—__ EDITORIAL

Power to change policies

This parliament in Ottawa is failing
the ‘eotkin ng people on jobs, living stan-
dards, inflation, social essentials, and
human rights. The Nov. 12 budget is
only more evidence that capitalism is un-
able to solve the problems or satisfy the
needs of the people.

The answer is that together the tens of
thousands in the thick of the strike
movement, marching for peace and
development, and in mighty worker
demonstrations — workers and their al-
lies — have the power to change policies,
and to change governments!

The bankrupt policies of the Liberals
and Tories alike are putting a blight on
the living standards of Canada’s work-
ers, farmers and the vast majority.

Federal hocus-pocus tells us inflation
is the enemy, unemployment doesn’t
matter, in fact they are going to make
unemployment worse to “cure” inflation.
But what we get is both unemployment
and inflation, compounded by runaway
interest rates. : :

What are the “returns” on govern-
ment policy right now? Unemployment
is over a million (8.3% of the work force
even by juggled official standards); the
cost of living has skyrocketed by 12.7%
since October 1980, with mortgage rates
and rents running wild; workers are
being laid off and terminated by the
hundreds every month. The MacEachen
budget makes the situation permanent
— for as long as parliament remains

monopoly’s toy. The budget deliberately. -.

withholds health, education and other

End our U.S.

Recent statements by U.S. President

Reagan and his State Secretary, General
Haig, remain more than sobering de-
spite a new public relations effort by
Reagan to erase the warmonger image.
U.S. policy statements under-~ his.
administration have propelled many
more people — in Canada, the USA, and
a hundred countries around the world
— into active work and petitioning for
cctente, disarmament, and other pre-
requisites for peace.

Haig made the incredible statement
on Nov. 4 that the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) has “contingency
plans ... to fire a nuclear weapon” to
deter “the other side”, which to Haig
means the Soviet Union.

Reagan followéd up, supporting Haig
and declaring that “you could have the
exchange of tactical (nuclear) weapons

. without bringing either one of the
major powers to pushing the button.”

Reagan knows very well there is no
possibility of a “limited” nuclear war;
and the Soviet Union, while excluding
from its military doctrine the concept of
a “first strike”, has warned that any
nuclearization of war will trigger world
nuclear war.

Reagan and Haig are juggling with
dangerous threats by which they risk the
existence of humanity. These they have

not retracted. Nor has the USA eased up
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 27, 1981—Page 4

essential funds from local governments
to make workers pay for the system’s
crisis.

The “Scrooge budget”, as the Com-
munist Party of Canada called it, is “a
retreat from the declared intention .
to Canadianize the economy. The For-
eign Investment Review Act will not have
teeth put into it; its teeth will be pulled
out,” and U.S. takeovers of our re-
sources, industries and jobs will go on.

“What is evident is that both Liberal

.and Tory parties have no solution to the

crisis except to put it on the backs of the
people,” “Communists point out.
“Parliament should be called upon to
reject” the MacEachen budget and de-
mand “a people’s budget to put Canada
back to work, by an economic policy
which places working people’ s needs
ahead of corporate profits.” Proposed
major points for such a policy are cur-
rently being circulated by the Commu-
nist Party. It would greatly strengthen

Canada’s independence and protect our.

livelihoods.
Neither the Liberals wei their budget,

nor the Tories, the prime advocates of

Reaganomics in Canada, are capable of
doing anything useful for working
people while they do the bidding of the

‘monopolies.

The November 21 demo is a challenge
to them. Let that challenge and the unity
behind it be carried back to every locality
and turned against the assault on family
life, against the decimation of living stan-

dards, and toward-winning the gains.our., -

rich country can provide.

a :
nuclear ties
in any*way on its deployment of forces all
over the world.

The Government of Canada must be
pressed to tell the USA to utilize the wel-
come disarmament talks coming up in
Geneva with the USSR to make genuine
efforts toward peace, not one-upman-
ship.

Canada should get out of NATO and
look after our own back yard, as the labor
movement, the peace movement, the
New Democrats, the Communists
among others demand. And what of
Haig’s claim? Is it NATO policy to fire
warning nuclear shots, and is that the
policy Canada is committed to? All the
more reason to get U.S. nuclear weapons
off Canadian soil, to end the “defence
production sharing” deal, and to end our
subservience to U.S. commanders under
NORAD (North American Air Defence
Agreement).

Canada should publicly reject Sad dis-
sociate itself from U.S. nuclear policy.

_ Instead we remain tied to the Pentagon.

Ottawa squanders more than $6-billion a

year on the military, with annual in-

creases of over 3% (on top of inflation).
Much of that goes to NATO. Govern-
ment policies which slash social needs
and foster mass unemployment, are
directly linked to that same govern-
ment’s commitment to U.S. military ex-
pansion.

WHO LIVED IN A SHOE

THEISE WAS AN) OLD LADY“

MORTGAGE PAYMENTS SHE MISSED
SO THE BANK HEK OUT THREW

Now SHE LIVES /N A Sock ANY
Is GOING TO TAKE THE KIDS To.
OTTHWA WITH Hew

ON” NIV 21

MAG HEE SE IC

Flashbacks

25 years ago... 50 years ago... a

SPRINGHILL
AFTERMATH

Close to 600 miners and their
families are in desperate condi-
tion in Springhill, Nova Scotia,
as an aftermath of the tragic
blast that took 29 lives on Nov. 1.

Red Cross spokesmen re-
vealed that 30 to 40 families ur-

-gently need food and clothes.

Few men were able to collect job-
less benefits after the mine was
sealed because they had only

been .working a four-day week,

previously.

United Electrical workers
union has voted an initial $100
for the disaster fund taking
collections at various plant gates.
Nels Thibault, president of the
Mine- Mill deplored the deaths

saying “it was another example ©

of speed-up in the industry and
the drive for higher profits at the
expense of miners’ lives.”

Tribune,
_ November 19, 1956

RAID HALLS
IN WINNIPEG

Word has just been received
that Dominion, Provincial and

city police have raided the —

Workers’ Centre and the Ukran-
ian Farmer and Labor Temple
in Winnipeg, seizing large quan-
tities of material and arresting
Charles Marriott.

While the raids were made on
information received through

the Toronto Communist trials,
Marriott’s arrest was made ona -
»“warrant-sworn: out by-Winnipeg”

MP, A.A. Heaps.

Marriott is out on bail. The
doors of both the Workers’
Centre and Labor Temple were
padlocked by police. The raids

were carried out by 20 officersin

two squads and follow by less

than a week the convictions of —

the eight Communist leaders in

Toronto. More arrests are ex- ce

pected.
The Worker,

November 21, 1931

Profiteer of the week

Getting information from Thomson newspapers like the Globe
and Mail, is like asking the boss what's best for the union. What
they print, and their income both tell you something. While
working-class papers appeal for funds to print the truth, Thom-
son’s after-tax profit for the nine months ended Sept. 30, was
$66,625,834. -

Figures used are from the company’s financial statements.

RIBUNE

_Editor

— SEAN GRIFFIN

#4

Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR

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