EDITORIAL. Love-in really a sell-out The stench arising from the Reagan- Trudeau talks in Washington contradicts the gobbledegook the prime minister is using to try to cover up his sell-out to U.S. imperialism. Ronald reagan, the butcher of Central America, the aspirer to world nuclear arms domination, apparently has got himself a trained monkey in Ottawa. Reagan’s deceit in his speech about “sav- ing” Central America is meant to hide the fact that he and his crowd are trying to - “save” it over the dead and bleeding bodies of its people. They are trying to “save” it from democracy and certainly from social- ism. They are trying to “save” it for the multi-nationals, the arms peddlers, the re-. source thieves, the exploiters of human life, save it for the convenience of the U.S. military and its murderous, paid allies. How can Trudeau, in good conscience, cave in. on such challenges to human rights? It Trudeau was misquoted in Washington, why doesn’t he stand up and state his position clearly, instead of crawl- ing from one excuse to another. He should answer without evasion whether he op- poses or supports the anti-human cam- paign by the CIA and the U.S. military against the people of Central American and Caribbean countries. Globe and Mail correspondent John King says in a report from Washington, April 29, quoting a U.S. official: “The prime minister noted that his own general approach to other countries was that if they wish to adopt a certain form of govern- ment, that was their business, but when they chose to export that form of govern- ment by violent means, that was indeed a different business.” If Trudeau wanted to speak honestly he - ‘would have to say that that is exactly what the USA is doing, or worse, exporting by violent means the kind of government Washington has decided other people shall answer to. Or one could look at the Reagan plan to forest Europe with aggressive nuclear mis- siles with the intent of attempting to de- stroy socialism, either by intimidation or nuclear attack. How does Trudeau see that coinciding with the desires for peace and peaceful disarmament negotiations voiced by hundreds of thousands of Canadians? The test of Canadian sovereignty, of patriotism, today, is whether or not the im- perialist USA can force its policies upon an unwilling Canadian population, and in the first place whether it can win over the government to oppose the protests of the people — and test the U.S. Cruise nuclear missile on Canadian territory. Trudeau turns himself into a doormat and says “yes” to the Cruise. The people of Canada say “no”. Those who are fighting for peace and disarmament, and at the same time fighting for jobs and an end to the eco- nomic crisis imposed by the system, are called upon to rise to new heights. They are the people who defend Canada against the sell-out tendencies of the monopoly government. Berger ouster ‘normal The «resignation of Judge Thomas Berger of the British Columbia Supreme Court was not all that surprising. It was unlikely that a man who has spoken out vigorously on Native people’s rights, and had criticized the new Constitution and Charter of Rights for failure to guarantee those rights, would bow to new shackles on judges. Berger had conducted the royal commis- sion investigation into the effects of the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline on the ecology and the lives of the Native people in its path, and had stoutly opposed the line and defended the people. More recently he had criticized the ommission in the constitution and Charter of Rights of a veto for Quebec. With just such behavior in mind, no doubt, the Canadian Judicial Council and Chief Justice Bora Laskin had ruled that it was improper for judges to speak out on political issues or on their work on royal commissions. . Berger had been sharply attacked by Prime Minister Trudeau for his constitu- tional comments; and his resignation was eagerly accepted by Minister of Justice Mark MacGuigan. What is noteWorthy is not the resigna- tion, but the predictable behavior of the establishment, its treatment of those who step out of line. Remember Walter Gor- don? Remember James Coin? Of course judges are not neutral; they make comments very, often that favor capitalism. It’s when someone criticizes the system that the uproar starts, the estab- lishment strikes, and a new casualty occurs. It may well be that Berger as a constitu- tional law and civil liberties professor at the University of British Columbia, retaining an interest, as he said, in international human rights and certain environmental issues, will be able to serve Canada better than would a judge muzzled by establish- ment anger. Good news for peace forces The 278-149 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of an immediate freeze on nuclear weapons, May 4, marked the first week of May as one of encourage- ment for the peace forces and one of chag- rin for Reagan’s schemes for nuclear weapon superiority. A day earlier Soviet leader Yuri An- dropov moved the possibility of a dis- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 13, 1983—Page 4 armament agreement a notch closer by _ offering deep cuts in Soviet medium-range missiles, on the’ basis of delivery vehicles and warheads, to be matched in the West. On that same day, U.S. Catholic bishops in a vote of 238-9 addressed the USA’s 51 million Roman Catholics and called for a “halt” to the growth of nuclear arsenals. “Remember, it’s only for target practice. Managua’s that way.” Flashbacks 25 years 50 years PIPELINE SCANDAL The natural gas pipeline has sprung another evil- smelling leak — this time -involving at least one ex- minister of the Ontario Tory government and another present Cabinet minister. Last March Premier Frost told the Legislature, “long before the gas lines were even commenced, I asked my honorable colleagues not to invest in any company which might be distributing natural gas'in Ontario.” Apparently the members were not so “honorable” as to pass up a sure bet. Digni- taries who now admit to possession of gilt-edged stocks include the former minister of mines, the pre- sent Minister of Public Works and the new Liberal leader. Tribune, May 12, 1958 The George Weston empire, which owns Loblaws, numero ‘this year’s May Day was thé RIBUNE | MAY DAY DEMONSTRATIONS Tens of thousands workers throughout Canadé came out on the streets demonstrations and parade on May Day in a nation-w! protest against wage cutting, | relief cuts and evictions, 40° in opposition to the starvatio? and war policy of the Bennett government. a Although in the majority ® cases no attacks were made bY police, they were present 19 large numbers to harry a? intimidate the workers. | One of the main features of wide united front characte! which enabled large gathe™ ings. Parades took place 1? many cities and towns for the first time showing the people’s willingness © struggle. The Workes May 6, 1939 F bakeries, food, sugar and chocolate firms, British Columbia Pat kers, Eddy Paper Co.,; etc., had a nice start with an after-tax prom of $12,468,000 for the first three months of 1983. ‘ Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR ~ Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186 Subscription Rate: Canada $14 one year; $8 for six months. _ All other countries: $15 one year. Second class mail registration number 1560