<> 5 Cents | VANCOUVER, B.C. SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1945 LIN LUXURY SPOT A RUIN NOW ests paid top prices but there aren’t any guests these | in Berlin’s former Esplanade Hotel near Potsdamer a Blasts of war left it just the stark-walled shell you see. ublic Pressure Forces ei-Eviction Move “a wave of public indignation that swept the > THERE 1, GUER~ TOC pad A Ms all evictions. = ‘viction sentiment in a nd ; cer had reached a new s hundreds of citizens ered for duty on picket nrown about at least six omes. The passage off “ion to stop evictions al- y ou for the moment one of ). -nplications of the housing ¥ but the public assumed ittitude of watchful waiting the next act in the housing Aa. ey ares Be | Te i rn oma | Me: callous threat of “eviction facing thousands of zens in the midst of a national housing crisis, week, under pressure from municipalities all country faced with mass demonstrations, moved Organized public feeling against evictions was first evi- denced three weeks ago, when a public meeting, called at the home of Pat Walsh, ‘passed a resolution calling for the freez- ing of evictions and moved to form an Anti-Eviction Commit- tee to protest evictions. Continued on Page 7 See EVICTIONS ABOR MUST SPEAK ustained Campaign Can oil Tory Plan To Wreck om.-Prov. Conference (LPP National Executive Statement) TORONTO—The ‘Dom.-Prov: Conference of Aug. 6 will face issues that vitally concern the labor movement and the nation. Conference gives to the questions of postwar employment policies, social se- curity, housing, and labor policy, will have the most far-reaching import for Canada’s transition from wartime to peacetime conditions. While the tech- nical questions of financial and. constitutional rel In a special meeting with a representative of the Pacific Northwest Development Corpor- ation Ltd.,.an Atmerican-financed Canadian company, which hit snag after snag before ending in no actien, the.Council booted the housing question around in its usual manner. In the meantime, decisive ac- tion by Ottawa authorities halt- ed all evictions, and Finance Minister Ilsley, in a statement issued in connection with the government’s action, underlined the need for civic governments to proceed “without delay’ on plans for instituting housing séhemes. It was pointed out that the basic machinery for insti- tuting housing plans had already been set up by the federal authorities. The Citizen’s Emergency Housing Committee, recognizing that Vancouver represents what the City Council terms ‘the hottest spot in Canada” with regard to housing, appealed di- rectly to the Prime Minister for a seizure of all houses held for sale. The first steps in what might result in the compulsory renting of unoccupied homes were made as landlords and owners were ordered immediate- ly to register all vacant homes with the Emergency Shelter Ad- ministration. END DELAYS The British Columbia Con- tractor’s Association meanwhile called for the end of “delays” in the housing muddle, and carped at labor and material shortages. Up to the présent, little has been done by the Contractors to ease the situation except to snipe and criticize all measures suggested or taken to relieve the situation, and little hope was held that the Contractors, des- pite their seeming impatience, were prepared to implement housing schemes to meet the low-rental needs of Vancouver. The Mayor, in sudden realiza- tion of the seriousness of the situation, stated that “the gov- Civic Housing Plan Still Outstanding Issue Measures to implement a vast housing program to par- tially meet the growing housing needs of Vancouver were slowed down today when the City Council hedged in the matter of cost of improvements to the proposed housing site. ernment is very interested in getting houses for returned men coming‘ back.” But Mayor Cor- nett. did nothing in addition to indicate that he was’ prepared to do anything but stall on the| question. It was clear that many shoals would have to be passed if Van- couver is to have a housing plan to meet the needs of the situa- tion. Proposals have been ad- vanced from many sources, and many of the proposed plans have merit. It appeared, however, that few of the plans offer a fool-proof means of dealing with the problems. PLAN PROPOSED The solution undoubtedly lies in a plan proposed many times by the Citizen’s Emergency Housing Committee. The Citiz- en’s Committee plan calls for the setting up of a publicly- owned housing administration to build and finance the construc- tion of a housing scheme. The plan would be part of the civic administration but would be fin- anced by the issuance of low- interest, short-term bonds, and would be constituted in the same manner as the Civic Water Board. Such a company would administer the housing scheme when it was instituted. Housing will have to be taken out of the fumbling hands of the City Council if any progress is to be made. Private enter- prise has proven by its record that it is not prepared to meet the grave requirements of the present situation. The Pacific Northwest Development Corpor- ation, while prepared to build the houses without delay, was not prepared to shoulder itself with the problem of administer- ing the scheme. The natural step for the Council to take is to set up a separate housing ad- ministration, backed by the federal government, and swing into immediate action to meet the needs of the people of Vancouver. Pee ae N The answers that the ationships are of consid- erable complexity, the basic, underlying issue is exceeding- ly plain: it is that of nation- wide cooperation ior the democratic solution of our postwar problems, versus re- actionary obstruction camou- flaged under slogans of “pro- vincial rights at all costs.”” The program of those ele- ments of' Big Business for whom the Tory party, to- gether with an influential section of the Liberal party, speak is one of rejection of federal responsi- bility for jobs and social secur- ity. In the name of “provincial rights,” the Tory governments of Drew and Duplessis have made clear their*purpose of opposing the introduction of national health insurance, challenging the constitutionality of Family Al- lowances, rejecting federal re- sponsibility for a permanent La- bor Gode which would safeguard the rights of trade unionism, and for national wage policies that would eliminate sub-standard wage levels. Pretense that these matters can be dealt with effectively with- in provincial jurisdiction is a fraud and a delusion; but it is being utilized in all seriousness by the die-hard adversaries of so- cial reform, in order to disrupt Canadian unity and to torpedo the progressive aspirations of the people of Canada! Short of a vigorous interven- tion by an aroused labor and democratic camp, the Confer- ence will be wrecked by the spokesmen of social and_poli- cal reaction. Failing a cam- paign of powerful and sustain- ed pressure on the part of the Labor movement, the King government. will pursue a course of evasion and compro- mise which willi result in a vic- tory for the aims of Toryism. The Labor-Progressive Party calls on the whole labor move- ment, on all forward-looking Canadians, to speak out without delay, and to unite the forces of progress and democracy against the Drew-Duplessis obstruction- ists! The Canadian people cannot permit the filching of their war- time gains, the sabotage of their hopes and aspirations for post- war security, by a selfish, back- ward-looking minority of Big Business tycoons and their Tory agents. Labor and the whole people demand: Continued on Page 8 See DOMINION PARLEY