PEOPLE’S VOICE

‘ORY POWER B

FOR PROGRESS

‘1, No. 33

=

5 Cents

VANCOUVER, B.C., SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 1945

The Vancouver City Cou

|-tempting to halt evictions.
lating how a committee from
Sock and Shipyard Workers
n had attempted to get ac-
to halt the eviction of W.

e Street, W. J. Robson, DSW
ident, stated that an inter-
i with Mayor J. W. Cornett
resulted in nothing but the
| “buck-passing.”

he mayor took refuge in the
se that the city was not re-
sible for housing, and that
ray, there was no money in
reasury,’? Robson stated. “It
abvious he cared nothing for
‘Hight of this particular fam-
‘or for the other 352 families
listed for immediate evic-
b)

suing the matter further,
shipyard union delegation
interviewed Air Vice-Mar-

Leigh Stevenson, emergency
ting administrator, and had
-vyved an admission from him
‘“we have all just been play-
with this problem up to now.”
fothing less than a large-
» housing program will suit
needs of this city right now,”
-enson told the delegation, de-
ing also that some action will
2 to be taken on the problem:
victions.

iCULATIVE SALES

obson told the labor council
iin the ease of the MacGreg-
jamily, there was a house di-
ly across the street which
been vacant for eleven months
was being held only for
ulative sale. His union had
ady appointed a large hous-
committee and intended to
a for a campaign to force the
; Gouncil and other housing
acies to take action.

he shipyard union president
i introduced a resolution, en-
ee by the council, which
-ed for (1) the immediate be-
puns on a large scale housing
‘Sram; (2) no eviction of any
ant complying with rental con:
» regulations until adequate
ising is found; and: (8) plac-
| of a ceiling price on all homes

Gregor and family of 2116]

LC Delegates Score
ity Council Action
in Housing Crisis

ncil’s obstructive attitude on

sing was again exposed to public gaze this week by dele-
}3 to the CCL Vancouver Labor Council as unionists took
loor of the Council meeting to relate recent experiences

LPP Candidates

D FAILS

Register

Consistently Good Vote
In First Election Contest

The Canadian people, while marking up an important achievement in
defeating the Progressive-Conservative attempt to capture the government
in alliance with pro-fascist groups in Quebec, were faced this week with a
renewed struggle to force the Mackenzie King government to carry out its

election promises.

Though Monday’s crucial general elections returned tne Liberal gov-

for sale based on the assessed
value of the property and com-
mensurate with its age.

(Earlier in the same day the
labor council met, the City Coun-

cil again rejected a request from‘

a group of aged citizens that the
city provide some 50 tax-sale lots
upon which the group was pre-
pared to immediately erect homes
under the National Housing Act
regulations.)

CYNICISM

Commenting on the growing
apathy and cynicism of Mayor
Cornett and city aldermen to-
ward all problems dealing with
the welfare of the citizens, Coun-
cil Seeretary John Turner refer-
red to the fact that the planned
Civie Center, which a special la-
bor council committee had stud-
ied and endorsed, is being com-
pletely ignored by civic officials.

“What’s wrong with this City
Council?” Turner asked. “It is
rapidly’ becoming the deadest
kody in the whole dominion of
€anada, and we certainly need to
take some drastic action against
it,” he asserted to approving
‘hear hears” from delegates.

Delegates unanimously en-
dorsed the Civic Center scheme on
the basis of the special commit-
tee’s report which declared:

“Much of the property embod-
ied in the scheme is owned by the
city; the proposed center would
beautify what is otherwise a po-
tential slum area; and the fed-
eral government has expressed its
intention to erect several public
buildings which could be easily
incorporated into the scheme,
which would also employ a large
number of workers.”

CENSURE WITHDRAWN

A motion by Hileen Tallman,
delegate of the United Steel
Workers and member of the CCF
trade union committee, which
would have censured Council
Pres. E. E. Leary, See. John
Turner and vice-president Ernie

(Continued on Page 6)
See LABOR COUNCIL

Labor’s Task--Buck

TORONTO, .Ont.—,‘While the Tory bid to capture
power in alliance with the pro-fascist Quebec groups was
defeated, the re-election of the Liberal Government gives
no guarantees that Prime Minister King’s promises to the
electorate will be fulfilled,’ national LPP leader Tim
Buck declared on Monday night-

“In fact, with his precarious majority in the new
House of Commons resting on the Quebec Independent
Liberals, with a strengthened Conservative Opposition
in the House- and with the absence of a powerful labor
bloc, there is every indication that King will move to the
right.

“The LPP prediction that the outcome would raise
more sharply the issue of democratic coalition, is -further
emphasized by the uncertainty regarding some 30 Liberal
seats, pending results of the overseas vote. .

“To win jobs, security and policies that will win
lasting peace, the labor movement in Canada will have to
set in motion a powerful campaign, uniting its ranks and
Winning the active support of the majority camp that
stands for progressive reforms. To this end the LPP,
which has held the seat in Cartier and established itself
as a national force, will devote its fullest energies.

“CCF policy faces a crisis; through its rejection of
every proposal for democratic coalition against Toryism,
the CCF is left with a representation based mainly on
Saskatchewan. Only through a reversal of its policy, and
acceptance of the need for united progressive action by
Labor, can the aspirations of forward-looking CCF sup-
porters be fulfilled.

“The disunity in the ranks of labor perpetuated by
the CCF in spite of the energetic struggle waged by the
LPP not only resulted in the CCF defeat in Ontario on
June 4, but also prevented labor from getting adequate

representation in the new House in the elections of June 11.

Herridge Election Justifies

Labor Unity Policies

__ A fitting tribute to the labor unity policies of H. W. Her-
ridge was paid by the electors of Kootenay West in electing

him to parliament in Monday’s federal elections.

Herridge,

who was expelled* by the CCF ‘executive hierarchy for his

support of labor-unity policies,
earried his constituency with a

majority of over one thousand
votes.

The election of this candidate
completely vindicated the stand
of the organized labor movement
and the CCF members in Koot-
enay West in supporting Her-
ridge despite the vicious and
slanderous campaign carried on
by the local and national execu-
tive of the CCF. The CCF; in a
vain effort to capture the pro-
gressive vote, enttered another
candidate after the expulsion of

Herridge to split the labor vote
and keep Herridge out of parlia-
ment although there was no hope
of the “official” CCF candidate
being elected.

In his campaign, Herridge re
ceived the unqualified support of
the trade union movement, the
CCF in Kootenay West, and the
Labor-Progressive Party, who,
pursuant to their policy of elec-
toral unity of progressive forces,
refrained from running a candi-

(Continued on Page 8)
See HERRIDGE

ernment to office for its third
straight term, Mackenzie
King’s majority has been con-
siderably whittled down and
rests on the attitude of Que-
bec’s eight Independent Liber-
al members. Coupled with the
considerably strengthened
Conservative opposition, and
the lack of a strong labor re-
presentation, indications were
that Prime Minister King would
move more to the right and per-
haps abandon completely the
program of reforms initiated by
his previous. administration un-
less the labor movement could
rally a powerful campaign aimed
at pressing King further along
the road of progress.

The Liberal Party’s representa-
tion in the new Parliament now
stands at 117, six seats short of
2n overall majority. But some
30 of these seats may be jeopar-
dized by the result of the ser-
yicemen’s vote, to be announced
June 20. In the event that King
were to lose many of these seats,
the danger existed that the Lib-
erals might agree to a coalition
with the Tories, which would find
John Bracken and Col. George
Drew in the saddle so far as ma-
jor policies were concerned.

TORY DEFEAT

The Progr essive - Conserva-
tives, while increasing their re-
presentation in the new. House
cf Commons to 66 members, fail-
ed to win their main objective of
government. Their election stra-
tegy, based on splitting English
and French-speaking Canada, and
creating sufficient confusion on
basie issues as to elect either
a straight Tory majority or a
sufficient number of candidates
to force a coalition with the Lib-
erals, failed to work.

LPP: VOTE

One of the most significant
features of the campaign were
the 100,000 votes cast for LPP
candidates. Fred Rose held his
seat in Montreal-Cartier with 10,-
000 votes. Tim Buck, LPP nation-
a] leader, polled 7218 votes in
Toronto Trinity to fail of election
by only one -thousand, while Sam
Carr received 9647 votes in Spa-
dina. Another big total was run
up by Joseph Zuken, who was
runner-up in Winnipeg North
with 8762.

But the consistently good

(Continued on Page 8)
See FEDERAL ELECTIONS

A Renee pees neers rel Levy