MANY ISSUES AVOIDED

FRIDAY, JULY 27, 1973

Second class mail registration number 1560.

Vol. 34, No. 30 Sin

Tribune

High living costs, energy

top issues at NDP parley

By FRED WILSON

The 7th national convention of
h , New Democratic Party,
eld July 19 to 22 in Vancouver,
a an expected federal elec-
ia n in the forefront of it’s think-
__J8aSit grappled with the major
Policy decisions for the party.
Ble much of the discussion
ana a re-working of past policy,
usta major.issues were
bon ed completely, the conven-
‘ did arrive at a number of
cant decisions to take
ie the electorate, high-
a ed by the party’s new posi-
on a national energy policy.
fin Was essentially a back-slap-
oe affair for the over 1,000 dele-
€s at UBC’s War Memorial
of theasium. “We've come out
told meicrness, David Lewis
ing € party. And after listen-
a Oreports of the three NDP
Pees and the federal re-
ie _ the balance of power they
Zate old, a majority of dele-
that were prepared to accept
tes Statement. Delegates
Randed to Lewis’ warning
eis isalmostcertainlya
an ection convention” by
Rae ally affirming past policy
ship €-electing the Lewis leader-

ire two major policy resolu-
Con that came before the
and as the cost of living
While national energy policy —
given vigorously debated were
hear unanimous support

€ convention. Other impor-

NDP conven

tant resolutions that came for-
ward dealt with tax reform,
housing and urban affairs.

The strongest feature of the
cost of living resolution was a
reiteration of NDP policy fora
beefing up the Prices Review
Board to ‘“‘protect consumers
from unwarranted price
increases and from gouging by
unscrupulous dealers who would

charge everything the traffic
will-bear.”’ nae

‘The resolution called for legis-
lation that would empower the
board to impose price ceilings
and where necessary to roll
back prices. Also included in the
resolution was a call for a mini-
mum $200 per month old age and
other federal pensions with
cost of living escalators built

Tanker

Wi out let Atlantic Richfield
elr oi
beaches! oily feet on our

T .
let his was the heading of a leaf-

ee out Tuesday at a pro-

Coy
Sh Ver Hotel as Thorton Brad-

ae President of Atlantic
ec (ARCO), spoke at a
of th Y Club meeting in support
€ tanker plan.
Dlaca 20 demonstrators carried
tanker aS Which read: ‘‘No to
Spo; es». and ‘‘Alaska oil will
Wasp, 7 COast.’” The protest
Sent ,eanized by SPEC, which
charg: telegram to Bradshaw
Pany ng the U.S. and his com-

€monstration at the Van-

protest

SPEC’s Oil Spill Committee,
told the press that if future ac-
tion is needed a boat blockade
will be organized in the Strait of
Juan de Fuca against the tank-
ers.

With the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives due to vote this week
on the Alaska pipeline, follow-
ing last week’s approval by the
Senate, protest is mounting
across Canada.

Meanwhile, the NDP. con-
vention meeting in Vancouver
last weekend passed a resolu-
tion protesting the tanker plan
and demanded that if the USS.

goes ahead that Canada insist’

that tankers not be allowed
within 200 miles from the B:C.
coast and that tankers be kept

mounts

out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

In his address, Bradshaw
admitted that ARCO has already
taken delivery of three of a
planned fleet of five giant tank-
ers. He indicated that one huge
tanker willenter the Straitand
dock at the Cherry Point refin-
ery every nine days, and that
tankers will travel down the
B.C. coast as close as 35 miles
before entering the Strait.

Bradshaw said there are far-
reaching plans for further
expansion of oil exploration and
development in Alaska. This
means that the tanker route,
once it is started will be
expanded rapidly, and that one
tanker every nine days will be
just the start.

tion.in session in Vancouver last weekend.

— Jack Phillips photo

into the plans. Among other pro-
posals, it urged the establish-
ment of acrown corporation in
the food processing industry as
well as a 6% residential mort-
gage rate.

In spite of these and other con-
structive measures the resolu-
tion very clearly avoided
pointing out monopoly profiteer-

ing as the maincause for therise
in the cost of living, and substi-
tuted weak references to scar-
city and food shortages in its
place.

The major action of the parley
was the demand to bring all na-
tional energy resources under
public control. Although in a
hotly contested debate an
amendment calling for public
ownership of energy resources
was defeated, the resolution on
a national energy policy still
provided for numerous progres-
sive measures, such as the
establishment of an oiland gas
crown corporation.

The crown corporation would,

- as its first act, bring PanArtic

Oil Ltd. under full public owner-
ship, and then take steps to
direct the establishment of
Canadian oil refineries and the
development of the petro-
chemical and other resource-
based secondary industries.
Another proposal was for acom-
plete revamping of the Na-
tional Energy Planning Board
so that it would control plan-
ning, conservation and market-
ing of Canada’s energy re-
sources.

However the policy resolution
on energy fell short of the real
requirement of an east-west
power grid, and was still further
marred by the rejection of the
Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. The
pipeline from those rich oil
fields under full Canadian owner-

Cont'd on page 8

SPECIAL FEATURE

CRISIS IN THE U.S.
| AND

BY GUS HALL, U.S. COMMUNIST
PARTY LEADER — Pg. 3