Changes in budget pose new challenge to peace movement HALIFAX — When Michael Wil- son brought down his disastrous fed- eral budget there were at least some grounds for qualified rejoicing. Peace activists could rightly claim a major victory in forcing the government to abandon its nuclear submarine pro- gram and to cancel or delay other military procurements. After several years of significant growth — higher than any other fed- eral expenditure, aside from debt repayment — the Tories have been compelled to restrict military outlays, Canada Miguel Figueroa of National Defence. To varying degrees, the “Summerside effect” will be seen in communities from Van- FROMTHE MARITIMES the peace movement to press its advantage and demand to the total scrapping of the White Paper and a _» trimming some $2.7-billion from anticipated growth over the next five years. growth rates above inflation. On closer examination, however, it becomes clear that the Mulroney government has not abandoned its hawkish defence policy orientation, as outlined in the White Paper. Instead, it has attempted to limit — as much as possible — the “strategic damage” of the cuts to “ancillary” areas, while keeping the main body of the defence infrastructure intact. The closure of seven military bases, and the scaling down of seven others, is a good case in point. Several of the facilities were already targeted for clo- sure in the near future, not because of any radical departure in defence pol- icy or philosophy, but because they had outlived their usefulness or were scheduled for modernization. seven. training base. That marks an important, if tem- porary, retreat from the spending guidelines contained in the 1987 White Paper on National Defence which called for two per cent annual For instance, personnel at the radar station in Sydney, N.S., a component in the antiquated Pine Tree system, will now be replaced by an auto- mated, high tech radar facility as part of the new North Warning System. Military staff will be cut from 141 to 39, and civilian employees from 84 to The CFB air base at Summerside, PEI, the single largest base slated for closure, has several vital — but appar- ently “ancillary” — functions. It is home to the aging Tracker squadron which patrols Canada’s 200-mile eco- nomic zone off the east coast, moni- toring foreign fishing fleets. It is also a search-and-rescue co-ordinating cen- tre for the Atlantic coast, as well as a couver Island to Gander, Nfld. Where are the compensation pack- ages to insulate these communities - from the worst impact from these cutbacks, to establish new industry and create alternative employment in the civilian sector? The silence from government quarters is deafening. Meanwhile Defence Minister Bill McKnight has pledged to preserve fully Canada’s “defence commitment to the Western alliance” by maintain- ing troop strength in West Germany to counter the imminent Soviet “threat.” Interestingly, West Germans, accord- ing to a public opinion poll released last year by the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security (CIIPS), don’t agree. When asked if the Soviet Union posed an imminent threat of invasion to western Europe, zero per cent answered in the affirma- tive. The closing of the base in Lahr, West Germany and terminating our direct military presence in Europe would reduce defence spending by almost $1.2 billion each year, more than twice the savings compared to the present cuts. The defence industry has also been spared major cutbacks in the current budget. Grants under the Defence Industry Productivity Program (DIPP) will be trimmed by 10 per cent, but business interests will still receive far more from this slush fund than when the Tories came to power in 1984. Even on the submarine program, it is widely rumored that the govern- ment is now quietly manoeuvring to substitute a proposal for a fleet of conventionally-powered submarines in collaboration with Australia. Nevertheless, the Tories’ Defence ~ White Paper has suffered a setback and its policies are in crisis. The situa- tion presents a new opportunity for whole new re-thinking of Canada’s defence policy, on the basis for full public discussion and input. Such a re-thinking should begin with a clear delineation of Canada’s genuine defence needs to defend Can- adian territorial sovereignty and pro- tect coastal waters and our 200-mile economic zone. The military’s role in search-and-rescue and in interna- tional peace-keeping — under UN supervision — should also be re- viewed and preserved. A new defence policy for Canada would have to break with the pattern of increasing integration with — and subservience to — U.S. strategic and military planning and involve Cana- da’s withdrawal from both NATO and Norad. It would also have to halt the drift toward militarizing the econ- omy and instead project an independ- ent and consistent policy for mutual and universal disarmament. Finally, a new policy direction should project a balanced program of conversion to peaceful development. Canada should take up the challenge advanced by Mikhail Gorbachev in his recent UN speech and develop a comprehensive plan for economic conversion. Immediately, there is the issue compensation for those workers and communities affected by the current cutbacks. Those issues pose a challenge for the peace movement, a challenge which has been recognized by the Canadian Peace Alliance. “The budget places a host of new questions onto the peace movement’s agenda, questions which we have yet to fully address,” CPA co-ordinator Bob Penner told the Tribune. “An alternative policy for defence — including peace conversion — is something we must now develop.” contrac ecamiaainotamens ais abainitnalilitbindisiingaructitienn chutes, The cutbacks and closures at the 14 bases across the country will exact a heavy economic and social toll. Thou- sands of military personnel and their families will be forced to relocate, and civilian workers may well find them- selves on the unemployment lines, despite government promises of retraining and transfers to other jobs. But the biggest impact will be felt by the affected communities where the bases are located, in some cases threatening their very existence. Jobs will be lost, small businesses face bankruptcy, real estate values will plummet and the municipal tax base will be severely eroded. When the closure of CFB Summer- side was announced, the PEI govern- ment undertook an economic impact study which found that in addition to the direct loss of 1,200 jobs in the community of 8,000, many hundreds of spin-off jobs, in construction, ser- vice and education, would be lost and over $60 million taken out of the local economy annually, almost twice as much as predicted by the Department 6 e Pacific Tribune, June 5, 1989 CANADIAN TROOPS IN EUROPE .. Europe would save $1.2 billion. . terminating military presence in Ottawa demonstration protests ARMX show By DARRELL RANKIN OTTAWA — More than 2,000 peace supporters marched through the capital’s streets May 22 to protest ARMX ‘89, a large international arms exhibition. The marchers carried hundreds of banners, flags and pla- cards to Lansdowne Park, the site of ARMX, where they heard speakers denounce the arms trade. “Canada’s reputation as a peacemaker is a myth,” said Richard Sanders, spokesperson for the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade. This coalition, which organized the protest, is made up of over 120 organiza- tions. : Former Ottawa mayor Mar- ion Dewar said the ARMX exhibition is “‘very offensive” to the people of Ottawa. The three - day trade show was privately JOHNSON sponsored by Toronto-based Baxter Publishing. How- ever, the Department of National Defence (DND) is a major participant. Roughly 400 companies from 16 countries displayed their military wares to 15,000 buyers, sellers and mil- itary personnel. Every country, except members of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, were invited to attend. Among those attending were military attaches from such known abusers of human rights as South Africa, Chile and El Salvador while representatives of the Israeli military led one seminar. : On May 23, 160 people were arrested for blocking traffic entering Lansdowne Park. The civil disobedience action was organized by the Alliance for Non-Violent Action. Thirty-four of those arrested refused to signan _ undertaking not to go near Lansdowne Park until the , show was over and were held in custody. ARMX opponents have pointed out that the show is open to some of the world’s worst violators of human rights. “If we can stop the arms trade, we can stop the arms race and if we stop the arms race, we can stop war,” said Leonard Johnson, chairperson of Project Ploughshares and a retired NATO general. A public inquiry into ARMX, sponsored by the coalition, was held in which expert witnesses on interna- tional law, human rights and economic development told participants of the disastrous effects of the arms trade. In the week leading up to the ARMX protests, peace groups receiveda boost from Ottawa City Council which prohibited future ARMX exhibitions from rent- ing municipally-owned property. Concessions demand tied to trade deal Workers at Photo-Engravers and Electrotypers Ltd., bolstered by support from the Metro Toronto Labour Council, rallied outside Sears Headquarters in down- town Toronto May 24 to protest the employers continu- ing demand for contract concessions — demands that have been linked to the free trade deal. The employees, members of the Graphic Communi- cations International Union, Local 10, were locked out on February 20 when they refused to meet the rollbacks demanded by PE & E. The company, which prints the Sears catalogue and is controlled by the retail giant, has: admitted that the anticipated effects of the free trade deal account for its position. Sears has threatened that if its agenda is not accepted, . it will just pack up and produce its catalogues south of the border. Among other things, the employer is demanding: longer working hours; a reduction of the number workers on each printing press; reduced night shift premiums; and the right to lay off without regard to seniority. Ata meeting with the union on May 24, PE & E went after the workers with even more — no wage increases over the course of the next three years, and a demand that an early retirement package contained in the last collective agreement be dropped. Sears, the union points out, is not a company strug- gling through bad times. The Canadian operation gar- nered $1 billion in sales in 1988, and between that year and the one previous, its profit per share doubled.