{Rare CANADA By PAUL OGRESKO When the Olympic torch arrived in St. John’s Newfound- land on Nov. 17 there were cheering crowds, gushing politi- cians and furry mascots to greet it. As the Olympic flame began its journey across Canada, pla- cards of protest were clearly vis- ible and while the television news commentators did their best to ignore the protests it is a scene they will have to deal with over and over. For if the Olympic torch relay marks the Olympic spirit then the placards of protest that will follow the flame across Canada will let the world know that that spirit is not at all well in this country. Those Canadians who will protest instead of cheer the Olympic torch are doing so in support of the Lubicon Cree of northern Alberta and their near half-century of struggle with the governments of Can- ada. The 457 band members of the Lubicon Lake Cree have battled both the federal government and the provincial government of Alberta, the major oil com- panies and the insensitive bur- eaucracy of the Department of Indian Affairs. The major oil companies have, since the late 70’s, built hundreds of oil wells on the Lubicon’s traditional ter- ritory without any regard to the Lubicon’s aboriginal rights or _ the wildlife of the area. The Tory government of Alberta has refused to recognize the band’s right to a 90 square mile reserve while the feds have reneged on their 1939 promise to give the Lubicon Cree a reserve. “ “What the oil companies have done is come in and des- troyed a way of life,” Bernard Ominayak, chief of the Lubicon told the Tribune, “Where once people lived off the land now all you have is social problems and welfare.” After years of frustration and stonewalling the Lubicon Cree announced a boycott campaign of the Calgary Winter Games with a particular focus on the cultural centrepiece of the Games; “The Spirit Sings,” an exhibition of Native artifacts sponsored by Shell Canada, one of the principal companies responsible for the destuction of the Lubicon’s way of life. The boycott campaign has succeeded in bringing the plight of the Lubicon onto the world stage. Twenty-nine internation- ally respected museums refused to lend items to the “Spirit Sings” exhibition while support groups in Europe have organ- ized demonstrations outside of Canadian embassies. The Uni- ted Nations Human Rights Commission, based in Geneva, ruled that the Lubicon case was admissible under Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of which Canada is a signatory. The UN gave Canada six months to respond as well as ordering that Canada cease any further destruction to the land of the Lubicon Cree. Recent events show the Canadian government has no intention of obeying those rul- ings. Negotiations are at a stand- still. Currently there is no con- tact between the feds and the Lubicon. Indian Affairs minis- ter Bill McKnight has refused to visit the Lubicon and see the living conditions for himself. Brian Malone, the new federal-appointed negotiator has continued the hardline of his predecessor Roger Tasse. Tasse was forced to resign when it was revealed that he was working for the Depart- ment of Indian Affairs while at the same time representing In- dian bands in Manitoba. The reality facing the Lubi- con Cree is frighteningly re- miniscent of the fate of the great Plains Cree and Black- foot tribes over a century ear- lier. Then, smallpox and alco- hol, introduced by the en- croaching settlers, wiped out thousands of lives and left a legacy of poverty that exists to this day. Now, as we near the last decade of this century, ina world of micro-chips and nuc- lear power, the cycle of cultur- al and physical genocide is happening again. In August a_ tuberculosis epidemic broke-out among the Lubicon Cree. Since TB was unknown among the Lubicon Cree till then, there could be little doubt the disease was a direct result of the oil com- Bernard Ominayak with his Support grows for Lubicon band aU son Erwin. panies’ encroachment and the destruction of a lifestyle. By November there were 38 ac- tive cases among the Cree while 108 band members tested positive for the disease. While the national average for TB is nine cases in 100,000, among the Lubicon the average is 108 cases in 400. In December Ominayak will travel to New York to receive a Human Rights award from the Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organizations. In addition to Ominayak the award will be presented to rep- resentatives from the progres- sive church of Nicaragua and the South African mine- workers. Clearly the struggle of the Lubicon has entered upon the world stage. While Ominayak is receiving his reward the Olympic torch will continue its journey across Canada. The fate of the Lubi- con may very well hinge on how many protesters greet it along the way. Massey The people shouted, they Hall rally slams free trade While Brian Mulroney was stamped, they spoke and they wooing the provincial premiers sang out against free trade. behind closed doors at Toronto’s Catholic bishop Remi De Roo tells his Massey Hall audience that free | : iu A trade is a threat to Canada’s social fabric. 6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 2, 1987 posh Harbour Castle Westin ho- tel, the same city’s Massey Hall was packed to the rafters Nov. 25 — with people turned away at the door because no seats were left — to voice their protest at a deal which could lead to the disap- pearance of Canada as a sov- ereign, independent country. Labour, community and cul- ° tural leaders unanimously con- demned free trade, and called for a federal election on the issue be- fore the agreement is ratified. Organized by the Coalition Against Free Trade, the meeting heard performances and brief re- marks by more than 30 groups and individuals, including authors Margaret Atwood and_ Farley Mowat, actors Don Harron and Eric Peterson, CAW leader Bob White, CUPW president Jean- Claude Parrot, poet Al Purdy, singers Sylvia Tyson, Arlene Mantle and Nancy White, pub- lisher Mel Hurtig, journalist June Callwood, and Catholic Bishop Remi De Roo, one of the church’s most outspoken voices for social justice. Leo Gerard, Ontario leader of the United Steelworkers, called the deal ‘‘Canada’s declaration of dependence.” Callwood, who co-hosted the evening with playwright/ broadcaster Erika Ritter, said the free trade document “‘is not even finished and it is tearing the coun- try apart.” One of the most original contributions was Atwood’s Robert Service-like ballad ‘‘The Cremation of Almost Every- thing’’, which lampooned the free trade talks as a crooked card game in a seamy saloon. Canada was lost in the game. In Ottawa that same day, ac- tors, directors, producers, writers and technicians converged on Parliament Hill to lobby the fed- eral government, under the slo- gan ‘‘The Show Must Go On,” for more money for the TV and movie industry. TV writer Anna Sandor said the ‘free trade deal makes it crucial for Canada to develop ‘‘an unshaka- ble cultural identity”’ that cannot be swallowed by the United States. Trade hearings laughing stock VANCOUVER — Brian Mul- roney’s travelling circus, more formally called a parliamentary committee hearing on free trade, began its road show in B.C. for one whole day Nov. 23 after two weeks of farcical hear- ings in Ottawa. The whole thing is a joke. In B.C., as it will do elsewhere, the committee heard a selected group of people, mainly busi- nessmen, chosen in advance. The general public was not ad- mitted. Only eight hours were given for the hearings. From .Vancouver, the 11- member all-party committee will go to a different province or territory each day until the hear- ings end Dec. 7 in Toronto. NDP committee member and - trade critic Steven Langdon echoed the sentiment of most Canadians, calling the proceed- ings ‘“‘a sham”. The whole en- deavour, timed to fit American- imposed deadlines, makes a mockery of public input and parliamentary debate. Ontario hearings muzzle public TORONTO — The Ontario Cabinet Subcommittee on Free Trade seems to be refusing time for presentations to people whose views it doesn't want to hear. Alex. McLennan of Toronto had presented the;jsubcommit- _ tee with an outline of a submis- sion saying the federal govern- ment, in agreeing to the deal, ab- rogated the people’s right to know, and misled the provincial premiers by not informing them that energy was on the negotiat- ing table. His brief and questions would have put Ontario premier David Peterson on the spot tocome up ~ _ with information. So rather than hear him, the subcommittee de- cided that ‘‘time constraints do not allow” his submission to be presented. Report assails reserve housing WINNIPEG — Overcrowding and inadequate housing are still severe problems on reserves in every province, says a recent federal study. More than half of all houses on Canadian Indian reserves have no central heating, and al- most one third no bathrooms. More than 23 per cent of Indian reserve houses need major re- pairs. Overcrowding is 10 times more frequent than in non- Indian houses. Indians are “one of the most poorly housed populations in contemporary Canadian socie- ty’, the report concludes. Police courses “too tough”’ GATINEAU, Que. — Accord- ing to the head of the associa- tion of Quebec police chiefs, Quebec police forces cannot re- cruit members of visible minori- ties because “they are not able to get through the three-year training program.”’ Commenting on the shooting death of black teenager Anthony Griffin, top cop Noel Chéruet said it was “difficult to interest those people” in police work.