EDITORIAL

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, Mar. 8, this
year celebrating is 75th anniversary, is marked
by an infinite variety of activities around the
world. It is a salute to women’s achievements,
an invitation to struggle for their rights, or a
hard fight for the unity that is essential to the
victories of tomorrow.

In 75 years [WD has acquired symbolism
which enables it to serve not only as a guidepost
for the women’s movements’ line of march, but
as a rallying point around which millions in
socialist, capitalist and developing countries
come together in solidarity and define their
goals.

It’s more than symbolism. The grassroots

internationalism generated guarantees world-
wide progress in women’s struggles. Interna-
tional Women’s Day, and the now ending UN
Decade of Women — with its slogan, equality,
development, peace — have no less a role in
rallying women within a single country, a coun-
try like Canada. Even without unanimity there
are, particularly among working women, high
priority issues relating to peace, jobs and pro-
gress in social provisions.

The greetings are deservedly enthusiastic as
International Women’s Day is asserted by
increasing numbers of women, and men,
because the issues it champions are for gains
cherished by all people.

Tell PM dump Reaganism

Reaganism and Thatcherism are despised by
a massive portion of humankind and for good

reason. Between them they have the deadly ©

connotations of a plague: a lawless belief in
militarist aggression as imperialism’s right;
winnable nuclear war as a solution to its crises;
all-out class war against the working class, and
savagery toward the poor; and a turning back
of the clock on social relations, education and
human rights.

It would not be worth the paper and ink to
point out the obvious were it not for the fact
that the prime minister of Canada has chosen
this composite as his role model.

Unfortunately Canada has a right-wing ser-
vant of the monopolies as its chief minister, and
he and his clique show every intent of dictating
declining living standards and zero expecta-
tions for all Canadians outside the corporate
elite.

Reagan’s Star Wars plan is indeed a test on
which Mulroney has failed the Canadian peo-
ple, but proven his loyalty to Reaganism. Not
only is the Tory government carrying forward
ecstatically the weapons-testing agreement with
the U.S. —including testing of the cruise,
which a majority of Canadians oppose, it is
committing this country more deeply. And in
the meantime our country had to bear the insult
of being congratulated by Britain’s Thatcher
who recognized in the Mulroney government
as a loyal supporter of U.S. militarism.

Maclean’s magazine’s Washington Bureau
Chief, Marci MacDonald, reveals in the Mar. 4
issue that Mulroney’s Tories have agreed to pay
40 per cent of the updating cost for the Distant
Early Warning (DEW) Line in northern Can-
ada, initial estimates being $700-$800 million.
In return, a bribe for the Tories: Canada will be
even further integrated into U.S. war prepara-
tions by being awarded defence jobs. This,
McDonald says, will be the centrepiece as Mul-
roney signs away more Canadian sovereignty
in Quebec City on Mar. 17.

Reaganism is the system which forces U.S.
allies into economic ruin for the enrichment of
the U.S. High U.S. interest rates have long
created problems for west Europe — and for
Canada. The dollar panic is giving the allies
further woe. And this country is faced with

another serious problem, the free trade/U.S. .

protectionism bomb ticking away under the
jobs of Canadians.

The battle of Canadians to survive the
deadly grasp of U.S. imperialism is a battle to
compel Canadian government policies for the
good of Canada and its people.

It is a time to unite to stop U.S. imperialism,
to put Canada first, and that requires a united
struggle by labor, democratic and progressive
forces to make the federal Tories defend Cana-
da’s sovereignty, and provide for its people, not
sell our birthright to appease Reaganism.

Sa

ae NOW, REPEAT
Vo APTER ME..../WILL

ACCEPT ANY JOB
«ee AT ANY

TransAlta Utilities Corporation of Calgary is the main distributor
of electrical energy in the Province of Alberta. They managed to
generate an after-tax profit for the year ended Dec. 31/84 of ©
$183,693,000. That seems like a goodly sum butit looks even better
piled on top of the previous year’s $148,820,000.

TRIBUNE —

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON
Business & Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR
Graphics — ANGELA KENYON

Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street
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Phone (604) 251-1186

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embers of the B.C. Government
Employees Union’s retail compo-
nent probably viewed with even more cyn-
cism than the rest of us the claims made by
Premier Bennett in his televised address

People and Issues

member at large.

A measure of the regard in which his
fellow workers both in the Committee of
Progressive Electors and the union held
him was seen when more than 250 people
turned out for a memorial service in St.

last month. It was then that he told public
sector workers, if they reined in their
salary demands, they could look to some
measure of job security. But like every-
thing else in his speech, the words were a
reworking of the facts.

According to a recent letter from Daryl
Barnett, the chair of the union’s retail and
wholesale component, the Socred govern-
ment last month laid off 167 regular
employees of the Liquor Distribution
Branch and 18 regular employees of the
LDB warehouse. It was that kind of
twisted logic that Bennett used to turn
“restraint” into “renewal’’.

The cuts are particularly significant
coming in a retail sector of government
operations which makes quite a tidy
profit — some $350 million last year. But
then the Socreds may have a hidden
agenda, according to the BCGEU.

Barnett warns that the cuts are “an
obvious first step towards privatizing
liquor sales.” The government has already
turned over the profitable general insu-
rance arm of ICBC over to a private mul-
tinational and the private sector has been
looking covetously at the handsome prof-

its in liquor sales for some time.

But as the union and a variety of groups
including social service agencies and
municipal councils have warned, private
liquor sales mean greater availability,
greater abuse, less control and a higher
social cost that is not offset by revenues
from liquor sales.

* * *

e note with sadness the passing of

long-time social activist, author and
Tribune reader Ivor Mills, who died of
heart failure Feb. 4.

Born Oct. 1, 1915 in Saskatchewan,
Ivor became a school teacher in 1938 and
served with the RCAF during World War
II. Moving to British Columbia in the
early 50s, he pioneered the credit union in
Port Alberni.

Ivor complemented a life-long com-
mitment to the peace movement with
involvement in community organizations,
including the Kitsilano Inter-Neighbor
Development Society, and the Associa-
tion for Children and Adults with Learn-
ing Disabilities. In the peace field he was
active in Teachers for Peace Action and,

following his retirement in 1981, Seniors
for Peace.

He was the author of two books, Stout
Hearts Stand Tall and 40 Years and Still
There Are Tears, the latter a call for ties of
peace and friendship with the Soviet
Union.

* * *

e had worked as hard as anyone to see

Bruce Yorke elected Feb. 2. As such,
it was a sad irony that civic worker Pat
Harcourt died during the time of what was
for him a personal victory.

Pat, a worker at Cordova House in the
Vancouver’s downtown eastside, had been
a full-time staff person on the COPE-
Unity campaign. It was only some two
weeks after the election win that death
claimed him at age 34. ;

A member of the Vancouver Municipal
and Regional Employees Union for the
past six years, Pat had gained the respect
of his fellow members through his invol-
vement in the union’s equal pay and tech-
nological change committees. He had
been on the VMREU executive for two
years as second vice-president and

Paul’s church Feb. 22. He was interred at
Mountainview cemetery.

* * *

A: readers will have noticed from the
advertisement last week, the Tribune
will be staging the first of a number of
events to mark the 50th anniversary with a
banquet Mar. 23 in the Holiday Inn West
Broadway. One of the night’s events will
be a special presentation honoring those
men and women who took part in the
campaign 50 years ago to launch the B.C.

Workers’ News.

We have the names of some of those
veterans but we certainly don’t want to
overlook anyone who helped to set the
paper out on its militant course. If you, or
anyone, you know, took part in that his-
toric campaign, we’d appreciate it if you
could get the name to us as quickly as
possible together with an address if it is
available.

But even if you’re not a veteran — or
don’t know the name of one — help us
celebrate 50 years on Mar. 23. Reserve a
ticket now.

4 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 6, 1985

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