Canada Miguel Figueroa FROMTHE (This story was written before Transport Minister Benoit Bouchard’s latest announce- ment that medium-distance runs will be elim- inated in January 1990.) Union representatives, municipal and provincial politicians, railway experts and concerned citizens came from across the country to Saint Jokn, N.B. Sept. 14-15 to condemn the federal government’s plot to “dismember and ultimately destroy” VIA Rail, and to develop an alternative action plan to save and revitalize rail passenger service in Canada. The 400 delegates came to attend a “Save VIA Rail” conference, jointly sponsored by the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and General Workers (CBRT), the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and the city of Saint John. The meet- ing was timed to organize maximum public pressure on the government on the eve of an announcement by Transport Minister Benoit Bouchard, expected in the next few weeks, on VIA’s, troubled future. Earlier this year, Bouchard declared that VIA’s federal annual subsidy would be reduced by some $391 million over the next four years and called on VIA management to develop a new business plan incorporat- ing the proposed cutbacks. The new plan, leaked to the press this summer, would effectively cut VIA’s operations by 50 per cent, sharply reducing services in Atlantic and western Canada and virtually eliminat- ing regional and rural services. According to most analysts, the massive reductions would spell certain death for rail passenger service in the very near future, and would threaten, directly and indirectly, over 29,000 jobs. That in turn would increase the financial burden on municipali- ties and provinces to maintain other forms of transport, and would aggravate envir- onmental problems. At a time when most other countries are improving and expanding rail service, Can- ada would be the only developed country in the world to liquidate this energy-efficient and environmentally sound form of trans- portation. The present crisis has its roots in long- standing government policy to serve the profit interests of the railway companies, first and foremost. CBRT president Jim Hunter told the conference that, ever since Confederation, government support for passenger service “has been, without excep- tion, to encourage the expansion of business and not for the benefit of ordinary Canadi- ans.” Hunter referred to the 1961 report of the MacPherson Royal Commission on Trans- portation as a turning point in the drive to relieve Canadian National and Canadian Pacific of the financial burden of less profit- able service, “politically paving the way to allow the railways to dump” passenger rail. VIA Rail itself was established in 1977 to . permit the railways to sidestep their statu- tory obligation to provide passenger service, while ensuring continued substantial profits for both CN and CP. VIA was mandated to run the service but was given no rail equip- 6 « Pacific Tribune, October 2, 1989 MARITIMES Canada-wide meet calls for action against VIA cuts ment, no tracks, no stations or other facili- ties. These would have to be leased from the railways, based on a cost formula which has never been revealed to either VIA, parlia- ment or the Canadian public. As a result, over 60 per cent of VIA’s costs are related to contracts with the railways. VIA’s financial difficulties are not only ied to its dependence on the railways. The companies were able to unload outdated rolling stock onto VIA and very little new capital investment has been made since. In the 1984 election campaign, the Tories promised to provide VIA with new pas- senger cars and engines which, according to the citizen lobby group Transport 2000, would cut VIA’s operating costs by over 40 per cent. The Mulroney government has never honoured this commitment. Bouchard has argued that rail services must “pay their own way” and cannot expect high subsidies. Nothing is said, how- ever, about the massive public subsidies given to air transport and for the construc- tion of highways for bus and private forms of vehicular travel. In fact, VIA is the only form of passenger transport which must incorporate in its budget the full cost of infrastructure. The government also claims that the cut- backs are necessary to reduce the federal deficit. Roy George, a business professor from Dalhousie University, pointed out, however, that the hidden costs of shutting down 50 per cent of VIA’s operations, including the costs of severance pay for 3,500 workers, penalties for early termina- tion of contracts, shortfalls in CN revenues, and increased costs for UIC benefits and highway construction, would negate any direct savings. Instead, the reduction of VIA subsidies would result in “shifting part of the federal deficit on to the provincial governments,” he said. a The abandonment of rail passenger transport would have a heavy environmen- tal impact. Per passenger mile, auto emis- sions are 12 times higher than rail and energy consumption is nine times greater. Rail passenger service has proven that it can work in many other countries. The ultra-modern, high speed services in France and Japan are well known. British Rail and Amtrak in the U.S. have also rebounded, based on significant capital investment. Even rail service in Alaska, with a small population, is operating profitably. Delegates at the conference were con- vinced that VIA Rail could also turn its financial situation around, given new poli- cies. NDP Transport critic Jain Angus called for public ownership of the railroad beds, claiming that the present control of tracks by CN and CP has led to overcharging of VIA and to priority given to freight over passenger services. He also called for more electrification of lines and for substantial new investment in equipment. Delegates agreed that there must be spe- cial legislation governing VIA Rail services, the development of a comprehensive plan to re-organize and expand the system, anda moratorium on proposed cutbacks. A recent survey indicated that over 85 per cent of Canadians want to preserve VIA Rail service on a coast-to-coast basis. To date, over 66,000 people, mostly from Atlantic Canada, have signed petitions . railways’ policies have been directed to benefit business. JIM HUNTER opposing any decline in service. A new campaign, aimed at post-secondary stu- dents, is slated to begin soon. According to Veterans Affairs Minister Gerald Merrithew, the federal cabinet is divided over the VIA Rail issue. Growing provincial, municipal and public opposition may yet succeed in staying Bouchard’s hand. The next few weeks will be decisive in determining whether VIA can be saved from the chopping block, and new policies won to put it on the road to recovery and long-term viability. ‘Mobilize,’ CP leader urges rally There is growing anger across Canada, and increasing numbers of Canadians are saying “they will not wear the crisis on their backs because it is a crisis that the Tories created,” Communist Party leader George Hewison told a rally in Vancouver Saturday. “The farmers we talked to in Saskat- chewan, the trade unionists and senior citizens in Alberta, the fishermen and nurses here in B.C., they all have a right to be angry,” he said, because they have been lied to by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Hewison, in Vancouver as part of a cross-country tour to promote the cam- paign of the Communist Party to “Stop the Attack on U and I,” reminded the audience of the events of the On-to- Ottawa Trek in the 1930s. “When (trek leader) Slim Evans went to see R.B. “Iron Heel’? Bennett in Ottawa, Evans called him a liar and now in 1989 we can call another Tory prime minister by that same name,” he said. “Mulroney promised jobs, he pledged the universality of social programs as a sacred trust, he promised day care. Where are those promises now?” Hewison demanded. The Communist Party campaign is foc- using on the broad attack on working people by the Tories’ corporate plan for restructuring, driving down living stand- ards and pushing back the social gains of - 50 years. The campaign specifically targets Bill C-21 introduced last spring which will amend the Unemployment Insurance Act. Unemployment insurance will be changed to a “labour mobility scheme,” with these changes, said Hewison. “It is a major part of the overall free trade stra- tegy of corporate Canada.” He cited the provisions of the free trade agreement, which have been responsible GEORGE HEWISON ... Tories have lied to Canadians. for the loss of 50,000 jobs since Jan. 1. And now many more jobs in the fishing indus- try will be lost as the first item under the disputes settlement provision of the agreement has seen U.S. fish processors win the right to process raw B.C. fish in the United States. “The free trade agreement, the changes to unemployment insurance and the pro- posed Goods and Services Tax are all part of the Tory restructuring plan to move wealth from “the ‘have-nots’ to the inter- national ‘haves’,” said Hewison. He called for a broad and united oppo- .Sition to the Tory attack. “We need to mobilize. We must tell the people that we must get together to stop the attack on you and I or we will pay the price,” he said. The Vancouver rally also heard from the fight fifty years ago for the establish- Fred Wilson, B.C. provincial leader of the Communist Party and Bob Jackson, a participant in the 1930s On-to-Ottawa Trek who is now, together with his son Larry Jackson, a focus of the CP cam- paign. “Bobby and Larry Jackson symbolize this campaign for us,” said Wilson, “not just because of the history of Bob’s part in ment of Unemployment Insurance, but because of their activism.” Wilson told of Bob Jackson’s part in: the “Get the Budget on Track” campaign organized in response to the recent Tory budget by the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. “When Bob heard about the campaign, he didn’t sit about and wait to see what happened. He was on that train. And his experience and commitment brought that campaign to life,” said Wilson. “And while he was on the train to Ottawa, Larry was here in Vancouver working on the organizing committee for one of the country’s largest protests when Mulroney came here to speak to a black- tie dinner” he said. The “Stop the Attack and U and I” campaign is based on “what we can do as individuals to fill in the information gap created by the Tories,” said Wilson. He described the information kits which are available for distribution which include leaflets, buttons and information neces- sary for a united opposition to the Tory agenda. Jackson warned that the “struggles of the 1930s will look very small compared to what we have to fight in the 1990s. “It’s time for us to start thinking about one another. We have to think about our neighbour. Because we can’t win this fight alone,” he said.