nless government policies are changed,

Canada will be drawn more and more into

the headlong rush of the arms race.

Star Wars, stealth bombers, the MX

missile system ... new escalations in
weapons development are coming at an ever-quickening
pace, propelling humanity dangerously close to nuclear
annihilation. And with every passing day, the money
spent on arms, whether in Canada or elsewhere, is
suffocating our economy and killing jobs.

For trade unionists, working for peace means working
for survival — and an economic future.

Estimates tabled in the House of Commons in
February call for defence spending to climb to a
staggering $9.4 billion for 1985-86. The amount spent by
Canada’s military is growing at a rate three per cent
above the rate of inflation and the Conservative
government has promised to seit it even higher next
year.

Nearly one-third of that money is Ss to be spent on new
weapons and equipment, including the costly and
defective F-18 fighter jets and new warships. The first
allocations will also be made towards an eventual $800
million for the new North Warning System — a system
which both opposition parties in Parliament have
warned could have an offensive purpose and will
certainly lead to a militarization of Canada’s north.

At the same time, that increased defence spending is
fuelling the arms race, Ottawa is talking about cutting
family allowances. Old age security programs are to be
reviewed. And jobs in the federal civil service are being
cut.

In the U.S. the military budget for this year is higher
than any other in U.S. history. It is projected to reach
$322 billion — a figure that is far in excess of Canada's
total government expenditures.

That spending will be achieved at the direct cost to

ordinary Americans. The same budget calls for deep cuts

to medicare, health care for veterans, student loans and
farm subsidies.

Huge increases in military spending also force heavy
U.S. government borrowing, forcing up interest rates.
That further depresses the economy, particularly in
housing, resulting in more layoffs and unemployment.

6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 15, 1985

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More dramatically than in any other country, U.S.
defence spending demonstrates that more money spent
on the military means less money for health care and
education — and more poverty and unemployment.

That poverty and unemployment is being exported to
every corner of the globe. The staggering American
deficit, fuelled by arms spending, is forcing up U.S.
interest rates. Cash is flowing in from other countries, :
including Canada, to profit from the increase. The result
for Canadians is a slumping Canadian dollar and even
higher interest rates at home as we struggle to control
the outflow of capital.

Inflation may be down, but high interest rates
continue to hobble the economy and the rate of
unemployment remains at catastrophic levels in most
parts of the country.

What is worse, the new initiatives in the arms race
called for in the U.S. budget are drawing Canada
inextricably deeper into the deadly cycle.

The most dangerous development is the Strategic
Defence Initiative — the Star Wars program — which
will take the arms race a frightening step into a new

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