PAGE 2, THE HERALD, Tuesday, August 30, 1977 a Rent wil VICTORIA CP - Con- sumer and Corporate Af- fairs Minister Rafe Mair said Monday “post-control controls’ will prevent landlords from demanding exorbitant increases once rent controls are lifted, Mair made his comments during debate on second reading of the Residental ‘Tenancy Act which. would replace the existing Lan- ‘diord and Tenant Act and allow for de-control of rents. “We have taken care to design a section that will provide a tenantsome rights of a and, ly force landlords and tenants alike to be reasonable about what is fair in the cir- cunstance,” the minister said. “In no way does a phasing out of controls mean we are abandoning the tenant to the vagaries of the marketplace and to the tender mercies of the landlord who might think thathecan get away with any . Mair said that despite the high overali vacancy rate in British Columbia there may still be shortages in certain types of rental aec- comodation such as “in three-bedroom family units, and in rental units suitable for cur poorer and older citizens.’* He urged the federal government to assist the provincial government in tting an end to the boom- t cycle in housing. “It is not a simple matter, as many trends interact and many in- dividual decisions are necessarily made without the decision makers knowing what other decisions are being made by other people,” the minister “Ie may be that the boom- bust cycle in housing is not ‘the result of, but one cause of, other boorn-bust cycles in our economy.” Mair blamed the federal government for failing to consider what effect changes it made in tax laws in 1971 would have on the rental housing market. “In fact,. tax changes, coupled with rising inflation and other trends, had a disastrous effect on vacancy rates,” he said, adding that the “Yogical political alternative’' was rent ‘control. “T believe it may be necessary to control rents at some times in some economies, but I do not believe that it is necessary or. Indeed wise to control rents in this economy for all time,” Mair said. . ’“T do believe that per- manent controls would be disastrous over the lon term because it would lea to falling investment in new construction and falling maintence of the existing stock of rental housing.” The minister said the bill before a the legislature provides for “phased-out de- ontrol,”’ zi ' - . He said the bill also closes “allowing . a loophole Irresponsible landlords. to charge unconscionable amounts for additional occupants.” However Dennis Cocke that abandonment of rent controls will lead to lower quality housing for poorer renters. “What you'll finally have is tenament housing,’*Cocke gai 4 . He said that low income renters will ' protection against rising rents and will search for ‘cheaper accommodations, which will inevitably be of have no: ait * * Aniles north of -fssembly line ‘contracts ended in BC Rail plant - finally closes = SQUAMISH, B.C. CP - British Columbia Railway’s SRailwest boxcar manufacturing plant quiety closed its doors shortly after noon Monday when the svar, number 2899, rolled out of < The plant, the main industry in this community 30 i Vancouver, opened for business March “27, 1975. It had a work force of 260 at the .Tocky, short-lived existence. “plant, a total of 1,400 cars came off the Railwest © The decision to close the plant came July 21 after zattempts by B.C. Rallway officials to gain additional ‘allure. = Jobs have been found for about one-third of the work ce, ; t ho paintshop. epee of its During the life of the =p bo souh = ee te Tal Whites v © * re #, wher adeno ote only to wheepaees Pores pick new gov't SALISBURY AP - A mere tWo percent of Rhodesia’s ulation is eligible to vote esday in an election for a new national assem- bly. Few blacks hold the right to cast ballots. Black nationalits predict the election will be the last for Rhodesia's white- minority government, “Whether change comes from a constitutional set- flement the next election will bring in a black- majority government,” one black nationalist official d, = Public-opinion polls in- dicate an overwhelming victory for Prime Minister S . Tak Smit vote of 44 is néeded for the constitutional changes Smith needs to pursue his ‘internal solution,” his expected aftempt to negotiate a power-sharing settlement with moderate black leaders that would safeguard the future of the white wation. lack nationalist resentment over the election is: further fuelled by the knowledge that many voters and 67 of the 120 white candidates were not born in pp left by the National Unifying Force, a multiracial party supporting a speedy tran- ston of power to the blacks and amnesty fer black. guerrillas who have been fighting to topple the Smith government since 1972. More ‘than half of the candidates of the Rhodesian Action party are im- migrants, including several who say they left Britain because they were unable to tolerate the socialist system there. Sixteen assembly seats are reserved for blacks, but eight-of those are tribally appointed. Because of stiff educational, income and land-ownership requirements, only 7,500 of the country’s 62 million blacks are eligible to vote, and then only for eight seats reserved for blacks. Among the 272,000 whites, 85,000 are registered to vote. AUTO PARTS & TIRES NDP-New Westminster sald oo Gat x ” From the beginning of September all provin- ) _ cial highways and most municipal signing will be converted to the metric system as quickly as possible. Signs designating distances in miles will be changed to kilometres (km). Speed zones in miles-per-hour willbe changed to kilometres-per-hour (km/h). New metric speed signs will become legal when they are posted, Overpass and bridge clearances will poorer quality. ' H PAVE WAY FOR TENEMENT HOUSING---NDP. | still be limited after cont Cocke was one of several NDP speakers who voiced opposition to the bill, saying their party would . vote against approving it in principle. ae position members also said the Social Credit party was breaking a campaign promise not to remove rent’ controls. . Gary Lauk © NDP- Vancouver Centre. waved newspaper advertisment ade HERE’S HOW DISTANCE SIGNS WILL BE CHANGED PARKSVILLE” 2 CAMPBELL RIVER: signed by them opposition Jeader Bill Bennett saying that a Social Credit government would not | abolish rent controls. Norm Levi NDP - Vancouver-Burrard said he objected to the bill because the specifics of de-control were not spelled out. — ‘What series of factors will go towards making u the formula for de-control’’ ee rols off hoped ‘Mair wasn't con: sidering removing rent controls from the . lower Mainland area. : Alex Macdonald. : said rent controls have saved renters in-the province milliong of dollares since. hey were firat introduced by. the former NDP. government. He said a seven-per-cent rent Increase ceiling should be signed in both feet and metres. » SPEED oo, _ Remember, that as they are posted, new speed zones in kilometres-per-hour (km/h) auto- imatically become legal, even though they _ WHY THE RUSH?’ . This is an important part of Canada’s nation- _ wide metric programme to convert all stand- ard measurements to the decimalsystem-the . simple arithmetic method used by most coun- tries in the world, We have already become accustomed to the change in heat measurement from fahrenheit to Celsius, Weights will change from ouncesto ‘prams; pounds to kilograms. Fluid measure- ments are already changing from pints, quarts and gallons to standardized litres. Distances will be measured in millimetres (1/1000 metre); centimetres (1/100 metre); metres and kilo- metres (1000 metres). . It has been found in other countries that phases of metric conversion introduced “cold turkey” gain the quickest acceptance. Those of us who laboured as schoolchildren to con- vert feet to yards to miles may have ¥little trouble at first, but metric is being taught in our schools; it is the universal language of _ scientists and engineers; and, in the néar fu- ture, will see full useage in the United States. Let’s do it now! | DISTANCE One kilometre(km)is.6210fa mile.One mile is: 1.609 kilometres (km). However, the easiest way to visualize a kilometre is as 46 of a mile. may not be a precise conversion from the pre- . vious speed limit in mph. Here are some you should become familiar with as soon as pos- sible. he asked, adding that he ~ PARKSVILE CAMPBEhc. SPEEDOMETERS Most1977 andall 1978 model cars have speed- -ometers and odometers calibrated in km/h. and km. Some earlier model cars have speed- ometers with dual calibrations. If your speed- ometer indicates only mph, you may find this - conversion scale handy. Familiar speedsare in large type. krvne_» 293040506080 wp 100 MPHo 10 20 30 40 50° 60 Always drive at the posted speed. You'll be surprised at how little time you really save _when you exceed speed limits. Here are some tips: : 1. Think (and talle) kilometre. Make it family fun | While driving together, # it family fun 2. When taking short, familiar trips mentally con- Vert your mileage to kilometres. Remember the 5:8 formula. ° 3. On longer trips, make sure you have a current “Beautiful British Columbia” roadmap(published . by Tourism British Columbia, Ministry of the Pro- ~ vincial Secretary and Travel Industry) available at tourist information centres. It has conversion — _tables for thost destinations in the province and nearby. _— 4. Keep our metric folder in your vehicle. Overhead clearances. Both advance and facia signs for limited clearance overpasses will be in be the absolute upper limit i 4 t a % x ce r ; Z BE __ SPECIALS. a : ‘ Winter Tires (Boliad) 100km x& _ 500 _ 62.5 miles : STP Oils & Additives - - : OW fired hot water tanks | = _ Binch HD. Bench Grinder $119.99 | . | MAHY MORE ITEMS | Oo : er | 4908 HWY 16W | . | ay “ 638-8484 7 -_ metres. For a reasonable period of time, a sign in feet will appear for a short distance in advance of the metric signs. Fuel consumption, Gasoline will continue tobe =. | sold by the gallon until January, 1979 when they ~~ - ’ will commence conversion to litres. Kilometres per gallon will be used to measure fuel consump- - On winding highways we.urge extra caution in approaching curves with advisory speed signs converted to km/h. These signs warn you what speed the curve or corner may be safely negotiated at. Take it slowly until you become thoroughly familiar with the metric system. ‘ Coe, Here's a simple example of conversion: or - 100 miles x8 ~ 800 - 469 km tion until that time. 7 Province of British Columbia - Ministry of Highways and Public Works — eae Aa ERE Bie DE A le dekalb ei leeemaen rene bowetnag be nea ee tee a taal A ee