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EDITORIAL

The Mulroney government’s slashing of prices paid

added distinction of being the Depression party.
The estimated results for the farmers is a one-third
cut in incomes, about $1 billion, according to Univer-

traditional markets from Canada, Australia and
Argentina. The U.S. Farm Bill (December, 1985)
made huge increases in export subsidies on grain; and
a new bill, effective this June, will boost subsidies to
U.S. farmers while driving down the world price of

Tories vs. prairie farmers

send a wave of doom across the whole economy. Not

to prairie farmers marks one more Tory agenda item only will there be a reluctance by banks to lend money
. Te which does inestimable harm to a large sector of the to farmers for fuel, seed, fertilizer and pesticides, as
f = Canadian people. National Farmers’ Union executive secretary Stuart
to. On April 8, the minister responsible for the Cana- Thiesson predicts in forecasting “more farm failures,”
Vass ‘dian Wheat Board, Charles Mayer, told Parliament but farm suppliers will also be hit.
we that effective Aug. 1, the government board would If anyone expects workers, city dwellers and con-
h : drastically reduce prices it pays to grain producers. sumers in general to gain at the farmers’ loss, the words
ae (The Wheat Board is responsible for marketing the of University of Manitoba agricultural economist Colin
op grain.) The price for top grade spring wheat will drop Carter suggest otherwise. Carter states in a study that
an 19 per cent, to $130 a tonne, the same as for durum Canadian consumers pay up to 69 per cent more for
ma wheat, while prices for barley and oats for feed are flour than consumers in London, Paris, Tokyo or
ee down 27 and 25 per cent respectively. Washington. Carter blames the domestic milling
= These prices are the lowest in seven years, and with industry which, he says, earns six times more profit on
wr inflation taken into account, they’re the lowest since ._ every tonne of wheat it mills than does the U.S. milling
=: the Dirty Thirties under the Tory government of R.B. industry.
of : Bennett. Perhaps besides being known as the Ameri- But Tory governments are not noted for tampering
tu can party in Canada, the Mulroney Tories want the with profits.

There have been plenty of good reasons for worker-
farmer unity against the monopolies — and their
government — and this is certainly one more.

compel Ottawa to drop its ruinous policies by which it
is selling out Canada while enriching the monopolies
and transnationals, all at the expense of the people.
Ottawa mut reverse this latest outrage, guarantee
farmers parity prices and at the same time put pro-

7

FREE TRADE HAS To BE \
FAIR ,

SO FIRST WE HAVE 70

Bue

U.S. wheat. , grams in place to provide for interest-free loans to low
all] In the face of this, the best the Mulroney Tories can income family farmers, for free crop insurance, and a ;
Bees: moratorium on farm debts and an end to foreclosures. Dylex Limited, Toronto, which manufactures clothing andre

° . S cee ote : 7 re = SEI, ze y
pre sity of Manitoba economist Daryl Kraft. Instead of penalizing prairie grain farmers along We IPPITOWV CA, yy)
B.C Blame for the attack on Canadian farm incomes is with other sectors of the population, the Mulroney iim.
crit placed on world wheat surpluses, but what creates the Tories should come up with programs to save the ———
me threat to farmers here is massive U.S. efforts to snatch family farm. Worker-farmer united action is needed to

think of is to club down Canadian grain farmers, and

: it through numerous subsidiaries, had an after-tax pro
year ended Feb. 1, of $46.8-million compared with $41 -2-millio
the 53 weeks ended Feb. 2, 1985. Dylex opened 19 new sto™
the fourth quarter of 1985.

;

Stop destruction of CBC “TRIGUNE

Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN

Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON Ese
Business & Circulation Manager — MIKE PRONIUK —
Graphics — ANGELA KENYON f

Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street

That widely-shouted Mulroney election slogan, jobs,
jobs, jobs, has not only been trashed by the Tories —
their deeds amount to layoffs, layoffs, layoffs.

So it is with the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora-
tion, where the ongoing loss of jobs accompanies
budget cuts which inevitably reduce the amount of
Canadian live programming. To an increasing extent,
the CBC will replace live with recorded, while it re-
places Canadian with American.

It’s quite clear that finding the money is not what is
really at issue. At issue is a desire to destroy anything

remotely related to public ownership and at the same

time to smother any seeds of nationalism or patriotism

that might obstruct the marshalling of this country
and its people for the benefit of U.S. imperialism.

The unions directly involved have expressed anger
and dismay. But it is Canadians as a body who are
being deprived of cultural rights, and rights to com-
munications services and information, particularly in
isolated places. It isa misdeed for which the Mulroney
Tories must be compelled to make amends.

Subscription Rate: Canada — $16 one year; $10 six months ; wa :

Second class mail registration number 1560

Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5
Phone (604) 251-1186

Foreign — $25 one year;

ore than 50 years ago, responding to
demands that his Tory government
do something about the poverty and
hunger of Canadians during the Depres-
sion, R.B. (Iron Heel) Bennett rose in the
House of Commons to proclaim: ‘The
poor will always be with-us.” It was a
statement that framed his government’s
policy of doing nothing about public
works or any other jobs programs
demanded of him.
The words were changed last week but
not the sentiment when Socred Human
Resources Minister Jim Neilson, asked for

_| comment on the problems the Vancouver

Food Bank was experiencing, replied:
“We've had food banks for over a
century — good God, I was delivering
food hampers 25 years ago.” :
That, too, frames the Socred govern-

ment’s policy: if cabinet members simply -

ignore the appalling growth of poverty
that has taken place under Socred restraint
and pretend that it has always been with
us, then it becomes easy to accuse anyone
who raise the issue of being “politically
motivated.” And that’s exactly what Neil-
son did, suggesting that the food banks’
decision to cut one of its weekly food dis-
tributions per month, was “politically
motivated to embarrass the government.”

It’s hardly likely that any social organi-
zation would do anything in an effort to
embarrass the government — simply
because a government that is as utterly
devoid of compassion and concern as this
one in Victoria simply doesn’t get embar-
rassed, as Neilson demonstrated so graph-
ically.

In fact, just as it has been government

People and Issues

cutbacks which have forced thousands of
more people to depend on the food bank
to stay alive, it has been government cut-
backs which have forced the bank to cur-
tail its food distribution.

“With lack of government funding
resulting in staff cutbacks, and with
increasing needs in various groups of
unemployed people in our community, we
have decided to change our food distribu-
tion process,” Sylvia Russell, executive
director of the food bank, said in a state-
ment April 7. Actually the cutbacks are
largly federal in this case, the result of Tory
government rejection of two food bank
applications for grants to pay salaries for
employees.

As a result, the bank will be forced to
eliminate the food distribution that nor-
mally falls on the same Wednesday as

welfare cheques are sent out. However, the.

food distribution for single parents will
continue to be weekly and will be
increased slightly.

With the change, the number of food
bags going out each month will be cut by
3,000 — an indication of the need for the
food bank that has grown alarmingly over
the last three years. Needless to say, the
food bank hasn’t been around “for a
century” — it opened in December, 1982
as a direct result of the impoverishment
aggravated by the Socreds’ restraint pro-
gram and since that time, the monthly
food bag distribution has grown from
4,900 bags in 1983 to over 12,000 today.

But what’s Neilson’s response to that?
“Sure, it’s grown but so has the Human
Resources budget.” :

That’s crap and Neilson knows it. In
fact, the portion of the budget earmarked
for the Guaranteed Income for Need pro-
gram, the welfare program, was cut in the
March, 1986 budget by $11 million dol-
lars.

Worse, ministry offices have sent letters
out to welfare recipients telling them that
they will not get extra funds for emergency
food from welfare and they should look
instead for “alternative sources (i.e. food
banks).”

Neilson was also asked by reporters
about an increase in GAIN rates which
have been frozen since 1982. “Please tell
me in what area you would be prepared to
pay more taxes to pay for it,” he retorted.

Neilson didn’t get an answer but we’d
have no difficulty giving him one. We’d
like to see the corporations, which got a
two-stage cut in their taxes in the last
budget from the Socreds, pay their fair
share. We’d like to see just some of the $1
billion in tax breaks and economic incen-
tives given the corporate sector over the
last two budgets put back to fund
increases in social services, especially the
GAIN program.

But more than anything, we’d like to see
Neilson’s government come to the same
ignominious end as did R.B. Bennett’s in
1935.

_larly during its annual pledge drive

ae its beginning more than a decatt |
ago, when it had to make do wi ch
cast-off audio equipment, spliced pall
cords and a lot of trial and error,
couver Co-op Radio has come a considé
ble distance as an alternate radio stall?
offering unique programming on the Jab?
movement, Central American Solidal
the Native movement and environmet,
issues as well as music that covets
whole spectrum. But one thing has Pi
changed since that beginning and that ,
dependence on listener support, part! ast
thon when it puts on a special ten days
programming as part of the fundrals!
campaign. yy:
This year’s marathon, which promis
special programming on women’s must
South Africa and the Walk for Pea”
opens April 18 and continues throw
April 27. Co-op is at 102.7 on the FM a
and you can phone 684-8494 to offer ¥°

support.

Kooks ek
W: had a note from Elsie Dean

of Lil Stoneman, who had been a ie.
known activist in the early peace M0”
ment and a long time supporter of
Tribune. the

Although her age — she was 91 at :
time of her death — had curtailed
activity over the past several years, she
been a founding member of the B.C.
Council and was a familiar figure 4
events over the years. She came tO rf
country from the Isle of Wight wheré
was born.

4e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 16, 1986