DRAFT MINI-PROGRAM  INTRODUCTION  The New Democratic Party believes that the destiny uf Canada must be share:. by its people.  The development of Canada's vast resources, and the way in which the benefits should be shared, are matters which Canadians must decide through their own democratically-elected Parliament and legislatures.  New Democrats want to hand on to the children of Canada a new society, where excessive privilege and wealth for the few will be replaced by equal opportunities for the many.  They want to create a society where the technological revolution - computers and automation - will be used to create an exciting environment in which greater knowledge and human fulfillment will enrich the quality for all.  They want to create a society where the individual will not be dominated by any organization, public or private, and where the dead weight of one bureaucracy will not be substituted for another.  To make such fundamental changes in society is an exciting project. Ordinary and extraordinary Canadians can join in the task of demonstrating the belief of the New Democratic Party that it is people who count.  I. FULL EMPLOYMENT IN AN INDEPENDENT CANADA  The Trudeau government deliberately chose to induce paralyzing unemployment as an answer to inflation -- an inflation which is largely imported.  But, in the longer term, our vulnerability to recurring unemployment crises is also imported -- the inevitable result of a foreign-owned, branch-plant economy, based largely on the exploitation and export of raw materials.  Canadians are becoming ever mire convinced that -- if we are to progress beyond hewing wood and drawing water -- the Canadian people, through their government, crust take command of their economy.    UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION   Unemployment is not just a statistic. It is over half a million Canadians unable to find work. It is a $4 billion loss in annual production and a $1 billion less in tax revenue. It is a staggering increase in welfare costs. It is the incubator ;,f social unrest, of blighted lives, of young people unable to find a meaningful role or future in our society.  No government which has looked these .costs in the eye would deliberately choose unemployment as the answer to inflation. Yet that is what the Trudeau government did.  New Democrats put full employment as the primary economic goal. If some price rises occur because of full employment, it is far better and cheaper to compensate the victims of inflation -- those on fixed incomes -- than to squeeze the life out of the economy.  To meet the immediate crisis, a New Democratic government will:  . Institute a massive public housing program across the land;  . Invest in anti-pollution programs and accelerate socially useful public works;  . Increase purchasing power through tax relief for low-income groups and through increasing allowances for pensioners and others on fixed incomes;  . Provide funds to increase employment opportunities for young people in the area of services to people.  Include a meaningful cost-of-living escalator in pensions, allowances and unemployment insurance benefits.    ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE FUR CANADA   New Democrats have become convinced that recovering our economic independence is a crucial step in assuring full employment and achieving future prosperity. It is not merely a question of the nationality of the owners of capital; domestic monopoly is only marginally different from foreign monopoly. It is, rather, a question of effective control of our economic future and the freedom to plan and to create the kind of economy that produces maximum benefits for the Canadian people .  More than any other sector of the economy, Canadian resource industries are characterized by foreign ownership and high monopolistic concentration. Fir most extractive industries, half a dozen or fewer foreign-based, multi-national corporations account for nine-tenths of the output.  The raw materials extracted by these corporations are inputs for the economies of other nations. By an"' large, they are shipped unprocessed to manufacturing plants in other countries. So lung as this continues, Canada will be unable- to find enough jobs to employ its growing labour force.  New Democrats believe that cur natural resources should he managed in the long-terra best interests of Canadians; that Canada's natural riches should be the basis for highly efficient and competitive processing and manufacturing industries which provide well-paid jobs for skilled Canadian workers.  A New Democratic government will:  . Increase public investment in, and public control-of, resource industries by all available and appropriate means – including public ownership and joint participation with private industries. The first step in this process will be to acquire public ownership of oil and natural has distribution systems.  . Veto any continental energy deal.  . Establish a Canada Development Corporation totally owned and controlled by the Canadian public as a primary investment tool in new resource development.  .Plan and direct investment, to the end that more gnu more Canadian raw material provides opportunities for processing and manufacturing in Canadian plants before export.  II. PROVIDING SERVICES FOR A MODERN COMMUNITY  In a complex industrial society, people must turn to government to provide them with a broad range of community services and to guarantee that the necessities of life, like feud and shelter, will be available at price-s we can afford.  Entangled in their conservatism, Canadian governments have been slow to assume these responsibilities and faltering in carrying them out. A New Democratic government will take office with a long agenda of community needs to fulfill.  In Canada's federal system, must of the services which affect the quality of our quality lives are the direct responsibility of provincial governments. There are, however, many fields in which the central government must give leadership. It is an obligation which arises from its duty to provide all Canadians with fair share of opportunity and social justice wherever they may live in our country.  One of the first jobs of an NDP government in Ottawa will be to tackle Canada's housing crisis. When a quarter of our people live in sub-standard housing and when young families cannot fine a decent place to live it is a national disgrace that housing construction should actually have slowed down.  For 25 years, the shelter needs of low-income families and the aged have been almost totally neglected by all levels of government, while the only serious federal housing program was largely devoted to serving the needs of those with upper and middle-level incomes.  To New Democrats, housing is a basic social service, not a matter to be left to the vagaries of the market. Its financing is an urgent priority, net an easy source of revenue or a fiscal tap to be turned off and on at government's whim.  An NDP government will create a federal Department of Housing and Urban development. Working closely with the provinces, it would:  Provide generous financial assistance to meet the housing crisis 100% of the cost of land assembly and servicing, 100% of the; cost of public housing and 75% of the cost of rent subsidies.  . Bring down the cost of mortgage money by setting a subsidized ceiling for co-operative housing, homes for low-income families and for the ` rehabilitation of present housing.  Support the principle of integrated community development so that transportation, schools, recreation and shopping facilities are developed together with new and renewed housing.  Encourage the development of New Towns in areas of urban congestion.  A Program for Consumers  Canadians expect their government to protect them in their role as consumers, having learned from experience that the market does not automatically serve theft needs and wants. Extravagant advertising, promotional and packaging:, expenditures add to living costs without creating product improvement consumer enlightenment.  Now Democrats will establish a government department exclusively concerned with working for the consumer: It will:  Test consumer products and publicize the results.  . Enforce honest labeling and packat in regulations.  Regulate the operation of credit bureaus to protect consumers against erroneous information or the invasion of privacy.  Create a Prices Review Board to investigate unjustified price increases and publicize its findings.  Consumers have already banded together to help themselves in organizations such as Cc-operatives, Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires. A New Democratic government would help these movements by allowing incorporation of federal co-operatives and of a Central Credit Society with access to the Bank of Canada.  There is a special need to protect the public in the field of drugs. An NDP government will license drug manufacturers, and, if necessary, produce drugs under public auspices. It will encourage the sale of drugs under their generic names and provide more means to test drugs before they reach the market.    THE WORK FORCE   New Democrats recognize that a healthy trade: union movement, exercising the rights of free collective bargaining for working people, is an essential ingredient in a free democratic society.  While living lip service to the right to organize and bargain collectively, Canada's old-party governments have, in fact, shackled trade unions with more and more: restrictive labour laws: compulsory -arbitration, denial of the right to strike, ex parte injunctions. Further, these governments have failed to pin responsibility on industry for the consequences of automation, plant relocations and shut-downs.  A New Democratic government will not only "unstack" the law so that collective bargaining can once again fulfill its function; it will move beyond legalistic considerations to establish -- in the federal government and federal crown corporations -- a new model for labour-management relations. To that end it will enact a Labour Bill of Rights guaranteeing:  The right of 411 working people to join a union of Chair choice;  The unfettered right to peaceful assembly and picketing;  The right to bargain collectively on all matters arising out of technological change and automation.  . The right to trade union representation on Crown corporation boards and government boards administering social programs.  The right of a worker to his job until he resigns or retires -subject only to discharge for proven cause;  The right to obtain certification of a bargaining- unit without management intervention;  . The right to a clean, safe and healthful work environment.  Further, where a company proposes to shut down a plant employing a substantial number of workers, an NDP government will require full disclosure of the facts, and will assume control and operation where the facts warrant such action. Where a plant is closed, the company will be required to bear the full costs to the community and to the employees concerned.  Sharing Affluence  There are still many whim our society has failed to serve. Hundreds of thousands Canadians suffer the effects of unemployment or underemployment. Millions of Canadians are ill-housed or pay too much for their shelter. The needs of working women (particularly working mothers) are still largely ignored.  To New democrats, correcting these failures is one of the highest priorities facing Canadians. The huge resources of Canada make it possible for us to eliminate poverty and to provide this range of community sex-:rites which are necessities in a complex, urbanized society.  Social Priorities  One of the priorities in the face of poverty is the provision of an income ' f lcor ` below which no Canadian should be allowed to fall. A New Democratic government will ensure a minimum income for every Canadian. This income, when combined with a broad program of social services, would ',e: set sufficiently high to ensure a standard of living compatible with health ante self-respect.  The guaranteed income would not replace other existing social insurance schemes but New Democrats relieve that it would -provide the way of ending poverty and of wiping, out assistance programs based en needs or means tests. The level of guaranteed income would be subject to regular review, not only to preserve its purchasing power but to keep it in line with improvements in our standard of living.  In addition to the guaranteed annual income, a New Democratic government is committed to immediately increasing the old age pension benefit to ;125 a month without a means or income test. Further, the NDP will provide tax credits which will ensure that no pensioner pays any income tax unless his income is above an adequate basic level. Future benefits and tax credits will be tied to the cost of living.  Beyond Medicare  although prepayment of doctor bills has been an important forward step, it falls far short of meeting the health care mooed of the Canadian people. Indeed,, the present administration of medical any: hospital plans is tending to ''freeze" a system of health care delivery which is fragmented antiquate,"', inefficient and costly.  The New Democratic Party believes we should move quickly toward a pros-ram, of health care services which  . are comprehensive;  . are oriented toward prevention;  . encourage innovative approaches to the organization an(' delivery of health care.  To that end an NDP government will extend coverage to include dental., para-medical and medical-social services. It will .-also assist in the establishment of community-sponsored group health centres through capital grants any: long-term leans .  Canada's Native Peoples  after inure than a century, Canadians are coming tc. understand their responsibility for the position .:f the Indian and Eskimo. It is o history of paternalism, exploitation and cruel indifference.  Canada's native people must have the right t; make theft own decisions. May must have the dominant rule in controlling the economic development of their communities and they must have the resources to make it a success.  New Democratic government will -recognize the aboriginal and treaty rights of North American Indians and Eskimos in terms of modern equivalents. It will also establish a Native Reparation Funs' to be administered by and for the native peoples.  Education  Education in Canada is a provincial responsibility; but there are areas where a strong federal initiative is possible which, always respecting the particular position of Quebec, may be welcomed by the provinces. Many provinces will need federal assistance to achieve the NDP ;cal of free higher education for all who can qualify academically for it.  Broadcast in,.-..  A New Democratic government is committed to increasing the financial support of the CBC to make it less dependent on commercial advertising to make possible long,-range dove development planning and to expand encouragement and development of Canadian talent.  The fields of cable TV and community programming must be predicated on service to the public need rather than operation solely for private profit and advantage.  Women in- Canada  Equal pay for equal work an equal minimum wages, long advocated by the New Democratic Party, are essential programs to improve the position it ion of women in Canada. But women arc discriminate.: against in many other ways, both hidden and overt. Much more is required if women are to achieve equality in fact.  It will be the business of a New Democratic government to establish the role of women as equal participating partners in today's home, social, public and economic life.  Working women need laws with teeth in them to prohibit discrimination based on sex or marital status. The agency administering these laws should have broad powers of investigation and enforcement and be able to guarantee protection against discriminatory action for those who file complaints. Laws should be applicable to all employers, and to hart-time as well as full-time positions.  Maternity leave with pay, and without penalties, should be mandatory.  Vocational and technical training should be made freely available and tailored to the needs of the mature woman entering or reentering the labour force.  Mothers who are making a full-time job of caring, for their children deserve credit through the taxation system as a partial offset for the salaries they arc foregoing.  An NDP government will make available free information on family planning and birth control devices to anyone requesting them. Section 237 (Abortions) will be re-moved from the Criminal Code.  h New Democratic government will enact a Child Care Act, making available federal funds on a cost-share basis, with the provinces to organize, build and operate child care centres.  III. PRIMARY PRODUCERS - AGRICULTURE/FISHERIES  Capitalist economists, bemuses: by the process of industrialization in a private enterprise economy, have created a myth. This myth maintains:  . That urbanization is synonymous with "progress";  That primary industry -- particularly food production – is an activity of a lower order which is appropriately less rewarding than industrial employment;  . That the faster people are forced off the land into the urban labour market, the mere productive and advanced is the society which forces them.  10. r Whatever grain of truth lies suspended in this myth derives from the early nays of industrialization when struggling entrepeneurs required cheap labour for industries which were highly labour-intensive. Today, as ever more sophisticated technology displaces workers, the labour requirements of secondary industry arc actually declining.  As fur urbanization -- it is questionable that the congestion, pollution aims social malaise which infest our large urban centres make the ideal habitat for man. Is it demonstrably clear that it is better to have 95 per cent of our population in cities than -- say -- 75 per cent?  The problems w:; face in our cities are enormous. On the other side of the coin are the problems faced in our de-populated rural areas: the erosion of small communities; the disintegration of a service structure and a social system praised in our literature but damned in our policies.  Economists can find a hundred reasons why this process of rural de-population must move inexorably onward -- presumably until we reach that ideal state when no-one lives in rural areas and we are all happily stacked up in high-rises. Fur proof of this brand of economic thinking, red; the report of. the federal Task Farce on Agriculture, which is the basis of the Tradeau farm policy.  New Democrats believe there are rational answers to the problems of agriculture and rural life:  Intervene to stabilize the agricultural population at a level which will support a reasonable range of rural services.-,  Make farming; more rewarding by stabilizing costs of Production and raising form incomes  Implementation of policies to achieve these ends will require close cooperation Between federal and provincial governments.  Costs of production will be stabilized by (1) regulating, controlling and standardizing the farm machinery industry; (2) creating Public land banks to lease lane to farmers, thus lowering the cost of capital; and (3) extending a wide range of credit programs at low cost to farm families and cc-operatives.  Numbers of farmers will be stabilized by limiting farm size, the upper limits to be set regionally by the; farmers themselves. This will be buttressed by laws prohibiting foreign or corporate takeover of farm lands.  11.  Farm income will be raised through a combination of regulating domestic prices at the producer level, establishing national, producer-controlled marketing boards, and an aggressive export sales policy. A basic guaranteed net income fen farm families will underpin. pricing and marketing, policies.  Federal policies affecting Canada's fishing industry have, in the post, been initiated without proper consultation with Canadians whose livelihood depends on fishing. Consultation on, an'? endorsement of, fisheries policies will be undertaken by the NDP with producers to;  Establish a Frozen Fish Corporation-,  Assist in rationalization and modernization of the industry through training, ii: ing, marketing and development programs;  Establish and enforce a 12-mile limit for Canadian draggers, 100-mile limit for f ire inn draggers s : seek an international catch quota system beyond 100 miles;  Use Canadian Forces, in a coastguard function, to enforce limits.  IV. AN INDEPENDENT AND POSITIVE ROLE IN THE WORLD  New Democrats believe that Canada is ready to play an independent and positive role in the won la . On a p genet threatened by nuclear destruction and already afflicted by widespread starvation, Canadians are involved in humanity's peril.  Speaking and acting fir ourselves is net abandonment of traditional friends and allies. Canadians arc becoming aware that we can serve our common cause gutter by speaking out than by standing silent while folly and wickedness are committed in our name.  Canada has an enormous stake in helping to build a world community responsive to the rule of law. ro Lack that stake, :,re need a new set of ,priorities and a new style in the conduct of our international affairs.  We have no alternative to the United Nations. We must back k it in every possible way, by channeling; cur external aid through its agencies, by providing it with the services of our armed forces and by assuming a greater share of its financial burden. In spite of disappointments, w,: must support the establishment of a permanent U.N. peacekeeping force while insisting, in future, that social and economic changes must be promoted in concert with any police duty .  The time is overdue to dismantle the series of military alliances which were ,cur foreign policy twenty years ago In the mortal struggle for peace we must  . Work for a world disarmament treaty and oppose use or testing of nuclear weapons, above or below ground, anywhere, anytime;  . Withdraw from NATO and NORAD  n a world of nuclear weapons, no conflict can be tolerated and no threat to world peace ignored. For its own sake and the world's, Canada must use: all the influence it possesses to end wars before they begin. That is why the NDP fully supports the principle of universal membership in the United Nations.  The war in Vietnam must be stopped. It is a threat of fearful dimension to world peace. It has also become a war of 1 unit less and pointless barbarity. Canada must use every influence at her command, public and private, to end the conflict. When fighting has stopped, Canada must help t o rebuild both parts of this tortured land.  In Vietnam and elsewhere, the real enemy of world peace is net conspiracy but human misery. This is the enemy which Canadian resources must fight. But despite the aid programs of developed countries like Canada, the gap between the developing countries and ourselves continues to widen. ?, New Democratic government will:  Immediately increase our external aid to one per cent of Gross National Product;  As far as possible, remove requirements for Canadian content to maximize benefits;  it a ct the greater portion of Canada's aid through international agencies.  V. NEW KIND OF GOVERNMENT  What kind of government do Canadians want?  :vow Democrats think that they want a government which is as confident about Canada as they are - and just as determined that long-standing national problems are going to be solved .  They want a government ready to serve the needs of a modern industrial economy, with policies to cope with our housing crisis, the rising cost of lining and the unfairness of our taxation system.  They are looking for a government that knows its own mint:, with a little flair and a lot of determination to ;et things done. Canadians are ready to back that kind of government in renewing Confederation, regaining control of our own economy and giving Canada her own positive voice in the world.  That's why Canadians are looking to New Democrats to establish the first truly, progressive government is our history. We don't make light of the problems and we don't promise never to make mistakes. But we dc: challenge Canadians to join in building, a society as free and generous a s the lane in which we live.  June 15, 1971. 0TTAWA