Wednesday, July 10, 1985
ecu =>
Vol. 48, No. 26

Newsstand Price 40°

Winds of change blow through

PSAC

— page 4

Nuke-free
Pacific
a model
for Canada

— page 6 —

While the Mulroney government has
hopes of dousing some of the anti-budget
‘fire by retreating on the partial de-
indexing of pensions, there remain in the
Wilson proposals equally ominous provi-
sions which will bite hard into working
people’s incomes.

The overall effect of the budget will
result in permanent decreases in benefits
for the poor; permanent tax increases for
middle-income Canadains and a net per-
manent tax reduction for the richest
groups. Disproportionately represented
among low income earners, women will be

prime targets of the Tory agenda and that

MARILYN LANZ, IRVIN ROSS, SON DANA.
budget measures on family allowance, income tax.

has infuriated women’s groups.

Ottawa lawyer and vice-president of the
National Action Committee on the Status
of Women Louise Dulude denounced the
government for its “business-oriented
package” and on “reneging on all its
promises to make women a priority and
protect the interests of the poor.”

Dulude said July 4 that the NAC would
be launching a country-wide petition
campaign against de-indexing of family
allowance payments.

“This is the second wave,” she said,
referring to the earlier campaign by pen-
sioners which compelled the Mulroney

. ‘families like theirs with incomes in mid-$20,000 range will bear brunt of

government to back down on de-indexing
pensions.

“The de-indexation of old-age pensions
was the worst but the de-indexation of
family allowances is the next in line and we
are going to fight it,” she said. “Canadians
now understand the effects of de-
indexation and will understand what we
are talking about.”

The NAC is the umbrella group repres-
enting nearly 400 women’s organizations
across the country. Many of them are in
B.C., including the B.C. Federation of
Labor women’s rights committee, the

see DE-INDEXING page 2

Drug firms
lobbying
for more $

— page 2 —

BILL CLARK

TWU takes
stand over
‘forced
transfers’

— page 7 —

RISUNE

Philippines’ free zones
are ‘a warning to B.C.’

— page 8 —