. This results in unemployment

WHAT COMMUNISTS PROPOSE. TO

Make Vancouver a >
better place to live

By WILLIAM STEWART
Eye increasing numbers of Vancouver people are
actively participating in movements for peace.
The ghastly threat of world nuclear war is acting
as a mobilizing force amongst masses of the people.

Mass action for peace,

for a peaceful solution to

world problems, corresponds to the needs and wishes
ot the vast majority of th Canadian people.

The Communist Party in,
the Greater Vancouver area}
has consistently worked for
world peace, warning the
people of the implications of
the atomic bombing of Hiro-
shima in 1945.

There is a growing aware-
ness that the. policies of the;

> cold war, to which our. gov-|

emnment is so supinely dedi-,
cated, have given birth to a.
national ~ crisis: in- Canada|

. . which. has reached: . into the, ;

home . of - literally every!
Canadian. ....

Added to the threat. of ex-
termination. through a $nu-
clear holocaust, is the price!
that every man, woman and
child’ pays daily. through eco-
nomic privations, resulting!
Cirectly from:the national be-}
trayal of our country to the
U.S. and its cold war policies.

What are the consequences)
of-the cold war and national!
betrayal to the people of
Vancouver.
® Massive armaments, largely}
obsolete, cost every man, wo-
man and child in Vancouver!
$100 a year. This means that!
Vancouver citizens are pour-|
ing between thirty and thirty-|
five million dollars a year|
into armaments alone.
®*:Failure to develop our sec-
ondary industries and substi-
tuting the sale of our natural
resources - for a. fast. buck.

in Vancouver reaching more
than 15%. of the. available
work force.

AROS: war pean policies

which largely restrict Cana-
dian exports to cold war and
dollar countries. Policies
which are decided in- the
USA.

® Sale of our energy sources,
gas and power, to the USA,
draining. .off..our -industrial
potential cand subverting our
economy.
-@-A concerted: effort: by ‘mon-t.
-opoly-to drive-down the liv-
ing standards ofthe people
hold-the line on -wages, while
raising the actual’ prices of
commodities and” raising pro-
ductivity. =

® Reduced  sociaY _ services,
particularly at the municipal

| level, while at the same time

an increasing tax load on the
homeowner. — ;

We say there is an alterna-
tive path which our country

/can and must follow in order
ito serve the. interests . of the

people.
ALTERNATIVES.

What are the. alternatives
in .Vancouver?

Vancouver is the busiest
port on the West Coast, Per
capita it is the busiest on the
North American continent.
This is so because of the one
significant break in Canada’s
cold war trade policies—the
sale of large quantities of
wheat to China.

To the farmers on the prai-
ries it-has meant the differ-
ence between crisis and boom.
To ‘the port of Vancouver it

presents a situation where: Di

W. Berl withers on vine’.
says London. Daily Eeeesy.

40% increase is needed in;

port facilities just to handle}

this increased demand.

Just think of what this
would mean if such trade
were extended to lumber,
minerals, machinery and all
the other products we pro-
duce and could produce.

The unemployed would be
put to useful labor, merchants
would benefit and the whole
of B.C. would be transformed
into: a hive of industrial
activity.

Our port, one of the most
beautiful and: natural har-
our in: the world, would be
changed from the disgrace
that itis now; into a modern

trading’ port-with greatly ex-

‘pahded® facilities. —

Trade with all countries in
‘the world; on the basis of
barter, long term credits and
soft and hard currencies —
this -would serve the real
needs of Vancouver.

But what do we get from
the big business—NPA Van-
couver City Council?

BIG BUSINESS COUNCIL :

They acquiesce in the poli-
cies of big business provin-
cially and nationally .and
attempt to resolve the con-
sequent municipal _crisis . by.
jobbing off the increased
costs of municipal adminis-
tration tc the homeowner and
small businessman.

They turn their backs de-
liberately and consistently to
any real solution to the crisis
in which they find themselves
and instead put forward pro-
posals which curtail munici-
pal services and municipal
growth.

They must be turned out
of office and replaced with
municipal representatives
with a vision of a growing
Vancouver in a growing Can-

ada. Representatives who, in

addition to fighting for na-,
tional policies which would)
help Vancouver to grow,
would immediately undertake}

to shift the tax load in Van-
couver to where it rightfully
belongs — onto the backs of
the big business and indus-
trial interests.
WHAT WE PROPOSE

Here is.what we propose:

(1) The machinery tax be
brought into line with other
municipalities which assess
this tax on the basis of both
the school and general pur-
pose’ mill rate. This would
yield approximately $2,761,-
000.

(2) Adopt a graduated busi-
ness tax (such as is now in
effect in’ Winnipeg). This
would increase’ city revenue
by $3,562,000.

(3) Institute a basic exemp-
tion of $2500 on residential
property.

(4) Assess. industrial and
commercial - properties. at
100% of their market value:

We further - propose that
the sale.and distribution of
gas .and- electricity in the
greater. Vancouver area be
turned over to a Greater Van-
couver utility, authority who
would retail it to the public.
This is done in, other pro-
vinces where there is provin-
cial public ownership of
hydro. It is also done at pre-
sent in the city of New bas
minster.

. Along with this we ana
propose setting up a metro

“transit system, ‘owned and op-

erated by the lower mainland
municipalities.

This transit system should
be expanded and extended in
terms of more buses, more
routes and much more fre-

On March 3 and 4 the a
Greater Vancouver com}
vention of the Commun-|)
ist Party met to consid-
er the problems facing],
the people of Canadas}
“gateway to. the Pate H
ific.” .:
The article on this}
page is a summary of the}
main proposals put for-]|)
ward in the report of the})
city secretary, William |)
Stewart.

These proposals to}
“make Vancouver a bet-
ter place in which to
live” deserve the widest]
support and attention, -

ies aeaaiaes

wer of the peoples to thé |

quent service. Fares should

be deliberately set at suc}.
low levels that they. would
make the public: -transit sy
tem the logical choice-for th®
majority of the people. a

The public® transit system
could be subsidized:out of thé
revenue -accruing from thé
sale of gas and electricity
Based on the average: yield
(after . transit. subsidy) 4
other large Canadian. cities
we would be still left with #
surplus of $4,712,998.00.

The carrying. through’. a
reforms. such. as . those: - a
posed. above, along .with otl¥
ers for. the development x
the Columbia. along ‘the. jined
of the McNaughton plat,
pressure to force the. prav}t P=
cial and federal government |
to accept a larger. share, oh 2
the costs of education am® |.
municipal services; labor a0™1>
peoples action to stop the sal@
of our resources and our Ae
nationhood to the_ U.
struggles of the unions “fot,
higher wages. and “shortly
hours;—all these things’ ehh. a
together constitute the al* |

were

7

policies. of. the cold. war af +
the national. betrayal pein
forced’ on Canadians. by’ the:
U.S. - Canadian monopolist”
who control our: country:

some very pungent remarks about West. Berlin —
“Bastion of the Free World.” It-is becoming increasingly
obvieus that the future of W. Berlin is virtually non-ex-
astent, because it is situated 110 miles inside a sovereign
state. Below are presented some of the Daily Express
opinions:

living on tick —~ facing the necessity of loans from the
government.in Bonn and from the Americans simply in
order to keep going.

“Last year it receivd about $45 million in American
credits. For the coming year . . . about $60 million is

expected.
“I have been staying in a giant hotel of supreme
“uxury, built with American money — the place is like

a morgue. The staff outnumbers the guests .. . latest of-
ficial figures for Oct-Nov. reveal that 19 000. people left
West Berlin, and 6, 400. came .in.

“Industry .
has been a quiet organization of what the Germans call
‘the second band’ — far to:the! West.-There ‘the industrial
giants .
just in case.

West Berlin is now a dreary, aimless sort of city” A

me: “West Berlin must be one of the few cities in West-
ern Europe where there is no eer in parking your
car.”

TT London Daily Express, in its Jan. 19 issue, printed.

“West Berlin is a city withering on the vine, A city.

. has been taking ‘precautions. There’
. have been setting. up ‘reserve EPeatuction lines’ :

Frenchman visiting Berlin after a year’s interval said to.

VANCOUVER’S HARBOUR, Now the iver grain port in the world can 5®&%;
come the centre of vast world trade with new national policies of peace and ]

Canadian independence,

March 16, 1962—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Pagé 6 —