No to the GST! |

The more details that are revealed about the Tories’ Goods and
Services Tax (GST), scheduled to click in next January, the worse it looks.
The tax not only promises to be patently unfair, hitting hardest at those
least able to pay, it will also be a nightmare to administer, and a highly
expensive nightmare at that.

Under sharp questioning in the Commons Finance Committee last
week, Revenue Minister Otto Jelinek said the GST will cost Canadians a
whopping $1.1 billion to set up and administer over the next three years.
He admitted to MPs that $112 million has already been spent — before
Parliament has even voted on it!

Jelinek outlined a complex, costly scenario in which 3,900 tax collec-
tors and other staff will be hired, sophisticated computers purchased and
office space rented to deal with the estimated 9.4 million returns each year
expected from 1.6 million businesses — all on top of retaining the
current sales tax apparatus for another three years. “It’s going to be a
costly transition period,” Jelinek conceded.

“Costly,” however, doesn’t faze Revenue Canada which is looking
forward to pocketing a multi-billion dollar windfall when the GST takes
effect, while the beleaguered taxpayer gets hit twice. And all of this is

being done by agovernment plunging in the polls, one which today enjoys _

the support of less than two out of 10 Canadians.

As stories in this issue show, the anti-GST sentiment is high and rising
fast. Millions of Canadians are up in arms — and they are organizing to
make parliamentarians, and Tories in general, know how they feel. -

With postcards, protest demonstrations, over radio and TV talk
shows; by directly confronting MPs, through letters to the editor — and
from April 7-9 in National Days of Protest — the message is coming
down loud and clear.

When the Canadian Labour Congress, in conjunction with the Pro-
Canada Network, NAC, Canadian Teachers’ Federation, National
Farmers Union, Council of Canadians and many other Canada-wide and
regional organizations conduct the public opinion poll on the GST April
7-9, the result should mirror the wording on the campaign card: “I say
NO to the Goods and Services Tax, because it’s unfair.”

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without social justice

No peace in Nicaragua

In the days since the election in Nicara-
gua we have seen a number of commentar-
ies and analyses of that important event.
There appear to be four main interpreta-
tions. The election results were a victory
for democracy, a victory for Ronald Rea-
gan, a deteat for Danic! Ortega and Marx-
ism, and a vole for our way of life.

What was the cost of a victory for
democracy to the people of Nicaragua?

There were 30,000 or more (mostly civ-
ilians, including women and _ children)
murdered. Health workers, teachers, pri-
ests, farmers and trade unionists were
methodically tortured and then killed for
trying to build a just and humane society
in that tormented country. Billions of dol-
lars worth of farms and farmlands, clinics,
schools, electrical and waterworks were
destroyed with villages wiped out to dis-
courage farmers from growing food. The
people of that small country were sub-
jected toa reign of terror financed by over
$300 million of U.S. money along with an
embargo not only by the U.S. but also by
international agencies that refused to do
business with the Nicaraguan government

because of American pressure.

The victory for Reagan was paid for by
the American people who saw their
government subverted by the leaders in
the [ran-contra scandal. The true story of
Iran-contra has been hidden by lies, selec-
tive amnesia, and convenient memory loss
by Reagan, Bush and officials at the high-
est level of the U.S. government.

The victory over Daniel Ortega and
Marxism was in reality a victory over the
only government in Nicaraguan history
which brought some level of justice and
dignity to all the people of that country. A
defeat of the first government to introduce
land reform, health care and education to
all Nicaraguans. A defeat ofa government
that lowered the death rate of infants and
had largely eliminated illiteracy. The San-
dinistas under Daniel Ortega brought
about social improvements which the
Nicaraguans never had under the venal
Somoza regime and which the contras
under the tutelage of the American army,
and with the support and encouragement
of Reagan, tried to reverse.

I find the claim that the Nicaraguan

SANDI

people voted for our way of life difficult to
believe. First of all, the most honest
observers agree that they voted for an end
to the war and armed interference in their
country. Secondly, I don’t know what
knowledge the people of Nicaragua have
about our way of life. If they expect “‘Dal-
las” they are going to be sadly disap-
pointed. If they knew about our national
debt, our uncertain financial future, our
crime-ridden cities, rising unemployment,
hungry children, food banks, homeless-
ness, illiteracy, drug-torn communities,
racism, bigotry, and declining health and
education programs they may have voted
differently.

The war in Nicaragua is over for now
and all Canadians welcome the end of the
terror in that sad country. The urgent need
now for the people of Nicaragua is for

NISTA LAND REFOR\M ... first ever in the country.

massive financial assistance from the U.S.
to undo some of the damage.

A greater need is for the United States
to allow all the countries in Central Amer-
ica to follow their own national interests
and destiny. The Americans have to end
over 100 years of intervention in those
countries.

Bertolt Brecht said many years ago that
“revolutions are not just the hand work of
active minorities but the accumulated dis-
content and the inability of a system to
offer solutions.” Gorbachev is realizing
that in the Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe. George Bush has to realize it in
Central America or there will never be
peace in Nicaragua or anywhere else in
Latin America.

F.E. DeVito,
Fruitvale

4 Pacific Tribune, March 26, 1990