Tani nt enema RA A i, al e Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en to assert rights Author debunks ‘death of socialism’ — page 3. — page 6 2 Marchers bear symboli demonstration. Twenty years of history was marked with a renewed commitment to fight for the right to choice on abortion as some 400 people rallied and marched in Vancouver as part of a national demonstration May iy, Chanting “‘no new law,” marchers bear- ing coat hangers, the symbol of deaths and injuries from illegal abortion, moved from Granville Square to the Vancouver Art Gallery steps to protest Bill C-43, the fed- eral government’s new legislation to make abortion a criminal offence as it was 20 years ago. “We're talking about going back te those times, and that’s why it’s the neces- sity of a coat hanger today — which is so gruesome, but that’s what we’re returning to if we don’t mobilize as strongly as we did then,” veteran women’s rights activist Ellen Woodsworth declared. Marchers deposited their coat hangers in a small coffin at the end of the march, repeating an action staged on Parliament Hill following a cross-country caravan for abortion rights in 1970. Woodsworth, a participant in that car- avan, recalled how she and 30° other women chained themselves to seats in the visitors gallery of the House of Commons after interrupting the House’s business by standing up and reading declarations for c coffin to demonstrate the effects of Bill C-43, in protest marking 20th anniversary of Parliament Hill women’s rights. “Thirty-one of us were just chanting back and forth and for the first time in history of Parliament, Parliament was stopped,” she told the cheering crowd in Granville Square. But the occupiers were not arrested, because there was a mass movement back- ing them as there is today, Woodsworth noted. “We are the majority; they can ger- rymander, but we have the people, and we must never allow what happened 20 years ago to happen again.” Joy Thompson of the steering commit- tee of the B.C. Coalition for Abortion Clinics repeated that theme, noting the presence of a small number of anti-choice demonstrators at the Art Gallery rally. “The minority here today who are anti- choice very.much do represent the minor- ity,” she declared. Some have charged that carrying coat hangers, the symbol of self-induced abor- tions that have caused so many deaths, is “abhorrent and. disgusting” one day before Mothers Day, Thompson noted: “It is abhorrent and disgusting that . women across the world use coat hangers,” she said, saying that worldwide, one woman every three minutes dies of an illegal abortion. “The coat hangers you carry today Protest hits Tory abortion bill symbolize our solidarity and our com- mitment:that that will never happen in Canada again.” “When you’re pro-choice, you’re pro- mother,” Thompson declared. Coalition spokesperson Lori Roth stressed the march was concerned with all aspects of women’s reproductive rights. “We as women will fight to protect women from forced sterilization; we as women will fight to protect women from forced termination of wanted pregnan- cies,” she said. Performers staged skits lampooning Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Premier Bill Vander Zalm, Tory Justice Minister and Vancouver MP Kim Campbell, and the REAL Women organization. Jyoti Sanghera and Rani Grewal of the South Asian Women’s Group performed a mini- play outlining the particular difficulties Indo-Canadian women face in choosing to terminate a pregnancy. Across Canada pro-choicers' demon- strated in several cities. Some 3,000 in Halifax staged the largest demonstration in the country, surrounding three hospi tals in a human chain. Women ‘demonstrated on Parliament Hill during the annual meeting of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. May 21, 1990 50° Vol. 53, No. 18 By MARC YOUNG MONTREAL — “This convention is changing the direction of the Canadian Labour Congress toward a more militant and activist approach to struggle.” That was the upbeat response of former Alberta Federation of Labour president Dave Werlin concerning the May 14-18 gathering of the Canadian Labour Con- gress, in which Werlin was-defeated in his challenge to the re-elected president Shirley Carr. In a post-election interview, the top chal- lenger said the entire CLC executive council will have to recognize that his 700 votes reflect a widespread call for a more militant congress. And Quebec Federation of Labour pres- ident Louis Laberge acknowledged that the leadership understood Werlin’s vote repres- ents a rank-and-file desire for more action _and militancy in Canadian labour. Werlin’s attempt to open up the executive council slate, and push the congress to a more militant stance, garnered almost 700 votes. Carr captured 1,588 to win; third candidate Ron Martin from the National Union of Provincial Government Employ- ees took 118 votes. “The old traditional use of the slate for the perpetuation of leadership virtually came apart in this convention,” he said. Werlin maintained that the CLC task force that is going to cross the country to discuss changes in the congress’ structure will “get the message” that reforms on lead- ership selection are essential. It was a convention where the topic of congress direction was on the front burner. This wasn’t only apparent in the plethora of yellow Werlin buttons displayed on the shirt fronts of many delegates. Participants, including critics of Shirley Carr, acknowl- edged that this convention was being offered some of the most comprehensive policy documents ever issued by the con- gress executive. A leadership pressed by criticism for lack of action in confronting the politics of Mul- roney conservatism made the commitment to organize stepped-up anti-Tory actions. Top union leaders, including Bob White of the Canadian Autoworkers and Leo Gerard of the United Steelworkers, empha- sized their organizations’ willingness to par- ticipate as they spoke to the political action document on the first day of the conven- tion. ““We’ve got to start marching on the pro- vincial governments,” and then “we've got to get back on Parliament Hill,” said White. The CAW president noted he “doesn’t have a problem ... with marching on working hours,” referring to convention calls for some form of national protest or general Stitke. Gerard stressed the need to defeat the Goods and Services Tax, and reminded the convention that labour action and solidar- ity would be essential when the Tories go after the postal unions, which “are not always popular to support” but might be waging a watershed battle for Canadian labour. see CONGRESS page 8 ‘id meaitiatal