.

4
: Paty

F
aoe MARCH 6, 1964
25, NO. 10

="10¢

Douglas lashes Columbia
Sellout in Parliament

— National leader T. C.
Ae ne told Parliament Tuesday
ine Tty would do everything
Ge aoeer to prevent ratifi-
trea the Columbia River
The
hee ey was finally brought
wen ament for approval
artiy sao Affairs Minister
Dem ations were that the
Support ty Socred eroup would
oe € Treaty and that the
oul Not block it.
ne ae Outat the treaty, Doug-
trying ita the Liberals were
ee dress it up with the pro-
Cover &Ned Jan, 90 in order to
sci its “ugliness,”
las, werent treaty, said Doug-
Whien is ad agreement under
Not 5 : U.S. got 60 per cent,
nefits Y cent of downstream

» and “complete contr
‘ol
Columbia basin.??

Ss

Se COLUMBIA, pg.3

NDP LEADER T. C. DOUGLAS told
Parliament Tuesday the Columbia
treaty was “‘a betrayal” of Canada
and would in the end cost us
“thousands of jobs.””

CONSUMER STRIKE
FORCES SUGAR CUT

Women to press drive on high prices

Faced with a growing consum er strike organized by B.C. women
against the high price of sugar, the B.C. Sugar Refinery and supermar-
kets this week beat a hasty retreat by cutting retail prices four cents
for a ten pound bag of sugar. In this way they hoped to head off the
growing consumer protest, but consumer groups said this week the

campaign will continue and grow.

The protest movement against
high sugar prices started with
a campaign initiated by Quesnel
housewives who called on B.C.
women to support the ‘‘No Sugar
Week’’ campaign March 2-9,

This action was followed by the
formation of a ‘‘Women Against
High Prices Committee’’ in Van-
couver recently, who took the
fight last weekend directly to the
shopping centres. More than 60
women distributed leaflets at
large shopping centres urging
support for the campaign to bring
down the price of sugar.

The action of the newly-formed
women’s committee won support
among the public and their dir-
ect protest action received wide-
spread publicity on TV, press
and radio.

The trade union movement also
entered the campaign Tuesday
night when the delegates to the
Vancouver Labor Council unan-
imously pledged all-out support
to the WAHP Committee and its
campaign against -high sugar
prices, ~

The leaflet issued by the WAHP
charged that sugar prices had
increased over 180% between
1962 and 1964. Ten pounds of
sugar selling for 83¢ in 1962
was being sold early this week
for $1.73. The Committee de-
manded that the price of sugar
be brought back to the October,
1962 level—73¢ per pound.

The leaflet also points out that
living costs are far too high and

Rankin tax fight wins

Neouy
Victory

Victory for hom

er ratepayers won a
‘ St week which could
the w) ol effect of prying open
Act, © Provincial Assessment

Coury .tctory came when the
allo €vision in Vancouver
Yer ay appeal argued by law-
for, , | Rankin on land tax

iO :
by the an im an area re-zoned
88 apart Y Zoning department

T ae Property,
by los », 1 Westion was 33 ft.
Me * deep and the assess-

“1955 aS risen from $950 in

0
theory 9440 in 1964. The

2000, ent construction was

at ¢
he 4Ssessors failed to

‘ ae the city tax de-:
vas Be Valuation of the land
or Dart © value of that land

$y

HARRY RANKIN

take into account, argued Rankin,
was the fact that city building
requirements demanda minimum
of a 50 foot lot for apartment
construction and that the small-
est economic unit practical for
construction requires a 100 foot
lot.

This means that while the theo-
retical value of the 33 ft. lot is
$11,000 it is of no value unless
taken alongside two adjoining
lots. It also fails to take into
account that the house is of no
value unless taken alongside two
adjoining lots. It also fails to
take into account that the house
is of no value to the developer
who wants to buy the land for
apartment construction.

In effect what has been happen-

See TAX, pg. 3

said that the Cost of Living
Index, issued from Ottawa, shows
that. while all items had risen
by 7.6% the highest increase was
for food: 13.4%.

. The leaflet also urges all con-
sumers to join the fight against
high living costs and asks that
all those interested contact Mrs.
E. Podovinkoff, chairman of the
WAHP Committee, YU 17-4585;
or Mrs. V. Cameron, HE 4-5955.

In announcing the sugar price
cut this week B,C. Sugar Refinery
and supermarket officials denied
that the cut was in any way
prompted by consumer protest.
However, it was noteworthy that
the price cut was announced on
Monday of this week, the opening

day of the week-long boycott —

which was set for March 2-9.

The reason given by B.C, Sugar
for cutting the wholesale price
this week was that world raw
sugar prices had dropped. This
contradicts the action of the sugar
monopoly in November, 1963. At

that time it said it would freeze
sugar prices at the October 18
level regardless of what happens
to world prices.

It’s obvious that B,C, Sugar,
which has an exclusive monop-
oly in B.C. and most of western
Canada, and last year made over
$10 million profit, is seriously
concerned over the growing pub-
lic protest. The move. to cut
sugar prices on the opening day
of the boycott was an obvious
maneuver to head off the protest
campaign.

At press time the WAHP

Committee said it welcomed the
cut in sugar prices as a victory
for their efforts but said the
cut doesn’t go far enough.

‘“*The campaign against the high
price of sugar will continue and
we call on the public to support
it.in full measure,’’ said the
Committee, which is planning to
meet early next week to plan
further public action to bring
prices down.

3
U.S. BRASS OFF TO SOUTH VIETNAM. U.S. Defence Secretary McNamara
and top military officials left Thursday for Vietnam where the war of the
U.S. and its puppet government against the people is going very badly.
Picture above shows him in S. Vietnam a few months ago. Since then the
situation has grown worse for the U.S. The U.S. face the same debacle
France suffered in the Southeast Asia country.

® B.C. Fed. parley and labor’s problems
International Women’s Day features
® Quebec labor speaks out on U.S. contro!

—Pg. 2
—Pgs. 5-6

—Pg. 7