Canada —__ The sorry record of Sask. sell-offs eoning to power unexpectedly in 1982, the Devine Tories took time to perfect their crude “Open for Business” slogans into a coherent privatization strategy. But their March 1989 Throne Speech crystallized that Process, as they announced the sale of Sas- Energy, the general insurance side of SGI, and the Potash Corporation, along with other assets worth some $2 billion. Right from the start, the Conservatives clearly wanted to reduce government Ownership, to benefit the local business community and transnational capital. The £0vernment has spent millions creating a Kimball Cariou FROM REGINA department of “Public Participation” and trumpeting its action as a success story. But the real record has been dismal. One of the first privatization moves hit” SaskTel in 1983. The profitable sale of tele- Phones and the installation of private rural Phone lines were turned over to the private sector. Other actions since have under- mined job security for SaskTel employees, members of the Communications Workers union. In the latest move, production of tele- Phone directories has been turned over to a new company. Composed of SaskTel workers who had been doing the job, they were given the choice of accepting the deci- sion or taking their chances on getting a different job with SaskTel. As the union NB coalition taking shape By DAN WESTON The process of building a provincial “people’s coalition” against the Tories and their corporate agenda took another step forward in New Brunswick recently. The Atlantic Environmental Network organ- ized a conference on “Sustaining our Communities” from March 3-5 in Mem- tamcook. More than 200 delegates from Native peoples and primary producers to peace, environmentalist, labour and anti- 4 poverty activists participated in the numer- ous workshops and panel discussions. The conference focused on the issue of Sustainable development but everyone understood the corporate agenda as it hovered over every workshop. The twin policies of free trade and Meech Lake combined with federal and provincial cutbacks will stop any movement toward a more social and sustainable economy unless the people organize to meet the corporate agenda head-on. Maurice Clavette, secretary-treasurer of the N.B. Federation of Labour, reminded delegates that our economy and social development is dictated by the interests of capital in search of profit, and that any substantial alternative direction for Canada will have to address the fundamental rela- tionships of ownership and control in the country. The conference ended ona high note with the announcement that FAPO and other organizations are planning an action con- ference to be held this September in Freder- icton. The meeting will aim to develop a broad coalition against the Tories’ free trade strategy. Dan Weston is a member of the Frederic- ton Anti-Poverty Organization. stresses, the most profitable operations of the Crown corporation have being split off, with higher phone rates the inevitable result. In May 1984, the province auctioned off $40 million worth of highway equipment, mainly to out-of-town buyers. Saskatche- - wan’s roads have deteriorated rapidly now that road construction and repair is entirely in private hands and 237 provincial employees lost their jobs. -An even bigger rip off followed in 1986, when Devine turned over the Prince Albert Pulp Mill (PAPCO), its Saskatoon chemical plant, the Big River sawmill, and 12.5 mil- lion acres of forest, to the U.S. transnational Weyerhauser, for no down payment. PAPCO had been used as a prime exam- ple of the need for privatization, because of its losses in the early 1980s. Weyerhauser is required to pay $236 million for the assets over 30 years — beginning when it reaches a level of 20 per cent profit on its “invest- ment.” 3 Company executives and others called the deal “crazy,” pointing out that the price of pulp was on its way up and the govern- ment could have got $100 million more by waiting. Since then pulp prices have hit record highs, going from $400 per tonne at the time of the giveaway to over $700 in 1988, and Weyerhauser is raking in huge profits. In another privatization scandal, 411 dental therapists, trained to provide dental care in Saskatchewan schools, were fired during the infamous spring of 1987. The government felt the vacuum created by this move would encourage dentists to set up in some smaller towns. But many rural areas remain far from dental services, and hundreds of therapists have been unable to find jobs in their fields. And the list goes on and on. The SGEU alone has shrunk from 17,000 members to 13,000, largely through privatization. As for the creation of ‘new jobs” in the process, the Tories “Year End Progress Report” on “public participation” gives their version: 219 permanent jobs created, 500 “pro- jected” jobs, and the stimulation of 700 temporary construction jobs. Briarpatch magazine columnist John Conway points out in the March 1989 issue that the construction jobs, building a paper mill for Weyerhauser, “could have been generated to build a public paper mill based on the former, publicly-owned PAPCO... of the 219 permanent jobs, 169 are at the paper mill and could therefore have been jobs in the Crown sector.” As for the “pro- jected jobs,” these fall in the general cate- gory of Tory promises — easier to make than to keep. Fears are growing that if the results so far are any indication, the Tories are selling the future of Saskatchewan for nothing more than a temporary reduction of the provin- ce’s deficit. The resulting loss of public income will mean more cutbacks, more job losses, and higher taxes. Already, the local economy is reeling with unemployment. Traditionally lower than in the rest of Canada, the jobless rate is creeping up to the national average. More people are leaving Saskatchewan than any other province, passing Newfoundland in this dubious category. Public support for privatization in this context is only found in manipulated polls with wording such as: “Do you support the sale of Crown corporation to private cOm- panies if they are going to expand and create jobs?” That’s why the drive is on to reduce sup- port for government ownership, with a bar- rage of propaganda, the formation of the “Institute for Saskatchewan Enterprises,” and plans for a huge privatization confer- ence in Saskatoon next year. Time is run- ning out before the next provincial election, and much of the Tory agenda, including the privatization of SGI, potash, and Sask- Energy, remains to be pushed through. a oe NUCLEAR SUBS: CAN WE AFFORD IT? Ottawa is planning to spend up to $8 billion over the next 20 years on nuclear-powered submarines. At the same time it’s proposing to drastically cut social spend- ing. Meanwhile, the rest of world is moving towards disarmament — it’s cheaper, it’s safer, it’s urgent. “This isn’t a naval project,” says Vice-Admiral Charles Thomas, of Canada’s Maritime Command. “I don't even regard it as a Defence project. It's Canada Inc. — it’s going to go for a long time. WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY “CANADA INC.”? Paramax Electronics Inc., VSEL Defence Systems Can- ada Inc., SNA Canada Inc. INDAL Technologies Inc., Rolls Royce Industries Canada, Inc., St. John Shipbuild- ing Ltd., Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., Canadian Marconi, Litton Industries, Algoma Steel. That’s CANADA INC. And the defence industry likes to hear that kind of language. Tell the people they need more bombs and less butter. Target social p and take aim. The defence industry gets fat profits. And more Canadian families fall through the social safety net. a SAY NO. ON APRIL 22ND WALK FOR PEACE. Assemble at Kitsilano Beach, 11:00 a.m. Saturday. For more information contact End the Arms Race, 736.2366. ae Pacific Tribune, April 10, 1989 « 7