Letters/Canada Letters No human rights for renters I thought it would be interesting to share with you an incident that happened to mea while ago. As we all know, there is a severe housing shortage in the Greater Vancouver area. Availability is zero and rents are very high. Two months ago, I was looking for an apartment. Because I only work part-time (that famous term that our corporate friends like to use to classify working people these days because it allows for “flexibil- ity”), my choices were limited. _ After an extensive search, I founda place in New Westminster in a high rise managed by Mutual Life of Canada. The rent was 80ing to be more than I had anticipated paying but at that point, I felt I had no alternative. The manager made me an application, asking where I worked and what my income was. I told her, she filled it in and I gave her a cheque for the security deposit. She said that they’d have to do a check on me and that I should have an answer the next day or that evening. I called later that evening and throughout the following day and couldn’t get an answer. When I went back the following day after work, the manager’s husband told me that my application had been turned down because they felt my income was not Sufficient to meet the rent and other expenses. The manager’s husband was very short with me. He gave me back my security deposit cheque and said no more. With raeee feelings of anger and embarrassment, I felt that I was a victim of discrimination. ho were they to decide whether or not I. could or could not afford to do something? Through college I was on my own, support- ing myself, paying rent and meeting my expenses. I have an excellent credit rating. I had never had to go through this before. I called the provincial human rights peo- ple and a woman there said, yes, this was discrimination but because there is a hous- ing crisis, landlords can use any criteria they wish to fill their vacancies. They are taking advantage or a terrible crisis, jacking up rents sky high. But now it seems even if you agree to their concessions and accept their ridiculous rents, they won’t rent to you. Where will it all end? Arvid Vimb, New Westminster Ignoring his socialism disservice to Goodwin Once again, I was able to attend the Min- ers Memorial Day and pay tribute to Gin- ger Goodwin. Unfortunately, I came away, after all the speeches, feeling frustration and some anger. While all the speakers mentioned Gin- ger’s trade union activities and his being a peace activist, nothing was said about his being a socialist. When very young, I heard many times about Ginger Goodwin from my father, who knew him, and I was taught that Gin- ger was a fine and respected leader because of his socialist views. Omissions of such an important aspect of the make-up of this labour leader, in my opinion is a lack of respect for the whole man, and I hope not a deliberate attempt to rewrite history. I publicly would like to ask the organizers of next year’s memorial to rectify this error. My suggestion of a knowledgeable speaker about socialist Ginger Goodwin is well-known labour historian Ben Swankey. And those who spoke at the Miners’ Mem- orial about Ginger Goodwin, please accept this letter as a constructive criticism. Jean Evans Sheils Hornby Island China’s gov't harsh, but _no proof of massacre _ Recently we have been bombarded with emotion-laden “‘news” reports about the tragic events in China. The capitalist media treats us nightly to at least 15 minutes of updates, interviews and analysis. Politicians of every stripe compete to condemn the alleged “slaughter” commit- S Materials needed for is. Couver Folk Festival, 1986. The On To Ottawa Trek Historical Society is working to record the his- tory of the 1935 Trek by producing a quality video production. __ Part of our work consists of collect- ing any written material or pictures relating to the Trek itself or the politi- cal struggles of the Thirties that relate to the times. On-to-Ottawa video On-to-Ottawa Trek show members Jean Sheils and Bob Jackson at Van- TRIBUNE PHOTO — If you have any pictures, written material or other memorabilia that would be of assistance to us, please contact us at 206-33 East 8th Ave., Vancouver, VST IRS. Bob Jackson, Jean Evans Sheils On To Ottawa Trek Historical Society eee ted by the government. The students are continually praised for their committment to democracy and opposition to totalitar- ianism. Each evening we are indoctrinated with the “truth”. We no longer need facts because we know what really happened. Yet, if we look closely, what facts do we really have which would lead us to believe beyond doubt that a massacre took place? Interviews with returning Westerners cer- tainly verify a strong military presence, but I have not heard one person who can claim to have seen anyone shot. The only eyewitness reports regarding military actions claim troops were seen firing over students’ heads. Personally, I believe the Chinese govern- ment used harsh measures to reclaim the square and undoubtedly lives were lost. If the government is guilty of this and more, it should be condemned. This, however, is a much different picture than the orgy of anti- communism and hysteria we have been assaulted with by the media. It would seem that when dealing with a socialist country, we need no proof before rumour is turned into fact. Emotional and tearful interviews with Chinese Canadians, while heart-rending, do not prove massacre. It does prove the power of an hysterical, anti-communist media. One must be leery of believing a media which can virtually create a massacre on a minimum of fact, yet which can ignore the atrocities on a even greater scale elsewhere in the non-socialist world. Where was the freedom-loving media when military death squads were slaughtering Guatemalans? Between 1970-74, over 15,000 were mur- dered. In the 1980s, over 30,000 died and 440 Indian villages were wiped off the map. These events received minimal coverage in the West. Guatemalans were not, and still aren’t, considered worthy victims. China is being used as a propaganda weapon by the media which is a disgraceful way to remember those who sacrificed for a more open socialist society. Ken Woodhouse, Toronto First Nations condemn raid The Quebec chief of the Assembly of First Nations has condemned the RCMP raid on the Les Escoumins reserve in Quebec, calling the tear gas attack on the people “an unwarranted abuse of power by the authorities.” “The brutal attack far exceeds the degree of any fault these people might have had. It’s like killing a fly with a bazooka,” said Konrad Sioui. The RCMP had a search warrant to investigate alleged Unemployment Insu- rance fraud on the reserve. However, the community had initially agreed to fully co-operate with the investigation before the raid. The activities of the community have been shut down since their compu- ter equipment and hardware have all been seized by the RCMP. The First Nation of Les Escoumins, numbering approximately 100 on-reserve residents, see the raid as a violation of their jurisdiction on their territory, said Sioui. “You are not dealing with terrorists here,” he added. “We denounce this type of practice by authorities and can only say we hope it stops before we have another Beijing on our hands. The road to self-government and assertion of rights by First Nations will be littered with similar blockades into the next cen- tury, if the government continues on this pattern of domination.” Arms lobbyists — want association Major military lobbyists have issued a call to form an industry-wide lobby organization to counter “lack of public support” for defence spending, which they attribute to the Canadian Peace Alliance. In a letter circulated to all delegates at the recent ARMX weapons selling baz- aar in Ottawa, former Navy Com- mander Keith Davies says “the defence industry must take a pro-active approach to deal with the issues that directly affect It. “In the absence of effective voices to the contrary, the Canadian Peace Alliance has weakened public support” for increased military acquisitions, the letter states. It also refers to the recent efforts of the CPA to build opposition to the nuclear submarine program. This frustration is evident in this call which comes from one of Canada’s lead- ing military lobbyists, said the CPA ina press release. Commander Davies was vice president and director of Canadian operation for SNA Canada, the French firm bidding for the nuclear submarine order. SNA under Davies direction spent millions of dollars in public advertising and private lobbying trying to shore up sinking public support for the subs. “Tf the defence industry is concerned about the peace movement now, they’re going to have a lot more to worry about in the years to come,” predicted Sheena Lambert, campaign coordinator with the Alliance. “We can accomplish so much more, with a tiny fraction of their resources, because of the inherent validity of our approach. We can’t match dollar for dol- lar, but we’ve proven we can match them argument for argument. That’s how we won the subs debate, and that’s how we're going to win the future debates too.” Pacific Tribune, July 3, 1989 e 5