J!) LED CANA NE.

ew

SS
ae.

For, bY MARIANNE ROY
of aan those who believed that the question
~./a00nal rights for French Canada was a

_ thing of the past, the sight of 25,000 people

ee In the streets of Montreal last
Freagh for the right to live and work in
.Was quite an awakening.
so the march was organized by two
ae ist organizations, the- Societe St-
ee and the Mouvement Quebec
Bs 1S, It was supported by the three
ae union centres in Quebec.
tie eae demand of the march was for
anes Testoration and application of all
= of Bill 101, the French Language
unil; €r, and particularly the question of
ine signs everywhere in Quebec.
3 ne polls have shown that 75 per cent
ane Ncophones are not against bilingual
ve a long as French predominates. At
iat me time, 50 per cent of francophones
= pean Bill 101 to be touched. Bill 101
aan a symbol in the struggle for
ae of the national rights of Quebeckers,
iets ough some of its sections do discrim-
oo the rights of the English-
ES “ing minority and ethnic groups in
efaton to bilingual signs and certain educa-
tonal rights.

One of the most fought-for and impor-.

_ fant sections of the bill, adopted in 1977, is

that which prohibits discrimination in the
hiring and promotion of francophones in
the workplace. It must be remembered that
only 11 years ago a unilingual francophone
worker in Quebec suffered terrible discrim-
‘mation. Foremen were almost always
anglophone, collective. agreements were
Negotiated and written in English, to speak
to your boss you had to speak English. Bill

101 gave francophones the right to work in
their own language for the first time since
the conquest of 1760.

_ the scientific and technological revolu-
ton, with its direct effects on the reorganiza-
tion of the workplace and unemployment,
1S putting this fundamental and hard-won
Night into question. Manuals and instruc-
roa relating to new technology are in Eng-

Eighty per cent of new jobs are created in
the Service sector. These new companies
usually employ fewer than 50 workers and
are not covered under Bill 101.

_ More and more companies and institu-
tions are demanding that their employees be
bilingual. This is a direct attack against the
law and the spirit of the law. It also creates a
breeding ground for nationalist anti-
English sentiments among francophone
youth. Their first job opportunities, when
available at all, are often in the service sector
where they find that in order to get the job
they are obliged to be bilingual.

In some companies it is still impossible to
conduct collective bargaining in French.
Unions are finding that more and more
employers are simply disregarding their
obligations under the Charter.

Contrary to popular belief, long-standing
national inequalities still exist. Although the
average family income across Canada has

gone down, in Quebec, the average family,

income has dropped drastically from 5th
place in Canada in 1970, to 7th place in
1980, to 8th place in 1985.

In 1961, astudy on the average income by
ethnic origin in Quebec showed that out of
14 groups, French Canadians were 3rd-last.
In a Canada-wide census of 1971, out of 11
groups listed, French Canadians were still
3rd-last. In a recently released 1985 study
published by the Quebec Ministry of
Revenue, anglophones in Quebec still have

Quebeckers take to
Streets in demand
for national rights

much higher incomes than francophones.

The Meech Lake Accord has in no way
recognized the fundamental right to self
determination, nor the social, economic,
cultural and linguistic equality of Quebec in
the Constitution. Instead of uniting a bi-
national Canada, Meech Lake will divide it
into 10 countries opening the door to trans-
national penetration and free trade, facili-
tating economic integration with the U.S.

As long as the right to self-determination
of Quebec and its economic, social, cultural
and linguistic equality with English Canada
have not been recognized in the Constitu-
tion, the wound of national oppression will
not heal.

This wound will continue to generate a
‘struggle against oppression on the one
hand, and on the other, will promote on the
part of Quebec nationalists a tendency for
revenge against the English minority and
for forced assimilation of immigrants and
their children.

While striving for unity of workers across
the country in their struggle against the sel-
lout of Canada by big business interests,
special. attention and sensitivity must be
given to the national question and to its
democratic solution.

Marianne Roy is. the labour secretary of
the Parti Communiste du Quebec.

Letters

Is city ‘buying time?’

Peter Ramsey, Victoria, writes: The
Tenants Action Committee at 140 Douglas
St. has been fighting eviction for over a year
on behalf of 52 residents of the old but
pleasant building near Beacon Hill Park.

The tenants say the low vacancy rate in
Victoria — 0.5 per cent — leaves them no
choice but to fight the eviction.

Since city council lifted a moratorium on
demolition permits for low-income housing
units, the building’s owner — C. Isher-
wood — decided to completely renovate
and attract high-income tenants. The build-
ing is on choice real estate a few blocks from
Dallas Road waterfront. The view here of
the Olympic Mountains and the Pacific
‘Ocean is simply magnificent.

Council has decided to table the redevel-
opment application for only two weeks.
This was hailed by the local media as a
“victory” for the tenants, but in fact it leaves
them still in fear of eviction. It sounds like a
deal made behind closed doors.

The owner’s lawyer admitted at the pub-

lic hearing for the application on April 26

that Isherwood hopes to begin renovations
in six months or less. —

Is city hall “buying time” in the hope that
the Tenants Action Committee will have
folded by that time? Questions asked by
aldermen Frank Carson and Eric Simmons
seem to point to this. Ald. Simmons cyni-
cally asked each tenant if he or she had
applied for public or co-op housing. Ald.
Carson blasted the landlord for not giving
proper notice of eviction, which he noted
will delay the renovations for several
months. A 10-per-cent turnover in the low-

rent building was cited as a reason for relief:
if the landlord would only be patient, the
aldermen reasoned, in time the tenants will
be gone.

_In fact, most have left because the build-
ing is badly in need of repair and the tense
situation has proven to be too much. They
have virtually been forced out.

Those who have stayed told the meeting -

that looking for a decent apartment in Vic-
toria is a nightmare, particularly for those
with children. One parent said, “We have
looked many places and have seen evidence
of cockroaches and even rats. It makes you
sick.”

One alderman was sympathetic. Pieta
Van Dyke noted that there are many illegal
suites, some with substandard wiring and
plumbing, in which the tenants do not com-
plain because they have no where else to go.

My friends living at 140 Douglas St. are
not happy with council’s inadequate solu-
tion. They have vowed to be back to fight
the permit once the two-week suspension
expires.

City hall must protest existing provincial
welfare rates which makes impossible to
both house the poor and provide a reasona-
ble rate of return to apartment owners. Dis-
crimination against children is likely a
violation of the Charter of Rights and the
United Nations’ call for the right to shelter
of all people, a problem not just confined to
the Third World these days.

We cannot tolerate in this city the kind of
situation we see in the United States, where,
according to Newsweek, women with child-
ren camp out in New York City’s Central
Park, having no place else to go. -

Video shows
‘new thinking’
in USSR

Ozzie Lahti, Vancouver (Effie Jones
press club), writes: Vitebsk is a city in
the north-east of Byelorussia on the
Dvina River. Historically, it has
endured numerous foreign invasions.
Today it has a population of 200,000
made up of diverse ethnic. nationali-
ties.

A video made by British producers

recently features the implementation
of the “new way of thinking” in the
Soviet Union — the objective of
which can only be realized by frankly
and fundamentally re-evaluating var-
ious attitudes in the spirit of recon-
struction and openness.
_ Upon viewing this unique video, I
am led to the conclusion that the truly
heroic people of Vitebsk will again
surmount the contemporary foes of
inefficiency, bureaucracy and stagna-
tion: the main impediments to full
implementation of the Soviet Union’s
peace program.

There will be a showing of the
video, A Soviet Town in War and
Peace: 10 Days in May, at 1718 E.
35th Ave. in Vancouver on Saturday,
May 14. It begins at 7 p.m. and admis-
sion is by donation. All proceeds go to
the Pacific Tribune’s fundraising

- drive.

Pacific Tribune, May 11, 1988 « 5