MEMO FROM MATHER

OTTAWA — Both Old Parties were ready to close shop and have Parliament adjourn, as this was written. The Liberals had been embarrassed for weeks. Their Leadership campaign had left them with an almost absentee-Cabinet. They wanted out. The Conservatives, acting less and less like -a hell-bent-for- election Party, were ready to acquiesce. The NDP was pressing for action first on Drug Price Legislation. It appeared that the Liberal hopefuls would get a shorter than expected run for

their money, or rather for yours.

Barry Mather is NDP-MP for the

federal riding of New Westminster.

DRUG PRICES: In the Drug Price debate, Dr. Wm. D. Howe, M.P. (NDP. Hamilton South), urged that the Bill not be sent back to Committee where the Pharmaceutical Manu- facturers Association could kill it, but that it receive immediate House passage. David Orlikow, M.P. (NDP Winnipeg North), again urged that the best way to get drug prices down would be to nationalize the making and distribution of important prescription drugs, at cost.

WHAT’S A MILLION: There’s a great deal of waste in Federal spending. Taxpayers’ money can be saved by better management and economy. But keep this.in mind: The ten billion dollars a year that we spend here has the same relation- ship, cost-wise, to one million dollars of waste that a one hundred dollar paycheck has to a lost one-cent stamp, Nobody wants to lose stamps. Every care should be taken of them. But, when figuring how Ottawa can save your money, start with the fact that what we spend on so-called defence and what we spend just paying interest on Federal borrowings totals close to 40% of the entire Budget.

WHO CAN'T AFFORD IT? Who’s against Medicare? Mainly the economic and financial interests, notably the insur- ance companies, who stand to gain by the status quo. Powerful lobbies have flooded Ottawa with anti-Medicare-now material. They argue that Canada can’t afford it. What they mean is that THEY can’t afford it. Christopher Young, Ottawa Citizen Editor, put the matter clearly: “Taken together, the hundreds of plans operated by private insurance companies, medical organizations and provincial governments, represent an in- efficient, expensive, non-comprehensive and usually non-profit- able patchwork quilt that leaves uncovered many people who need it most and covers hardly anyone to his entire satisfac- tion.”

THE U.S. IN TROUBLE: The “gold rush” which involved parts of our interrelated world in monetary turmoil was re- lated to the fact that the U.S. was in trouble over its foreign activites, notably, the Viet Nam War. NDP MP’s have long been arguing that it was no friendship to the U.S. to go along with Washington’s tragic Viet Nam War policy. We have usually argued from moral, ethical and legal viewpoints. (The U.S. has now dropped more tons of bombs in the Viet Nam War than the entire total dropped by all combattants during World War II). But consider these figures: The U.S. is spending an amount on the Viet Nam War equal to three times the entire Canadian Federal Budget ... What the U.S. spend for Federal Aid to Education is but 7 percent of what it spends on Viet Nam War.

BREE TS RI! PS tes

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THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

JOBLESS UP IN

CANADA

Canada’s unemployment rate has risen to its highest level in almost four years,

Figures from the Bureau of Statistics and the Labor Department show an esti- mated 482,000 persons jobless at mid-February, represent- ing 6.4 per cent of the total work force. This was the highest level since March, 1964, when 6.8 per cent of the labor force was out of work.

Unemployment increased by 86,000 over the figure for February, 1967. Although there were 125,000 new jobs in the service industries, 37,- 000 in trade and 33,000 in finance, jobs in manufactur- ing dropped by 55,000 and construction jobs by 30,000.

When jobless rates are con- sidered by regions, the At- lantic region had the worst showing with 10.9 per cent unemployed. Next was Que- bec with 8.4 per cent and British Columbia with 7.5 per cent,

COMPANY LOY ERS aS: WN

HOWEVER... DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES!

Hewers of Wood

—.

WTS ask the

and drawers of water wosnua x, 2

An ancient and honourable trade...

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