WL smd HAHA ET A chance for Canada to Strike out at apartheid ee” Ii possible to pretend that sweet reason will change apartheid. It’s far too late in the day. ~“atever high hopes Zambia’s president uieth Kaunda had in Brian Mulroney’s abil- Sway Margaret Thatcher must be cruelly ’ by now. The ballyhoo is over, as is the "48 between Mulroney and Thatcher. /0nWealth sanctions, which include Bri- ate as far off as ever. 4 Teal sense, the inability of Mulroney to Mince Thatcher isn’t too surprising. That- "Problems aren’t quite Mulroney’s. Brit- naa, With South Africa is many times BE 48. As well, Thatcher is faithfully carry- Out Reagan’s “constructive engagement” Cor British imperial reasons) and Cana- ms aren’t the Iron Lady’s main Ih addition, despite Kaunda’s faith in him, Sney hasn’t shown himself or his govern- 'Obe a tiger on the apartheid issue. Every _*téluctant step taken by Ottawa has been € of massive public pressure demanding What has been known for many years by progressives is now becoming an inescapable ~~ | fact even to some Western governments — that pe an : | only the complete economic, political and WZ | moral isolation of the genocidal apartheid regime will suffice. Canada has a golden opportunity now to make a dramatic statement of intent concern- ing Thatcher and apartheid. Joining several other Commonwealth nations in their disgust at the British Tory government’s support of apartheid, Ottawa should support the boycott oe 7 ayy 3 of the Commonwealth Games in Scotland next g Beiter sci ea ig es , + Hares | week. That act would be worth several tete-a- | tetes between Brian and Margaret and would senda clear signal to London and Pretoria that Canada intends to act. This small act could be followed by a com- : ; E j K end to diplomatic relations with the apartheid » INE regime — a regime so brutal it has earned the Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN hatred of all decent people. Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON Business & Circulation Manager — MIKE PRONIUK These steps, in turn, might be followed (dare Graphics — ANGELA KENYON Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Clearly, however, the Tories are in trouble © issue of South Africa today. Since the Commonwealth meeting last year, Mulroney promised action if all steps to "Ne the South African racists to. repent bated the regime has gone on an unprece- h Tampage against its own people. Even °Pefuls in the West, like Mulroney and »Ithas become clear that it is no longer we dream?) by official Canadian government recognition of the African National Congress as the legitimate representative of the South Africa people and with concrete material and moral aid to its liberation struggle. Subscription Rate: Canada — $16 one year; $10 six months Second class mail registration number: 1560 Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5 Phone (604) 251-1186 ~ Foreign — $25 one year; Pethaps no other issue that imme- lately comes to mind underscores so vely a point we in the Tribune, the kh unist Party and many others in the ‘ Movement have been making about Bis for Canada to develop its own we Manufacturing sector. Don Te talking about the continued Wit Of unprocessed, or “raw” logs. Tan the shipments of logs, including Y Of the Grade A variety that are rately needed by British Columbia’s jobs 4S, go thousands of woodworkers’ a i That Point — which forms a long- gee grievance from the International ith ‘Selma — has come to light recently © imposition of new regulations by pqerovince curtailing somewhat the Sous Of raw logs to offshore industries in tori Korea and elsewhere. Last year Vic- Moved to replace a 70-year policy “nnillowed logging companies to ship’ ‘}| ey US” timber out of the country, with Paige S that place the onus on the com- to prove that logging a given site lag. UY be economical if a certain percen- ae timber is allowed to be exported at policy, known as the “standing Vj System, prompted demonstrations wih by independent loggers and ' Owners whose livelihoods have by cg dependent on the practice of raw ‘Nl. Porting, Since then the deadline for ‘Wag “enting the new policy — which Apri to have come into effect last has been extended twice. Other Situation naturally calls to mind lanige elopments, such as the damaging Bo, the United States has placed on * SCedar shake and shingle export, and “Urrent protectionist lobby south of People and issues (ec ee mae a ee a a Ree SR ee the border to impose similar trade barriers on Canadian softwood lumber. In each case the export curtailment has meant jobs in Canada’s forest industry. In all cases, it shows a perilous dependency on the. export trade. As the IWA points out, despite the limited protections under the standing green policy — which the union welcomes — the export of raw logs continues to drain jobs that Canadian woodworkers should be doing. Doug Evans, president of IWA Local 217, told the Vancouver and District Labor Council meeting the other day that the raw log export business has gotten “completely out of hand.” Evans notes that last year some 10 per cent of B.C.’s harvested logs, including many top-grade logs, were heading out of _the country. Further, he reports, some 20 per cent of the fir logs taken from coastal areas are bound annually for mills outside Canada, As such, the practice demonstrates that what was once an export business based solely on the shipment of genuinely surplus, low-grade logs has now become a means of making profits at the expense of B.C. jobs. : That point is underscored by the closure of Timberland Lumber in New Westmins- - ter. A sawmill devoted to cutting fir logs, the owners padlocked the doors after find- ing there were no fir logs available for sale — the same fir logs being shipped to South Korea and elsewhere. Evans notes that the South Korean mills processing the lumber have custo- mers in other parts of the Far East. These are the same buyers who would tradition- ally purchase B.C. processed lumber. So the deleterious effect of the fir log export is doubled. There’s a clear reason why the export of logs continues. The price for a log in B.C. runs about $45. The same log will fetch $75 to $80 on the international market. Those who run B.C.’s logging industry like to point out that the forest giants are building new mills, and point to MacMil- lan Bloedel’s new Chemainus sawmill and the Marpole mill expansion by B.C. Forest Products. But Evans counters that the Chemainus mill in former times employed 600 workers; the refurbished mill employs 120. He comments: “If that’s called expanding jobs, I’d hate to see layoffs. All those mills do is replace workers’ jobs with technology.” The IWA policy is that jobs can be created here, through increased manufac- turing and the creation’ of: industries devoted to finished products. We agree, and add that other measures — such as thousands of housing projects to give all Canadians decent, low cost housing, and employ hundreds of Canada’s jobless Building Trades workers — would also solve the problem of what to do with those alleged “surplus” logs. “ek ok ecalling one’s labor history could bea trend. We’ve seen it recently in the Vancouver Island community of Cumber- land, where trade unions, local businesses and the town council got together to mark ‘summer, Wednesday through Sunday, ‘and Main Streets, beginning at 10:30 a.m. the contribution the former coal miners made to the area. Additionally, the publi- cation of Working Lives by New Star Books has added a dimension to Van- couver’s history largely ignored in conven- tional publications. -Enter the Centennial Labor History Pro- ject. The committee which runs it, with the assistance of the Vancouver Centennial Commission marking the city’s first 100 years this year, has been responsible in part for the preservation of the Fraser Wilson mural which formerly adorned the old Marine Workers hall. Now the project is offering the perfect outing for those interested in seeing Vancouver’s labor past in the present: walking tours. Participants will be guided through the city’s downtown and Downtown Eastside to view 38 buildings and sites that, one way or another, are relevant to B.C. labor. For example, there are well-known land- marks such as the old post office at East Hastings and Granville Streets, where depression jobless occupying the building in protest were gassed and clubbed by police. And there’s Ballantyne Pier, another site where demonstrating jobless workers were attacked. Other sites include the art-deco Marine Building, an early example of large construction performed totally by union tradesmen, the Cambie Street Grounds — now the bus depot — where workers rallied in the 30s, and little- known places such as the Critch, a former employment bureau and childcare centre for domestics. Tours are conducted throughout the from the Carnegie Centre, East Hastings and 2 p.m. For further information, phone 733-3201. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 23, 1986 e 3