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The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 9

Location:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Issue Date:
Page:
9
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN MONDAY, MAY 8, 1989 A9 The Op-Ed rage Readers differ on arms show, Canada's defence role nKiutino in nrhpn thev imi objecting to when they peace groups implied nninii with nn nroof? Canada makes very i If i i 'CSb -Chris Mikula, Citizen One view of the arms show in Lansdowne Park in 1987 What we do need is to be a decent city in a sane country working toward a compassionate world for our own children and all the children of nivu5uvui i few armaments. We do not make tanks, for instance, and lasers are only used for rangefinding and weapon direction. Of course, a laser can also be used for surgery or welding. I attended the last ARMX show on a day pass. I was just an observer, so the statement that every visitor is a qualified buyer is mere hype.

While the military attaches of the Third World may have been there, the average visitor appeared to be a CaExWbitors were mostly from the U.S. and Europe pursuing known Canadian requirements. To claim that this is a show where we sell to the Third World is nonsense. The exhibitors have every right to exhibit and not be harassed by so-called peace groups. I don know anyone in favor of war but I believe that it is NATO's strength that has kept the peace and protected the West for 43 years.

Peter Foulger Ottawa Unholy trade Claire Hoy (April 23) argues that the opponents of ARMX are attacking "a legitimate industry which employs "thousands of Canadians." In fact, the militarization of our country's economy should be opposed by every thinking Canadian. The arms trade is a trade in torture, oppression and death. It is not a suitable means to build Canada's economy. Indeed, not only does military spending divert human and material resources away from education, health, environmental protection and social programs, such spending fails to create jobs at a rate comparable to these socially important areas. The arguments against arms transactions are even more compelling, given their use upon the oppressed people of the world.

In spite of the government's alleged policy of blocking arms sales to countries that violate human rights, Canadian companies consistently do so. ARMX 87, for example, was attended by observers from human rights abusers such as Israel, Taiwan, South Korea and Chile. ARMX 89 is not just an exhibition. Promotional material for the event promises companies the opportunity to be "at the centre of intense buying action." The public is not invited. Neither the government nor Defence Publications, the firm which has taken over the running of ARMX, has released information about the nature of the event or its The'coaMion to Oppose the Arms Trade, faced with this intransigence, has decided to organize the public inquiry, which Hoy disapproves.

In view of the restrictions placed upon participation in and information about ARMX, it should hardly be surprising that such an alternative event would not include "a single person who can speak for the other side." Scott Piatkowski Ottawa Noble decision Congratulations to the Ottawa City Council for their responsible stand against ARMX. At this moment, a quarter of all nations are at war. ARMX contributes to the permanent state of war on our planet. 4 k.i Third WnHH countries are ruled by Meagre contribution Defence is still Canada's favorite whipping boy even though we spend so little on it For two decades we've been rock bottom in NATO in terms of percentage of GNP. Don't think our social welfare network isn envied by our hard-working, tax-paying allies who wish they had it half-way as good.

But they face the facts that we won't. You have to pay the price for preserving what you have. Ed Broadbent says "sink the submarines. In the last election campaign John Turner's woolly arithmetic used the $8 billion earmarked for nuclear-powered submarines to pay for other things, even though if that $8 billion spread over 20 years isn't spent on the navy, Canada will soon have no navy at all. Ottawa Alderman George Brown (Citizen, April 20) moved that the city ban arms trade shows.

ARMX wants to rent Lansdowne Park from the city for defence contractors to peddle their wares. The majority of council agreed with Brown. Said he: "The national capital region is becoming capital for the defence industry across the country. I morally object." On moral grounds, then, alderman you'd drum from the neighborhood all of Ottawa's high-tech industries that thrive on defence contracts. You'd relocate their employees and the morally offensive Department of National Defence.

You might move them to Goose Bay, Labrador, because soon there may be vacant space. In the plight of the Innu there, the ogre is Defence too. I sympathize with native peoples, who have desperate problems. But there are fewer than 1,000 Innu in Labrador (the other 6,000 are in Quebec). No more than half of them go fishing and hunting in spring and fall.

An Innu leader says that overflights interfere with reproductive patterns of caribou. No informed wildlife biologist is asked to explain that the calving ground of the principal caribou herd the George River herd, the world's largest and growing steadily is in northeast Labrador where those planes don't go. These Innu have wrenching social problems but they won't go away with the fighters. Apparently they are persuaded that their tactics will further their land claims. That may be.

But if they succeed in keeping the NATO fighters out, there no operational reason at all for keeping the Goose Bay Air Base going. The 10,000 people of Labrador (including the Innu who nearly all live within 50 miles of the base) will lose a massive economic prop Then who'll provide the jobs, the hospitals, tie schools, the transportation services in a moribund economy? Political history on closing outmoded defence bases in economic backwaters suggests that Goose Eay would stay open. Canadian taxpayers will pay through the defence budget. So real defence loses. Canadian taxpayers lose.

The citizens of Labrador lose. The Innu too. NATO loses. Canada loses another shred of her shabby cloak of international credibility. In the 1987 White Paper on Defence, Brian Mul-roney said: "The pressure for economic and social programs designed to bring prosperity and to provide opportunities for fuller and richer lives makes defence spending seem, at least to some, an unattractive use of national resources.

Social benefits, however, are the fruit of a secure and free society. This government accepts the preservation of such a society as its fundamental responsibility and will, therefore, provide the resources necessary to make the Canadian forces operationally effective and responsive to the challenges of the 1990's and beyond." Parliament affirmed that. The Opposition fired broadsides at the nuclear-powered submarines but could hardly damn a total defence program that projected only 2.2 per cent real growth per year a pittance when you consider that under the Liberals before 1984, it was three per cent The day will come and work towards it we must when arms are so reduced the world can live without fear and without their huge economic load. Mr. Gorbachev has led a lot of that, but he navv He has about 340 submarines to NATOs 255 A dozen modern Canadian nuclear-powered attack submarines would have been a real contribution to the alliance as well as our own defence And they would have regained some of the respect Canada once commanded in the councils of the world and given us a hand in the hard bargaining to come.

Tony German Old Chelsea Quebec No common sense Our aldermen took it upon themselves to ban future arms shows on city property when Ottawa politicians were falling all over themselves to prevent the relocation of Transport Canada employees to Hull or Gatineau. Perhaps the Department of National Defence should move their people from some 28 locations in Ottawa to Hull. Further, to avoid hypocrisy our politicians could refuse to accept municipal taxes from industries in Ottawa that are evolved in the defence trade. Then, councillors such as Alderman Brown can justly rejoice in a national capital that is not only free of arms, but also devoid of common sense. Rob Kloppenburg Ottawa Good choice Like many Canadians I am not of ten impressed bv politicians, but I was impressed by Ottawa City Council's decision to deny future ARMX weapons shows access to Lansdowne Park and other city property.

This was a courageous, morally correct would have been revenue brought to Ottawa by 13,000 "visitors" and 400 armament But the weapons will ultimately be sold indiscriminately, even to regimes with massive records of oppression, human rights violations, and the violent suppression of their own peo- As for the objections of Canterbury Alderman Michael McSweeney to the motion, first he labelled it "a simple motion from simple aldermen. Then he said that no arms will be sold at ARMX '89 and it is strictly an exhibition. Mr. McSweeney, perhaps you and Aid. Jim Jones should visit ARMX '89 and look at the products on display.

Are they really defensive, and consistent with Canada's role as a peacekeeper? Look, too, at some of the innocent "window shoppers browsing through this exhibition which will be closed to 01 Ottawa, I'm proud of you. We don't need this our earth. David Lavoie Ottawa Naive move The decision to ban ARMX from Lansdowne Park was naive and hypocritical. How can a city so dependent on defence industry and, indeed, the location of the Department of National Defence, act in such an irresponsible "Canada, having decided to have adequate defence to not only protect itself but to take part the alliance that has ensured peace for 40 years, must ensure that our defence forces have the right ARMXallows that to take place. It is a Canadian event that allows smaller companies to compete in a very difficult marketplace.

Often they compete with products that have nothing to do with "killing" people, but with such things as boats, survival equipment, communications, computers, clothing, and so on. Very little of the show consists of munitions, but rather more with systems, detection equipment and other non-violent items. This move denies the rights of a large segment of our industry to compete on an equal footing. If ARMX is not held here, then it will be held somewhere. Then it would be interesting to see the attitude not only of city council but also of that vast silent majority that surely exists here in Ottawa.

I am now waiting to see the reaction when it is suggested that the Department of National Defence be moved to Kingston, Toronto, or heaven forbid, Montreal. How will city hall vote then? Gordon L. Edwards Ottawa Strength necessary It is impossible to distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons. The distinction can only be made in terms of the quantity and mix of weapons and numbers of personnel in the armed forces of a country and the foreign policy it follows. Since Canada has been criticized for not having enough troops and weapons to meet our commitments, it hardly seems reasonable to ban a show that is mainly aimed at the Canadian forces.

The objection that material Canada sells ends up in countries that violate human rights is a red herring. The export of military equipment is controlled by the Department of External Affairs thorough export licences. Which countries and which items were the iiau vi a military regimes. ARMX contributes to the militarization of society. People all over the world are suffering from hunger and underdevelopment If diverted to meet human needs, world military expenditures for only two weeks would meet the annual basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health and education for all people on earth.

ARMX contributes to global poverty and suffering. Citizens of Ottawa should be very proud of their aldermen and alderwomen for saying 'No to ARMX. Judith Wyatt Kingston money. hasn't suggested any cuts in ine worm a It's nuy ANNIVERSARY SALEi All Down Northern Feather Down and Feather DUVETS DUVETS B.g. SALE Twin Double $299 $179 if M19" M49" M79" Let us look at health care in Eastern Ontario: In 1988, the Ministry of Health's budget was $12.7 billion, up 10 per cent from 1987.

Fourteen per cent of the 1988 provincial budget was spent on health care for seniors. In May 1988, a payment of $3.7 million was approved by the Ministry of Health for new equipment and to offset declining Quebec revenue. The Ministry of Health also funded hospital deficits in the Ottawa region by $900,000. The editorial failed to mention that the $140 million in announcements included the rebuilding of the Perley Hospital and $10 million for the new University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Hospital budgets have increased by 39 per cent since 1985, when the current government took office.

Shawn Williams Ottawa Twin DoubleQueen King 1 9900 $23900 Park development Contrary to Richard Hofer (letters), the Gatineau Park Protection Coalition is on record as stating that the residents of the park are part of its cultural heritage and should remain as such. The coalition is not against residential developments in West Hull or anywhere else except within the park. Scott Findlay Ottawa Hospital services The editorial, "Hospital Restraint' can also be bad" (April 21, was somewhat odd, given tie letter April 16 from a gentleman who had a serious hand injury and who received excellent care at Queensway-Carlcton Hospital. The writer said that he felt that this was the norm in Cttawa-Carleton. I am sure others would agree.

Queen $329 King $399 Temp. 60-70'F 15-20'C Temp. 67-72-F 17-21-C BUY ANY DUVET FROM US AND WE WILL SEW THE DUVET COVER FOR FREE (Materials must be purchased from us labour is free) PERCALE SHEETS 180 thread count 5050 blend Tories may be in for rude awakening $OQ99 9QM 39M King from flog $27.99 57 (tag ordor) Tnctaorf nf Bottinff a crood examole. the govern Twin from SAVK MO to 8500 ANY HKAbS HKI1 IN Tim aiOltE I 1 mii 1 -iiiiwi nni lt I Letter of tho day clal benefits, the Tories are never stingy and vote themselves double-digit raises that are well above the rate of Inflation. In contrast when renewal time rolls around for public service collective agreements, Treasury Board considers it its patriotic duty to keep Increases down to two-to-four per cent, and that after many months of haggling.

To me, recent Canadian governments no longer represented the interests of the people who sent them to Ottawa; Instead, they represent their own personal Interests and ambitions, making a mockery of the principles of democracy and fiscal responsibility under the motto, "If you run short of money, dream up another tax." Dream on. Michael and Brian; hopefully, the day will come when you have a rude awakening. G. Bocttcher Gloucester ment spends money on projects that shouldn't be considered even in times of opulence, let alone In times of constraint For example, why spend more than $20,000 on counting the PM'f shrubs? Did Environment Minister Bouchards office really need a $40,000 facelift? And why was the Governor Generals travel allowance Increased from $200,000 to The reason given Is that she had constantly exceeded her travel budget If a public servant exceeds his (her) budget, he (she) is taken to task. Jeanne Sauve however, is rewarded.

Also, why do we need more statues of past trime ministers on the grounds of Parliament in slt-tightenlng times? And where did fiscal responsibility come in when the multi-milllon-dollar project was com-missioned to U' House from sliding into the Ottawa River (maybe they should have let it slide, with all the parliamentarians In it)? As It Is, nothing was accomplished and the money went down the drain. When it comes to Increasing their own finan- Twin '599 b3a tw aaa 1 I (Binn Miia DW 649 'W I BRASS BED SLEEP CENTRE 225 DANK ST (Atuscak, 21.S-2878 rilONE ORDERS WELCOME 234-1447 i v..

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Years Available:
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