Socreds, doctors scuttling medicare By ALD. HARRY RANKIN Fhe provincial government is not just nibbling away at medicare. It is out to scuttle it. It wants to re- place the present scheme with a user-pay insurance scheme similar to the car insurance scheme operat- ed by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. That is the real meaning of the government’s decision to increase medicare premiums by 15 percent, ambulance fees by 27 percent, daily hospital charges from 27 to 150 percent. And the government has warned that taxes may also be in- creased to raise more money for health care, and that from now on medicare and hospital fees will be increased every year. Equally disturbing is the de- mand of the powerful doctors’ or- ganization, the B.C. Medical Asso- ciation, that the government re- place the present medicare scheme with a user-pay scheme and its threat that it will charge anyone who comes to a doctor’s office an additional $5 for each visit. The plan of the government and the doctors’ organization is to scut- tle medicare in stages, over a period of several years. The percentage of health costs that the government pays will gradually be cut down while the share paid by users will steadily go up. The government’s excuse for in- creasing fees is that recent wage in- creases for nurses and others caus- ed a $135 million deficit in the health budget. That is a phoney if there ever was one. The deficit. is one that was deliberately contrived; the government knew wage in- creases would have to be made — why didn’t it provide for them in the budget. It wanted an excuse to undermine medicare so it manu- factured one. : The doctors’ association, which is dominated by people in the hun- dred thousand income bracket, has little justification for its demand for a 40 percent increase, and still less for its decision to charge an ad- ditional $5 per visit if doctors don’t get what they want from the gov- ernment. They don’t mind using, free of charge, the hundreds of mil- lions of dollars worth of equipment in our hospitals paid for by taxes. There are plenty of people still around who remember how the doctors of Saskatchewan went on strike when the CCF government headed by T. C. Douglas brought in medicare there. The stand of the doctors then was that only those who had the money were entitled to health care and only doctors had the right to decide what the fees should be. Their views haven’t changed all that much since then, judging by their stand in B.C. to- day. The provincial government, ac- cording to Mark Rose, MP is re- ceiving $778.7 million from the federal government this year for health care. This is supposed to cover half of B.C.’s health costs. But the government of B.C. is spending only $1.4 billion this year on health. This means that over $400 million that is supposed to go for health care is being diverted to _ other purposes. Is this how the gov- ernment plans to pay for the Anna- . cis Island Bridge and its proposed new highway to the Okanagan, or B.C. Place on the North Shore of False Creek? Furthermore the government at. the end of this fiscal year had a huge surplus. So it can hardly plead lack of funds to pay higher medi- care costs. : Many people will suffer from these increased costs. It amounts to the same thing as a wage cut. But the ones who will suffer most are those with the least protection and - the least political clout — the old, | the handicapped, the poor, those who don’t belong to unions. increases cannot in any way be just ified. People are being punished for getting sick or having an accident. If the government needs more . money, why doesn’t it increase the — far too low stumpage fees paid by — the big lumber corporations, orth — disgracefully low royalties paid by the multinationals taking out OUF oil, natural gas, coal and other — minerals. They can afford to pay _ but their fees aren’t being increas — ed. In B.C. we have socialism for the rich and private enterprise for | poor. of medicare goes down the dralll: Then health care will be for thos’ go without and suffer. The upcoming concert of Sov- iet artists from Vancouver’s sister city, Odessa, has been seen as a significantstep in encouraging re- lations between the USSR and Canada. . The sponsorship and organiza- tion of the “Vancouver Wel- comes Odessa’’ concert by the ci- ty of Vancouver, stands out in en contrast to the federal gov- ODESSA DANCERS .. Odessa concert a major event t a ernment’s curtailment of cultural relations with the Soviet Union. The 28 performing Ukrainian artists will share the stage of the Orpheum theatre with Vancou- ver’s Kobzar dancers. The artists will be making Van- couver their first port of call on the cruise ship, Odessa, which this month begins a weekly service be- tween Vancouver and Alaska, sae . in Vancouver June 22. . continuing until September. The concert is slated for Sun- day, June 22 at 2 p.m. and will cost only $3 admission for the- atregoers, as Vancouver city council has waived normal rental fees for the theatre. The proceeds from the concert are to go into a special fund for future exchanges with Vancou- ver’s sister city. =, Developers elated with legislation land within the area. Developels — Continued from page 1 Housing and Urban Development Association of Canada — which dubs itself the ‘‘voice of the hous- ing industry’? — and its spokesman Gordon Cameron, director of development for Wolstencroft Realty, confirmed to the Tribune that the legislation will change sig- nificantly development procedures in the province. Cameron said that his organiza- tion asked Socred ministry of municipal affairs officials if the new legislation will apply to Van- couver — which operates under’a special charter — as well as to other municipalities, and was told that the legislation would ‘“‘be coordi- nated with the charter.”’ The developers can’t say enough good things about the legislation which will grant them almost everything they have been after from the government in stripping away municipal and city planning and zoning regulations. . The main thrust of the legisla- tion, Cameron said, ‘‘will set up what Vander Zalm likes to call ‘one stop shopping.’ ”’ The legislation will require each municipality and city to develop ‘‘a community plan’’, he reported, which will assign outright uses for Teachers set deadline on prep time issue If the impasse between the Bur- naby teachers and the Burnaby school board in their contract talks over the provision of preparation time is not resolved by the end of June, Marion Runcie, president of the Burnaby Teachers’ Associa- tion, said teachers will stop all ex- tracurricular activities when the school year resumes in September and work to rule in November. There is no allotment of class preparation time for secondary or elementary teachers during school hours in present collective agree- ments between teachers and school boards. Teachers must prepare for classes and mark papers before and after school, although most sec- ondary teachers get “‘spares.’’ Ele- mentary teachers get none. ‘This is the eleventh time in a row we have asked for preparation time for elementary teachers since we signed our first working and learning conditions contract ten years ago,”’ Runcie said, ‘‘and we still don’t have it. “It is indicative of the low priori- ty that our society gives to young children that elementary teachers have to squeeze in marking assignments during lunch time so children can derive the maximum benefit for their efforts by getting the assignments back the same day. ‘Even though this is a long- standing local issue, it has taken on significance for the entire province,” she said, noting that Nanaimo teachers are threatening work to rule if in-school prepara- tion time is not included in their contract. Although the Burnaby school board can afford to grant about one hour a week preparation time by using a surplus in the 1980 BSB budget, Runcie argued that Bur- naby school board chairman, Gary Begin, is ‘‘unwilling to lead the way” for the rest of the province. PACICIC TRIRLING.. LINE 12 1480—Pade 2 Begin, also president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, said, according to Runcie, that his ‘hands are tied because he doesn’t know from year to year what the provincial budget will be like.” Begin and board members faced about 200 angry Burnaby teachers in their chambers May 13 deman- ding that negotiations be resumed. Earlier, at an emergency general meeting, more than 600 teachers voted to wind down extra- curricular activities between then and the end of the school year; to withdraw from all extra-curricular activities unless the board informed them of the provision of prepara- tion time in the budget; and work to rule if the board makes no provi- sions when that budget is sent to Victoria in mid-November. A political action campaign to inform students, parents, com- munity and the board will be in- itiated along with the job actions. Runcie said that the BTA negotiating committee has written a letter to the board saying that it was willing to resume negotiations although there has been no response from the board. The withdrawal of extra- curricular activities, which are voluntary, include such things as:: school dances, parent-teacher meetings, Open houses, sports, plays, concerts. Work to rule is defined as work- ing only from 15 minutes before school and then five minutes before - the end of lunch hour until the school day ends. B.C. Teachers’ Federation Al Blakey pledged the Burnaby teachers between $2,000 and $3,000 for their campaign and noted that such campaigns will become ‘‘an increasing feature of the B.C. educational system.” ‘““No way are elementary teachers going to put up with being treated differently any more,”’ Runcie declared. will then be able to secure develoP> — If the people of B.C. don’t raise hell now over these increases 2 medical care, we’ll get one increase after another until the whole id@ — who can afford it, the rest will just ment permits in “one stop” at city hall, providing they correspond with the broad zoning outline. _ Most zonings by municipalities — already provide for outright uS@> but other zonings af “conditional’’ zonings. my The new rules will have the big= gest impact on developit& — municipalities which still havelatg® areas of undeveloped land. Wi the development of a communily plan — which must be approved bY the province — all parts of the com — munity will be zoned for use and developers will be able to beg? developing the land without havilg to go through public hearings and rezoning procedures. The legislation also represents a major intrusion into 1lo¢ autonomy by the provinch government. Regional District which presently have authority 10 plan for hospital, water, recre® tional and other basic services, will have almost all powers stripped. its place, seven giant econo mic regions will be established to coor dinate planning of these services if under supervision of provincial © ficials. Even more significant will be th establishment of a provincial peal board to which developers caf appeal local zoning and p decisions. “Tf developers feel that they % being unfairly treated or that 1” quirements placed on them are & cessive they would have recoursé « an appeal board,’? Cameron &* plained. The appeal board, appointed bY the cabinet, could overrule 2Y local decision. If Vancouver oily council, for example, votes ! month to deny a rezoning ap ica tion by Daon Development to add 30 metres to the height of a propo, ed downtown tower, Daon coul appeal that decision to the appeal | board. ; Vancouver’s Ray Spaxman said that appeals on local decisions ae ‘time wasting and counter produ ive. r The province of Ontario . pas provincial appeals on municipal decisions and is presently conside ing removing the appeal process» said.