THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

"BUT THIS IS HOUSING FOR

THE PooR...IF THEY AREN'T
Poor NOW THEY WILL BE

WHEN! THEY HAVE: BoUGHT
A HOUSE..."

NEW NHA MORTGAGE RATES
WILL RAISE HOME PRICES

If Transport Minister Paul
Hellyer boosts the maximum
mortgage under the National
Housing Act to $35,000 as has
been rumoured, it will have
the effect of raising the price

of homes still higher.
————————

JOHN KELLY
HOSPITALIZED

JOHN KELLY, Ist Vice-President
and long-time member of Local
1-417 IWA Salmon Arm, is in the
Royal Inland Hospital in Kam-
loops with a serious kidney ail-
ment.

This is the opinion of a con-
sultant and lecturer at York
University Alan Schwam who
was formerly research direc-
tor of the big residential con-
struction firm Rubin Coryo-
ration.

Mr. Schwam told a group
of students that if the NHA
mortgage ceiling is raised to
$35,000, the minimum price of
a home will also go to $35,000.
“The Central Mortgage and
Housing Corporation maxi-
mum always becomes the
minimum.”

The present ceiling is
$18,000.

The York University lec-
turer said that housing ex-
perts were telling the govern-
ment 10 years ago that Can-
ada faced a housing crisis “but
you couldn’t get through to
them.”

“Diefenbaker’s attitude was
that there was no shortage in
Prince Albert. Pearson’s atti-
tude was that he didn’t think
he should interfere with the
internal affairs of Canada.”

Housing in Metro is so
tight, he said, that developers
can charge up to $275 per
month for row housing de-
signed to rent for $125 a
month.

SYD THOMPSON
ELECTED V.L.C. PRESIDENT

Local 1-217 President Syd
Thompson was elected by ac-
clamation to the presidency
of the Vancouver Labour
Council February 21. *

He was First Vice-Presi-
dent of the Council for a
number of years.

Others elected were:

First Vice-President
— James Malange, Operating
Engineers; Second Vice-
President — Cliff Rundgren,
Electrical Workers; Third
Vice-President — Mike Ste-
phens, Canadian Food Work-
ers Union; Secretary-Treas-
urer — C. P, “Paddy” Neale,
IWA.

Committee Chairmen elect-
ed were:

Bill Stewart, Marine Work-
ers (organization); Brian
Denton, Retail Clerks (legis-
lation); Karl Reich, Uphol-
sterers (public relations);
Jack Lawrence, Packing-
house Workers (grievance);
Bob Hamilton, Letter Car-

< ois eS Aa

ple. —

SYD THOMPSON

riers (education); Frank
Kennedy, Longshoremen
(metro advisory); and Opal
Skilling, Of fice Employees
(credentials) . '

\ ey
z i > ae

_ ALEXANDRE
GETS 1-417 POST

Local 1-423 Second Vice-
President Sonny Alexandre
has been appointed a tempor-
ary Business Agent of Local
1-417 IWA Salmon Arm.

Sonny has been a highly
active member of the Union
and besides holding office in
the Local Union, is Plant
Chairman of the Northwood
Mills Ltd. (Western Pine
Division) at Princeton where
he has worked for the past
eight years.

He will take up his new
duties February Ist.

Canada.

$4,842.

or four. <

1,000 CBC EMPLOYEES
BELOW POVERTY LEVEL

The union representing CBC employees has charged
that more than 1,000 of its members are not making
enough money to rise above the poverty level.

In a brief to a federal conciliation board the Associa-
tion of Radio and Television Employees of Canada said
45 percent of its members at the CBC earn less than the
poverty line established by the Economic Council of

The brief stated that the salaries ranged from $2,702
to $10,938 a year, but more than 1,000 earned less than

The figure of $4,842 is the minimum amount required
to remain above the poverty level for a family of three

PRICE INDEX JUMPS.

The consumer price index
last year took its biggest jump
since 1951, says the Dominion
Bureau of Statistics. During
1968 the index went up 4.1
percent to reach 158 points.
The calculating base of 100 is
based on 1949 prices.

This was the largest in-
crease since the index went
up 10.7 percent in 1951 at the
height of the Korean War.

Mainly responsible for last
year’s increase were rising
cost of recreation, tobacco, al-
cohol and housing.

In the area of housing,
home purchase cost went up
8.1 percent and rents 43
percent.

The increase in the cost of
recreation, alcohol and tobac-
co was 6.1 percent. At the end
of 1967 the index stood at
151.8 points.

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