;- “marvelous” Other Press February 18, 1987 Page Arctic power Canadian University Press VANCOUVER~= -- A proposal to put anti-submarine mines in Canada’s arctic waters should stimulate debate on the na- tion’s role in the western alliance, two leading analysts said at a re- cent University of British Colum- bia debate. Military historian and journalist Gwynne Dyer said the proposal is because it highlights Canada’s critical...strategic relation- ship with the two superpowers. “Pm not really crazy about min- ing our arctic waters, but I think it’s a lovely idea,” Dyer said. Dyer also advocated Canada’s withdrawl from NATO, in a de- bate with Doug Ross, a UBC politi- cal science professor. Dyer said the major argument against using Captor mines to as- sert control over the far north was the possibility of computer error, as the weapons are programmed to distinguish between “friendly” and “unfriendly” ships and sub- marines. The proposal was made in a report by David Cox, research di- rector at the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security in Ottawa. Cox argued the mines would deter both Soviet and U.S. submarines and “signal Canadian determination to refuse to pas- sively accept the militarization of the Canadian arctic.” Defence minister Perrin Beatty immediately said the idea was not an option, but UBC professor Doug Ross disagreed. “That's the kind of proposal we have to be looking at rather than automatically saying submarines are the answer and nothing else will do,” he said. recent Although Ross made a_ similar proposal at a 1986 conference in Toronto, he said a better way to as- sert sovereignty for civil, environ- mental or military purposes won’t be a limited number of northern bases and aircraft. During the earlier debate on NATO membership, which drew about 450 people to Woodward IRC2, Ross argued there is little Canadian influence within the al- liance because other members per- ceive Canada as a “free rider”, un- willing to contribute ‘its full financial share. Whereas Canada spent 2.1 per cent of GNP on defence in 1983, the United King- dom, for example, spent 5.5 per cent, and France spent 4.2 per cent: “Canada does not say anything about security relationships, about the big issues of the day,” said Ross, referring to cruise missile testing, Star Wars and the Soviet proposals for arms reductions at Reykjavik. “This is a by-product of not spending enough on defence,” he said. “We need to combat the American commitment to nuclear war fighting strategies, | which people in Ottawa do not want to touch with a ten foot pole.” Ross asserted that one of NATO’s functions should be to moderate paranoid and __isola- tionist trends within U.S. strategic thinking. Calling NATO a second-best al- ternative to the United Nations, Ross argued the alliance system promoted stability, especially in the context of nuclear prolifera- tion. But Dyer, a veteran of three westerm navies, argued Canada should leave NATO and _ become neutral, a view also presented in Socred breaks ranks; mining to resume Canadian University Press KELOWNA -- A _ local Social Credit MLA has broken with cabi- net opinion and come out in favour of extending B.C.’s uranium min- ing moratorium past its Feb. 28 ex- piry date. “I am well aware ... of the hazards of uranium mining and exploration,” Cliff Serva, repre- sentative for Okanagan South, told 100 residents at a recent meet- ing. “I believe the moratorium should be extended until the Bates commission can voice their report and have it acted on,” he said, re- ferring to the three person royal commission on uranium mining established in 1979. When the government §an- nounced the seven-year moratori- um in Feb. 1980, however, it also disbanded the commission, leav- ing at least 65 witnesses unheard, including the B.C. Medical Associ- ation. Serwa said he would present in- formation on uranium mining to ‘Energy, Mines and _ Petroleum Resources Minister Jack Davis and other Socred colleagues. He also advised citizens to write to the government, using factually- based, _—_individually-drafted _lett- ers. If the moratorium does expire Feb. 28, Okanagan residents will likely be the first to experience its effects. In the Jan. 5 edition of Northern Miner, Lacana Mining, which includes Ontario Hydro, States its intention to mine the Blizzard deposit, eighty miles from Kelowna. The deposit is described as 4.5 million kilograms of urani- um oxide close to the surface. Activists are concerned mining will release radioactive _ particles such as: the uranium itself; Radi- um -226 with a half life of 1,600 years; and radon gas, which can be carried thousands of kilometers by wind. When the government made its Dec. 17 announcement allowing the moratorium to expire, Energy Minister Davis said the decision would counter negative _percep- tions about B.C.’s investment cli- mate. At the Kelowna meeting, how- ever, former uranium miner Werner Keyes _ said wastes end up _ contaminatins nearby water sources and harming ° workers. “All the lakes and rivers around Elliot Lake, Ontario are now polluted,” said Keyes. “There are no fish in them.” He added, “I have a lot of friends who have died young from mining uranium in Ontario. Friends say to me -- Werner, I’m so glad you got out healthy, you got out alive.” radioactive, his new film, “Harder Than It Looks,” co-produced with filmaker Tina Viljoen. Citing the example of Finland’s relationship with the U.S.S.R., Dyer said a neutral Canada would be responsible for securing its own airspace and oceans, reassuring the U.S. that the Soviets could not use Canadian territory to attack. Assumptions that neutrality signi- fied a passive, isolationist or cost- saving approach to defence were false, added Dyer. “There is a lot we could do in terms of _ demilitarizing the northern zone between the su- perpowers,” said Dyer, who pointed to the possibility of creat- ing an arctic buffer zone with countries like Finland and Sweden. : Dyer said the alliance system in- creased the likelihood of nuclear snepuecnenn senna war, and criticized deterrence as “brutal.” “If the deterrence ever gets tested and fails, then we lose the northern hemisphere, and that’s a pretty high price to pay for a strategy like that,” he said. Dyer referred to North Ameri- can troops in Europe as “hostages,” present only to guar- antee participation in any war be- tween western and eastern Europe. He further charged that Europe was getting a subsidized defence. “What happens essentially is western Europe gets a free ride, or at least. a very cheap ride, in the sense it has at least.as large a pop- ulation as the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but does not at- tempt to match the Soviet forces in conventional terms,” said Dyer. IF YOU HAVE AN ATTACK OF GALLSTONES, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT PLACES THAT - ~ MIGHT HURT 2 : RIGHT UPPER PART OF YOUR ABDOMEN, RIGHT SHOULDER BLADE, RIGHT SHOULDER, PIT OF YOUR STOMACH, OR UNDER YOUR BREASTBONE. HEALTH CAPSULES y Michael A. Petti, M.D. c the Other Publications Society J The Other Publications Society is holding its annual general meeting. Agenda ET Tae 2) Leuy Adjustment 3) Coustitutioual Amendments 4) Other Business The meeting will be held in room 1602 at noon on March OPS however to become a voting member you must sign the society membership book in rm 1602 at least 24 hrs. before the meeting. All motions must be submitted two weeks prior to the meeting, to be considered for the agenda. Office hours : 12 noon - 4 pm, Mon - Fri Gene ecto | | | 2th. Every Douglas College student is a member of the