November 15, 1992, carnegie newsletter

--- . . - - - - - NOVEMBER 15, 1992. - 401 ~ a i n s t . , Vancouver. V6A Z'r7 ( 6 0 4 ) 665-2289 w

THE AUTUMN EQUINOX POETRY READING

w a s a tremendous s u c c e s s ! It could n o t have h a p p

ened wi thou t t h e wonder- f u l co-operat ion of t h e fo l lowing peop le , i n p a r t i c u l a r : Mary Brogan f o r m a k i n g a l l t h o s e g o o d sandwiches ; Dan Feeney , S t e v e Rose &Wayne Schmidt f o r sound and s e t prepar- a t i o n & t o t h e Carnegie Assoc ia t ion f o r suppor t - i n g funds . I want t o convey my a p p r e c i a t i o n t o a l l . Thanks s o much.

Barbara Gray

I phoned Doug Smith a t c i t y engineering fo r the l a t e s t news on access ( to Crab Park)

A report by Gibson/Daley consultants on the Columbia St. overpass issue w i l l be available t o c i t y s t a f f by December 17.It w i l l include drawings & cost estimates. Smith said many di f ferent committees, including Heritage & Police crime section have had input. Because the s t a i r s j e l eva t - or plexiglas & s t e e l system w i l l .be next t o Gastown, the Heritage Committee didn' t want simply a qlblock-looking" structure.

I spoke with Geoff McMurchie of the BC Coalition of People with Disabi l i t ies &we $greed it was important the sub-committee of community groups meet before t h i s item goes to City Council for a vote.

According t o Smith the f ina l report goes t o Council on e i the r Dec.1 o r Dec.8 fo r approval.

Don Larson

Disabled Access Update

* On Ju ly 6, 1992, the Carnegie Newsletter got a l e t t e r from Gordon Campbell, s t i l l ac t ing as the mayor. I t was a response t o a l e t t e r sent from here c a l l i n g him t o account f o r t h e t o t a l lack of movement on t h e pa r t of the Ci ty a f t e r 5 years. The sub-commit t e e r e fe r red t o by Don Larson met over a period of 3 years, exhausting a l l opt ions (obs tac les ) , meeting only a few times over a year , waiting f o r what s idet rack o r tangent was cur ren t ly under pursu i t t o be given up u n t i l a consensus was f i n a l l y reached - a pedest r ian overpass a t Columbia S t . This went t o the NPA majori ty Council, who then twis ted it t o seem as though t h e committee was a t f a u l t f o r not agreeing t o bui ld it a t Car ra l l S t r e e t - t o be access ib le f o r t o u r i s t s & shoppers a t boutiques 4 shoppes i n Gastown Read t h i s l e t t e r again, 6 take note of how it ends: Dear M r . Taylor:

Thank you f o r your l e t t e r of June 3rd, 1992, expressing concern t h a t t h e Standing committee on Access t o Por ts ide Park has not met i t s mandate t o provide an access- i b l e overpass t o CRAB Park. I apprecia te your f r u s t r a t i o n which matches the emotion t h a t I f e l t when we had a f i n a n c i a l agreement with the Port , t h e merchants i n Gas-

- -

I town, BC Trans i t & t h e federa l gov ' t t o not only provide an overpass but t o provi-

I de f r e e t r anspor t s f ion from the Downtown ) Eastside t o Por ts ide Park u n t i l the over- / pass was completed. Unfortunately, Council I did not accept t h e (NPA1s) zolut ion as the 1 t h r e e people from t h e community present i n I Council s a i d t h a t they were agains t Carr- I a l l S t r e e t , Columbia S t r e e t being t h e i r 1 preference. (What they s t a t e d was t h a t the

committee-as-a-whole had decided t h a t Col- umbia was the agreed s i t e - not "preferr - I ed" E not a r b i t r a r y . ) The p r i c e tag is now

1 over $1 mil l ion, not the $110,000 which / t h e City (Campbell & the NPA i n a backroom deal ) had negbtiated t o pay, and Portside

' Park remains inaccess ible t o some ---- people.

However, with respect , I bel ieve t h a t 1 t h e Committee has f u l f i l l e d its mandate. The Committee was es tabl ished t o inves t ig- a t e the access a l t e r n a t i v e s 6 recommend a p re fe r red choice t o Council. I t met exten- s i v e l y with t h i s purpose, including meet- ings a t which you & other people from the neighbourhood presented a point of view. I t f u l f i l l e d its mandate by recommending Columbia S t r e e t a s t h e preferred locat ion f o r an overpass. However, you a r e aware

I t h a t an overpass p r o j e c t a t Columbia S t . is the r e s p o n s i b i l i t u o f severa l p a r t i e s ; the Ci ty & t h e Port with regard t o funding E oonst ruct ion, & the CPRailway with regard t o t h e terms of permission t o bu i ld an overpass over the right-of-way. City Council has never committed t o bui ld ing the overpass, only t o the p re fe r red l o c a t - ion. There is f u r t h e r work underway t o de- velop a working cos t es t imate f o r an overpass. However, I must s t r e s s t h a t the work - - - ~ ~ - -

of es t imat ing the cos t commits n e i t h e r t h e Ci ty nor t h e Port t o ac tua l construction.

I apprecia te t h a t t h e process has been long & - f r u s t r a t i n g . when- we have our working est imate, which is an t i c ipa ted t h i s f a l l (Dec. 1 o r Dec. 8, a s above i n Larson' s

The underl ined p a r t s weren't in Campbell ' s l e t t e r . The ' textensivelt meet

a r e supposed t o l i g h t up with v i s ions of b r igh t l i g h t s , ac t ion E maybe a glimpse of t h e S t a r of t h e Show.

The Downtown Easts ide has become a loc- a t ion f o r movie-making on a l a rge s c a l e but the d a i l y r e a l i t i e s of blocked s t r e e t access, sidewalks closed, equipment cable E cameras E s e t s & t r a i l e r s E so on can become more of a pain i n the b u t t than a chance t o 'be where the ac t ion i s ' .

A few s t o r i e s , , u s u a l l y negative, come with p r a c t i c a l l y every f i lm company. Use a

of a l l e y s o r s t o r e f r o n t s t h a t a r e purpose.- l y made t o look grungy o r scummy; p i l e s of crap j u s t l e f t when the 'shoot i b over, the a t t i t u d e of people from producer t o ,

camerpeople t o s e c u r i t y tends t o be arrog- ant/uncaring/ i n s e n s i t ive t o our r e a l it y of t h i s being our home.

Over the l a s t 3 o r 4 years community a c t i v i s t s l i k e Barb Daniel & Stephen Leap ey have ca l l ed severa l f i l m companies t o account f o r t h e i r ac t ions & lack of concern - f o r s taging c a r crashes o r chase scenes a t 3 am, f o r extremely loud sound e f f e c t s o r y e l l i n g of crews f o r hours between midnight E dawn, f o r havinga:scenes involving guns & shootouts, f o r giving not ice t o a rea r e s i d e n t s t h a t i n e f f e c t says " l ike o r not t h i s is going t o happen today o r tonight o r tomorrow."

a n t l y t o the a t t r a c t i v e n e s s of Vancouver a s a shooting loca t ion . Unlike o t h e r a reas where r e s i d e n t s a r e compensated & consul t - ed, r e s i d e n t s on t h e e a s t s ide a r e involun- t a r y p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e f i lm loca t ion business who do not receive economic impact. The need f o r a major s h i f t i n a t t i t u d e and procedures is evident. . . Lip se rv ice ( t o e i t h e r indust ry pol icy o r community r u l e s ) o r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y buck-passing is not acceptable . 'I

I ssues include - 1. Stewardship - a community rep at company

expense t o ensure enforcement of permit r u l e s & community i n t e r e s t s ;

2 . Compensation - t axes on a per-day b a s i s s i m i l a r t o those paid by any o t h e r bus- i n e s s and/or donations t o programs and p ro jec t s i n t h e a rea i d e n t i f i e d by t h e community;

3. Accountabil i ty - pol ice a r e supposed t o be our employees; who a r e they r e a l l y working f o r when the indust ry is paying t h e t ab? Enforcement has t o include hon- e s t d i sc losure by t h e f i lm company, a s well a s n o t i f i c a t i o n of res idents . In- c ident r e p o r t s have t o be acted upon.

4. Public Relations - t h i s is where the a t t i t u d e i s sue is important. Courtesy & respect cannot be l e g i s l a t e d . Set resp- o n s i b i l i t y f o r community l i a i son . This includes awareness t h a t t h i s i s a r e s i - d e n t i a l a rea , t h a t food is not l a i d out banquet-style on t h e s t r e e t , noise and d i s rup t ion a r e minimal, e t c .

5. Violence in entertainment - crashes and -++

1 7

ings - a l e t t e r would be wr i t t en . .3 months l a t e r a r ep ly would come..the l a s t meeting was a year a f t e r the previous one. Now, when the committee d i d n ' t come back with the recommendation Campbell & the NPA wan- t ed - the overpass a t Car ro l l f o r t o u r i s t s 6 cruiseboat passengers etc. - access Crab Park f o r l o c a l , low-income res iden t s , f ami l i e s & seniors , i s going t o have the tqopportunity" of being assessed aga ins t a l l o t h e r c a p i t a l p r o j e c t s . Campbell E t h e NPA w i l l l i k e l y use t h e "promise" of soon- to-begin const ruct ion during t h e 1993 e l - ec t ions . I t 4 s been over 5 years now.

By PAULR TAYLOR

Following one p a r t i c u l a r l y obnoxious . event, Beatrice ~ e r n e y h o u ~ h ( ~ i c e + ~ ~ e s i a e l ; L of DERA) s t a r t e d c a l l i n g everyone involved i n t h e f i lm indus t ry t o arrange a meeting to discuss all aspects of th is business how it functions in our neighbourhood. In- cluded were the unions, the BC Film Cornmi- ssion, producersl E associations & City officials responsible for permits.

The meeting happened on October 29; t h e opening statement sets the tone:

,,The objective of th i s meeting - explore ways to improve the relationship between the residents of the east side the f i l m crews who make frequent use of t h i s area . These downtown her i t age neighbourhoods r e - present a unique "set" t h a t adds s i g n i f i c -

"We're making a MOVIE!". . .& our eyes

guns E f i g h t s E screams a r e not p a r t of general community l i f e . "Staging" such keeps r a i s i n g the question of "What is next. . . ( l i k e a wholesale massacre! 1. The mat ter of censorship was ra ised.

The general f e e l i n g of being invaded by f i l m companies who only comply with the bare minimum of community/industry guide- l i n e s was the thread ty ing a l l t h i s togeth e r . The cloSing statement of t h e f i r s t r e - por t says: "We a r e looking a t ways t o use our ex i s t ing resources t o address these i s sues, not i n a crisis-management sense but with a long term s t r a t e g y t o help the ind- u s t r y improve i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p with t h e downtown eas t s ide community 4 other neighbourhoods."

By PAULR TAYLOR

... t h e r e ' s more . . there ls always more.. Okay. What you've read so f a r comes from

the assilmption t h a t t h e meeting (129 J10)was somehow the f i r s t . . t h a t t h e f i l m indust ry (producers/crews/unions/associat ions ,City) had f i n a l l y been brought toge the r E t h a t ch,ange would come... This was the 2nd o r 3rd time; f i lm companies, a f t e r each time of being Itcalled t o account" have been ftgoodfl f o r a few months, then slack o f f un, ti1 the same old s h i t goes on. There was a ttcommunications expert" a t t h e October mee, t i n g who gave a c r i t i q u e on how well t h e people present l i s t e n e d t o each other.The City o f f i c i a l was t h e guy responsible f o r a l l spec ia l events i n the e n t i r e Ci ty - Sea Fes t iva l , PNE parade, F i r s t Night ... & bombed, going along with t h e indust ry and business - the Ci ty , with i t s NPA Council, i s not about t o pass by-laws making t h e i r behaviour 6 treatment of our neighbourhood cos t ly . Our next s t e p may be p e t i t i o n s , d is rupt ion of f i lming, even draping f l a g s on bhi ld ings t o flaw t h e i r Americanization of s t r e e t scenes. qgain, s t a y tuned1

Sometimes you j u s t want t o crawl

I . i n t o a warm s a f e p lace of t h e bank night deposi t

I Blip Blip e n t e r your s igna tu re

by number, t h a t ' s a l l 1 I t h e r e i s -

B l i p Blip here come t h e b i l l s

s i l e n t l y s p i t t e d

upon you

You can t r a v e l t o the f a r o f f land: i n your dreams

and see the d i s t a n t winds

You can touch the godesses t h a t roam f a r beyond the

lush groves of Cyprus and eucalyptus

But a s you don ' t l i s t e n t o t h e people - - a s they s t e p over you they do not hear you e i t h e r . 1

Breaking Bread on a Sunday Fusion

I t ' s easy , eeesy l i s t e n i n g j azz t ime Flowing from t h e t u r n t a b l e So r t o f slow, swinging, f inger -poppin ' saxaphone smooth, trombone s l i t h e r y kind o f j azz

Brushes s l i d i n g , e v e r so d e f t l y ' c r o s s t h e h ide

T-TOO, T-TOO T-Too, T-TOO

Stand-up bass , k ick ing i n t o t h e Sunday morning rythm of

smoked bacon, s i z z l i n g i n t h e seasoned,

c a s t i r o n pan

The f a m i l i a r aroma o f s t rong , b lack j ava

perk ing up a storm, o v e r f l o r i n g

Ronnie and Bob g r ind away s tove l engh t s from t h e p i l e d s l a s h a t t h e o l d show Hans and Kent and I threw them on t h e t r u c k Work loud rhythms i n s i s t a wal l around u s

(world wails l i k e he ld b rea th ) t hen both saws s t o p a t once

and

t e n thousand t imes on t h e h i l l s i d e f i r and cedar l i v e i n t h e assumption o f t h e i r s t and ing i n e a r t h

fou r ba ld e a g l e s t a k e f o r e v e r - t h i r t y seconds - t o c r o s s o u r sky

whi te c louds tower beyond u p l i f t e d cloud i n t o t h e e n d l e s s unsayable b lue

world where a l l o u r c e r t a i n t y and meaning s t and diaphanous

j u s t b a r e l y t h e r e

andy a lexander

i n i t ' s j e s t t o s t a r t 5 . our day j u s t r i g h t

And bu t t e rmi lk cornbread tanning i n t h e oven.

Someone's i n t h e shower, - -

Here come t h e k ids , tumbling i n t o t h e k i tchen

TV's on - No, not car toons , no t today

No sound, on ly a p i c t u r e only on Sunday morning

"Cornbread's almost done, Mom. l1

Okay, time t o l i n e t h e eggs up .... "Who's having what?"

A l l t h e c o l l e c t e d cholesterol p i l e d high

As we smack b u t t e r y l i p s and s e t t l e i n With ou r Sunday morning r i t u a l . O f Sunday morning j azz, o f breaking bread , and.. . .. . The f o o t b a l l game i s about t o start .

Fortunes changing d a i l y

Dale Carnegie on t h e Penny s tocks a t t h e exchange .... pops t h e E s t r i n g on t h e g u i t a r on cue, says , IfDon' t worry, Beaver' s here . borrows $5 Brings a load o f skater; (one very anc ien t p a i r ) and saucepans hucks t h e s k a t e s down t o t i c t a k ' c r o s s t h e s t r e e t from t h e buy 6 s e l l s e l l s box o f s k a t e s , keeps an t ique p a i r s e l l s f r y i n g pans t i n k e r i n g wi th mouth harp holder buys it 4 a b ike buys b e e r s e l l s an t ique s k a t e s buys a head helmet buys a bag, s t a s h e s helmet i n bag buys more beer , says , "Hey t h e day a i n ' t done 'ti1 i t ' s done" Laughs, r i d e s o f f on b ike Li fe i s a song f o r t h e h e a r t t h a t i s f r e e

Taum D

HOW TO ANNOY YOUR FRIENDS & DEPRESS PEOPLE

A S e l f Help Guide By Lloyd Bradley Fenton

Hello. In t h i s s h o r t a r t i c l e I hope t o make a v a i l a b l e t o everyone t h e s k i l l s nec- e s s a r y t o become a thoroughly aggrava t ing pa in i n t h e sph inc t e r . "Sure, Lloyd," you may say, " t h a t ' s f i n e G dandy, bW what t h e h e l l kind o f s k i l l i s t h a t t o be t e a - ching someone. I s it going t o make me f i n - a n c i a l l y independent, a b e t t e r person, someone t o w r i t e home about?" This is of course a v a l i d ques t ion which should be addressed. Which b r ings me t o t h e f i r s t l esson i n becoming an ignorant l i t t l e p i s - s an t .

1) I f somebody has a v a l i d p o i n t o r con t r ibu t ion t o make, ignore it completely . . o r a l e a s t g l o s s ove r it s u p e r f i c i a l l y and move on t o something e l s e .

The next t h ing t o cons ide r i n .becoming t h e c r e t i n you've always a s p i r e d t o b e is your personal gloom q u o t i e n t o r GQ f a c t o r a s I c a l l i t . When someone comes t o you beaming with energy about some new d i r e c t - ion t h e i r l i f e has taken , do you congratu- l a t e them & o f f e r your h e a r t f e l t suppor t?

This is mistake 2 i n being t h e l e t h a r g i c waste of DNA t i s s u e t h a t sends people running i n t h e oppos i te d i r e c t i o n i n hopes o f avoidance. For i n s t ance i f your daughter/ son / f r i end ceomes t o you wi th thenews t h a t she /he / i t is expect ing a baby 9monthsf rom now t h e proper response i s , "Really? I t ' s t oo bad with a l l t h e p o l l u t i o n , t heozone dep le t i on , t h e c i v i l s t r i f e , E t h e p o s s i b i - l i t y of being vaporized a t any i n s t a n t by a nuc l ea r explosion brought on by one of t h e many f a n a t i c a l t h i r d world n a t i o n s t o have achieved atomic solvency i n t h i s p r e - ca r ious p i ece o f c r ap world; t h e kid w i l l be lucky t o s e e age s ix . " See, i s n ' t t h i s ' easy? A few days of t h i s behaviour & you! 11 _ be guaranteed a c o f f e e t a b l e t o y o u r s e l f . 1'

Step #3: Know what annoys people & do it I

o f t e n I f a f r i e n d has j u s t q u i t smoking, spend a c o u p l e of days s tudying t h e h i s t o r y of S i r Walter Ra le igh ' s noxiousweed I fyou d o n ' t smoke, s t a r t . Now fo l low your f r i e n d around & chainsmoke t h e TMs you've inves t - ed i n . Discuss noth ing e l s e . T h e c u ~ i n g p r w cess,how they package ta i lor -mades , d i f fe r - en t c u t s of l e a f ; go on i n an end1ess;drone. Phone him/her i n t h e middle o f t h e n i g h t t o borrow money f o r a "pack o f bu t t s1 ' .

I f you fo l low t h i s adv ice I can a s s u r e you of a r e p u t a t i o n t h a t w i l l predede you & q u i t e p o s s i b l y a few dea th t h r e a t s .

From Tr i cks of t h e Trade

Three t h i n g s we know about money: 1. I t comes & it goes. I t on ly works when _ it changes-hands; 3 t s pa th i s from t h e customer, t o t h e s t o r e , t o t h e s u p p l i e r , t o t h e manufacturer , t o t h e employee, and f i n a l l y t o t h e bank. So, whenever you spend a d o l l a r , i t ' s gone, & i n a couple of moves o r l e s s i t ' s out o f t h e community. 2 . There ' s on ly so much of i t . I t i s n ' t

l i m i t l e s s - otherwise it cou ldn ' t work. So, we compete with each o t h e r f o r what t h e r e i s , & when money comes from one

t

L

*p lace , i t ' s gone from another .

3 . We don ' t p r i n t it here . The money sup- p l y is c o n t r o l l e d by t h e c e n t r a l g o v l t & t h e banks. I t ' s not i n our c o n t r o l e i t h e r i n d i v i d u a l l y o r communally. So, w j en we're out o f money, we're out o f it u n t i l someone sends some more. - >

Inev i t ab ly , communities run s h o r t o f money. People & communities world-wide have t o o l i t t l e money, & t h a t ' s simply because t h e r e ' s on ly s o much of i t . I t has gone elsewhere & we c a n ' t p r i n t our own, leav ing u s wi th l e s s and more.

- Less jobs, b u s i n e s s ~ n v e s t m e n t , wel l - being, s o c i a l s e r v i c e s , s e c u r i t y , c h a r i t -

I I

ab l e donat ions , co-opera t ion , a t t e n t ion f t o t h e long-term, concern f o r o t h e r s and ! c a r e f o r t h e p l a n e t . More poverty, s o c i a l i - d i s t r e s s , bus ines s f a i l u r e , p r e s su re on 1 governments, crime, competi t ion, sho r t - ; term expedients , r e l i a n c e on cash c rops & ; e x t e r n a l markets, & damage t o t h e environment.

Money i s n ' t r e a l . Money has no va lue i n ; i t s e l f . You c a n ' t e a t it, wear i t , b u i l d '

with i t . I t ' s on ly u s e f u l t o g e t r e a l t h i n g s l i k e food, t o o l s , a r t , & housing. . Money i t s e l f is j u s t a s e t o f t i c k e t s . Of- t e n i t ' s only anumber on your bank account. .

A community s h o r t o f money is l i k e a ,

c a r p e n t e r s h - r t o f inches . There w i l l a l - . ways be t imes when r e a l t h i n g s a r e scarce; ' we can b e s h o r t o f b r i c k s , o u t o f f u e l o r i t h e ha rves t may b e poor. But were we eve r i

out of inches? Did any c a r ~ e n t e r w i t h w o o d , ' - - -- t o o l s , p l ans & t ime eve r q u i t because she ; o r he had no inches? Of course not . Yetwe a r e o f t e n i d l e , unable t o work o r t r a d e j wi th each o t h e r , when t h e r e a r e p l e n t y of ! r e a l t h i n g s - m a t e r i a l s , equipment, s k i l l s , t ime, goods on t h e she lves & needs t o be i met - simply because t h e r e a r e no t i c k e t s around. Of course we need a new road o r more beds i n t h e h o s p i t a l o r more i nves t - , ment & r e sea rch , o r youth training:&;betltten s o c i a l programs- bu t t h e r e j u s t i s n ' t enough money. Howoftenhaveweheardthis?

i

Now t h e r e i s something we can do about i t . Communities can have t h e i r own money. A l l t h e problems i n a community t h a t a r e caused j u s t by a lack o f money can be r e - solved by us ing a l o c a l currency. Whether communities a r e l a r g e , small , urban, ru ra l , r eg iona l , neighbourhoods, church congrega- t i o n s , o r a r e s e r v a t i o n , l o c a l cu r r enc i e s w i l l i n c r e a s e t h e i r a b i l i t y t o support themselves.

*-

A Local Employment 6 Trading System i s t h e s imp le s t way t o s e t up a l o c a l currency. I t works l i k e a c r e d i t union o r bank, except t h a t you can only use your account t o t r a d e wi th o t h e r people o r bus inesses who a l s o have accounts i n t h e LETSystem. Then every d o l l a r you spend must s t a y i n t h e community, employing l o c a l people and c r e a t i n g l o c a l bus iness .

--=u I-

The Saskatoon LETSystem began i n 1991 & has ove r 60 members o f f e r i n g such goods 6 s e r v i c e s a s l o c a l produce, s o l a r ovens, apartment r e n t a l s , food se rv i ce s , welding, concre te & ca rpen t ry work, b ike r e p a i r s , tobacco p l a n t s , T - s h i r t s and more.

For most t r a n s a c t i o n s p e o p l e u s e b o b h t h e l o c a l & f e d e r a l cu r r enc i e s , a s some expen- s e s a r e o f t e n i ncu r r ed i n f e d e r a l money - goods brought i n , t a x e s , e t c . General ly, every th ing can be made ava i l ab l e , i n t h e l o c a l currency, according t o t h e propor t - ion o f i t s c o s t t h a t is value-added local- l y - l o c a l wages & s a l a r i e s t h a t a r e p a r t o f i t s s e l l i n g p r i c e .

I f you a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s con tac t : LETSaskatchewan, P.O. Box 9431

1 SASKATOON, SK. S7K 7E9

Nightmare a t Yellowknife4

On September 18, 1992, a t approximately 8:35 am, n ine miners were k i l l e d i n an ex p los ion a t t h e o ld Giant Yellowknife mine near Yellowknife i n t h e North West T e r r i - t o r i e s . This a r t i c l e l o o k s l a t some ofil . t he events susrounding t h i s enormous Oragedy.

The Giant Yellowknife mine has been run ning f o r about f i f t y yea r s , and has had a union s i n c e 1946.

In November, 1990, t h e mine was taken over by Royal Oak Resources, and t h e name was changed t o t h e Royal Oak Giant Mine.

Margaret Witte from Nevada i s p r e s i d e n t of t h e company, and she runs t h e mine w i t t h e he lp of mine manager Mike Werner, a l s from t h e United S t a t e s . They have importe American s t y l e s t r i keb reak ing t a c t i c s , i n cluding t h e u se of t h e infamous Pinkerton Secu r i t y Agency.

Royal Oak Resources r e fused t o extend t h e Co l l ec t i ve Agreement which had e x p i r e and re fused t o barga in wi th t h e union l o c a1 #4 of t h e Canadian Assoc ia t ion of Smel t e r 4 A l l i ed Workers. On May 23, 1992, t h company locked out t h e two hundred 4 f o r t miners a t t h e mine.

The R.C.M. P. ltK" Div is ion t a c t i c a l squa a r r i v e d i n a Canadian m i l i t a r y a i r c r a f t within 72 hours from t h e s t a r t o f t h i s labour d i spu te . They worked i n c l o s e co- o rd ina t ion with t h e mine management and t h e i r p r i v a t e p o l i c e fo rce , t h e P inker ton Agency, t o sys t ema t i ca l ly h a r r a s s & a r r e s union members on t h e p i c k e t l i n e .

Right from t h e time Royal Oak Resources took over t h e Giant Yellowknife mine, it planned t o break t h e union; t h e union has i n i t s possess ion a document, da ted Nov- ember 28, '91, i n which t h e company l a i d down extebs ive p l ans f o r a s t r i k e i n t h e spr ing of 1992.

Scab labour was brought t o t h e mine a f t e r t h e lockout of May/92 & an i n j u n c t i o n bar red workers from blocking acces s t o t h mine. To enforce t h e i n junc t ion t h e RCMP used t e a r gas , p o l i c e dogs & a marching formation t h a t resembled t h e phalanx of t h e anc i en t Roman l eg ions .

In s p i t e of p o l i c e 4 Pinkerton har rass - ment, t h e union worked through p o l i t i d a l means t o t r y t o f o r c e t h e company back t o

t h e barga in ing t a b l e . Over t h e summer of 1992, support began t o grow f o r an INdust- r i a l I nqu i ry Commission t o i n v e s t i g a t e the f a i l u r e o f c o l l e c t i v e barga in ing process.

Then on Sept .18 an explos ion took p lace a t t h e mine, k i l l i n g n i n e miners. Although the explosion happened a t about 8: 35 am, the mine management d i d no t a l e r t p o l i c e or mine r e scue teams u n t i l 10:20 am. There Mas an unexplained gap of one-and-a-half l ou r s between t h e t ime of t h e explos ion 4 the a l e r t i n g o f t h e p o l i c e .

Almost immediately t h e RCMP c a l l e d t h i s l i s a s t e r a llmurder'l o r llhomocidell, and i n :he union ' s view, t h e RCMP have done every :hing i n t h e i r power t o p o i n t blame i n t h e l i r e c t i o n o f t h e union and i ts members.

The r e s u l t i n g anguish, d i s t r u s t & b i t t e r - less i n t h e community o f Yellowknife has :aused wounds t h a t w i l l t a k e yea r s t o heal.

The union b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e d i s a s t e r was :he r e s u l t o f an i n d u s t r i a l a cc iden t . I t says t h a t s i n c e Royal Oak Resources took w e r t h e mine i n November 1990, s a f e t y has l e t e r i o r a t e d . The union a l s o s ays t h a t nine s a f e t y is one of i t s major concerns in a new c o l l e c t i v e agreement.

I t might have been p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e ( l i ne r s who d i e d i n t h e explos ion were c a r - ' Sying exp los ives wi th them. I t might have ,een p o s s i b l e t h a t exp los ives were l e f t in^ tn unsafe p lace along t h e underground racks . An October '92 p r e s s r e p o r t s t a t e d ha t a mining i n s p e c t o r had found explos- .ves o r caps i n twenty unsafe p l a c e s i n he mine.

Because t h e union has s o much t o l o s e o l i t i c a l l y from t h i s t e r r i b l e explos ion ,

reasonable person could not r u l e ou t he p o s s i b i l i t y of an "agent provacateur" . n f o r t u n a t e l y , n e i t h e r t h e h i s t o r y of t h e i nke r ton S e c u r i t y Agency, n o r t h e RCMP t s e l f , i s f r e e from provocat ive i n c i d e n t s

A s o f Nov. 1 1992, t h e RCMP has presented

A

L1

no hard evidence f o r t h e use of t h e words flmurder" & "homocide" i n r e l a t i o n t o t h i s mine tragedy.

Today the mine i s opera t ing with scab labour and t h e union i s s t i l l f i g h t i n g f o r

' a new c o l l e c t i v e agreement. I t i s a l s o c a l l i n g f o r an independent inquiry i n t o the mine d i s a s t e r & i n t o the conduct of the RCMP during t h i s labour d i spu te a t the Royal Oak Giant Mine.

By SANDY CAMERON

LINES FROM LEARNING CENTRE Your Learning Centre is Waiting f o r You!

I f you have l ived i n Canada a l l your l i f e , o r severa l years, o r have j u s t a r r i - ved here, we a r e a t your service .

I f you speak %@+h we can h e l p you up- grade your reading, wri t ing & math & can

. a l s o a s s i s t you i n g e t t i n g your high school diploma.

If you a r e s t i l l learning t o speak and wr i t e English we have spec ia l programs fo l you too.

Come & meet our f r i e n d l y , humourous and t a l en ted teacher GAIL HARWOOD. Let me t e l l you about Gail . She came t o us a s a volun- t e e r t u t o r i n June 1990, but by Sept. l90 she was a member of t h e s t a f f .

Gail was born i n St.Catherines, Ontario, t h e "orchard be l t " of the Nianara Peninsu- l a . She s tudied i n Waterloo &-worked i n f a c t o r i e s there . She was a l s o involved i n the Trade Union movement the re . I

' From 1980 t o 1982 Gail taught secondary school i n t h e town of Bida i n Northern Nigeria, West Africa f o r Canadian Univers i t y Services Overseas (CUSO) and from 198 t o 1988 i n Marovsa Vil lage, Zimbabwe, Sou thern Africa, f o r t h e World Universi ty Services of Canada. (WUSC).

In 1988 & 1989 Gail t r a v e l l e d i n India i n April 1989 she f i n a l l y landed i n B.C., where she worked i n Coquitlam & Merr i t t teaching English a s a second language(ES1 Then we luck i ly got he r a s 'one of us1 i n June 1990.

A t present Gail teaches E.S.L. c l a sses , G.E.D. c l a s s e s (preparation f o r highschool diploma) & a s s i s t s with the Drop-In program f o r beginners & advanoed s tudents .

Gail loves Carnegie - t lcan' t think of a b e t t e r p lace t o work!" However, she event- u a l l y wants t o r e tu rn t o r u r a l l i f e , run

a small business & become involved i n community development & p o l i t i c a l ac t ion.

Gail says, "Carnegie i s spec ia l because people here ca re about each o the r and t h a t people a r e respected f o r themselves, not f o r mater ia l things."

Do yourself a favour - come t o the Learn ing Centre, meet Gail Harwood & maybe even change your l i f e l

You a r e always welcome. By JOAN DOREE

Volunteer Tutor.

"WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU LOST"

Her coa t has come t o r ep re sen t t h e oce- a n ' s dawning a r t i f i c e o f r ecogn i t i on1 Of cou r se , what appeared t o u s was gossip- coloured & p o l i t i c a l , bu t we suspec ted philosophy, ord inance & pro toco l . Every ~ o s s i b l e human a f f a i r can be a t t r i b u t e d t o l a t e n t poe t ry , we guessed, & t h e arch- e t y p a l watchers themselves probably owe t h e i r sense of po i se t o some a b r u p t , ep i - grammatic, fuzz-bust ing metaphor, some in- somnia of l i n g u i s t i c f e rvo r .

Andy s a i d we a r e t h e un ive r se eyeing it- s e l f .

There is a loudspeaker myth t h a t goes: i f only I could say ( s i n g , p lay) t h e s e t h ings t o everyone a t once, i n such a way t h a t they would t r u l y unders tand , t h e g r e a t e s t problems f ac ing t h i s d would become i n s t a n t l y so lvab le .

I say we may be language "I-ing" i t s e l f . There is a t ype of c h a r a c t e r who would

only be content i f a l l conten t were pred- i c t a b l e , p r ed i ca t ed , unambiguous. 'Every- one a t t h e pa r ty is laughing except f o r t h i s person. It is phys i ca l abuse f o r t he se people t o b e i n t h e u n r e s t r a i n e d presence of o t h e r s , a t e s t of t h e i r to le r - ance, an e x e r c i s e of t h e i r pa in thresh- holds . In t h e i r p resence , we might begin t o assume t h a t , f o r them, people a r e oth- e r h e l l s .

A deser ted beach i n t h e r a i n , some rus- t y loudspeakers b l a r i n g sc ra t chy d i a t r i b e s ac ros s t h e choppy water , o b l i v i o u s couples s aun te r ing up & down, i n d i f f e r e n t t o t h e i n d u s t r i a l vo ice of consc ience , pouring from t h e s e s t e e l mouths.

Don't waste gr inding moral axes o v e r t h e beauty you see . It only makes u g l i n e s s grow l i k e a gangrenous sermon i n s i d e you.

By DAN FEENEY

Bigness i f h o s t i l e t o l i f e . The b igge r t is, t h e more dangerous it is. The b ig- e r it i s t h e more co r rup t , s t u p i d & ou t - E-touch it w i l l h e . Biggness - u s way from our o r i g i n a l smallness .

Our whole i d e a o f how t o l i v e a . l i f e t i m e n t h i s p l a n e t should be cen t r ed on small- ess - but smal lness is o n l y a word, a oncept, an i d e a i n ou r minds - it would a t h e r f ade i n t o t h e background, s t and ing n t h e shadow o f b igness .

Bigness seems t o b e t h e way t o go. We ~ r g a n i z e b igge r o r g a n i z a t i o n s 4 t hose org- miza t ions have as t h e i r purpose, f u r t h e r ~ i g n e s s ... b igge r s a l e s next yea r - f u t u r e ~rowth f o r p r o s p e r i t y - maximization of he resource base - i nc reased investment ~ o t e n t i a l .

Whatever you c a l l i t , it "s b ignes s b u i l t m b igness c r e a t i n g more b igness f o r b ig- less ' sake.

Smallness i s j u s t a concept i n t h e mind, ~ u t i t ' s how we r e l a t e one-on-one, f ace - to-face, eye-to-eye. Smallness i s a ve ry ?owerful t h ing . I t can d e f l a t e b igness .

Soc i e ty should not be run from t h e t o p jown bu t from t h e bottom up. There is smallness i n t h e s t r e e t - anonymous people! who's worlds a r e f u l l o f t h e most t r u t h - f u l smal lness , bu t you got t o have small eyes t o s e e i t , l i k e a small i n t e l l i g e n t animal.

Smallness i s t h e saving grace of human- i t y . We should p r a c t i c e smallnes9, then we might ca t ch a glimpse o f t h o s e small world! beyond t h e horizon of t h i s busy bunch of b igness we b e l i e v e i n , t o voyage beyond t h e known world of b igness & d i scove r an i n f i n i t y o f smallness .

On t h e b ig map of t h e b i g world, one b igness j u s t bumps i n t o ano the r b igness , then we have wars & border d i s p u r e s & economic t r a d e ... ... walk t a l l - be smal l !

TORA

A. YF CANADA UNDER SIEGE Three Years into the Free Trade Era

Bruce Campbell Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

January 1992 INTRODUCTION :

The Canada-US Free Trade Agreement came i n t o e f f e c t on January 1 , 1989. In i t s few years of opera t ion t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of jobs has been t h e most v i s i b l e man i f e s t a t i on of t h e r e s t r u c t u r - ing of t h e Canadian economy.

To f i n d a per iod of g r e a t e r co l l apse of mane f a c t u r i n g employment one has t o go back t o t h e Great Depression where, beginning i n 1929, it f e l l 29.7% before bottoming out i n 1933. The cu r r en t n e t d e s t r u c t i o n o f manufacturing jobs a t 23.1% o f t h e manufacturing work f o r c e ( a s o f Oct. '91) shows no s i g h of s topping. A numberof sub-sectors , inc luding food & beverages,leather t e x t i l e s , c lo th ing , p r i n t i n g & publ ishing, and chemicals, have a l r eady surpassed Depression l e v e l s o f jobs l o s t .

According t o S t a t s Canada's survey o f e s t ab - l ishments, "Employment, Earnings & Hours ," man- u f ac tu r ing employment cont inues t o show $he most dramatic d e c l i n e . Between June '89&Oc'91 t h e r e was a n e t l o s s of 461,000 jobs (23.1%). Manufacturing now employs only 15% o f t h e t b t a l Canadian labour fo rce , l i k e l y t h e lowest l e v e l i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l world.

For f r e e t r a d e obse rve r s i t ' s important t o no te t h a t over 150,000 o f t hese jobs disappear- ed be fo re t h e formal onset of t h e so-ca l led recess ion. The connection between f r e e t r a d e and manufacturing job l o s s becomes apparent when it is considered t h a t between 1981 61988 manu- f a c t u r i n g employment o v e r a l l remained constant, with some s e c t o r s dec l in ing & o t h e r s growing. There was a drop of 270.000 jobs ( 1 7 . 5 % ) i n t h e '81-'82 r eces s ion but most o f t h o s e j o b s r e t u r n - ed. Since t h e t r a d e deal took e f f e c t , a l l o f t h e major manufacturing sub-sectorshave experiencd l a r g e d e c l i n e s i n employment i n t h e l a s t t h r e e years , with a l l but one by more than 15%.

A v i t a l c l u e t h a t t h e c u r r e n t employment c r i - sis involves a f r ee - t r ade -d r iven r e s t r u c t u r i n g superimposed on a bus ines s cyc l e downturn can be found i n t h e Ontar io gov ' t f i g u r e s on p l an t c lo su re s . Although no o t h e r governments compile such comprehensive s t a t i s t i c s , O n t a r i o i s t h e manufacturing hea r t l and o f Canada & it can saf- e l y be assumed t h a t a s i m i l a r process i s going on i n o t h e r manufacturing cen t r e s . In 1981-82, 22% o f workers who l o s t t h e i r jobs d id so because o f permanent p l a n t c lo su re s . In t h e t h r e e years o f f r e e t r a d e 65% o f l o s t jobs have been

due t o permanent p l an t c lo su re s . Another important i nd i ca t ion t h a t t he t r a n s -

formation of t he Canadian economy cannot be dismissed a s merely t h e r e s u l t o f " recess ionv i s t o compare manufacturing job l o s s e s here with l o s s e s experienced in t he US economy. h r - ing t h e same per iod, June'89 -Oc191 the US ecw nomy l o s t 1,241.000 manufacturing jobs n e t , o r 6.3% of t h e manufacturing work fo rce , roughly 1/4 o f t h e d e c l i n e in t he Canadian manufacturing s e c t o r . With one exception, e l e c t r i c a l / e l e c t r o n i c s , t h i s divergence i s r e f l e c t e d i n a l l t h e major manufacturing sub-sectors .

Although t h e drop in manufacturing i s t he most pronounced, o t h e r s e c t o r s of t h e Canadian economy have a l s o experienced sharp dec l ines . Other goods-producing i n d u s t r i e s (construction, mining, f o r e s t r y ) have l o s t 173,000 jobs (21%) & se rv i ces , where most Canadians a r e employed, have l o s t 562,000 jobs (7.2%). Employment in s e r v i c e s c l o s e l y l inked t o manufacturing ( i . e . s e r v i c e s t o bus ines s ) has f a l l e n a t a g r e a t e r r a t e (14.7%). Employment i n t h e key a rea of err g ineer ing & s c i e n t i f i c s e r v i c e s has f a l l e n 9%.

Looking a t t h e economy a s a whole, i n t h e 5 yea r s p r i o r t o t h e FTA's implementation, it c rea t ed an average o f 325,000 new jobs a year .

I f t h a t t r end had con t inued the economy should have c rea t ed almost one mi l l i on new j o b s i n t h e 3 yea r s o f f r e e t r ade . Ins tead, s ince Jan . ' 89 , t h e r e has been n e t des t ruc t ion o f 100,000 jobs Almost ha l f a mi l l i on people were added t o t h e unemployment r o l l s , pushing t h e o f f i c i a l r a t e up from 7.8% t o 10.3% (1,423,000 persons) a s of November 1991. (Now over 11% - ed. )

Add t o t h i s t h e 800,000 l a id -o f f workers who a r e no longer considered p a r t o f t h e workforce because they ceased looking f o r work more than s i x months ago (another 6.5%) & 93,000 who a r e s t i l l considered p a r t o f t h e workforce but a r e not seeking owrk because they have become d i s - couraged o r a r e awai t ing r e p l i e s from employ- e r s (another 1%0; add 502,000 who a r e working pa r t - t ime because they c a n ' t f i n d f u l l - t i m e work (another 4 .2%); & t h e un/underemployment r a t e r i s e s t o 21%. This adds up t o a human c r & s i s which r i v a l s t h e 1930s.

Free t r a d e defenders respond t o t h e cu r r en t economic c r i s i s i n a v a r i e t y o f ways. Some say i t ' s s t i l l t o o e a r l y t o judge t h e FTA's impact

& blame worldwide r eces s ion , t h e ( then) high f o r t h i s ideology i n terms o f advancing t h e d o l l a r &/or g loba l i za t ion . O the r spo in t t owha t pub l i c good r a r e l y accord with observed r e a l i - t hey s e e a s p o s i t i v e s i g n s on Canada's t r a d e & t y . However, t h e b e n e f i t s it b r ings t o t h e m o s t fo re ign investment ba lances t o show t h a t f r e e powerful i n ou r s o c i e t y a r e evident . Canadians

t r a d e is working, Most, al though n o t a l l , deny gene ra l ly , l i k e c i t i z e n s o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s i n t h a t t h e cu r r en t s i t u a t i o n i s t h e intended con- which t h i s ideloogy has dominated policymaking

sequence (although perhaps not a n t i c i p a t i n g it a r e now reaping t h e b i t t e r f r u i t . B a s i c t e n e t s t o be q u i t e so "painful") o f a co-ordinated of neoconservat ive inc lude t h e following: po l i cy response, o f which t h e FTA is c e n t r a l , * Reducing t h e power o f g o v ' t t o i n t e rvene i n t o a perce ived r e a l i t y : i . e . "competit iveness t h e economy & s h i f t i n g t h a t power t o t h e mar i n an interdependent world.'' k e t ( i . e . t o l a r g e co rpo ra t ions which have pow

The most remarkable of responses comes from e r i n t h e market) . Dismantling t h e mixed econe those who argue t h a t , a s bad a s it i s now, t h e my of t h e post-war per iod i s t h e r e f o r e consid- s i t u a t i o n would be even worse without t h e FTA ered e s s e n t i a l . Competit iveness i s t h e c e n t r a l i n p lace . The l o g i c o f t h i s a s s e r t i o n r e q u i r e s r a l l y i n g concept. The lexicon a l s o inc ludes : us t o make t h e spec t acu la r l e a p of f a i t h t h a t p r i v a t i z a t i o n , de regu la t ion , l i b e r a l t r a d e . only 3 yea r s a f t e r t h e promised e r a o f jobs & prospe r i t y we should be g r a t e f u l t h a t we a r e * In t eg ra t ing t h e Canadian economy wi th t h e US not even c l o s e r t o t h e 19302 l e v e l o f c r i s i s economy is a l s o e s s e n t i a l . Let companies s l u g than we a r e a l ready. To support t h e i r c la im, it ou t i n t h e con t inen ta l market & t h e surviv- they a r e r eve r t i ng t o more co rpo ra t e /gov l t fu* o r s a t t h e end o f t h i s "cold showert' o f r e s t - ded econometric analyses , us ing t h e same type ~ c t u r i n g w i l l be l eane r , meaner, more e f f i c i - of models on which they r e l i e d so heav i ly i n e n t & compet i t ive . Workers who l o s e t h e i r jobs t h e campaign t o s e l l f r e e t r a d e o r i g i n a l l y , & i t ' s assumed, w i l l f i n d new h ighe r p roduc t iv i - which completely f a i l e d t o p r e d i c t t h e e f f e c t s t y jobs. of t h e FTA. For tunate ly , while t h i s conjur ing exe rc i se may comfort t h e t r u e b e l i e v e r s , i t i s

* Recessions (encouraged by monetary po l i cy )

not swaying t h e common-sense observat ions of a r e necessary , even d e s i r a b l e a s d e t e r r e n t s

most Canadians, who now oppose t h e FTA in r e c - t o excess. They weed ou t weak & i n e f f i c i e n t

ord numbers. f i rms. They weaken unions, inducing g r e a t e r

The f r e e t r a d e agreement cannot be viewed in f l e x i b i l i t y i n labour markers & d i s c i p l i n i n g

i s o l a t i o n from t h e broader package o f p o l i c i e s wage demands. They weaken t h e f i s c a l capac i ty

which comprise t h e Conservative agenda. I s i s o f gov ' t & therewi th i t s capac i ty t o d e l i v e r pub l i c goods & se rv i ces .

an i n t e g r a l p a r t of t h a t package. I t i n t e r a c t s with & r e in fo rces (& i s r e in fo rced by) o t h e r Making t h e r i c h r i c h e r by f r e e i n g up savings, p o l i c i e s , f a c i l i t a t e s t h e i n t roduc t ion o f poli- which they w i l l t hen i n v e s t , r e s u l t i n g i n e e c i e s wi th which i t ' s compatible & h i n d e r s t h o s e onomic growth & p r o s p e r i t y t h a t w i l l t r i c k l e ( e x i s t i n g o r new) wi th which it is no t . More- down t o t h e r e s t of soc i e ty . A c o r o l l a r y o f over, it a c t s upon a complex s o c i a l r e a l i t y . t h i s approach i s t h a t s o c i a l suppor t s such a s I t has p o l i t i c a l , psychologica l & s o c i a l e f f - unemployment insurance & s o c i a l a s s i s t a n c e e c t s . I t has d i r e c t & i n d i r e c t e f f e c t s , some which make workers l a z y & "uncompetitivel' must c l e a r & some obscure. I t produces e f f e c t s t h a t be cu t backEtargetedtothemostneedy only. genera te secondary e f f e c t s t h a t o v e r t i m e c a u s e s t i l l f u r t h e r e f f e c t s . The t h r e a d s o f c a u s a l i t y

THE MULTI-PURPOSE FTA:

a r e i n t r i c a t e & t h e i r e f f e c t s a r e c u m u l a t i v e . Looking back over t h e l a s t 3 yea r s , t h e FTA Di f f e ren t evaluat ing c r i t e r i a w i l l y i e l d dif- has been e f f e c t i v e a s a multi-purpose device

f e r e n t evaluat ions . The FTA & Conservative pok f o r secur ing & advancing t h e conse rva t ives ty l e i c i e s gene ra l ly can be seen t o beworking q u i t e r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f Canada. This r epo r t w i l l exam wel l when viewed through t h e p r i s m o f t h e l ' f r e e i ne 5 ways i n which t h e FTA has been u t i l i z e d market" o r neoconservative ideology t h a t domin- t o t h i s end: 1) i t ' s ac ted a s a wedge, provid- a t e s cu r r en t pol icy . That ideology, l i k e a l l ing impetus f o r 2 major po l i cy i n i t i a t i v e s t o i deo log ie s , conta ins a v i s i o n o f t h e economy, f u r t h e r ent rench o r " cons t i t u t iona l i ze" t h e gov ' t & soc i e ty , & an agenda f o r g e t t i n g there. agenda; 2 ) i t ' s ac t ed a s a c e i l i n g , prevent ing I t ' s d r iven by powerful co rpo ra t e i n t e r e s t s intervention-minded g o v e r n m ~ o m implement- c l o s e l y a l igned t o t h e Mulroney g o v ' t , a r t i cu l - ing t h e i r agendas 6 thwar t ing l e g i s l a t i o n t h a t a t ed i n economics departments 6 lburhetsr rchooZ r e s t r i c t s corpora te a c t i v i t y ; 3) i t ' s s e m e d a s 6 heralded i n newspaper bus iness pages. Claims a vice within which t h e Conservative gov ' t con-

t i n u e s t o u n i l a t e r a l l y de regu la t e , f u r t h e r c o n press ing t h e p o l i c y space a v a i l a b l e t o f u t u r e governments; 4 ) i t ' s been used by t h e US in tandem with GATT a s a whipsaw to fu r , t he rweaken o r e l imina t e i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t Canadian laws & r egu la t ions ; 6 5) t h e FTA has served t h e Tory gov ' t a s a key l e v e r t o f a c i l i t a t e & hasten im plementation of i t s po l i cy agenda:corporate r e

I

A Wedge: s t r u c t u r m g & downward harmonization of s tand-

13. The FTA has given impetus t o 2 major i n i t i a G

a r d s , d ismant l ing o f t h e Canadian s o c i a l cont - i v e s i n 1991 whose purpose i s t o f u r t h e r tllock r a c t , & implementation o f "big-business- f r ien& i n w t h e conservat ive agenda & put it beyond ly" p o l i c i e s . t h e reach of f u t u r e governments.

Indeed, t h e FTA might be termed t h e Swiss ar- Last June formal nego t i a t i ons began t o e x t e n d my kn i f e of t h e Tory/big bus iness agenda. t h e FTA t o inc lude Mexico. A North American

There a r e , however, some c louds on t h e h o r i b Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) remain's p a r t of on. Three f a c e t s of t h e FTA bear mentioning i f t h e admin i s t r a t i on ' s En te rp r i s e f o r t h e Americ no t d e t a i l e d examination, before we proceed. a s I n i t i a t i v e t o l a y down new rulesofedonomic F i r s t l y , t h i s f r ee - t r ade -d r iven r e s t r u c t u r i n g o r d e r i n t h e hemisphere so a s t o conso l ida t e might back f i r e , r e s u l t i n g in f a r f e w e r c a n a d i a n i t s sphere of dominance. As John Negroponte, "winners" & f a r more " losers" than expected, & US ambassador t o Mexico, wrote i n a con f iden tg consequently a permanent c r i p p l i n g ( con t r a ry a1 April ' 91 US S t a t e Dept. memo," The FTA can t o neoconservat ive f a i t h ) of t h e whole economy. be seen a s an instrument t o promote, consol id-

a t e & guarantee continued p o l i c i e s of economic reformuin Mexico beyond thk Sa l inas Administra t i on . " Other Lat in American coun t r i e s a r e l i n - ing up t o "dock in" once a t r i l a t e r a l deal i s concluded. US o f f i c i a l s expect t o s ign frame- work t r a d e agreements (which a r e precursors t o FTAs) with a l l Lat in American & Caribbean coup t r i e s except Cuba by t h e end o f 1992.

The NAFTA i s a l s o an oppor tuni ty t o reopen & "improve" t h e Canada-US d e a l . The Canadian gow ernment t e l l s u s t h a t we have t o be a t t h e b a r ga in ing t a b l e i n o r d e r t o p r o t e c t t he vaguely- dfinded "hard won" FT'A ga ins , t h e e f f e c t o f which cannot, we a r e t o l d , be measured, 6 f o r which we paid an extremely high p r i c e . Forboth Canada & Mexico, t h e US i s t h e d e s t i n a t i o n f o r

Secondly, t h e flawed d i s p u t e s e t t l emen t mech- 3/4 o f t h e i r expor t s . The s i m i l a r i t y o f t h e s e anism could t u r n ou t t o be t h e Ach i l l e s heel expor t s t o t h e US i s h igh & growing r ap id ly ,

o f t h e agreement. I t was supposed t o provide heightening t h e r i v a l r y f o r US market p re fe r - g r e a t l y improved US market access f o r Canadian ence. Canada w i l l be under p re s su re t o match expor t e r s , s p e c i f i c a l l y t hose t h a t a r e n ' t US- concess ions t h a t Mexico makes in a r e a s such a s owned. This o f course h a s n ' t happened. The ~ m - i n t e l l e c t u a l p rope r ty & investment, i n o r d e a t o e r i c a n s have e s c a l a t e d t h e i r harassment & cert- maintain (once again) t h i s i l l u s o r y market a c e a i n t y o f access remains a s i l l u s i v e a s ever . e s s t h a t we were supposed t o have secured i n The s i t u a t i o n has become s o s e r i o u s t h a t

t h e f i r s t round. some h igh -p ro f i l e suppor t e r s have gone pub l i c The second i n i t i a t i v e occurred i n September with t h e i r c r i t i c i s m . Deputy n e g o t i a t o r Gordon when t h e Mulroney gov ' t unveiled i t s proposal R i t ch i e charged t h a t US a c t i o n s "defytHe s p i r - f o r ent renching t h e conservat ive-corpora te ag- it & sometimes t h e l e t t e r o f t h e FT'A." Cheif enda i n t h e Canadian c o n s t i t u t i o n . The propos- n e g o t i a t o r Simon Reisman f o r t h e f i r s t t ime a1 would have extended t h e b ina t iona l mobi l i ty r a i s e d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f abrogat ion i n an i n - r i g h t s & freedoms entrenched i n t h e FTA t o a p p terv iew with The Toronto S t a r . "If t h e Americ- l y wi th in Canada i t s e l f . I t would've a l s o cre* ans don ' t abide by t h e ... r u l e s o f t h e lumber t e d an economic union with s t r eng thenedfede ra l d i s p u t e , Canada would have no opt ion but t o a b i l i t y t o enforce t h e provis ions of bhe f r e e terminate t h e agreement." t r a d e agreement. The e f f e c t would've been t o Third ly , t h e governme.nt's prosperity/competi-

remove important p rov inc i a l gov ' t powers & re- t i v e n e s s agenda, launched i n Oct. '91 with t h e a s s ign these powers t o a Council of t h e Federa r e l e a s e o f t h e summary r e p o r t o f a s tudy co- t i o n (one of t h e "s t i l l - to-be-negotiatedWparts sponsored with t h e Business Counc i lonNa t iona l

I s sues on Canadian compet i t iveness authored by o f t h e Charlottetown Accord) whose mandate

US business p ro fe s so r Michael Porter,uncovered would be t o l i m i t p rov inc i a l ac t ions which

a d i s t u r b i n g con t r ad i c t ion . One of P o r t e r ' s might p l ace "impediments ... t? t h e e f f i c i e n t func t ion ing of t h e i n t e r n a l market." conclus ions , con t r a ry t o neoconservat ive o r t h o This cumbersome body would be a r ec ipe f o r

doxy, was t h a t t h e l e v e l o f f o r e i g n ownership p a r a l y s i s & would i n e f f e c t t r a n s f e r t h i s prow i n Canada i s t o o high & t h a t t h i s s i t u a t i o n i n c i a l power t o t h e "market." I t ' d make t h e should be r ed re s sed by bu i ld ing a s t rong clust- co rpo ra t e s t a t e , with i t s p r i o r i t i e s o f " e f f i c e r o f "home-based" Canadian mul t ina t iona l comp iency" & "competit iveness" ove r - a l l , t h e fund* an ie s . However, t h e FTA removes most of t h e mental law of t h e land i n Canada. very gov ' t po l i cy t o o l s t h a t would be necess- a r y t o achieve t h i s compet i t iveness goal .

A C e i l i n g The c l e a r e s t example in t h e pas t year of t h e

success of t h e FTA i n p ro t ed t ing t h e " r igh t s " of corpora t ions by f r u i t r a t i n g or thwar t ing t h e ac t ions of intervention-minded governments i s t h e case of pub l i c au to insurance i n Ontario. One of t h e main promises o f t h e NDP gov ' t e l e c ted in Sept . '90 was t o r ep l ace p r i v a t e auto i w surance with a publ ic ly-adminis tered system s i m i l a r t o ones a l r eady i n ex i s t ence i n t h r e e o t h e r provinces.

The FTA i n theory a l lows g o v t ' s t o do t h i s , but i n p r a c t i c e g r e a t l y r a i s e s t h e p r i c e of i m plementation. A r t i c l e 2010 r e q u i r e s p r i o r c o n s u l t a t i o n with t h e US gov ' t & is s u b j e c t t o nul- l i f i c a t i o n s & t h e impairment c l a u s e (Art.2011) says t h a t , even i f an ac t ion is compat ib lewi th t h e agreement, i f it reduces b e n e f i t s o t h e r w i a e expected, then t h e US i s e n t i t l e d t o compensa- t i o n . Moreover, A r t i c l e 1605 r e q u i r e s " f a i r market compensation1' t o US f i rms f o r measures which a r e considered "tantamount t o expropriat- ion." Canadian law does n o t g ive t h i s r i g h t t o Canadian companies.

The US au to insurance indus t ry immediately began t o prepare claims f o r compensation under t he FTA. Commissioned s t u d i e s claimed-that they would be e n t i t l e d , under t h e FTA, t o more than a b i l l i o n d o l l a r s i f Ontar io btought i n i ts pub l i c au to insurance scheme. No such l e g a l compensation ob l iga t ion would be required f o r Canadian companies, but i n p r a c t i c e not extending compensation t o them would be p o l i t i c a l l y unacceptable. Gordon Cloney, p re s iden t o f t h e In t e rna t iona l Insurance Council , wrote t o US Trade Representa t ive Car la H i l l s saying Ontar- i o ' s scheme "would compromise t h e most b a s i c i n t en t ion o f t h e Canada-US FTA." He urged h e r t o convey t o t h e Canadians "the s e r i o u s i m p l i c a t i o n s t h e Ontar io ac t ion would have f o r f u t - u r e t r a d e r e l a t i o n s . "

H i l l s agreed t o t h i s reques t . A t t h e August 1991 t r a d e min i s t e r s ' meeting i n S e a t t l e , she pub l i c ly warned Canadian TradeMin i s t e r Michael Wilson t h a t On ta r io ' s proposed po l i cy would v i o l a t e t he FTA & implied t h a t t h e US would exact a very high p r i c e i f Ontar io proceeded.

Consequently, a beleaguered Ontar io gov ' t , weakened by a f r ee - t r ade -d r iven r e s t r u c t u r i n g process t h a t has seen the l a rge - sca l e exodus of production f a c i l i t i e s , t h e l o s s of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, t h e eros ion of i t s revenue base & t he growth o f i t s d e f i c i t admitted de fea t & reneged on i t s promise t o Ontar io vo te r s t o b r ing i n pub l i c auto in su r - ance. ( I t ' s important t o no te a s well t h a t i f t h e FTA had been in p l ace in t h e 1960s, t he se same provis ions & t h e same corpora te p re s su re would probably have prevented Canada from brim ginn i n i t s pub l i c ly funded 4 administered

The au to insurance example demonstrates con- c r e t e l y how t h e FTA ope ra t e s a s a mechanism through which t h e US can s c r u t i n i z e , app ly p r e s su re & r e t a l i a t e a g a i n s t Canadian p o l i c i e s t h a t t h r e a t e n t h e i n t e r e s t s of i t s co rpo ra t ions .

The FTA f r u s t r a t e s d e m o c r a t i c p o l i t i c a l choice by reducing t h e power of f e d e r a l & p r o v i n c i a l governments. But it doesn ' t t r a n s f e r power, a s t h e European Community does, t o sup rana t iona l i n s t i t u t i o n s l i k e t h e European Court o r t h e Eu- ropean Commission. The FTA t r a n s f e r s power t o t h e co rpo ra t ions & e s t a b l i s h e s t h e US a s t h e en fo rce r o f t h e new o rde r . Canada has surrend- ered sovere ignty without having gained any voice i n a sup rana t iona l i n s t i t u t i o n .

Ontar io l e g i s l a t i o n p s n d i n g i n 2 o t h e r a r e a s w i l l a l s o bump up aga ins t t h e c o n s t r a i n t s imp- osed by t h e FTA: changes t o labour l e g i s l a t i o n designed t o modestly i nc rease union bargaining power i n nego t i a t i ons wi th management, & l e g i s l a t i o n t o f a c i l i t a t e p a r t n e r s h i p s between pub- l i c c a p i t a l funds & worker ownership schemes.

With r e spec t t o t h e f i r s t , t h e oppos i t i on i s coming from Ontar io bus ines ses which argue t h a t t h e l e g i s l a t i o n w i l l d i sadvantage them i n competing with t h e i r US coun te rpa r t s . Pressure has a l r eady reached h y s t e r i c a l p ropor t ionswi th t h e l i k e s o f Conrad Black warning t h a t " cap i t - a l & t a l e n t e d people w i l l avoid o r f1ee :On ta r io u n t i l a more favourable c l ima te r e t u r n s . Ontap i o w i l l pay d e a r l y & long f o r its mindless ad- herence t o - t h e NDP . I 1

- As f o r j o i n t gov8t /worker buyouts, t h e f i r s t

t e s t may be t h a t o f a i l i n g Algoma S t e e l i n - - Sau l t G . ~ a r i e , whose expor t s could wel l be sub jec t t o coun te rva i l a c t i o n by US producers a l l e g i n g u n f a i r gov ' t subs id i e s . More genera l - l y , t o t h e ex t en t t h a t t h e US views On ta r io ' s i n t e rven t ions i n c a p i t a l markets a s d i s t o r t i o n which favour Canadian companies & h u r t US i n t - e r e s t s , i t ' l l demand compensation o r r e t a l i a t e .

A r ecen t example of how t h e Tory gov:; u se s t h e FTA t o avoid br inging i n r e g u l a t i o n s pursw a n t t o i n t e r h a t i o n a l agreements which might h inde r co rpo ra t e a c t i v i t y involves t h e adver t i - s i ng p r a c t i c e s o f t r a n s n a t i o n a l s t h a t make baby formulas. O f f i c i a l s from Health & Welfare Can* da and Consumer & Corporate A f f a i r s a d v i s e d t h e Infant Feeding Action Coa l i t i on i n t h e f a l l of 1991 t h a t t h e Canadian gov ' t cannot b r ing in l e g i s l a t i o n t o comply with t h e World Health Organiza t ion ' s code p ro t ec t ing b r e a s t milk and b r e a s t feeding from t h e agg res s ive co rpo ra t e a d v e r t i s i n g o f i n f a n t formula because the WHO code i s "superseded by t h e FTA."

The code is perceived t o be a r e s t r i c t i o n of co rpo ra t e r i g h t s under t h e FTA. This should be

medical insurance) . In l i n e with i t s agenda t h e p a r t i c u l a r l y worrisome t o Mexico a s it p repa re s f ede ra l gov' t ha s a l r eady passed B i l l C-69 t o t o e n t e r i n t o a NAFTA. The m o r t a l i t y r a t e i n br ing f e d e r a l con t r ibu t ions t o Medicare t o $0 Third World c o u n t r i e s o f i n f a n t s w h o a r e b o t t l e by the year 2005. - ed. fed i s 14 t imes h ighe r than b reas t - f ed babies .

A Vice: - small & medium-sized businesses & communities Thirdly , t h e FTA has helped t o advance t h e a r e a l l hu r t by t h i s deregula t ion. Only corpop

conservat ive agenda by ope ra t ing a s a v i ce . a t i o n s which have the r e s o u r c ~ ? ~ t o r e l o c a t e Many p re -ex i s t ing r egu la t ions & o t h e r p v a c t i c e s production t o "low cost" a reas & s h i p back in - which a r e seen a s b a r r i e r s t o ( o r derogat ions t o Canada w i l l b e n e f i t . from) t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s of t h e dea l - i .e . . In t h e t h i r d case , d i sc r imina to ry p rac t i ces Ifthe f r e e & unimpeded funct ioning of t h e mark- aga ins t American beer imports were permitted e t " - were grandfathered. However, every sub- under t h e FTA ( A r t i c l e 1204). Presumably the sequent a c t i o n by t h e Mulroney gov't t o unilat- Canadian gov ' t pa id a p r i c e in t h e negot ia t ion t e r a l l y de regu la t e o r p r i v a t i z e t u r n s t h e v i c e t o secure t h i s exemotion. Nevertheless, t he US & reduces the po l i cy space a v a i l a b l e t o a f u t - ignored t h i s commitment & brought a complaint u re gov ' t , preventing it from re- imposingthese t o GATT which, a s expected, declared them ill* regu la t ions & o t h e r p r a c t i c e s , should i t s o de- ga l . The US admin i s t r a t ion has declared i t s irt s i r e . Even i f such a measure by a f u t u r e gov't t e n t i o n t o r e t a l i a t e i f Canada doesn ' t end t h i s d id no t d i r e c t l y v i o l a t e t h e FTA, i t ' d be very p r a c t i c e . GATT had ruled t h e same way i n 1986 expensive t o implement. Thus, i t ' d be extreme- on a European complaint aga ins t Canadian beer l y d i f f i c u l t , i f not impossible, t o unscrew o r r egu la t ions . Then, un l ike i n t h e 1991 US case , reverse t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e v ice . t h e f e d e r a l gov ' t responded by not accepting &

Examples of t h i s squeeze play include: t h e thereby blocking t h e r u l i n g . p r i v a t i z a t i o n o f Air Canada & Pe t ro Canada;the A f i n a l example involves Canada's i n t e l l e c t w deregula t ion of t h e t rucking indus t ry & f i n a n o a 1 proper ty laws. I f t h e GATT Uruguay Round is i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s ; t h e removal o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n success fu l , it w i l l l i k e l y contain provis ions subs id ie s f o r g ra in moving through e a s t e r n extending from 10 t o 20 yea r s t h e per iod of p o r t s ; t he withdrawal of l e g i s l a t i o n on f i l m monopoly pa ten t p ro tec t ion f o r corporat ions ' d i s t r i b u t i o n ; t h e deregula t ion of National En- new drugs, This would f u r t h e r weakenour system ergy Board power t o apply domestic s u p p l y t e s t s of compulsory l i cenc ing which saves Canadian a s a condi t ion of g ran t ing gas export l icences ; consumers hundreds of mi l l i ons of d o l l a r s / y e a r

I & t h e r ecen t ly announced i n t e n t i o n t o remove i n drug c o s t s . Strengthening corporatemonopoly fore ign ownership r e s t r i c t i o n s on hea l thy Cane r i g h t s , although not p u b l i c l y admitted u n t i l , dian-owned o i l companies. very r ecen t ly , i s very much i n l i n e with the

A Whipsaw: Mulroney gov t ' s own pol icy . Trade Min i s t e r M i -

Fourthly, t h e US has used t h e FTA i n tandem chael Wilson announced i n mid-January t h a t h i s

with GATT (General Agreement on T a r i f f s &Trade gov ' t would accep t t h e GATT proposal f o r ex-

- 108 coun t r i e s worldwide a r e members) a s a tending pa ten t p ro tec t ion , even thoughtheGAIT whipsaw t o f u r t h e r weaken o r e l imina te i n t e r - nego t i a t ions a r e n ' t over. The law extending

v e n t i o n i s t Canadian p o l i c i e s such a s supply monopoly p ro tec t ion pe r iods from 4 t o 10 years

management, Canadian content & d i f f e r e n t i a l back i n 1987 ( B i l l C-22) was, few would d i s - p r i c ing . I t ' s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t , al though the agree, one of t h e s i d e d e a l s t h a t accompanied

Conservative gov ' t has p ro te s t edUSac t ions , i t s t h e s igning o f t h e FTA. I t was the key preced-

responses have been weak & r i n g hollow, given ent i n a process t h a t could culminate i n a i t s own ideo log ica l avers ion t o these pol ic ies . NAFTA which e l imina te s Canada's compulsory lie

Prominent examples of t h i s whipsaw e f f e c t irt ensing system a l toge the r . volved t h e US g e t t i n g GATT r u l i n g s dec la r ing i l l e g a l : BC's domestic f i s h process ing laws; f e d e r a l import quotas on processed food prod- uc t s , i c e cream & yogurt; & discr iminatory s a l e s & d i s t r i b u t i o n p r a c t i c e s aga ins t US beer imports. With r e spec t t o t h e f i r s t , Canada could've, under GATT, brought i n anothkr measure , an export t a x t h a t would've achieved t h e A Lever: same e f f e c t of safeguarding t h e BC processing F ina l ly , t h e FTA has served t h e Conservative indust ry . However, export t axes a r e i l l e g a l urt gov ' t & i ts b ig business a l l i e s well a s an e c e d e r t h e f r e e t r a d e agreement. nomic & psychological l e v e r t o f a c i l i t a t e &

In t h e second case , t he FTA removed t a r i f f s has ten corporate r e s t r u c t u r i n g & downward harm on a l l imports, inc luding processed d a i r y prod- on iza t ion o f s tandards , d ismant le t h e Canadian u c t s , i c e cream & yogurt . T a r i f f s were import- s o c i a l con t rac t & implement "big-business- ant t oo l s , along with milk import quotas, f o r f r i e n d l y " p o l i c i e s . Tying t h e Canadian economy implementing supply management i n t h e d a i r y t o t h e g i a n t US economy, where neoconservatism sector . The gov ' t then t r a n s f e r r e d these prod- i s f i r m l y i n p lace , with an i n t e g r a t i o n agree- u c t s t o i t s import con t ro l l i s t , but GATTruled ment t h a t ensh r ines c a p i t a l mob i l i t y r i g h t s & following a US complaint t h a t t h e Canadian go* o t h e r " f r e e market" r u l e s has l e f t t h e "mixed" ernment could only put such quotas on bas i c n Canadian economy no choice but i n t h e name of milk & not on processed products. harmonization t o reshape i t s e l f i n the image

Farmers, f i s h e r s , process ing workers, many of the l a r g e r pa r tne r .

a t e the harmonization/restructuring process which t h e FTA had c a s t i n s tone. There i s a c i r cums tan t i a l ca se f o r arguing t h a t a commit-

The l o g i c of Canadian-based bus iness arguing ment by t h e Canadian gov ' t t o r a i s e t h e d o l l a r t h a t it now has t o dompete on a l e v e l p laying exchange r a t e was l i k e l y a p a r t of t h e f r e e f i e l d has become very compelling; s o , , t o q given t r a d e package. Whether t h i s was imposedbythe i ts new mobi l i ty , a r e i ts t h r e a t s t o leave. US on t h e Conservative gov ' t o r whether it was Herein l i e s t h e h e a r t o f t h e FYA's value a s an seen, with t h e FTA i n place , a s a necessary instrument d r iv ing t h e conservat ive transformrt companion measure t o r e i n f o r c e the in tegrabion t i o n of Canada. of t h e two economies, t h e po l i cy has been del-

To a d j u s t t o t h i s new r e a l i t y , governments i b e r a t e . And i f it was d e l i b e r a t e , i t s e f f e c t s must e l imina te many f e a t u r e s t h a t make t h e Can- were a n t i c i p a t e d i n advance of t h e d e a l ' s i m p adian economy d i s t i n c t i v e , & remove o r weaken lementat ion. ( in the name of competit iveness) t h e s o c i a l I t ' s u se fu l t o r e c a l l t h a t i n 1986,when t h e se rv ices t h a t g ive expression t o values which Economic Council came out i n favour of t h e have defined us a s a more c a r i n g soc ie ty . gov t ' s f r e e t r a d e i n i t i a t i v e , it presented a

Thus, a l ign ing c o s t & r egu la to ry s t r u c t u r e s worst-case scena r io i n which, without a f r e e means fo rc ing down wages, weakening unions, t r a d e dea l , a p r o t e c t i o n i s t US Congressimpos- fo rc ing down s o c i a l & labour s t anda rds , fo re ing ed a 20% s u r t a x on imports from Canada, d e s t - down environmental s tandards , f o r c i n g down COP roying 520,000 Canadian jobs over 9 years . pora te t axes & s o c i a l program spending. Since t h e Council made t h i s p red ic t ion , t h e

The e f f ec t o f t h i s l e v e l l i n g o n t h e p ~ i i t i a a l d o l l a r has r i s e n over 20% ( the equivalent o f cohesion of Canada was f o r e t o l d by p o l i t i c a l not only a s u r t a x on Canadian expor t e r s but s c i e n t i s t Donald Smi1ey:"The bonds o f Canadian i n add i t ion a 20% subsidy f o r US expor t e r s ) nationhood a r e p r imar i ly i n t h e sphere of go* with t h e corresponding des t ruc t ion of jobs. ernment & i n a c t i v i t i e s d e c i s i v e l y shaped by (Now t h a t much o f t h e takeovers & buyouts & gov ' t . Thus po l i cy harmonization inhe ren t i n res t rucdur ing i s happening, t h e d o l l a r i s go- t h e FTA chal lenges Canadian d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s i n ing down rap id ly ; t h i s lowers t h e c o s t s of a very d i r e c t way." American s u b s i d i a r i e s shipping t o parent HQ.)

In i t s e a r l y years t h e Mulroney gov ' t moved I t ' s a l s o use fu l t o r e c a l l t h a t t h e r i s e in h a l t i n g l y t o implement i t s agenda & was fo rced t h e exchange r a t e was completely t h e opposi te under pub l i c pressure t o back down on such act- of what f r e e t r a d e proponents s a i d would happ ions a s pension deindexat ion & unemployment en t o t h e d o l l a r i f wages & t axes got out o f c u t s . I t was forced t o move more slowly & s u r r l i n e a s economic i n t e g r a t i o n proceeded. e p t i t i o u s l y . The Tor ies even had t o promise dw The high in teres t /exchange r a t e p o l i c y w h i c h r i n g the 1988 e l e c t i o n t h a t no harm would come was so ld t o Canadians a s being necessary t o t o our s o c i a l programs under f r e e t r a d e . f i g h t i n f l a t i o n has been, more accura t e ly , a

However a f t e r t h e e l e c t i o n t h e Conservative po l i cy of wage compression. High i n t e r e s t gov ' t moved aggress ively . Within months,OldAge r a t e s & t axes such a s t h e GST were much more Secur i ty , Family Allowance & Unemployment Insw i n f l a t i o n a r y than p res su re from wages, which rance were a l l on t h e chopping block. I t broke were cons tan t ly f i g h t i n g t o ca t ch up. But even i t s agreement on p rov inc ia l cos t - sha r ing f o r though r e a l wages i n t h e ~8Os los tmoreground the Canada Assistance Program (welfare) by t o labour p roduc t iv i ty growth than a t an t t ime f reezing t r a n b f e r payments t o Ontario, Alber ta t h i s century, US wages l o s t even more ground; & BC where h a l f o f Canada's poor a r e located, & t h e r e f o r e Canadian wages had t o be f u r t h e r even a s it was fo rc ing more prople onto t h e d i s c i p l i n e d & harmonized i n t h e new f r e e t r a d e welfare r o l l s through changes t o t h e UI and environment. The r i s e i n t h e exchange r a t e s through r ep res s ive monetary pol icy . has g r e a t l y increased u n i t labour c o s t s re la t -

The cutbacks in f ede ra l t r a n s f e r s t o t h e p r e ive t o those i n t h e US, accentuat ing t h e "urg v inces f o r post-secondary education & h e a l t h gency" t o cu t Canadian wages, which a s a r e s - c a r e begun i n 1986 were g r e a t l y acce le ra t ed .1 t u l t a r e now s i g n i f i c a n t l y h igher across the i s es t imated t h a t by 1994 they wi1lfvedrained board than t h e i r US coun te rpa r t s .

an es t imated $22 b i l l i o n from t h e h e a l t h ca re The pol icy had i t s intended e f f e c t on wages system, & by the year 2000 f e d e r a l cash t r a n 9 by producing one of the worst economic c r i s e s f e r s t o the provinces w i l l have dropped c lose i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l world. As Wood Gundy econom t o zero. I t ' s no coincidence t h a t t h e federa l i s t J e f f Rubin put i t : "The high d o l l a r is a gov't i s g e t t i n g out of t he hea l th business very powerful impetus f o r cos t d i s c i p l i n e ... a s t h e deadl ine i s reached f o r a c o m o n regime Without i t , wage se t t l emen t s wouldn't be s l i p

of FTA r u l e s on acceptable subs id ie s . There ping t o 3% i n '91 from 6% i n '90." Theanxie ty

w i l l be no need f o r any embarassing concess- caused by t h e t h r e a t of job l o s s Cexacerbated

ions t o t h e Americans. by a weakened s o c i a l s a f e t y ne t has curbed Forcing up t h e Canadian d o l l a r , beginning i n wage demands. I n the f ede ra l publ ic s e c t o r a

1988, through a high i n t e r e s t r a t e po l i cy was b lun te r approach t o wage compressionwas taken

a c e n t r a l p a r t of t h e kovt ' s d r i v e t o acceleP - a l e g i s l a t e d wage f r eeze .

Monetary po l i cy has a l s o been a key t o o l t o c r e a t e t h e s ense of "urgency" t o cu t s o c i a l 6 o t h e r gov ' t spending under t h e g u i s e of reducing t h e d e f i c i t . A 1991 S t a t i s t i c s Canadastudy exposed t h e Consevat ive /corpora te l i e t h a t "rampant s o c i a l spending" was r e spons ib l e f o r t h e f e d e r a l debt d e f i c i t c r i s i s . I n f a c t , f o r t h e l a s t 5 yea r s t h e gov ' t has run ope ra t ing budget su rp luses , w i th revenue r e g u l a r l y e x c e e d ing f e d e r a l program spending by $10-12b i l l i on each year t o p a r t i a l l y o f f s e t t h e roughly $40B yea r ly ou t l ay i n i n t e r e s t payments on i t s$400B debt . A l l t h e whi le t h e gov ' t maintained t h e f i c t i o n t h a t i t couldn ' t lower i n t e r e s t payment 6 cu t b i l l i o n s from t h e d e f i c i t , t h a t i t could not e l imina t e t h e b i l l i o n s of d o l l a r s i n corp- o r a t e t a x s u b s i d i e s , 6 t h a t i t c o u l d n ' t f i n a n c e i ts d e f i c i t by r e tu rn ing t o a po l i cy of c r ea t - ing money i t s e l f through t h e Bank of Canada ( r a t h e r than l e t t i n g p r i v a t e f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t * t i o n s do it exc lus ive ly ) , thereby breaking t h e cyc l e of i nc reas ing gov ' t debt i n o r d e r t o pay i n t e r e s t on i ts o l d deb t .

The FTA has a l s o been an important hook'around which t h e Conservative gov ' t has reshaped t h e t a x system t o b e n e f i t b i g bus iness . Most drama- t i c has been t h e GST, which t r a n s f e r r e d $4 b i L l i o n of t axes from co rpo ra t ions t o consumers. Prudential-Bache S e c u r i t i e s , i n its f i r s t ass- essment of t h e ETA, c i t e d t h e importance of br inging i n t h e GST i n a f r e e t r a d e environment dominated by t r a n s n a t i o n a l s . It noted t h a t i n t h i s environment, w i th t h e e x i s t i n g manufactur ing s a l e s t a x (MST) on Canadian-made i n p u t s l e f t i n p l ace , t r a n s n a t i o n a l corpora t ions ,most of whose t r a d e is in t r a - f i rm o r non-market,can simply pass on t h i s t a x , r a i s i n g t h e p r i c e of Canadian-made inpu t s r e l a t i v e t o i npu t s import- ed from t h e US 6 the rewi th t h e c o s t of production i n Canada. I n a pre- f ree t r a d e environment t h i s a c t i o n could be o f f s e t by t a r i f f s and/or content requirements.

Thus, no t e s Prudential-Bache, t h e GST was an i n i t i a t i v e by t h e Canadian gov ' t t o address t h i s consequence of f r e e t r a d e . It removes t a x from t h e manufacturer (h p l aces i t on t h e consumer) & "should add t o Canada's a t t r ac t iveness a s a manufacturing p la t form i n t h e US."Besides making Canadian expor t e r s (mainly t r ansna t ion - a l s ) more "cornpetit ive" by reducing t h e i r t axes t h e GST, by t ak ing i n more revenue than t h e t a x i t replaced, a l s o makes up f o r t h e $3 b i l l i o n per year t a r i f f revenue l o s t t o t h e t r ea su ry .

A s w i th monetary p o l i c y , t h e i n t roduc t ion of t h e GST was c l e a r l y r e l a t e d t o f r e e t r a d e 6 i ts e f f e c t s were a n t i c i p a t e d be fo re t h e FTA was i m - plemented. Knowing t h a t t h e GST would saddle consumers with t h e consequences of removingthe t a r i f f s 6 t h e manufacturers s a l e s t a x , t h e g o v t f r audu len t ly proclaimed dur ing t h e ' 8 8 e l e c t i o n campaign t h a t t h e consumer wouldget m a j o r p r i c e reduct ions under f r e e t r a d e . As it t u r n s o u t , Canadian consumers only get a break on p r i c e s when they make t h e i r purchases i n t h e US.

co rpo ra t e r e s t r u c t i n g i n t h e new c o n t i n e n t a l market has been the exodus of Canadtan jobs 6 production, a s companies, both Canadian-owned a s we l l a s US-owned, r e l o c a t e t o t h e US, p a r t i c u l a r l y t o t h e southern s t a t e s 6 t h e Mexican maquiladora, t o t a k e advantage of lower wages, lower t a x e s , weaker hnon-enforced l abour 6 environmental laws, e t c .

One of t h e ways t h e US sunbe l t s t a t e s keep ages 6 s t anda rds low is through " r igh t t o work"

laws. These laws permit workers t o op t out of c e r t i f i e d unions 6 not pay dues, while requir - i ng t h e unions t o r ep re sen t tham a t t h e b a r g a i r r ing t a b l e . Th i s i ncen t ive t o " f r ee r id ing" has undermined t h e c o l l e c t i v e bargaining process t o t h e ex t en t t h a t unioniza t ion r a t e s have dropped below 5% i n some s t a t e s . Tennessee bus ines s r e c r u i t e r Alf Barnet te t y p i f i e s t h e "employer f r i end ly" c l imate i n l a r g e p a r t s of t h e new f r e e t r a d e l e v e l playing f i e l d : "We don ' t c a r e i f you b u i l d bombs in our towns; j u s t don ' t b r i n g a union." .

Jim Stanford . i n a study published Dec.'91 by t h e Canadian Centre f o r Poliicy Al t e rna t ives d e c l a r e s t h a t r i g h t t o work laws a r e de l ibe r - a t e a r b i t r a r y r e s t r i c t i o n s on labour pracbices which have had t h e e f f e c t of suppress ing o r subs id i z ing t h e wage c o s t s of manufacturers (pa id f o r i n v o l u n t a r i l y by t h e workers) by $1.45 an hour. S tanford c a l c u l a t e s t h a t f o r a group of n ine such s t a t e s , t h i s amounted t o a subsidy t o manufacturers of some $10 b i l l i o n a y e a r , o r 15% of t h e i r t o t a l labour c o s t s .

Fu r the r sou th is t h e maquiladora, t h e Mexic an manufacturing export process ing zone, an a r e a which one businessman descr ibed a s "para- d i se . " Besides its loca t ion on t h e doors tep of t h e American market, t h e most powerful mag n e t is rock-bottom wages. Between 6 0 ~ 6 70C an hour , t he se wages, among t h e lowest any- where, have been achieved 6 maintained wi th t h e a s s i s t a n c e of an imploding currency 6 an a u t h o r i t a r i a n gov ' t t h a t smothers p o l i t i c a l oppos i t i on 6 suppresses independent labour movements. Business proponents of f r e e t r a d e p e r p e t r a t e t h e myth t h a t Canadians don ' t have t o worry about low Mexican wages because pro- d u c t i v i t y l e v e l s a r e so low. While t h i s may be t r u e f o r t h e Mexican economy a s a whole i t i s a d i s t o r t i o n of t h e r e a l i t y i n t h e Maquil* dora which i s populated almost e n t i r e l y by t r a n s n a t i o n a l co rpo ra t ions , mainly US-owned, many of whose expor t p l a n t s conta in s t a t e -o f - t he -a r t equipment h processes a l lowing high l e v e l s of labour p roduc t iv i ty .

As business guru P e t e r Drucker s ays , "It t akes 3 yea r s a t t h e most f o r a maquila t o a t t a i n t h e labour p roduc t iv i ty of a well-run US o r Japanese p l an t . " Drucker s e e s a good case f o r moving production when wages a t e 15% o r more of d i r e c t manufacturing c o s t s .

I n Canada wages account , on average, f o r - 18-20% of d i r e c t manufacturing c o s t s . The sim- p l e a r i t h m e t i c of t h i s r u l e of thumb indicayes

t h a t a s i g n i f i c a n t chunk of t h e Canadian manu- f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r i s a t r i s k from t h e "maqui la do r i za t ion" of t h e Mexican economy.

The low-wage-high-productivity mixhas given t h e corpora t ions producing t h e r e an enormous windfa l l p r o f i t 6 an enormous incen t ive t o r e l o c a t e production. The Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce has es t imated t h e average c o s t advantage of a maquiladora p l an t o v e r i t s US counterpar t a t $13 per worker per hour. Th i s amounted t o a c o l l e c t i v e w indfa l l i n 1990 of $15-20 b i l l i o n f o r t h e 2,000 p l a n t s l o c a t e d t h e r e . Nothing remotely l i k e t h i s e x i s t s i n t h e European Community wi th which NAFTA propo- nen t s a r e cons t an t ly making comparisons. Diff- e rences i n wages throughout t h e Community a r e matched more o r l e s s evenly by d i f f e r e n c e s i n p roduc t iv i ty t h a t n u l l i f y t h e compet i t ive advantage t o co rpo ra t ions which might o therwise seek ou t cheap-er labour .

Wilson's response: Trade Minis ter Michael Wilson claims t h a t

t h e f r e e t r a d e d e a l is working w e l l by point - i ng t o a p o s i t i v e Canadian export performance. He suppor ts h i s c la im wi th f i g u r e s showing t h a goods expor t s t o t h e US increased by $8 b i l l i o n i n t h e f i r s t 2 years of f r e e t r a d e 6 reached record l e v e l s i n Aug.'91. He a l s o p o i n t s t o record n e t fo re ign d i r e c t investment inf lows of $5.1 b i l l i o n i n 1990;

Even i f we be l i eved Wilson's c la im t h a t ex-

- -' , ;+,

response i s , "But a t what a t e r r i b l e c o s t t o t h e domestic economy!" However, c l o s e r exami- n a t i o n of t r a d e s t a t i s t i c s does not even.bear ou t Wilson's argument. I n t h e 2 yea r s p r i o r t o t h e FTA's implementation, expor t s t o , t h e US grew 4.9% p e r yea r i n constant d o l 1 a r s . h t h e f i r s t 2 yea r s of f r e e t r a d e they grew 3.7% p e r yea r & i n t h e f i r s t h a l f of ' 91 they f e l l 4.3%. Looking a t both s i d e s of t h e co in , i . e . inc luding impor ts , we f i n d t h a t i n t h e 4 yea r s p r i o r t o t h e FTA's implementation, Can- ada ' s merchandise t r a d e balance wi th t h e US averaged $17.3 b i l l i o n annual ly . I n t h e 3 years of f r e e t r a d e i t averaged $14.6bi l l ion .

For Wilson t o point t o a b l i p i n merchan- d i s e expor t s , which in nominal but not r e a l ( i . e . i n f l a t i o n adjus ted) terms may be a record , a s compelling evidence f o r t he l ' succes s of t h e f r e e t r a d e agreement, is indeed t o gras,p a t s t r aws . A much more ominous b l i p i s t h e Oct . '91 t r a d e p i c t u r e which r e g i s t e r e d Canada's f i r s t merchandise t r a d e d e f i c i t i n

More d i s t u r b i n g s t i l l i s Canada's cu r r en t account ba lance which comprises goods 6 seru- i c e s , 6 f a c t o r payments (d iv idends & i n t e r e s t ) I n t h e yea r s 1985-88, Canada averaged an ann- u a l $4.7 b i l l i o n su rp lus wi th t h e US. That su rp lus turned i n t o a $2.4 b i l l i o n d e f i c i t i n 1989. $.4 b i l l i o n i n '90, 6 t h e d e f i c i t is p ro j ec t ed t o reach $4 b i l l i o n i n 1991.

It appears t h a t t h e t ou ted i n f l u x of for - e ign c a p i t a l i s compounding t h e d e f i c i t o n t k c u r r e n t account by adding t o t h e dividend 6 i n t e r e s t out f low. Investment Canadamonitored $15.3 b i l l i o n of fo re ign d i r e c t investment i n 1990-91. It found t h a t 97% of t h i s took t h e form of takeovers of Canadian-based comp a n i e s , whi le only 3% was new investment.This is even h ighe r than t h e 5-year average prop- o r t i o n of fakeovers which i s 90%. I t ' s s u r e l y no cause f o r c e l e b r a t i o n t h a t t h e FTA is inducing fo re ign investment, a l r eady a t in tole^ ab ly h igh l e v e l s , t o come i n 6 t ake over even more c o n t r o l ~ o f our economy, u sua l ly d e s t r o y ing jobs i n t h e process 6 b r ing ing , a s fo r - e ign co rpo ra t ions u sua l ly do, a g r e a t e r ten& ency t o i nc rease Canada's imports of goods 6 s e r v i c e s 6 an inc rease i n t h e outflow of

W dividend payments.

Conclusion : I f t h e f r e e t r a d e agreement i s f u l f i l l i n g

i ts intended r o l e i n reshaping Canada, then we have t o ask: What k ind of country a r e we l e f t ' w i t h i n t h e wake o f ' f r e e t r a d e 6 o t h e r Conservative ~ o l i c i e s ?

Canada a t t h e beginning of 1992 is d i s i n t e g r a t i n g a t a pace unforseen even by t h e maj- o r i t y of c r i t i c s . The n a t i o n a l economy is breaking down i n t o regions inc reas ing ly d i s - connected from one another a s they i n t e g r a t e a long a north-south a x i s . The n a t i o n a l t ran* portation/communication i n f r a s t r u c t u r e - t h e s t e e l , a s p h a l t , f i b r e o p t i c 6 a e r i a l r ibbons t h a t t i e u s t oge the r - a r e weakening. The c u l t u r a l pathways t h a t l i n k us a r e under t h r e a t . The system of east-west f i n b c i a l t r a n s f e r s t h a t g ive express ion t o ou r s o c i a l va lues of community 6 sha r ing a r e sh r ink ing .

The f ede ra t ion is moving toward a major p o l i t i c a l f r a c t u r e . And t h e a l l i a n c e of b i g bus ines s 6 right-wing p o l i t i c a l fo rces t h a t brought us f r e e t r a d e i s now s t e e r i n g us t o w a r d a Canada where t h e supreme m a n d a t e o f t h e f e d e r a l gov ' t is t o ensure compet i t iveness 6 where provinces v i e w i th one another t o o f f e r co rpo ra t ions t h e most a t t r a c t i v e cond i t i ons .

It is ha rd t o b e l i e v e t h a t only 3 yea r s have passed s i n c e t h e Mulroney gov ' t b rough t Canadians i n t o what it promised would be t h e new dawn of f ree- t rade- led p r o s p e r i t y , reg- i o n a l harmony 6 n a t i o n a l r e c o n c i l i a t i o n .

The FTA cannot be " renegot ia ted" , a s t h e L ibe ra l s say . The Reform Pa r ty has s t a t e d thev "love" t h e

a idea of f r e e t r a d e from "pole-tb-pole.'* d The d e a l must be terminated . - PRT 15 years

: Canada's na t iona l debt could be @!W]3t

/500 b i l l i o n by t h e time Carnegie Newslet- , e r readers s i t d ~ w n t o t h e i r d inner on fhristmas Day. Most people I speak t o believe t h a t t h e gov ' t must reduce i t s spen- ling, e l iminate t h e d e f i c i t & take meaning f u l s t e p s t o begin reducing the debt.

What have t h e Conservatives done? They have decided t o exempt Canada's four major t i r e makers from paying customs d u t i e s bver t h e next 5 years. This is expected t o save t h e companies ( E cos t the taxpayers) j$92.2 mi l l ion between now & Dec.31, 1997. pne of these companies, Goodyear Canada, reported a p r o f i t l a s t year of $11 mil l ion ..paid no income t a x 6 received a t a x cre-

d i t o f $1.4 mi l l ion. Now they ge t t h i s ! Your readers should know t h a t a married

couple with two chi ldren, s t ruggl ing t o make ends meet on earnings of j u s t over $20,000 a year, confronted a 386% r e a l in- crease i n t h i e r income t a x burden during the f i r s t 7 years of t h e Brian Mulroney adminis t ra t ion. The family earning $50,000 paid ?5% more t a x & t h e family earning $100,000 paid 4% more tax. In t h i s same period, t axes c o l l e c t e d by the federa l gov ' t from individuals near ly doubled from $68.2 b i l l i o n t o $132 b i l l i o n . On the oth- e r hand, corporate E gov ' t business en te r - prose d i r e c t t axes increased only margin- a l l y from $15 b i l l i o n t o $16.3 b i l l i o n . Is t h a t f a i r ?

Darren Loye

So be ca re fu l my f r i e n d s A Women's weight t r a i n i n g ins t ruc t ion : every I t ' s coming bringing u s sad cheer Saturday loam-12 noon with J e s s e H i l l s I s t h a t j i n g l e b e l l s I hear?

Men's ins t ruc t ion : look f o r sess ion t imes She i l a Baxter posted i n the weight room.

Most weight room use r s would agree t h a t impending changes a r e most welcome. Our Association has been wonderfully support-

Be ca re fu l f r i e n d s ive i n funding these changes, including - The season's f a s t approaching That grabs our hear t 1. a power l i f t i n g rack

And s t e a l s our money 2. two new benches

Music t h a t makes us sad .3. over 500 l b s of new weights

We a re never sure j u s t why 4. an olympic l i f t s e t 5. rubber mats

The l i t t l e drummer boy 6. carpet ing . . . yes, carpeting! Stands f reezing i n the snow 7. i n s t r u c t i o n a l wall c h a r t s Poor and Pennyless He drums and drums Thank you CCCA!

Because he has no g i f t t o br ing Now t h a t we have a respectable f a c i l i t y ,

Corporates a r e about t o g e t r i c h e r it makes good sense f o r our use r s t o l e a r n

A s they use use the "Jesus Time" how t o use the equipment e f f e c t i v e l y . . f o r

To s e l l and s e l l and s e l l a weight t r a i n i n g program. Therefore, we 1 get t b t a l l y sucked i n t o it urge use r s t o t ake advantage of our f r e e

ins t ruc t ion . I t ' s open t o men & women; a l l it w i l l cos t is a buck f o r a weight room

The season of g rea t joy is seldom so membership a t t h e f r o n t desk.

Dreams. Dreams o f f r i e n d s . Faces. Help- i ng s p i r i t s , cofounding ones. Who am I - what i s t h a t t o a l o t o f peoplc I pass..many people. They would s e e me happy, by & l a r g e . They would remember a hero. But how can I l e a d i f I f a l l ?

My f a t h e r , I change; I grow F, move i n d i f f e r e n t waysc I can l e a d i n . a new way.

So I l e f t my Czechoslovakian apartment and boarded my bus wi th drunken au thor i ty . ~t was a b a t t l e a g a i n s t t h e gods and Troy was doomed t o f a l l . V i r tue personi f ied , we voyaged down Main t o t h e b r ink o f Mount P l ea san t . nea r t h e p i l l a r e d r ed b r i c k - it stood ready t o r e c e i v e me. But I l o s t my head(-& ran away up Main u n t i l t h e winds o f war b'lew i n my favour. Again E pres sed on wi th t h e a t t a c k , bu t a ru s t - co lou red c a t t u rned me back.

I was demoralized u n t i l I passed t h e golden-domed new Ukranian c a t h e d r a l . I swung along a slow walk 4 a f t e r some u t t - e r indolence d iscovered The Gaunt le t .

There it l a y on t h e ground & I snatched it up l i k e an eag le - mantiens l e d r o i t - I wore The Gauntlet o f l e Dro i t bu t aga in became demoralized. But, looking down, I beheld a bone. I t was The Bone. I grasped it f i r m l y i n The Gaunt le t and commenced running .

I began running along 14 th Ave F, t h e r e passers-by, two women, wi tnessed The Bone. And I sang ou t "The Bone l The Bone 1 I ' ' give yob- the Borie ! The Bone ! The Bone ! I g ive you ther'Bone !I1

And on I ran , ran p a s t t h e h o s p i t a l . . t h e Very Great Hospi ta l . Again more passers-by & I solemnly intoned "Witness - t h e Bone!" Passing t h e Bone i n t h e Gaunt- l e t I c a r r i e d f o r t h t h e s t r u g g l e . Each o f t he se s t r a n g e Vancouveri tes I ward o f f with The Bone. . .unt i l I approached Hem- lock S t r e e t . A s I approached I r e a l i z e d s p e c i a l t a c t i c s were necessary; thereupon I performed i n a s t a t e of war l i ke e c s t a s y t h e Hemlock and 13th Rag. I ragged and ragged u n t i l

Crow

I Am Thinking of Vic tory

Perhaps it is f o r e v e r a so l ip s i sm, a zoin, merely a promise of r e l evance e l s e - #here , wh i l e around u s evolves a t a n g l e ~f expec tanc ies 6 connect ions , t h e preva- r i can t rhythms of s i g n a t u r e . Perhaps it 3 t a r t s a t t h e p e r i p h e r i e s of t r i v i a , work. ing inwards through t h e g l a s s sunday a f t - ?moon of t h i n g s , through r a i n & t h e >road j o y l e s s n e s s of s t u f f , toward what- w e r it is . t h a t l ies benea th t h e s e p a t t - Zrns of r e s i s t a n c e t h a t c o n s t i t u t e t h e ihickness of names, our syrupy soup of Locality.

Sometime i t might happen t h a t , whi le rou a r e walking a long a s idewalk , most ly :onscious of t h e i n c i d e n t a l s around you, 1 sudden panic w i l l a r i s e i n t h e form of L r e a l i z a t i o n presented t o you a s t h e iollowing: I am a b r u p t l y , convu l s ive ly , ~nequ ivoca l ly no longe r t h e sum of my last - how d i d I e v e r b e l i e v e t h a t ? - but he absence of my p a s t . I am t h e n e x t s e e ~ n d b e f o r e I dec ide t o do anyth ing wi th .t. This must be t h e opening t o freedom.

I n t h e same way t h a t we would n o t speak f imprisonment wi thout assuming pecu l i a r , a r t i c u l a r c i rcumstances , s o we might do e l l no t t o t h i n k of freedom wi thout pec* i a r , p a r t i c u l a r circumstances. The same p p l i e s t o j u s t about anyth ing g e n e r a l l y poken of i n gene ra l te rms , l i k e "love" f " p o l i t i c s " . V ic to ry , .I t h i n k , is e x i s t i n g in ; : tha t

oment of e n t r y , of opening t o freedom, he b r i g h t n e s s of ou r eyes t h e r e ; working lways from i t .

By DAN FEENEY

THE SPAGHETTI HOUSE

J u s t one block from the Carnegie Centre the re is a new neighhourhood centre , r e f - urbished by a l l - l o c a l labour paid reasonable wages, wi th a cabare t Saturday n i g h t s

Beaver, Wayne, Andy 4 many Carnegie mus- i c i ans played ti1 t h e wee hours of the morning. The food is good, the p r i c e inex- pensive; so we have one 08 our own members t r y i n g hard t o make it work.

I ' m s u r e he'd l i k e t o thank t h e musici- ans who played a l l n ight t h r e e Saturday? running but had no time t o pat rbnize t h e establishment 's r e s t auran t . With people l i k e t h i s he won't need a cash r e g i s t e r . You would th ink t h a t when you ge t ' you'd give, but these 'd .a . ' s ' only take . These f o l k s should remember when people ge t strong one should a t l e a s t be k issed t o make them smile.

The place is open, t h e food is good. Please help a loca l fe l low a s he has helped so many of us.

Tom Lewis

(Friendship is a mutual exchange!! !)

I 1 EAST' I

H A S T I N G

ACTIVITY Needle Exchange van - on t h e s t r e e t Mon-Sat evenings . SERVICES N . A . meets every Monday n i g h t a t 223 Main.

Out-to-Lunch Bunch meets d a i l y a t 101 W . Cordova, 10-2:20.

1 Y O 2 1)ONA'rIONS: Cement Masons-$100 <cicIi C.-$20 Paula K.-$20 i c y W. - 0 0 Col l e a l E. -$25 I.ul)n P.-$10 S tua r t M.-$10 I(ubcrt -$I0 CEEIIS - $50 l<oLary Club of Chinatown -$767.15 I.'our S i s t e r s Co-op -$500 Jovce M.-$10 Tom S . -$5 [)ERA -$500

Ikncl l lne NKXT I:JuI; 26 November

llazel M.-$25 Legal Serv ices -$200 U I ~ o ld S a i l o r -$40 Etlenne S.-$50 PLUM -$800 Cecil e C. -$20 Forest Lawn -$25 ill T.-$20 Jean [;.-$I 5 Yvonne $.-$lo E r i c E.-$10 Anonymous -$la Ken -$5

Roberts A.L.C.-$30 Wm.B .-$20

Smithers S.S.-$45 Mary C.-$25

Joy T . -$20

N la;lCl) I I lo;l,l' ?

I I I I W r . I . l I I I1:Il ,'Q, ...... - - ,.I I... ,. .._ ...... . 1 ,...)... 11..

The Downtown Eas t s i d e Res iden t s ' Assoc i a t i on can h e l p you w i th :

any w e l f a r e problem in fo rma t ion on l e g a l r i g h t s d i s p u t e s w i t h l a n d l o r d s unsa fe l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s income t a x U I C problems f i n d i n g hous ing opening a bank account

Come i n t o t h e DERA o f f i c e a t 9 Eas t Has t i ngs S t o r phone u s a t 682-0931. L

D E R A ' ~ G e n e r a l Membership mee t ing is on t h e l a s t ~ r i d a y

DERA I I A S BEEN SERVING THE

Crow, you know, was born long ago when were t a t t e r e d & broken. H i s head was d i z - n igh t was unknown. He was swooping & d i v zy from t h e cold , gus t ing wind & a s hmwas ing & climbing over t h e mountain f o r e s t s shaking it t o come awake, a slow r a t t l e - one day when he spo t t ed Great Bear. Grea snake made toward him over d e s e r t sand. Bear was j u s t waking, climbing o u t of a Well Crow, he saw t h e snake making f o r mountain snowbank, when he saw Crow ove r him 6 he hopped a few crooked s t eps , then head. ga thered h i s courage & pu l l ed once a t t h e

"Hey Crow!" shouted Great Bear. Crow wind with h i s wings. He was a l o f t . looked down. "Have you seen Snow?" Crow He climbed i n t o t h e sky towardtheNor th looked r i g h t & l e f t & nodded. "Surely I on h i s b ru i sed & broken wings t o see\Great have seen Snow." And he f l ew on, curving Bear onoe more. But t h i s t ime t h e ~ e were & arching ac ros s t h e sky. t e a r s i n h i s eyes, l i k e small black diam-

However t h e wind came up f a s t GCrowsa ends. A l l t h e way he c r i e d s o f t l y h i s white a s Snow came blowing round a1L)abou sh iny b h c k t e a r s . AS he was approaching him. Crow s t rugg led h ighe r 6 h ighe r but Roger's Pass, Great Gear looked up, saw snow blew & blew u n t i l , exhausted & desp Old Crow 6 s t a r e d sadly , because Crow was a i r i n g , Crow gave out & was c a r r i e d back no longe r s w o o ~ i n g 6 d iv ing a s he once by the ,wind, h i s b lack f ea the r s s c a t t e r e d d id . No. Now he f lew i n a long s t r a i g h t by t h e f o r c e o f t h e wind. l i n e . Behind him t h e sky was a s black a s

A day l a t e r , Crow awoke on t h e o t h e r h i s black f e a t h e r 3 and t e a r s .

s i d e of t h e medicine l i n e & h i s wings Chr is Crow

OVER THE TRUTH

Private eyes in public places Looking around for friendly faces,

Searching for smiles and seeking the end Of being too long in empty spaces.

Petrified feelings of no confidence. Taking no risk makes the best kind of sense.

Hiding in corners, shy as a ghost, Rehearsing rejection for self-defense.

THEN . Heaven found its way down here Bubbling in this glass of beer Now that I'm not feeling bad

I ' m gonna Cheer the first person I find sad.

But who am I to play that game I told my heart that I was lame,

Thus is how my emptiness has grown And now there's

So much room I've got a World of my own.

I got my chute together Diving from the sky,

And found I can't be satisfied Unless I've learnt to fly.

Garry Gust

i t ' s no t j u s t t h e c l a s s i c drunken bum syndrome. I t ' s not a s s imple a s t h a t . Many have been d r iven n u t s by t h e i r own soc i e ty . Some s l e e p i n doorways because t hey spent t h e r e n t on t h e usua l s ea rch f o r euphor ia winding up i n usua l obl ivion.

Others a r e more se l f -preser i r ing i n t h e i r l f i r r a t i o n a l " urge o r " logica l" nec- e s s i t y t o walk t h e s t r e e t s , camp i n vac- an t l o t s , abandoned bu i ld ings , s l e e p un- d e r br idges , hanging ou t i n i n d u s t r i a l a r ea s ("zones o f to le rance"?) by t h e docks o r r a i l y a r d s .

THE IClClI - THE POOR - 6 -THE PISSED-OFF: * A l i f e of.boredom 4 poverty inev i t ab ly

c a s t t h e f i r s t s t one? Why c a n ' t we accep t t h e homeless a n t i -

s o c i a l s p i r i t a s it i s - on i t s own terms 6 provide it wi th whatever it needs t o l i v e s u c c e s s f u l l y w i th in i t s own d e f i n i t - ion of r e a l i t y ?

Since we r e a l i z e no one can r e a l l y be f r e e & independent i n t h e g rea t western democracy, a t l e a s t we can o f f e r t h e i l l u - s ion of freedom & independence. We're s o good a t c r e a t i n g t r a n s i e n t i l l u s i o n s E i m - ages i n t h i s s o c i e t y anyway - bu t i f some

i d e a l i s t i c advocates f o r t h e poor r e f e r t o people who s l e e p o u t s i d e a s " the homeless" . . .sometimes they even de f ine t h i s condi t ion a s not having a c e r t a i n s o c i a l - l y acceptable s t anda rd of housing - t hey will even t e l l you t h a t you ' r e homel less^^

produces an add ic t i on t o t ak ing dangerous chances - e s p e c i a l l y when s o c i e t y ' s "her- oes' ' c o n s t a n t l y demonstrate t h i s pa th & chal lenge c i t i z e n s t o t ake i t .

Some even become s k i l l f u l campers - c l a s s i c o u t s i d e r s - with personal ~ h i l o s -

i f you l i v e i n a small h o t e l room; even O P ~ Y ~ ,worked out t o support t h e i r new-

i f you've l i v e d t h e r e f o r 20 y e a r s & have found l i f e s ty l e .

made i t i n t o a small comfortable home, on i There are would Say t h i s is t h e o f f i c i a l l is ts o f p d l i t i c a l l y c o r r e c t "0 l i f e s t y l e a t a l l bu t simply a f a i l u r e

people, you w i l l be c a l l e d "homelessv. - t o a d j u s t t o economic circumstances - 4 i

Jaded s o c i a l p sycho log i s t s w i l l even o f course no one ques t ions t h e i dea t h a t

c a l l yt)u "hard-to-house" i f you move from economic circumstances have t h e r i g h t t o

p l ace t o p l ace too o f t e n . I run everyone 's l i f e . I t wouldn't be p o l i -

Sometimes i t ' s t h e emotions t h a t a r e , t i c a l l y c o r r e c t t o suggest t h a t i t ' s

hard-to-house. We put them i n comfortable p o s s i b l e t o become succes s fu l a t f a i l u r e .

s o c i a l l y accep tab l e boxes & i t ' s on ly a ; Think about i t . . .who a r e t h e r e a l l y , succes s fu l c r imina l s? - t h e ones who d id ma t t e r of time be fo re t h e y ' r e ou t on t h e +

s t r e e t a c t i n g ou t t h e end of t h e world ! not g e t caught & went on t o become resp-

again, 6 I'm not s u r p r i s e d - maybe i t f s ' ec ted p i l l a r s of s o c i e t y wi th a l l t h e i r 1 blood money s a f e l y laundered i n Swiss

the t h i ~ g can under banks. Who are t he successful drug add+ the circumstances- Maybe the end of the , i c t s ? The doctors & lawyers & e n t e r t a i n - world is being c o n s t a n t l y shoved down e r s who have enough money & personal sec- t h e i r t h r o a t through a t e l e v i s i o n s e t , &

t urity to keep their habit clean & in the i f t hey kick t h e s c r een i n , t h e y ' r e au to- j closet. m a t i c a l l y hard-to-house. I f t h e y show any who a r e t h e hookers?. . .Mae v i o l e n t emotions we can j u s t say they west, J a p e Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe 6 went o f f t h e i r medicat ion 4 l e ave it a t : all the anonymous pampered & p e t t e d m i s t - t h a t . , r e s s e s of m i l l i o n a i r e s t h e world over .

How many s t r a i t - j a c k e t s can t h e c i t i - ; fro are t h e successful a l c o h o l i c s ? Pea- ; zens of t h i s s o c i e t y wear wi th p r i d e ? - l i k e S i r John A. MacDonald, Winston i Well, t h e r e ' s t h e emotional s t r a i t j a c k e t , : Churchi l l , Dylan Thomas & a l l t hose h i s t -

t h e economic s t r a i t j a c k e t , t h e educat ion- ! ory-making madmen & women who l e f t t h e i r a1 s t r a i t j a c k e t . . . i n f a c t we've got r e s - j mark on r e a l i t y . t r a i n t s f o r every s i t u a t i o n , j u s t so o u r ' Maybe we're a l l hard-to-house 6 j u s t "system1' can c o n t r o l t h e mental s t a t e s of 1 haven't found ou t about i t y e t . Maybe We i t s "subjects". / a r e a l l c r imina l s & some of u s j u s t get

AS f a r a s "homelessnessl' is concerned, ! away w i t h i t & o t h e r s d o n ' t . . . A t t h i s i Doin t someone who is without s i n might

i

#indiv idual wants t o do it on t h e i r own, we all really poor in s p i r i t ? I s n ' t themselves, we c a l l them crazy , dangerous, t h a t t h e r e a l poverty? & somewhere, i n t h e hard-to-house. depths of ou r being d o n ' t we a l l suspec t

P o l i t i c s i s j u s t t h e s o c i a l s k i l l o f t h a t maybe we a r e r i c h a l r e a d y bu t j u s t knowing how t o f i t i n t o t h e p o l i t i c a l pack believe it? F, r e a l philosophy & an understanding of Money can buy your way around, it can human na tu re belongs i n garbage cans wi th make you look r i c h , f e e l r i c h & a c t r i c h t h e so-ca l led t'poorfl - who a r e n o t poor at no matter who you are - bu t suddenly, o u t a l l , bu t simply h i g h - s p i r i t e d , i n t e n s e , o f t h e n i g h t comes t h a t s e c r e t someone who nervous, wasted i n d i v i d u a l s t r y i n g t o make knows your soul, & you f i n d y o u r s e l f con- sense out of a h o r r i b l y d i s t o r t e d world. fessing poverty. . . . But you judge them, make money on them - Only those who r e a l l y unders tand what ... c r e a t e well-paid b u r e a u c r a t i c pigeon- pove r ty is know t h a t t hey a r e r i c h already. ho les by them. Low o r high incomes a s i d e ,

TORA

Poverty i s a r e a l i t y f o r ove r 4 m i l l i o n them have, s o a l l working f o r p o s i t i v e people i n t h i s country. The Poverty Line change cannot a l low t h e i r s t r u g g l e t o de- i s the amount of money needed a yea r t o genera te i n t o e i t h e r i n t e l l e c t u a l ex t r av - have t h e purchasing capac i ty f o r t h e min- aganza o r bottom ou t i n t a l l t a l k . imum n e c e s s i t i e s - food, c l o t h i n g , s h e l t - Poverty i s t h e fundamental economic is- e r , medical a i d & educat ion - 6 of t h e s e sue. A s people f i n d themselves underempl- 4 mi l l i on a t l e a s t 1 i n 4 a r e c h i l d r e n . oyed, working but no t making enoygh, un- There a r e s i n g l e p a r e n t s , s t u d e n t s , s e n i - employed 4 not making enough t o purchase o r s , people who a r e p h y s i c a l l y o r mental- t he minimum n e c e s s i t i e s , competing f o r l y d i s ab l ed . .people who work a 40-hour : bad jobs a t dismal wages, t hen on wel fare week a t t h e minimum wage & a r e s t i l l i t ak ing any work a t any wage. . .The r e a l i t y $3,000 a year below t h e pover ty l i n e . The 1 of l i v i n g below t h e Poverty l i n e t a k e s a e f f e c t s of Tory p o l i c i e s l i k e so -ca l l ed ' l o t o f e f f o r t & co-opera t ion . A working "free" t r a d e , de regu la t i on , p r i v a t i z a t i o n , p o l i c y i s r equ i r ed around many a s p e c t s of I & i r r a t i o n a l t a x a t i o n a r e adding hundreds j l i f e i n pover ty . . p o l i c i e s t h a t a r e not of thousands more t o both working 6 non- working poor.

I t ' s not my i n t e n t t o t a l k doom F, gloom. "Policy Statements" a r e only a s v i a b l e a s

j u s t p o l i t i c a l l y c o r r e c t bu t t h a t w i l l d e t a i l a c t i o n t o g e t governments t o r e - duce & end pover ty .

A p o l i c y s ta tement on income would c a l l t h e b e l i e f & commitment t hose espousing f o r t h e i nc rease of minimum s o c i a l a s s i s -

1 By PAULR TAYLOR

ante r a t e s t o ensure t h a t suppor t i s no Funding f o r much of t h e s e b a s i c s would ewer than t h e S t a t f Canada Pover ty line is indexed t~ t h e c o s t of l i v i n g - Imme-

i a t e change would i n c r e a s e the amount arnings one can keep while r ece iv ing e l f a r e . I t would i nc lude t h e i n t roduc t -

be from recover ing t a x 6 a ra- t i o n a l & f a i r system of t a x a t i o n .

A p o l i c y s ta tement on pover ty would ad- m i t t h e good i n t e n t i o n s of c h a r i t i e s but recognize t h e f a c t t h a t . char i ty , p e r s e ,

ion of a guaranteed adequate income f o r i s a bandaid - not a s o l u t i o n . ~t would all - a minimum wage of $9 .05 an hour. I nega te t h e p r e v a i l i n g p r a c t i c e of blaming

o f t h e s e goa l s would r e s t o r e t h e t h e v i c t im t h e poor person - 6 state purchasing capac i ty t h a t poor people had t h a t pover ty is t h e outcome of gov ' t and 17 y e a r s ago 5 i n fuse l o c a l bus ines se s Corporate agendas. I t would recommend the w i t h new l i f e . Both goa l s would be funded c r e a t i o n of a new p o s i t i o n i n every union

-1s.. *?.. , . - - r .-irry- l o c a l i n t h e count ry . The person f i l l i n g

by r a t i o n a l & f a i r t a x a t i o n . , t h i s job would encourage co-opera t ion and ' u n i t y between working & non-workingpeople. 1 A p o l i c y s ta tement on jobs would spec i -

or he would: fy job c r e a t i o n programs - l i k e bu i ld ing low-cost housing, r e f o r e s t a t i o n , salmon enhancement & a v i a b l e merchant marine, I municipal works programs, environmental I

/ clean-up F q u a l i t y p o l i c i n g , c h i l d c a r e , ! 6 e l d e r ca re , educa t ion & t r a i n i n g . Also i n %

I t h i s a spec t would be t h e r ecogn i t i on of f

c h i l d r e a r i n g as l e g i t i m a t e work deserv- ing o f adequate income above t h e pover ty l i n e . Job c r e a t i o n would be p a r t of a , broader p o l i c y - a n a t i o n a l program f o r , - a s s i s t i n organiz ing unorganized low in- f u l l employment through conversion of war t ' come & unemployed people; & defence i n d u s t r i e s t o c i v i l i a n product- , - he lp c r e a t e , encourage & be a p a r t of ion i n such f i e l d s a s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and community-based c o a l i t i o n s ; energy equipment, development of so f tpa th - they would b e each l o c a l ' s l i n k with a energy a l t e r n a t i v e s , i nc lud ing increased . network o f in format ion shar ing & a c t i o n s support f o r community conse rva t ion & dev- . aimed d i r e c t l y a t t h e corpora te agenda. e l o p h g new re sou rces ; reducing ou r dep- The co rpo ra t e agenda has , a s i t s primary endence on t h e expor t o f raw r e sou rces 4 goa l , t h e es tab l i shment of a s o c i e t y

where having a s o c i a l conscience i s a %*>- *.p. - ?-* t.*----- l i a b i l i t y . This union person ' s job would

; inc lude r a i s i n g t h e awareness of t h e loc- developing new models o f ownership & con- .

, a l ' s members a s well a s t h e p u b l i c ' s ab- ' t ro l - i nc lud ing p r i v a t e , g o v ' t , j o i n t ou t t h e motives, p l a n s & b l u e p r i n t s of i t . ven tu re , employee & community owned, a l l A p o l i c y s ta tement on pover ty would take with t h e express purpose o f provid ing : a s t rong s t and on i s s u e s o f c h i l d pover ty meaningful work. Poor people s u f f e r most & o u r f u t u r e . Poor c h i l d r e n a r e s t igmatiz- from being stereotyped as l azy Or j ed 6 humi l i a t ed when forced t o i d e n t i f y o r p a r a s i t e s . . l i e s & exaggera t ions promot- f . t h e i r need p u b l i c l y i n schoolrooms t o g e t ed by t h e r e a l we l f a r e bums - t h e corpor- lunch coupons. A u n i v e r s a l p o l i c y would a t e we l f a r e bums.

f e l i m i n a t e t h i s immediately. A p o l i c y s ta tement on e s s e n t i a l s e r v i c e s i Poverty is a p r e s e n t r e a l i t y f o r many would inc lude f r e e medical, d e n t a l & a bus

of u s , and j u s t one missed paycheque away pass f o r a l l we l f a r e r e c i p i e n t s F pension- j f o r many more. We're a l l p a r t o f t he e r s , a s wel l a s q u a l i t y c h i l d c a r e access- 1 r s t r u g g l e f o r a s e n t i e n t peace. i b l e f o r a l l low income people. I

Ill l l l t RlOGt l l l t A l R t 1 6 1 H 6 R R B U l U S

WED N O V 18 7 30 PM

1 3 8 - 6 3 1 1 THUOS. NOV I9 7 30 PM

The Bird

The c a t s a t watching t h e b i r d s Waiting t o pounce Back arched t e e t h ready yellow s l a n t e d eyes narrowed He pounces ca t ch ing t h e b i r d by a wing Tossing it i n t h e a i r B i t i ng i t ti1 i t ceases t h e t e r r i b l e agonizing c r i e s I look a t t h e chicken I am cooking f o r supper How d i d i t d i e ? Did it c r y with f e a r a s it d i e d t o g ive me a supper I don ' t r e a l l y need.

S h e i l a Baxter

Who am I

I t i s a weakness t o g e t upse t when people a r e rude and agg res s ive Thei r s h i t doesn' t have t o b e my s h i t .

Whoever t r e a t s me badly o r whom e v e r has t r e a t e d me badly. I t doesn ' t make me a bad person

! I am me !

I t ' s t h e abusers o f "me" who have t o dea l with t h e i r d e f e c t s , no t me.

. . and s o I come t o know who I am by me. 'knowing me

not m e t r y i n g t o know ' them.

November 15, 1992, carnegie newsletter

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