Some 20 members of Cana-
dians for Democracy in Chile
and Vancouver Popular Unity
leafletted a Safeway and liquor
store shopping mall Friday and
Saturday urging a renewed con-
sumer boycott to stop the recent
influx of Chilean products into
this province.

The boycott campaign, which
the two organizations intend to
continue, was stepped up follow-
ing the appearance on super-
market shelves of a number of
Chilean fruits and vegetables in-
cluding plums, peaches, nec-
tarines, apples and onions, all
selling at substantial prices.

The Liquor Distribution
Branch has also added two new
Chilean wines to the BCL list,
a Chilean Riesling and a Chilean
Burgundy. Two Chilean wines
are already carried by the
branch.

Leaflets distributed at the
stores,pointed out that as es

warts repression continued~

SHIPMENT OF CHILEAN APPLES, GRAPES .
from fascist regime up sharply in recent weeks.

Chilean boycott pressed
as fruit, wine imports up

~

. fruit imports

Chile, the Chilean people have
suffered a 60 percent drop in
purchasing power and children
suffer from chronic malnutrition
while valuable foodstuffs are ex-
ported.

Canadian dollars spent to buy
Chilean products ‘‘do nothing to
improve the living standards of
the Chilean people,’’ the leaflet
stated. ‘‘Instead they strengthen
the system of brutality.”

An international boycott of
Chilean goods has long been
pressed by all democratic
Chilean trade union and policital
organizations.

Consumers are urged to check
labels on fruits and vegetables
and make their objections to
stores carrying Chilean products
known to store managers.

A second leaflet campaign has
been planned for Friday, Feb.
23, as well as on subsequent
Fridays and Saturdays. For
more information eg
254-9797.

A major demand that the Cana-
dian Radio-Television and
Telecomunications Commission
compel the CTV television network
to provide for more Canadian pro-
gramming as a condition for its
licence renewal was pressed this
week by the organization represen-
ting Canadian producers _techni-
cians and performers as the hear-
ings into the network’s licence
opened in Toronto.

The Canadian Film and Televi-
sion Association, made up, among
other groups, of the Association of
Canadian Television and Radio Ar-
tists (ACTRA) and the National
Association of Broadcast
Employees and Technicians
(NABET) which earlier pressed for
increased funding for CBC to
enable Canadian programming, was
one of the major intervenors in the
hearings pointing to the CTV net-
works dismal record in Canadian
programming and pressing for
substantial increases.

CTV was criticized by the CRTC
at hearings three years ago for its
excessive dependence on U.S. pro-
grams, but has done virtually
nothing to correct the imbalance
despite the fact that its usual five-
year licence renewal was cut to three
because of its apparent reluctance
to maintain Canadian content stan-
dards.

In fact, according to ACTRA
president Jack Gray, the number of
hours of U.S. programming in the
1978-79 schedule has _ increased
from 19 to 22 hours.

ACTRA told the CRTC, ‘‘Since
its formation in 1961, the CTV net-
work has acted as an effective and
powerful catalyst in the

CTV rapped for shortage
of Canadian programming

Americanization of Canadian mass
Chitute.. . +

Under regulation from the CRTC
to provide a certain number of
hours of Canadian programming in
prime — set by the Commission as
the hours between 6 p.m. and mid-
night — the CTV network has relied
heavily on its news program to
make up even its minimum commit-
ment to Canadian programming,
according’ to “Kerwin Cox,
spokesman for the Canadian Film
and Television Association.

The network has traditionally
argued that finances stand in the
way of expanded Canadian pro-
gramming but ACTRA has rejected
that argument, pointing out that
network management has relied on
U.S. programs as a_ relatively
assured method of turning a profit.
Canadian programs are seen as
more costly and risky.

But that refusal to undertake
Canadian production, coupled with:
the serious budget cutbacks for the
CBC network shich has always led
the way in Canadian programming,
has created a crisis of major pro-
portions, both for Canadian artists”
and producers and for Canadian”
culture as a whole. 4

’ Federal cutbacks announced by,
the secretary of state as part of the
Trudeau government’s austerit
program froze the CBC budget, ef-
fectively cutting off $71 million,
much of which would have gone to
provide Canadian programming.

The only answer, at least for the
immediate future is for increased
federal funds for CBC for Cana-
dian. programming and more str-
ingent reulation on private net-
works to expand Canadian content
and programming.

:

Chilean performers es Feb. 25

A Chilean stage production
featuring -Leonardo Perucci, a
renowned film and stage personal-
ity in Chile before the fascist coup,
comes to Vancouver for one perfor-
mance only this week, on Sunday,
Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. at the Britannia
Centre auditorium, 1661 Napier St.
in Vancouver. :

The performance, a multi-media
production with songs, drama and.
slides is in two parts; the first is a
homage to the Araucanians, the
native peoples, of Chile ‘‘from
whom came the will to fight against
the Spanish conquerers’’ and to the
present-day heroes of Chile —
Recabarren, Neruda, Jara, Allende
— who fought against the fascist

oppression.

The second part is a trip to the
south of Chile in which the songs
and dances of that region are per-
formed against a background of
slides of southern Chile.

The Emigrants Duo, a Chilean
song group now based in Europe
will perform together with vocalist
Monto Yarza in the first part. Yar-

za was a familiar recording and»

night club artist in Chile for several
years.

The second part features Leonar-
do Perucci who, until the coup, was
one of the best known film .and
television personalities in Chile,
having begun his career in the
famous Latin American comedy

“‘La Pergola de las Flores’, a story
about the efforts of the working
people of Santiago to retain a
flower market in the face of govern-
ments and developers atempts to
demolish it ,to make way for
development.

Since 1973, Perucci has worked
with the ministry of culture in
Cuba, performing in several films
including ‘‘Cantata de Chile’’, as
well as acting and directing in the
Bertolt Brecht theatre company in
Havana.

Sunday’s performance is spon-
sored by Vancouver Popular Unity
and Canadians for Democracy in
Chile. Admission is by a donation
of $4. \

_ other

Quebec paper retracts
slur against Tim Buck

A French-language newspaper
which claimed that the late Com-
munist Party leader Tim Buck
‘‘became an RCMP agent after the
Second World War’’ has been forc-
ed to retract the statement follow-
ing receipt of a letter from CP
general secretary William Kashtan
demanding an apology for ‘‘this
grave and libellous attack on the
memory of an outstanding Cana-
dian.’’

Perspectives, a weekend publica-
tion distributed with La Presse and
Quebec newspapers had
published an article, written by
journalist Serge Viau and entitled
‘Brother enemies in the same strug-
gle’’, which claimed, among other
things: ‘‘Tim Buck, its main leader
(of the Communist Party of
Canada) during the 1930’s became
an RCMP agent after the Second
World War, a symbol which cannot
be more eloquent of the crisis affec-
ting the party.’’

“This is a grave and-libellous at-
tack on the memory of an outstan-
ding Canadian, a working class
and revolutionary leader,’’ Kashtan
stated in his letter, adding that the
attack was ‘‘the more despicable in
view. of Mr: Buck’s death.

“He cannot answer from the
grave but his work and outstanding
contributions can,’’ he said.

Kashtan, who said that the party
was investigating libel action,

TIM BUCK “he canno
answer .... but his work: and
outstanding contributions can,’

demanded that Perspectives print
his letter and apologize for allowing
the Viau article to be published.

In response, a letter from
Perspectives assistant director Jean
Bouthillette said, ‘‘After an in
vestigation, it was in effect proven
that the journalist had made a
mistake and that this error escaped
us: Mr. Tim Buck, who was the
leader of the Communist Party 0 0
Canada, was obviously never
member of the RCMP.

““We regret that such a gross e
ror was made and we apologize,”
Bouthillette said. A correction is to
be published in the February 25 edi
tion of the magazine.

ae :

The anti-smoking drive is
gathering momentum in the Soviet
Union.

Though the average smoker in
the USSR uses less tobacco than
his Canadian or American
counterpart, the figures are still
high. Some 70 percent of Soviet
men and 17 percent of Soviet
women smoke. —

In this country, the: percentage
of smokers has declined markedly
since 1974-but 43 percent of men
and 32 percent of women were still
smoking in 1977.

Yet smoking has been found
guilty by doctors world wide. The
harmful consequences have been
established and confirmed by a
number of experiments and obser-
vations.

Soviet physicians are now
treating nicotine addiction in a

\ number of ways, so that the

smoker who still persists after hav-
ing fhe physical results explained
in him can be treated in other
ways. —

Methods include hypnosis,
group therapy, acupuncture and
development of self control.
These can be combined with
medicinal treatment.

Chemical agents such as
lobeline and cytisine produce ef-
fects similar to that of nicotine
and are sometimes used early in
treatment programs to ease
withdrawal effects.

According to the Institute of
Reflex Therapy founded recently
in Moscow, persistent treatment
can help even the most hardbitten,
confirmed smoker.

But it’s far better not to start at
all that to try to give up smoking.
so. Soviet doctors are concen-
trating their campaign on school

children in an attempt to persuade
them of the harm that smoking
can cause.

As has been the pattern in this
country, it was found that most
men began to smoke between the
ages of 13 and 18 while most
women started between the ages
of 15 and 20.

Schools - give lectures which
warn that smoking slows mental
activity and reduces physical abili-
ty and the press, radio, films and

television are usedto put across

the same message.

The magazine Zdorovye
(Health), which has a circulation
of 12 million, writes constantly
about the dangers of smoking and
experts from 12 ministries, in-
cluding health, education and
‘culture continue to devise new
ways of carrying on the campaign.

Smoking: the Soviets try to kick

Young girls are persuaded
that smoking makes them less at-
tractive, an approach that has had
some success in this country as
well. And the anti-smoking drive
is being direced to children as

. young as kindergarten age.

Soviet child specialists argue
that a dislike for smoking and the
smell of tobacco can be developed
early. By the time these children
reach their twenties, their anti-
tobacco education is expected to
repay with interest the wounded
feelings of short-sighted adults.

Apart from individual treat-
ment and education, the Soviet
Union prohibits smoking in public
places.

There is no smoking in concert
halls, clubs, theatres or cinemas
although many do provide special
smoking rooms. .

Smoking is prohibited on public

it

transit as well as in most work
places, all hospitals and clinics
and in many shops, restaurants
and cafes.

Unlike North America where.
cigarette advertising is a multi- |
million dollar business, cigatettes |
adn other tobacco products are |
not advertised in the Soviet Union }
even though the USSR has its own |
tobacco industry.

With all the customary and of
ficial bans, it could be asked why |
smoking isn’t banned altogether
and the products withdrawn. :

But as social scientists have |
pointed out, a complete ban might |
cause an opposite reaction. And,
in any case, in a democratic coun- |
try such bans are out of the que
tion until there is massive e public
support for it. 3
—revised from Soviet

Weekly (London),

\

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 23, 1979—Page 10