A. Without exaggeration, the cultural situation is a catastrophe. Even in the natural sciences, we are years behind. In the humanities and social New Canadian organisation founded Almost all the work in these areas is in the hands of opportunists not even believe in what they churn
Unless there are changes soon, it will be difficult, even in two generations, to clear away the damage.
Q. The Charter has also spoken out on questions of environmental
Not directly. We help those who are interested in ecological ques-
The same goes for the peace critical stand on environmental questions can be treated here simply as a psychiatric case. The authorities look into their personal situations, in a word, they try to break them.
What are the reasons for the growing Catholic resistance?
In order to be brief, I will just talk about Bohemia. First World War, more than a few Catholics turned against the republic and consequently flirted with Hitler's Munich treaty.
After the Second World War, They got the worst treatment of any group. The events in The state's organization for priests, Pacem in Terris, is taken seriously by no one. It exists only on paper.
"underground Church" appropriate?
A. I think that this term is not appropriate. The Church is unregulated and unregulatable. But it has no programmatic perspectives. Today it is concerned mainly by survival. In the future, bigger could come out of that.
Is the regime firmly in the There can be no question of Without the support of the Soviet authorities, it wouldn't last more than a few weeks. The situation in our country is as artificial as it could be anywhere. The rulers can't accept any public opinion. They have censored even Gorbachov's attacks on corruption. A reform line in the Kremlin could become a danger to 20 tion can be corrupted by an artificial BARRY WEISLEDER A NEW national organization to unite Canada was formed at a convention held in Toronto, November 22-24,
The Alliance for Socialist Action [ASA] is the result of the fusion of four socialist groups: the Socialist Socialist Action Collective (Winnipeg),
Socialist and Feminist Collective (Edmonton),
The new organisation is comprised activists from the feminist, gay liberation and international solidarity movements; of active trade unionists, students and left-wing members of the New Democratic Party (the labour party in English Canada).
ASA members are already playing a leading role in the abortion and anti-intervention movements in
But without an activist organization based on a genuinely revolutionary programme, the ASA representatives stressed, "chained to the treadmill of reformbuilding a movement for fundamental no real prospect for days of deliberations, which capped a six month oral and written pre-convention discussion period, the gathering of the rank and file sponsoring groups adopted
Basis of Political Resolution, Norms Organization document, and Perspectives, and a Constitution.
The convention instructed its elected National Committee to edit and publish all of these documents early in 1986. The NC, which is composed equally of women and across the country, is the leadership body that will meet at regular intervals between conventions of the ASA.
Socialists can, on occasion, provide exemplary leadership to mass struggles even in periods of general working class retreat, and in this way attempt last another ten or fifteen years. to bring a positive influence to bear on the traditional organizations of our
Herein lies some of the motivation behind the ASA convention decision to help spread and coordinate across country the work of two key movement campaigns: the for women's reproductive rights and to defend the Morgentaler the campaign against United States intervention in Central America and the Carib-
The ASA will also launch a modest publication to serve as a vehicle for its socialist analysis and well as to provide vital information on struggles and campaigns in the interest of the working people. The newsprint bi-monthly will be called Socialist Challenge - for Socialist and Feminist Action, with its first appear before International in English Canada, it aspires to be a part of the process of building a Pan-Canadian revolutionary workers' party. The next step along the long road towards that goal is to unite revolutionary socialists today living in Quebec and English Canada.
For that reason a central priority of the ASA is fusion with the Quebec organization Socialiste. The leadership of the GS has expressed agreement with this propose to the convention of that organidiscussion be opened up on the quesbuilding a Pan-Canadian ASA is committed to construction of the International, now active in over fighting to establish a revolutionary Marxist alternative to petty bourgeois nationalism. Although links with the FI had previously been made, the ASA convention voted to apply for formal sympathizing organization status for the ASA within the International - a status the Gauche Socialiste was given one year ago. International Viewpoint 27 January 1986
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the regime here. Our hope is that it will be sunk by an imitation of such a reform course. Q. How long can the present freezing of social contradictions last? That is above all an economic question, that is, how long the popula-