CANADA

The oil blues

By DAVID WALLIS
In October of 1982 during their election campaign, the Alberta
Tories under Premier Lougheed, predicted that Alberta would
‘‘lead Canada out of the recession.”’

For the fourth quarter of 1985 the top 24 energy producers
increased their profits by $113.4 million (14.9 percent over the
same period one year earlier for a total of $896.3 million). For
working people the only increase has been in the ranks of the
unemployed. In Edmonton one in 25 now receives welfare. Ob-
viously the only recovery the Tories were talking about was in
profits for the multinational oil sector.

During the 1970s the Alberta economy expanded rapidly: as
world oil prices increased. Under the assumption that prices
would continue to go up and up, billions were invested in explora-
tion and in constructing pipelines and roads. However this one-
sided investment has made the Alberta economy more prone to
crisis. Back in 1975 Lougheed stated that Alberta had only 10
years to diversify the economy, to become less dependent on the
oil and natural gas sector. What happened during those 10 years?

Economic Diversity

Between 1973 and 1983 mining — which includes oil and
natural gas — increased from 19.5 per cent to 24.1 per cent of the
total provincial product. On the other hand manufacturing fell
from 8.4 per cent to 6.3 per cent. Construction and transportation
declined by a similar amount. While all sectors have grown in size
the Albertaieconomy has become more dependent on the energy
sector.

Now with oil prices at a seven-year low, and further decline
likely, a continued economic downturn can be expected. A fall in
oil prices to less than U.S.$12 per barrel from $31.70 just three
months ago will eat into money for exploration and construction.

Government revenues could drop by $2 to $3-billion in 1986.
Without doubt this will be used by the present Getty admin-
istration to slash government expenditures. The Alberta Tories
have already hinted that public sectors workers should make less
money. A large decline in revenues will give the Tories an excuse
to force wage cuts and step up their program of contracting out
and privatization.

1985 was a record year for exploration in Alberta, but without
large investment for oil and gas plants and new office and com-
mercial construction there was no decline in the unemployment
rate.

The banks have quickly acted to cut back on loans to the oil
industry by reassessing industry assets. The Toronto Dominion
Bank has reacted to sliding oil prices by increasing their 1986 loan
loss estimate by $79-million to $402-million.

The lack of confidence being shown by finance capital has
already resulted in large cuts in exploration budgets. The Edmon-
ton Journal reported recently that oil companies face income cuts
greater than 40 per cent. They also reported that ‘‘one major
company has slashed its projected 1986 exploration and
development budget from $165 million to $69 million.’ Other oil
corporations are proposing similar cuts.

Reports are now coming in of growing layoffs. In recent weeks
over 300 workers at the Suncore oil sand plant in Ft. McMurray
lost their jobs and 150 workers have been laid off in the Elk
Point-Lindberg heavy oil development area. As of the end of
February Amoco had shut down 40 of the 190 producing wells at
its Elk point experimental project. Other major oil companies in
that area are also re-assessing their projects. The oil service

companies too are reported to be laying off workers across Alber-
ta.

Independents Folding

The Tories in Alberta and Canada fought hard against the
National Energy Policy (NEP), brought in by the Trudeau Liber-
als, that gave independent Canadian companies a chance to
compete with the multinationals in the oil patch. Now with the
end of NEP, falling oil prices and rising interest charges many of
the smaller independents are facing an uphill battle to survive.
The major, mostly foreign-owned, corporations will make full
use of this crisis to gobble up the independents and enlarge their
oil and gas reserves at bargain prices.

Alberta as long as the economy is run for the purpose of maximiz-
ing profit for the oil monopolies. There is no chance that the
Tories and the corporate sector will move to diversify the
economy. Indeed under the ‘‘free trade’’ proposals being vigor-
ously pursued by the Getty government Alberta, as all Canada,
will lose much of its present manufacturing base.

This present crisis clarified the need for new policies in Alber-
ta. We cannot afford to leave working people and the Alberta
economy to the mercy of the international oil markets and cor-
porate profit. The Communist Party call for an energy policy that
is designed to meet the long term needs of Canada and the
Canadian people. This policy, based on public ownership under
democratic control, would ensure the rational ongoing develop-
ment of our energy resources, the diversification of the Alberta
economy and establish the basis for full employment.

Senate report inadequate.

‘Lost generation’, still lost _

TORONTO — The Special Se-
nate Committee on Youth, set up
in December 1984, to study the

youth situation in Canada during -

the United Nation’s declared In-
ternational Year of Youth, re-
cently released its report. It took
15 months to produce and told us
nothing new.

The Senators ‘‘discovered”’
that young people are chronically
unemployed, face serious prob-
lems such as alcohol and drug
abuse, homelessness, poverty,
and despair. In fact, the senators
were forced to call youth the ‘‘lost
generation’.

“The media grabbed the ideas
of a youth TV channel, and a ban
on alcohol and cigarette advertis-
ing, to the exclusion of the more
dangerous recommendations to
implement job sharing as a way to
create jobs for youth,’ said Vicki
Holloway, acting general secret-
ary of the Young Communist
Eeacues =

“‘But the situation of youth in
Canada is worse than these ven-_
erable senators could imagine.
Youth unemployment, which is
fluctuating and must include
those who are working part-time
because they cannot find full-time
work, and those who have given
up altogether looking for work, is
much closer to 30 per cent. The
fear of nuclear war, which over 60
per cent of Canadian youth be-
lieve will happen in their life
time, and the reality of poverty,
have left our generation with no
hope for the future,’’ she said.

The senate committee recom-
mended that youth subsidize their
jobs with any welfare or Unem-
ployment Insurance benefits that
they might receive. ‘“*This makes
these programs nothing more
than labor subsidies to business.
Perhaps means testing is in the
offing as well?’” asked Holloway.

The committee recommended
that business ‘‘experts’’ guide
young people into the small busi-
ness market, when statistics show
over 90 per cent fail in the first
year. Youth can also use their
welfare or UI for subsidizing their
small business. ‘‘None of these
measures, taken together or sepa-
rately, will do much to solve the
crucial questions facing the youth
of today,’ said Holloway.

She cited the following as
necessary:

e Ending Canadian involvement
in all U.S. military plans, includ-
ing Star Wars, NORAD and
NATO, ending the Cruise Missile
tests, and declaring Canada a
Nuclear Weapons Free Zone,
which will actively build con-
fidence among youth for their fu-
ture.

e Begin a massive job creation
program for youth.

e Making education accessible
by phasing out tuition and all
other fees at the post-secondary
level and reducing secondary
level classroom size.

e Build sports and recreational
facilities.

The Senate report with its em-
phasis on small business and
patching up some of the glaring
holes in the system, falls into line
with the Macdonald Commission,
whose goals are to make the
Canadian working people into a

WINTER __UNEMPLOYMEN

submissive group available
exploitation by foreign ¢
porations, charged Holloway.

“Tt does not address the -
mediate issues facing yo
Canadians at all, such as th
‘burger ghettos’, the |
minimum wage, the vast majorit}
of youth who are not unioni
Neither does it address the is
of equality for women, or provid
meaningful recommendations
the severe crisis facing the native
community,’’ Holloway poini
out.

‘‘While the International Yi
of Youth did not solve any of th
problems and concerns of ou
generation, at least some c
cerns were profiled. But now it
crucial that youth in Canada ant
people working with youth de
mand that the government pro
vide meaningful recognition of
our generation by creating jobs,
and ensuring Canada’s voice is
voice for peace,”” she said.

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COLD OUTSIDE —

One-in-10 daycare centres poor qualit

A recent report given to an Ottawa conference the report says. Since 1978, government cutback

Uncertainty and insecurity for the majority will continue in

6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 19, 1986

on child care stated that one in 10 daycare centres
in Alberta offer service ‘‘of frighteningly poor
quality.’’ The report prepared by Christopher Bag-
ley, University of Calgary professor of-child wel-
fare said the poor quality of care ‘‘must inevitably
harm some and perhaps all of the children they
contain.”’

Child care legislation in Alberta is based on the
governing Tory’s commitment to the private sector
and private profit. Alberta is the only province not
requiring any form of training requirement for child
care staff.

Bagley stated in his report that the situation in
Alberta can ‘only be explained by an overriding
commitment to a philosophy of the importance of
private enterprise in social service delivery, a
philosophy which transcends any principle that the
welfare of children is important.”’

The lack of affordable daycare is also used to
discourage women from entering the labor force,

have reduced the number of daycare spaces by 4
per cent. -

Shelters turn away needy

EDMONTON — Nearly 500 women and chil
dren were turned away from the two emergent
women’s shelters in 1985, up from 140 who wer
refused shelter in 1984. Edmonton’s WIN House
can accommodate 15 families for three-wee
periods. Because of a space shortage batteret
women without children are not admitted. Dun
1985 WIN House gave shelter to 465 women ant
909 children. Director Ruth Pinkney said about 8
per cent of the women who seek refuge have been
physically and sexually abused and the rest hay
suffered psychological abuse. 3

As a result of government cutbacks the Socia
Services Department now fund only 66 per cento
the shelter’s budget compared to 80 per cent thre
years ago. *