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As the federal Tory government of Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney enters its 18th month in office, the reality
fy of a neo-conservative majority controlling Canada is

| becoming starkly clear. The Tribune offers this digest of

overview given to the Central Executive Committee of

the Communist Party of Canada by party leader William
Kashtan in the latter part of January.

* * *

The latest polls show a continuing downward slide for
the Mulroney government, reflecting doubts by Cana-
dians about the PM’s ability to cope with the basic eco-
nomic and social problems confronting the people. His
credibility is increasingly questioned.

To explain away the dramatic change in attitude
following quickly upon a huge electoral victory the prim-
ary blame is laid to ‘tunagate’, bank failures and four
Cabinet ministers’ resignations. While these undoubt-
edly play a part in declining support, there are underlying
factors which the media choose to ignore.

Integration

Concern is growing Over the government's policy of
economic and military integration with the USA, made
evident also by recent disclosures of secret military
agreements outside parliament, using the phoney
“national security’’ argument.
There is widespread opposition to Star Wars, to Cana-
/ da’s participation in it, as there is to the renewal of
aie (North American Aerospace Defence Agree-
ment).
_ Free trade with the USA is also widely opposed. Ina
recent poll 44 per cent of Canadians did not trust Mul-
oney to represent Canada in free trade negotiations with
he USA. And 40 per cent were opposed to free trade.

Sell-outs Condemned

The sell-out of crown-owned de Havilland aircraft to
Boeing in the USA, and of the Montreal Gulf refinery to
Ultramar — two transnationals — has added to criticism
of the government.

_ Inde Havilland’s case, an important Canadian instru-
ment for maintaining and developing the aerospace
industry was handed over. The Ultramar deal raised
concern over loss of jobs, but even more, over the af-
front to the national dignity of the French Canadian
people.

In one fell swoop the PM’s efforts to cement relations
with French Canada have been seriously eroded, along
with the Tory electoral base in Quebec. What is evident
is that the social base of the Tories is narrowing, parti-
cularly in the industrial centres of Canada.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

4 Mulroney's claim of 425,000 jobs obtained in one year,
‘ignores Continuing layoffs and plant closures across the
Q ountry. No details are given as to where and how new
jobs were brought about, how many as aresult of exports
tothe USA, how many from internal developments, how
many from part-time work. Are they due to recovery in
the USA or recovery in Canada? In any case over 10 per
ent of the labor force is still unemployed.
While Mulroney blames the media for his misfortunes,
the fact is, the corporations which financed him and his
party in the elections, expecting him to take a ‘‘hard
line” and go all out in attacks on social programs are
Beginning to turn against him.
z Facing widespread opposition to a policy of reducing
the deficit at the expense of social programs, Mulroney
ha been compelled to manoeuvre. This does not mean
he will not pursue a ‘thard line’. The Wilson budget
indicates that. There will be ‘‘no change in direction”’
Mulroney told his caucus. The neo-conservative thrust
will thus be maintained, but altered to absorb the pres-
‘sures of the people.
_ Meanwhile the Tories are pressing ahead with de-
indexation of family allowances, increases in taxes on
people (e.g. sales tax), and with continued gifts to cor-
porations, and to the rich through the $500,000 capital
gains tax exemption.
_ The Liberals in parliament have refrained from ad-
vancing alternatives to the Mulroney economic, social,
‘oreign and military policies, while criticizing the Tories
benefitting from anti-Tory feeling. They must be
ssed to spell out their policy on Star Wars, NORAD,
ing Canada a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone, on a
atorium on nuclear testing, and on free trade.

People’s majority’ can oust Tories

Thus, while focussing on the main danger of neo-
conservatism and taking due account of tactical dif-
ferences in the camp of monopoly, it is also necessary to
guard against the Liberal Party becoming the main bene-
ficiary of discontent with Tory policies.

Democratic Alternative

The need is to strengthen the fight for working-class
unity and for the achievement of an anti-monopoly elec-
toral coalition around a democratic alternative which
could take Canada out of the crisis and put it back to
work.

The NDP must be pressed to advance a more coherent
program to deal with the crisis, a program which begins
to get at the structure of state monopoly capitalism, the
battle for Canadian independence and for an indepen-
dent foreign policy.

Our party is faced with the two-fold task of helping to
strengthen the forces that could be brought together in an
anti-monopoly coalition at the same time as it
strengthens its independent work.

The press speculates there may be seven provincial
elections any time from now until the fall. The anti-Tory
(and anti-Social Credit) sentiment may well reflect itself
provincially and lead to a strengthening of progressive
forces, if linked correctly to the main issues before the
country.

Trade Union Battles

Monopoly’s determination to force trade unions to
agree to concessions, and its increasing use of the state
to coerce unions into cheap settlements, extends to the
Canadian Constitution being used to undermine the
trade union movement. To meet the monopoly offensive
on wages, social gains and trade union rights, maximum
unity and solidarity is needed around an effective alter-
native to the crisis policies of monoply and its govern-
ments. The defence of trade union rights is an integral
part of the defence of democracy.

\

WILLIAM KASHTAN: “‘a people’s majority outside par-
liament to defeat the Tory majority inside parliament”.

The recently held Dialogue 86, sponsored by the
Canadian Labor Congress and participated in by various
social movements, reflects the fightback and growing
support for the idea of an all-Canada Coalition to combat
free trade and Star Wars and advance the fight for jobs,
while protecting the hard-won gains of working people.

Continuing pressures are needed for the idea of a
People’s Majority outside parliament to defeat the Tory
majority inside parliament. Monopoly is not succeeding
in its efforts to put the working class *‘in its place’’. The
class struggle is mounting, class consciousness is begin-
ing to develop as state monopoly capitalism’s unpopular
aims are exposed in practice.

Canada should

TORONTO — Canadian communists have called
on the Mulroney government to match the Soviet
Union’s moratorium on nuclear testing with annul-
ment of the agreement allowing testing of the U.S.
Cruise missile on Canadian territory.

In a letter to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed
by Communist Party leader William Kashtan on be-
half of the party’s Central Executive, the government
is also urged to make public the secret agreements
between Canada and the USA, a few of which were
recently leaked.

Noting the latest proposals of Mikhail Gorbachev,
general secretary of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union, ‘‘regarding ways and means of bringing
a halt to the nuclear arms race and eliminating nuclear
arms from the face of the earth by the end of the
century,” the letter goes on:

~  ** ... such a program, if realized, would take a
heavy burden off the peoples of the world as well as
removing the threat of nuclear destruction. It could
lead to a situation whereby the huge sums of money
presently spent on arms could be used for building a
better world.

‘In view of the importance of these proposals and
the fact that its contents are not fully dealt with by the
media,’’ the message to Mulroney says, ‘‘our party
has asked the management of the Canadian Tribune to
publish (the statement by Gorbachev) as a supple-
ment. This it has done. We would hope you would
also use your good offices to have the Gorbachev
proposals published by the various agencies and in-
stitutes which deal with peace, security and disarma-
ment so that Canadians are made fully aware of their
content.”’

Gorbachev’s statement declared that the Soviet
Union would continue its moratorium on further nuc-
lear testing for another three months, with the hope
that the Reagan administration would do likewise.
The Communist Party of Canada letter urges Ottawa
‘to press the Reagan administration to respond posi-
tively to the above action by the Soviet Union.

‘“‘We would further propose that the Canadian
Government take an initiative of its own and state it
will annul further Cruise missile testing on Canadian
soil,’ it states.

match Soviet ban

It notes that ‘“‘unfortunately’’, instead of respond-
ing in kind to the Soviet moratorium, External Affairs
Minister Joe Clark is reported as saying that Canada
will continue to allow Cruise missile testing in our
country because (as Clark is quoted) *‘it is important
to show solidarity with the USA.” The letter asks:
“Solidarity for what purpose? Is it to pursue Star
Wars? Is it to support the U.S. first strike military
strategy? Is it to allow NORAD to be used as a cover
for Star Wars?

‘Such solidarity,”’ it says, “‘has very little to do
with defending the true national interests of our coun-
try.’ It expressed the hope that the government
would have second thoughts on the subject and “‘ag-
ree to the cessation of these Cruise missile tests. For
them to be continued while the Soviet Union con-
tinues its moratorium on nuclear testing raises the
question whether the Canadian government wants to
help put a stop to nuclear arms and the threat of
nuclear war, or wants to persist in support of policies
which could lead to a world conflagration.”

Turning to the Canada-U.S. secret agreements, the
letter urged that they be made public. ‘‘These agree-
ments,” it pointed out, ‘“‘were arrived at behind the
backs of parliament and the Canadian people (who)
were excluded from decision-making on questions
which could drag Canada into a first strike nuclear
war. These secret agreements should not only be
made public. They should also be annulled.”’

Reiterating that ‘‘a new perspective, a new possibil-
ity to finally bring an end to the nightmare of nuclear
catastrophe,’’ had been opened by the Gorbachev
proposals, the letter concludes:

‘**We hope the Canadian Government and parlia-
ment will seize this new opportunity to publicly sup-
port these proposals and to act energetically against
those forces in the USA and in NATO which wish to
perpetuate the nuclear arms race on earth and in space
with all its disastrous consequences for humanity.”

Copies of the letter were sent to External Affairs
Minister Joe Clark, Liberal leader John Turner, New
Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent and to presi-
dent of the Canadian Labor Congress, Dennis Mc-
Dermott.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 5, 1986 e 5