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- British Columbia/Canada

Report reveals
Nuke spying plans

TORONTO — Environmental groups
are outraged by the leak of a confidential
report that suggests that Atomic Energy
of Canada Ltd. set up a fake environ-
mental group to spy on legitimate organ-
izations. The report, done by the Ridley
Research Group, called on the nuclear
agency to get access to the data base
network of the more than 1,200 envir-
onmental groups in Canada by setting
up a “pseudo environmental group.”

The report also assessed the “strengths
and weaknesses” of major environmen-
tal organizations and profiled those
deemed to be “threats” to the agency.
Environmental groups have said the
agency, responsible for marketing and
selling Candu nuclear reactors around
the world, is embarking on a smear cam-
paign of environmental groups to coun-

owing greater concentration of registered voters in west side while
Sue Harris, co-ordinator of Committee of Progressive Electors’ voter registration drive, and Ald. Bruce Eriksen look on.
Drive, to get some 30,000 names on voters’ list left off because council's right-wing majority axed voter enumeration, was
officially launched Tuesday — with members of Vancouver Civic New Democrats attending — at the registration drive
office, 1314 Commercial Drive. Aug. 20 is the registration deadline. To help, phone 251-2963.

Vancouver alderman Libby Davies displays city map sh

‘Gov't sees dissent as sedition’

Continued from page 1

According to the story, the former
attorney-general claimed the government
Was gathering evidence for a civil injunction
to be filed in the event the CCCA went
ahead With its stated intention of establish-
Ing a free-standing abortion clinic in Van-
Couver.

Hutchinson attacked that rationale: “We
are a public organization with nothing to
hide.” She pointed out that the group is
supported by several high-profile organiza-
tions in British Columbia.

Hutchinson said the group had tried sev-
eral times to meet with Vander Zalm over
the issue, but was always refused.

“If one voice is raised in dissent (of
80vernment policy), the government con-
Siders that voice subversive,” she said.

According to the story Smith engaged the
law firm Farris, Vaughn, Wills and Murphy
to conduct the investigation. The firm hired
the now-defunct Newcombe and Associates
Investigation Inc. of Burnaby to carry out
the investigation.

Four private detectives — Carolynne
Newcombe, Marzena and Larry Banks, and
an unidentified Pitt Meadows woman —
joined the CCCA and worked within it for
seven months between January and July,
1987. Newcombe used the alias, Sue Jensen.

The detectives claim to have taped con-
versations at meetings and strategy sessions
and to have acquired financial records, lists
of donors and membership lists, which were
handed to the law firm.

The story reports that Larry Banks at one
point tried to take photographs of doctors

Vancouver city group
heading for Odessa

A city delegation and an accompanying
group of some 30 citizens will embark next
Month ona trip to Vancouver's Soviet sister
City in what a participating alderman calls
an “historic” visit.

Aldermen George Puil, Libby Davies
and Jonathan Baker will leave Aug. 7 for
Vancouver’s first sister city, Odessa, which
Teceived aid in the form of items gathered by
School children when the Ukrainian port
City was under Nazi seige during World

ar II.

City clerk Maria Kinsella and council
Special committee on peace member
Michael Francis will accompany the alder-

‘Men. They will return Aug. 18.

Leaving separately but linking up with

the city delegation will be some 30 Van-
couver residents, including artists and
actors, who will travel to Odessa and
Leningrad on their own expense.
_ Davies said the citizens’ group is an
important factor because they will “facili-
tate dialogue and communication with the
People of Odessa.”

Included are Vancouver artist Deryk
Houston, who will exhibit his paintings in
the Soviet Union, and Tamahnous Theatre,
Who will perform their hit production Sim-
ple Folk, in which a trio of singers relives the
music and politics of the early Sixties.

Labour representatives Frank Kennedy

of the Vancouver and District Labour
Council and Don Jensen of the Interna-
tional Woodworkers are also part of the
citizens’ group.

The citizens’ delegation appeared to be in
trouble earlier this month when the Soviet
tourism ministry was unable to find
accommodations for the group. But rooms
were found after Odessa mayor Valentin
Simonenko intervened.

The official Odessa visit was initially
slated for 1987, but a controversial move by
Mayor Gordon Campbell downgraded the
relations with the Black Sea city. That was
subsequently overturned by council and the
visit rescheduled for this year.

In 1986 Odessa officials visited Van-
couver, and signed a protocol of peace with
Vancouver officials which called on greater
communication between city governments
and residents as a means of preventing
nuclear war.

“We'll be bringing a message: that we
seek open and positive relations between
our administrations and people,” Davies
said.

She said the citizen’s group was “enthusi-
astic to begin a visit she called “long
overdue.”

“Ordinary people can often do more
than leaders today in overcoming the fears
and obstacles to peace,” Davies said.

attending a reception for Dr. Henry Mor-
gentaler at the University of B.C. Faculty
Club, but was unsuccessful.

Smith said the investigation was dropped
after the Supreme Court of Canada last
January upheld Morgentaler’s challenge of
the law that had stipulated free-standing
abortion clinics were illegal. Clinics are
operating in Quebec, Ontario and Manit-
oba.

Vander Zalm’s Social Credit government
had threatened to shut down any clinics in
B.C., and the premier later had trouble with
his own caucus over his fanatical opposition
to abortion.

Gathercole said it was “highly unusual”
for the government to use private investiga-
tors to infiltrate an organization in order to
prepare a legal case.

Hutchinson said the government has
“many questions” to’ answer about the
affair, including whether the investigation
was initiated by Smith or Vander Zalm.

She compared the case to Smith’s
attempt to bring a charge of seditious con-
spiracy against trade unionists and others
who took part in a one-day protest and
work stoppage against Bill 19, the Industrial
Relations Act, on June 1, 1987. The Hospi-
tal Employees Union urged B.C. Supreme
Court to quash the attempted injunction,
which it did in a ruling June 10 that year.

“If they were concerned about any illegal-
ities, why didn’t they come to us directly,
particularly when we were trying to meet
with them? We’re very suspicious of their
motives,” Hutchinson said.

She said the issue “is much more than just
an abortion story,” and that organizations
supporting the CCCA represent “‘several
interests” in the province. “That will (make)
several people skeptical about who was
being investigated,” Hutchinson said.

Endorsing organizations include the B.C.
Teachers Federation, the provincial New
Democrats and the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association.

Gathercole said the CCCA wants to
obtain the attorney-general’s files “so that
the information won’t be used sometime in
the future. We want them to make their
strategy public.”

B.C. Communist Party leader Maurice
Rush said the party supports the right to
safe, legal abortion and deplores the
government’s “undemocratic” investiga-
tion of the CCCA.

ter its faltering image.

Dene reject
‘final offer’

HAY RIVER, NWT — The Dene
and Metis at their recent assembly here
have voted overwhelmingly to reject a
lands claim offer from the federal
government. The deal, which would
have given the Dene and Metis $500 mil-
lion and large tracts of land in the North,
was rejected by the assembly as falling far
short of laying the basis for self-
government.

Indian Affairs Minister William Mc-
Knight had called the deal a final offer,
and said it must be settled before the next
federal election. After three days of
debate 295 delegates voted to reject the
offer, four voted for acceptance, with one
abstention. The 1,000 participants at the
assembly cheered the decision. The
assembly also decided that any future
federal offers would be voted upon by a
full plebiscite of the Dene nation.

Meeting to
save TWP

TORONTO — Concerned members
of the artistic community in Toronto and
supporters are gathering forces in an
attempt to save Toronto’s premiere polit-
ical theatre. Toronto Workshop Produc-
tions (TWP) has a long history of
presenting socially relevant theatre, but a
spate of funding cutbacks has lead to a
financial crisis. Members of the TWP
theatre board recently announced a
potential sale of the TWP theatre site for
$300,000 to developers George and
Helen Vari. TWP is situated in a prime
development area.

Speaking with the Tribune Robin
Breon, a member of the steering commit-
tee to save TWP and formerly adminis-
trative director with Black Theatre
Canada, another progressive theatre that
had to suspend operations due to fund-
ing cutbacks, said the agreement is not
final and the “committee of concern”
will do what it can to save the theatre.

Besides organizing a petition to be sent
to government funding bodies, the
committee is launching a fund-raising
campaign for TWP as well as calling for
an emergency public meeting. The meet-
ing will take place at 7:30 pm. on July 25
outside TWP, 12 Alexander. For more
info call Tom Butler at 531-4790.

Pacific Tribune, July 27, 1988 « 3