CAN CANADA HOLD TOGETHER?

Mr. Eric D. Butler reports from Ottawa
"At the very time that Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, is in Europe talking about Canada's contribution towards the new post Cold War Western Europe, and his Ministers are attempting to adopt a high level stand on the Middle East crisis, Canada is gripped in what is clearly the greatest crisis in her history.

"A glance at letters to the Canadian press reveals the deep and growing anti-Government anger of the Canadian people. One correspondent says that the Canadian situation is worse than the American situation at the time of Watergate, and that Prime Minister Mulroney should be impeached immediately. This, of course, is dangerous talk, but such must be expected when people become desperate.

"As the financial screws are further tightened, and the bankruptcies and unemployment mount, and with the latest figures revealing that inflation has increased in spite of the conditions of depression, it is not surprising that large numbers are having second thoughts about the much vaunted Free Trade policy of the Mulroney Government. Canadian industries are finding that they cannot compete with America based industries. Originally supporters of the Free Trade concept, Canada's airlines have done a complete about turn. They have discovered that there is little scope for their operations on American air routes already overcrowded with American air services.
"The dreaded G.S.T. (General Services Tax) is yet to be imposed (early in the New Year).

"In a move reminiscent of Prime Minister Bob Hawke's 'consensus' strategy, Mr. Mulroney has appointed a 'Citizens' Forum' which is going to invite Canadians to express their views concerning the future of Canada. The 'Forum' is to move across the country inviting submissions from 'grassroots Canadians', not so much from organisations. "The 'Forum' has got off to a stormy start, with reports of controversy among members of the 'Forum'. The Chairman has sought to get harmony by declaring that all members will be described as 'Commissioners'!

"It has already been made clear that the Forum will not, at least initially, be venturing into Quebec, where the official policy of bilingualism does not extend to the sizeable English-speaking minority. Business organisations displaying signs in the English language are liable to heavy fines.

"The evil that men do lives after them, wrote Shakespeare. It can now be seen that the imposition of bilingualism by the brilliant Fabian strategist, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the introduction of the major wedge, which eventually was to shatter any prospects of Canadian unity. The ground had to be prepared for Trudeau by the liberal internationalist, former Prime Minister Pearson, who started to tear down the symbols of a different kind of Canada. "The Red Ensign, which included the Union Jack, was the first to go. It was argued that a dead maple leaf would be a symbol to unite all Canadians. 'Pearson's Pennant', as it was described, is not even flown in French Canada.

"Already the Mulroney Forum is resulting in a hardening of attitude among Western Canadians and the peoples of the Maritimes. Genuine grassroots movements in both the West and the Maritimes are making it clear that the peoples have had enough of the manipulation by Quebec in the furtherance of centralist policies, which make Canadian unity impossible. These movements are openly turning to the Swiss concept as the only one that can hold Canada together.

"Symptomatic of what is happening is the publication of a new work, 'Keeping Canada Together', by the distinguished Canadian writer, Kenneth McDonald, who brilliantly analyses the deadly threat to Canada, and concludes that the Swiss concept, alone, offers hope of salvation. "Canada requires the type of programme which the great Solzhenitsyn is offering to the Soviet Union. As I move across Canada I sense that Canadians of many different backgrounds are beginning to realise that the near future is going to decide their destiny for centuries to come. "It is inspiring to report that the Canadian League of Rights is in the centre of developments which must be of the greatest significance for those concerned about the future of Western Christendom."

BANK DOMINATION (by Jeremy Lee)

At a time when trading banks are coming under increasing criticism for their ruthless disregard for the plight of small businessmen and farmers, it is disturbing to see how closely intertwined they are with the big monopolies. Increasingly, trading bank directors also sit on the boards of big companies, which, it could be argued, are set to benefit from the demise of smaller competition.

In a series of feature articles headed "The Levers Of Power", The Financial Review (November 22nd) dealt with the Banks. Some of the companies with trading bank directors on their boards are listed below:

B.H.P. - Directors include one from Westpac, one from the National Australia Bank and one from the A.N.Z. Banking group.
B.H.P. Goldmines - one from the A.N.Z.
CONSOLIDATED PRESS - Two Directors from Westpac.
INCITEC LTD. - One from Westpac.
AUSTECH PTY. LTD. - One from Westpac.
C.S.R. - One from Westpac, one from A.N.Z.
I.C.I. - One from Westpac, four from the A.N.Z.
Tubemakers of Australia - One from Westpac, one from the A.N.Z.
MAYNE-NICKLESS - One from Westpac.
COAL & ALLIED INDUSTRIES - One from Westpac.
C.R.A. - One from Westpac, one from the Commonwealth, one from N.A.B.
COMALCO - One from the Commonwealth, one from N.A.B.
SANTOS - Two from the Commonwealth
ELDERS - One from the N.A.B.
ELDERS-AUSTRALIA CHARTERING LTD. - One from the A.N.Z.
JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES - One from the N.A.B.
MOUNT ISA MINES - One from the N.A.B.
COLES-MYER - One from the A.N.Z.
PACIFIC DUNLOP - One from the A.N.Z.
I.B.M. - One from the A.N.Z.
COMMONWEALTH INDUSTRIAL GASES - One from the Commonwealth, one from the A.N.Z.
DALGETY FARMERS LTD. - Two from the A.N.Z.

In a situation where the availability of credit is a matter of life or death to industry, can it honestly be said that a man who sits on the boards of both borrowers and lender have no conflict of interest? Meanwhile, Westpac's latest balance sheet showed a provision for bad debts of more than $1 billion; a further $2.46 billion in loans not accruing interest; and a further $2 billion where the bank has doubts about the eventual recovery of principal and interest. According to The Financial Review (November 16th) its pre-tax annual profit fell to $913.7 million. We can only hope it will stagger on somehow!

THE 'SAUSAGE MACHINE' SPEEDS UP

The Hawke Government is carrying on where its predecessors left off. The Australian (16/11) reported: "... In three hectic days this week it (i.e. the Government) rammed 39 Bills through the House of Representatives "sausage machine". The Bills were complex and important, ranging across reforms to the nations export industries, companies legislation, telephone, banking and airline industries. It is inconceivable that they were adequately scrutinised..."

Not scrutinised? There could not even have been one member who was able to read the legislation and regulations involved. But what matter? They wouldn't have been allowed to debate any of it if they had. The long-suffering public: will be presented with a 'fait accompli', which its representatives have not even seen. Never was there a stronger argument for the introduction of Citizens Initiated Referendum!

GREENHOUSE EFFECT MAY NOT EVEN EXIST

"The greenhouse effect is overdue, says Professor Fred Singer. Indeed, it may not even exist - The Age (Melbourne, December 3rd

It may not even exist, except in the mathematical imaginings of inadequate computer models of globular climate. Professor Singer is an accepted scientist, in his native country, the U.S.A., in the fields of energy, environment and space. He has been brought to Australia by the Institute of Public Affairs to lecture on the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer. He does not dispute that human activity is responsible for the increase in the levels of "greenhouse" gasses - he claims that "feedback mechanisms" will minimise any warming. His thrust appears to be that the global temperature increase should have occurred by now, if it were to occur: the "mathematical models" which have been prepared by "greenhouse" scientists are unreliable. Professor Singer says the ozone hole over Antarctica is only a transient phenomenon associated with the cooling of the stratosphere. It is a "threshold effect", by which he appears to mean a natural phenomenon, which may only occur rarely. He says that the fact that the ozone hole appeared so suddenly suggests that it was a threshold effect.

THE 'TRANS-NATIONAL' EPIDEMIC

from David Thompson
The Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Review, Mr. Peter Robinson, in an article in which he lampoons those who object to foreign investment, makes the statement that such "parochial suspicion is a terrible handicap for this country in a world which is being driven by trans-nationalism".

While his observation that the world is being driven by trans-nationalism is quite true, the inference that the trend is constructive, and not to be resisted, is suicidal. Not only must it be resisted vigorously, but the alternative must be forcefully promoted.

Subordinate sovereignty
Sir Ninian Stephen, the "ambassador for the environment" confirms that he was a dangerous choice for governor general in an address to the W.A. Law Society, in which he said that one of the costs of solving the world's environmental crisis was "an end to Australia's sovereignty". His statement that all nations would have to prepare for an era of international law that would require "sovereignty to be subordinated for the good of all nations'' should really ring the alarm bells.

We have long believed that the "environmental crisis" - while genuine in many respects - has the smell of the old communist trick of creating a crisis, and then exploiting it. Reports continue to underline the view that serious scientists doubt the validity of ''greenhouse." But the programme towards internationalism continues, irrespective. Internationalism is not about solving specific problems like "greenhouse", internationalism is an end in itself.

Thinking Globally
The director of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Phillip Toyne, underlined Stephen's view, in an address on conservation in Perth last week. He said that the mixture of powers between local, State and Commonwealth Governments "brought unfortunate complications for those who tried to 'think globally and act locally' . . Perhaps it has genuinely never occurred to some (although not Toyne) that our federal system was designed to resist national and even global aggregation of power. Toyne is pushing for a referendum to hand all environmental powers over to Canberra, believing that, faced with an "environmental crisis" that such a vote would favour the centralisers. We believe he is in for a shock!

The Reality of Nationalism
While the dreamers and power maniacs conspire to drive us into larger and larger mobs, unable to think, let alone govern, for ourselves, other more powerful forces are at work. The only natural, workable alternative to the epidemic of "trans-nationalism" is nationalism; a nationalism in which power is effectively decentralised and the individual has some chance of governing his own affairs.

While the West flirts with trans-nationalism, nationalism is breaking out everywhere where the alternative has been tried with dreadful results. Any mistakes made on a local, or even national scale, cannot compare in magnitude for the destruction of mistakes made on an international scale. The break-up of the Soviet Union, which cannot even feed its enslaved nations, seems imminent. Can we learn from their mistakes, or must we repeat them?

Rural Australia in Trouble Again
The current crisis in the wool industry, depressed prices for wheat and mutton and the high interest rates and fuel prices are taking a heavy toll on rural areas. The Middle East conflict has resulted in the loss of a $400 million wheat market as well as live sheep sales. It now appears that millions of sheep will be shot nationwide.

The primary producer himself is an endangered species. In 1960, Australia had approximately 290,000 primary producers, but by 1970 the numbers were down to 250,000. By 1985 the number had dropped to 170,000, and there are now barely 160,000 farmers left. This means that in 30 years Australia has lost 130,000 primary producers, at a rate of 10 farmers per day. It is not over yet. Tens of thousands are poised to follow those who have swelled the ranks of the unemployed, and the lengthening housing queues. The tragedy is that neither Government nor Opposition has a vision for rural Australia. There is no policy to stop the financial massacre of the bush, so it will continue.

The Hawke Government has not even recognised that by taking the huge tax windfall that the Gulf crisis has allegedly caused, the resulting price blowout for fuel will be disastrous this harvest. This, in a country like Australia, which is nearly self-sufficient in oil, is complete madness.

The Foreign Treaty Problem
Most Australians are generally unaware that, while rural Australia is being destroyed, we are importing larger and larger quantities of food. The import figures for the June quarter alone tell an amazing story. Nearly $1 million of sheep meat entered Australia in the June quarter. There is no explanation for this, in a country where we expect to kill 20 million sheep! In addition, we imported 17 million of lamb leather, 6 million worth of bovine meat, and $1.5 million worth of poultry meat. In addition, tinned fruit, vegetables, juice, nuts, mushrooms, grapes and $5 million worth of dried onions flooded into the country.

Why is this happening, during one of the greatest crises that rural Australia may ever face? Because we have foreign treaty obligations to third world countries and others, since we committed ourselves to the New International Economic Order, the G.A.T.T. (General Agreement on Trade & Tariffs), and many other agreements. It is urgent that we return to a policy of national economic self-sufficiency in order to save some of our traditional industries in both agriculture and manufacturing.

THE NATURE AND THE SOURCE OF POWER

from the Christian Alternative Movement
The correct answer to the question
'What is the nature and the source of power?' is essential to the resolution of social problems. Because of the unchanging nature of power, choice in its use is restricted to two paths only. The path of tyranny, or the path of service. "There are only two possible sources of power. 1) From within the individual. 2) External to the individual.

"Power does not vary quantitatively. It either belongs to the individual in the sufficiency needed, or is taken by others. When retained by the individual and not used to destroy the power of others, it will be used to both develop the resources and strengths of the individual, and to serve others. Conversely, if power is transferred from the individual by either force or deceit, then the individual is subject to power imposed externally and he loses control of his own destiny.

"The Christian faith accepts the premise that the individual should never be robbed of personal initiative. Association with others to achieve what cannot be achieved single handedly is an increment of the use of power within, but to retain its purity in enhancing the power within the association will be voluntary and withdrawable any time the individual so chooses. Thus a unique relationship is established between the individual of any part of the power within, and results in the erection of false gods and the worship of man usurping power not rightfully his.

The Individual and the Mass
The spiritual basis of power resides in the individual - not in the mass, or mob of people. If mass has any reality it is in the sum total of individuality. There is no such thing as a successful mass movement, but many examples of unsuccessful and oppressive mass movements. The collapse of collective societies in Eastern Europe is the latest historical example. The mass, or mob, was moved by the typical weapons of mass movements; mesmerisation and false propaganda, to crucify Christ.

"Those who sell their soul to the concept of a collective society inevitably reject Christ, the author of spiritual power residing within the individual. "Christ explained the spiritual basis which builds successful societies. When asked by the Pharisees to show them the Kingdom of God, Christ replied, 'The Kingdom of God cometh not by observation: Neither shall they say, Lo Here! or, lo there! for, behold the kingdom of God is within you'. Luke: 17:20:21.

The power within builds successful societies, but those who rob others of that power then use it to produce what they believe are wonderful concepts and say, 'Look here, and look there, this is what we plan for you', not understanding they are destroying the only power which can successfully satisfy man's every need.

The Choice
"Those in authority in a true democracy, appointed not by a power machine, but who answer the call of service, have simple alternatives when judging any piece of legislation or social policy proposal. DOES IT PRESERVE OR DESTROY THE POWER WITHIN EACH INDIVIDUAL? "Once these servants accept the validity of the right choice they will hasten to support such proposals as the Citizens' Initiated Referendum (C.I.R.) and Voters' Veto (V.V.). Moves that will restore that form of democracy which Solzhenitsyn reminds us 'evolved in the face of God', and which he has now entered the lists to restore to his people in Russia.

Once genuine political democracy is returned to the people such problems as the excessive burden of oppressive government, the idolatrous worship of money resulting in excessive taxation and interest rates will be quickly dealt with. "'The light shines through the darkness - and the darkness can never extinguish it.' John l:5"

Supporters who wish to contact the Christian Alternative Movement may do so by writing to: "15 Simmons Court, GREENSBOROUGH, Vic., 3088".

FARMERS HOODWINKED?