenda in
free trade.

‘The unemployment levels in
a country like Canada today
are scandalous. For us to
contemplate a nation like
ours with the enormous
wealth of natural resources
to be sitting at over 11 per-
cent unemployment is
absolutely scandalous.”

— Bob White

White said working people must set their own al-
ternative agenda.

"We mean a much different agenda. An agenda
that rejects a free market, free trade, and anti-infla-
tion fighting policies. An agenda that puts in place
something much more for working people."

He said that when you look around the world, the

absolute free market policies of Reaganism, Thatch-
erism, and Mulroney don't serve working people.
_ White said unemployment and labour unrest is
increasing in the United Kingdom and in the U.S.
and the economy, health care system, unemploy-
ment and distribution of wealth is in terrible shape.

"I believe that the debate that we start on NAFTA
now and on economic issues is a debate about a
new economic order ... Therefore we have to talk
about a policy whose first priority is to tackle
unemployment. You can't talk, about competitive-
ness and productivity if you've got a million and a
half people unemployed, deliberately unemployed
by economic and fiscal policies," said White.
"There's no greater drain on the productivity of a
nation than large scale unemployment and you can't
solve it by free market (policies)."

White said West Germany is rebuilding former
East Germany not by free market policies, but by
tens of billions of dollars in investment. The Ger-
mans are also creating social policies to help work-
ers affected by layoffs and are recognizing the trade
union movement in East Germany.

Unlike the Mulroney government, the German
government is instituting social and trade policies
together and is recognizing the concerns of orga-
nized labour.

White said that Japan's economy is about to in-
vest $80 billion in infrastructure in one of the
world's most successful economies.

"They have a trade strategy which is not an ab-
solute free trade strategy. They have an industrial
strategy in their sectors to make sure (they) survive
and prosper and grow. They have a social strategy
in terms of what happens to workers that are affect-
ed by that."

In Canada, White said there are millions of dol-
lars of infrastructure that needs repair and revital-
ization. He said that approved government action
will put construction workers back on the job and
create confidence in the economy.

"You can't do that by just leaving it to the corpo-
rate agenda," said White. "You've got to do it by gov-
ernment actions and intervention."

White said that governments, unions, and compa-
nies must work together to get full employment pro-
grams in place rather than leaving everything to free
market forces.

"The unemployment levels in a country like Cana-
da today are scandalous," said Brother White. "For
us to contemplate a nation like ours with the enor-
mous wealth of natural resources and human re-
sources to be sitting at over 11 percent unem-
ployment is absolutely scandalous."

The CLC president also said that the high unem-
ployment has cost Canadians an enormous amount
of our tax base and that the corresponding pressure
on special programs are important to the social fab-
ric of Canada.

LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1992/19