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The threat by officials of the Royal Can-
adian Legion to expel members of Veterans
Against Nuclear Arms (VANA) prompted
Protests and charges of “attacks on the
democratic rights of veterans” last week
from the members of the anti-nuclear

_ group.

A resolution passed unanimously at the
recent annual general meeting of the Royal
Canadian Legion in Ottawa, charged that
VANA “‘has a political purpose contrary to
the purposes and objectives” of the Legion
and that “affiliation with VANA ... places
their Legion membership in jeopardy.”

In a statement from the Halifax head-
quarters of VANA, C.G. (“Giff”) Gifford,
National Chairman, a Legion member and
an RCAF veteran of World War II, said the
threat to expel Legion members who belong
to VANA was “nothing less than an
attempt to suppress discussion within the
Legion and within the community, and
there is no place for this in the democracy
we fought for.”

VANA has over 700 members across the
country, with just over 100 of them also

holding memberships in the Royal Cana-

dian Legion.
Statements by Legion officials following
the annual general meeting indicated their

Poe,

Legion ‘misunderstands’ peace vets

disagreement with VANA’s assessment of
the threat posed to Canada and with the
group’s proposals for an end to the arms
race.

Gifford labelled as false the statements by
Legion president Gaston Garceau which
asserted VANA believes that “‘Soviet inten-
tions are honourable and the U.S., NATO
and NORAD are villains.”

“VANA believes in working toward
mutual disarmament of both East and West
alliances under international inspection and
policing. A majority of VANA members
believe that Canada can work for this most
effectively through energetic advocacy as a
member of the NATO Council,” said Gif-
ford.

The claim by Legion Secretary Fred
Hannington that VANA considers the
preservation of life as “more important
than national sovereignty” demonstrates a
gross misunderstanding of VANA beliefs,
said Gifford.

“Mr. Hannington is thinking in terms of
the danger to individual lives of soldiers in
combat, apparently. We in VANA are con-
cerned about the extinction of all life on
earth — which would result from nuclear
war. We do indeed think that modification
of national sovereignty is preferable to the

C.G. (“GIFF’”’) GIFFORD

annihilation of the human race,” he said.

Vancouver VANA member Sam Vint
said the threat of expulsion from the Legion
was ‘‘an attack on the democratic rights of
veterans.

‘““We demand the right of members of the
Legion to state their views on the most
important issue of our time — ending the
nuclear arms race. We fought for that free-
dom in two world wars and don’t intend to
surrender it now,” he said.

Rowley heads Ontario Communists

_ TORONTO — “The most important
issue facing Ontario is the same as that
facing the entire country; getting rid of
the Mulroney Tories in the coming federal
election, and along with them, stopping the
so-called ‘free’ trade deal and the sell-out of
our country,” said Liz Rowley, 38, newly-
elected Ontario leader of the Communist
Party.

Rowley, who was Hamilton CPC organ-
izer before being elected to her new position
June 26, will be taking this message across
Ontario in coming weeks in a tour to
include Ottawa, Brantford, Kingston,
Oshawa, Hamilton, Sudbury, London,
Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor.

‘As we know, the Ontario legislature will
be debating the Meech Lake accord,” said

Women’s groups breathed a sigh of
relief earlier this month when the federal
court ruled to protect maternity benefits

_ under the Unemployment Insurance Act
and urged the extension of parental care
benefits for new parents.

The June 9 ruling by Judge Barry
Strayer ordered the federal government
to bring UI in line with the Canadian
Constitution. The ruling allayed fears
that the current maternity benefits might
be divided between mothers and fathers.

Ina press release, the National Action
Committee on the Status of Women
challenged the federal government to
proceed immediately with the job of
ne the necessary amendments to the

ct.

“The courts are traditionally reluctant
to break new ground unless there is sig-
nificant public sentiment that existing
laws are out of step with modern reali-
ties. The government should recognize
the judge’s ruling as a signal that the
Canadian public is ready for major
improvements in parental rights, along
the lines of the expanded programs
available in most European countries.”

The case was precipitated by a
Toronto father who charged the Unem-
ployment Insurance Act discriminated
against natural fathers who wanted to
stay home and look after their new-born
children.

The case was used by some politicians
and business interests to argue that

UI benefits protected

maternity leave had no place under UIC
and should be transferred to social servi-
ces, a move NAC opposed. because it
makes the program more vulnerable to
cuts. Concerns were also raised that the
decision could make the current 15
weeks of paid leave under UIC available
to natural fathers as well as mothers.

The amendment option favoured by
Judge Strayer, as the one most consistent
with the Constitution, recognized the
current 15 weeks of maternity benefits
for birthing mothers as a distinct right,
separate from paid parental care benef-
its.

Strayer also recommended an addi-
tional period of benefits for parental
care, which would be equally available to
mothers and fathers, whether they are
natural or adoptive parents.

NAC called on the government to
increase parental leave benefits to match
those in the Canadian Labour Code. The
Code allows for 24 weeks of unpaid par-
ental care leave, which is equally availa-
ble to mothers and fathers, in addition to
a paid initial period of 17 weeks for bir-
thing mothers.

The .parental leave battle must be
fought on many fronts, noted NAC pres-
ident Lynn Kaye. The labour standards
of every province do not protect the
jobs of parents on leave. Unpaid leave
means few can take it. Paid leave without
job security is also no answer, she said.

Rowley. “And it would appear the Peterson
Liberal government comprises the same
gutless wonders that make up the federal
Turner Liberal on this issue. They know
very well the Meech Lake accord will be
a disaster for Canada, for the provinces,
for women, for Native people and others.
They still seem ready to agree to bring
Ontario on board.

“So our party intends to do everything
we can to turn up the heat on the Meech
Lake issue which is directly tied into, and a
prerequisite for, the Mulroney/Reagan
trade deal,” Rowley explained. We believe,
in conjunction with the many groups that
oppose the deal, we can force the Peterson
government to oppose Meech Lake, or at
least postpone agreement to it, and to
strengthen its opposition to ‘free’ trade.

When asked about the pro-Meech Lake
stance adopted by the NDP at it Thunder
Bay meeting over the weekend, Rowley
called the action “a mistake.” She said that
the NDP strategy of agreeing to the adop-
tion of the accord, then trying to change the
offensive parts of the agreement at a later
date, wouldn’t work.

“T think the NDP is quite wrong on this
issue, as they were when they agreed to Bill
30, to fully fund Ontario’s separate school
system,” Rowley charged. “The people of
Ontario are now paying the price of this
policy. The results of the NDP’s support for
the Meech Lake deal will be similar, but
more serious. They have taken a position
that is dangerous both to Ontario and to
Canada.”

While regretting this latest NDP action,
Rowley reiterated that the CPC policy in the
coming federal vote will be to extend critical
support to the NDP. “But it’s ‘critical’ pre-
cisely because of things like Meech Lake,”
she added.

“At the same time, the critical thing in the
coming election will be to rid Canada of the
Tories and their right-wing agenda,” Row-
ley stressed. “The NDP is the main vehicle
for this, despite the fact that we cannot be
indifferent to their unprincipled backing of
Meech Lake accord which will hurt women
across Canada, replace social services, and
guarantee such things as ‘Kentucky Fried
children’ as big U.S.-based private daycare
chains begin taking over here,” she said.

10,000 join

Toronto march

TORONTO — Ten thousand mar-
chers took to the downtown streets, June
26, to celebrate Lesbian and Gay Pride
Day. Among those addressing the fol-
lowing rally was NDP justice critic Svend
Robinson. Robinson had publicly de-
clared his homosexuality four months
ago.

Speaking to a cheering crowd, Robin-
son attacked what he called the Mulro-
ney government’s “fundamental immor-
ality” in its plans to spend at least
$8-billion on nuclear-powered subma-
rines, while saying there is not enough
money for financing research into AIDS.

Lesbian and Gay Pride Day is an
annual celebration in Toronto.

Temagami dispute
taken to court

TEMAGAMI, Ontario — A conser-
vation group, the Temagami Wilderness
Society, is suing the government of
Ontario to stop the building of logging
roads into the ancient pine forest of the
Temagami region. The documents, filed
with the Supreme Court of Ontario, call
for a judicial review of the Peterson
government’s decision. to build the 48
kilometre extensions of the logging
roads.

Brian Back, president of the 14,000-
member Temagami Wilderness Society,
says the Ontario decision makes a
mockery of environmental protection
and leaves open to destruction one of the
last ancient forests in Ontario.

Meanwhile the Teme-Augami Anish-
nabai first nation have said they will
maintain their two roadblocks and will
stop any extension of the logging roads.
The first nation is embroiled in a 111-
year land claim dispute with the provin-
cial government, and its chief, Gary
Potts, said its members will go to jail
before they'll surrender their land.

Climate threatens
humanity’s survival

TORONTO — Global climate chan-
ges may be the greatest threat facing
humanity, next to nuclear war, an inter-
national conference was told here
recently. Norwegian Prime Minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland told the conference
it was time to “open our eyes to the
fundamental fact the earth is one even if
the world is still divided. The atmosphere
knows no boundaries. We cannot act as
if nature does.”

Scientists warn that the greenhouse
effect, caused as polluting gases go into
the atmosphere, is warming the earth’s
atmosphere resulting in increased
drought and famine. Carbon monoxide
from automobiles is cited as a prime
cause of the greenhouse effect. In addi-
tion, chemical pollutants from industry
are eating away at the ozone layer, ena-
bling ever increasing doses of harmful
ultraviolet rays to reach the earth.

Scientists said any reversal of the trend
will require global co-operation of all

nations.

Pacific Tribune, July 6, 1988 « 3