British Columbia Council’s developer bias again revealed Vancouver’s east side residents are stunned and angry following a deci- sion by the Non Partisan Association majority on city council to approve a rezoning of the northeast corner of Broadway and Commercial. The rez- oning will allow the development of a massive residential/office/retail com- plex that includes decking and cover- ing of the Grandview cut. The development had been widely and strongly opposed by east side res- idents, particularly from the neigh- bouring Grandview Woodlands com- munity. At a public hearing on April 20, about 600 people packed the Trout Lake Community Centre to tell city council the development was too big and would set a dangerous precedent for building over the Grandview cut. Led by. John Shayler, president of the Grandview Woodlands Area Council, local residents said they agreed that some redevelopment of this corner of Broadway and Com- mercial was acceptable, but not at the density and height of 177 feet pro- posed, and not over the cut. Residents also objected to the fact that they had not been properly con- sulted about the development leading up to the public hearing. So many people had to be put off until the meeting reconvened at city hall on April 25. After hearing from 70 speakers, the vast majority of whom opposed the development, NPA members of council voted to approve the rezon- ing, with a token limit on the height to 120 feet. This decision, made at 3 a.m. the next morning, amounts to legisla= tion by exhaustion and makes a . mockery of a democratic, community planning process. Had this development been pro- posed on the west side where most of the NPA council lives, with as vigor- ous local opposition, would they have approved it? I doubt it very much. They would have told the developer to go back and talk to the community and put together a proposal local res- idents could support. This is what the east side residents wanted — the opportunity to fairly discuss a redevelopment plan for the site. But the NPA council members were completely contemptuous of the wishes of this community and instead showed their eagerness to support the ’ developer’s general plan. Mayor Gordon Campbell and the NPA have made a big deal about lis- tening to the neighbourhoods and consulting with people. Their decision on this rezoning smacks of hypocrisy and a double standard — they have turned deaf ears on the well articu- lated, legitimate concerns of east side residents. 2 « Pacific Tribune, May 8, 1989 Procession moves down Paemercial Drive i in VaKcanen s May Day march. May Day speakers cite Tory agenda . Continued from page 1 The Pro-Canada Network and provincial groups like B.C.’s Coalition Against “Free” Trade have provided important leadership, he said. “The activists in the coalition are not satisfied with drawing political lessons for elections which are years away — they are not prepared to sacrifice the fight for Can- ada in exchange for retraining programs paid for out of the hides of the unemployed. “Surely, there has never been a greater need for a united socialist left in this pro- vince that can fight on the issues, but also to consistently draw socialist conclusions and to build the class and socialist consciousness for a new society,” Wilson said. Elaine Bernard, president of the B.C. New Democrats, said the budget makes clear “the Tory agenda of free trade, privat- ization and deregulation.” The budget heralds a frightening future in that it is “a fundamental restructuring of our country to take more and more power away from working people and put it in the hands of a tiny corporate elite,” she said. But, said Bernard, “I see the possibility for turning back some of this reactionary legislation, and I see it in the coalitions, the community groups and the labour move- ment. In those people I see a creative future for all British Columbians, for all Canadi- ans.” Linda Ervin of the First United Church warned: “Right wing thinking is weeding its way into our society and into our commun- ity and organizations.” It breeds racism, sexism and violence, she said. Ervin called for the defence of women’s right to control their reproductive function Anti-free-trade group A call for a massive campaign against the April 27 federal budget, including a demon- stration June 3, was set to be part of the agenda at a rally in Vancouver last Thurs- day. A four-part resolution from the Coali- tion Against “Free” Trade also called for an education campaign among member organ- izations “around the federal budget and the corporate agenda.” Another resolution, prepared for the rally on May 4, urged the national anti-free- trade group, the Pro-Canada Network, to organize a national day of protest against the Conservative government’s cutbacks budget. The rally, scheduled after the Tribune went to press, was to hear from several speakers including historian and political analyst Ben Swankey, Jean Swanson of the coalition and End Legislated Poverty, the Pro-Canada Network’s John Calvert, coali- tion co-chair Blair Redlin and a Speakee from the New Democrats. The resolutions comprised a proposed action plan that called on the coalition to planning budget protests organize a mass demonstration over the budget on Saturday, June 3. A proposed mobilization committee was also to be mandated to collect and distribute informa- tion from the network and trade unions, and Native, church, women’s and anti- poverty groups. The plan envisioned an education cam- paign and a “central leaflet about the fed- eral budget with input from the community and the trade union movement to be dis- tributed as widely as possible.” Italso urged supporting groups to partic- ipate in several actions “undertaken to halt the corporate agenda.” These included: a May 6 demonstration against Unemploy- ment Insurance cutbacks by the Canadian Farmworkers Union in Vancouver; a “Merger Mania” conference May 6 by the Pacific Group for Policy Alternatives; a June 23 national demonstration by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers; the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union action program on UI cuts and the government’s sellout of the fishing industry. and demanded full medical coverage for abortion clinics. The rally also heard from Ligia Prieto of the Union of Women of Paraguay, who said Paraguayan workers had scored a great vic- tory with the overthrow of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. Josefina Martinéz of Mexico’s organization for the Defence of Prisoners, Pursued and the Disappeared, said the country’s largest union, the educa- tion workers, were organizing large demon- strations around Mexico demanding changes and democratization of their union. Maria Luisa Villacorta, a 77-year old veteran of the uprising in western El Salva- dor during the Thirties and now a B.C. resident, praised the Chicago martyrs whose deaths led to the May | international workers celebration. A festive air marked this year’s parade as some 600-700 marchers moved from Clark Park down Commercial Drive bearing colourful pennants while accompanied by the music of a band on a flatbed truck and marching drummers. The sun shone from a cloudless sky, prompting May Day organizer John Rado- sevic of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union to declare it was the first in several years where it did not rain. CSE plans ‘roundtable’ discussion The Centre for Socialist Education in Vancouver wants to host a round- table discussion on glasnost and per- estroika in the Soviet Union. Instead of the usual lecture format, the centre plans an open discussion of interested individuals along with a “facilitator” and background mate- rials. No date or time has been set for the discussion. These depend on the ‘interest it generates and the timetable of the participants, the CSE says. The CSE asks those interested to con- tact the centre at 254-1533. The address is 1726 East Hastings St., VSL 189.