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CANADA

By KIMBALL CARIOU REGINA — Tory efforts to undermine the day care system in | Saskatchewan are drawing a _ strong fesponse, as shown by a Sept. 17 forum organized by a number of child care, labor, and women’s groups. Over 200 people |} turned out, surpassing the

expectations of organizers. A recent report by Conserva- ' tive MLA Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk | was the focus of discussion. Al- | though she held public hearings _ onday care early in 1984, at which

for improvements in the system, _| the report contains basic recom- | mendations in the opposite direc- tion, such as opening the door for privately-owned day care. Keynote speaker Jeff Rose, na- tional president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) criticized the absence of a real system of public child care - in Canada, terming the situation a _ disgrace. Noting the increased ' participation of mothers in the @ jabor force, he accused govern- / ments of sidestepping their responsibilities. — Changing Needs ““We can’t cling to old patierns ~ of thinking that mothers must stay of home,” said Rose, arguing that 9, reality demands a child care sys- at tem geared to meet the changing of needs of families and to provide he high quality nurturing of children. _ As he and other speakers noted, ~ studies repeatedly show that fac- “tors such as limited group sizes, ) improved staff/child ratios, better | staff training and wages, good | nutrition, and input from em- _ ployees and parents are vital for | such quality to be achieved, and | that day care is beneficial for the social and intellectual develop- ‘ment of children under such | circumstances. ; _ The Zazelenchuk report, while | paying lip service to ‘“‘what’s best i for children,’ makes no attempt to addiess these questions; it sim- ply states that “experts differ”’ about the effects of day care on children, and concludes that pa- | rents must be free to choose from ' alternatives in child care. While | calling for some improvements in

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the overwhelming sentiment was -

From Regina

Kimball

subsidies to low-income parents, Zazelenchuk’s only new alterna- tive for the majority of working parents is to recommend a five-year trial period of allowing private day care. In effect, day care is to become two systems in Saskatchewan — the present sys- tem which is to continue operat- ing with inadequate funding; for the poor; and a user-pay system for higher income families.

Rose pointed out that private day cares are experiencing a rash of scandals across North Ameri- ca, usually related to the cost cut- ting inevitable in such operations. Other problems with the concept were raised at the forum — such as the possibility of ‘‘fees wars’’ between centres competing for children, with the children the losers as quality drops; and, as has occurred in Ontario and Al- berta, lobbying efforts by private day cares against attempts to im- prove standards.

Saskatchewan day care ac- tivists on the panel included Palma Anderson, president of the Saskatchewan Action Committee on the Status of Women; Gail Stevens of the Saskatoon-based

Action Childcare; and Dawne -

Peterson of the Massey Road Day Care in Regina. They pointed out that Saskatchewan lags behind other provinces, and that the To- ries are making the situation even more difficult. There are now some 4,500 day care spaces in the province, or 31 spaces per 1,000 children, ahead only of New- foundland. Saskatchewan also ranks near the bottom in terms of spending per child on day care. Each panelist attacked the hypocrisy of the Conservative government’s ‘‘pro-family’’ posi- tion. As Gail Stevens said: “Parents are under immense stress as they are forced to wrench their children from one

Sask. public opposes Tory — plan to undermine daycare

Cariou

unacceptable care situation to another. The children are the big losers, and governments are in reality jeopardizing the family.”’

At the same time, all speakers agreed that day care has become an ever more important issue, and that the Saskatchewan Govern- ment is under strong pressure to back down. During the federal election, it was noted, even the conservatives were forced to ad- dress day care problems, and it may yet be possible to stop the right-wing effort here to turn the clock back.

One fact raised at the meeting came as a depressing if not sur- prising revelation to many of those present. The speakers pointed out that only 27 new spaces were opened in Saskatch- ewan last year, and much of the Day Care Division’s ‘‘start-up

fund’’ was simply not spent, al-'

though there are many centres trying to begin operation, parti- cularly in rural areas. In fact, about $900,000 of the Division’s budget of $10-million was unspent at the end of the fiscal year. The problem does not*come from the staff of the Day Care Division, the panelists were careful to note, but rather is a result of political deci- sions higher up in the department of Social Services Minister Gor- don Dirks.

In a television interview filmed shortly after the forum, Dirks continued to claim the Tories are acting in ‘‘the best interests of the family’’. However, he refused to commit the government to sup- port for Zazelenchuk’s contro- versial day care for profit pro- posals, saying instead that her re- port was still being considered, and that the government will act “in two or three months’’.

Follow-up activities are being considered by the organizations which held the forum.

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General speaks for peace

_ KINGSTON — A high-ranking Canadian mili- | tary officer is the latest of many military men in the West to call on the USA and its allies to seriously ' consider unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Canada should also consider dropping out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and working _ with other non-nuclear members of the alliance to increase the strength of the United Nations, said | Major-Gen. Leonard Johnston. General Johnson, | until his recent retirement had been commandant

| highest educational institution. In an interview with the Kingston. Whig-

| more apt to begin a nuclear war than is the Soviet - Union. Such a war, he said, would be a threat to ' human survival.

_ As the only North American member of an ‘international veterans’ peace organization, _ Johnson will use his retirement to promote these

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of the defence college here from 1980, Canada’s |

di Standard, Johnson said members of NATO are.

and related opinions, for example, his opposition to the testing of the U.S. Cruise missile in Canada. -otaone other propositions he puts forward are these:

e NATO should lengthen the response time of its nuclear retaliation forces to days or weeks in- stead of hours and minutes, ‘‘so as to provide time for reflection and negotiation’.

e Central Europe should be declared a nuclear- free zone; and the major powers should then nego- tiate a withdrawal of all foreign forces from Europe, with European countries maintaining their own conventional armed forces at the lowest pos- sible level.

e The West must pursue a policy of live-and- let-live with the Soviet Union. ae

General Johnson said he was in agreement with last May’s joint declaration by Generals for Peace and Disarmament, and eight retired generals from the Warsaw Treaty countries, calling for a freeze and gradual reduction of military budgets.

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Across Canada

No issues in Nova Scotia vote? -

HALIFAX — Tory Premier John Buchanan who, on Sept. 28, called a provincial election for Nov. 6, said he believed elections should not be fought on issues but on the basis of asking for a new mandate for the government. He quickly associated himself with the promises of the federal Tories for better federal-pro- vincial relations. (Seven provinces have Tory governments, along with the B.C. Socreds.) ;

Shun Reagan embrace Nader warns

GUELPH, ONT. — Ralph Nader, widely-known U.S. con- sumer advocate, told an audience of 600 at the University of Guelph, Sept. 27, that policies harmful to Canada could result from the cozying up of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to U.S. President Reagan. Nader described Reagan as the ‘“‘business agent for the multi-nationals’’.

‘‘T think it’s been very healthy for Canadians to be at arm’s length from the United States,’’ which, he said, sees this country as its ‘‘favorite colony, economically speaking.’’ Alluding to what is in store for Canada if as Mulroney promises, this country follows Reagan policies, Nader said that south of the border is the place ‘‘to see right-wing politics’’.

Indigenous people’s long walk

OTTAWA — Starting with a small group who set out from Victoria, May 1, to walk to Ottawa, the Red People’s Long Walk has picked up walkers and inspiration along the route. Gathering at the Long Walk Camp, they and supporters will mark October 12, the International Day of Solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, here in the capital.

Activities for the day will include: A people’s inquiry; daily workshops on issues presented in the Declaration of Principles for the Defence of the Indigenous Nations and Peoples of the Western Hemisphere; evening socials. The camp will be open to the public and press during daylight hours.

The International Day was proclaimed, and the Declaration of Principles set out at a conference sponsored by non-govern- mental organizations (NGOs) of the United Nations, among them the World Peace Council, in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 20-23, 1977.

The purpose of the walk, which has been stopping at Native communities across the country, is ‘‘to promote involvement, discussion and. awareness on the issues indigenous people are facing today,’’ states a brochure issued. ‘*Devastating conditions have been and are continuing to be imposed upon our Red Na- tions that seriously threaten our culture and existence through policies of genocide,”’ it says.

The Canadain Alliance in Solidarity with Native Peoples, an organization of Natives and non-Natives arranged to hold its 25th Annual Meeting on the following day, Sat., Oct. 13 at the Uni- versity of Ottawa’s Fauteux Hall, starting at 8 a.m. The program includes a keynote speaker and workshops on several Native concerns.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 10, 1984 ¢ 5