CANADA

1,000 peace groups take united stand

Canadian Peace Alliance is formed

of Canada’s role in NORAD and during °

By TOM MORRIS

TORONTO — In a remarkable show
of breadth and unity, over 300 delegates,
met here Nov. 8-11 to form the Cana-
dian Peace Alliance of the dozens of na-
tional, regional and local organizations
across Canada who themselves rep-
resent nearly 1,000 peace groups.

They came from every locality — from
the Pacific to Atlantic, the Yukon and
Northwest Territories; from organized
labor (the Canadian Labor Congress,
Alberta Federation of Labor, B.C. Fed-
eration of Labor, the UAW, etc.); from
women’s organizations, physicians and
artists peace organizations, youth groups
and the religious community, and truly
represented the most diverse cross sec-
tion of Canadian society.

After nearly a year of planning meet-
ings and days of debate, delegates agreed
to establish the CPA as a permanent al-
liance, reflecting the bi-national charac-
ter of Canada and its multi-faceted peace
movements.

Hours of discussion in plenary session
and dozens of workshops on specific is-

Delegates debate the issues at CPA founding meet, Nov. 8-11.

sues resulted in the enthusiastic adoption
of a structure document which set out
CPA’s statement of unity, its functions
and organizational principles.

As one delegate told the meeting,
“I’ve never been prouder of the peace
movement.’ Convention organizer Bob
Penner described the uniting of the many
diverse groups as ‘‘a major step forward.
This new alliance will help make our
work on a Canada-wide level more effec-
tive,” he said.

And the debates, discussions and de-
termined will of the convention also re-
flected the concrete successes of the
peace movement both in building pres-
sure of the Canadian government to act
for peace and its dynamic growth. ‘‘We
are the majority, we represent the major-
ity of Canadians who do stand for
peace,’’ Canadian Peace Congress Pres-
ident Dr. John Morgan told the
gathering.

Delegates were also keenly aware they
met at a crucial juncture in the peace
struggle — just days before the Geneva
Summit, during the government’s review

the debate on our country’s involvement *

in Reagan’s Star Wars. This fact gave an
added sense of urgency to the proceed-
ings and contributed to an overwhelming
determination that CPA be action-
oriented and as effective as possible in
pressing for its policies.

In its Statement, CPA says:

“The Canadian Peace Alliance seeks
to involve Canadians in the world-wide
movement to stop the arms race, insure
the non-violent settlement of disputes
and guarantee the security and well-
being of all peoples. We want to make
Canada a peacemaker in the world com-
munity of nations by taking concrete ini-
tiatives to withdraw from the arms race
and to encourage reciprocal initiatives by
other nations.

“The objective of CPA is to build
Canadian public and government sup-
port for the following goals:

““1. The involvement and participa-
tion of the Canadian public in the
world-wide movement for a substantially
disarmed, truly secure and economically.
just world for all people;

‘2. A negotiated and verifiable freeze
and reversal of the arms race, ending the
vertical proliferation of nuclear and other
weapons on earth and in space;

**3. The establishment of Canada as a
Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, thereby
ending all research, transport, testing,
production, and deployment of nuclear
weapons and their components and also
ending the export of nuclear technology
and radioactive fuels, which may be used
for the production of nuclear weapons;

‘4. The re-direction of funds from
wasteful military spending to the funding
of human needs through a program of
conversion and retraining, promoting the
development of a _ peace-oriented
economy;

**S. The creation and strengthening of
world institutions and mechanism for the
prevention of aggression, for the peace-
ful resolution of international conflict
and the promotion of friendship among
peoples;

“6. Dissolution of all military blocs;

“‘7. The assertion of an independent
Canadian foreign policy for peace ...””

CPA’s functions are: Networking
amongst groups concerned with peace;

”

information sharing; discussion of ideas
and issues in a national forum and, —
facilitating of opportunities for action be-
tween groups.

The Alliance’s mandate specifies that
““CPA is not a substitute for, nor will it
replace any existing Canada-wide, re- —
gional or local organizations ...’’ and
that ‘‘ ... At this time, the role of CPA
will be to facilitate the launching of cam-
paigns by some or all of its member —
groups rather than conduct campaigns in
its own name ...”’

The strongly-felt need for action was
reflected in a proposal to the plenary by
the B.C. coalition, End the Arms Race,
representing some 200 groups, that EAR
would undertake to coordinate on an in-
terim basis, until the Steering Committee
meets in February, the campaign of CPA
member groups across the country to —
Stop Star Wars and Canada’s role in it
through NORAD.

The proposal was greeted with strong
applause and was later expanded at a —
press conference held by representatives
of the CPA Steering Committee who —
gave support to this initiative saying CPA
would help facilitate the campaign.

Earlier, the convention had voted that
the former peace alliance planning com-
mittee be mandated as the CPA Steering
Committee until the next convention in
1986. The committee of some 30 persons
represents each Canada-wide organiza-
tion, including the CLC, and geo-
graphically determined representatives
according to a regionally-equitable for-
mula. -

Unity of purpose was thematic —
throughout the three days. This was seen
in the conference’s overwhelming rejec-
tion of proposals and tactics employed
by a small minority to weaken the Al- —
liance’s ability to carry out its mandate —
effectively which is to help bring about a
redirection of government policy toward
peace and disarmament.

That a new, united and effective —
weapon for peace was forged is the vic-
tory achieved. Delegate after delegate,
reflected this feeling in the final discus-
sions following birth of CPA and adop-
tion of its structure and policy document,
spoke of the need to go back to their
communities and build a mighty,
all-Canada movement of peace.

Alliance will improve local peace work,

Frank Kennedy: President of End
‘the Arms Race representing 200
groups from British Columbia.
Secretary-treasurer of the Van-
couver and District Labor Council.

“It is going to be easier for the
peace movement now that this
historic alliance has been estab-
lished — we will be able to move
forward on the program we have

agreed to. With our Canada-wide
contacts, work in our own consti-
tuencies will be easier and we will
have more clout when approach-
ing the federal government.”

Kennedy sees the Alliance

_ Operating in much the same way

EAR has conducted its work in
B.C.: **We act as a clearing house
for our 200-member organizations
and the activities we undertake
centre on the one issue we all have

EAR has expanded and main-
tained its unity by avoiding what
Kennedy calls the ‘‘fringe’’ issues
which could be _ divisive.

““However we still encourage our
groups to continue working
around their particular interests.
No one is telling them they can’t
do what they want to’’.

The establishment of the Al-
liance should enable labor to be-
come more active in the peace
struggle, he says, adding that
there was more labor represen-
tation at this convention than ever
before. The Canadian Labor
Congress sent five delegates,
Dave Werlin, president of the Al-
berta Federation of Labor was
present along with several rep-
resentatives from local labor
councils and unions across the
country.

‘*The Alliance will help those in
the labor movement who want to
raise the peace issue,’’ says Ken-
nedy. “‘We have to remember
that there are still holdovers from
the 1950s when if you talked
about peace you were accused of
being a communist. It will assist
labor in making the links between

6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 20, 1985

arms spending and unemploy-
ment and social cutbacks. This
will strengthen both the labor and
peace movements.”’

Kennedy predicts a bright fu-
ture for the Alliance. ‘‘This organ-
ization was established from the
bottom, by the people who do all
the hard leg work. They were in-
volved in all the decisions. This is
the way it should be. It’s going to
be successful.”

Edward Sloan: President of the
Conseil Quebecois pour la Paix,
representing over 100 member
organizations.

‘“‘An important part of this
convention is that it reaffirmed
the bi-national character of the
peace movement in Canada.
There is wide representation here
from Quebec, from regional and
local groups, the labor movement
and others. There has been a spe-
cial effort made to have the steer-
ing committee also reflect Cana-

da’s bi-national character.

‘There is a tremendous diver-
sity in the peace movement, and
with the mushrooming of peace
groups this diversity becomes
more and more evident. This was
reflected in the conference. How-
ever the yardstick by which you
evaluate the different positions in
the movement is whether the aim
is to help bring unity or is to split
the peace forces. This was a very
united conference, but there were
some differences. These rep-
resent differences in how to build
the peace issue and what ac-
tivities should be undertaken.
Such views are long-standing and
will be resolved with time.

‘The planning committee with
its 35 groups, worked together,
sometimes painfully, for over a
year. They were able to bring
forward a statement based on
principle and unity which has now
been adopted unanimously. Now
all who voted for it are obliged to
accept it and work for its success.

“This does not mean that any
peace group will lose its au-
tonomy. Our organizationforone
is very anxious now to show the —
Alliance what we can do. We plan
to initiate certain actions and take
them to the Alliance for advice
and consideration. For example
we took the initiative of undertak-
ing 4 campaign against Star Wars
and helped raise the debate in
Quebec, so that many organiza-
tions are now taking a very sharp
position on this question and with
it we are seeing a fantastic growth
of the peace movement in
Quebec.”’

Jean Vigneux, Conseil Estrien pour
la Paix, Sherbrooke.

The Conseil is a new peace Or —
ganization, operating for four
years in the eastern townships
outside Montreal. It has taken up
campaigns to have Quebec de-
clared a nuclear weapons free —
zone, were active in the Peace —

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