The Japanese port of Tagonoura (above) has been forced to close
because of pollution from pulp and paper mills nearby. Recently a
Japanese newspaper printed a photograph which it said was
developed by water from polluted streams. “River water in Japan is so
polluted as to be usuable in place of film developer,” the newspaper

said in an article.

Canadians back
OUTNOW petition

The ‘“‘Outnow Committee”’
which is sponsoring the world-
wide campaign for signatures to
stop the war in Vietnam has well
over 54,000 names on petitions in
Canada, where the project is
barely off the ground.

In B.C. some 10,000 signatures
have been turned in, possibly a
third of them collected by
members of the New West-
minster-Coquitlam Moratorium
committee.

In Vancouver the YCL have
gathered some 3,600, no small
feat for a group whose members
were in the majority out of town
for the summer.

‘‘Outnow’’ is supported by
trade unions which include the
United Fishermen and Allied

VITAL READING

Important new pamphlets and
books are now in stock at the
People’s Co-operative Book-
store, 341 W. Pender St.,
Vancouver. Among the new
titles are:

“The Bolshevik Party’s
Struggle Against Trotskyism,”
by V.A. Grinko, N.P. Mitkin, et
al. In 240 pages (price 95¢), the
authors present an array of facts
showing the historic importance
of the Marxist struggle against
Trotskyism from 1903 to
February 1917.

‘““Women on the Job: A
Marxist-Leninist View,’’ by
Judy Edelman. A timely
pamphlet (price 45¢), dealing
from a scientific socialist view-
point with a serious question
facing the entire working-class
movement. :

“Ultra Leftism in Britain,” by
Betty Reid. A comprehensive
treatment of ultra-leftism (price
95¢), its historic development
its various species and its
divisive role in the genuine labor
movement. Special treatment of
the ultra left treachery in the
French struggles of May 1968,
and ultra left efforts to weaken
the peace movement.

To order these publications
please enclose 15% postage and
B.C. residents should include 5%
Provinbisepales Tax. <a ss

Workers, Local 458 United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners, the Canadian Union of
Public Employees, and the
central trade union body in the
city, the Vancouver and District
Labor Council.

Headquarters for the national
organization are the Queen
Street United Church in Toronto.

Endorsation for the campaign
is given by many local
churchmen, university and com-
munity workers. Organizations
which have endorsed the project
include the Peace Action League
which is made up of a number of
peace groups, as well as the
Westminster-Coquitlam
Vietnam Moratorium
Committee.

The telegram petition bearing
the word STOP! will be sent to
President Nixon. The campaign
will be the most far-reaching
effort for peace ever under-
taken by citizens on a world
scale.

COPE meets
on Saturday

The Committee of Progressive
Electors, (COPE), will discuss
three main points at their
meeting on Sunday, Sept. 26 in
the IWA hall, 2859 Commercial
Drive.

First will be a report by COPE
chairman Frank Kennedy on the
efforts for unity in the civic
field; secondly, the election of 5
candidates to complete COPE’s
half of the total necessary in the
progressive field, and finally a
report on plans for the campaign
for the December _ civic
elections.

The NDP area council held a
nominating convention last
Sunday to fill part of the slate of
candidates, and will meet in
October to name others. Spokes-
men for the party said they did
not want to split the progressive
vote against the reactionary
group now holding power in city
hall. :

COPE’s Saturday meeting will
convene at 10 a.m., and will

PACIFIC TRIBUNErs-FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1970—PAGE 2

§ 3949-00 ox ASEMETII VAGIRA—-3MUAMAT DA! DAD

Victoria sabotaging its

own pollution legislation

BY ALD. HARRY RANKIN

The provincial government is
consciously and deliberately
delaying action to compel
industry to take effective
measures to end the continuing
and growing pollution of our
environment. In fact, it is
sabotaging its own pollution
control legislation.

The obvious proof of this is in
the fact that after almost four
years of talk (the Pollution
Control Act was passed early in
1967), the oil, mining, lumber,
pulp and paper, chemical and
other industries. are still
polluting our air, land and water,
discharging harmful chemicals
into lakes, rivers and the sea,
killing off fish and -birds and
poisoning the air we breathe.

After four years of talk the
provincial government has still
not established safety standards
covering air, land and water
pollution.

The lack of action on air
pollution by oil refineries, saw
mills and other industries in the
Lower Mainland is a_ good
example.

Amendments passed at the
spring session of the provincial
legislature take control over air
pollution out of the hands of the
municipalities and place it in
the hands of the provincial
government. That would be
good if its intent were to do
something about it. Actually its
purpose is the opposite — to
protect the oil, lumber, pulp and
paper industries and bulk loading
facilities in our ports‘ from any
restrictive measures municipal
councils may wish to take.

Section 5a of Bill 63
(amendments to the Pollution
Control Act) for example, does
not contain any clauses requiring
companies which pollute the air
to end their pollution.

All it requires°is that
companies, which prior to
January 1970 were ‘‘causing or
permitting the discharge or
emission into the air of any
contaminant’’, shall by
December 31, 1970 inform the
government of the type of
contaminant, the rate of dis-
charge and the location of the
plant, in writing.

That’s like demanding that a
person accused of burglary list
the items ‘he is alleged to have
stolen!

Furthermore, the legislation
does not demand that every
company polluting the air secure
a permit. It states only that the
company must apply for a
permit if ordered to do so by the
government. And such a permit

Workers

Benevolent Assn.
Of Canada

Progressive Fraternal Society
Caters to all your needs in the
Life Insurance field | ~~

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LIFE INSURANCE
| ENDOWMENTS

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WEEKLY BENEFITS
Apply to: B.C. office at
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National Office at
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Winnipeg 4, Manitoba

—conclude-inthe-eaely-efternoon ter re ne

would be. meaningless unless it
spelled out standards that must
be met by the offending company
if it is to continue operation. So
far the government’ has not set
up such standards.

All of which leaves us just about
where we were four years ago.
The reason the government fails
to act is not difficult to see. The
same big corporations that are
polluting our air, land and water
are the corporations that put
this government into office and
that support it today. The
servant is not likely to rebel
against his masters.

What we require are:

protect our land, water and alt
from pollution. ae
-Every pollution-producing 1
dustry be required to secure 4
permit to continue operation.
-No permit be granted until the
industry has installed the
necessary pollution _ control
equipment.

This kind of action, howevel,
will only come about if the
public, which is the victims of -
pollution; is able to exert more
pressure than the big
corporations responsible {for
pollution who don’t want to take
any action because pollution
control may cut into their

estrict standards which will

profits.

W hen Vancouver Alderman Harry Rankin recommended
legislation which would require used car dealers to have
a provincial government vehicle testing station ticket on the
windshield before offering their assorted well-polished
“heaps” to a prospective buyer, its a cinch he didn’t endear
himself to that category of free enterprisers.

Such a law however would unquestionably save millions of
dollars to the buyers of ‘‘used’’ cars, who in the majority of
cases have gone and bought themselves a pile of unforseen
expense and trouble— mostly the previous owner’s trouble.

Newspaper advts. and used carlot billings generally give a
great deal of space to these assorted junk piles reposing quietly
beneath their glitter and polish. All their. attractive
“accessories” are fulsomely listed, but nothing mentioned on
the multiple defects beneath the garish polish. That is left for
the buyer to find out later— and not much later at that.

Now we'll pause a minute as the saying goes, on a slightly
different yet relevant theme; the big campaign now in
progress of U.S. farmers in the Mid-West for ‘‘parity’’ prices,
their struggle to equalize the huge differential between the
prices the farmer gets for what he has to sell, and what he has
to buy. ch

In this “‘scizzors’”’ spread the farmer is left only one road to
go, and that is inevitably under, which is precisely what is
happening in the U.S. and Canada. And he has no accessories
or polish to make his product_more attractive to prospective
buyers. The ‘‘middle-man’’ and the big monopolist supply these
— after the product of the farmer has passed into their hands—
at their set prices. 2

According to a popular Mid-West farm paper, one farmer
carried the fight for ‘‘parity’’ with big business a step further,
using the selling techniques of the used car industry to
illustrate his point.

This farmer had been ‘‘taken’’ so often by a local car dealer
on the various ‘‘heaps’’ plus ‘‘accessories’’ he had purchased
over the years, that when the said dealer decided to purchase a
cow, the farmer priced it as follows, as quoted from the U.S.

Farm News of Aug. 1970. ee

Basic Cow $200.00
Two-tone exterior 45.00
Extra Stomach 75.00
Product Storing Compartment
and Dispensary Service 60.00
Four Spigots at $10 each 40.00
Genuine Cowhide Upholstery 125.00
Dual Horns . 15.00
Automatic Fly Swatter 35.00
Total Cow Accessories 595.00
Sales Tax 30.00
Total $625.00

The main difference between the attractive ‘‘accessories’ ’ of.
the cow as listed by the farmer, and. those of the. average,
“used” car dealer, is that the cow’s are genuine, while those of, :
the dealer are readily and early — highly suspect. : :

The story illustrates however the farmers’ unending struggle -
of parity prices on what he has to buy and sell if he is to stay in-
business, plus the wider struggle with governments fora:

measure of equal treatment and consideration as these same
governments give to big business monopoly and the captains
of high finance.

Ultimately. such ‘‘parity’’ will only be possible and
realizable under Socialism, but as the detailed accessories of
our bovine friend illustrate— and the much-needed legislation
recommended by Alderman Harry Rankin emphasize — we’ve
got to keep-up and step-up the daily struggle against being

/ YL i¢ HS od

‘Stakens vastilin « ‘

Spe SUES i tok Sebi es ee rea ol

* - nas
SS Me AO RT Tak i a RM EE ‘