EDITORIAL

Gestures and reality

Canadians who might have seen in the appointment
of Douglas Roche as Canada’s ambassador on disar-
mament and Stephen Lewis as the ambassador to the
United Nations signs of a more independent role for
Canadians in world affairs should be cautioned to give
the much-publicized appointment more scrutiny.

That is not to say that Roche, who was one of the first
to oppose cruise testing when he was a Tory MP from
Edmonton, and Lewis, a critic of U.S. domination, are
not themselves advocates of a more independent and
non-nuclear role for Canada.

But the context in which the appointments come puts
the people at odds with the policy direction in which the
government is going.

Both were named just one day after the new Tory
Minister of Defence Robert Coates met -with U.S.
Defence Minister Caspar Weinberger — the author of
the U.S. policy of “limited nuclear war” — to pledge
that Canada would increase its defence spending as
urged by NATO and would participate in a U.S.
defence plan that involves modernization of the
NORAD installations in Canada.

That was the third of such bilateral meetings between
U.S. and Canadian ministers, all of which involved the

~ federal government falling more into line with U.S.
demands for policy changes.

The appointments were made only a week after the
Tory government appointed as senior policy advisor to
Coates one J. Duncan Edmonds, a man who advocated

the integration of Canadian and U.S. armed forces, the
establishment of water pipelines to the U.S. and a
common Canada-U.S. nuclear policy. °

At the same time, the defence department has been
promoted in Tory Ottawa, no longer a subordinate of
the external affairs department.

While calling peace his “‘personal challenge” Mulro-
ney and his Tory cabinet have been moving swiftly to
integrate this country with the Reagan military policy.
Judging by the meetings that have taken place, it is
virtually top priority with the new government.

Viewed from that perspective, the appointment of
Roche and Lewis can only be seen as an effort to put
one image for Canada forward in the international
forum of the UN while enshrining the pro-U.S. reality in
new agreements with the Reagan administration.

The Tories are attempting to placate the peace
movement which, quite correctly, has expressed alarm
at the proposals to increase military spending at a time
of a massive deficit and talk of cutting social spending.

Unless. the appointments — and Prime Minister
Mulroney’s much-vaunted quest for peace — are to
remain empty gestures, the government will have to
take action on real policies — such as striking an inde-
pendent role for Canada, cancelling cruise testing and
supporting such initiatives as a nuclear freeze that move
this country and the world towards genuine
disarmament.

Prevent U.S. invasion

When the U.S. invaded the little spice island of the
Caribbean, Grenada, with ruthless gunboat force, des-
troying the independent strivings of a people held so
long in poverty, Canada’s Tory leader, not yet prime
minister, Brian Mulroney, applauded. The mighty U.S.
had conquered a country of 110,000 for “democracy”.

Everyone who admits the truth knows the CIA
scripted the evil plot. Even the murder of the prime
minister and other ministers of his government was not
too foul to use to U.S. advantage. Washington had
killed the first opportunities Grenadians had had to
learn, to work, t6 advance in dignity.

All that Brian Mulroney could say was that his good
friend, Ronald Reagan should be given the benefit of
the doubt. With Grenadian independence destroyed by
the Pentagon, the future prime minister of Canada
could find no fault with U.S. guns returning the people
of Grenada to colonial status at the hands of
traitors — the latter rewarded with great quantities of
U.S. dollars.

And now, Nicaragua.

At the United Nations on Oct. 2, Daniel Ortega,
leader of Nicaragua’s government charged that a U.S.
invasion of his country was imminent. The date for that
crime, which it is hoped will be frustrated by this revela-
tion, was Oct. 15.

More than that, using intelligence reports, Ortega
exposed the phoney scenario for U.S. troops to swarm
into Nicaraguan territory, destroying all hope for the
Nov. 4 democratic election, which the Sandinistas
seemed certain to win at the ballot box.

Step one, said Ortega, was to be increased mercenary
activity, bankrolled, armed and trained by U.S. impe-
rlalism to do its bidding.

Step two would be a call by the U.S. puppets neigh-
boring Nicaragua for U.S. armed assistance against
Nicaraguan “threats”.

The people of Canada owe it to their peaceable and
democratic traditions to denounce any such plans to
invade Nicaragua.

Prime Minister Mulroney should be compelled to go
on record opposing any U.S. invasion of Nicaragua
with the aim of overthrowing the popularly-supported
Sandinista government.

He cannot be permitted to repeat the endorsement of
the rape of Grenada. Canadians must speak out against
such a plot, and demand that Mulroney go on record
opposed to invasions and take-overs in the interests of
U.S. imperialism and its transnational corporation
bosses.

For the nine months ended July 31 this year the Royal Bank ot
Canada had an after-tax profit of $343,859,000. Good, eh? Wro
that’s down from $353,272,000 in the same nine months a yeal
earlier. Actual revenue was $7-billion but $696-million came out¢
that in losses on bad loans — people didn’t pay back. So, if bd
shoe fits .

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON

Business & Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR
Graphics — ANGELA KENYON

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f ever you were looking for an
unabashed acknowledgement of the
complete bewilderment of free enterprise
economists and their inability to explain
the current eocnomic crisis, you would
have to look no further than this gem from

People and Issues

He is remembered for his activities in
the B.C. Peace Council, and his support |
for Vietnam’s reconstruction, on one —
occasion donating $5,000 through the |
Canadian Aid to Vietnamese Civilians.

Abe Shean. ee J

the September Economic Review from
Employment and Immigration Canada:

“The only cause for optimism is the fact
that just as no one foresaw how quickly
and how severely the current recession
would hit and how long it would last, so it
is very difficult to see the factors that
would lead to the turning point that will
eventually get us out of this recession and
into another more bouyant economic
period.”

Presumably they’re all praying down at
the Economic Services Branch of the
department, hoping that something will
come to them in a revelation. ..

& Not so amusing is another comment in
the same review, which indicates just how
divorced they are from the community
that they are statistically analyzing. It
notes with characteristic glibness that
there are ‘“‘a few indicators that undue
gloom may not be justified,” pointing par-
ticularly to an upturn in retail sales. And
then it adds: “At least, not many people
are going hungry since sales reported by

major food distributing companies are
also turning up.”
Anyone writing those lines should be

escorted down to any one of the food.

banks throughout the province that are
becoming overwhelmed by the demand
from families who don’t have enough left
at the end of the month; or to the breadline
that circles the block at the Catholic
mission; Or...

cd * *

e’re not in the habit of publicly

declaring the names of new sub-
scribers to the paper, but in this particular
instance the circumstances are rather
novel and the subscription isn’t a personal
one in any event.

It seems that International Wood-
workers’ president Jack Munro appeared
on BCTV’s Jack Webster show last week
and during the course of the interview, he
threw in a couple of disparaging remarks
about the Tribune, particularly in reference

to our coverage of the challengeforIWA , |

president put up by Willie Fleming.
A few days later, we got a call from the
Webster show asking for a subscription.
We're certainly glad someone pointed
out to them that they were missing some-
thing by not having a sub.

* * *

t is with some sadness that we note the

passing of Anthony “Tony” Stankovich, a
former carpenter and supporter of: the
peace movement. The Surrey resident was
72 when he died late last month.

Born in Lithuania, Tony arrived in
Canada in the early 1920s. As a striking
farm laborer in Saskatchewan, he saw
action on the picket line, and was one of
those shot by the attacking police. He was
later to take part with other unemployed
workers in the On-to-Ottawa trek.

Tony joined the Communist Party, and
was a member of the Surrey club through-
out the 40s and 50s, and a member of the
Carpenters Union until retirement.

or years, John Rutka has been one of
the anchors at The Fisherman, having
been variously bookkeeper, advertising |
salesman, chief mailer and photographer |
for the union newspaper. And though he |
rarely, if ever, mounted the podium to |
make a speech, he is probably as well }
known to scores of people throughout the |
industry as many union officers. 1
He is also familiar to dozens of readers
of the Tribune which both he and his wife
Elsie. has actively promoted for many
years.
Now both of them are to be honored at
a special retirement banquet and dance
organized by The Fisherman and the
UFAWU. It’s set for Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m. at
Fishermen’s Hall, 138 East Cordova in
Vancouver. Tickets are $12.50 per person |
and those planning to go are asked to |
contact Sandra Albanese at 594-6134 or
Dave Watt at 683-9655 by Oct. 19. We’re |
also told that in lieu of gifts, contributions |
are being accepted towards a travel |
voucher.

4 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 10, 1984