hind. The Conservatives, for ex-
ample, have not felt the need to
re-assess their position on free
trade or Meech Lake. After all,
they won the election, so their
stand on these questions ‘‘must
have worked.’ What they have
re-assessed, however, is their
ability to keep all the promises
they made during the campaign.
Finance Minister Michael Wilson
has already announced that it will
be impossible to keep these
promises, and that Canadians
should brace themselves for var-
ious tax increases and fiscal
measures which were not men-
tioned during the course of the
election.

A political party which in-
dulges in pragmatism can never
serve people's interests. It is a
philosophy which has other aims.

_ And in the current situation, one
can see clearly that one of the

aims is to hide precisely which

_ class the various political parties

serve.

o
“

NATIVE STUDENTS
PROTEST NEW
POLICY ON THE
POST-SECONDARY
STUDENT |
ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMME

On March 22 in Winnipeg,
2000 students demonstrated
against proposed government
cutbacks in post-secondary edu-
cation funding for Native stu-
dents, which will take effect April
1. The demonstration in Winni-
peg was part of a national day of
protest which saw actions in most
provinces as well as the Yukon.
The decision of the government
to implement the E-12 Guidelines

NEWS*#ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: .

View of the demonstration organized i in n Winnipeg on March _

is a violation of the Native peo-
ple's treaty rights. —

The demonstration in Winni-
peg was organized by the Indian,
Métis and Inuit Student Associa-
tion but included the support and
participation of various non-Na-
tive students and their organiza-
tions. The University of Manito-
ba Students Union, the student

newspaper at the University of |

Manitoba, The Manitoban, the In-
ternational Students’ Organiza-
tion and the Manitoba Student
Movement, student organization
of the Communist Party of Can-
ada (Marxist-Leninist), organized

and worked for the success of the

demonstration. The participation
of non-Native students. and stu-
dent organizations was one of the
specific objectives of the Native
students who were active in or-
ganizing the action. They recog-
nized at the outset the necessity.
to unite all the students. Those
who participated on behalf of
other organizations made note of

the importance of uniting in the
fight for the common aeoeones of

the students. :

youth and students’ they are also
part of a broad front of education

cutbacks that are increasingly af-

fecting the quality and accessibil-..

ity of post-secondary education. _
In their statements and com-.
‘ments on this issue, UMSU, The —
Manitoban, the ISO and MSM all _
made reference to the basic right -
to education as fundamental for .
the youth of this country and itis ,

~~

- "While ea E-12 ae are
a specific attack against Native |

a measure of the quality ‘of. the

society. Their view was that. an

attack on one section, of the stu- «

dents was an attack on all'the .__

students and must be treated as

employ the policy of ‘‘divide and

rule’ in an effort to -split the -

ranks of the people.

In Vancouver, more than 150 -
Native and non-Native students
demonstrated at Robson Square..
Beverley Scow of the Inter-Cam-'
pus Native Student Network said "
that students across the country .
are standing for a moratorium on > -
the implementation of changes to ©

8

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- THE NEW WEEKLY: *

- aes
' . . ,
i 4 es ae ge i

such. This unity they believe will. .
deal a blow to those who'seek to |

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