CANADA / BRITISH COLUMBIA - Labour asks councils back public services Ladysmith municipal council unanim- ously agreed to write the provincial government and urge it end its program of privatizing public sector enterprises, follow- ing a petition from the local labour council. In Nanaimo, right-wing opposition saw city council amend its motion to simply asking the government for more informa- tion. But the Nanaimo, Duncan and Dis- trict Labour Council has several more local governments to visit, woodworker Lynn Kistner advises. Kistner, a member of the International Woodworkers and an executive member at large of the labour council, said the council has been telling local mayors and aldermen that privatization provides no savings for taxpayers, and that is a continuation of the former Bill Bennett government’s discre- dited restraint program. “Tn fact, we point out that in the case of the government workers, restraint and pri- vatization caused the loss of 10,000 jobs,” Kistner says. In addresses to the Ladysmith and Nanaimo councils, Kistner used the exam- ples of forest fire fighting and the Van- couver Transition House to back the point. He said privatization of the provincially run fire-fighting school in Burnaby saw enrolment reduced to 1,700 from 8,500 stu- dents, while funding reductions led to poor equipment, resulting in $120 million in losses during the great forest fire epidemic in the summer of 1985. Kistner quoted the Vancouver and Dis- trict Labour Council in stating that the pri- vatization services provided by Vancouver Transition House has meant less services for battered women. Privatization costs the taxpayer money, he said, pointing to the virtual giveaway for ' $500,000 of Manning Park’s services and buildings, valued at $10 million. The labour council’s brief notes that the Social Credit government’s privatization plans are based on those of the government in Great Britain. The British experience has _ proven privatization has “been disastrous for the people,” the brief states. “Wherever privatization occurs, the community suffers as wages are slashed, benefits cut, health hazards occur and the public loses control over the delivery of ser- vices,” it asserts. The labour council points out, in an accompanying B.C Federation of Labour document, that local property taxes have increased astronomically. And it states that if the unemployment statistic of Great Bri- tain, which has doubled since 1980 under the Thatcher government’s restraint mea- sures, were applied to British Columbia, the provincial unemployment rate would be 28 per cent. British privatization cut the quality of public services, cut wages, caused a drop in manufacturing investment, caused a dou- bling of imports, increased user fees for Workers Compensation and similar servi- ces, and cut health care, the brief states. The selloff of public assets also raises the question of what the government will use for collateral for loans to run the province, the labour council notes. The labour council plans to visit Parks- ville, Lake Cowichan and other municipali- ties within its district to enlist local government support against privatization. In Nanaimo, council amended a motion by Ald. Bill Holdom and Ald. Owen Kennedy to inform Victoria that Nanaimo council opposes privatization. But even right-wing Mayor Frank Ney acknowl- edged that he opposed the planned privati- zation of highway maintenance services. The last Within a few days, the fall-winter 1987-88 subscription drive closes. When it does, on Jan. 31, how:many readers will be able to say they gave it their best shot? Certainly some supporters will. They’ve gone over the mark to achieve up to 18 newsubscriptions in the drive to put the Tribune into more British Columbia households. We listed several of those achievers last week. Others haven’t quite lived up to the Rate hike. Due to the usual increases in printing costs, mailing and other services, the Tribune must hike its subscription Tates Feb. ao i The new rates will be one- year subscriptions, $20; two- year subs, $35; three-year subs, $50; six months, $12.50. For- eign rates rise to $32 yearly. We remind our readers that _ - subscriptions renewed before Feb. 15 are charged the current rate, irrespective of the Expy. date ofthesub. > S Also, an increase in the rate for classified advertising, to Seseoies iseffective March title of supporter. But there’s a few days remaining in which to make good. We ask those readers to take a minute to convince that friend, partner, co- worker or acquaintance to get the sub- scription he/she’s always been meaning to get. Those who are a bit hesitant to makea year-long commitment can still take advantage of the sub drive offer: three months for the low, low price of only $3. There are prizes to win, both for sub- getters and for some new subscribers. And now’s the time to do it. As the accompanying inset shows, there’s a rate hike coming next month. Make that extra effort. And help the Tribune reach more British Columbians than before. 2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JANUARY 27, 1988 Pro-Canada Network spokespeople John Foster, Nancy Riche and Duncan > Cameron (I to r) outline anti-free trade strategy at the Jan. 18 press conference. Free trade supporters ‘come from Bay Street’ Continued from page 1 The Network’s potential was outlined in the campaign strategy document presented to conference participants called “Winning the Fight for Canada: Defeating the Mul- roney Trade Deal.” “Our strengths are our opponents’ weak- nesses,” the document states. ““We are the grassroots, they are an Ottawa command post. We are from every neighbourhood, they are from Bay Street and the trade nego- tiator’s office. We speak in voices which our constituents understand, they speak in voi- ces manufactured by polling companies and advertising firms. We are all of Canada, they are only a small and privileged part.” Any genuinely concentrated campaign the Network carries out will definitely have a tremendous impact. Among the member organizations at this point are the Canadian Labour Congress, Assembly of First Nations, Canadian Conference of the Arts, Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the National Action Coalition on the Status of Women, National Farmers’ Union and One Voice- Canadian Senior Network. Each has a powerful voice and clout in its own com- munity and is country-wide in its own right. This will be multiplied several times over if they all work solidly together. “The Mulroney government said it feared one thing most — the creation of a wide, broad-based people’s coalition,” CLC executive vice-president Nancy Riche told the media. ‘““We want to tell the Tories in this country that their worst fears have come to life.” The consensus of the conference was that the free trade deal is politically vulnerable, and can be defeated by educating Canadi- ans. “It’s a bad deal for every province and territory,” Riche said. “It’s a bad deal for women, for farmers, for workers, for Quebeckers. It is a bad deal for all Canadi- ans.’ Among the pillars of the deal the Pro- Canada Network sees as shakiest are: its integrationist character; resulting job losses; the fact that U.S. protectionist trade laws will still apply; the surrender of Canadian economic policy-making to the private market arid U.S. business; the abandon- ment of regional economic development programs; the surrender of Canada’s energy resources; the lifting of Canadian cultural safeguards; the opening up of Canada’s ser- vice industry to America penetration; and the fact that no French-language guarantees are contained in the deal. The Network envisages that the educa- tion campaign against free trade, which includes the mass distribution of two upcoming books (The Free Trade Deal, edited by Duncan: Cameron, and Don’t Trade It Away, a special edition of CUPE’s Facts magazine), cross-Canada cultural and 7 political events featuring artists, entertainers _ and public personalities as well as lobbies and other actions will be complemented by a political campaign to defeat the Tories. “Only a Tory majority is capable of © implementing a free trade agreement,” one of the speakers pointed out. With this as a starting point, the Network basically agreed — to work for the election of an anti-free trade majority to parliament, and the defeat of the Tories in the next federal election. “We have to fight so that a Turner © government, a Broadbent government, ora coalition of the two, will abrogate any deal Mulroney might sign within six months,” — said Cameron. Crucial to the election campaign, many at the conference indicated, was the presen- tation of a plausible alternative — not the _ status quo — to free trade, so that the © Tories do not hold all the policy-making cards. One feature of the Network’s anti-free trade election strategy is that it will be regional. In Western Canada, given the weakness of the Liberals, it was pointed out that the NDP will have a make free trade a point of attack. In Ontario, it was suggested that a solid anti-free trade offensive could result in the Tories losing 50 of the 67 seats they now hold. Peter Batkis of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CNTU) pointed to — the contradictions in Quebec, where although a majority say they support the concept of free trade, 72 per cent say they are poorly informed. About two-thirds of Quebeckers want an election ontheissue,in which the Liberals can profit. Although PQ leadership hopeful Jacques Parizeau solidly favours free trade, the party is not united in favour, and some debate can be expected. The conference has formed working committees to develop the details of each of the individual campaigns, such as the Peti- tion Day and the Canada Day Action. One of the most original is the proposal that just as the government is sending out pro-free trade propaganda to a captive audience in the envelopes containing family allowance cheques, the Network will ask all its organi- zations and their members to attach an anti- free trade decal to their income tax forms. Regaining the political initiative in the coming months is high upon the Pro- — Canada Network’s list of priorities. Since the Jan. 2 signing of the deal, Nancy Riche pointed out “the hype has been on the Mul- roney government’s ‘side. The actions we have planned here will turn it over to us. “We want to tell the Canadian people: it ain’t over yet.” % (with Darrell Rankin i in Ottawa) TRIBUNE PHOTO — DARRELL RANKIN Bla HRC: