Same forces that backed
Mulroney support Campbell

anadians now have a new Prime Minister
designate - our very own Margaret Thatcher
in disguise. Vancouver's Kim Campbell has
been thrust into the spotlight as a creation
of the Tory controlled media which is prop-
ping up a new saviour of the Progressive
Conservative Party.
Out of nowhere this new media creation of
Kim Campbell has arisen. Suddenly a rookie Member of
Parliament is being groomed to steer Canada’s destiny.
Her public relations army is using Bill Clinton’s formula
for electoral success.

“I want to change the way we do politics in this coun-
try” says Ms. Campbell. She claims to want to put
integrity back into the political process.

These bland statements are basically the same cam-
paign rhetoric that has been used in other Tory cam-
paigns to gain support from a public that is prone to
political amnesia.

If elected as Prime Minister later this year, Ms. Camp-
bell will have five more years to disassemble this coun-
try. If elected she will be the woman who will oversee
the dismantling of universal medicare and other social
programs in this country.

She has already said that universality in pensions is
on the table and that hospital user fees will be consid-
ered under her leadership.

If Kim Campbell is elected there will be no change to
the conservative right wing agenda which has brought
us “free trade”, privatization and deregulation.

All of the destructive programs and policies which
Brian Mulroney put into place were whole heartedly
supported by Kim Campbell. As Justice Minister and
Defence Minister she was a vital part of the Mulroney
Cabinet.

The same people and forces that drove the Mulroney
government will drive a Campbell government. The face
of the party may change but the vested interests will
remain the same.

Campbell’s management team consists of private gov-
ernment policy consultants, powerful public relations
firms and lobbyists, and commercial law advisors. Their
current and recent client list includes AT&T, multi-
national oil interests, the tobacco industry, and the $6
billion helicopter project for the Canadian military.

Her backers are the same backers that have pushed
the free trade agenda on our country. The FTA between
Canada and the U.S. has devastated our country’s manu-
facturing base.

Over 350,000 good paying jobs are gone for good and
poverty is at an all-time post Depression high. Revenue
to provincial and federal governments have plummeted
and the axe has been taken out to cut social spending.

Our country is in a big mess and this trend is bound
to continue unless the Tories are taken out of office in
the next federal election.

The only political alternative that IWA-CANADA sup-
ports is the New Democratic Party of Canada. The NDP
is the only credible political organization which recog-
nizes and is speaking out against the growing social and
economic rift which is now eradicating our middle
class. z

It is the only credible political force which can repre-
sent workers’ interests. Our union will continue to sup-
port the NDP throughout the upcoming election cam-
paign to unseat the Tory government.

We urge IWA members to become involved in their
NDP constituencies. That is where we can speak out
and ensure that the voice of labour is heard.

Do not be fooled. Neither the Progressive Conserva-
tives nor the Liberals will defend the rights of workers
in Canada.

LUIMBERUORKER

Official publication of IWA-CANADA
NORMAN GARCIA GERRY STONEY. . President

‘ NEIL MENARD... Ist Vice-President
Editor FRED MIRON. . 2nd Vice-President
eras WARREN ULLEY... 3rd Vice-President
Acne tial Shee HARVEY ARCAND. 4th Vice-President
‘ TERRY SMITH. -Secretary-Treasurer

Vancouver, B.C.
V6E 4B2
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KIM'S FINAL TEST

Tories ram through NAFTA legislation with
hopes that public will forget before election

Our country has been the
first party to ratify the North
American Free Trade Agree-
ment (NAFTA). Ever faithful

and subservient to U.S. corpo-
rate interests, outgoing Prime

Minister Brian Mulroney
rammed through the NAFTA
bill, limiting debate by opposi-
tion parties.

Even third world Mexico
has not ratified the deal yet
until it sees what is going to
be written in side agreements
on environmental standards,
labour standards and import
surges.

In mid-May U.S. President
Bill Clinton said there must
be side deals on the three
issues before ratification in
his country. So why was
Canada so fast to ratify the
NAFTA?

Look no further for an
answer than politics - pure
and simple. The Tory govern-
ment has tried to whisk the
NAFTA issue under the carpet
well before the federal elec-
tion which must be called
later this year. The conserva-
tive political power brokers
who have pushed for the
NAFTA want it out of the
sights and minds of Canadi-
ans before we go to the polls.

The Tories are nervous
because most Canadians are
wary of their abysmal perfor-
mance over the last nine
years. Canada’s federal deficit
has doubled to over $450 bil-
lion in these years, we've got
record number of unem-
ployed and the country is fac-
ing the destruction of its
social programs which have
made our society a more just
one.

Now the U.S. wants the
power to levy trade sanctions
against Canada and Mexico
“for reported and persistent
violations” of environmental
regulations and workers
rights.

The move by the Clinton
Administration is an attempt

to shore up support in the
face of declining domestic
enthusiasm for NAFTA. The
anti-NAFTA sentiment is

strongest in northeastern. U.S.
industrial states which have

the most to lose if the deal
goes ahead. Twenty-four
Democratic members of the
House of Representatives are
saying no, no matter what
takes place in the NAFTA side-
deal negotiations. That anti-
NAFTA caucus is deadly con-
cerned about what will hap-
pen to the U.S. automobile
industry, textile, and apparels
sectors.

What is most entertaining
about Clinton’s push for a
deal on labour standards is

The NAFTA will only
speed up the loss of
jobs while multina-
tional corporations
take their invest-
ments south

that he knows all too well
what kind of conditions in
which the majority of Mexi-
can workers toil.

U.S. politicians know that
hundreds of thousands of
Mexican workers suffer
repression and abuse by
employers and governments.
There is no such thing as free
collective bargaining in Mexi-
co. The government con-
trolled trade unions routinely
sell-out the interests of the
workers they control.

Strikes are routinely bro-
ken by state police in cooper-
ation with the “unions” and
torture, disappearance, and
murder of activists is not
unusual.

Clinton himself was gover-
nor of the state of Arkansas

when it brought in “right to
work” legislation during the
1980’s. U.S. employers have
used open shop labour laws

to intimidate workers from
joining unions and weaken

their effectiveness.

The U.S. has nothing to
teach Canada about the rights
of workers or labour stan-
dards. Any side deal on
labour will only be used to
selectively harass Mexico and
Canada when trade activity
doesn’t fit U.S. desires.

The Free Trade Agreement.
has made Canada more
dependent on the U.S. than at
any time before. At the same
time the U.S. has increased its
harassment of Canadian
exporters such as the soft-
wood lumber industry.

We have lost hundreds of
thousands of jobs and nearly
30% of our country’s manufac-
turing base. The NAFTA will
only speed up the loss of jobs
and migration of capital as, by
and large, U.S. based multi-
nationals make decisions
which will effect our future.

Canadians have a great deal
to be concerned about. Our
whole future as a sovereign
nation is on the line with the
FTA and NAFTA. We should be
deeply concerned about such
vital issues as provincial gov-
ernment powers being over-
ridden by NAFTA regulations.

We must also be concerned
about harmonization of envi-
ronmental standards, labour
standards, agriculture sup-
ply/management systems, and
resources both renewable and
non-renewable.

Just because the NAFTA has.
passed the House of Com-
mons doesn’t mean that the
battle for our country’s sover-
eignty is lost. The federal
election this fall will give
workers and their supporters
an opportunity to toss the
conservatives out of office
and scrap both the FTA and
NAFTA.

LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1993/5