——

CANADA

By KIMBALL CARIOU
REGINA — Tory efforts to
undermine the day care system in
| Saskatchewan are drawing a
_ strong fesponse, as shown by a
Sept. 17 forum organized by a
number of child care, labor, and
women’s groups. Over 200 people
|} turned out, surpassing the

expectations of organizers.
A recent report by Conserva-
' tive MLA Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk
| was the focus of discussion. Al-
| though she held public hearings
_ onday care early in 1984, at which

for improvements in the system,
_| the report contains basic recom-
| mendations in the opposite direc-
tion, such as opening the door for
privately-owned day care.
Keynote speaker Jeff Rose, na-
tional president of the Canadian
Union of Public Employees
(CUPE) criticized the absence of
a real system of public child care
- in Canada, terming the situation a
_ disgrace. Noting the increased
' participation of mothers in the
@ jabor force, he accused govern-
/ ments of sidestepping their
responsibilities.
— Changing Needs
““We can’t cling to old patierns
~ of thinking that mothers must stay
of home,” said Rose, arguing that
9, reality demands a child care sys-
at tem geared to meet the changing
of needs of families and to provide
he high quality nurturing of children.
_ As he and other speakers noted,
~ studies repeatedly show that fac-
“tors such as limited group sizes,
) improved staff/child ratios, better
| staff training and wages, good
| nutrition, and input from em-
_ ployees and parents are vital for
| such quality to be achieved, and
| that day care is beneficial for the
social and intellectual develop-
‘ment of children under such
| circumstances. ;
_ The Zazelenchuk report, while
| paying lip service to ‘“‘what’s best
i for children,’ makes no attempt
to addiess these questions; it sim-
ply states that “experts differ”’
about the effects of day care on
children, and concludes that pa-
| rents must be free to choose from
' alternatives in child care. While
| calling for some improvements in

7

the overwhelming sentiment was -

From
Regina

Kimball

subsidies to low-income parents,
Zazelenchuk’s only new alterna-
tive for the majority of working
parents is to recommend a
five-year trial period of allowing
private day care. In effect, day
care is to become two systems in
Saskatchewan — the present sys-
tem which is to continue operat-
ing with inadequate funding; for
the poor; and a user-pay system
for higher income families.

Rose pointed out that private
day cares are experiencing a rash
of scandals across North Ameri-
ca, usually related to the cost cut-
ting inevitable in such operations.
Other problems with the concept
were raised at the forum — such
as the possibility of ‘‘fees wars’’
between centres competing for
children, with the children the
losers as quality drops; and, as
has occurred in Ontario and Al-
berta, lobbying efforts by private
day cares against attempts to im-
prove standards.

Saskatchewan day care ac-
tivists on the panel included
Palma Anderson, president of the
Saskatchewan Action Committee
on the Status of Women; Gail
Stevens of the Saskatoon-based

Action Childcare; and Dawne -

Peterson of the Massey Road Day
Care in Regina. They pointed out
that Saskatchewan lags behind
other provinces, and that the To-
ries are making the situation even
more difficult. There are now
some 4,500 day care spaces in the
province, or 31 spaces per 1,000
children, ahead only of New-
foundland. Saskatchewan also
ranks near the bottom in terms of
spending per child on day care.
Each panelist attacked the
hypocrisy of the Conservative
government’s ‘‘pro-family’’ posi-
tion. As Gail Stevens said:
“Parents are under immense
stress as they are forced to
wrench their children from one

Sask. public opposes Tory —
plan to undermine daycare

Cariou

unacceptable care situation to
another. The children are the big
losers, and governments are in
reality jeopardizing the family.”’

At the same time, all speakers
agreed that day care has become
an ever more important issue, and
that the Saskatchewan Govern-
ment is under strong pressure to
back down. During the federal
election, it was noted, even the
conservatives were forced to ad-
dress day care problems, and it
may yet be possible to stop the
right-wing effort here to turn the
clock back.

One fact raised at the meeting
came as a depressing if not sur-
prising revelation to many of
those present. The speakers
pointed out that only 27 new
spaces were opened in Saskatch-
ewan last year, and much of the
Day Care Division’s ‘‘start-up

fund’’ was simply not spent, al-'

though there are many centres
trying to begin operation, parti-
cularly in rural areas. In fact,
about $900,000 of the Division’s
budget of $10-million was unspent
at the end of the fiscal year. The
problem does not*come from the
staff of the Day Care Division, the
panelists were careful to note, but
rather is a result of political deci-
sions higher up in the department
of Social Services Minister Gor-
don Dirks.

In a television interview filmed
shortly after the forum, Dirks
continued to claim the Tories are
acting in ‘‘the best interests of the
family’’. However, he refused to
commit the government to sup-
port for Zazelenchuk’s contro-
versial day care for profit pro-
posals, saying instead that her re-
port was still being considered,
and that the government will act
“in two or three months’’.

Follow-up activities are being
considered by the organizations
which held the forum.

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General speaks for peace

_ KINGSTON — A high-ranking Canadian mili-
| tary officer is the latest of many military men in the
West to call on the USA and its allies to seriously
' consider unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Canada should also consider dropping out of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and working
_ with other non-nuclear members of the alliance to
increase the strength of the United Nations, said
| Major-Gen. Leonard Johnston. General Johnson,
| until his recent retirement had been commandant

| highest educational institution.
In an interview with the Kingston. Whig-

| more apt to begin a nuclear war than is the Soviet
- Union. Such a war, he said, would be a threat to
' human survival.

_ As the only North American member of an
‘international veterans’ peace organization,
_ Johnson will use his retirement to promote these

{

of the defence college here from 1980, Canada’s |

di Standard, Johnson said members of NATO are.

and related opinions, for example, his opposition
to the testing of the U.S. Cruise missile in Canada.
-otaone other propositions he puts forward are
these:

e NATO should lengthen the response time of
its nuclear retaliation forces to days or weeks in-
stead of hours and minutes, ‘‘so as to provide time
for reflection and negotiation’.

e Central Europe should be declared a nuclear-
free zone; and the major powers should then nego-
tiate a withdrawal of all foreign forces from
Europe, with European countries maintaining their
own conventional armed forces at the lowest pos-
sible level.

e The West must pursue a policy of live-and-
let-live with the Soviet Union. ae

General Johnson said he was in agreement with
last May’s joint declaration by Generals for Peace
and Disarmament, and eight retired generals from
the Warsaw Treaty countries, calling for a freeze
and gradual reduction of military budgets.

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Across Canada

No issues in Nova Scotia vote? -

HALIFAX — Tory Premier John Buchanan who, on Sept. 28,
called a provincial election for Nov. 6, said he believed elections
should not be fought on issues but on the basis of asking for a
new mandate for the government. He quickly associated himself
with the promises of the federal Tories for better federal-pro-
vincial relations. (Seven provinces have Tory governments,
along with the B.C. Socreds.) ;

Shun Reagan embrace Nader warns

GUELPH, ONT. — Ralph Nader, widely-known U.S. con-
sumer advocate, told an audience of 600 at the University of
Guelph, Sept. 27, that policies harmful to Canada could result
from the cozying up of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to U.S.
President Reagan. Nader described Reagan as the ‘“‘business
agent for the multi-nationals’’.

‘‘T think it’s been very healthy for Canadians to be at arm’s
length from the United States,’’ which, he said, sees this country
as its ‘‘favorite colony, economically speaking.’’ Alluding to
what is in store for Canada if as Mulroney promises, this country
follows Reagan policies, Nader said that south of the border is the
place ‘‘to see right-wing politics’’.

Indigenous people’s long walk

OTTAWA — Starting with a small group who set out from
Victoria, May 1, to walk to Ottawa, the Red People’s Long Walk
has picked up walkers and inspiration along the route. Gathering
at the Long Walk Camp, they and supporters will mark October
12, the International Day of Solidarity with the Indigenous
Peoples of the Americas, here in the capital.

Activities for the day will include: A people’s inquiry; daily
workshops on issues presented in the Declaration of Principles
for the Defence of the Indigenous Nations and Peoples of the
Western Hemisphere; evening socials. The camp will be open to
the public and press during daylight hours.

The International Day was proclaimed, and the Declaration of
Principles set out at a conference sponsored by non-govern-
mental organizations (NGOs) of the United Nations, among them
the World Peace Council, in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 20-23,
1977.

The purpose of the walk, which has been stopping at Native
communities across the country, is ‘‘to promote involvement,
discussion and. awareness on the issues indigenous people are
facing today,’’ states a brochure issued. ‘*Devastating conditions
have been and are continuing to be imposed upon our Red Na-
tions that seriously threaten our culture and existence through
policies of genocide,”’ it says.

The Canadain Alliance in Solidarity with Native Peoples, an
organization of Natives and non-Natives arranged to hold its 25th
Annual Meeting on the following day, Sat., Oct. 13 at the Uni-
versity of Ottawa’s Fauteux Hall, starting at 8 a.m. The program
includes a keynote speaker and workshops on several Native
concerns.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 10, 1984 ¢ 5