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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1964

VOL. 25, NO. 52

10¢

PROTEST AT NATO HQ

Delegations from many countries protested before the NATO headquarters in
Paris last week against the proposed Multi-lateral Nuclear Force. Photo shows
some of the delegates from Britain. Police attempted to break up the demonstra-
tion, and many, including two Canadian women, were arrested.

and Staff of the Pacific Tribune

Ottawa Xmas gift-

‘I

> billion for arms

As Canadians were preparing this week to celebrate the season of
‘Peace on Earth,’ Defence Minister Paul Hellyer announced that Canada will
spend $1 billion in the next five years to build up and ‘“‘modernize”’ the
armed forces. Much more in keeping with the season, and the needs of world
peace, would have been an announcement that arms spending was to be cut

back drastically.

Instead of moving in the dir-
ection of arms cutbacks, Helly-
er’s announcement means that the
1965-66 defence budget will go
up, and Canadians will be faced
with more oftheir money and re-
sources being diverted to the
arms build-up,

Included among the new expen-
ditures will be about $200 mil-
lion for tactical planes and new
destroyers, which are obsolete
before they are built, These will
cost between $30 and $35 mil-
lion each, It is also reported that
a new torpedo for navy and army
howitzers will be capable of car-
rying nuclear warheads,

Hellyer’s announcement came
only a few days after the Soviet
Union announced a drastic cut-
back in arms spending,

It has also been reported that
Washington is considering simi-
lar cutbacks,

Defence Department officials

said that many of the weapons
will be purchased abroad, al-
though they refused to reveal
what percentage of the total de-
fence budget will be spent this

PAUL MARTIN, Canada’s External
Affairs Minister, who this week in
Paris, called for a greater sharing of
nuclear weapons among NATO
countries.

WE HAVE A NEW FLAG—
Now for new national policies!

By JOHN BOYD

“At long last Canada will have
a distinctive flag of its own. The
will of the majority of Canadians
was fulfilled when the House of
Commons, by a vote of almost
2 to 1, adopted the single red

maple leaf on a white background ,

flanked by two vertical red bars
as this country’s official national
ensign,

The decision came after more
than 250 speeches which took
up more than 32 days of a mara-
thon session of Parliament — a
Session that established anew low
in petty party politicking.

(Since the above was written
the new flag has also been ap-
proved by the ‘Senate and now
Only awaits official proclama-
tion, Ed.)

It is unfortunate that the anti-
democratic device of closure had
to be invoked to resolve the par-
liamentary deadlock over the flag
issue but there was little else

—<

7

that could be done under the cir-
cumstances,

Exploiting the procrastination
and indecision of the Liberal
government in the early days of
the debate last spring, the Tories

chose this issue to advance their

. political fortunes—even though it

meant degrading the dignity of
Parliament, deepening national
disunity and defying the obvious
will of the people,

One can sympathize with those

nine New Democratic Party
MP’s, including their leaderT, C,
Douglas, who could not bring

themselves to vote for closure
as a matter of principle, But we
believe they were wrong, In this
case closure was used in the in-

way.

Meanwhile, Paul Martin, Can-
ada’s External Affairs Minister,
who was in Paris last week at-
tending the NATO. Ministerial
Council meeting, said in an in-
terview that there should be a
greater sharing of nuclear ‘‘re-
sponsibilities’’ within NATO,

Martin is quoted in the Paris
paper, Le Monde, as saying that
**Canada is prepared to examine
with sympathy any proposal of
inter-allied nuclear co=opera-
tion’’, He said: We believe it
is possible to reach arrange-
ments .for. a great sharing of
responsibilities in the nuclear
field.’’

With this statement the Cana-
dian government moves closer to
giving its approval to some form
of multi-lateral nuclear force
which will inevitably lead to the
spread of nuclear weapons among
more countries,

terests of democracy against the
Tories whose filibuster tactics
were being used to thwart the
will of Parliament and of the
people,

The battle is not quite over
yet. The proposed flag design
still has to be debated in the
Senate where the Tories can be
counted on to continue their de-
laying tactics, The main hurdle,
however, has been overcome,
Within a matter of weeks it will
be official: Canada’s flag will be
the red maple leaf.

Now that we have a flag — what
next? Where do we go from here?

In a speech in Saskatoon last
week, T, C, Douglas reiterated
his oft-repeated view that he is
not so much concerned about the
kind of flag this country will
have as the kind of country it
will fly over, We agree with Mr,
Douglas’ goal but not with the
wya he would attain it,

See NEW FLAG, pg. 2